Defrost is now very weak

[15Peter20]

I usually precondition the car but started my day a few minutes earlier today so it was fairly cold inside although preconditioning had just started.

The car was frozen and I manually pressed Defrost, setting it to Max, but on a 6 mile journey there was never a blast of hot air, the fan speed never went over 6 and parts of the windscreen remained frosted.

A three-fingered salute doesn't appear to have made any difference.

I will try defrost whilst on charge later to see whether that makes a difference but from previous experience it shouldn't.

 

[Pink Duck]

How long did you precondition for? The manual suggests 30–45 minutes for Defrost to have full effectiveness. There could potentially have been snow/ice blocking the auto-vents.

 

[GRiLLA]

6 miles isn't very far, and it sounds like it might have defrosted some of it.

 

[15Peter20]

How long did you precondition for? The manual suggests 30–45 minutes for Defrost to have full effectiveness. There could potentially have been snow/ice blocking the auto-vents.

Just a few minutes (unusually). Good shout about frozen vents.

 

[15Peter20]

6 miles isn't very far, and it sounds like it might have defrosted some of it.

For sure, but I'm comparing to the previous subzero days this week and comparing to how I remember defrost to be. It would heat the cabin from freezing to the point where the steering wheel was very warm to the touch, but as Pink Duck says it could be that something has frozen and is restricting its operation.
I will check its defrosting capability when the weather warms up. Oh: wait.

 

[GRiLLA]

For sure, but I'm comparing to the previous subzero days this week and comparing to how I remember defrost to be. It would heat the cabin from freezing to the point where the steering wheel was very warm to the touch, but as Pink Duck says it could be that something has frozen and is restricting its operation.
I will check its defrosting capability when the weather warms up. Oh: wait.

It was -6 here this morning, that's stupid cold for Buckinghamshire. Other days this week it's been more like -1.

 

[Tigermad]

How long did you precondition for? The manual suggests 30–45 minutes for Defrost to have full effectiveness. There could potentially have been snow/ice blocking the auto-vents.

I wouldn’t do that long if it’s extremely cold. I defrosted for 20 minutes before setting off this morning and it used 10% battery! That was bad enough.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

I usually precondition the car but started my day a few minutes earlier today so it was fairly cold inside although preconditioning had just started.

The car was frozen and I manually pressed Defrost, setting it to Max, but on a 6 mile journey there was never a blast of hot air, the fan speed never went over 6 and parts of the windscreen remained frosted.

A three-fingered salute doesn't appear to have made any difference.

I will try defrost whilst on charge later to see whether that makes a difference but from previous experience it shouldn't.

Was the Defrost icon blue or red?

 

[Leejmoff]

I noticed this, this morning. Used defrost and it was still iced up after 10 minutes. I got the car and put it into drive and that was when it only started blowing out hotter air. Something isn't right with it

 

[mjwojtukiewicz]

I usually precondition the car but started my day a few minutes earlier today so it was fairly cold inside although preconditioning had just started.

The car was frozen and I manually pressed Defrost, setting it to Max, but on a 6 mile journey there was never a blast of hot air, the fan speed never went over 6 and parts of the windscreen remained frosted.

A three-fingered salute doesn't appear to have made any difference.

I will try defrost whilst on charge later to see whether that makes a difference but from previous experience it shouldn't.

May I make a suggestion. I assume you go out with a coat and maybe gloves. So do what I do. Just get in a drive. Get the batteries warmed up

 

[Pink Duck]

I defrosted my own S for 30 minutes towards the end of last World Cup Semi-Final then went on a short trip to local shops, loaded up front trunk then drove back, only to find front trunk wouldn't open and goods inside starting to freeze. Managed to nudge the secondary latch out of the way to get it open by reaching down and through the mechanism cover aperture. Fairly common on vehicles with double-latch hoods I suspect in freezing conditions.

 

[Lockey]

My M3 took longer to defrost this morning but it was -7, it was definitely blowing warm air and had the cabin up to temp within 10 mins of me pressing defrost on the app. Minimal ice scraping needed to start my commute after 10 mins on defrost (used approx 2% of battery)

 

[MashinBenzin]

Doesn’t sound right. It’s -5 here and the car is set for 8am departure. At 07:40 it’s just started and the heat pump is whirring. Usually I’m in the car at 7:50 and it’s fully defrosted (was -5 yesterday too).

ETA
07:43 interior was at 10 degrees and windscreen ice was 1/3 melted.
07:45 interior 17 degrees and windscreen 80% clear (target is 19 degrees).
So that’s 5 minutes from -5 to +17

 

[The_Cable_Guy]

as above mine heats very quickly cabin temp wise, 5-10 mins max to go from -3 to +22 dec.

 

[MrBadger]

May I make a suggestion. I assume you go out with a coat and maybe gloves. So do what I do. Just get in a drive. Get the batteries warmed up

The point is, it’s often impossible to ‘just get in’ as doors and/or windows frozen solid.

After 29 minutes defrosting on max yesterday it took me another 10-15 minutes to gain full access to the car as windows were still frozen in up position.

Thankfully my ICE car opened straight away and I could take the de-icer can from it and use that.

I could have driven my ICE car within a few minutes. Took 40 minutes and frozen fingers to be in same position with Model 3. And this was after a reapplication of gummi pfkedge and WD40 within the last week.

 

[MrBadger]

as above mine heats very quickly cabin temp wise, 5-10 mins max to go from -3 to +22 dec.

If that’s using the internal temperature sensor, +22 is a misleading temperature. When the fan is on, that doesn’t necessarily show the cabin temperature but the temperature of the airflow as the sensor is in proximity of airflow (at least is on Model 3) so is highly influenced by temperature of incoming air. That’s why when preheating is turned off without opening the car, the cabin temperature drops so quickly.

 

[Casss]

The point is, it’s often impossible to ‘just get in’ as doors and/or windows frozen solid.

After 29 minutes defrosting on max yesterday it took me another 10-15 minutes to gain full access to the car as windows were still frozen in up position.

Thankfully my ICE car opened straight away and I could take the de-icer can from it and use that.

I could have driven my ICE car within a few minutes. Took 40 minutes and frozen fingers to be in same position with Model 3. And this was after a reapplication of gummi pfkedge and WD40 within the last week.

Whereabouts in the world are you? That sounds pretty intense just to get in and drive - have never experienced anything like this in either of our Tesla’s, but environmental factors and all that I guess…

Despite it being -8 multiple times in the last week I haven’t had to use an ice scraper on our Y once yet (just using the defrost button for ~10 - 15mins) but have done plenty of pitch black ice scraping sessions with the engine running on our ICE vehicle!

 

[SGPips]

I wouldn’t do that long if it’s extremely cold. I defrosted for 20 minutes before setting off this morning and it used 10% battery! That was bad enough.

I was surprised by this the other day as well, the defrost versus preheat uses a crazy amount of energy. The car was super toasty though!! Won't be doing it again though, doesn't seem very environmentally friendly

 

[Marmaduke 1169]

-8 in the North East when I got up this morning , luckily mine defrosted in around 10 minutes though , shame the headlamps glass won't defrost also

 

[Midnightsun]

shame the headlamps glass won't defrost also

The only issue with LED lights, no heat from them like halogen or HID. My 1996 Mercedes SL has wipers and spray on the headlights.