Tesla has an anti-theft feature called “Sentry Mode,” which drains the battery while activated. Fortunately, Tesla includes fail-safes to keep the battery from draining completely and measures to provide power when you return.
QUICK LOOK
- Tesla Sentry Mode is an anti-theft feature that continuously monitors the area surrounding your car for threats, but it puts a slight drain on your battery.
- Tesla has a fail-safe that turns off Sentry Mode when the battery drops below 20% charge, which saves the battery, but leaves the vehicle vulnerable to theft or vandalism.
- To combat battery drain, ensure the vehicle is adequately charged before leaving it for long periods and avoid using third-party apps that may create additional drain.
What is Tesla Sentry Mode?
Tesla Sentry Mode is an anti-theft feature that guards your Tesla by continuously monitoring the area around the car when unattended. While in Sentry Mode, the Tesla is on standby, using its external cameras and dashcam to watch for threats and keep your Tesla safe.
This can level up to Alert Mode and eventually Alarm Mode if potential threats, break-ins, or other suspicious activity are detected. When shifted to Alarm Mode, the Tesla’s security system blasts classical music and flashes the lights. The vehicle also uses the Tesla app to alert the car’s owner of possible theft and saves footage to a USB drive.
While an incredibly useful and unique feature, Tesla Sentry Mode is not without issues—in this case, it has been known to drain the Tesla’s battery.
Learn more: The most common Tesla problems
What to know about Tesla Sentry Mode battery drain
Unlike most cars, Teslas and other electric vehicles (EVs) are never “off” in the traditional sense. Some features are always on, chipping away at your battery life.
Tesla Sentry Mode uses several of the vehicle’s security features, which all draw on the total battery power. Tesla owners can expect power consumption, sometimes called “vampire drain,” in Sentry Mode at the equivalent of about one mile of range per hour.
So, if you left your Tesla for eleven days while in Sentry Mode, you’d likely return to a dead Tesla. For comparison, Teslas parked without Sentry Mode can make it twenty days without a charge.
Owners have inquired after upgrades or a software update to reduce battery usage while in Sentry Mode, but Tesla offers an alternative solution: the 20% fail-safe. If the Tesla vehicle’s battery charge drops below 20%, Sentry Mode automatically turns off.
This is good for your battery (and you when you return to your car) but leaves your vehicle more susceptible to theft.
How to deal with Tesla Sentry Mode’s battery draining problem
It’s important to know how to deal with this battery drain and keep your Tesla charged and capable of staying in Sentry Mode when not in use.
Here are a few ways to combat battery drain for your Tesla:
- Park at a charger: The easiest solution is to find parking that has long-term access to a charging station. This will keep your car charged and in Sentry Mode while you’re away.
- Plan ahead: If you know how long you’ll be away, make sure your Tesla is adequately charged before heading off. Just a few minutes at a supercharger can mean the difference between a fully protected and charged electric car and a vulnerable one.
- Limit 3rd-party app usage: Third-party apps to monitor your Tesla will further drain the battery, as more features will need power. Limit usage of these (and any other unnecessary features) to keep your battery from draining too quickly.
- Update your Sentry Mode settings: You can update Sentry Mode via the Tesla mobile app or your car’s touchscreen to record shorter clips or disable sounds to save a bit of energy. You can also automatically disable Sentry Mode in locations where you may not need it, like your home garage.
Following these tips will help you keep your Tesla charged and ready for usage when you need it.
Nick Kunze is an insurance writer with four years of insurance and automotive writing experience. Nick’s mission is to help car owners better understand the inner workings of their vehicles by providing straightforward, simple explanations of otherwise complicated aspects of car ownership and maintenance. Nick has written over 900 articles for Jerry, focused mainly on car repair and maintenance. Prior to joining Jerry in 2021, Nick worked in insurance and automotive advert.
Melanie Reiff is an expert insurance writer and editor with over half a decade of experience in professional writing. Guided by a lifelong love of storytelling, it’s Melanie’s mission to help people problemsolve by means of creative and engaging content. Melanie specializes in analyzing the ways in which society, technology, and culture intersect, previously working with clients in travel, technology, and social impact to tell their stories.
As an editorial team lead at Jerry, Melanie has translated her prior experience into creating and editing insurance content that can help drivers and homeowners find the solutions they need and make informed moves.
Prior to joining Jerry’s editorial team, Melanie worked as a freelance content marketing strategist and was the full-time director of choir at Rampart High School Acadamy in Colorado Springs.
