First Snow Experiences - North East Edition

[dendenyc]

In a NY suburb yesterday we had the first snow of the season and I have to admit, while I hate snow I was excited to see how the 3 (RWD) performed because it would form the basis of whether I keep her or sell it and get an AWD. Overall experience was positive, fanboy or not.

The temp outside all day was about 32 degrees, car was parked in a lot all day and had about 4-5 inches of snow piled on. I preconditioned the car to 73 degrees for about 25min and which lost 2% battery capacity. The door handles did not stick and the mirrors folded out just fine. I've heard reports of model S breaking wipers trying to lift snow - that didnt happen here. I put the wipers on, it lifted about 2 inches and then reset, basically giving up for me to clean the car on my own.

There was some initial wheel slip backing out of this spot after piling up all the snow I cleared off the top but I just punched it and she rolled out just fine. The driving dynamics were good, I couldn't kick out the tail even on turns, the stability control program always kicked in. By the feel of things it seem to kick in faster than any of my Audi's or Lexus...it was very poised and comfortable which made the drive home very uneventful.

Regen was limited, but I didnt notice any weird sliding, but this was still fresh snow and not ice so time will tell. So far Im very pleased with how the car handled. I'll update this post after our first nor'easter when s*it gets real and Im cursing the gods.

 

[FrancoNY]

I also was stuck in the snow in NYC yesterday (5.5 hours to go 4 miles! Ultimately turned around and stayed at my brother's place at which point it took another hour to go 1 mile going opposite where everyone else was going). Anyway I have AWD non-P -- did a little sliding at times but zero episodes of feeling like the car was stuck. Meanwhile around me there were all kinds of cars including some SUVs which were presumably AWD/4WD getting stuck. Car felt extremely solid.

One thing that is extremely annoying (and prob not fixable) is that after snow gets on the car/sensors, they go crazy saying there is a car right in front of me, STOP, etc etc. That dinging was going off constantly. But comes with the territory of any car with sensors I imagine.

 

[RubberToe]

Looks like standard operating procedure will be to pre-heat for 25 minutes and then carry a broom equivalent to get the deep snow off the entire car. That would prevent you from getting the deep snow inside the car. Probably good to wipe off the sensors too given your experience.

It's been quite a while since we have had 5" of snow here in SoCal. I'm ready for it when it comes though !

Note that ICE cars will have to deal with these same issues, but they won't be pre-heated for 25 minutes to make the job easier. Those drivers may end up chiseling through actual ice to be able to open the door etc. Very good use of 2% battery at a cost of $0.18. This app should help those on a regular schedule:

 

[dendenyc]

Note that ICE cars will have to deal with these same issues, but they won't be pre-heated for 25 minutes to make the job easier. Those drivers may end up chiseling through actual ice to be able to open the door etc. Very good use of 2% battery at a cost of $0.18. This app should help those on a regular schedule:

This WAS standard practice with every other car I've owned...you'd get in turn on the rear defroster and blast the heat, then buss out the broom and scraper and do your thing to get the snow and ice off. The difference now is that I can trigger the heat ahead of time to make the job easier. Additionally if you search Tesla sub on reddit you will find a bunch of iphone shortcuts that allow you to tell siri to turn on the heat on your car if the outside temp is greater than X degrees. You might also be able to schedule this shortcut to run at Xam in the morning as well.

 

[CCIE]

I also was stuck in the snow in NYC yesterday (5.5 hours to go 4 miles! Ultimately turned around and stayed at my brother's place at which point it took another hour to go 1 mile going opposite where everyone else was going). Anyway I have AWD non-P -- did a little sliding at times but zero episodes of feeling like the car was stuck. Meanwhile around me there were all kinds of cars including some SUVs which were presumably AWD/4WD getting stuck. Car felt extremely solid.

One thing that is extremely annoying (and prob not fixable) is that after snow gets on the car/sensors, they go crazy saying there is a car right in front of me, STOP, etc etc. That dinging was going off constantly. But comes with the territory of any car with sensors I imagine.

You can disable the parking sensor warning tones. I had to turn mine off because it kept saying stop when no one was in front of me.

Like many others, my car struggled to keep the windshield clear even with defrost on hi. The wipers iced up very quickly and I’d have to pull over to clear them. Going to try having Glassparency professionally applied to see if it helps keep the windshield clear.

 

[hanergy]

Did anyone check the undercarriage to see if you have large gaps near the wheel well and the synthetic liner where salty slush and junk can get up there and accumulate?

 

[jlghertner]

Did anyone check the undercarriage to see if you have large gaps near the wheel well and the synthetic liner where salty slush and junk can get up there and accumulate?

18” of wet snow overnight. Comparing to my forester and unfairly to my 4wd Tacoma, the forester is still the king of AWD. I have all seasons on both cars but will probably get snows now.

I blew the snow off the driveway first leaving about 2” of slush for a test. The M3D fought to get up my slushy driveway (1/3 mile) it felt like too much power was going to the rear like the tires were spinning too much. The Subaru just tackles those conditions like it’s not there.

I hope when the time comes getting wipers anywhere is easy.

 

[eCharcoal]

We now need to clean up the snow on the frunk because there’s no ICE to melt the snow. I don’t always clear the snow on the hood on an ICE if I’m in a hurry because the engine heat will melt it anyway.

 

[jlghertner]

18” of wet snow overnight. Comparing to my forester and unfairly to my 4wd Tacoma, the forester is still the king of AWD. I have all seasons on both cars but will probably get snows now.

I blew the snow off the driveway first leaving about 2” of slush for a test. The M3D fought to get up my slushy driveway (1/3 mile) it felt like too much power was going to the rear like the tires were spinning too much. The Subaru just tackles those conditions like it’s not there.

I hope when the time comes getting wipers anywhere is easy.

One thing I failed to mention. Despite snow on the road covering the edges of the road and some roads without painted lines, the darned car knew where the lanes were even at night.

 

[Sophias_dad]

Took my M3D with new Michelin X-Ice3's out for a spin(not literally) on Thursday night, 2" when I left, 5" when I returned. Noticed the rear tended to slide to the right when given abrupt power. Not clear if it was just sliding to the right because of the crown on the road or because the right wheel was getting more power.

The car had no trouble getting up my slightly inclined driveway with 5" of snow, where my FWD Saab would have struggled.

Its difficult to get it to slide in a meaningful way. Applying decent power around a corner does make it step sideways a bit, but I have no doubt other cars would have been much worse. Just keep the steering wheel pointed where you want to go, and it'll take you there.

I took note of the power meter both on acceleration and regeneration. It dances around nicely in both cases as the car figures out what the traction limits are.

I do have the sense that if its ever pushed 'over the line', there will be no easy recovery. I suspect the computers will tap-out and won't really help with gathering it up.

[Edit] Forgot to mention that I really want a "None" option on the auto-wipers. Several times while I was out, they went absolutely nuts, to high speed and would not stop until it was back in park and I got out of the car to clean the space in front of the camera at the rearview mirror(even though the wiper already clears it). Even once it was cleaned, they ran far longer that I would like, on a dry windshield.

 

[dendenyc]

We now need to clean up the snow on the frunk because there’s no ICE to melt the snow. I don’t always clear the snow on the hood on an ICE if I’m in a hurry because the engine heat will melt it anyway.

Yea, I noticed that too, no hot engine to melt the ice off the hood, so I was driving around with a unicorn horn till I got in.

Several times while I was out, they went absolutely nuts, to high speed and would not stop until it was back in park and I got out of the car to clean the space in front of the camera at the rearview mirror(even though the wiper already clears it). Even once it was cleaned, they ran far longer that I would like, on a dry windshield.

Same experience, after I cleaned the snow the wipers went nuts frantically trying to clean phantom wetness.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

8

Looks like standard operating procedure will be to pre-heat for 25 minutes and then carry a broom equivalent to get the deep snow off the entire car. That would prevent you from getting the deep snow inside the car. Probably good to wipe off the sensors too given your experience.

It's been quite a while since we have had 5" of snow here in SoCal. I'm ready for it when it comes though !

Note that ICE cars will have to deal with these same issues, but they won't be pre-heated for 25 minutes to make the job easier. Those drivers may end up chiseling through actual ice to be able to open the door etc. Very good use of 2% battery at a cost of $0.18. This app should help those on a regular schedule:

Here, lots of people use their remote start. If their vehicle doesn't already have it, there are aftermarket kits. Car electronics places advertise kit installation every winter.

We don't get icing much here because it's usually too cold for freezing rain. Because I park in an unheated garage at home, and park south-facing in an unshaded space at work I rarely have to warm up my Prius before leaving. I'm not going to start because of Tesla's engineering failures, so I'll be waiting for them to fix their cold-weather issues before spending $42k on a car.

 

[CCIE]

Took my M3D with new Michelin X-Ice3's out for a spin(not literally) on Thursday night, 2" when I left, 5" when I returned. Noticed the rear tended to slide to the right when given abrupt power. Not clear if it was just sliding to the right because of the crown on the road or because the right wheel was getting more power.

The car had no trouble getting up my slightly inclined driveway with 5" of snow, where my FWD Saab would have struggled.

Its difficult to get it to slide in a meaningful way. Applying decent power around a corner does make it step sideways a bit, but I have no doubt other cars would have been much worse. Just keep the steering wheel pointed where you want to go, and it'll take you there.

I took note of the power meter both on acceleration and regeneration. It dances around nicely in both cases as the car figures out what the traction limits are.

I do have the sense that if its ever pushed 'over the line', there will be no easy recovery. I suspect the computers will tap-out and won't really help with gathering it up.

[Edit] Forgot to mention that I really want a "None" option on the auto-wipers. Several times while I was out, they went absolutely nuts, to high speed and would not stop until it was back in park and I got out of the car to clean the space in front of the camera at the rearview mirror(even though the wiper already clears it). Even once it was cleaned, they ran far longer that I would like, on a dry windshield.

If by “None” you mean you want to completely turn off the wipers, just hit the oval button on the wiper control card. That turns them off.

 

[Bobbo8]

18” of wet snow overnight. Comparing to my forester and unfairly to my 4wd Tacoma, the forester is still the king of AWD. I have all seasons on both cars but will probably get snows now.

I blew the snow off the driveway first leaving about 2” of slush for a test. The M3D fought to get up my slushy driveway (1/3 mile) it felt like too much power was going to the rear like the tires were spinning too much. The Subaru just tackles those conditions like it’s not there.

I hope when the time comes getting wipers anywhere is easy.

Since I’m in Penfield NY wondering if you have snow tires. This week I’m getting Nokian Hakkapeleta R3 Snows on my M3. I ordered the Tesla winter Pirelli package Oct 12 have not recieved them and will be cancelling that order.

 

[jlghertner]

Since I’m in Penfield NY wondering if you have snow tires. This week I’m getting Nokian Hakkapeleta R3 Snows on my M3. I ordered the Tesla winter Pirelli package Oct 12 have not recieved them and will be cancelling that order.

None yet. Still researching this. I just don’t know anything about snow tires.

 

[Sophias_dad]

If by “None” you mean you want to completely turn off the wipers, just hit the oval button on the wiper control card. That turns them off.

Yep, that worked... I realize its the same UI component used in a few other places, now that I know what it does. Thanks!

 

[Skione65]

I also was stuck in the snow in NYC yesterday (5.5 hours to go 4 miles! Ultimately turned around and stayed at my brother's place at which point it took another hour to go 1 mile going opposite where everyone else was going). Anyway I have AWD non-P -- did a little sliding at times but zero episodes of feeling like the car was stuck. Meanwhile around me there were all kinds of cars including some SUVs which were presumably AWD/4WD getting stuck. Car felt extremely solid.

One thing that is extremely annoying (and prob not fixable) is that after snow gets on the car/sensors, they go crazy saying there is a car right in front of me, STOP, etc etc. That dinging was going off constantly. But comes with the territory of any car with sensors I imagine.

@FrancoNY,
What tires are you running? Stock? Or Snows? Why so long traffic?

Ski