150,000 Miles, 5 Years, & 5+ Months on My 2019 Tesla Model 3 Long Range — Where Do I Stand Now?

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My odometer just hit 150,218. Below explains why we still love our 2019 Model 3 after 150,000 miles and nearly 5½ years.

We are about to make our annual 1500-mile spring migration from Utah to northern Wisconsin and Tesla is still the only brand of EVs that can make that trip with very little thought on where to charge. However, I just read how Tesla sales in Europe have dropped like a rock. With ultra-billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk gleefully waving a chainsaw as he fires ordinary people from their jobs, if I were in the market, I would be among those looking for another brand of EV to purchase.

In spite of Elon dropping $200,000 on the Wisconsin judges’ race, the Democrat won by 10% the other night. Musk may even have hurt the Republican rather than helping him. We know that Musk is very unpopular in Europe now, and with his DOGE excesses, he is unpopular with people like me who have been buying his cars in the US.

The $64,000 question on everyone’s mind about an EV of this age and mileage is: what’s the state of the $15,000 drive battery?

The EPA range of my car was given as 310 miles when new. When your Tesla is charging, you used to be able set the charge limit to 100% and your car gave you a battery range estimate. However, with the latest software update, I had to actually charge to 100% to get the estimate. Mine is reading 261 miles now. 310−261 = 49 miles, 49/310= ~15% battery loss at 150,000 miles. Is that good? I don’t know?

I now have the range of the Model 3 Standard Range. It’s still plenty to get from one Supercharger to the next, since they are usually spaced at 100 miles or less. However, with two ebikes on a rack on the back, it’s a stretch when the spacing is 125 miles. I will be 85 this year. I can probably make the 1500-mile Utah to Wisconsin trek for another 7 years. If the range continues to drop at the same rate, I will probably have to ditch the bikes. That means buying at least one more bike so that I don’t have to carry them anymore.

By this method, let’s look at my range over time.

Odometer/Range/Range Loss

• 150,000/261/15%
• 138,856/271/12.5%
• 122,000/280/9.6%
• 112,00/285/8%
• 90,000/278/10%
• 0/310/0% EPA range when new, but I never measured it myself.

It all lines up except the 90,000-mile estimate, which I can’t explain.

That means I have lost 4.5% in the last 26,856 miles. That’s not great. I had hoped that battery degradation would be slowing down at higher mileage. The drive system and battery warranty on my Model 3 ran out at 130,000 miles. Therefore, I am on the hook for anything that goes wrong going forward. I have solar panels on my roof, so when at my Utah home, I’m driving on sunshine. Driving cross country using Tesla Superchargers, your electricity cost will be similar to driving a gas car. Very fortunately, a number of our readers have used my referral code (see last paragraph), so for the last year, I’ve been getting free charging at Superchargers. However, the heavy EV battery and fabulous acceleration causes tires to wear out more quickly than for an ICE vehicle, so that is an increased cost for EV maintenance.

The second question is: What have repairs and service cost been? A big plus: the only two repair/service items besides tires in the last 25 months have been $112 for the 12-volt battery and $294 to fix a problem with my seatbelts. You may be surprised to hear that most Teslas have a 12V lead-acid battery just like a gas car has. In a Tesla, it is needed to boot the electronics when you start the car. Mine needed to be replaced after 5 years, just as expected. However, new Teslas use a small, much longer life lithium-ion battery for this purpose.

Please find below a comprehensive review of my ownership costs. Don’t stop reading before you get to the elephant in the room. My editor, Zach Shahan, recently reviewed his Model 3 Standard Range Plus on its 5^th anniversary. You can use this article as another data point on the reliability of Tesla Model 3s and what you can expect one to cost you as time goes on. In my cost estimate, I haven’t included total fuel costs, interest costs, insurance costs, resale value, etc. You can read Zach’s article for some of those items.

The physical appearance of the car is still good, but not great. I love the look of the car’s front fascia (bumper) and I never installed the front license plate which would destroy that look. However, that nice, nearly flat white surface collects bugs like crazy, especially in moist Wisconsin. It also has some small dings that look like bugs where the paint has chipped. I would have to had installed an ugly front-end bra to avoid those chips. However, a new front fascia for $650 would give me a brand-new front surface. I have the standard black vegan leather seats, which still look perfect. The car has two USB charging outlets under the front console which are no longer working. Fortunately, it has two in the back of the car which still work, so we plug our phones in there. Also, my steering wheel is pealing a bit. Next time I need to go in for service I will ask for the price to repair. Another option is a company that did new seat covers for my old Toyota Highlander.

A big plus! Only $406 service expenses in the last 20 months.

Unless you count tires. My tires would have gone another 5,000 miles, but I’m still snow skiing at 84 years of age. Alta gives skiers at 80+ a free ticket each day. However, Little Cottonwood Canyon requires four-wheel drive and decent tires to make it up the hill on snowy days. On November 26, 2024, once again I purchased the most economical set of 4 tires at Big O tires for $644.15. That would mean my 5^th set of tires got ~30,000 miles. If I hadn’t been facing a snowy canyon road, I could have done 150,000 miles on 4 sets, which would have been 37,500 miles/set. Not great, but if I had bought the Michelin factory tires at $202/tire at Discount Tires, I would have paid $808/set. Maybe I would have gotten enough extra mileage out of each set to make that more economical.

I am a huge proponent of green technology, and in particular electric vehicles. I am also a huge Tesla fanboy! Although, Elon Musk is doing his best to drive me away. I still get a big kick out of my Tesla Model 3. Reason 1) The tremendous acceleration. Reason 2) I’ve had “Full Self Driving” now for 4 years. FSD makes my car drive totally automatically, at least in most cases, as described below.

Full Self Driving (FSD) Supervised V12.5.4

I have the spectacular Full Self Driving Supervised V12.5.4, which will totally drive my car to any location I put in the navigation as well as a good human driver in most circumstances. However, unfortunately, it still screws up occasionally, so you need to be prepared to intervene instantaneously. If you don’t intervene on those occasions, you could end up in a serious accident. I’ve had no accidents in the 4 years I’ve been using FSD, but I’m still learning how it works. My latest discovery: FSD has three settings: 1) Chill, 2) Standard, and 3) Hurry. I had been running on Chill because even then it follows the car ahead of me too close for my comfort. However, it was very annoying that I could not set the speed that I wanted (say 10 mph over the speed limit). It would seldom go more than a few mph over the speed limit. After switching to the Hurry mode, it will now go the speed I have set. Another long-time complaint: FSD won’t keep me in the HOV lane on I-15. I’ve even seen it illegally cross the double white line marking the HOV lane. I’ve given up just lately — if traffic is not too heavy, I let FSD choose the lane it wants.

FSD has been improved numerous times over the last two years. For example: 1) It now navigates rotaries properly. 2) It goes around cars and obstacles protruding into your lane. 4) It now responds properly to construction barrels closing a lane of traffic on a 4-lane highway. 5) It usually slows down for speed bumps. 6) New: It passes slower moving cars on 4-lane highways and returns promptly to the right-hand lane. 7) It aggressively changes lanes (recently it squeezed into a lane with not more than ~15 feet of room in front of and behind me).

However, some remaining problems: 1) It still ignores 20-mph school zone signs and the double flashing lights. 2) It won’t automatically slow down for the drainage dips we have here in Utah. Hit those at 30 mph and they will take the bottom off your car. 3) It will occasionally get in a lane inconsistent with the navigation at a stop sign or stop light. 4) It will also occasionally miss a turn specified by the navigation.

Please see my maintenance costs below. I’ve only had $406 in maintenance costs since my report at 90,000 miles, 60,000 miles ago.

I know that in principal EVs are much less complex than cars with internal combustion engines. An internal combustion engine (rebuild cost ~$9000) is much more complex than an electric motor, and they seldom run over 200,000 miles without a very expensive rebuild or replacement. In addition, ICE cars have very complex transmissions (replacement cost ~$5000). You also have exhaust and emission control systems, the radiator/cooling system, etc., etc., etc. which EVs do not have.

However, an EV has a very expensive battery. Do I need to be worried about replacing it? I am treating mine with kid gloves and expect it to last over 10 years and over 500,000 miles. I almost never charge over 80%, and at least ¾ of my charging is done at a slower Level 2 rate in my garage. However, I have used Tesla’s fabulous faster charging Level 3 Supercharger network often for long cross-country road trips. [Editor’s note: Research in recent years has determined that Supercharging does not create extra degradation to the battery — at least, it doesn’t seem to do so based on the data seen so far.]

In ~150,000 miles, the total cost of the tires and unforced out of warranty repairs for my Model 3 has been $5,748.65. For four of the five sets of tires, I bought economy tires, which worked out just fine. However, I had to pay ~$1200 for my third set of tires because I had a tire go flat on the freeway and I just barely made it to the nearest tire store. I had no chance to shop for a good deal. Thus, my total cost is more than I expected but probably not more than what I would have paid driving a gas car with costs for repairs, tires, oil changes, emission inspections, brakes, other miscellaneous items, and higher cost for fuel. The big savings will come going forward to where the gas car would see those costs repeated, plus the timing belt, muffler, exhaust and emission control system replacement and eventually transmission and engine rebuild. If I live long enough, I expect to drive my Tesla over 500,000 miles. It is not unrealistic to expect the electric drive system and battery to last that long.

In the photo above, you can see my wife with our dog Zuni, our Tesla Model 3, and my ebike on back at Zion National Park. We spend a good deal of the winter at our daughter’s home in Saint George, Utah, only 40 miles away.

See my itemized service costs through 150,000 miles. Except for a new 12V battery at $112, and $294 for a seatbelt issue, I have had no additional service costs since 90,000 miles.

Conveniently, I was able to obtain the dates, mileage, and exact cost of my Tesla repairs from the Tesla app on my phone. Not conveniently, it appears to go back only two years. Below, you can find what I paid for unforced issues with my car not covered by the warranty.

1. I had to replace the tires five times. The fourth set could have taken me to 150,000 miles. However, with winter approaching, I had to get tires earlier so that I didn’t get stuck on my way up the canyon to go skiing. I have paid $578.93 + $565.44 + $1252.23+ $644.15+ $644.15 = $3,040.15 for the five sets of tires.
2. I also replaced the cabin air filter for $29.00. The mobile service man didn’t charge for the installation. Also note: the cabin air filter comes as two units. I watched the mobile service man do it and I wouldn’t recommend doing it yourself unless you have the right tools and are very handy with DIY repairs.
3. ~April 2020 and April 2021: 4-wheel alignment (twice): ~$280.
4. November 3, 2021 — 54,131 miles: Reseal Right Front Upper Control Arm Ball Joint (Squeaking): $49
5. November 3, 2021 — 54,131 miles: 4-wheel alignment: $90.75
6. July 22, 2022 — 73,149 miles: Remove and replace Superbottle (Battery and drive system cooling valve) because the car wouldn’t go over 50 mph: $672.75.
7. February 2, 2023 — 88,705 Miles: I had the mobile service man replace the windshield wipers for $23.00. This was a simple operation which most anyone could do themselves.
8. Feb 20, 2023 — 90,029 Miles: Remove and replace PTC/cabin heater (car won’t go into drive) $1148.00
9. March 2024 — replaced the car’s floor mats. The original cloth floor mat would no longer stay in place by the driver’s left foot. The Velcro was no longer working. I bought a set of rubber floor mats on Amazon for $49. These look much better, clean easier, and stay in place. However, they cover the rear trunk well which makes it a little harder to use. Also, there is a slight buckle in one of the mats, but otherwise I’m glad I didn’t pay more.
10. Note: Ironically, in spite of all the high tech, my Model 3 has an old-fashioned 12V lead-acid battery that is used to boot the electronics when my car starts up. This battery is supposed to last 4 to 5 years. Mine went out at 5 years for a cost of $112, including installation by Tesla’s mobile repair man on October 21, 2024.
11. Seatbelt safety issue repair: December 4, 2024 $294.

Repair/Maintenance Cost Summation

• 5 sets of tires: $578,93 + $565.44 + $1252.23+ $644.15 +644.15 = $3,040.15
• 4-wheel alignment x 3: $370.75
• Replace Superbottle (Battery and Drive System Cooling Valve): $672.75
• Replace PTC (The Cabin Heater Failure caused the Drive System to freeze up): $1148
• Replace cabin air filter: $29.00
• Replace windshield wipers $23.00
• New floor mats: $49
• New 12V battery: $112
• Seat-belt safety issue: $294
• Getting picky: 4 bottles of windshield wiper fluid at $2.50 each for a total of $10.00
• Total: $5748.65

Other Costs

The annual registration in Utah for my 2019 Tesla Model 3 is $318.25. Part of this is the electric vehicle fee of $188. Utah has levied this fee on EV drivers to make up for the fact that we don’t use gasoline and therefore don’t pay the road use tax. Utah offers a mileage-based fee which saves money for low mileage cars. Mine is high mileage, so I paid the fixed $188 fee.

The elephant in the room

Last year I checked on the cost of my Bear River insurance policy on my Tesla. In the past, Bear River Insurance was always low cost. I was surprised to learn that I was paying $,3089 per year, but it has gone down lately to $2319 (Note: I have 4 cars insured by Bear River). Tesla quoted me $2632.20 to insure my car, so that would not save me anything. Therefore, for 5.5 years, my insurance cost would be nearly $17,000. This dwarfs the ~$5748 for tires and out of warrantee repairs by a large margin. It’s clear that if I thought buying an expensive electric car would be saving me money, I’d been sadly mistaken. However, since Bear River has just replaced my roof and siding because of hail damage for $30,000 and rebuilt my office for another $15,000 because of a plumbing leak. I’m not anxious to look to change to a different insurance company to try to save money.

Please add your experiences with repairs on your Tesla vehicles in the comments section below.

Referral Program

If you find any of my articles helpful to you and you want to buy a Tesla, feel free to use my referral link: https://ts.la/arthur73734. If you are buying a new Tesla and use my link (be sure to use it when you make your order), you’ll receive $1,000 off your purchase price of a Model 3 or Model Y and 3 months of Full Self-Driving. (Just be prepared to intervene immediately if it screws up.)