I have a 2023 Model Y, on a 95+ degree day, my AC seems to hover around low 80s, when set to 72 degrees Fahrenheit. I have a suspicion the glass roof is heating up the insides too much. I have all my windows and windshield tinted with 3m ceramic and crystalline, glass roof is untinted, but my Tesla is grey so also extra heat absorption. How is your Model Y copping with summer heat?
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Can your AC keep up with the summer heat?
- Thread starter gflar
- Start date
BitJam
Active Member
I live in the high desert (6K feet elevation) so the sun here is absolutely brutal here. I've used both a two piece opaque sunshade for the roof and a product called EVglass that makes the roof double pane. Even with those, the inside of the car can easily get over 140F. Of course I cool it down before driving. My AC cools the car by about 10F per minute based on measuring it from the app. Getting from 140 down to 70 takes about 7 minutes.
It's trivial to measure how fast your car cools down using the app. If it cools down like mine then your AC is fine and the problem might be elsewhere perhaps with the thermostat or with the circulation. IMO it's nuts that the car doesn't tell you the inside temp. I don't want to fumble around with my phone and the app while I'm driving so I keep a small digital min/max thermometer inside the car. I was trained as a scientist so I believe the first step in fixing a problem is often good measurement.
I haven't yet done a side by side comparison but both the sunshade and the EVglass help a lot with the heat coming in through the roof. The shade is much cheaper and much easier to install but the polycarbonate EVglass helps block the heat without blocking the view. It also helps retain cabin heat in the wintertime which is what it was designed for.
IIUC the OEM roof blocks most of the sun's heat but this makes it get very hot. I don't feel a lot of radiant heat coming through the roof. Much less than what comes through my tinted windshield but the roof gets really hot while the windshield does not. I was surprised but so far the EVglass seems to do as good a job blocking the heat as the opaque sun shade. They both get warm but not hot. IMO insulating the cabin from the roof is more important than blocking the remaining sunlight.
The one piece roof sunshades are no good. I had one but it would flap in the wind when a window was open for my dog. Magnets are provided to reduce the flapping but they didn't help.
I am no longer young and athletic so I needed help to install the EVglass. IMO it should be standard equipment. It makes the car more comfortable and it reduces wintertime range loss.
It's trivial to measure how fast your car cools down using the app. If it cools down like mine then your AC is fine and the problem might be elsewhere perhaps with the thermostat or with the circulation. IMO it's nuts that the car doesn't tell you the inside temp. I don't want to fumble around with my phone and the app while I'm driving so I keep a small digital min/max thermometer inside the car. I was trained as a scientist so I believe the first step in fixing a problem is often good measurement.
I haven't yet done a side by side comparison but both the sunshade and the EVglass help a lot with the heat coming in through the roof. The shade is much cheaper and much easier to install but the polycarbonate EVglass helps block the heat without blocking the view. It also helps retain cabin heat in the wintertime which is what it was designed for.
IIUC the OEM roof blocks most of the sun's heat but this makes it get very hot. I don't feel a lot of radiant heat coming through the roof. Much less than what comes through my tinted windshield but the roof gets really hot while the windshield does not. I was surprised but so far the EVglass seems to do as good a job blocking the heat as the opaque sun shade. They both get warm but not hot. IMO insulating the cabin from the roof is more important than blocking the remaining sunlight.
The one piece roof sunshades are no good. I had one but it would flap in the wind when a window was open for my dog. Magnets are provided to reduce the flapping but they didn't help.
I am no longer young and athletic so I needed help to install the EVglass. IMO it should be standard equipment. It makes the car more comfortable and it reduces wintertime range loss.
BitJam
Active Member
Yes. IMO they are legit. Well engineered. Unfortunately, shipping to the US is not cheap.
whisperingshad
Active Member
Try turning on the Recirculate Cabin Air setting. This setting is on the Climate Control screen, middle of the screen the right (looks like two circular arrows chasing each other.) This will reduce the workload on the AC system when the outside air temperature is high. You can control this setting using the the voice commands "Recirculate" to turn On and "Fresh Air" to turn Off Recirculate Cabin Air.
Ostrichsak
Well-Known Member
Range Mode is only for Tesla Model S and X vehicles. Model 3, Model Y owners don't have a Climate Control setting for Range Mode.
Ostrichsak
Well-Known Member
Forgot what subforum I'm in. Now that we have a Y too I'm going to have to keep a closer eye on that.
It's been in the 90s here the past week or so. I have a two-piece sunscreen on the roof. No window tint yet. I find the AC is not very strong. Despite it not being dependent on the motors AFAIK, it does take some time for the AC to get really cold, and it takes a long time for the entire car to cool down. The 2nd row passengers (my 3 kids) complain that they have to share two measly vents and those aren't powerful enough.
On my Subaru Ascent OTOH, the car cools down the interior effortlessly. In fact, I often have to raise the set temperature because the AC is just too darn cold. The second row passengers enjoy cooled air coming from the vents in the ceiling. Same with the 3rd row passengers. As a result, the kids always want to take the Subie during the hot summer days.
On my Subaru Ascent OTOH, the car cools down the interior effortlessly. In fact, I often have to raise the set temperature because the AC is just too darn cold. The second row passengers enjoy cooled air coming from the vents in the ceiling. Same with the 3rd row passengers. As a result, the kids always want to take the Subie during the hot summer days.
Just ordered evglass. from the online info I have seen, it works well. It basically creates a 2nd layer of glass separated by a sealed air gap. Heat and cold transfer between two pieces of glass should be less since there is no physical connection between the two. Right now when the sun is above, I feel radiant heat coming from the glass roof, like my car has a solar roof heater which is always on.
Worth noting that if you have the Climate Control set to Auto that the fan speed control functions as a fan speed limiter (not a fixed fan speed.) In Auto the fan speed settings are Low/Medium/High. These are not fixed fan speeds but are the upper limit of the fan speed when the Climate Control is set to Auto. If the AC in your Tesla Model Y is not providing adequate cooling when in Auto make sure you have the fan control set to High. (When the Climate Control is set to manual then the fan speed control enables you to select a fixed fan speed numbered 1 to 10.)
You can manually turn on the front passenger vent even if there is no front seat passenger for additional ventilation and cooling.
Make sure the rear vents are working when you have second and or third row passengers. You can manually turn on the rear vents
You can manually turn on the front passenger vent even if there is no front seat passenger for additional ventilation and cooling.
Make sure the rear vents are working when you have second and or third row passengers. You can manually turn on the rear vents
Also you can now create a setting whereby the left rotating wheel on the steering wheel can control the fan speed after a long press. This is really convenient and allows you to change the fan speeds without taking your hands off the steering wheel or digging into an onscreen menu.
How does one manually turn on the front passenger vent even if there's no passenger sitting there?
In the Climate Control settings tap the passenger (right) side of the dashboard vent display. When the passenger side is active the display will change to indicate airflow from both sides of the dashboard. Turning off the passenger side display requires cycling through either the Climate Control On/Off or the Climate Control Auto setting (try them both).
These are the current temps of the car parked on direct sunlight, outside temp is 80f. If you look at the Sunroof temp even with AC at 74, it's still hot. I'll update the readings when I get the EVglass installed. Hoping Sunroof reading will be 20 degrees lower or close to it.
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BitJam
Active Member
I measured the inside roof temp with an IR thermometer and the EVglass was roughly 20F lower. Not super scientific (measurements were on different days, etc) but EVinsulate reports the same drop so I believe it.
One measurement I didn't do was to check the power needed to keep the car cooled to a certain temperature with various forms of insulation. This is best measured in kWh per hour which is just kW.
BTW: is your head close to the roof when you drive? I've found that the top two or so inches under the roof are very hot with no insulation.
Interesting piece of kit. I have the two-piece sunscreen for the roof and I find that it does make a significant difference. Right now it's in the mid 90's where we live. I'm ok with the sunscreen since it was only $59 from Amazon.
Are all of the ones on Amazon more or less the same, or are there more recommended versions that maintain some light coming into the cabin?
BitJam
Active Member
The $60 two-piece sun shades from Amazon are great! That's what I'm using right now. It's hard for me to do a head to head comparison because I need help to install the EVglass. It would be easier for someone with a Model 3 because that roof has two separate glass pieces so you can measure EVglass vs. sun screen vs. nothing at almost the same time. Also, I think I would be able to manage the EVglass installation by myself.
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