Cold Feet: Reassurance or Reality - Tesla MYLR as a Road Warrior Vehicle?

[Johnny Vector]

Thanks for all the responses. This helps a lot. I anticipate its gonna be a learning curve but I’m looking forward to it.

To clarify a things.

I do have a garage so I can charge at home. I am installing a wall connector.

What is a common SoC that people use as a goal when the arrive? It seems like 10-20% is pretty normal.

It also seems most people don’t charge past 90%. Is that your experience?

I live in central Wisconsin and have five main routes that I work. I almost always to out and return on the same day, so 90% of the time would be able to charge in my garage overnight.

1. Home - Madison (60 miles round trip) 1 SC near the route
2. Home - Milwaukee (164 miles round trip) 1 SC near the route
3. Home - Rice Lake (455 miles round trip) 4 SC’s on the route
4. Home - Minocqua (397 miles round trip) 2 SC’s on the route
5. Home - Green Bay (240 miles round trip) 3 SC’s on the route

I feel like route 1 & 2 should be able to get out and back without SC year around.

Route 5 I might need to charge for a few minutes in winter.

Routs 3 & 4 I will always need to charge and there seems to be sufficient charging stations along the way.

I’m encouraged by those responding that are doing 3k or more a month. Also appreciate hearing from those of you with cold weather experience.

As for my desire to drive the car over 300k, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. It looks like everything is just too knew so we don’t have a track record to really know.

Thanks again for everyones $0.02.

I like the idea of slowing down a little and having a few extra stops for charging, stretching, and moving around. I hope, in practice, I feel the same way.

I think your estimates of how much you'll need to charge are right on.

And I suspect you'll enjoy shorter legs with short stops. I find I'm substantially less beat at the end of a long drive than I was in any of my ICE cars. Don't know how much is stopping more often, how much is the smoothness of the ride, and how much is how well Autopilot works. But whatever the reason, my butt or my shoes, it's less like a long drive and more like a cruise.

 

[cusetownusa]

Thanks for all the responses. This helps a lot. I anticipate its gonna be a learning curve but I’m looking forward to it.

To clarify a things.

I do have a garage so I can charge at home. I am installing a wall connector.

What is a common SoC that people use as a goal when the arrive? It seems like 10-20% is pretty normal.

It also seems most people don’t charge past 90%. Is that your experience?

I live in central Wisconsin and have five main routes that I work. I almost always to out and return on the same day, so 90% of the time would be able to charge in my garage overnight.

1. Home - Madison (60 miles round trip) 1 SC near the route
2. Home - Milwaukee (164 miles round trip) 1 SC near the route
3. Home - Rice Lake (455 miles round trip) 4 SC’s on the route
4. Home - Minocqua (397 miles round trip) 2 SC’s on the route
5. Home - Green Bay (240 miles round trip) 3 SC’s on the route

I feel like route 1 & 2 should be able to get out and back without SC year around.

Route 5 I might need to charge for a few minutes in winter.

Routs 3 & 4 I will always need to charge and there seems to be sufficient charging stations along the way.

I’m encouraged by those responding that are doing 3k or more a month. Also appreciate hearing from those of you with cold weather experience.

As for my desire to drive the car over 300k, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. It looks like everything is just too knew so we don’t have a track record to really know.

Thanks again for everyones $0.02.

I like the idea of slowing down a little and having a few extra stops for charging, stretching, and moving around. I hope, in practice, I feel the same way.

Sounds like you have it mostly figured out. One thing I will add(not sure if already said), is that on cold days you will want to preheat your car while it’s plugged in at home. This will not only make it more comfortable to get into but it will preheat the battery and provide you more range. Part of the decrease in winter range is the car using energy to get the battery temp to a warmer temp.

 

[Woggon]

Thanks for all the responses. This helps a lot. I anticipate its gonna be a learning curve but I’m looking forward to it.

To clarify a things.

I do have a garage so I can charge at home. I am installing a wall connector.

What is a common SoC that people use as a goal when the arrive? It seems like 10-20% is pretty normal.

It also seems most people don’t charge past 90%. Is that your experience?

I live in central Wisconsin and have five main routes that I work. I almost always to out and return on the same day, so 90% of the time would be able to charge in my garage overnight.

1. Home - Madison (60 miles round trip) 1 SC near the route
2. Home - Milwaukee (164 miles round trip) 1 SC near the route
3. Home - Rice Lake (455 miles round trip) 4 SC’s on the route
4. Home - Minocqua (397 miles round trip) 2 SC’s on the route
5. Home - Green Bay (240 miles round trip) 3 SC’s on the route

I feel like route 1 & 2 should be able to get out and back without SC year around.

Route 5 I might need to charge for a few minutes in winter.

Routs 3 & 4 I will always need to charge and there seems to be sufficient charging stations along the way.

I’m encouraged by those responding that are doing 3k or more a month. Also appreciate hearing from those of you with cold weather experience.

As for my desire to drive the car over 300k, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. It looks like everything is just too knew so we don’t have a track record to really know.

Thanks again for everyones $0.02.

I like the idea of slowing down a little and having a few extra stops for charging, stretching, and moving around. I hope, in practice, I feel the same way.

I live a bit north of Milwaukee (North Shore area in Milwaukee county) and make twice weekly trips to Madison and or Middleton area. In the dead of winter you will need to use a super charger for that trip for 10-15 minutes if you’re preconditioned.

I drive between 2000 - 3000 miles per month. Interstate corridors are fine, but northern Wisconsin and the driftless area (from Milwaukee) are more challenging due to the lack of super charger infrastructure.

Also, I’d suggest preconditioning and charging on the way to your destination in winter, rather then after you meet in Milwaukee. It will speed up charging. I find that I still get the “precondition for faster charging” message even in summer of I start preconditioning at 20 miles or less from the supercharger.

 

[gad1976]

I live a bit north of Milwaukee (North Shore area in Milwaukee county) and make twice weekly trips to Madison and or Middleton area. In the dead of winter you will need to use a super charger for that trip for 10-15 minutes if you’re preconditioned.

I drive between 2000 - 3000 miles per month. Interstate corridors are fine, but northern Wisconsin and the driftless area (from Milwaukee) are more challenging due to the lack of super charger infrastructure.

Also, I’d suggest preconditioning and charging on the way to your destination in winter, rather then after you meet in Milwaukee. It will speed up charging. I find that I still get the “precondition for faster charging” message even in summer of I start preconditioning at 20 miles or less from the supercharger.

How many miles round trip from your place to Middleton?

 

[Woggon]

I live a bit north of Milwaukee (North Shore area in Milwaukee county) and make twice weekly trips to Madison and or Middleton area. In the dead of winter you will need to use a super charger for that trip for 10-15 minutes if you’re preconditioned.

I drive between 2000 - 3000 miles per month. Interstate corridors are fine, but northern Wisconsin and the driftless area (from Milwaukee) are more challenging due to the lack of super charger infrastructure.

Also, I’d suggest preconditioning and charging on the way to your destination in winter, rather then after you meet in Milwaukee. It will speed up charging. I find that I still get the “precondition for faster charging” message even in summer of I start preconditioning at 20 miles or less from the supercharger.

I’ll also add, we have a cabin in Danbury (NW Wisconsin). It’s a 375 mile drive door to door. In the dead of winter it’s a 3 supercharger trip - start at 100% at cabin and preheat (which at -30F will drop you to 95% plugged in to a 50 A charger) we’re at 20% driving the speed limit wheel we get to Eau Claire when it’s really cold - 120 miles), then need to charge again in Mauston and Madison.

The really cold -20F and -30F weather up north can be a huge challenge and unnerving. We now take the Subaru Outback for rural cold weather trips. Above 15F/20F for lows we still take the Tesla to the cabin - but not on holiday weekends due to the wait for charging.

The Tesla is less expensive to drive and as someone else pointed out, leaves you far less tired using autopilot. I prefer to drive the Tesla when it’s practical.

 

[Woggon]

How many miles round trip from your place to Middleton?

I’m outside sales, so I end up stopping at a few offices. Typically 210 miles round trip. Wednesday was 250. I preemptively charged because I had time between appointments and I got 10000 miles of free charging that I’m struggling to use. I may have been fine without it. But it’s summer.

I start at 90% each morning, used to start at 100, but didn’t see enough range impact to offset the lack of regenerative breaking (one gets used to one pedal driving).

I used to start behind a semi on the interstate in autopilot, which helped (but the view sucks). I stopped doing that and now drive 75 mph or 78 mph which probably is the difference in charging or not.

Typically I pull into the Hy-Vee off Whitney Way on the way in for 15 minutes, and use the bathroom in the store while I charge.

 

[gad1976]

I’m outside sales, so I end up stopping at a few offices. Typically 210 miles round trip. Wednesday was 250. I preemptively charged because I had time between appointments and I got 10000 miles of free charging that I’m struggling to use. I may have been fine without it. But it’s summer.

I start at 90% each morning, used to start at 100, but didn’t see enough range impact to offset the lack of regenerative breaking (one gets used to one pedal driving).

I used to start behind a semi on the interstate in autopilot, which helped (but the view sucks). I stopped doing that and now drive 75 mph or 78 mph which probably is the difference in charging or not.

Typically I pull into the Hy-Vee off Whitney Way on the way in for 15 minutes, and use the bathroom in the store while I charge.

I guess I had hoped to be able to do a 250 mile round trip without charging. Do you think you have to charge because the car doesn’t have the range, or because of your driving style, or because of weather? It sounds like my expectation of doing a 250 mile round trip without charging might be unrealistic?

 

[ilovemytdi]

But..tires.

i put martian wheels 18" with general altimax tires and had 50k miles on them and still had 10-15k miles to go before needing replaced 2021 MYLR

So tires dont have to be replaced every 30k miles, unless you just love low profile. I prefer more rubber and less wheel. less chance for a porhole taking out a rim or tire

 

[Brian-MS90D]

My first EV, a Tesla MYLR 2023, is supposed to be delivered between June 17 & 25. This is a big switch for me.

I drive about 3,000 miles per month, averaging two long trips of approximately 300 miles each week. I live and work in Wisconsin and drive all over the state all year around. I've done a lot of reading about battery maintenance, charging stations, etc. and I've decided to take the leap of faith and give this a try. I will never be more than 150 miles away from a Tesla Charging station, and usually closer than that.

1. Am I crazy? There have to be other people on this forum that drive year around and put on miles like me. Is it working for you? Are my expectations reasonable?
2. My last three ICE cars have racked up between 275,000 and 375,000 miles. I'd love to think I can get close to 300,000 miles out of this MYLR. I'm assuming they haven't been out long enough, but is anyone out there up to 150,000 or more miles? Is this a reasonable expectation?

Am I about to make a big mistake, or is this workable?

Thanks in advance for sharing your reality or your reassurance.

I did this back between 2017-2020 with my Model S and for work. The reliability for high miles is far superior to ICE.

Pros:

• Minimal to no maintenance. No more oil changes!
• Autopilot on highways. It's not perfect, but it sure takes a lot of the monotony out of highway driving.
• If you are a road warrior for work, there will be times when you are "camping" in your car for a while. Maybe a customer appointment cancelled at the last minute and you're passing time until your next appointment. It's really nice sitting in a perfectly climate controlled car (summer or winter) without burning gasoline (and the associated fumes) or that feeling of wearing your engine prematurely.
• Back then I had free supercharging for life. It saved a lot of money and I got full mileage reimbursement.

Cons:

• Supercharging is wayyyyy faster today than back then, but you'll still spend more time charging than refueling an ICE. You can dramatically cut down on this if your overnight has a L2 charger. For some, the supercharger time could be a deal breaker. For me, I am able to catch up on work during charging and I've found it to be a good thing. Also, many (not all) people spend nearly the same time at a gas station and don't realize it. Gotta pee sometime.
• You'll lose control of your pit stop locations (on ICE). Your pit stops will now revolve around supercharger locations.
• No spare tire (true of many ICE too). If you're a road warrior, you'll want to get a spare tire and proper tools to keep with you.

A lot of comments focus on the climate control usage. I've never found this to be a factor for highway driving (even in my previous S). The biggest influence for highway driving by far is speed (and/or very high headwind). I think others falsely assume decreased range in winter is from heating the cabin, but it's not (for highway driving). Decreased range in the winter is from the cold and denser air that the car has to push through. You could drive the whole trip with the cabin heat off and it wouldn't help you much. This is why when you're navigating to a destination and cutting it close on range, the navigation says "stay below X mph to reach destination." The navigation never says, turn off your climate to reach destination.
To counteract the effect of winter on range, drive slower (e.g., below 65 mph).

 

[JohnB007]

I've owned mine for 15 months now. I've recorded 37.5k miles. So a bit less than the OP but still significant.

I drive about 250miles trip every single weekend, along with the usual local driving. Summer and winter in Ontario.

I charge to 75% every night except for that one weekend where I charge to 100.0%. I do about 4 winter trips per year, each lasting 1-2 weeks, about 1000 miles each towards southern USA states. So far, my battery degradation is less than 3%.

During long trips, my break is once every 1.5-2 hours due to my own bathroom break needs. I usually end up super-charging back to where it needs to be without much idling time. I try to arrive at the charger with around 15-20% charge, to optimize charging time.

I used to feel very tired after 5-6 hours of driving. Now, I can do 10+ hours/day easily. I'm sure my FSD helps greatly since it is on most of the time.

For me, it is not even close. Tesla (with FSD) is miles better for long distance touring than any ICEs I have ever owned.

 

[NickFie]

What is a common SoC that people use as a goal when the arrive? It seems like 10-20% is pretty normal.

Give yourself a 20% target on your first few trips. You can adjust the margin as you learn the car’s burn rate and the factors that affect it, such as speed, driving style (sedate or enthusiastic), weather…

Consider using % instead of miles to track battery charge level. Also, use the Energy graph to track actual vs. expected consumption.

Cruise speed affects range. Paradoxically, in cold weather slightly faster speeds can be more efficient because the car spends less time heating the cabin during the trip.

Bear in mind that your car is very efficient. A fully charged battery has about as much energy as 2.5 gallons of gasoline. Not a bunch of waste heat to spare.

 

[JohnB007]

Cruise speed affects range. Paradoxically, in cold weather slightly faster speeds can be more efficient because the car spends less time heating the cabin during the trip.

This is an interesting point....

Has anyone actually confirmed this? It does kinda makes sense on really cold days...

Something to experiment during the next winter...

 

[gad1976]

Give yourself a 20% target on your first few trips. You can adjust the margin as you learn the car’s burn rate and the factors that affect it, such as speed, driving style (sedate or enthusiastic), weather…

Consider using % instead of miles to track battery charge level. Also, use the Energy graph to track actual vs. expected consumption.

Cruise speed affects range. Paradoxically, in cold weather slightly faster speeds can be more efficient because the car spends less time heating the cabin during the trip.

Bear in mind that your car is very efficient. A fully charged battery has about as much energy as 2.5 gallons of gasoline. Not a bunch of waste heat to spare.

This is very helpful. Thanks!

 

[gad1976]

I've owned mine for 15 months now. I've recorded 37.5k miles. So a bit less than the OP but still significant.

I drive about 250miles trip every single weekend, along with the usual local driving. Summer and winter in Ontario.

I charge to 75% every night except for that one weekend where I charge to 100.0%. I do about 4 winter trips per year, each lasting 1-2 weeks, about 1000 miles each towards southern USA states. So far, my battery degradation is less than 3%.

During long trips, my break is once every 1.5-2 hours due to my own bathroom break needs. I usually end up super-charging back to where it needs to be without much idling time. I try to arrive at the charger with around 15-20% charge, to optimize charging time.

I used to feel very tired after 5-6 hours of driving. Now, I can do 10+ hours/day easily. I'm sure my FSD helps greatly since it is on most of the time.

For me, it is not even close. Tesla (with FSD) is miles better for long distance touring than any ICEs I have ever owned.

Thanks. This sounds very similar to the kind of driving I will be doing. Thanks for your real world experience.

 

[Brian-MS90D]

This is an interesting point....

Has anyone actually confirmed this? It does kinda makes sense on really cold days...

Something to experiment during the next winter...

He is incorrect as I explained in my previous post. If you don't believe me, then know that Tesla's advice is the complete opposite of what he said.

Also, refer to physics. Wind resistance increases as speed increases, and the increase in wind resistance is not merely linear to the speed. It's more like exponential.

 

[JohnB007]

He is incorrect as I explained in my previous post. If you don't believe me, then know that Tesla's advice is the complete opposite of what he said.

Also, refer to physics. Wind resistance increases as speed increases, and the increase in wind resistance is not merely linear to the speed. It's more like exponential.

Yup my experience also says by far the most energy hungry aspect of the car is moving the car itself, especially at a high speed. So far, even during winter, I felt slowing down was the best way to conserve range.

But it could be interesting to try during -4F days...

 

[avs007]

I found that the biggest thing out of my control that tanks my range, is rain. This is why I give myself a 20% buffer between suoerchsrgers. I make the exact same trip every other week. Normally in cool weather I'll hit the supercharger at 20%. But if it's raining, with all else equal, I'll arrive at the SC with 9%.

 

[stripes]

I'm in VT but have only lived through one winter here. I didn't have the Model Y during it (I've only had it a week now), but I had another (non-Tesla) EV.

Range reduction in cold weather is real, but not as severe as "50%" (however I've only driven in -15ºF). In my case at least a noticeable part of the reduction was from snow tires, but even so I think it was a good idea to have them. My reduction in range was from about 250 to about 230, so a bit over 10%.

My old EV would dump up to 6kW into the heating when getting it up to the target temperature. An hour of that is enough to drive 24 miles. Clearly it doesn't run it for a full hour on a 250 mile drive (or if it does it is responsible for 100% of the winter range loss!). If the EV is on a charger when it is first warming up it should take the HVAC power from the charger not the battery (confirmed on my prior EV, not yet confirmed on the Tesla, but it is an obvious design choice, hopefully they made it). It is probable only 10 or 15 minutes are full tilt power, but even so that is both effectively giving an "extra" 4 to 6 miles of range and starting you off comfortable at the beginning of the drive.

I find EVs a lot less fatiguing to drive. Maybe the reduced noise from not having a loud engine going, but whatever it is I vastly prefer driving an EV on long trips as opposed to a gas car even if it means stoping more frequently.

EVs tend to get even more range per kWh at lower speeds (I think down to 25MPH or so where it flips around I expect partly to do with HVAC expenditure on the now longer trip). I'm not saying this to talk about the "if you are running out of range to reach the next charge stop slow down" thing which I'm sure is true and important, but a related one not a lot of people tell you: don't worry about not reaching your destination if you get stuck in a traffic jam. In the past I use to have a 150 mile round trip commute, and a 250mile range so I was getting home with like 40% battery left. On days with traffic jams I got home with 50% maybe a bit more left. Granted that was in CA which absolutely does not have a cold winter, but I would still really not worry about traffic jams. Which is absolutely not the intuition my decades of driving gas cars gives me.

 

[Unclepaul]

OP will figure out the Supercharging/Charging at home strategy quickly by himself.

Model Y is a well sized car for a road warrior. Lots of interior space, good handling, plenty of power.

Big issue will be having Auto Pilot. Makes traveling long boring distances much more enjoyable. Can relax a bit en route, and arrive far more relaxed than in a typical ICE.

Quick charging stops will give him a time to stretch his legs, grab a snack and be on his way.

The lack of typical maintenance will also free up some of his time. No more oil changes, muffler replacements, tune ups, timing chain replacements etc.

 

[DanDi58]

As far as an arrival at home SOC, when I first got the car, I used about 20% as my target. After a while, I decided that between 15% and 20% was okay for me. Now, anything around 10% is pretty much ok for me, without causing any stress. In my ICE car, I'd always be concerned about running into traffic near home. That's not really a concern with me now, as the car uses so little energy in traffic. You'll figure it out.