Does a Tesla need to "warm up" before being driven with gusto?

[Uncle Paul]

For all my driving life, I have been told it is good to warm up a car before driving it quickly.

Was wondering if that applied to Tesla. Can you just flog it from a cold start, or do the components need to be warmed up first by gentle driving?

 

[SM18]

Even for gas cars, that was only really an issue for cars of decades past that couldn't compensate like the ubiquitous fuel injection systems in modern cars do. The only other reason to let a car warm up was for engine oil and even that is a lot more temperature resistant than most people realize.

Long story short, these issues don't apply to Tesla vehicles and barely apply to modern gas cars. Flog away. =)

 

[RiverBrick]

Well, if the battery is cold (less than 50F or so) there will be some performance limitations.

Leave the car unplugged overnight in 0F temperatures and you will be restricted to 100hp.

 

[efusco]

Agree with RiverBrick, Best not to stress a cold battery unnecessarily, though the BMS will likely protect it adequately. But in 'normal' weather you can just get in and floor it without concern.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Thanks guys.

 

[FlyF4]

Even for gas cars, that was only really an issue for cars of decades past that couldn't compensate like the ubiquitous fuel injection systems in modern cars do. The only other reason to let a car warm up was for engine oil and even that is a lot more temperature resistant than most people realize.

Long story short, these issues don't apply to Tesla vehicles and barely apply to modern gas cars. Flog away. =)

Beat me to it. I was going to say exactly the same thing.

 

[Oz Will]

Being winter in Australia now (it was 2C (36F) the other morning which is as cold as it ever gets where we live), the main issue I can see is that the regenerative braking does not recharge to full capacity when the battery is cold - you get a warning icon and dashed lines for regenerative breaking above relatively mild levels of breaking until the car has warmed up. When we got our X in February (think August for Northern Hemisphere), this didn't happen, but is noticeable now in the colder months, and I don't think is a battery age issue (we have done about 8k kms (5k miles) and haven't noticed any other battery issues).

 

[ecarfan]

Being winter in Australia now (it was 2C (36F) the other morning which is as cold as it ever gets where we live), the main issue I can see is that the regenerative braking does not recharge to full capacity when the battery is cold - you get a warning icon and dashed lines for regenerative breaking above relatively mild levels of breaking until the car has warmed up.

I live in a similar temperate climate where it rarely falls more than a few degrees below freezing, and then only for a short time in the early morning. My S lives outside in a carport. A cold battery definitely limits regen and also max power output. In my "classic" S the driver's display clearly shows the limit lines. Not sure how the newer cars display that information.

 

[MuppetOwl]

For best performance the battery need to be warm. In the winter here in Norway the performance and regen is limited daily because the battery will be harmed if to much power is drawn or added when cold.

Also the Drive unit(s) have oil. This is normal automatic gear oil like in gearboxes and differential on fossil cars.
When very cold the oil thickness is not optimal so it not good to floor it. Wait for it to warm up a bit after driving for 10-15 min or the gears will wear faster since the cold oil is not protecting the gears as good.

 

[ninefiveone]

There are lots of parts on any car, including Teslas, that benefit from a little bit of gentle treatment at the start of a cold day.

Wheel bearings, oil in the differentials (as noted above), grease in the cv joints and steering rack, and even brakes/tires all benefit from lighter use until they warm up.

It doesn't take long. 5-10 minutes of gentle driving is all it takes depending on how cold it is. None of those things will warm up at a standstill so there's no need to delay in getting going, but stomping on the go pedal from full cold isn't a great idea.