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Tesla Model S Has Bizarre 'Vampire-Like' Thirst For Electricity At Night
cartechboy writes "The Tesla Model S, for all its technical and design wizardry, has a dirty little secret: Its a vampire. The car has an odd and substantial appetite for kilowatt-hours even when turned off and parked. This phenomenon has been dubbed the 'vampire' draw, and Tesla promised long ago to fix this issue with a software update. Well, a few software updates have come and gone since then, and the Model S is still a vampire sucking down energy when it's shut down. While this is a concern for many Model S owners and would be owners, the larger question becomes: After nine months, and multiple software updates,why can't Tesla fix this known issue? Tesla has recognized the issue and said a fix would come, yet the latest fix is only a tiny improvement — and the problem remains unsolved. Is Tesla stumped? Can the issue be fixed?"
I wouldn't go poking around with a cheap meter in an electric car, the potential to have many thousands of amps turn chinese test equipment into several cubic meters of hot gas is too big. With a slightly more expensive meter (200-300$) you can do clamp on current measurement AND keep all of your body hair!
However I think the people who have the cash for a Tesla might not be the same kind who like to service their own cars. You never see anyone change the oil in their Merc on the driveway. They payed big money for their electric car and it had better work the way it was advertized.
Dear aunt, let's set so double the killer delete select all
If that's true and this is not a simple battery charging issue then it's grounds for a class action lawsuit against Tesla.
No different than buying a car that slowly uses gasoline while turned off. Nobody would buy that car, and Tesla is remiss in not fully disclosing that "feature" to prospective buyers.