Most Tesla owners are aware that if you use the in-car navigation to route you to the nearest Supercharger, the car will automatically warm up, or pre-condition the battery on your drive there.
This allows for an optimal Supercharging experience, as a warmer battery will charge faster and more efficiently, meaning less time “at the pump.”
In a recent software update, Tesla has added a new in-car message to help owners that are not aware of this feature.
Now when you arrive at a Supercharger without navigating to it, a new message pops up reminding the driver to use the navigation feature for a “faster charging” experience next time. (h/t: @tesla_adri).
Preconditioning, or warming your battery before plugging in can have a significant effect on charging speeds, potentially reducing the amount of charging time by up to 50% on V3 Superchargers. The majority of this effect is realized early on in the charge cycle, as the charging process itself also increases the temperature of the battery.
Tesla also preconditions your battery differently depending on which model you have.
The Model S/X have dedicated battery warmers that bring the battery to the optimal temperature for Supercharging. The Model 3/Y do not have this feature, so instead Tesla warms the battery by making it inefficient.
This results in the battery using more power, and in turn becoming warmer.
The workaround solution does have a side-effect in that the motor can become noticeably louder.
Have you come across this new message? Let us know in the comments below.
