Cabin temperature when parked/Overheat protection

[Smog]

Hi guys, had my 3 performance about a month now and love it (for the limited miles I’ve done).

I park it on the drive usually, and it’s out of the sun until after 3/4pm. Concern I’ve got today is as I’m at work it’s parked in the sun. Just checked my app and found the internal temperature is 50c!

Now I know it might just be my own worry As no other car I’ve owned had this feature, but Is this something to worry about?

I haven’t turned on overheat protection as to be fair, there’s only me and my partner ever in it, and I’m happy to just set the AC going 10 mins before I leave work tonight. Wasn’t sure if the overheat protection was a safety/comfort measure, or if it actually protected any physical components.

 

[DrJFoster]

Plenty of countries have hotter weather than ours, I don't see it at as a problem at all.

 

[NorfolkMustard]

Don’t worry about it.

 

[Roy W.]

I believe it is just a comfort measure. It’s not unusual for cars in the sun to get really high internal temperatures, much higher than 50c. Imagine if your car was baking in the California or Nevada sun! All of the car’s components will be rated for both high and low temperatures so it won’t do any harm.

 

[DrJFoster]

All of the car’s components will be rated for both high and low temperatures so it won’t do any harm.

Well, that's the theory, although we know Musk cut a few corners along the way like the MS and MX screens not been automotive grade resulting in various problems, now largely sorted

 

[Smog]

I appreciate that hotter countries get it hotter, but that’s the air temperature. In the direct sun we can be as bad as anywhere especially with the glass roof. Many people on the main Tesla forums were concerned when it tops 100f, currently climbing and sat at 125f

 

[DrJFoster]

Further to the equator the hotter the sun so its not just air temperature, in fact little to do with it. UV damage is likely to be more an issue than temperature in my opinion.

If you are worried then use the cabin over heat protection but it might get expensive over time.

 

[Durzel]

I worry about this.

The function in the car is called “cabin overheat protection”, not “make occupants feel better when they get in”. The onscreen description says it aims to keep the cabin temperature below 40C, which suggests it’s a problem if it goes over that for extended periods.

The cabin overheat protection also only works for 12 hours after the car was last driven, too. If your car is parked overnight and doesn’t move during the day, which I presume is likely for many of us at the moment, then it won’t kick in.

Having said the above it’s consistently hotter in California etc than over here, so if this was a big problem I’d assume it would be all over the forum/web.

 

[pdk42]

The cabin overheat protection also only works for 12 hours after the car was last driven, too. If your car is parked overnight and doesn’t move during the day, which I presume is likely for many of us at the moment, then it won’t kick in.

Ah, that explains why I keep thinking it's not working properly.

 

[mpandrew]

Crack the windows using the Vent control in the app. Mine is at 42 in direct sunlight on probably the hottest day of the year.

 

[Durzel]

Crack the windows using the Vent control in the app. Mine is at 42 in direct sunlight on probably the hottest day of the year.

Does that really help?

 

[ACarneiro]

Back in Portugal, in the heat of summer, the steering wheel can be too hot to touch.
Don’t worry about it.

 

[AnthonyLR]

I worry about this.

The function in the car is called “cabin overheat protection”, not “make occupants feel better when they get in”. The onscreen description says it aims to keep the cabin temperature below 40C, which suggests it’s a problem if it goes over that for extended periods.

The cabin overheat protection also only works for 12 hours after the car was last driven, too. If your car is parked overnight and doesn’t move during the day, which I presume is likely for many of us at the moment, then it won’t kick in.

That 12 hour limitation is very annoying, especially in lock down where we are not driving our cars. Mine is plugged into my charger on my drive, it would be great if it was just left to stop the cabin overheating permanently when plugged in.

 

[mpandrew]

Does that really help?

Definitely. I see the heat inside reduce after opening the windows using vent.

 

[Need]

50C is nothing. Here is SoCal, my car's internal temp goes up to 140/150F (60+C) pretty much everyday in the summer. I had cabin overheat protection off for almost a year and nothing fried or melted yet.

 

[Durzel]

Definitely. I see the heat inside reduce after opening the windows using vent.

Cheers. Might do that. I don’t want to end up with loads of crud inside the car if I can help it, though. At the moment the paint is covered in dust, pollen and other detritus in no time at all.

I parked it nose forward today in the hope that the sun would be focused more on the rear/roof of the car, which has UV protection, than through the windscreen that has none. Seemed to help a bit, although I do also have cabin overheat protection switched on (with A/C), so who knows...

There is something to be said about ignorance is bliss though. I never even thought about this with my previous EV, a BMW i3, because it didn’t tell me the cabin temperature and didn’t have a feature called “cabin overheat protection”

 

[navt]

Crack the windows using the Vent control in the app. Mine is at 42 in direct sunlight on probably the hottest day of the year.

This. I just vent if it gets above 45.

 

[TravelFree]

Be happy you are in the colder climate. I measured mine at 132°F 56° and it surprised me! While so many will tell you not to worry about it, I know in the long run some interior materials can get damaged by repeated heat like that. However, I know that the LCD display is not designed to be exposed to excessive heat over 110°F 43°C. There have been many reports of the screens turning yellow and even going bad and I always wondered if that is caused by repeated high interior temperature.

I tested the roof reflector boards, windshield reflector boards, and rear trunk reflector boards but these just reduced the high sun temperatures only to 110°F 43°C. The Cabin Overheat protection helps but this uses battery power and just keeps it at 104°F so not much better. I finally ended up with a complete external car cover made from reflector material from Evannex. It is really well made but has one serious disadvantage I discovered. The metalized fabric shields all radio signals so I could not connect with the app when it was on. Inside the wifi and LTE radio signals dropped to zero when the cover was on.

So we modified the part that covers the mirror where the antennas are located with non metalized nylon and now the cover is perfect. With no cabin overheat on the temperatures only get as high as 98°F 37°C which is even better than the Cabin overheat feature. The driver's side mirror only has a cell phone antenna so I didn't bother replacing that side.


The cover goes on and off even faster and easier than the inside reflectors. This is a fabulous product and comes with a nice carrying bag. I also discovered an additional advantage by using it. My Tesla stays clean and dust free and washing is rarely required either.

 

[mpandrew]

This is really interesting but does it reopen the whole which mirror has the wifi antenna in?

 

[TravelFree]

This is really interesting but does it reopen the whole which mirror has the wifi antenna in?

I'm not sure I understand your question but it works perfectly Whole what? The wifi antenna is only on the passenger's side mirror. Not sure for UK version where the driver's side is on the right. Easy enough to take the mirror plastic cover off and look-see.