More on My Tesla Model 3 Experience After 5 Years

My post describing my experience with the dual-motor long-range Tesla Model 3 I bought back in April 2019 generated further questions about battery life, recalls, and driving range in winter that I answer here.

Battery life

Recently, I was in a waiting room and couldn’t help overhearing a conversation about electric vehicles.  The two people agreed they wouldn’t consider owning one, and the dominant stated reason was fear of high-cost battery replacements.  It became clear after a while that they mistakenly believed EV batteries would have to be replaced as often as lead-acid batteries in gas cars.  The truth is that Tesla batteries are expected to last longer than the rest of the car.

A few days ago, I was startled to receive a notification on my phone that my car’s battery needed to be replaced.  A few seconds of poking around on the Tesla app eased my worries.  I didn’t realize that my car has a lead-acid battery as well as its large high-tech battery.  So, $164 later, my lead-acid battery has been replaced.  The main battery powering my car is still fine.

Recalls

Tesla has been in the news frequently for having “recalls” of their cars.  This brings to mind images of millions of cars lined up at service stations, but that’s not what’s going on.  Almost all of these recall changes are just folded into the next software update.

Tesla pushes out software updates to cars every month or so.  They mostly contain improvements they’ve made.  Sometimes, they include things regulators want.  In one case, the font size on a warning message was made larger.  Quite the recall.

The only substantive recall item I can remember was something to do with cabling near my trunk.  When I was having a camera realigned for US$34, the technician improved the cabling at no extra charge.

Driving range in winter

Electric vehicle batteries have an optimum temperature.  Heating or cooling them draws battery power, and operating the batteries outside their optimum temperature range is less efficient.  There is nothing the driver has to do about this; the car handles it all itself.  However, the net result is that the car’s range is lower in winter than it is during other seasons.  

The difference in range has been noticeable, but not a problem for me.  One time that I looked at some numbers, the difference in range between a summer day and a below-freezing winter day was close to 15%, but I can’t say whether this is typical.  I suspect the difference depends on how cold it gets and the make of electric car.  To be fair, gas cars burn more gas in winter as well.

Conclusion

My conclusion remains the same: I love my Tesla Model 3’s quiet power and its well-designed features that get improved regularly through software updates.  Most of what I see online about EVs is overblown or doesn’t apply to Teslas.  My car is very cheap to run, but the purchase price was high.  It’s been the best car I’ve owned, but until they become cheaper, I can only recommend them to those who can reasonably afford a luxury car.