Ice strikes again (door handles and frameless windows)

[Graffi]

Probably, but not as fun as using the Famethrower.... Or should we say, Not a Flamethrower.

 

[mrElbe]

A handy spray bottle with windshield antifreeze in the frunk is useful in these situations. Bjorn Nyland has a video on that and in his words: " no never know when you need to squirt "

 

[David.85D]

Ive had similar problems the last week

There’s a product that is well loved in BMW crowds you apply to the gasket. Reduces ice sticking. Silicone is dangerous around paint. It is hard to remove the residue and causes defects if you ever have to repaint that part of the car.

Anecdotally, i think my handles do better when they are clean and waxed. It wont stop piddling, but maybe encourages some water to bead up and run off?

Weird name. Good stuff.

nextzett 91480615 'Gummi Pflege Stift' Rubber Care Stick - 3.4 fl. oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004B8GTQG/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_DOAFAbB3KDD5C

 

[ForeverFree]

Can't let the "California thinking" note slide without comment. We get plenty of snow and cold weather in CA, just not in the cities. Mammoth last year received over 50 feet (although we're still under 100 inches in this drought year). I've been there for -9F and for wind gusts well in excess of 100 mph. And, with big daily temperature swings common (forty by day, fourteen by night) and fairly warm snowstorm temperatures (typically in the twenties or even low thirties), car icing can be a problem.

The hot water approach does remind me of a Mammoth story, though ... one that's funny only in retrospect. Was leading a group of 40+ students on a ski trip. For some reason, got assigned a bus driver with weak winter driving experience. Didn't chain up when she should have and managed to get us stuck on ice only a few hundred yards from our lodging.

Her solution, despite our yowls of dissent, was to ask hotel staff to pour buckets of hot water on the ground next to the rear tires to melt the ice. Given temperatures in the teens, you can guess how that turned out. At least we were close enough to hand-carry all of our stuff across the ice to the lodge ...

 

[Graffi]

Probably, but what is the fun in that?

 

[David29]

Wouldn't pouring warm water on the handle solve the problem?

It might. And for some people that might be a solution.
But in my own case it is impractical, because of the distance between my parking space and any source of warm water.
Plus, and probably more important, pouring on more water would likely just delay the problem to a later moment -- melt the ice on the handles now, but provide water to freeze again later (assuming the temps remain low, as they did yesterday here).

Or maybe use a hair dryer. I have an outdoor parking space but there is a 120 VAC convenience outlet about 10 feet away. Maybe i should keep a hair dryer and extension cord in my car in winter!!

More seriously, I also wonder what else is getting wet with any water that gets inside the door through the gap in the sheet metal around the handles. Any other car I have had seemed to have fewer or less obvious ways for water to get in, and still could get water damage inside the door over time. I wonder what provision Tesla has made for water ingress to the door and how well the interior motors and electronics are protected from moisture.

 

[SMAlset]

I don't think you want to go to a car wash when you know temps are going drop to freezing nor do I think pouring water in your door handle which will travel who knows where and freeze there is a good idea. Waiting to hear from our fellow Canadians and Norwegians for example to see what they have to say on the subject. The cars sell well there and sure they have some knowledge on the subject. On spraying on windshield washer fluid, I wonder how that would react with the paint on the car or subsequent aftermarket applications like protective film or paint sealants.

 

[mspohr]

I don't live in extreme cold weather and never had... but I was wondering... would there be any danger of damage... (most importantly... glass breaking) if one were to pour moderately warm water (obviously not too hot to cause glass to break but enough to melt the ice) onto the parts involved... such as driver door handle/window/charge port etc... would this safely and easily melt and free the parts?

That's what I used to do before I had a garage... with all of my cars.
Hot water quickly melts ice and frees up stuck parts. Works great. Never had any problems with thermal shock and much less danger of heat damage than using a hair dryer or heat gun.

 

[David.85D]

For what its worth, the door and gasket have weep holes to release trapped water. Pretty standard for door design.

 

[Matthew XC]

Wouldn't pouring warm water on the handle solve the problem?

I was about to say exactly that, that will do the trick for you.

 

[Chopr147]

Can't let the "California thinking"

While i'm sure most know California has some cold areas I do think this way myself. Add the terrible floor heat on the S as another "oversight"
I have not had a problem with the handles not pushing thru the ice but the frameless doors are a concern. I always worry the glass will shatter when someone else pulls hard on it. I am more careful. But uggghhhh the ice/snow has been a challenge this year.

 

[trm2]

These may help. They are made of the highest quality microfiber. Just put them on the handles/just above the handles when parking.

 

[David29]

These may help. They are made of the highest quality microfiber. Just put them on the handles/just above the handles when parking.

They won't adhere to the aluminum, right? So unless they have adhesive (which would be undesirable anyway), i don't see how they would work. Thanks for the idea, though.

 

[RedOctober]

I don't think you want to go to a car wash when you know temps are going drop to freezing nor do I think pouring water in your door handle which will travel who knows where and freeze there is a good idea. Waiting to hear from our fellow Canadians and Norwegians for example to see what they have to say on the subject. The cars sell well there and sure they have some knowledge on the subject. On spraying on windshield washer fluid, I wonder how that would react with the paint on the car or subsequent aftermarket applications like protective film or paint sealants.

I have lived through this stuff since I started driving in Canada. Best thing for the window seals/rubber gaskets has been silicone spray or in a tube. The stuff in a tube last longer, some people don’t like that it leaves a small smear on the edges of the window but will not cause any damage. I also use the spray on the handles. Keep a bottle of antifreeze in a squirt bottle in the front as well, it actyally helps with the defrosting things and won’t hurt the paint.

 

[SMAlset]

While i'm sure most know California has some cold areas I do think this way myself. Add the terrible floor heat on the S as another "oversight"
I have not had a problem with the handles not pushing thru the ice but the frameless doors are a concern. I always worry the glass will shatter when someone else pulls hard on it. I am more careful. But uggghhhh the ice/snow has been a challenge this year.
View attachment 279745

Great photo and makes me feel cold! Yes we do have mountains and snow and hail and ice and tornadoes and earthquakes and floods and wildfires and landslides in California. Not all sunshine and surfing! Oh and better than nice weather we have Tesla and SpaceX in our backyard .

So I was wondering if there's enough of a gap around the door handles where someone could manufacture a silicone cover that could fit/slip over your door handles ahead of time when you knew the weather was going to be icy and that you could pull off when you needed to drive and throw in your glove box. Kind of along the lines in principle of those windshield covers that you put over your windshield to keep the snow off. I know silicone bakeware can go in the freezer so might be able to be used this way too. Think of it as a kind of winter blackout cover for your car door handle chrome and it could come in different colors.

 

[RedOctober]

I thought I had learned how to manage the Model S door handles in cold weather during the past two winters. But today I experienced a new wrinkle in this challenge.

We had snow, then rain yesterday, followed by a freeze last night. I cleaned the snow off the car late in the afternoon, hoping that would make my job easier today. From my condo window, the Model S looked free of ice as it sat in the parking lot this AM.

But it wasn't.

I preheated the car for a few minutes (it was about 28F) but not long. When I got out to the car and it unlocked, neither of the driver’s side handles presented. I could hear the door handle motors straining to present the handles. No, there was no ice on the outside of the door blocking the handles. Instead, the rain had puddled in the concave top surfaces of the handles, and then frozen. (See photos.) As you might know, ice expands when it freezes. (That's why we can skate on frozen ponds.) So, the frozen blobs of ice were blocking the handles from presenting. By pounding on the handles and prying a bit, I was able to get the driver's door handle open. That was the only way to stop the poor little motor from trying to force open the handle. I used an ice scraper to chip out the blobs of ice from all four handles. (Fortunately, there are some gaps around the handles and the handles have some up/down flexibility. Otherwise it could have been even harder to get the handles out so I could work on them.)

So, add the concave top surfaces of these handles to the (short) list of foolish and unfortunate design errors Tesla made when designing this car.

Meanwhile, when I tried to open the door, the driver’s window would not slide down into the door. This surprised me. There was no visible ice on it – I would have scraped the ice from the glass if there were. Instead, there must have been water on the glass below the gasket, enough to freeze and cause the glass to hang up as it tried to move down into the door. I closed the door as best I could and cranked up the heat to maximum while I worked on the other door handles. Eventually I managed to get the door shut with the window glass properly in its gasket groove. Trying the other windows with the door switches, none would move at first. But I did not need to open them before starting on my trip. As I drove, I heard a couple of clunks, which I guess were the glass panes letting go as the ice on the glass melted from the heat. After 20 minutes or so, I tried the door switches to move the windows. Two of the remaining three moved, the third would not, until another 10 or 15 minutes had passed.

I hate these frameless windows! In winter, they are a royal pain. Yes, it is true that if I had preheated the car for another 20 minutes or so, most likely the driver’s door would have moved easily. But I did not need to preheat that long otherwise, and I was running a bit late for an appointment. In previous winters, I had learned the necessity of being sure the windows were free of ice before attempting to open them. That usually meant scraping ice off, paying particular attention to the ice in the joint between the glass and the gasket at the bottom of the frame. But I do not think I experienced any previous instances like today, in which the windows looked free of ice, but apparently had hidden ice on the glass within the door. Another lesson learned!

And by the way, this is another reason to set the auto-present handles so that only the driver’s door unlocks, at least in winter. At least, that will minimize the wear and tear on the other door handle mechanisms – you can heat the car and try to melt any hidden ice, and the motors might avoid straining to push open the handles with accumulated ice. It’s an annoying inconvenience to passengers, but it might extend the lives of the door handle mechanisms.

Note about the photos: All four handles accumulated water in the same way, on the concave upper surfaces. Three are shown. I used an ice scraper to chip out the ice.

View attachment 278911

I posted on here earlier in the thread but could not edit my original post, so I made a couple minor changes and had not replied to you David. I have experience dealing with winter ice issues from my years of Canadian winter driving. Best thing for the window seals/rubber gaskets has been silicone spray or the gel type in a tube. The stuff in a tube last longer, some people don’t like that it leaves a small smear on the edges of the window but will not cause any damage. I also use the spray on the handles. Keep a spray bottle of antifreeze in the frunk as well, it actually help defrost things and won’t hurt the paint. Hope this helps.

 

[DriveMe]

I thought I had learned how to manage the Model S door handles in cold weather during the past two winters...
I preheated the car for a few minutes (it was about 28F) but not long...

The main lesson I’ve learned this winter is to preheat the car for at least half an hour. I’ve learned it the hard way!
Those frameless windows are certainly not a good idea for a cold climate.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

So, add the concave top surfaces of these handles to the (short) list of foolish and unfortunate design errors Tesla made when designing this car.

Interesting. I had another experience with them back in the day: when opening a door, enough condensation could form on the handle that would then freeze on the concave surface and prevent pulling the handle in. Much lesser problem of course, but the same issue with concave surfaces. I wonder if they actually hoped that concave surface would help close the handle with some ice on top.

Another issue is are the folding mirrors, that for some reason leave an exposed edge when the mirrors are folded in. That exposed edge ices up and then physically prevents the mirror from opening up - and faces a painted surface on the mirror discouraging forcing it by hand... Silly, completely unnecessary design flaw, yet may not be one evident from the perspective of urban California.

 

[weak_pig]

What's the likelihood that such freezing incident will get worse with each passing year?

 

[trm2]

They won't adhere to the aluminum, right? So unless they have adhesive (which would be undesirable anyway), i don't see how they would work. Thanks for the idea, though.

Uh, yeah. I was thinking (and I don't know why, I wasn't even drinking!) that the handles were metal. doh!