I have driven my P85D long distance since early 2015, when local welding shops, RV parks and the odd 120V at hotels were the norm. The last few weeks I drove an S75 from San Francisco to Sequim and Nanaimo then back to SFO and then to Atlanta via I80, I70, US65, I22, I20. I had snow, heavy rains, windy Wyoming. The Superchargers across Wyoming on I80 were so new that one, Laramie, still was not showing on the in-car index when the trip began, although it had already opened.
On similar routing an S60 was also traveling successfully. With the S75 I was astonished that I could travel with the traffic all the way from San Francisco to Atlanta. That meant traveling long stretches at 90 mph, still being passed by a few people, but TACC and Autosteer both a limited to 90 MPH, so I only exceeded that speed when the traffic was faster. Astonished because not too long ago this would have been impossible.
Throughout the trip no Supercharger was even close to full, mostly I was the only car charging. Where there where other cars they were usually the same two S's that travelled with me for much of the I-70 portion.
It was interesting that I encountered a half-dozen new cars and CPO's being driven by their new owners. This is the he first time I had seen so many of those in such a short period. Of course, there were lots of questions from eager new owners. That was a major plus on this trip.
Prior to this tripI had never driven anything with battery sizes smaller than 85, but and assortment of SP85D, SP100D, S90D and X90D. I was a trifle nervous about the capability of the S75, which began life as a S60 and was software upgraded. In retrospect the vast increase in Supercharging made it easy, mostly, and the actual performance of the S75 was distinctly Tesla. I loved it!
On only one occasion I had a minor charging inconvenience. When going to Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park a road closure made me go nearly 100 miles more than planned. With 20% battery left and no Plugshare within range of the car I was no worried because my hotel would certainly have some outlets. Nope, they said none existed. Bad News, reminding me of 2015 in Quebec in winter! I walked around the buildings and found a 120V outlet in a service area, barely within range of my cords. I asked a passing employee if I could use it, he said "sure" and I gained a crucial 40 miles that allowed me to reach the nearest Supercharger without problem. That was the only charging issue in my 6,000 miles.
I know many people are now making such trips routinely, and Superchargers already make most routes practical in North America, Europe, parts of China and Japan, and Australia is gaining, on the southeast at least. Next year I will make a trans-Canada trip as soon as the Superchargers have been completed.
So, my recent experience has once again proven how astonishingly good Tesla charging support has become and how amazingly capable even base Model S has become.
I also had a chance to experience currrent Tesla roadside service. A glitch in a coolant system caused the motor to overheat triggering "power reduced-car needs service" as I was between Rawlins and Laramie, an ideal place for such an even since the closed service was in Denver and this was Saturday morning! I made it to Laramie, connected to the brand new Supercharger and called Tesla Roadside Assistance (TRA). They quickly found the fault in the logs, and speculated that it might clear when the car had such down. I disconnected and the fault was gone. Great! The TRA found that Denver SC was open on Saturday, giving me just enough time to rush there if no recurrence happened. If it did Tesla was ready to truck the car to Denver. The Denver SC spent two hours looking at everything but found only that coolant flow had been restricted when one of Tewa pumps shut down. I continued the trip after they agreed to send the logs and history to Atlanta SC. In completing my trip I was advised to shut the car off if it happened again and restart which might work. It did, with one shutdown on Sunday in the middle of Kansas, which was cured with a quick shut down and restart. The car is now with Atlanta SC, which gave me a loaner which will go to the cars owner when she arrives in Atlanta this PM.
This experience is amazing evidence of Tesla service. I do not own the car. Tesla contacted the owner to get permission for me to res present the car. The Atlanta SC gave a Tesla loaner because I own a Tesla too. They even obtained loaner documents form the owner by email so I can give the owner the loaner when I fly out tonight. Would any other manufacturer jump through hoops to make the process more convenient for their customers? Maybe, but I have never heard of such a thing.
On similar routing an S60 was also traveling successfully. With the S75 I was astonished that I could travel with the traffic all the way from San Francisco to Atlanta. That meant traveling long stretches at 90 mph, still being passed by a few people, but TACC and Autosteer both a limited to 90 MPH, so I only exceeded that speed when the traffic was faster. Astonished because not too long ago this would have been impossible.
Throughout the trip no Supercharger was even close to full, mostly I was the only car charging. Where there where other cars they were usually the same two S's that travelled with me for much of the I-70 portion.
It was interesting that I encountered a half-dozen new cars and CPO's being driven by their new owners. This is the he first time I had seen so many of those in such a short period. Of course, there were lots of questions from eager new owners. That was a major plus on this trip.
Prior to this tripI had never driven anything with battery sizes smaller than 85, but and assortment of SP85D, SP100D, S90D and X90D. I was a trifle nervous about the capability of the S75, which began life as a S60 and was software upgraded. In retrospect the vast increase in Supercharging made it easy, mostly, and the actual performance of the S75 was distinctly Tesla. I loved it!
On only one occasion I had a minor charging inconvenience. When going to Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park a road closure made me go nearly 100 miles more than planned. With 20% battery left and no Plugshare within range of the car I was no worried because my hotel would certainly have some outlets. Nope, they said none existed. Bad News, reminding me of 2015 in Quebec in winter! I walked around the buildings and found a 120V outlet in a service area, barely within range of my cords. I asked a passing employee if I could use it, he said "sure" and I gained a crucial 40 miles that allowed me to reach the nearest Supercharger without problem. That was the only charging issue in my 6,000 miles.
I know many people are now making such trips routinely, and Superchargers already make most routes practical in North America, Europe, parts of China and Japan, and Australia is gaining, on the southeast at least. Next year I will make a trans-Canada trip as soon as the Superchargers have been completed.
So, my recent experience has once again proven how astonishingly good Tesla charging support has become and how amazingly capable even base Model S has become.
I also had a chance to experience currrent Tesla roadside service. A glitch in a coolant system caused the motor to overheat triggering "power reduced-car needs service" as I was between Rawlins and Laramie, an ideal place for such an even since the closed service was in Denver and this was Saturday morning! I made it to Laramie, connected to the brand new Supercharger and called Tesla Roadside Assistance (TRA). They quickly found the fault in the logs, and speculated that it might clear when the car had such down. I disconnected and the fault was gone. Great! The TRA found that Denver SC was open on Saturday, giving me just enough time to rush there if no recurrence happened. If it did Tesla was ready to truck the car to Denver. The Denver SC spent two hours looking at everything but found only that coolant flow had been restricted when one of Tewa pumps shut down. I continued the trip after they agreed to send the logs and history to Atlanta SC. In completing my trip I was advised to shut the car off if it happened again and restart which might work. It did, with one shutdown on Sunday in the middle of Kansas, which was cured with a quick shut down and restart. The car is now with Atlanta SC, which gave me a loaner which will go to the cars owner when she arrives in Atlanta this PM.
This experience is amazing evidence of Tesla service. I do not own the car. Tesla contacted the owner to get permission for me to res present the car. The Atlanta SC gave a Tesla loaner because I own a Tesla too. They even obtained loaner documents form the owner by email so I can give the owner the loaner when I fly out tonight. Would any other manufacturer jump through hoops to make the process more convenient for their customers? Maybe, but I have never heard of such a thing.
