Battery draining while parked...is this normal?

[PorscheTaycan]

Teslas drop around 5-10% per day with Sentry Mode on - if parked for long periods, definitely have Sentry Mode off.

My Taycan SOC doesn't drop overnight. As we move into winter, the actual estimated mileage has dropped significantly, but not the SOC percentage.

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[whitex]

Yes, these huge Tesla drop stories are quite odd to me. I've owned two Tesla over the past 9 years and never had any SoC drop issues. The current one (an X) is amazing in its no drop ability.

I owned 4 Model S'es between 2012 and 2023. There is no way you can part a Tesla in a cold for days and see no drop in SoC, unless maybe Tesla started hiding it like the Taycan does (by simply showing a much higher consumption on very first trip after parking, especially visible it you park the car for a few days, then drive it only one mile, park it again, check the SoC and energy consumption).

I also worked on my Model S'es, so know for a fact that if I ever disconnected the MCU which was in charge of topping off the 12V battery, the 12V battery would discharge completely within 4-12hrs (depending on temperature outside). After one of the Model S'es was in a crash, the HV battery was cut off, the 12V battery died in approximately 6 hours (car would not unlock, or screen would not start, until 12V charger was connected). That clearly shows the car consuming energy while parked. If you want to confirm this, disconnect the fireman's loop under the hood of your Model X (don't cut it like emergency responders would, just disconnect it, which will disable the HV battery from being energized), see how many hours before you can no longer unlock/open/start the car. Leave your hood open so you can reconnect the firemans' loop and boost the 12V battery to restart the car.

 

[whitex]

Teslas drop around 5-10% per day with Sentry Mode on - if parked for long periods, definitely have Sentry Mode off.

Even with Sentry Mode off, you can plan on 1% a day in a moderate cold, more in deep freeze with wind exposure. There is a deep sleep mode which kicks in after few days (if you don't keep connecting to the car from the app) which reduces this vampire drain, but makes starting up take longer.

If you want recording while parked for a while, install a 3rd party dashcam. I had a 2 channel Blackvue in all my Teslas, even if the Tesla had dashcam and Sentry mode. I also use it in the Taycan, have left it running for a couple of weeks at airport parking, no problems.

 

[PorscheTaycan]

I also use it in the Taycan, have left it running for a couple of weeks at airport parking, no problems.

That's hard core - I have a 2-channel Blackvue in my Taycan too, with a dedicated external backup battery - even then I don't leave the dashcam running over 12 hours parked let alone 2 weeks - impressive.

 

[whitex]

That's hard core - I have a 2-channel Blackvue in my Taycan too, with a dedicated external backup battery - even then I don't leave the dashcam running over 12 hours parked let alone 2 weeks - impressive.

Really zero issues. I got it wired up to Porsche dashcam pre-wire harness (how-to writeup with pictures here), no backup batteries, runs 24/7. I don't have the LTE module installed, but I don't think it should cause any issues other than more frequent 12V top-off from HV battery cycle, so a little more vampire drain.

PS>Funny story, back in 2013 when I wired up my first Model S, I got a call from the Tesla service center telling me that they noticed an increased 12V battery usage (what they actually noticed was the DC-to-DC converted getting activated more often then before I wired in the battery - small change, but kudos they noticed). They wanted me to come in to check the car. After I explained to them I just wired in a 24/7 dashcam, they said "ah, no problem, that explains it, it won't hurt anything". Wiring up the subsequent 3 Model S'es didn't trigger a call from service center.

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