Phantom Drain | Tesla Model 3 | Cost, Wastage & EVs compared

Seeing how much energy I waste and how much it costs me to leave my Model 3 unattended for 8 days in my garage. Are there hidden costs to EV ownership we need to be aware of and where is this energy going? Especially at it appears a unique problem to Tesla!
Environmental impact of EVs: • A Tesla Model 3 causes...
This test was conducted in October 2021, with the latest software release at the time.
(I've just not had time to get the video out since I did the experiment)
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On this channel we look at what is living with a Tesla Model 3 in the UK is really like? Does the hype live up to expectation, or should you stick with a combustion engine. My mission to to let you know. I took the plunge and went all electric with a Tesla Model 3.
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[@gadgetlewis]

As usual, very well researched, thorough and informative! Thank you for your enthusiastic efforts!

[@TeslaTorque]

Thanks, doesn’t look like covid is going anywhere, so if I get it again, be good to do in different weather, to see if different result 😂

[@jamesward4533]

Love it - such watchable videos and super interesting.

[@TeslaTorque]

Cheers. Much appreciated 👍🏻

[@molepatrol7529]

This was timely as I was thinking about loss if parked at an airport for a week in the winter. I was going on the 1% / day so it’s good to hear it’s way below that.

[@TeslaTorque]

Yep, I think go on 1% a day, and hopefully you’ll have more than you think when you get back and no anxiety. I’m guessing minus conditions will up the use a little

[@richardturner7356]

Parked my 2021 M3 SR+ at home for 3 weeks whilst on holiday. Turned Sentry Mode and Climate Protection off and didn’t wake up the car by opening the app. Drained from 99% to 89%, so a lot better than Tesla suggested

[@TeslaTorque]

That’s not bad at all, do you have the LFP battery? As ideally you don’t want to leave you battery above 80/90% for long periods, it’s better to have it around 80%. If you have an LFP battery then I think this advice is slightly different. But this rule applies to most EV batteries I think. Similar if you are charging to 100%, try to get it to 100% just before you set off, as keeps the health of the battery more (again, not as important for an LFP battery) 👍🏻

[@richardturner7356]

@@TeslaTorque yep I have the LFP batteries. The advice I’ve received is to try and charge the car to 100% at least once a week if possible. This battery chemistry seems to be a bit more forgiving than the previous iteration, though you lose a bit on the energy density front.

[@Ued3b]

We went to the States just before Christmas. Topped up to 90% at the SC's at Gatwick before we flew out. We got back 10 days later and had only lost about 8 miles of range. Didn't have sentry mode on and only checked the car once via the app while we were away. i was very impressed.

[@TeslaTorque]

That’s awesome. It seems like the newer models from what people are saying are better. I defo noticed it more when I first got the Model 3, so figure they have made some improvements over software

[@UntrainingUltrarunner]

Great video. What’s the gadget you are using to read the battery status etc? Some obd thing?

[@TeslaTorque]

Yep, it’s an ODB+, standard car diagnostic tool

[@danbron]

You woke the car up in between the period, which will probably add more drain to the mix. Over around a couple of weeks in lockdown mine only lost a few percent. The initial drain is normally seen when the battery cools after a drive and people see to attribute that to phantom drain. Obviously waking it up and using third party apps don’t help either

[@TeslaTorque]

Yep, thinking about it, even if the car was awake for 30 mins, as power drain was so small over the long time, and when it’s awake it stills about 350watts. That would make sense. Good shout 👍🏻. Didn’t have any other apps awake though, so rest of time was deep sleep

[@jsva8661]

I left my nov 21 M3LR parked at Heathrow for 2 weeks over xmas/new year, lost 2%. I did not had sentry active, and the car was mostly at sleep. Car woke up by itself once a day and sent status to mothership. didn't opened the app during that time, but the iOS widget used to update as and wen the car woke up and sent status to mothership. Didn't bothered to turn anything on the car apart sentry and cabin overheat protection.

[@TeslaTorque]

That’s awesome. Clearly the newer models have less of it then which is good to hear 👍🏻

[@jsva8661]

@@TeslaTorque from the research I’ve done on the subject, key is to avoid at all costs opening up the app, and change Tesla password just before to avoid 3rd party apps to wake up the car. Worked for me.

[@TeslaTorque]

Yep, good advice :)

[@--Nath--]

Try running sentry mode all the time. It is a major power suck. Need something better efficiency wise for those of us parking in the street..

[@TeslaTorque]

Sentry mode does suck the power. But also, love the deterrent element of it, so in my mind worth the hit. Would be good if it could be a little more power efficient though, but I guess that’s the AI at work

[@--Nath--]

@@TeslaTorque i'd settle for option for dumb recording on a loop as I don't find the huge cost in drain reasonable - I have a long range model 3 and it is quite a percentage loss per day. It's beyond excessive.

[@derekwhite5090]

@@--Nath-- I have the M3LR also. The battery drain with sentry On, is a lot. It is acceptable for short periods, say shopping trip, but when I go to work Sentry could be on for 5 days in the company car park draining 8% a day. The battery drain is so large over this time period, I don’t use sentry, defeating its purpose!

[@--Nath--]

@@derekwhite5090 I would like a "dumb" on a loop recording instead of all the smarts.. Because 99% of the time it is picking up people walking in front of the car not really anything remotely bad/worth worrying about.

[@ExplodingPiggy]

3:42 I think that actually answers your question

[@TeslaTorque]

From what I can see in the other EV manuals they mention a lot about the 12V battery going flat, so I think it’s Tesla keeps things in top shape, where as others literally turn off and saves power

[@UKTeslaPicker]

What about with sentry mode on?

[@TeslaTorque]

It’s huge with sentry more. I think I worked it out to be about 150-200watts, so about a mile an hour of range you’d lose

[@Raedodd5]

Parked up at home for 15 days and lost only 3% when I returned. M3 sr+, lfp, mic.

[@TeslaTorque]

Seems like the newer models are better, which is great news

[@motofunk1]

I wonder if Tesla's Robotaxi goals have had an impact on this? Their goal is that a Robotaxi will never sit idle unless being charged.

[@TeslaTorque]

Maybe, although this was lower than I was expecting and I get the impression a lot is to keep everything in tip top condition. Be interesting to see where all the other EV batteries are in 8 years time on degradation over Tesla one’s and see whether there is a longer term reason Tesla have it and others don’t 🧐

[@motofunk1]

@@TeslaTorque I might have missed it in the video, but were you running sentry mode during these tests?

[@TeslaTorque]

Nope, all switched off, and only opened the app once at the half way point to see how it was doing. Sentry Mode defo kills the battery far quicker than this :)

[@motofunk1]

@@TeslaTorque Thx

[@sojournern]

So you burn about the equivalent of a quart or a liter of gas a year through phantom drain? That's less than the gas you burn waiting for the red lights to change in a few months.

[@TeslaTorque]

Yup, pretty insignificant. I thought I’d look at that, as I anticipating some EV haters pointing out the damage to the environment 🙄

[@davidsworld5837]

if you have omicron you only need 5 days then take 2 day clear test, there is no thing as phantom drain. your car uses power when not being used the 12v will drop to a dead level so the big battery charges it the more your car uses with alarms, opening and closing door or checking if you are near the car with key fob. all cars have battery drain but have larger battery (amp's) the battery will not drain to dead fast. the simple thing is an ev never turns off completely. but neither does petrol or diesel car do too. but for just alarm systems. my stupid small battery in my ioniq requires the big battery to charge the 12 v every day if not used. BUT I have just had recall to get a part replaced that may be linked to this drain

[@TeslaTorque]

I appreciate the energy goes somewhere, but as often you are not physically using the car, and feel like it’s almost turned off, I would expect about the same as when I came back. Bit like if I turned my phone off, appreciate it’s always on though, but from what I can see, it’s mainly a Tesla thing. Although seems like it has improved on newer models 😬

[@TeslaTorque]

Oh, and I filmed this is October, just delayed putting the video out, so it was the good old 10 days isolation at the time. 😞

[@--Nath--]

You're describing what phantom drain is: stuff that stays on despite the car being unused. Standby drain might be another term, as per all electrical devices that consume while on standby.

[@TeslaTorque]

Yep, you are not wrong, its just the term that has been adopted by EV owners, so following the terminology, but it is effectively the energy used in standby

[@derekwhite5090]

Try again with Sentry mode On.

[@TeslaTorque]

I don’t fancy getting COVID again 👀. Plus probably wouldn’t last much beyond a few days. I think I worked out sentry Mode uses around 200w per hour. So probs looking at a 10-15% drop every 24 hours with Sentry Mode on.

[@SandraWantsCoke]

my eGolf has no phantom drain. You come 1 week later and it's still the same range shown. And in cold climate people write losing over 20 miles per day... that's way more than I drive. Why would anyone buy such a polluting piece of junk is beyond me. I would literally have to pay for 20 miles per day in winter. That's the electricity that had to be produced. Don't buy American cars, folks.