EV battery sizes, ranges, and Tesla exaggerations

As I said before, assume you have about 200-250 miles of real range driving regularly.
Looking back at my 40K miles with our 2013 LS 460, I averaged 17 MPG, which is within the EPA specs of 16-24 MPG. However, a full 25% (or 31 fill-ups) were 13-15 MPG under my same driving style and commute. In 124 tank fulls of gas, only one averaged better than EPA at 24.21 MPG on a road trip. I know the LS can do 27-28 MPG on the highway but I couldn't sustain it and invariably encountered traffic. If you consider 24 MPG as the top EPA estimate (akin to the max EPA range estimate on an EV), then the LS was literally short 99% of the time for me.
I used to obsess about the range on our Tesla but have since adopted the recommendation of more experienced EV owners and set the display to percent, similar to the battery meter on your phone. On a trip, I will start planning for a charge once the battery gets below 20% (again, similar to my phone). Typically the car starts each morning at 90% and is more than enough to get me through the day (or a week if desired). It is just a different way of doing things and each person has to decide if it works for them or not. I prefer paperless statements and read articles, books, and news on my phone whereas my wife prefers to hold paper or books in her hand. Just different approaches to getting things done.
no doubt when i get an ev, it will work for me too because i don't drive a whole lot either, being lucky to be able to work from home, contact most clients remotely, don't take a lot of road trips, etc.
Our 285-mile rated Raven S never saw more than 278 miles of range at 100%. Throughout the first year I lost some more range and fretted over it, which is common. This second year has been very consistent and I haven't seen any additional degradation yet, but I know it will continue to fall (just at a much slower rate than year one) like all Li-ion devices. As it stands, my 100% charge lists 270 miles instead of the 285-rated miles. Considering that I can realistically travel 245 miles on a 100-to-4 percent charge, then my efficiency is 94% of current stated range.
I am not trying to defend the percent lost in range. Rather, I am hoping to clarify and raise awareness and put the percent lost into context. The percent lost looks worse because it is calculated against the max stated range, AS IT SHOULD BE since it is marketed as such but it's also inaccurate in a way. I don't know how it is for a new eTron or Mach-E and other EVs, but just be aware there's "normal" immediate range lost for all Teslas. It sucks but it is truth/reality.
Last edited by FatherTo1; Mar 19, 2021 at 01:52 PM.
Our Tesla Model 3 Has Lost 7 Percent of Battery Capacity in 24,000 Miles
- Battery packs in electric vehicles slowly lose capacity to store energy over time.
- Our long-term Tesla Model 3 has so far lost 7 percent of its capacity over 24,000 miles.
- All EVs have lengthy warranties on the battery pack to assuage buyers' potential fear of expensive replacement costs.
We were of course curious to see how our car's pack is faring over time, and the geektastic TeslaFi software we've used to track our car's more than 24,000 miles and each of the 842 times we've plugged it in has an answer. (Seriously, if you have a Tesla, sign up for TeslaFi.)
TeslaFi's battery-tracking tool puts our pack at 93 percent of its original 75.0-kWh capacity, a loss of about 22 miles of rated range from the original 310-mile EPA combined figure. This is based on the range data from the nearly 500 times we've charged our car to 90 percent of its capacity or above (see graph below). In cases where we charged to less than 100 percent, which is the vast majority, TeslaFi does a linear extrapolation to arrive at the predicted range at 100 percent (e.g., if the battery is charged to 90 percent and the range figure is 270 miles, the extrapolated 100 percent range figure = 270 / 0.9 = 300). Compared to 158 other Model 3s at similar mileage that are also connected to TeslaFi, our car is faring worse than 123 of them and better than 35.
We're not too surprised that we're doing worse than average, as fast charging at Tesla's Superchargers is not great for maximizing the battery's life, and we've gotten fully a third of the energy our car has used that way. Supercharging also costs about twice as much per kilowatt-hour of energy than charging at home.
Our battery's degradation thus far equates to a drop of roughly 2.9 percent in pack capacity every 10,000 miles, which, if it continues at this rate, would put us at 65 percent capacity at 120,000 miles. That's under the 70-percent-capacity retention specified in Tesla's eight-year/120,000-mile battery warranty for the Model 3 Long Range. However, Tesla makes it clear that in the case of a warranty claim, the car won't necessarily get a new battery, but one that at least meets the minimum 70 percent threshold.
We'll continue to watch this battery degradation trend and let you know where our pack ends up at the end of our 40,000-mile test.
Celebrating Lexus & Toyota from Around the Globe
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And then they have to recharge for ages in FREEZING weather.
meanwhile, i was a bit annoyed this week that i had to refill my ice car in 5 minutes this week.

And then they have to recharge for ages in FREEZING weather.
meanwhile, i was a bit annoyed this week that i had to refill my ice car in 5 minutes this week.

I don't know why that couple bought the lowest range Tesla in cold Michigan. I understand it was for daily commuting but when you buy an EV, you have to understand the limitations of the car. If he wanted to road trip it, buy a long range version or a Model S/X. The charging network probably isn't all that built out in Michigan yet.

I don't know why that couple bought the lowest range Tesla in cold Michigan. I understand it was for daily commuting but when you buy an EV, you have to understand the limitations of the car. If he wanted to road trip it, buy a long range version or a Model S/X. The charging network probably isn't all that built out in Michigan yet.
And then they have to recharge for ages in FREEZING weather.
meanwhile, i was a bit annoyed this week that i had to refill my ice car in 5 minutes this week.

https://youtu.be/RRiTDcOgUII
meanwhile, i was a bit annoyed this week that i had to refill my ice car in 5 minutes this week.

https://youtu.be/RRiTDcOgUII
Last edited by Toys4RJill; Mar 20, 2021 at 05:06 AM.









