Tesla reviews after 112,000 mi may be inaccurate

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bwilson4web

bwilson4web

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Running a day trip errand to Nashville, I foolishly went directly to the office to pickup some papers instead of a Supercharger juice up. Parked, it showed 8 miles range for a 5 mile trip. But when I got back, it showed 5 miles.

I tried to reach the Supercharger and came within less than a mile when I got the dreaded 'Park now' message and had to get a tow. Lessons learned:
  • AARP has a multi-year discount card that is separate from road service, no tow - Years ago, I looked at AARP versus AAA and missed the annual 'road side' option. I'll contact my insurance company Friday and see what they have. I'd rather get a tow from my insurance company than AAA or AARP. Regardless, $160 credit card charge after an interesting phone conversation about 'where are you.'
  • Minimize 12 V drains - turn off all lights and dim the display and if possible, the flashing hazards. The small lead acid battery has very little stored energy which will be needed to enter "Tow Mode."
  • Tow Mode - required some fiddling but with the tow truck cable attached and me in the car, we got the car in tow ... neutral so it could be wrenched onto the platform.
  • Less than a mile - to the Supercharger, he let the car into the charging lane perfectly. Plugged in, piece of cake ... almost.
  • "Replace 12 V battery" - so driving home, I got the "replace 12 V battery" alert. I'll try to clear it with the brake, double button reset. But if not, I may let Tesla mobile service replace the battery and give me a second keycard.
I had foolishly believed the reviewers who ran their Model 3 to 'dead' and claimed there was a battery reserve of a mile or two. But they had a nice, fresh Model 3. After 112,000 miles and battery capacity measured at ~48.3 kWh, there ain't no reserve. MY FAULT!

While waiting on the tow truck, I set "Silence Unknown Callers" OFF so the tow truck driver could reach me. I had two solicitations call which went like this:
  • "This is a recorded call ..." initial pitch.
  • "I am standing by my broken car being wrenched onto a tow truck in 95 degree heat. Do you really want to talk to me?"
  • CLICK!
Bob Wilson
 
Interesting.
Does Tesla mobile service cover all of Alabama?
For some strange reason I can’t get a straight answer from Tesla themselves.
 
I don't know but if you'll share your city, I'll ask the tech. I suspect those living near, 60-100 miles, from large urban areas like Atlanta may be covered.

Bob Wilson
 
It’s a shame that AAA doesn’t have portable EV chargers in your area. A boost for one more mile would be really quickly, without the hassle and the stress of a tow.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
GetOffYourGas said:
It’s a shame that AAA doesn’t have portable EV chargers in your area. A boost for one more mile would be really quickly, without the hassle and the stress of a tow.
Click to expand...
I had looked at them but they seem dodgy to me. Any lead acid would weigh too much and ordinary LiON cells age. However an aluminum-air battery makes sense.

With a container of water to activate the electrolyte, sealed up the primary cell battery would have near infinite shelf life and significant energy without a lot of weight. Multi-cell, it could provide efficient DC power for a quick charge. Once used, recycle and get another.

Bob Wilson
 
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That could definitely be a clever solution. I’m sure there are other solutions equally viable. We just need something so that EVs can get the equivalent of a gallon of gas - just enough to limp to the nearest charger.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
I figure 10 miles or about 2.5 kWh, delivered, would be enough. Using an engineering 'rule of thumb,' it would need to have ~5 kWh of energy. There are chemistries that look attractive:
  • air-aluminum - saves the weight of the oxidizer BUT more complex as you really want an air pump and pressurized to achieve a high enough charge rate. You also have to deal with the higher volume of byproduct.
  • hydroxide-aluminum - requires high temperature, 100-200 C, to melt the hydroxide for high power charging. A solvable problem, it does require clever engineering. MIT has done some attractive work in this area.
Bob Wilson
 
Sparkcharge is one of the new players in the portable EV rescue area, but they refuse to sell their
products to the general public.

_H*
 
The original VW Beetle did not have a gas gauge but like a motorcycle, a switchable reserve. You drove until out of gas and then flipped a lever to access a limited reserve.

So in my case, having a 1 kWh reserve which earlier reviews suggested their Press review cars had, I would go down to 1 kWh (4 mi or 2%), and the car would go into 'Park NOW!' mode. Once stopped, I could enable the 1 kWh reserve, 4-6 mi, to get to a Supercharger, L2 charger, or even a NEMA 5-15. In the meanwhile, I can drive with a hard limit, now that I know there is no reported reserve, and avoid the problem.

I've also modified my insurance to include a roadside tow. I'll drop AARP when it expires next year.

Bob Wilson
 
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