Good day to have a Tesla

[JeffK]

How old was your Prius?

This was a 2007, with mandatory ICE start (to warm up the engine) and you'd be lucky to get battery power only during normal operation, you couldn't go over a certain speed and you'd have to accelerate like a turtle. It was "the little Prius that could" struggling to get up to speed and stuff. It met its demise a few months ago against the back corner of a Mercedes that cut me off (driver relied on ultrasonics instead of looking in a mirror with their eyes).

 

[Swampgator]

And my grandmother can technically wear a bikini, but I sure as hell wouldn't look forward to that.....

Pics please! Let us be the judge

 

[smartypnz]

Not understanding why someone in Calif would consider going to Iceland to cool off. We would go there to warm up. Our high today in Monterey expected to be 69 - a bit warm for us. But typically 57 this time of year.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Theoretically I should be able to do it with my Leaf. They even replaced my telematics unit (whatever the heck that means) for me under warranty to work with LTE, since they shut down their 3G network. But the car never connects to the network, and it's not worth the pain of dealing with the dealership to figure it out. I have a friend with an older Leaf that no longer works (his telematics unit wasn't under warranty when they dumped 3G), but he said the app was so terrible and took so long to connect it wasn't worth using anyway. Another friend has a new Leaf that it works a bit better with, but he's probably not going to pay their ridiculous fee once his freebie year or whatever is up.

Tesla, on the other hand, is braindead simple. I swipe right on my phone, wait a second or two for it to connect, then press the climate button and I'm done. And every Tesla car ever made (excluding original Roadster) can do this, still, and for the far foreseeable future, with no additional fees (even when Premier internet access is an additional fee, basic app functions like climate control will still be free).

My LEAF was much the same -- the app would only connect to it on a good day, if the phase of the moon was right.

However, I've never actually used the pre-cool feature in my Tesla. When the inside of the car is hot from sitting in the sun, I prefer to open the windows to let the heat escape before turning on the AC. The difference, of course, is that I live in the mountains and assiduously avoid traveling in the summer to places that get to 110 degrees! My sympathies for those who live in such places...

 

[buttershrimp]

Sure but a Model 3 is way more likely to get you laid than a Prius.

And spooning is epic with fold flat seats for you romantic types.

 

[ℬête Noire]

Your whole day sounds great and all (Ant-Man 2 was awesome!) but... If 110F isn’t hot enough to turn on the A/C, what is?!

I have my thermostats set to coast as much as possible during the day and cut back in early evening. No need to piss into the wind, as it were. Being a heat pump, A/C energy used increases substantially by the temperature differential you're trying to keep.

 

[buttershrimp]

Yanno, flights are $179 RT to Iceland, and I gotta say, with it being 108F in Burbank today,118F in Coachella ytdy, and with an expected 93F at the harbor manana, Iceland sounds pretty good right about now.

Could be worse. Friends in the hills east of San Diego have no electricity, no land line service, and are pending evacuation orders due to the fires.

Hereabouts, I expect the power to quit sometime this weekend just because. Happily, I have solar panels and don’t care, but a lot of people are not going to be happy campers. Inland is a given, but you know something’s up when Torrance, a nearby South Bay burg that in (small) part adjoins the ocean, opens community cooling centers due to expected triple digit wx.

Iceland. Very tempting. Never mind that rain is forecast for the next week. With a high of 54F and a low of 46F, it’s a package deal - 50% off airfare AND 50% off the temperature as well.

What a country.

Mad max event will apparently happen sooner than we thought regardless of FSD.

 

[darrelld]

But every car you can turn on the AC remotely. New Volvos can do that. Doesn't have to be an EV.


Master of sweeping statements

You missed the part where the original post said (in garage), sure you can do this with any car but the carbon monoxide would probably render you unconscious before you made it out of the garage.

 

[insaneoctane]

Your whole day sounds great and all (Ant-Man 2 was awesome!) but... If 110F isn’t hot enough to turn on the A/C, what is?!

Southern California usual has cool nights and the night before this heat wave was no exception. Had the windows open all night and got the house very comfortable, but I had to close up the house early by 7am....The driver was the house actually stayed cool all morning...it took 110 degree day until about 9pm to heatsoak the entire house up to 82 degrees. I comfortably worked in my home office until the early afternoon. After my get away in the Tesla and because I was being so frugal, I got into the pool and waited for the energy pricing to drop to its lowest point after 10pm. Then I cranked the AC down to 72. But you raise a fair point and the AC will be on, set up to 74, all day today! I can't imagine this without solar, though

 

[e-FTW]

was "the little Prius that could" struggling to get up to speed and stuff. It met its demise a few months ago against the back corner of a Mercedes that cut me off (driver relied on ultrasonics instead of looking in a mirror with their eyes).

But did he sue Mercedes for that driver assistance failure?

 

[jbcarioca]

Yanno, flights are $179 RT to Iceland, and I gotta say, with it being 108F in Burbank today,118F in Coachella ytdy, and with an expected 93F at the harbor manana, Iceland sounds pretty good right about now.

Could be worse. Friends in the hills east of San Diego have no electricity, no land line service, and are pending evacuation orders due to the fires.

Hereabouts, I expect the power to quit sometime this weekend just because. Happily, I have solar panels and don’t care, but a lot of people are not going to be happy campers. Inland is a given, but you know something’s up when Torrance, a nearby South Bay burg that in (small) part adjoins the ocean, opens community cooling centers due to expected triple digit wx.

Iceland. Very tempting. Never mind that rain is forecast for the next week. With a high of 54F and a low of 46F, it’s a package deal - 50% off airfare AND 50% off the temperature as well.

What a country.

Forget Torrance and go over the hill to 90275/90274. Still hot, for them, at 85 F right now. OTOH, my house in 90274 never and air conditioning and never needed it. If PV does not work try the 17 mile drive or Soquel/

 

[animorph]

We drove through Southern California on July 5th, I5-210-I10 from Palo Alto to Scottsdale AZ. I think our A/C iced up about half way to Indio, blowing only cool-ish air at low volume even with the fan on 11. Reset had no effect. Lots of condensation on the asphalt at the Indio SC. When we continued on the A/C was working great again. First time we've had the A/C be less than fantastic.

 

[dgpcolorado]

We drove through Southern California on July 5th, I5-210-I10 from Palo Alto to Scottsdale AZ. I think our A/C iced up about half way to Indio, blowing only cool-ish air at low volume even with the fan on 11. Reset had no effect. Lots of condensation on the asphalt at the Indio SC. When we continued on the A/C was working great again. First time we've had the A/C be less than fantastic.

In the past when reduced AC has been reported in hot weather it was due to most of the AC being used to cool the motor/inverter/battery, which take priority. That might be what happened in your case.

 

[stillageek]

But every EV you can turn on the AC remotely. Even the Prius can do that. Doesn’t have to be Tesla.

Not every EV...my commuter car is a 2018 Smart ED....great little run about, but zero app access...I have to tell the car when I'm leaving to have it cool down...and then only if it's plugged in. Great commuter car otherwise though.

 

[mjp462]

In the summer, whenever I go anywhere I expect to leave in 60-90 minutes, I always turn the AC on as soon as I park. I'm pretty sure the AC stays on for 60 minutes or so. And it can't be great for the tablet to be in a car which is 120 degrees.

I'm sure there will be a software update with an option for temperature control and I can keep my cabin below X degrees, at all times.

 

[Twiglett]

And my grandmother can technically wear a bikini, but I sure as hell wouldn't look forward to that.....

I'm glad you said that.
Technically the Leaf could do the preconditioning etc.
But practically all it could do was turnoff AC - to what ever temp it was when you left, so if that was 99F that so be it.
It would also take at least ten minutes of waiting for the app to connect to the data center, then another 5 to connect to the car. So in the end it was faster to walk to the car and turn on the AC. Its like that so many of them - check the box that remote AC can be used but make it useless in practice.

 

[Twiglett]

So it's literally 110 degrees F where I live in Southern California today. I decided to get the family out of the house (not running AC yet) and stay cool. Took the Model 3 and pre cooled it to 69 degrees (in the garage). Went to lunch and pre cooled it while the kids finished their ice cream. Went to movies. Saw the new Ant man-great flick BTW. Precooled again. Walking to the car felt like Las Vegas, but the car was wonderfully 69. Went to the Mall, found front row parking with FREE charging. Just got the notification that my car is fully charged. Still over 100 degrees outside at 8:30pm, but I know that I will be getting into a comfortable 69 degree car in a little bit and I will feel like a celebrity doing it.... It's a great day to be a Tesla owner!

the only thing that would make this better would be - "hey siri, set the temperature in my car to 72 degrees"

 

[ebmcs03]

Not every EV...my commuter car is a 2018 Smart ED....great little run about, but zero app access...I have to tell the car when I'm leaving to have it cool down...and then only if it's plugged in. Great commuter car otherwise though.

Oh wow. Figured the cheap fiat had it then every EV must. Since Sergio hated the 500e with a passion and yet it was still such a technology break through.

 

[buttershrimp]

Pics please! Let us be the judge

OK, but I want to warn you: Buttershrimp's DNA = slut fest 1928..... she always did like to make them measure from the top of the knee.

 

[e-FTW]

the only thing that would make this better would be - "hey siri, set the temperature in my car to 72 degrees"

Recently announced iOS 12 features will make this a possibility. Can't wait!