Charging Problems

About two months ago I started to have problems charging my car.   I would sporadically get a few warnings the most common being “Charge cable not fully secured. Please adjust the connection to improve charging.”

The problems occurred a bit sporadically and started to increase over time.  I didn’t document every step of the process in detail over the last two months, but this blog post serves as my general recollection.

Initially I scheduled an appointment in the app to have the car fixed a few weeks later, but at one point I simply could not charge the car at all.  I tried charging at home and at a supercharger.  I was quite low on the battery and instead of risking another towing challenge, I drove straight to the service center.  For some reason, the car would charge at the service center, and low and behold it began charging again at home after a couple of attempts.

The car would continue to struggle to charge and would issue warnings in the app but would eventually charge overnight.

The service center was convinced that I first needed to upgrade the CPU.  The car is nine years old and I do understand that technology has changed dramatically.  I was not excited to pay the $2250 for an upgrade that I did not really want.  Yes, the car was a bit slow to turn on and was not particularly fast to respond, but it was not really a problem.  They pretty much told me that they almost could not diagnose my charging issues without this upgrade.  I figured well I want to keep this car for another five years or so, I may as well upgrade the CPU.

As has been well reported the world is experiencing a chip shortage, and my appointment was pushed out twice until the local service center could install the new ‘infotainment package’.  Calling a CPU upgrade an infotainment package is confusing and misleading. I have no interest in playing games or videos on my screen.  I also was not thrilled about losing the AM radio.  I no longer listen to AM radio, but my town broadcasts on the AM radio during an emergency and I would lose the ability to easily do that in my car.  I’ll have to evacuate with a handheld AM radio or drive an ICE.

The total bill came to be $2926 for the CPU upgrade and the new physical charge port, which was fortunately only $102 in parts.  The service took several days as they need to check all the wiring and connections to make sure the car completely works.

A couple of weeks went by and the car was successfully charging.  I ‘dared’ to drive a little further and planned on topping off at a supercharger.  Much to my surprise I could not!  I contacted the Tesla supercharger support so they could note that I could no longer charge on my record. 

Luckily I did have enough charge to make it home.  To my surprise, I could charge the car at home that same evening.

But a day later, I could no longer charge at home. The car started issuing new warnings and the physical charge port color turned to red.

I scheduled yet another appointment for a couple of weeks later even when the car was technically not drivable beyond a very limited range.

The next diagnoses was that the car needed a new Master Charger.  This second service cost a total of $2930.  So basically another $6,000 sunk into the car to keep it running.  In July I spent another $6,000 for a new drive unit for a total of $12,000 in 2022. Maintaining this older Tesla has been quite expensive this year.  I am hoping I am at the end of all the major parts that need replacing. There currently is not another electrical vehicle on the market that particularly interests me. I would like a small vehicle with a very long range, but I’m also intrigued by the capabilities of the Rivians. I will likely wait another five years unless something appears in the market with some intriguing features.

I have mixed reviews about Tesla Service.  I find all the folks quite pleasant when you talk to them in person, but the staff does seem to have very high turnover.  I dislike only being able to communicate through the app.  Many times when you text them through the app they take a long time to get back to you — even several days.  If the Service Advisor texts you and you respond immediately, they will typically respond a day later.  If you ask more than one question, they often only answer only one question.  I suspect the Service Advisors are simply way overworked. 

Being able to talk to a Service Advisor on the phone to me is a requirement. Long detailed explanations do not work well over texting particularly with Tesla’s terrible responsiveness. My ICE dealer provides much better service.

Also, Tesla Service no longer emails you the invoice and record of what happened on your car. You need to remember to download it from the app during the service. If you have another service, the older record is gone from the app. I had to request them to email me the older invoice multiple times, as it appears that they can’t send the invoices from their standard email accounts.

The last service appointment took a week to complete and I realized I forgot something in the car as I did not expect such slow service. The car was scheduled to be complete on the Friday after Thanksgiving and I was in the neighborhood so I stopped in, and they informed me I would most likely receive the car in a couple of hours as it was undergoing the final test. I was quite surprised that they did not inform me through the app.

I have found the best way to talk to the Tesla Service Advisors is simply to stop in. Trying to communicate through the app can be quite frustrating. In my limited experience someone will talk to you in a reasonable amount of time if you just show up in person.

8.0 Update

I have a classic Tesla.  A classic Tesla is the euphemism for a Tesla Model S without the autopilot sensors.  The new 8.0 software has three annoying issues for my usage:  reduced USB media support, automatic map zooming, and the challenges to have the camera on all the time.  At times I feel like the Tesla software team does not seem to realize how people use their car and do not implement and test for these situations.  Tesla has eliminated previous functionality with the 8.0 software update.

Camera Disappearance

With 8.0 it is impossible when switching between apps to maintain the camera on.  Each app now has a default position.  Some apps override the top position, others override the bottom position.  The driver cannot configure this behavior or change it.

I always drive with my camera on.  I have since I first got the Tesla 3 1/2 years ago.  The vision through the rear view mirror is so limited because the back window visibility is so small.  When you turn your head, you can’t see much out of the back windows, so the safest way to drive is primarily depending upon the camera and side mirrors.

When I get in the car in a busy parking lot, I always first check the camera for cars, children, and  pedestrians before switching into neutral.  Sometimes I wait a while before the situation clears before moving into reverse, so I want the camera on right when I get into the car in the lower screen.

Calling the Tesla Mothership to Report Camera Issue

I also live in an area that is frequented and at times congested by bicycles.  Unfortunately a few of these bicyclists do not obey the rules of the road, and when driving I need to be very cognizant of their behavior.  I can’t really do that without the camera on, and do not want any app to override the camera.  If I choose to have a full screen app, I may want to override the camera but I rarely want to have a full screen app.  The older software occasionally would override the camera in the lower window, but now I am forced to frequently flip and manipulate windows on a daily basis.

USB Media

I am personally not a big fan of streaming.  I have used it a number of times including a three month trial period.  I find though when listening to a stream, I run into a lot of music I don’t really care for, and then turn it off when it plays something I don’t like.  I have very eclectic tastes, and these algorithms don’t seem to be able to figure out what I might like.  I have the same issue with Netflix suggestions. I also like to go to very remote places where cell service is non-existent, so streaming is often useless.

So I stick with my large collection of music primarily though my USB stick.  As many other Tesla owners have complained about there is no longer a way to find music through an alphabetical sort.  Now all your music is in one gigantic list that you must scroll through.  This feature existed before and was removed with 8.0.

Just a Gigantic List of Artists to Scroll Through

Others have voiced many other complaints about the media player, and some owners are quite upset. My usage model is pretty simple, I just generally play an album in its entirety, listen to an audiobook, listen to a podcast from my phone, or check the news on a NPR station.   I don’t have the time or energy to make playlists or switch music around at any frequency.

Automatic Map Zooming

I really dislike the auto zoom algorithm of the maps.  I have a sixth sense of direction and rarely get lost.  I use maps and navigation for three purposes: find new places I have never been before, estimate the amount of travel time, and watch for traffic problems.  Unlike most people, I do not like turn by turn directions or Waze.  I turn the voice directions off completely, and primarily rely upon the map orientation to find my way around.  So I almost always want the map at a full zoom mode, and adjust it manually to fit my needs.

In 8.0, the map now automatically zooms itself in when it decides to.  Yesterday I was in the East Bay heading north west to a new place close to Berkeley.  I turned on navigation because I had never been to this address and I wanted to choose between the often congested freeway or a scenic route as shown below.

Watching Traffic Through the Busy East Bay

The map before I began driving immediately zoomed into the local street view, that I did not need.

Please, Please Do Not Needlessly Zoom in on the Map When Not Asked

That information is available on the dashboard, and if I wanted to look at that on the big screen, I can manually zoom in.  I can’t maintain a wider picture of the map; if I zoom out again, it will zoom back in again.

Conclusion

These three issues with 8.0 are not major issues, but they are not minor issues either.  These three issues are just my personal concerns, and other drivers have their own dislikes.  I don’t like the Tesla software is not backward compatible.  They should not be taking away features that the user base has come to rely upon.

I have called in two of the three issues before writing this article.  I wanted to make sure that my facts were accurate, and I also wanted to report to Tesla that these problems to Tesla directly.

Remote Trip Planner Test

I recently took a long trip through Southern California and tested the features of the Tesla Trip planner in a very remote environment.  This particular excursion was not a simple long drive to a single destination estimating the amount of charge needed at each supercharger as I had focused on in my earlier testing of the trip planner with software 7.0.  On this road trip I drove to, through, and out of Death Valley National Park – one of the most remote (and beautiful) places on earth with an updated version of 7.1.  This post discusses both the current pitfalls with the trip planner software but also some advice for Tesla drivers in remote areas.

The software itself is helpful but the driver still needs to understand how the software works and not get too nervous with strange behavior.  The software has improved since my earlier test as the number of false warnings has decreased but many issues still remain.  I also discovered a new problem that I had not seen before, but likely was part of the earlier versions.

Always Roughly Plan Your Journey

On any road trip you need to plan to some extent your itinerary.  For people who don’t like rigid schedules, I would still recommend estimating distances and travel time for various options on a given day.  With gas stations ubiquitous, an ICE vehicle can travel without worrying about filing up, but with an electrical vehicle in remote locations — even with superchargers — some up front planning is recommended.

Tesla recently added some superchargers enabling driving to Death Valley.  A few owners had earlier ventured to Death Valley by using a charger at the RV park in the middle of the national park.  I was traveling during a busy season (where RV charging can be more challenging), and I also did not want to stay in the park during this visit.  I was going to depend upon the three supercharger stations in and around Death Valley:  Lone Pine, Inyokern and Beatty.  Also in and out of Death Valley National Park only has a few places where you might be able to charge in a true emergency such as in Panamint Springs.  But there are many long sections such as between Panamint Springs and Searless Valley where there are almost no buildings of any kind.

Superchargers Surrounding Death Valley and Distances Between Them

On a quick look at the map, one could think that charging will be no issue.  The maximum distance is 141 miles going through Searles Valley and Trona between the Beatty and Inyokern chargers.  Unfortunately most mapping software wants you to drive through Olancha.  The road through Searles Valley is more interesting, but currently there is a few miles of unpaved gravel road that is under repair.  I like using the supercharge.info map more than the Tesla version when planning as the Tesla map is in only in black and white.

The simple mileage numbers do not tell the whole story.  The next step is to look at the evtripplanner.com software numbers.

EVtripplanner Estimates From Beatty, NV supercharger to Inyokern, CA supercharger

In some ways although the energy usage is accurate, the overall elevation number is a bit misleading.  Starting at Beatty at 3,300 feet, you drop into Death Valley at about 0, but then need to climb back up to Towne Pass near Panamint Springs which is another 5,000 feet in elevation.  The supercharger at Inyokern is at 2,434 feet.  Although you regenerate a lot of electricity on the downgrade, you can’t recover all of it.  Both algorithms in evtripplanner and Tesla’s software do consider the topography during the trip to estimate energy usage.

Watching Energy Use While Driving

You have done a lot of planning and now are actually on your trip.  There are several screens you can look at to see if you can make it to your destination safely.  But unfortunately Tesla still has not added waypoints, making planning in the car quite difficult.  I like to flip between four different indicators when I’m watching my energy consumption as I’m showing in the photo.

On the dash if you have the energy widget up it will tell you some useful summary information since the last time you charged.  Also you can dynamically watch your energy usage while driving.  I watch the orange / green power meter.  On a gross level, if you are in the green you know you are regenerating energy.  If the indicator is above 0, the color is orange.  When trying to save energy, the consumption should be between 20 and 40 kW in “normal” conditions.

I would really like this screen to be redesigned.  The Miles Per Hour indicator is very large and prominent with the numeric display.  Half the tachometer is used up to also indicate the speed of the vehicle with the blue line.  I never look at this and the only thing remotely interesting is the listing of how fast the car could technically go.  When trying to be cautious of the energy usage, the scale between 0 and 40kW is pretty small.  I would really like the entire gauge to be energy usage not half of it to allow me to monitor instantaneous energy usage on the dash itself.

I can also monitor energy usage on two screens on the touchscreen .  The consumption tab is the most interesting of the two tabs. Consumption lists average or instantaneous use over 5, 15 or 30 mile sections and at times can be too much information with too many options.

A graph also exists of the overall trip energy consumption as shown in the upper right.  This shows you how much energy the trip planner thinks you will use over the course of your trip marked with the grey line.  As you are driving and do not match its estimates, the route is shown in green.  I don’t use this screen much but it can be useful as it indicates the route’s topography changes.  A flat route is a simple line, a mountainous routes will show curves in the graph.

Visiting within the Park

Of course when visiting the park, you simply do not want to drive through it.  You want to stop and look around and hike a bit.  This requires more energy planning depending upon how far you want to go.  A drive from Beatty through Badwater, the lowest point in North America at -282 feet, and to Inyokern would be pushing a 85kW battery.

EVtripplanner Estimates Using a Waypoint of Badwater

The estimate is that is 207.7 miles and 56kWh under ideal conditions.  My battery has already degraded by 8%, so I actually have a 78kW battery.   In the summer, Death Valley is one of the hottest places on earth and filled with European tourists.  In the winter it can be extremely cold.  On this trip it was a very pleasant winter 80 degrees, but I would not feel comfortable driving all the way down to Badwater and expecting to arrive safely at the Inyokern supercharger.  I don’t know the actual weather or wind conditions when I will be driving and I don’t really want to drain my battery down to zero in such a remote location.

Record Wildflowers

My trip happened to coincide with a large wildflower bloom.  This last year we have finally gotten some rain in California, and there was actually a bad flood in Death Valley.  One result was a very large bloom of wildflowers in the far southeastern part of the park.  To get to the best wildflowers clearly required a return to the Beatty supercharger.  The photo does not give justice to the sublime beauty of the desert.

Wildflowers In Death Valley February 2016 Near Ashford Mills

Electrical Options

I did decide to ask various folks at Furnace Creek if I could charge my Tesla. The RV park was full.  I inquired at the Furnace Creek Ranch and they clearly stated only guests could charge.  The visitor center also had no options.  My last place to inquire was at the Timbisha Shoshone Indian Reservation within the park.

I have passed by this small reservation for many years wondering why they never offered any visitor services as they are in the middle of the park.  To my great surprise they finally opened up a small eatery.  I’m not sure what I am more passionate about saving the environment or social justice.  I very happily ate an Indian Taco for lunch made with that delicious fry bread along with some shaved ice.  I encouraged them to install an electric charging station as Tesla owners could top off while eating lunch.

Delicious Fry Bread at the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe’s  Eatery in Death Valley

When I finished my excursion to the flower fields, the trip planner went a little crazy again.  Instead of heading directly back to Beatty, it wanted me to continue on south through the park and into Nevada on a longer course to the Beatty supercharger using a lot more energy and time (shown on the lower right).  The day earlier I had the same problem when driving into the park as the trip planner wanted me to go up and around the park (shown on the upper left).

Trip Planner Twice Wanted to Loop Around Death Valley National Park on Longer Routes

After driving in the correct direction to Beatty, the trip planner returned to the correct routing.  Over the last ten years or so as GPS devices have become popular, I have a recurrent thought that the current generation of people will begin to loose their sense of direction, or people with a weak sense of direction will learn to depend upon apps like Waze without really understanding where they are headed.   In remote areas with a Tesla, a driver needs to truly understand their route.

Lost Connection

When traveling from Bakersfield over to Lone Pine two days earlier, I drove on Highway 178 that was in a deep river valley with no buildings.  Many parts of this road had no internet connections, so the software weakness that I reported in my earlier report still exists.  The trip planner got completely confused and told me I was going to be out of energy before I arrived at the supercharger.

False Warnings From Trip Planner When Cell Connection is Lost

Summary

Until Tesla’s trip planner adds waypoints, EVtripplanner is an essential tool before beginning a journey.  With 7.1, the software still issues false warnings and wrong directions.  Until EV charging stations are ubiquitous, drivers need to plan their trips ahead of time.

My Model S 50,000 Mile Service Record

Consumer Reports surveyed 1,400 Tesla owners and lowered their prediction of reliability from average down to worse-than-average.  Tesla stock has dropped on this news today.

Consumer Reports sites problems with display screen freezes, replacements of the cars’ electric motors and sunroof leaks.  Most early Tesla owners such as myself have experienced a number of problems, but newer Model S cars appear to have had less issues as Tesla has made the car more reliable.  Buying a brand new platform from a new car company with a below 5,000 VIN number, I knew I was an early adopter and expected some problems to crop up.

What Consumer Reports did not mention is that Tesla service is stellar.  They valet your car to your home or office with a loaner Model S (in most but not all cases).  Appointments are not always fast if the issue is not urgent, but they treat their customers universally well.  Part of the company culture is treating their customers with respect which is the opposite of most car companies.  I have only been inconvenienced once with this level of service in the 6 1/2 years driving Teslas.

During my 50,000 miles 2 1/2 year journey with the Model S, I have had a series of seven issues with my car all of which I have documented on this blog.

1. Serious problems with tire alignment ruining tires
2. Door handles that would not open
3. Bluetooth issues connecting to the iphone
4. Faulty tire pressure warning sensors
5. Panoramic roof liner had exposed adhesive
6. Roadster adapter cable failed completely
7. 12 Volt battery replacement

My issues have been both serious and minor with some difficult to diagnose and fix.  I am hoping to report on the tires soon.  The door handle problems were with the first design of the handles, and new cars do not have these issues. I have not had my motor replaced due to any noise issues although I can hear it a tiny bit more than when I first bought the car. The drive unit is under warranty for a total of 8 years and infinite miles. I won’t think of replacing it unless the noise is a lot more than barely perceptible.

Can I say my car has been as reliable as average?  As much as I adore my car and Tesla, the true answer is no. I think even achieving an average or close to average rating is fabulous for a brand new car company.  I would not expect a great reliability from a new company doing something radically different in the first 10,000 cars they produce.

Ironically today my car is in for the service of the bluetooth.  I have had intermittent problems connecting to the phone along with the 17” screen telling me the bluetooth needs to be serviced.  I had to wait several weeks for an appointment, but I have a loaner in the driveway.  Unfortunately it is an older P85+ without autopilot.  I was hoping to test the autopilot and write my impressions here on this blog.  Even with these issues, Tesla employees are great to deal with and they make servicing the car painless.  I can’t imagine going back to dealing with an ICE as my daily driver.

My only question is should I buy the extended warranty?  I had gathered my list of service issues in an attempt to make that decision making writing this timely post easier.  I’d love to hear your thoughts if I should spend $4,000 to extend my warranty for another four years and 50,000 miles.  I do not expect to be driving as much as I have in the past.

Protest at Tesla

Dramatic Signage and Symbolism in Front of Tesla Headquarters

Three men are protesting in front of Tesla headquarters in Palo Alto with a giant Grim Reaper.  I drove by and picked up a piece of their literature, they weren’t particularly conversational.

Silicon Valley only occasionally has protests.  In the past labor problems have occurred with janitors and recently with the company bus drivers. This protest is from Carpenters Local 713.  They are requesting:

“requiring the General Contractors and all their sub-contractors pay the Carpeter Area Standard Wages and Benefits on all jobs all the time”.

I have no opinion on this particular issue as I know few if any details, but I have sympathy for middle and lower income folks trying to make a living wage in such an expensive area.  The same sign has also been spotted at San Jose State University and the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op.

Front of Flyer

Back of Flyer