user212_nr
Active Member
I'm trying not to dismiss the possibility that this is the case, but it leaves open some questions. Are you saying it runs the HVAC for well over an hour after leaving the car and locking it up? The heater maxes out at 6kW I believe, and 2kW for the A/C. Assuming both ran continuously at max (they wouldn't), it would take nearly an hour to drain 10% of an LR battery. This doesn't seem right.
I can't remember if the nights align or not, but there were also days where we started and ended our drive with climate control off. If it's turning on after we leave and lock the car, I cannot fathom any beneficial reason for that behaviour. I'd happily burn over to California and give someone at Tesla HQ an earful for that.
The heater uses the most amount of power when you first enter the car, in order to go from say 20F to 70-80F. Then it will run continuously with lower power. This can easily amount to 5-10% of total battery power, unless you leave. You do not notice when parked at home due to the ability of the car to top off from A/C.
The car did probably not run while you were away. You say it was a little warm, that it is likely because of leftover heat from your driving.
I'm not even 30 yet haha, but I have indeed worked on my own vehicles with my dad, who is a mechanic. If it were a matter of maintenance being different that'd be fine for most people. I'm referring to literally having the car parked being a burden here. Even looking at it myself as an excited early adopter, this is not the way forward if this is how EVs behave in the cold. In my province (which is a bit cold), we're trying to ban sales of gas/diesel vehicles by 2040. I have concerns if every vehicle here starts burning through 6kWh every day just to be parked.
You experiences are not typical, hence the maintenance / proper use (light bulb left on) analogies.