Eliminating Phantom Drain
When your Tesla is idle — that is, not driving or charging — you may experience what's known as phantom drain, where the battery slowly drains a few percentage points over the course of several hours.
Phantom drain happens when the vehicle stays awake and doesn't sleep to conserve battery.
The list below includes all known causes of phantom drain on Tesla vehicles and how to fix it.
To eliminate phantom drain, simply go down the list.
Disable Sentry Mode
Sentry Mode will keep the vehicle awake to monitor the surroundings.
Disable Cabin Overheat Protection
Cabin Overheat Protection will keep the vehicle awake to monitor and cool the interior.
Disable Data Sharing
When data sharing is enabled, the vehicle will wake and upload data to Tesla in the background.
You can disable it in the vehicle under Software > Data Sharing.
Don't use multiple Tesla tracking apps
When one service is letting your vehicle sleep, the other may be keeping it awake inadvertently. This is a side effect of how the Tesla firmware is currently designed.
You can reset access to all tracking apps by changing your tesla.com account password.
Install pending software updates
The vehicle may stay wake when an update is pending but hasn't been fully downloaded and installed.
Move devices outside of Bluetooth range
When a Bluetooth connection occurs, the vehicle may wake up automatically.
Update the Tesla app on your devices
Certain Tesla app versions have a bug which will continuously wake the vehicle.
Move key fobs away from the vehicle
When a key fob is detected near the vehicle (including vertically, in a room above or below the vehicle), the vehicle may wake up automatically.
Improve the WiFi signal
Weak WiFi connections can cause the vehicle to stay awake due to constant disconnections and reconnections. You can turn off WiFi in the vehicle or move your WiFi router to improve the signal.
Disable Summon Standby
Summon Standby will keep the vehicle awake. You can disable it in the vehicle under Autopilot.
Remove the Tesla app widgets from your home screen
The Tesla app widgets communicate with the vehicle and may keep it awake. You can use Tessie widgets safely.
Restart the vehicle
There is a known computer issue that can prevent the vehicle from sleeping. You can restart the vehicle by pressing both scroll wheel buttons on the steering wheel until the screen turns off.
Power cycle the vehicle
Underlying firmware issues can also prevent the vehicle from sleeping. You can perform a power cycle to eliminate them.
Reduce polling interval
In certain conditions, the Tesla data API may wake the car. In Tessie, change Settings > Connectivity > Polling Interval to 60 seconds and wait 24 hours to see if it helps.
Replace the 12V battery
Many Tesla owners have had success in reducing excessive wakes by getting the 12V battery serviced or replaced.
Service the vehicle to fix the underlying components
Your Tesla will automatically wake up when an underlying component activates.
Some components, like the HVAC system and certain sensors, can be faulty and activate needlessly, which will cause the vehicle to wake up.
Replacing these components will allow the vehicle to sleep normally.