Worst moment since owning my S

[andrewket]

Normally I would not block an SC stall, but since the power is out it doesn't matter...

If you can, I suggest driving now to the SC and leave your car there, and then power it completely down. You're going to lose range, so better to run out at the SC vs the hotel and then need a tow. Another option is to leave the car on, but in energy save mode, with the SC handle inserted. When the power comes back, it would likely just start charging (if your car isn't dead).

Edit: just saw your lost recent update. That's good news... Sort of!

 

[David99]

The irony

 

[MorrisonHiker]

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Thats actually potentially really bad for your vehicle. You typically dont want to run lower than a 1/4 tank unless necessary.

I've been taking my CR-V down to less than a gallon for the past 196000 miles (nearly 19 years) and never had a problem.

 

[tezzla]

Thats actually potentially really bad for your vehicle. You typically dont want to run lower than a 1/4 tank unless necessary.

I consider it necessary (since I'm a huge procrastinator).~

 

[nwdiver]

I carry an adapter... I believe NEMA 6-20... that I can plug into the ~208v HVAC outlet in older hotels... gives me a lot more options if I'm stuck somewhere. I can charge @~3kW. Not great but it'll do in a pinch. Things should get easier as the infrastructure expands.

 

[Caligula]

I've been taking my CR-V down to less than a gallon for the past 196000 miles (nearly 19 years) and never had a problem.

People do a lot of things that put them at greater risk on a daily basis, mostly due to the fact that they manage to get away with it without negative consequences for lengthy periods of time. That doesn't negate the fact that it still increases your risk. Aside from the fact that always filling at or near 1/4 full prevents you from ever running out of fuel by accident, the pump requires gasoline to lubricate and cool it's components. Now, while its not terribly hard to replace a fuel pump in most cars, it's probably something the average owner doesn't want to deal with, or pay for.

...and then you have the fact that fuel gauges aren't exactly accurate. It's nice to have a buffer for that reason alone. Reminds me of my mother who once told me that the fuel light meant she "hasomeone 30 miles of gas left"... as if that's some sort of standard built into automobiles.

 

[bollar]

nobody in TMC close by?

Shamrock is well and truly at the end of the road and doesn't have great infrastructure. When I was last in Shamrock, there was no landline or cellular phone service, nor was there internet. Combined with a massive snowstorm, it's time to settle in.

 

[Larry]

It's frustrating to see that Teslas lack of notifying the fleet that there is a supercharger issue still exists. It's been 9 months since my wife had this same type of issue when Harris Ranch was down for hours and we were not notified. Easily could have made an alternative route. Why is this still a problem? Hopefully the op is well on his way.

 

[hiroshiy]

I was able to pull into the lot and plug in. The power company said they will have service back up at 11 am. I called them at noon LOL
The blizzard is indeed historical and the conditions have nothing to do with Tesla. I'm not blaming them or anyone. It's just a very unfortunate situation for anyone to be in. Being in an EV just makes it extra bad. Once you are down on your battery, you can't just drive to another gas station or have someone bring you gas. The problem with having one charger every 100 miles means each station is absolutely vital. If one fails you are stuck. If you run out of gas, it's trivia to have someone bring a canister.
Btw, I got on the I40 before it was closed. It was scary! I passed many cars that slid in the ditches. The wind blew across the road like I have never seen in my life. Black ice everywhere. At anything over 20 kW the traction control kicked in. But amazing how well the Model S behaves!

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View attachment 105680

I feel sorry for the OP. Looking at this picture, it doesn't look like a lot of snow. No snow tires??

It's unfortunate nobody in Shamrock owns Tesla or is a member of TMC...

 

[jerry33]

Thats actually potentially really bad for your vehicle. You typically dont want to run lower than a 1/4 tank unless necessary.

That was true a long time ago. I'm not it's true with any modern vehicle.

 

[dsm363]

I never understood running a gas car to empty or how people ever run out. I always filled up when it got below 1/4-1/2 a tank but only when I had time. If I wasn't in a hurry and happened to be driving past a gas station I would fill up.

Glad you finally made it. Crazy weather so glad you made it oh ok.

 

[jerry33]

I never understood running a gas car to empty or how people ever run out. I always filled up when it got below 1/4-1/2 a tank but only when I had time. If I wasn't in a hurry and happened to be driving past a gas station I would fill up.

The only time I've ever ran out was when I first got the Land-Rover. The E looks a lot like the F, and the gauge was designed for RHD.

 

[David99]

I'm on the road again. Once I recharged in Amarillo it was all good from there. I did call Tesla about a slow supercharger and the guy on the phone mentioned that he had a different customer that was stuck in Shamrock which still had no power. More than 24 hours after power went out and after they had to call a tow truck for me to get out of there, they basically let another poor Tesla driver go down. It's just frustrating to see how we own a car that communicates with their hub in real time, exchanging all kinds of information, yet they can't give drivers a simple warning about dead charging stations!

 

[Caligula]

That was true a long time ago. I'm not it's true with any modern vehicle.

I can assure you that modern fuel pumps still require fuel in the tank to properly lubricate and cool the unit. What you're thinking of was the possibility of sucking air into the pump or corrosion entering the fuel system, as those were issues in the past.

 

[Denarius]

I had a power outage situation at the Beaver, UT supercharger in 2O14. Lightning had struck the main transformers for the city, so the entire city was dead. I didn't have enough power to get to the next supercharger and all the other sites in range didn't have power either. The power company kept bumping the estimate of when power would come on by an hour. I ended up spending the night in my car thinking power would come back online soon. There is even a hotel across the parking lot. I left it plugged into the supercharger and it began charging as soon as power was restored. By the time the power came back on, 50 cars had lined up at the gas station that couldn't get gas and didn't have enough to get to the next town.

The weather was fine so I suppose I could have called tesla and received a tow to the next charger, but that didn't occur to me.

 

[jerry33]

I can assure you that modern fuel pumps still require fuel in the tank to properly lubricate and cool the unit.

True, but fuel pumps now shut off when no fuel is present. You're right that not so very long ago they didn't shut off and would burn out.

 

[HankLloydRight]

I can assure you that modern fuel pumps still require fuel in the tank to properly lubricate and cool the unit. What you're thinking of was the possibility of sucking air into the pump or corrosion entering the fuel system, as those were issues in the past.

Right, but there's still quite a bit of fuel between 0 and 1/4 of a tank. The only reason not to let it drop below 1/4 of a tank is for your own paranoia/anxiety. Sure, don't let it run dry, but never going below 1/4 of a tank is, IMHO, extremely conservative.

 

[tga]

It's just frustrating to see how we own a car that communicates with their hub in real time, exchanging all kinds of information, yet they can't give drivers a simple warning about dead charging stations!

Would a big red X on the nav over Shamrock really have helped you? I suppose you could have range charged in Weatherford, but getting to Amarillo in that weather might have been tight.

 

[green1]

Would a big red X on the nav over Shamrock really have helped you? I suppose you could have range charged in Weatherford, but getting to Amarillo in that weather might have been tight.

Especially with the closed road. ..