Question Tesla model Y battery life query ?

[wonderlandblue]

Hi everyone, considering a Model Y purchase and wondering about the battery life in practical terms. Any insights on how it fares over time or in various climates? Realistic experiences would be appreciated! Thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙏

 

[Eximo]

There is a lot of content about this on Youtube.

Rough figures at around 7-8 years old and 100,000 miles done, you would be looking at roughly a 20% city/30% highway range reduction. This will vary from vehicle to vehicle depending on the amount of fast charging that has been done.

Federal mandate for EV battery warranty is 8 years.

My old Focus EV lost roughly the same amount, went from about a 74 mile range to maybe 60 or so at about 8 years.

As to climate. With an EV equipped with a heat pump (most newer ones do) you can expect about 15% loss of range if you run the heater, and around a 7-10% reduction if you run air conditioning during the summer. Seat heaters, and now seat coolers from newer model Tesla will have an impact on this. Seat heaters tend to run on 12V so don't effect range as the 12V battery is always being charged regardless of the drain on it, however it is also my understanding that Tesla is intending to remove the 12V battery from new models and rely on a DC - DC converter for direct power from the main pack. (With actual power management, that should mean less consumption and a minor improvement to range)

Range estimates are at highway speeds, so around 55-60MPH, you will reduce range by about 10-15% driving at interstate speeds 70-80MPH.

If you live in areas with high winds, and you intend to do interstate driving, a 10-20 MPH headwind is basically driving with that as the total speed. So if you want to go 70MPH you would really be drawing the power needed to go 90MPH.

Just have to ask yourself the average distance you drive daily and if any longer driving trips you want to do have access to Tesla/Alternative fast chargers.

For me. I average around 40 miles a day. With shorter trips of about 100 miles to get to nearby cities (and back). So somewhere between 40 and 50% of the range of a typical 240-260 range EV. The trips I have taken long range haven't caused any problems with short stops of 20-25 minutes to recharge. Which is good after a solid three hours of driving.

Overnight charging at 240V/30amps means that you should be able to recharge a nearly fully drained car in 8-10 hours. (Typical, the larger EVs with huge battery capacity will take that much longer) Faster if you charge at 40 or 50 amps. (60 Amp circuits are generally the limit for household chargers, but the EVSE themselves will max out at 50amps)

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Zero interest in an electric myself. Did you see the news about Chicago in the recent cold snap? They had what was called a Tesla graveyard of dead Teslas that wouldn’t charge in the sub zero temps. Might be something you think on.

 

[Eximo]

If you have to park it outside and you leave it discharged, yeah not exactly great. Tesla and other brands will have to pre-heat the batteries before allowing fast charging. However, slow charging will generally always work. Heat pumps do become less efficient at cooler temperatures, so it can take a while for them to heat the coolant running through the pack before charging will be allowed.

As long as you keep it charged and garage it overnight you will have enough battery for typical use. I would say for the average apartment owner, they are still not quite practical. Though many people already do that, and just go to a nearby fast charger every few days.

Of more concern in 2022 around Christmas was that a lot of the fast charging stations put out in the Midwest wouldn't work in the extreme cold, which is annoyingly silly. They have access to power 24/7, a simple thermistor controlled circuit with a resistor could provide local heating at minimal expense. So there were a lot of people who were traveling that Christmas and ending up being partially stranded while waiting for the few working chargers to be shared by everyone that wanted to use them.

And arriving at a fast charger to find it not working is still a concern. Many locations still only have a single provider, though everyone is adopting Tesla's NACS standard starting in late 2024/2025 so that will increase the ease of charging for a lot of people and make non-Tesla a lot more practical.

The way I see it. The people that tend to buy in that price range of cars, change their cars more often. And there is a market for shorter range EVs so there will be a ready market to get rid of them. At the moment the re-sale value of EVs is more like high end luxury cars.

Expect to see battery replacement/refurb shops start popping up.

 

[gggplaya]

Zero interest in an electric myself. Did you see the news about Chicago in the recent cold snap? They had what was called a Tesla graveyard of dead Teslas that wouldn’t charge in the sub zero temps. Might be something you think on.

There was alot of 1 sided information being pushed by News outlets during this time. It is their job after all to "sell" you a story, or narrative.

1. Chicago already had a lack of charging infrastructure in the city, the same as New York City. There's a huge lack of chargers. So even on the best day, the system is overtaxed.
2. These Tesla chargers were old V2 models, so if 2 people use 2 stalls next to each other, the max charge rate drops to 75kw, which is relatively slow. V3 and V4 chargers being installed since the last 2-3 years do not have this issue. Tesla also perfected their V3 and V4 stall installation procedure by concreting them as a pack of 4, then simply dropping them in place as a pack of 4. Much cheaper and quick to install.
3. The Tesla telematics weren't working at this site in Chicago for some reason. So several stalls were dead and never reported to Tesla to fix.
4. Most of the cars during this debacle were all UBER/LYFT drivers. They didn't charge the night before, which would alleviated all this. Since you can wake up in the morning with a charged pack and drive around in the morning doing jobs. During your jobs in the morning your battery pack would heat up and be ready for a supercharge, which would only take 30 minutes even in sub zero temps. However, these Uber drivers decided to start their day with a low charge and it took a while to heat up the battery.

TLDR: If you own a home, this is not a problem at all. You charge at home every night and have an 80% charge every morning when you leave the house, even in sub zero temps. When on a roadtrip, your battery preheats and can take a fast charge even in sub zero temps.
If you live in an apartment and can't charge at home, just make sure you have at least 50% charge every night before you stop for the day in sub zero temps. You'll be fine.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

You may be right but I still prefer my old gas car. My Ford Focus with 184k is still running well and gets about 36mpg, and is paid off. I’ll probably look at a Toyota gas car. Just to me I feel like they’ve got a long way to go. I’m only in my 40s but I suppose I’ll always resist an electric car.