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New Tesla Owner, battery range lower than expected
- Thread starter chriso2020
- Start date
I'm learning (slowly) to not stress about the range figures. I never used to worry in my old ICE car if it showed 6 less miles on full than it did the tank before, so why should I get worried about my EV. I mean thinking about things pragmatically I will be looking for a charger waaay before my range was less than 6-12 miles difference it was from new to now.
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So uhm how do I not "floor it" when the road opens up? Like I know that technically I should just be able to ignore the pedal, but it speaks to me. Calling my name. Whispering.
BMS calibration certainly seems to be a real thing with Model 3, but it doesn't seem to be a "charge to 100%" thing, it seems to be more a "leave your car for several hours at a range of SoC" so the BMS can calibrate across the full range (ie a stable reading at 20%, 40% 60% and 80% would help predict the whole range whereas lots of stable readings at 80% don't help predict the full range - well thats how I understand it and there's a touch of logic to it). . Plugging in straight away stops the BMS getting a good stable reading at that state of charge and it seems the car can only get a stable reading on the M3 after the car has sat there for a few hours.. So rather than plugging in every night, if you can leave your car at a lower state of charge than normal (usually if you don't need to do many miles the next day) it can be good for the BMW calculations. The "Always be charging" mantra while generally seen as good in this case seems to count against the BMS doing its sums well. .
That's the gist as I understand it, but if you want more detail its explained here, but I think you get the picture.
Tesla battery management system (BMS) calibration
akenham
M3 LR AWD+ 2020
I don't believe plugging matters in itself so long as the car doesn't start charging immediately.
I have a nice cheap electricity deal (5p per kWh on octopus 00:30 to 04:30) so my car is set to start charging at 00:30.
This means in practice it gets to sit at my "high" SOC for 3 or 4 hours after charging and at whatever the low point was when I get home for a similar amount.wirhout me doing anything.
You need to be careful not to wake it (app use) or have sentry on - I don't as it's at home and sitting under a security camera otherwise that will interfer with the battery settling for BMS readings.
PS leaving plugged in also means I can precondition off shore power before I leave - my 32A supply can't feed the full few in the worst case - battery warming (7kW) and cabin (6kW full tilt) but it certainly lessens the impact.
I have a nice cheap electricity deal (5p per kWh on octopus 00:30 to 04:30) so my car is set to start charging at 00:30.
This means in practice it gets to sit at my "high" SOC for 3 or 4 hours after charging and at whatever the low point was when I get home for a similar amount.wirhout me doing anything.
You need to be careful not to wake it (app use) or have sentry on - I don't as it's at home and sitting under a security camera otherwise that will interfer with the battery settling for BMS readings.
PS leaving plugged in also means I can precondition off shore power before I leave - my 32A supply can't feed the full few in the worst case - battery warming (7kW) and cabin (6kW full tilt) but it certainly lessens the impact.
Dougall1248
Member
I have TeslaFi and can't see how you get this statistic relating to the fleet. I have done a few miles less than 1000. Could that be the reason?My TeslaFi says
There are 100 vehicles with charges at your current odometer reading.
99 Vehicles have a higher range. 1 Vehicle has a lower range.
Dougall1248
Member
Thanks for that. Got it. Easier to do on PC. I kept trying to find it under Fleet. My range is pretty miserable too.
Nobody worse.
I wouldn't read too much into it. Just enjoy driving it
Dougall1248
Member
M3BlueGeorgia
Active Member
Tesla are required to use the WLTP methodology for range in Europe, despite that it is known to be optimistic. The US EPA methodology range is more accurate, but still can be high-ish.
No worries though. Set the display to be percentage and quit being concerned by the irrelevant WLTP methodology.
BTW: Don't charge the car above 90%, except on an exceptional, and unusual, basis.
Out of interest, what are the issues caused with charging the car above 90% (Tesla/EV newbie here so apologies if this is common knowledge)?
phil4
Member
It's said that it can cause irreperable damage to the battery itself. It's something to do with the chemistry and either dendrites growing through the battery or I think in this instance the makes one of the materials grainy. If you were to do this every charge, it would lead to decreased range within a few years.
It doesn't cause massive problems however if you do it a couple of times a year. It'll still degrade the battery, but is something that you'll likely not notice, unless you intend keeping the car for a decade or more.
It's why in the tesla battery screen it allows you to set a charge limit and suggests a range for "daily" and the upper end (80-100%) as "Trip". I use sparingly.
Jason71
Well-Known Member
Lithium ion battery life is reduced by high state of charge and its on a curve so 80 is slightly worse than 70%, 90 worse than 80 and charging to and particularly holding at 100% for long periods is really bad for degradation.
of course an indicated 100% is not a true 100% but its still best to do only when needed and just before you set off so don't hold it there for hours and hours
Not sure for Tesla specifically but for most batteries: They store lot of energy, so keeping them near to capacity will make them degrade quicker. If you stay above 90% then you have a LOT of electrical energy not going anywhere so it'll be a strain on the cells. Keeping charge lower will lead to less potential energy in the cell and so less degradation. I assume because Tesla batteries are so big, the degradation will be significant in a way that, say, a mobile phone battery isn't
Jason71
Well-Known Member
Um actually running it really low is not good for it either
I stay between 80-20 for normal driving and for road trips 90/95-10. Though I would generally not actually plan to arrive anywhere with 10% anyway for my health rather than the batteries.
That’s quite a good strategy.
You can normally rely on a Tesla supercharger to be available and working, so now I’m comfortable arriving at one of those locations with less than 10%. The cars charge very quickly from 10% when at a supercharger.
Public locations are a nightmare in the UK right now. Usually very few chargers in comparison to Tesla’s and there are few locations that I’ve not had problems with. Even my last Instavolt attempt failed half way through the session, and they are amongst the brands thought of as most reliable.
Batteries don’t like being completely drained either.
Ok so taking into account only using between 20 and 80% the real world range of SR+ is around 140 - 150 miles then. Had planned on around 180 miles but seems that was too optimistic.
Not a problem day to day but once a week I do 120 mile round trip with no time or facility to charge which if I keep to the suggested parameters, could be a bit tricky in the winter.
Sadly no Tesla SC’s near me until the ‘coming soon’ site for Dorchester is built.
Not a problem day to day but once a week I do 120 mile round trip with no time or facility to charge which if I keep to the suggested parameters, could be a bit tricky in the winter.
Sadly no Tesla SC’s near me until the ‘coming soon’ site for Dorchester is built.
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