The Tesla and other Electric vehicle thread.....

[woodyng2]

A friend told me he had to pay a monthly fee to bmw in order for his heated seats to work….wow.

 

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Well it's time. Goodbye FSD Beta, it's been nice. Now we have 12.3.3 also known as "FSD (Supervised)". I just installed it on my 2018 model 3 long range rwd I'll try it out in the morning and post here what I find. I have to say version 12 in general has been extremely impressive already I would say experienced skilled human level driving with very few mistakes. 12.3.3 should be much better.

 

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First trip on 12.3.3 was virtually flawless, just to the diner and back. Closest thing to a glitch was a warning it couldn't complete the maneuver asking me to take over at a U turn at a light, but when it got the green arrow, it pulled up and completed the turn anyway. A bit slowly but not unreasonable. All in all, impressive.

 

[Mike N]

A friend told me he had to pay a monthly fee to bmw in order for his heated seats to work….wow.

I'm not surprised and things like this make me like my older stuff that much more...... when I turn the key I know it's going to start/run/drive and I don't have to worry about what's going to happen when SkyLab crashes and leaves millions of cars stuck on the side of the road.

 

[Nedmundo]

Hey gang, we joined the EV fold on Monday by leasing a BMW i4 xDrive40. I've driven from Philly to Wilmington, Delaware a couple of times, mostly in torrential rain, and it's been fantastic. While the steering and handling aren't exactly like the best 3 Series cars of yore, it handles well, plus it's rock solid, smooth, comfortable, and extremely powerful. There's a learning curve for all the tech, but we'll get there, and the Harman/Kardon stereo is excellent.

Ours has the base 18" wheels, which were very difficult to find on dealer lots around here, but living in the city I wanted as much sidewall as possible. With all the rough pavement I've encountered in just two days, I've been very happy about this. Plus, they add about 20 miles of range over the 19s.

One downside is the large turning radius, which is a bummer in the tight confines of downtown Philly. But thankfully we got the Parking Assistance Package, which provides a bird's eye view of your surroundings when parking, and shows your path of travel based on steering angle. With this, it's easy to maneuver in and out of our tight garage on our narrow street. Totally worth it.

After work today, I'm planning to try an Electrify America charger in South Philly. BMW provides two years of 30 minute charging sessions through EA, which is a nice bonus. I'm curious how that will go.

 

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Hey gang, we joined the EV fold on Monday by leasing a BMW i4 xDrive40. I've driven from Philly to Wilmington, Delaware a couple of times, mostly in torrential rain, and it's been fantastic. While the steering and handling aren't exactly like the best 3 Series cars of yore, it handles well, plus it's rock solid, smooth, comfortable, and extremely powerful. There's a learning curve for all the tech, but we'll get there, and the Harman/Kardon stereo is excellent.

Ours has the base 18" wheels, which were very difficult to find on dealer lots around here, but living in the city I wanted as much sidewall as possible. With all the rough pavement I've encountered in just two days, I've been very happy about this. Plus, they add about 20 miles of range over the 19s.

One downside is the large turning radius, which is a bummer in the tight confines of downtown Philly. But thankfully we got the Parking Assistance Package, which provides a bird's eye view of your surroundings when parking, and shows your path of travel based on steering angle. With this, it's easy to maneuver in and out of our tight garage on our narrow street. Totally worth it.

After work today, I'm planning to try an Electrify America charger in South Philly. BMW provides two years of 30 minute charging sessions through EA, which is a nice bonus. I'm curious how that will go.

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I tried EA chargers a few times when I first had my Tesla, but soured on them rapidly. I hope they've gotten better. The experience then was poor, especially compared to Tesla Superchargers.

 

[Nedmundo]

I tried EA chargers a few times when I first had my Tesla, but soured on them rapidly. I hope they've gotten better. The experience then was poor, especially compared to Tesla Superchargers.

Yes, I'm aware of the issues with EA chargers, but thankfully those around here and near my parents in CT are new and should work reasonably well. Plus, within the next year we'll be able to use Tesla Superchargers.

 

[bholder]

Yes, I'm aware of the issues with EA chargers, but thankfully those around here and near my parents in CT are new and should work reasonably well. Plus, within the next year we'll be able to use Tesla Superchargers.

I'm pretty sure they've gotten better, it's been 4 years since I've tried one. But yeah, I'm glad Tesla seems to be winning this version of the "format wars" (remembering Beta vs VHS in the 70s lol).

 

[Nedmundo]

Well, my attempt at EA charging yesterday was more "classic EA" than I had hoped. Three out of four chargers were taken by slow-charging Chevy Bolts--so I wasn't going to wait--and the fourth was not functioning. I can charge at home so this is not a big deal for driving around the Philly metro, but road trips are another matter. Fortunately, the large charging station near my parents has chargers from EA, EVGo, and Tesla, so something should work. The sooner I can get an adapter for Tesla Superchargers, the better.

 

[bholder]

After doing some research on Tesla longevity, it's looking like I'll get a lot more miles than I was banking on. I was thinking anything over 100,000 is gravy, given my history with cars, but there is evidence that it may last to over 300,000 or even 400,000 without substantial maintenance costs and while still retaining about 90% battery & range.

If that's even remotely true, I've got lots of years left on this car being my beater, probably more than I have left, even. At the rate I'm driving it since I bought it, at least.

So doing the math, I realized: I've probably already bought my last car! Five and a half years ago! And in 4 months, it'll be paid off, so years and years of free ride, other than charging (off my solar), tires, and windshield washer fluid! hehe hehe hehe

(Sorry, feeling a bit smug hehe )

 

[gln1955]

After doing some research on Tesla longevity, it's looking like I'll get a lot more miles than I was banking on. I was thinking anything over 100,000 is gravy, given my history with cars, but there is evidence that it may last to over 300,000 or even 400,000 without substantial maintenance costs and while still retaining about 90% battery & range.

If that's even remotely true, I've got lots of years left on this car being my beater, probably more than I have left, even. At the rate I'm driving it since I bought it, at least.

So doing the math, I realized: I've probably already bought my last car! Five and a half years ago! And in 4 months, it'll be paid off, so years and years of free ride, other than charging (off my solar), tires, and windshield washer fluid! hehe hehe hehe

(Sorry, feeling a bit smug hehe )

Do you have a link you could share about that. It sounds like total fantasy.

 

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Do you have a link you could share about that. It sounds like total fantasy.

Sure, here's the one that "got me going". Granted, these are the "10 best" highest mileage, and I should be counting on "average". But we'll see.



This one might be more realistic, watching now:

 

[Nedmundo]

After doing some research on Tesla longevity, it's looking like I'll get a lot more miles than I was banking on. I was thinking anything over 100,000 is gravy, given my history with cars, but there is evidence that it may last to over 300,000 or even 400,000 without substantial maintenance costs and while still retaining about 90% battery & range.

A few years ago, I read something about this, which IIRC described a limo/car service that used Teslas in Southern California (Model S I believe). They were easily getting 200,000 miles without as much range degradation as they expected. Very cool. In fact, that story contributed to my enthusiasm for taking the EV plunge.

I've continued to find mostly crowded EA stations around Philly, but finally got a spot the other day and the i4 charged even more quickly than the charger and app expected. It was great, and this station is essentially on my way to work in Delaware.

 

[Stewie26]

Yep, I am a car guy. My wife and I have five vehicles, 3 ICE plus 2 Tesla's. One ICE vehicle is a 2021 Ford Ranger with only 16K on it and it has now been at the Ford agency for over 30 days getting its transmission rebuilt under warranty. (Last Ford I will every buy). That said, we also have a 16 year old 2008 Tesla roadster, but not a daily driver, and its battery is still way over 90%. We always charge both Tesla's at home so we rarely have to use a public charger. From what I have heard and read about public chargers, it seems we have a long way to go to support government mandates for the high percentage number of E cars to be sold in the near future. My wife's 2015 Tesla S model is a daily driver and also has very little battery drop since new. Both Tesla's have require very little maintenance. I am thinking the best solution for any two car household is to have one E-car that can be charged at home and still have one or more ICE cars for long road trips. Anyway, just my opinion having lots of experience with both type of vehicles.

 

[Nedmundo]

I am thinking the best solution for any two car household is to have one E-car that can be charged at home and still have one or more ICE cars for long road trips. Anyway, just my opinion having lots of experience with both type of vehicles.

Yes, if we lived in the suburbs I think we would take this approach, and would probably have something like a Honda CR-V alongside the i4.

For road trips up and down the east coast, I'm not terribly concerned, but we just completed a road trip from Philly to rural Southern Illinois and back in our daughter's Subaru, and there is NO WAY I would have tried that in the i4. I think it would have been possible, but it would have added a few hours each way, some legs may have been dicey, and we may have needed to alter our route. In a year or two I expect it will become much easier. I saw some new charging stations in WV, which was encouraging.

 

[Mike N]

After doing some research on Tesla longevity, it's looking like I'll get a lot more miles than I was banking on. I was thinking anything over 100,000 is gravy, given my history with cars, but there is evidence that it may last to over 300,000 or even 400,000 without substantial maintenance costs and while still retaining about 90% battery & range.

If that's even remotely true, I've got lots of years left on this car being my beater, probably more than I have left, even. At the rate I'm driving it since I bought it, at least.

So doing the math, I realized: I've probably already bought my last car! Five and a half years ago! And in 4 months, it'll be paid off, so years and years of free ride, other than charging (off my solar), tires, and windshield washer fluid! hehe hehe hehe


(Sorry, feeling a bit smug hehe )

What does the two year registration on your Tesla cost here in NY??

 

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What does the two year registration on your Tesla cost here in NY??

I'll check...

 

[JKos]

@Stewie26,
Perhaps it should be noted that you live in a very mild climate. That will surely influence your battery life for the positive.

A quick Google search found an article about research indicating temperatures above 86°F start to degrade Tesla batteries. "The generally accepted threshold for accelerated battery degradation is around 30 degrees C, or around 86 degrees F."

 

[bholder]

@Stewie26,
Perhaps it should be noted that you live in a very mild climate. That will surely influence your battery life for the positive.

A quick Google search found an article about research indicating temperatures above 86°F start to degrade Tesla batteries. "The generally accepted threshold for accelerated battery degradation is around 30 degrees C, or around 86 degrees F."

Yeah mild temps are kind to battery longevity, too far either way and things start degrading. I think I've already take most of whatever range hit I'm going to get, I didn't baby the car at all the first 5 years and the weather here is notoriously bipolar. Lots of days over 85, lots below freezing.

Now she lives inside an insulated but unheated garage, so should be much less from here on out...

 

[Stewie26]

Tesla deliverers of their first Semi-trucks to Pepsi.
PepsiCo shares photo of freshly delivered Tesla Semi truck units