# Tesla 3 Charging



## cazawoman (3 mo ago)

Hi. Im new to the forum and pick my car up on Saturday, its 2019 and cannot wait. Ive never owned a Tesla before, so if anybody have any hints and tips for me, that would be great.
Also, wanted to ask if I charge the car everytime Im home, does the charge stop when its reached max charge. TIA


----------



## francoisp (Sep 28, 2018)

Congratulations with your purchase!

Yes, the car stops charging when it reaches the charge level that you have set either with the app (visible only while charging) or in the car. You mention that it's a 2019 model so Tesla recommends charging to 90% max. You can charge as often as you want.

From the manual:


> *What percentage should I charge the battery to?*
> For regular use, we recommend keeping your car set within the 'Daily' range bracket, up to approximately 90%. Charging up to 100% is best saved for when you are preparing for a longer trip. You can adjust how full the battery charges from the charge settings menu.


 .
When going on a trip that will necessitate charging, Tesla recommends that you enter the address of your final destination even when you know how to get there. The car will ensure that the battery is at the ideal temperature for faster charging (this is called preconditioning).

More information on charging here and here.


----------



## DocScott (Mar 6, 2019)

My biggest piece of advice on charging is not to pay too much attention to everyone's advice on charging.  

There's all sorts of information out there: some of it is wrong, some of it is right but only has a small effect, and some of it has to do with the personal preference of the owner--and no, I don't always know which is which. But none of it is critical, except for the one that the car itself will tell you: don't routinely leave the charge limit at 100% (80 or 90% is fine).

Over time, you'll develop your own habits, and probably, just like the rest of us, your own superstitions. But whatever you do, other than charging to 100% daily, will be fine for the car.


----------



## carenanderton (3 mo ago)

francoisp said:


> Congratulations with your purchase! Yes, the car stops charging when it reaches the charge level that you have set either with the app (visible only while charging) or in the car. You mention that it's a 2019 model so Tesla recommends charging to 90% max. You can charge as often as you want. From the manual: . When going on a trip that will necessitate charging, Tesla recommends that you enter the address of your final destination even when you know how to get there. The car will ensure that the battery is at the ideal temperature for faster charging (this is called preconditioning). More information on charging here and here.


 Thank you so much for replying. That’s great, so I know to not give the car 100% charge unless on a long trip. I guess I will get to know the car after I have had it for a while. I can’t wait to check out all the gadgets on it 😊


----------



## Steve Stankowitz (3 mo ago)

I also have a 2019 M3 Performance. I've had it for just over a year. I can tell you that I am still learning about the car every day. Some tips on charging... ABC means always be charging, plug the car in when you get home even if it's at 50%. You will need to set up an account with Tesla and get the mobile App to use the Superchargers. You can display either miles remaining or percent of charge remaining, miles lie to you percent charge is pretty accurate. Speed, wind, and elevation all affect charge remaining. Watch projected charge remaining on your way to your destination, if it is lowering you may want to slow down. For long trips I cruise no more than 65 mph. Good luck and enjoy the ride, I've had many cars but this is by far my favorite!


----------



## cazawoman (3 mo ago)

Steve Stankowitz said:


> I also have a 2019 M3 Performance. I've had it for just over a year. I can tell you that I am still learning about the car every day. Some tips on charging... ABC means always be charging, plug the car in when you get home even if it's at 50%. You will need to set up an account with Tesla and get the mobile App to use the Superchargers. You can display either miles remaining or percent of charge remaining, miles lie to you percent charge is pretty accurate. Speed, wind, and elevation all affect charge remaining. Watch projected charge remaining on your way to your destination, if it is lowering you may want to slow down. For long trips I cruise no more than 65 mph. Good luck and enjoy the ride, I've had many cars but this is by far my favorite!


Thank you, that`s great advise also 
I collected my car all excited yesterday (proper girly I know ha), arrived at my allotted slot in disappointment. The car was only 4% charged, the external indicator needed touching up as paint was missing from it, they just painted over it and had not rubbed it down, so there was a big blob of paint on it, reverse camera is blurry (I have given it a wipe over), no wheel locking nut (not sure if Tessla`s have them), no top for the wiper fluid, one scuffed alloy and no booklet or even shown how to work anything on the car. They did charge the car up to 50% but had originally told me to drive t down to the services but wouldn't get me to the fast charging station!! Anyway, I am home charging it, its very slow but I don't drive many miles but I was advised not to pay for a Tethered charger, what your thoughts on this please. Thank you again  Oh and do all Teslas have Summon


----------



## cazawoman (3 mo ago)

francoisp said:


> Congratulations with your purchase!
> 
> Yes, the car stops charging when it reaches the charge level that you have set either with the app (visible only while charging) or in the car. You mention that it's a 2019 model so Tesla recommends charging to 90% max. You can charge as often as you want.
> 
> ...


Thank you, is it a good idea to always keep Preconditioning on? Thats great advice about planning out a journey, I wouldn't have thought about that


----------



## francoisp (Sep 28, 2018)

cazawoman said:


> Thank you, is it a good idea to always keep Preconditioning on? Thats great advice about planning out a journey, I wouldn't have thought about that


On the road, the car handles preconditioning. On a cold day while parked, although I have never done it, it is my understanding that pre-warming the car will also warm up the battery, but it's better to be plugged in to a charger because it uses quite a bit of power.


----------



## DocScott (Mar 6, 2019)

cazawoman said:


> Anyway, I am home charging it, its very slow but I don't drive many miles but I was advised not to pay for a Tethered charger, what your thoughts on this please.


If you don't have a long commute, I don't think paying for a wall charger is worth it. I've had my car for four years charging off a regular outlet, and never once wished I had a wall charger.

Instead, use your car's battery like a "bank" for miles:

Choose the maximum level of charge you're comfortable with. It shouldn't be 100%, but after that, it's mostly superstition; I don't think there's really a lot of difference in long-term battery health whether you charge to 70% or 95%. Personally, I set my max to 80%.

Then, as already mentioned, always plug in at home. The car will stop charging when you reach the max you've set, so you don't have to worry about it going past that.

At 80%, my car's range is about 230 miles. You didn't mention if you have an SR or a LR; if it's an SR, of course, your range will be quite a bit less.

So in a given week, perhaps I start out with my max 230 miles range. 

Maybe on the weekend I make a 150 mile round-trip drive. Now I'm at 80 miles range.

The first night, I charge at 5 miles per hour for 12 hours. That gives me 60 miles back, so I'm now at 140 miles.

That next day, I run some errands, using up 20 miles. I'm at 120 mile range.

That next night, I get 16 hours of charge at 5 miles per hour, so I'm up to 200 miles of range.

The next day, another 30 miles of driving around town. Down to 170.

That night, another 80 miles of charge--and I'm full again!

If you realize you're "banking" miles to use on longer trips, then it's not worrisome that you can't recharge completely in one night.

If I ever _do_ need a quicker charge--maybe I'm taking 150 mile round-trip trips two days in a row--then I'll just use a Supercharger somewhere along one of the routes. But that's pretty rare. 

The key to all of this is that you don't have a long commute. If you're driving 80 miles round-trip per day on your commute, then you won't be able to recoup that overnight with an ordinary outlet, and you need something faster (at least a 220 V outlet, but perhaps a wall charger). But if you have a short commute or none at all, charging off an ordinary outlet works fine.


----------



## cazawoman (3 mo ago)

francoisp said:


> On the road, the car handles preconditioning. On a cold day while parked, although I have never done it, it is my understanding that pre-warming the car will also warm up the battery, but it's better to be plugged in to a charger because it uses quite a bit of power.


I pre-warmed the car this morning ready for the Gym.....it was amazing, nice and toastie 😚


----------

