A five-month absence left one Tesla Model Y with most of its starting charge intact. Its owner was stunned to return to a battery reading of 77%, compared with 90% when it was parked.
Here's what to know
The owner in China covered the parked vehicle and disabled its Sentry Mode, according to a post in Reddit's r/TeslaLounge community.
The vehicle lost 13 battery percentage points over those five months. That amounted to an average loss of roughly 2.5% to 3% per month.
A user reacted: "Indeed. 13% in 5 months really is nothing. That's less than 0.1 % per day. I'd probably expect pretty much any battery to drain more even when left totally unplugged."
The post didn't include electricity costs or charging bills, so it didn't establish any dollar savings, but it's safe to say the original poster was thrilled after thinking it must be "a joke."
"The tires do need to be inflated only about four psi, but I couldn't believe it," they wrote. "77% after five months - makes me feel easy traveling again."
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More background
The discussion focused on "phantom drain," or the battery charge a vehicle loses while it is not being driven.
"Yeah they really improved the 'phantom drain,' especially if you put the car in low power mode," a user explained.
Other owners reported different losses.
"My 10-year old Model S has been losing c. 5km/day every day for the whole life of the vehicle. (Maybe even a bit more, Tesla says it is normal to budget for losing 7km/day)," one commenter wrote.
Another commenter reported losing 1% per week during a three-week absence. For one commenter facing several months without home charging, monitoring still felt necessary where they parked. They wanted a Sentry option that would use less power.
What can be done?
Alongside the owner's use of a cover and decision to disable Sentry Mode, commenters discussed low-power settings and letting the vehicle remain asleep as ways to minimize losses.
"The big thing is you never opened the app and sentry was off, so the car could actually stay asleep the whole time," a commenter noted. "Most of what people call vampire drain is the car being kept awake by sentry, cabin overheat protection, the app, or third party stuff pulling it."
There was some pushback on opening the app wasting battery in and of itself. Users clarified that the app itself doesn't draw power; it's waking up the car. Commenters also shared one more tip.
"Only thing I'd change next time is leaving it closer to 50-60% instead of 90, sitting high for months is a bit harder on the pack than the drain itself," a user suggested.
Where can I learn more?
Battery care goes beyond how much charge an EV loses while parked.
• A California Cybertruck owner reported zero battery loss after 5,000 miles and near-daily charging.
• A Tesla Model 3 owner detailed battery loss and costs after reaching 250,000 miles.
• An EV owner argued that unplugging at night won't save battery, recommending regular charging instead.
• A Northern Europe buyer feared EV battery replacement costs, while owners offered reassurance about longevity.
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