# Trip Planner



## CDRR (Dec 19, 2020)

Question for you veterans...I will be picking up a Model 3 LR AWD tomorrow...Playing around with Tesla trip planner....Here's my question....Why, in a 200 mile trip, does it tell me to stop and charge for 5 minutes half way thru??? Have seen that in other trips I've tried....it will tell me to charge for 5 or 10 minutes 50 miles down the road...


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## Ed Woodrick (May 26, 2018)

Possibly a combination of winter temps and arriving with less than the allocated buffer.
So, at this point, you know that it is possible and that there is somewhere that you can stop if needed. So you are in good shape.
Also, how do you know exactly how much charge the car will have?

When you get in the car, set your destination and let it give you recommendation on what you will really need. If it sees that you may not make your destination, it will suggest that you slow down to make it. If it doesn't think that you can make it going slower, it will insert a stop for charging.
Trust it, it is generally conservative, having a buffer of at least 10-15% range.

Also, don't forget that if this is your first Tesla, there might be a little tendency to "see what it can do". That's going to decrease your range. 

The place to look for the real estimation of range is in the Energy Graphs, the number on the main panel is, well, just not real.

The car knows better than any other range calculator. Trust it.


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## FRC (Aug 4, 2018)

CDRR said:


> Question for you veterans...I will be picking up a Model 3 LR AWD tomorrow...Playing around with Tesla trip planner....Here's my question....Why, in a 200 mile trip, does it tell me to stop and charge for 5 minutes half way thru??? Have seen that in other trips I've tried....it will tell me to charge for 5 or 10 minutes 50 miles down the road...


Oftentimes multiple short charges are actually quicker than a single long charge. This is because the charging rate slows dramatically from 50% to full. As stated above, trust the Nav system's directions and estimations, but temper that trust with a bit of caution. There are outside elements that can affect range but that cannot or will not be included in the car's estimations; e.g. ambient temperature, wind direction, rain, and speed of travel. For a newbie, I would suggest that you leave with at least 20% more charge than the car estimates is needed(most often this is just a buffer against range anxiety, but can sometimes be a life saver). I would further suggest that you follow any driving suggestions that the car may make(reduce speed to XX in order to reach your destination). And, finally, NEVERNEVERNEVER bypass a charging solution unless you are certain of your ability to reach the next solution.

In time, all of the suggestions can be modified to fit your needs as you become more comfortable with the performance and reliability of your new ride.

Congratulations on your new car...You're gonna LOVE it!!


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## TrevP (Oct 20, 2015)

The trip planner is designed to minimize the amount of time spent charging and arrive at your ultimate destination with a bit of a buffer. You can always skip a charge if you like but beware that doing so could cause your SOC to drop below the 20% threshhold. The car will tell you to slow down if you're consuming too much energy to reach your destination. Judging things takes a bit of practice so take your time and experiment a bit, after a while you'll get the hang of it and know the car's limits a bit more.


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

CDRR said:


> Question for you veterans...I will be picking up a Model 3 LR AWD tomorrow...Playing around with Tesla trip planner....Here's my question....Why, in a 200 mile trip, does it tell me to stop and charge for 5 minutes half way thru??? Have seen that in other trips I've tried....it will tell me to charge for 5 or 10 minutes 50 miles down the road...


I haven't seen the route you were using, but the trip planner does take into account charging available _past_ the last charging stop. That quick charging stop is to give you enough power to reach the _next_ available supercharger, just in case you decide to keep driving after you reach your destination (whether it's further on, or just around town). It's erring on the side of safety in case there are a lot of steep hills, or you're running the heat full blast, or generally using more energy than predicted.


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## CDRR (Dec 19, 2020)

Thanks for all your great advice...can't wait to get the car tomorrow.


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## Bigriver (Jan 26, 2018)

@CDRR, congrats on the new car tomorrow.

Your question caused me to go look at the online trip planner for the first time. It is rather crude and doesn't tell what it is assuming about the car's starting or ending charge or the weather conditions. The responses everyone has given you are based on the in-car trip planner, which accounts for recent efficiency of your car and knows the current state of charge. It is quite good, tho not perfect.

Although the LR is rated at 351 miles, I have a personal "rule of 60" for the winter, to expect my longest segment between charges to be about 60% of the car's rated range. My 60% is a rough estimate that accounts for lower efficiency in winter, that I usually run the battery from 90% to no lower than 10%, highway speeds, and a number of other things. 60% of 351 miles is 210 miles so it is not surprising to me that a planner might recommend a brief stop for a 200 mile trip.



JasonF said:


> That quick charging stop is to give you enough power to reach the _next_ available supercharger, just in case you decide to keep driving after you reach your destination (whether it's further on, or just around town).


I have to respectively disagree. When a final destination is entered, it has no idea where I am going next or even what direction. I have found that it usually shoots for me arriving at my destination with about 15% charge. I am often nowhere near another supercharger, so it couldn't possibly be planning for me to get to another one. I either have destination charging planned, or at the last SC stop, I charge to a higher level than the planner suggests.


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

Bigriver said:


> I have to respectively disagree. When a final destination is entered, it has no idea where I am going next or even what direction. I have found that it usually shoots for me arriving at my destination with about 15% charge. I am often nowhere near another supercharger, so it couldn't possibly be planning for me to get to another one. I either have destination charging planned, or at the last SC stop, I charge to a higher level than the planner suggests.


You're correct, it doesn't know where you're going next. And it does average 15%-20% arrival charge. But I've also observed in the past that the _suggested charge time_ at each supercharger seems to be based on distance to the next nearest supercharger in that direction. That kind of makes sense, in a way, because some people do use the trip planner for _legs_ of a trip instead of the entire trip (Bjorn Nyland does this), and it's trying to be smart enough not to strand you at a "destination" that's too far to reach the next nearest supercharger.


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## FRC (Aug 4, 2018)

As for destination arrival. My experience is that following the in-car charging suggestions will get you to your final destination with that +/-15% buffer whether the closest supercharger is next door or 200 miles away.


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## Needsdecaf (Dec 27, 2018)

abetterrouteplanner.com is a better tool.

Congrats on new car, enjoy!


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