real world EVs review

[gmenounos]

Not sure if I ever mentioned that new owners get free access to the service manual and parts guide for 1 year (After that you can pay per day just like erWin). It doesn't seem like it'd be that useful to new owners since the car would be under warranty for the first 4 years, but whatever.

And if you happen to find an original Roadster in need of repair, that info is all publicly available now: https://service.tesla.com/roadster

 

[oilhammer]

I've never seen one of those original roadsters (Lotus sans the Toyota powertrain) in the flesh. I'd imagine giving service info away for free is probably not of much use to anyone, but perhaps you could repower them with the plentiful crashed Camry powertrains out there. Not sure how much they actually modified the chassis to make them an EV, though.

 

[gearheadgrrrl]

The Roadster manual access may be the result of a lawsuit- TSLA refuses to work on them and has bricked some.

 

[oilhammer]

Heh, well the local Honda powersports dealer won't service my 2007 Recon either, because it is "too old" yet they'll service the 2012 Recon and they'll sell you a brand new 2023 Recon and there is literally nothing different between them besides the color of the plastic. They rattle off crap about not being able to get parts for old ones, yet the plant in South Carolina is putting together brand spanking new ones every day.

 

[gearheadgrrrl]

And for those who really want to pay way too much for a car, GM's Saturn offered that "privilege" three decades ago. It made Saturns so uncompetitive that dealers had to advertise "Supplier Pricing" with the names of local companies whose employees were eligible.

 

[turbobrick240]

I've never seen one of those original roadsters (Lotus sans the Toyota powertrain) in the flesh. I'd imagine giving service info away for free is probably not of much use to anyone, but perhaps you could repower them with the plentiful crashed Camry powertrains out there. Not sure how much they actually modified the chassis to make them an EV, though.

They were very heavily modified- shared very few parts with the Lotus. In the end, it would have made more sense to just do a clean sheet design. But it was a learning experience for them. They're valuable collector cars now. Three brand new, undriven Roadsters were recently found in shipping containers buried at the back of a shipping terminal in China. Who knows if the batteries are still any good, but they'll fetch a large price for sure.

Three original Teslas discovered in a shipping container to fetch over $1.1 million

Three rare original brand new Tesla Roadsters found in a container ship to fetch over $A1.1 million.

thedriven.io

 

[J_dude]

Note that trusty F250 and trailer!

I also noted a reflex silver MKIV, my favourite car on the lot! But why sir, does it not have blue tinted aspherical mirrors?!

 

[oilhammer]

turbobrick, that's not all they found in China that cost a fortune.

 

[jmodge]

If anyone in the area has curiosity, live reviews

National Drive Electric Week Grand Rapids

Мероприятие Karl Bloss в городе Город Гранд-Рапидс, Соединённые Штаты Америки суббота, сентябрь 30 2023

facebook.com

 

[Rob Mayercik]

The odometer is at 6,600 miles so it's time to rotate the tires. Here's the Model 3 maintenance schedule:

• Brake fluid health check every 2 years (replace if necessary).
• A/C desiccant bag replacement every 4 years.
• Cabin air filter replacement every 2 years.
• Clean and lubricate brake calipers every year or 12,500 miles (20,000 km) if in an area where roads are salted during winter
• Rotate tires every 6,250 miles (10,000 km) or if tread depth difference is 2/32 in (1.5 mm) or greater, whichever comes first

Any idea what is involved in replacing the A/C dessicant bag? Haven't heard of that before. Is it some sort of odor-control thing in the under-dash HVAC ducts or if it's something inside the refrigerant circuit and you'd have to have the A/C system evacuated to get at it?

 

[oilhammer]

There is a little cap on the accumulator under the hood, near the condenser, held in with a snap ring. Once the system is evacuated, remove the snap ring, remove the cap, reach in with pliers, pull the desiccant bag out.

I think they sell a kit that comes with a new cap (that has an integral seal) and a new snap ring along with the new bag.

Too bad that dealer doesn't exist, as I could stop by and ask one of the service techs, LOL...

 

[turbobrick240]

Why Doesn't Tesla Use Dealerships To Sell Their Vehicles?

Why doesn't Tesla use dealerships to sell their vehicles? This question was originally answered on Quora.

www-forbes-com.cdn.ampproject.org

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

That article is 10 years old. I think their go to maket strategy has evolved some in the last decade.

 

[turbobrick240]

If people want to call them dealerships, that's fine. It's certainly nothing to get all worked up over.

Why You Might Buy Your Next Car Online (Published 2022)

Tesla shifted to selling cars entirely online in 2019. Now, some established automakers, like Ford, are talking about taking a similar approach.

www.nytimes.com

 

[oilhammer]

LMAO, he's still trying.... not sure what more I could do if pictures were not proof enough. I'm certainly not going to go in there and BUY one!

Maybe the world exists differently outside of Maine. Come to think of it, when I was there, I never saw a single dealership of ANY brand ANYWHERE. Hmmmm.....

 

[turbobrick240]

Kind of a long video here (I didn't watch the whole thing), but this guy traded in his Rivian for a dual motor Model Y, and drove 600 miles from NC to Orlando documenting his charging experience. Looks like he was consistently paying $.30 kWh at superchargers. He also stopped by some other networks to show the sad state of their operations. Hope this is encouraging to Ford, GM, Rivian, Volvo, Polestar, Mercedes, and all the other makes of EV manufacturers joining NACS. Better charging is coming to your CCS car soon!

 

[turbodieseldyke]

Don't call it a man dealership if it identifies as a woman service center, you bigots.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Is $.30 kWh good? What does that work out to in cost per mile?

 

[turbobrick240]

Yeah, I think 30 cents is pretty good relative to the other networks. At least he said the EA fast chargers were more expensive. Cost per mile would vary depending on how fast you drive, I imagine.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Yeah, I think 30 cents is pretty good relative to the other networks. At least he said the EA fast chargers were more expensive. Cost per mile would vary depending on how fast you drive, I imagine.

If a Model 3 is good for about 3 miles per kWh, then it's $.10/mile. More than my TDI. Just sayin'.

He comments that he's using 431 Wh per mile, so that's more like $0.15/mile. Is that right?

 

[Daemon64]

Is $.30 kWh good? What does that work out to in cost per mile?

i mean if it gets 100 mpge on the highway or 337wh/mi, then it would be .10 / mi, because essentially 3mi / kwh, some cars do better, some do less. Some "really efficient" ones i've seen people report 3.4/mi kwh up to 3.7 ... but like take those with a grain of salt, because its very user dependent, weather dependent. even if it were 4mi / kwh which is VERY high for most electric cars its still .075 / mi

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Kind of a long video here (I didn't watch the whole thing), but this guy traded in his Rivian for a dual motor Model Y, and drove 600 miles from NC to Orlando documenting his charging experience. Looks like he was consistently paying $.30 kWh at superchargers. He also stopped by some other networks to show the sad state of their operations. Hope this is encouraging to Ford, GM, Rivian, Volvo, Polestar, Mercedes, and all the other makes of EV manufacturers joining NACS. Better charging is coming to your CCS car soon!

That trip looks like a special version of Hell to me. I recall driving to Jacksonville from my home in MA a number of years ago. My first fuel stop was in Rocky Mount, NC, 760 miles from home. Then I drove straight through to Jax, made the 500 or so miles in 6.5 hours, if I recall correctly. I had my dog with me and it was raining, so I didn't want to stop and have to have a wet dog in the car. Ran at 80+ for that portion of the drive.

It strikes me that I could make the 600 mile trip this guy is taking in any one of my diesels on one tank or less, although I'd have to drive the BMW pretty gently to do that.

I know he was able to charge with little or no problem, but he was also getting terrible range out of the vehicle and the stop frequency would totally kill any ability to cover ground quickly. I think this video is a good example of how EVs aren't ready for road trips. At least not if you care about time on the road.

 

[turbobrick240]

He said he was trying to get the worst possible mileage, which I assume means he was going very fast. There's a radar detector in his car, so he was probably flying. I know from experience that I95 traffic in FL moves at Autobahn speeds. Driving way over the limit much less stressful when everyone else is too. The Model Y and Model 3 are super efficient as far as EVs go. He also stopped way more often than necessary because he wanted to show as many chargers as possible. He even stopped at multiple chargers in the same town.

 

[turbobrick240]

It was interesting how many chargers were available at most of the Supercharger stations even over the 4th of July holiday. Several superchargers were brand new, and one had a solar canopy. Whereas the EA stations were packed and derated. The buildout rate of supercharger stations is very impressive.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

But the solar canopy wasn't working...

Couple shots I saw he was running at 80-85, but he also spent a lot of time at slower speeds in traffic.

 

[turbobrick240]

He probably edited out any shots that might get him in trouble. He edited out almost all of the footage of him actually going down the interstate. His YouTube thing is all about showing charging stations.

 

[El Dobro]

Why Doesn't Tesla Use Dealerships To Sell Their Vehicles?

Why doesn't Tesla use dealerships to sell their vehicles? This question was originally answered on Quora.

www-forbes-com.cdn.ampproject.org

Tesla US dealership disputes - Wikipedia

 

[turbobrick240]

Model Y continues parabolic sales growth:

Tesla Model Y Registrations Double In US, Driving EV Market Growth - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

So far in 2023, the Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model Y is the best-selling vehicle worldwide.

www-benzinga-com.cdn.ampproject.org

 

[gmenounos]

There is a little cap on the accumulator under the hood, near the condenser, held in with a snap ring. Once the system is evacuated, remove the snap ring, remove the cap, reach in with pliers, pull the desiccant bag out.

I think they sell a kit that comes with a new cap (that has an integral seal) and a new snap ring along with the new bag.

Too bad that dealer doesn't exist, as I could stop by and ask one of the service techs, LOL...

Damn, I was going to use this as the first chance to read through the service manual and share the details. I did see something where older cars can get by with 6 years instead of 4. Maybe something to do with them adding a heat pump in '21 and newer. I don't get why the desiccant needs replacing if the system is sealed. Wouldn't the refrigerant leak out of the system if water was also getting in? Or maybe both happens and the desiccant service is really to take care of both issues.

 

[gmenounos]

If a Model 3 is good for about 3 miles per kWh, then it's $.10/mile. More than my TDI. Just sayin'.

He comments that he's using 431 Wh per mile, so that's more like $0.15/mile. Is that right?

As I reported this week, I got 3.7 miles/kWh on last weekend's 550 mile round trip to Utica for an average cost of 9.5 cents/mile. I've mostly been driving the speed limit or 5mph over but it's been pretty hot so the AC was running all the time. Electricity prices in the North East are higher than down South. The supercharger in Utica, NY was $0.40/kWh. Lee and Palmer, MA were $0.41/kWh (though Lee was $0.35/kWh in March). The cheapest I've paid at a supercharger was $0.32/kWh in Norfolk, VA in April.

DC fast charging is almost always going to cost more than charging at home, but for me (and I'm sure most others), the bulk of charging happens at home/work L2 chargers. I can charge at home for $0.30/kWh (8.1 cents/mile) and my wife can charge at work for $0.20/kWh (5.4 cents/mile). If we lived down South instead of NE, it would be significantly cheaper. If you're looking for excuses not to buy an EV (and I've heard many), I don't think fuel cost is a valid one.