I mean, we're talking about a company that is so baffled by the concept of cold weather that they don't offer heated wiper jets on the 3/Y, when anyone who's ever lived where it gets legitimately cold understands the importance of being able to spray fluid on the windshield to clear muck when it's below freezing. That's a feature that was on sub-$20,000 cars over 20 years ago, not exactly rocket science to implement. (I really, really enjoy pulling over to clean my Model 3's windshield repeatedly when the blades alone can't clear road spray effectively in proper cold. SUPER fun.)
To be fair this is not a Tesla thing, even the most popular EVs don't have it, like the Leaf for example. Windscreen washers and sub-zero temperatures Also Ioniq. Ironically in that thread someone showed a Tesla having heated wipers. An unintended design flaw with EVs... frozen windscreen... You can find that heated wipers and washer nozzles have been available as an option on the Model S since 2014 at least: Tesla Model S Subzero Weather Package Review
Don't get me wrong. I would love to see Tesla successful in its engineering endeavours. If nothing else, its success drags the ICE world along for a ride. But it's becoming painfully obvious that a number of Tesla's enhancements just aren't ready for prime time. As a relatively early Model S owner I was OK being the guinea pig. Between having 8 total years of warranty - and yes - very impressive service from the rangers the first couple of years, I had no quibbles with the issues that popped up. That of course doesn't exist anymore. So if the company wants to stand on its engineering laurels, it has to do much better than this. If nothing else - don't all automakers take their cars to Tucson in August and Finland (or wherever - you get the point) in winter to test HVAC and other systems under temperature extremes ? My assumption is that Tesla does not.
Sure, and those companies suck for that decision as well. Tesla not offering the option on the Model 3/Y is just appallingly stupid because it means they know it's important but they don't care enough about their customers to offer it on the more popular models.
I think not, please read below why. Update: Okay, so my car (M3P MY21, 836xxx) finally had the pressure sensors replaced/changed at the Tesla Service Center, only about two weeks ago. I asked about possible subsequent failures, the service rep told me that at least she hasn't had any car return for another replacement as far as her history goes. Just as a reminder, these were the exact parts: Code: Correction: Sensor - Subcool - Pressure and Temperature - High Pressure (Remove & Replace) Parts Replaced or Added Part QTY. PT SENSOR, LOW PRESSURE(1510048-00-B) 1.0 PT SENSOR, HIGH PRESSURE(1510047-00-B) 2.0 Correction: Sensor - Pressure and Temperature - Low Pressure (Heat Pump) (Remove & Replace) Correction: Sensor - Pressure and Temperature - High Pressure (Heat Pump) (Remove & Replace) Pay Type: Basic Vehicle Limited Warrant Even before the replacement of the sensors, I've had no issue(s) with "TURN ON CLIMATE" and getting the car heated up (when stationary) even beyond -20'C temperatures for an extended period of time. However, after taking the 1.000 kilometer drive south (during which the issues of not getting enough heat could be felt to the bones) and having had these sensors replaced, I hadn't gone on any longer trips with my Tesla. Hence, the issue hadn't been visible since. However, now as I did another 1.000 kilometer drive north just this week (split to two days of driving, with outside temps ranging from -16'C to -26'C), the issue of not getting proper heat into the car was immediately back. But why, how? Here's my hypothesis on the subject, as I had a good 18 hours of in the car during two days of driving. (Read: Enough time to test this into oblivion.) Everything is fine, when you remotely turn on the climate from the mobile app, especially when the car's battery is cold, as it turns on the heat pump AND starts preconditioning the battery Everything is fine, when you're driving to the nearest supercharger with the SC set as a destination on the navigation (as next stop), IF you're close enough to it (e.g. 40 kilometers away), as the car starts to precondition the battery automagically Everything is fine, if the car's battery is cold (somewhere below between +15'C...+25'C I will yet test at below what temp exactly), and the heat pump activates (you can hear the 'HURRRR'ing sound clearly, when it does) Heating doesn't really work when your car's battery is warm: This is exactly the point when cabin heating starts dwindling down, most visible when e.g. leaving a supercharger with the battery at +50'C. At this point, one needs to turn up heat to "HI" and reduce airflow power to ca. level 4 or less (+ turn center air flow OFF), which is quite quick in the cold weather when driving 100km/h. Surprisingly, most heat is delivered to the BACK (turn this on), but you really don't get more than +16'C inside and your hands will freeze on the wheel When heating doesn't work, your best bet is to come to a full stop, put the car in park-mode, use mobile app to "TURN OFF CLIMATE", wait for 15 seconds or so, "TURN ON CLIMATE" and have climate on "AUTO" hope to hear the heat pump activate. Caveats: The heat pump doesn't want to activate, if your car's battery is warm. In this case your best bet is to do the above ("HI" and 4 or less power, heating to the back on and airflow to windows & floor, not center) to get the inside cabin temperature up to +16'C (Car using less than 1 kWh on idle), do remember to set airflow to the back-- this is the most excruciating time to have to drive in the cold In semi-warm battery conditions (e.g. battery around +25'C), when the heat pump actually does turn on (but is operating at low power), turning from AUTO to MANUAL settings, the heat pump will disengage and turn off! When at this stage on AUTO, you actually can get more heat to the cabin for a pleasant drive. (Car using around 2 kWh on idle) After multiple tries (or battery at around +10'C), when the heat pump does actually get fully engaged in its task, it makes a much louder sound (and turning from AUTO to MANUAL doesn't turn it off anymore), this is when you can get all the heat in the cabin that you want at whatever outside temperatures, worked fine in beyond -20'C. (Car using beyond 4 kWh on idle) <TL; DR> It seems that there is no problem for the car to generate heat in reality, not a hardware problem either, but perhaps some firmware update in between versions has broken/modified the heat pump interoperation with other heat sources (e.g. octovalve scavenging heat from battery) which are not sufficient in e.g. -15'C or colder conditions.
Update: I'll be doing another 1,000 km drive soon and will continue testing this. But, as I've endured this for a time I've since then exersized the following practice to keep the car warm while driving. No heat? Quick instructions: Come to a full stop with the car, turn on Park-mode Make sure your climate controls are in 'AUTO' mode Open driver-side door, close the door Use mobile app's climate-menu to reduce heat to 19.5'C or so, then TURN OFF CLIMATE Wait until any wheezing/whirring sounds end (e.g. 10 seconds) Use mobile app to TURN ON CLIMATE and increase heat gradually from the app (Listen if heat pump starts making noise or not) If heat pump isn't making a strong sound when you reach HI, rinse and repeat from #3 It seems that there's multiple modes for operation and the heat pump doesn't turn on with full power on all tries. I've found that some times I need to do this three (3) times to get the heat pump really going. But when it finally does, there's a ton of heat available and I can also turn 'manual' climate settings on without the heat pump shutting down. If you for some reason can't make out if your heat pump is really ON, ScanMyTesla shows a good 4kW+ (Battery Power) when the car is stationary and when heat pump is really working with settings in HI. There is some kind of a mid-operation mode where some heat is available, ScanMyTesla is typically around 2kW. Following this line of thinking, when ScanMyTesla shows around 0.5kW at this point, you'll usually only end up with the trickle heat option..so very little warm air coming from the vents, if any.
I, too had an issue with the heaters blowing cold. It's due to a supplier sending Tesla defective sensors. I suppose we could blame Tesla for this (perhaps they could've tested every sensor?), but it happens to other manufacturers too. To Tesla's credit, they've bypassed those sensors in one of the recent software updates if it determines that the internal temperature is inconsistent with expectations. After that software update, my heat is working again, even in the coldest single degree weather the heat-pump is sufficient... and I still haven't had the sensors replaced.
Yes, this prompted me to post the update 2021 Model 3 Heater blowing cold air as I have those high- and low pressure sensors (3 pcs) replaced, but it doesn't solve the issue off getting only a trickle of heat (basically none), when driving in weather conditions -10'C or lower. To me it would seem like an interoperability or configuration issue how the octo-valve and heat pump operate, which they probably can solve through software, as currently one needs to perform the referred tricks to get proper heat into the car in cold weather conditions.
Interesting, the coldest temps we recorded in my area were - 21c. Only a couple of days and granted my car is parked in a garage when not in use. But lucky enough not to experiance any heater problems this winter. In fact, we're trying to fix an awful whistling noise coming from my drivers window. I actually have to drive with the WI dow down a crack to get some peace and quiet. Still performed well I thought.