Has your Tesla ever been in the rain?

[Old Man Mike]

Over 6 months with my P90D and it has not yet seen a drop a rain. But that is not long compared to some Corvette owners I know which have gone more than a decade without the car ever being out in the rain.

To be fair, we treat our Tesla special as a fun around-town car. It's never been on an overnight road trip nor has it ever been on a super charger. It is a spoiled and pampered car but SO much fun to drive. My wife and I are in our early 60's and call the Tesla our "not dead yet" car.

 

[deonb]

Being from Washington, where our state flower is mildew, I can say yes... Yes it has.

 

[Johan]

Yes once a speck of rain did graze the rear querter panel. It's was quite the nerve racking experience for me and the countess, but as soon as we had returned to the castle I had one of my men dry the car off with some satin sheets.

 

[championi]

Hahah nice, my P90D unfortunately lives outside. No garage for it. In fact it's sitting the rain right now down here in Sydney. Although it's not totally unprotected, it does have paint protection and a wrap on it.
Thank God for that!

 

[Old Man Mike]

Yes once a speck of rain did graze the rear querter panel. It's was quite the nerve racking experience for me and the countess, but as soon as we had returned to the castle I had one of my men dry the car off with some satin sheets.

That was so funny I really did lol, even after the second reading.

 

[wdolson]

I've had my car a little less than two weeks and I think 2/3 to 3/4 of my driving has been in the rain. Coming back from Olympia last Friday I ran into such heavy rain autopilot wouldn't work.

Saturday we have a veterinary emergency and my SO drove while I held the cat. She was giving a running commentary about how the Model S behaved in the rain vs her Impreza. She thought the Impreza was a tad better, but thought it might be the tires which are Goodyears.

 

[jdb]

Yes. In December 2012 was a major rainstorm, found that our Sig MS with its very low center of gravity was best handling car have ever driven in hard rain. Now with over 43,000 miles and still driving great find it still to be true, though our Model X delivered last month with its even greater weight and wider stance probably even better handling in rain.

 

[dhrivnak]

Over 6 months with my P90D and it has not yet seen a drop a rain. But that is not long compared to some Corvette owners I know which have gone more than a decade without the car ever being out in the rain.

To be fair, we treat our Tesla special as a fun around-town car. It's never been on an overnight road trip nor has it ever been on a super charger. It is a spoiled and pampered car but SO much fun to drive. My wife and I are in our early 60's and call the Tesla our "not dead yet" car.

Yes and snow and hail. The car has done very well and after all it is just a car.

 

[Johan]

...after all it is just a car.

"After all it is just a car." He said, with a certain dry, MarlboroMan-esque manor.

 

[NOLA_Mike]

We get in excess of 60" of rain per year here so, yes, it goes in the rain...

 

[jerry33]

Lives outside, gets rained on frequently. Has 70K miles in 3.3 years, about half of which are vacation trip miles. Runs like new. Just drive it, it's the best road trip car ever.

 

[AB4EJ]

My MS has gone thru some rain, and I was anxious to get it back home and wash it. There is some dirt on the back now that looks most unsightly - needs a wash again.

But here's a related question: the Tesla owner's manual advises against using a glass treatment on windshield (Rain-X or equiv.), :
Caution: Do not use windshield treatment
fluids. Doing so can interfere with wiper
friction and cause a chattering sound.

However, when driving in rain I have noticed that it is quite hard to see, even with wipers on high.

Has anyone had experience with using Rain-X? Is it more of an issue with Tesla due to type of rubber in blades, or ...?

 

[ecarfan]

Over 6 months with my P90D and it has not yet seen a drop a rain. But that is not long compared to some Corvette owners I know which have gone more than a decade without the car ever being out in the rain.

To be fair, we treat our Tesla special as a fun around-town car. It's never been on an overnight road trip nor has it ever been on a super charger. It is a spoiled and pampered car but SO much fun to drive. My wife and I are in our early 60's and call the Tesla our "not dead yet" car.

I think you are depriving yourself of the deep enjoyment received when driving a Tesla on a long distance trip. And I fail to see how having a car come into contact with water is a problem.

Now that I have experienced the pleasures of driving a quality long distance EV like a Tesla (there are no competitors) I don't want to drive anything else. So of course I had to get another Tesla, and I have not driven an ICE car or purchased any gasoline since October 2014. Sure I might occasionally have to drive an ICE in an emergency situation, or maybe as a rental, but I won't do it unless I really have to. ICE cars represent antiquated technology. It's time to move on and embrace the future...

 

[Johan]

I think you are depriving yourself of the deep enjoyment received when driving a Tesla on a long distance trip. And I fail to see how having a car come into contact with water is a problem.

Now that I have experienced the pleasures of driving a quality long distance EV like a Tesla (there are no competitors) I don't want to drive anything else. So of course I had to get another Tesla, and I have not driven an ICE car or purchased any gasoline since October 2014. Sure I might occasionally have to drive an ICE in an emergency situation, or maybe as a rental, but I won't do it unless I really have to. ICE cars represent antiquated technology. It's time to move on and embrace the future...

This is how you win the car market Tesla style: from top (luxury) down (mass market).

 

[Zythryn]

Rain, snow, sleet, deserts, mountains, coasts...
I would never want to drive any car that didn't have an electric drive.
Although, if hail is a possibility we would drive our S before driving our X (if we drive at all).

 

[SSD420]

Yes and snow and hail. The car has done very well and after all it is just a car.

Just a car? Just a car?

 

[kort677]

Over 6 months with my P90D and it has not yet seen a drop a rain. But that is not long compared to some Corvette owners I know which have gone more than a decade without the car ever being out in the rain.

To be fair, we treat our Tesla special as a fun around-town car. It's never been on an overnight road trip nor has it ever been on a super charger. It is a spoiled and pampered car but SO much fun to drive. My wife and I are in our early 60's and call the Tesla our "not dead yet" car.

some people buy their cars, pamper them, make them garage queens, good for them. I buy my cars because I use them as they were intended to be used, which is driven. when my second tesla was a month old I drove it to CO in the winter, rain, snow and icy conditions for a 6 weeks. the car was caked in a sheen of mud. a good cleaning upon my return to FLA and it was as good as new. I am not going to be so arrogant to say what you're doing is wrong, but if the car is SO much fun to drive, as you say, then I would drive the darned car and enjoy it to the max.

 

[jerry33]

My MS has gone thru some rain, and I was anxious to get it back home and wash it. There is some dirt on the back now that looks most unsightly - needs a wash again.

But here's a related question: the Tesla owner's manual advises against using a glass treatment on windshield (Rain-X or equiv.), :
Caution: Do not use windshield treatment
fluids. Doing so can interfere with wiper
friction and cause a chattering sound.

However, when driving in rain I have noticed that it is quite hard to see, even with wipers on high.

Has anyone had experience with using Rain-X? Is it more of an issue with Tesla due to type of rubber in blades, or ...?

I use Chemical Guys windshield cleaner. It appears to work like Rain-X but never causes a wiper problem (in three years). I hardly ever have to turn on the wipers. You do have to buff it quite a bit to remove the streaks, so use something else on the inside glass.

 

[Joules Verne]

I live in New England, and my 90D is my daily driver, so yes.

If only controlling the weather was as easy as time travel.

 

[Joules Verne]

Yes and snow and hail. The car has done very well and after all it is just a car.

How does the aluminum hold-up with hail?