How to quickly defrost windshield while driving?

[sleepydoc]

FWIW, Tesla is not the only car with this issue. Virtually every car made in the last 30-40 years will automatically turn on the AC with the defrost but the majority of cars these days have automated climate control systems. The advantage is you can set a temperature and it will adjust automatically. but it also takes some of the control away from you. To turn on the defrost you have to turn on the entire climate control system. I think the assumption Tesla makes is that if you need to have the defroster on, you probably need the climate control system on, too.

 

[ThatMike]

FWIW, Tesla is not the only car with this issue. Virtually every car made in the last 30-40 years will automatically turn on the AC with the defrost but the majority of cars these days have automated climate control systems. The advantage is you can set a temperature and it will adjust automatically. but it also takes some of the control away from you. To turn on the defrost you have to turn on the entire climate control system. I think the assumption Tesla makes is that if you need to have the defroster on, you probably need the climate control system on, too.

Unfortunately it is a wrong assumption. There is no need to use climate control in spring or fall.

 

[DanDi58]

Unfortunately it is a wrong assumption. There is no need to use climate control in spring or fall.

Maybe in the UK. Here in NJ, today is humid and HVAC is needed.

 

[sleepydoc]

Unfortunately it is a wrong assumption. There is no need to use climate control in spring or fall.

If you the windshield needs defrosting then clearly there is!

 

[Ampster]

Unfortunately it is a wrong assumption. There is no need to use climate control in spring or fall.

Time of year is less important than temperature of glass and interior humidity. Simple physics.

 

[ThatMike]

If you the windshield needs defrosting then clearly there is!

I should have said "no need to have auto climate on all the time" in spring and fall.

 

[android04]

A quick way to turn off the HVAC after you are done defrosting or defogging is to tap and hold on the HVAC control (the number representing the temperature). Quicker and easier than opening the HVAC controls and tapping on the off button.

 

[howardnj]

Hold the right button on the steering wheel and say "defrost windshield"
After a minute or two press the right button again and say "stop defrost"

 

[Silicon Desert]

I don't want to turn on AC just want to quickly defrost for 10 seconds and then turn it off.

Currently I have to press the number next to the car icon to bring the menu up and then hit the defrost icon to defrost the front windshield, then hit the OFF icon to turn everything off. Is there a faster way just defrosting front windshield (like one click or via steering button?)

Thanks

I just use voice command and that works for me.

 

[Calliope]

Interesting. It works just fine for me in the App bar.

I tried it yesterday, and mine does too.......but I swear it wasn't doing that the last time I tried to go to defrost. But that was a while -- and a lot of software updates -- ago. Regardless, your post inspired me to check the current status, and it does work as described

 

[sleepydoc]

I tried it yesterday, and mine does too.......but I swear it wasn't doing that the last time I tried to go to defrost. But that was a while -- and a lot of software updates -- ago. Regardless, your post inspired me to check the current status, and it does work as described

It may well not have been doing it the last time you tried - the V11 interface that they dumped on us a year ago was not even half-baked when they released it. In fact it was closer to a bunch of ingredients on the counter with a recipe book that hadn't been opened. They made multiple revisions/improvements over the last year to make it more usable and this may have been one of them.

It's easy to miss since no other car that I know of has both a defog and a defrost setting, but after you know about it it's actually pretty intuitive.

 

[DrGriz]

It may well not have been doing it the last time you tried - the V11 interface that they dumped on us a year ago was not even half-baked when they released it. In fact it was closer to a bunch of ingredients on the counter with a recipe book that hadn't been opened. They made multiple revisions/improvements over the last year to make it more usable and this may have been one of them.

It's easy to miss since no other car that I know of has both a defog and a defrost setting, but after you know about it it's actually pretty intuitive.

Yes, it makes perfect sense not to heat the air blowing onto the windshield unless you have to, especially in an EV. In an ICE vehicle the heat is just making use of waste that would otherwise be going into the atmosphere. Costs you nothing.

 

[gyozaman]

Does anyone know if it is possible to have front defogger on blue status but on fan speed 1 ?
Mine only stays on fan speed 5 at all times in auto mode. When the windshield is completely defogger it still stays on fan speed 5 and never adjusts down. When turning off auto mode, it turns off defogger. It doesn’t appear possible to turn on defogger without the auto mode on. On rainy days and loading the hatch with wet grocery bags and with a 1 hour drive there is a small amount of ”fog” building up on the windshield and I only need fan speed 1 to eliminate the fog. Continuous fan speed 5 is quite loud.

 

[SalisburySam]

Also, voice commands don't work in a canyon, or any other place you don't have data service.

…or, seemingly, anywhere I really need them to work.

 

[SalisburySam]

Do you have the Climate Control turned on? I usually have my CC set to Auto. What happens if you use the Tesla app to turn on the front defroster, tap twice?

When I first picked up my Model 3 four+ years ago I set the HVAC to Auto. Haven’t once changed it since. Similar to the last ten or so cars I’ve owned and now own. I may have to tweak fan speeds or temperature, rear glass defogger from time-to-time but this is an area of the car that just works.

 

[sleepydoc]

Does anyone know if it is possible to have front defogger on blue status but on fan speed 1 ?
Mine only stays on fan speed 5 at all times in auto mode. When the windshield is completely defogger it still stays on fan speed 5 and never adjusts down. When turning off auto mode, it turns off defogger. It doesn’t appear possible to turn on defogger without the auto mode on. On rainy days and loading the hatch with wet grocery bags and with a 1 hour drive there is a small amount of ”fog” building up on the windshield and I only need fan speed 1 to eliminate the fog. Continuous fan speed 5 is quite loud.

I’m not sure exactly what you’re looking for - you can turn on the defogger while you load groceries then turn it off once you get in the car, otherwise the defogger is simply a ‘quick button’ that automatically sets the vents to the windshield, turns on the AC and sets the fan to high. (The defroster setting also turns the heat all the way up.)

You can always use the climate control panel to manually set the vent, A/C, temperature and fan to whatever you want. You can also go into the climate control panel and manually decrease the fan speed after turning on defog/defrost.

 

[Pianewman]

When I first picked up my Model 3 four+ years ago I set the HVAC to Auto. Haven’t once changed it since. Similar to the last ten or so cars I’ve owned and now own. I may have to tweak fan speeds or temperature, rear glass defogger from time-to-time but this is an area of the car that just works.

HVAC requirements are different in Salisbury, NC, than they are in Seattle, Vancouver, Denver, etc. etc.

Just as with tires, longevity of windshield wiper blades, suspension preferences, etc: Regional differences have a strong impact on function.

 

[sleepydoc]

HVAC requirements are different in Salisbury, NC, than they are in Seattle, Vancouver, Denver, etc. etc.

Just as with tires, longevity of windshield wiper blades, suspension preferences, etc: Regional differences have a strong impact on function.

Wait…do you mean the settings that work for you in Fort Worth won’t work for me in Minneapolis???

 

[gyozaman]

@sleepydoc : “You can also go into the climate control panel and manually decrease the fan speed after turning on defog/defrost.”

Can you try this when you have time and let me know if the front defogger stays on? Thanks.
I would like my defogger to stay on fan speed 1. If I have my friend’s dog in the car that has just rolled around the wet ground or is panting heavily, I just want the defogger to stay on fan speed 1 and not 5 To prevent front windshield fogging up.

 

[Pianewman]

Wait…do you mean the settings that work for you in Fort Worth won’t work for me in Minneapolis???

...You forgot to add an emoji to that...