Bitter cold and snow in GTA vs my Model 3 (LR, RWD)

[yyzunderdog]

Happy to say the Model 3 handled it like a champ!

The good stuff

• No problems unplugging from my outside wall charger. I did have to be careful with cleaning ice around the handle and the door however.
• No problems with frozen windows getting stuck.
• No problems with door handles being unable to open.
• No problems with doors sticking shut with the frozen seals.
• No problems navigating thru unplowed streets. I did have to get used to the traction control - it is much more instantaneous than what I was used to.
• No problems with main roads with slush and snow. It tracks really nicely.
• The pirelli snows (19") from tesla are super. Really, really glad I got them.

The meh stuff

• Battery range (it was -17C) was noticeably reduced. Not really an issue on my drive length - but after a day of use it needed to be charged - which wouldn't normally be required in more mild conditions
• Wipers are both good and bad. I found they iced up and I'm not convinced the drivers side sprayer is working well... but when they did hookup and wipe it was good.
• The fender mounted cameras covered over with salt and I was getting some erratic results once all the roads were cleaned off and it was safe for autopilot. I gave them a wipe down and will try later today to see if it's better. I will now keep a spray bottle in the car to wash them off.

My tips:

1. Get the snow tires if you haven't already
2. Precondition your car before heading out
3. Lube the door seals with silicon
4. Spray bottle in car to clean cams

The best part of the day was seeing another Model 3 owner happily enjoying their snow day too!

 

[ben1628]

Very nice indeed...

Pre warm the car, then just go out and drive.

Unlike ICE have to start the engine so the whole garage is filled with fumes. Take a while to warm up inside and especially the engine. Don’t have to worry the car won’t start;

Life is good

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

Went to Cambridge and back on Saturday at 2pm and left my friends house at 8:30pm; made it home around 10:30pm. There was a pile up right before Milton on the 401 E with a tractor trailer rolled over into the ditch.

Had to charge for 100kms at the Hespler SC (made it home with 50km snowflaked battery).

Rental 75D handled most of it flawlessly with OEM tires! Some fishtailing at 120km on the snowy highways - the traction control recovered the car quickly as long as I steered the car gently to the patches of road that wasn't snow covered. The mush on the local roads were harder to navigate at low speeds with all the available instant torque. Left turns from at a stop light were hard .

Very impressed with the AWD LR model 3. I wonder what it'd be like with snow tires.

 

[Gdelean]

Im in toronto.. its been a little rough. I started the day sunday woth 33% battery. Went to check out some marble woth the wife... she had serious axiety we werent goi g to make it. Drove 5.9 kms... arrive with 25%. Lost another 3 pts while looking around... drove home... parked the car with 14%. Lost 19% in 12km.

I normally charge the car at work... we have a 240v 40 amper....when i got home this message popped up.. there will be significantly less battery if it gets colder....and i plugged it in to my 120v 12 amper socket. Its been 14hrs.. and its now at 18 percent...its -20 now...-32 with the windchill....

Im thinking i might have to buy an ice box just in case.

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

Im thinking i might have to buy an ice box just in case.

120V at 12A won't cut it in this temperature, especially if the car is outside. Do you access to a high amperage plug? Like dryer/washer NEMA plug?

 

[yyzbig6]

Im thinking i might have to buy an ice box just in case.

Better off investing in a 240V plug at home. You don't even have to have 40A like others on the forums insist. I upgraded to a 15A 240V plug using existing wiring for under $100 in parts. With my setup I still get 17km/h charging even at -25C.

 

[Whisky]

Im in toronto.. its been a little rough. I started the day sunday woth 33% battery. Went to check out some marble woth the wife... she had serious axiety we werent goi g to make it. Drove 5.9 kms... arrive with 25%. Lost another 3 pts while looking around... drove home... parked the car with 14%. Lost 19% in 12km.

I normally charge the car at work... we have a 240v 40 amper....when i got home this message popped up.. there will be significantly less battery if it gets colder....and i plugged it in to my 120v 12 amper socket. Its been 14hrs.. and its now at 18 percent...its -20 now...-32 with the windchill....

Im thinking i might have to buy an ice box just in case.

The first winter is the toughest. You can do it without an ICE car, but driving an EV does mean some pre-planning. 120V won't cut it in the winter on days this cold. Not sure on the TM3, but the X and S both will take in more power just heating up the battery over a regular plug than you can use charging it.

Basically, when you start the day by saying "I started Sunday at 33% PoC" you know you're in for a bad day. I've been there. Take the time and charge the car at a Supercharger or elsewhere, but also keep in mind that driving to a Supercharger and charging will also result in slow charing times, as much a 3x slower. If you top-up your car after a long drive, that's better. So plan ahead, don't plan on the car going below 50% PoC, and use that supercharger network when you're not at work. It add costs to ownership, but with most Toronto winters, it's a real short-term problem.

My first winter, I still hadn't had a charger installed at home (the condo made it difficult), the Lawrence Supercharger was down to one or two plugs for two days, and I did lots of drives to visit family all over Ontario. I ended up sitting at Ikea one day just to get enough power to limp home. There's plenty of charging options now in Toronto, so just use them. Still cheaper than gas!

 

[Birdman325]

Charged up to 84% for Sunday morning. Drove my son to hockey and a couple of small errands - got back to the house at about 2:00 pm with 52%! (And I did not drive very many KMs). Plugged in for the next few hours and got back to 84% for some more evening hockey practice. (Seems like a good chunk of my time is driving to and from rinks).

In the deep freeze we are having, the battery suffers badly.

I found the winter tires (Sotto II) just ok. Granted the roads were pretty slippery but I thought the grip was just ok. I also found the "All wheel drive" is a little slow to engage (relatively speaking). I am not sure how the car is designed to detect wheel spin, but I found starting off from a red light, the back would fish tail more than I am used to (my last several cars have been AWD) before the traction kicks in on the other set to straighten you out. In my opinion, it reacts far closer to a RWD car, than other AWD cars I am used to when it comes to slippery winter conditions.

I also found the side windows fog over terribly. Unlike many other cars, there is no vent built into the door which can blow air directly onto the side windows near the side mirrors. True, I can direct the front vent to blow air onto a similar area, but in my opinion, it does not work as well as the dedicated side mirror / door vents.

At speed, the wipers are not great - in town or at rest, the wipers do a good job of clearing the windows.

Having said all of that, the ability to pre-heat the car, or even to leave the heat on while you run into Starbucks for a cup of coffee is golden!

 

[MountainPass]

Is this the thread where I can complain about my nose freezing this morning?

 

[Struja]

My car is garage parked at all times. My garage is partially insulated and rarely gets below zero. It got below zero this weekend.

I got into my car on Sunday morning (after not charging or pre-heating) and I had 290km of range. I drove 14.2km to a hockey arena. Parked for 2 hours but pre-heated for10 minutes before heading home. Drove home 14.2km.

When I got home, I had 225km of range. Range was just melting away.

I knew I had nowhere to go on Sunday (other than marathon of Game of Thrones), so I was not concerned but this is my 2nd winter and you certainly have to be a bit more prepared for winter climate with an EV vs. ICE. Still take my EV over any ICE any day of the week, but you do have to plan.

This is also why I believe (especially for us in Northern climates), you can't ever have too much range.

 

[Birdman325]

I got into my car on Sunday morning (after not charging or pre-heating) and I had 290km of range. I drove 14.2km to a hockey arena. Parked for 2 hours but pre-heated for10 minutes before heading home. Drove home 14.2km.

.

I wonder if we are going to the same arenas....(although I don't recall seeing a White 3)

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

This is also why I believe (especially for us in Northern climates), you can't ever have too much range.

Set it to 90% and plug in every night - blast heaters and seats for the day!

 

[Struja]

I wonder if we are going to the same arenas....(although I don't recall seeing a White 3)

White Model S. Westwood (Hwy 27 and Carrier).

 

[bijan]

Charged Friday night to 90% 447km but woke up to 435km due to snowflake icon,
drove 60km Saturday
drove 36km Sunday
drove 36km today
So in all drove 132km.
ended up with 66km range left when I got to work today (though with snowflake icon).

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

Charged Friday night to 90% 447km but woke up to 435km due to snowflake icon,
drove 60km Saturday
drove 36km Sunday
drove 36km today
So in all drove 132km.
ended up with 66km range left when I got to work today (though with snowflake icon).

Not uncommon to use 250-300+ Wh/km with these outside temps

 

[dusdev]

I just posted my experience parking the car in the freezing cold at YYZ for a week: YYZ airport parking - vampire drain in freezing cold

The range loss was disappointing but uneventful. I had a couple backup plans in mind (YYZ parking J-1772 or the Oakville SC). Didn't end up requiring either.

The car's winter handling was excellent. Roads were crap on Saturday afternoon but the Model 3 AWD handled it awesomely (Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 winter tires).

 

[Struja]

Charged Friday night to 90% 447km but woke up to 435km due to snowflake icon,
drove 60km Saturday
drove 36km Sunday
drove 36km today
So in all drove 132km.
ended up with 66km range left when I got to work today (though with snowflake icon).

Wow! That is some significant loss. I was getting approximately 330 wh/km on my drive home on Sunday, which is the worse I've ever gotten since having the car. In the summer, I am at 165 wh/km when I am taking it easy. Dramatic difference.

 

[bijan]

Wow! That is some significant loss. I was getting approximately 330 wh/km on my drive home on Sunday, which is the worse I've ever gotten since having the car. In the summer, I am at 165 wh/km when I am taking it easy. Dramatic difference.

I parked outdoors overnight all weekend, so battery heater was running every morning when I turned the car on. Over 400 Wh/km on my first short drive of the day. Down to 300 Wh/km or less on longer drives after battery was warmer.

 

[Techniques]

This weather is really doing a number on the battery, but all and all the car is handling it well. AWD with snow tires have been great, but can get a little squirrly taking left or right turns from a stop. I feel Tesla could tweak the traction control algorithm a little bit.

Does anyone have an issue if you set the charge limit to 90%? For me it actually stops and says charging complete at 89%

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

Nope, most days it finishes at 447 to 449.