Wiki Sudden Loss Of Range With 2019.16.x Software

[Stere0graph]

I have an 85Kwh Battery suffering the same loss of range as others have described; driven the vehicle for the past four years without issue never having the inclination to post until experiencing this abomination of an upgrade.

This trend that Tesla have adopted is nothing new, the ethos of the company general reflects the mindset of the individuals and CEOs that make these types of decisions.

As a data point before upgrading to 2019.16.x battery would charge from 0 to 100% and display 75Kwh full capacity – I now see 68Kwh at 100% - current mileage a little over 52,000 miles - with regular supercharging, in terms of a range drop I have lost over 30 miles – it’s a nonsense.

As a consequence of this I now find myself charging and supercharging with increased frequency and staying longer at the stalls , which to my mind will only add to congestion at the busiest SC locations; to owners of newer vehicles, expect to see more 1st Gen cars staying longer at the stalls - this inevitably, will impact us all.

I am familiar with the chemistry composition and have understood the 85kwh battery pack to be the most robust and forgiving with regards to high charge rates and degradation - What’s the real maths ? are these packs really failing with high regularity - has this change really been deployed for our safety – these are cars which have been happily motoring for the past 5- 6 years.

Looking at past shenanigans I suspect overwise..

As this gains momentum I fear it will prove to be a poor PR exercise if Tesla do not put this right.



Upgraded to 2019.20.2.1 last night – Range remains unchanged with NO gain back to the capacity prior to 2019.16.x

 

[Guillaume]

They responded to my service request for the range loss issue:
....

How do you feel about these statements?
When I read those lines, I wasn't sure if Tesla is really interested in a quick solution. Neither are they willing to roll back the changes nor is a timelime available for updates "fixing" the issue.
It's worth noting that it's already T+ 6 weeks after the 16.x firmware rollout.

But as this might be only a short summary of your exchange with tesla, I'd be interested in your opinion.

 

[Droschke]

Got the official statement regarding the HV battery capacity test:

“
Performed a HV battery CAC, capacity and range test, this succeeded all well without any issues. The range decrease is normal behavior and is within Tesla specs. A full charge will never be the same as the last one, this is due to driving style, weather, traffic, tire pressure, driving with the heater or AC fully on. A difference of 44km on a full charge is normal behavior and is not an issue! Same for normal gasoline/diesel cars, these vehicles will never be able to drive the same exact kilometers as the previous full tank of fuel.Something that the customer could do (this is just for visual) is on the MCU > Screen and then scroll down to energy. Next to energy display there are 2 options (Nominaal and Standaard) most likely its set to standaard. With this option selected the range displayed is less than nominaal but it is more accurate because this is calculated by previous charges and driving style.
“

Beautiful.

 

[Category5]

I have an 85Kwh Battery suffering the same loss of range as others have described; driven the vehicle for the past four years without issue never having the inclination to post until experiencing this abomination of an upgrade.

This trend that Tesla have adopted is nothing new, the ethos of the company general reflects the mindset of the individuals and CEOs that make these types of decisions.

As a data point before upgrading to 2019.16.x battery would charge from 0 to 100% and display 75Kwh full capacity – I now see 68Kwh at 100% - current mileage a little over 52,000 miles - with regular supercharging, in terms of a range drop I have lost over 30 miles – it’s a nonsense.

As a consequence of this I now find myself charging and supercharging with increased frequency and staying longer at the stalls , which to my mind will only add to congestion at the busiest SC locations; to owners of newer vehicles, expect to see more 1st Gen cars staying longer at the stalls - this inevitably, will impact us all.

I am familiar with the chemistry composition and have understood the 85kwh battery pack to be the most robust and forgiving with regards to high charge rates and degradation - What’s the real maths ? are these packs really failing with high regularity - has this change really been deployed for our safety – these are cars which have been happily motoring for the past 5- 6 years.

Looking at past shenanigans I suspect overwise..

As this gains momentum I fear it will prove to be a poor PR exercise if Tesla do not put this right.



Upgraded to 2019.20.2.1 last night – Range remains unchanged with NO gain back to the capacity prior to 2019.16.x

sorry to hear that; I'm in the same situation. Classic example of fixing something that is not broken. This has to do with Tesla wanting to avoid honoring warranties by protecting aging batteries as our cars get older. This is not what we paid for...either they should fix lost range via software or replace batteries under warranty. I suggest we all make our concerns heard loud and clear with Tesla.

 

[Gixx1300R]

The post#210 refers to this article, published on May 15, 2019.



There was no communication to the owners, what it means and what to expect. Revising the “charge and thermal management settings" does not necessarily mean the loss of 30 miles in range.

When I read the article on May 15th, I honestly thought the update would result in the charging speed reduction for some cars, not any drastic capacity loss.

Exactly my point, a loss of range mean the car is now devalued

 

[ltrkstooge]

Have you by any chance read this?

no, I hadn't read that. thanks. I am both sorry and glad that I am not alone in this.
the more i understand what is going on and the various Tesla explanations the more I am convinced that this is unfortunately a legal matter. if the software is to prevent fires, then replace the battery. if the software is inadvertently reducing range then replace the battery. when tesla marketing is focused on the huge lead in range they have over other EVs in they cannot, at the same time, cut current owner's mileage because their product is defective. stop the excuses and fix the problem.

 

[faughtz]

yup that makes 3 of us..I now cannot make certain trips and will need to adjust others in order to deal with the sudden loss in range. As stated by others, we CANNOT let this go as it results in loss of usability and loss of value for our cars. Tesla is breaching purchase agreements by changing the materials received by purchaser after completion of the transaction.

Don’t forget the loss in performance-I lost about 40kW.

 

[Droschke]

How do you feel about these statements?
When I read those lines, I wasn't sure if Tesla is really interested in a quick solution. Neither are they willing to roll back the changes nor is a timelime available for updates "fixing" the issue.
It's worth noting that it's already T+ 6 weeks after the 16.x firmware rollout.

But as this might be only a short summary of your exchange with tesla, I'd be interested in your opinion.

Initially, and to my surprise, the Tesla rep was asking me if my concern was already resolved! (I thought that was funny). That's why I sent him the electrek article and told him that's what my problem is.

When he replied back and said he has nothing beyond what's in the the article, I wasn't sure if he just found out what really the issue is by reading the article or he already knew about the issue but was not addressing it voluntarily till I sent him the article.

Either way, and to be honest, I thought the whole exchange was vague at best. I really do not know what to believe.

 

[faughtz]

2015 70D with 98,000kms. Installed 2019.20.2.1 couple of days ago. Range at 90% SOC dropped from 335kms to 304kms instantly. Booked an appointment for July 17th. We paid for the range, if this was Tesla's intention then we should have been made aware so we could opt in or opt out. I'm a Tesla advocate but this is NOT ok.

Have you looked at your performance reduction?
I lost about 40kW.

 

[Category5]

Have you looked at your performance reduction?
I lost about 40kW.

no I haven't; will need to look into it. How do I go about checking this?

 

[Category5]

no, I hadn't read that. thanks. I am both sorry and glad that I am not alone in this.
the more i understand what is going on and the various Tesla explanations the more I am convinced that this is unfortunately a legal matter. if the software is to prevent fires, then replace the battery. if the software is inadvertently reducing range then replace the battery. when tesla marketing is focused on the huge lead in range they have over other EVs in they cannot, at the same time, cut current owner's mileage because their product is defective. stop the excuses and fix the problem.

yes; exactly..also if/when the general auto press gets hold of this Tesla will have a PR issue on their hands as well

 

[faughtz]

no I haven't; will need to look into it. How do I go about checking this?

For iOS, powertools or Teslemetry.

 

[Droschke]

I now wonder if they really knew what the real-world consequences of this SW update would be for the owners. We know they have capped the cell charging voltage (per data presented in this thread), but did they really know that would translate into range loss? One would hope so, but witnessing the low quality software updates they have been putting out for some times now, who knows if they really foresaw the impact! If they did know what the range/performance impact would be and went ahead with it anyway, that says a lot about the total disregard toward their most loyal customers.

 

[Category5]

I now wonder if they really knew what the real-world consequences of this SW update would be for the owners. We know they have capped the cell charging voltage (per data presented in this thread), but did they really know that would translate into range loss? One would hope so, but witnessing the low quality software updates they have been putting out for some times now, who knows if they really foresaw the impact! If they did know what the range/performance impact would be and went ahead with it anyway, that says a lot about the total disregard toward their most loyal customers.

Seeing as how Tesla hasn't been forthcoming and even less responsive to us owners on this major issue, I've reached out to my press contact. They will contact Tesla for comment and another article may be in the works...hopefully this will wake them up to take care of the issue

 

[Droschke]

Seeing as how Tesla hasn't been forthcoming and even less responsive to us owners on this major issue, I've reached out to my press contact. They will contact Tesla for comment and another article may be in the works...hopefully this will wake them up to take care of the issue

Wonderful.

 

[sorka]

They responded to my service request for the range loss issue:

- Asked me if my issue has already been resolved (!!!).
- I responded negative and also provided the electrek article link.
- They replied and said the article has all the information they can give me at this time.
- They also said they have reviewed my car's data to ensure there are no other issues that are occurring with my battery or the charging system and found that everything is working as it should.
- They said there were a number of cars impacted by the update and that they are working on updates that will address the issue for those that were impacted but they do not have a timeframe on when those updates will be deployed.
- They said they know this is a concern for those that were impacted and hopefully changes will be coming in the very near future.

Did they put any of this is writing or was it all verbal?

 

[sorka]

sorry to hear that; I'm in the same situation. Classic example of fixing something that is not broken. This has to do with Tesla wanting to avoid honoring warranties by protecting aging batteries as our cars get older. This is not what we paid for...either they should fix lost range via software or replace batteries under warranty. I suggest we all make our concerns heard loud and clear with Tesla.

Especially given that they CLAIM it effects a very small number of cars. It would be insane to not service those customers to avoid bad PR. We had a company picknick yesterday and this discussion came up among half a dozen Tesla owners. All I can say is that the opinion of these once loyal Tesla owners is "love the car...hate the company" and that they can't recommend Tesla to their friends and co-workers any more. Tesla's failures in the last year to fix the ownership and service experience + stuff like this is doing real damage. No wonder demand is waning.

 

[sorka]

Don’t forget the loss in performance-I lost about 40kW.

Right off the bat, I'd demand my Ludicrous upgrade fee back right now!!!

 

[Droschke]

Did they put any of this is writing or was it all verbal?

email.

 

[davidc18]

will check the cell voltage tomorrow after charging to 100% and post results.