OK, maybe this is wishful thinking as it's currently around 25F where I am...but I noticed my car interior got to around 90F today while parked in the sun. I know that the car has a setting to prevent the interior from getting too hot, but my question is, is it a problem if the interior temp gets too hot? Where I park at work does get a lot of direct sun (as demonstrated today), and in the summer I would imagine the interior temp will easily get above 110F. I never had an issue with previous vehicles, I just sweat it out until the car cooled down. And I'd rather not drain the battery keeping it cooler during the day as there's no charger at work. I don't see a downside, unless the vegan leather has a lower melting point...
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Is it bad for the interior to get too hot?
- Thread starter dgb62
- Start date
It's not great for the electronics, conceptually speaking. You can turn on fan-only cabin temp control which won't run the AC but helps.
bay74
Member
The fan-only cabin overheat protection doesn’t use much energy (IF you’ve got sentry on anyway; compared with asleep it uses a bit just ‘cause the car is on I think) and it helps if it’s not actually too hot outside, but I’ve seen temperatures 15°C above ambient so... And that is, if cabin overheat is actually working - mine’s turned on and it was still 54°C inside today ‘cause it doesn’t work. Presume it’ll be fixed in a software update.
90F is not too hot for a car interior. In ANY car, during the summer, in the sun, the interior of a car can get to 150F+. Now overtime I'm sure at that temp, the interior will start cracking but 90F is nothing.
there are millions of ICE cars on the road that don't have cabin overheat protection and do just fine in the sun.
yeah 110F in the summer is wishful thinking. If that's Salem MA or NH (which is about 25F these days), you'll hit 140F easy in the summer. Cars are designed to take that kind of heat, but sure, if you can spare the car by finding shade or a garage, go for it. If you can't find shade, then just crack a window. Tesla has a "Vent" feature that you can use for this. That will likely keep temps 20-30F lower than if you have a sealed greenhouse.
If it makes you feel any better, some police departments are intentionally heating their cars to 130+ degrees (F) to disinfect and sanitize them from COVID-19.
Ford sanitizing Police Interceptor SUVs with heat to fight coronavirus
Ford sanitizing Police Interceptor SUVs with heat to fight coronavirus
joebruin77
Active Member
My 2018 P3D is parked outside 24/7, including some brutally hot summers (temps are routinely over 100 degrees F). I have had no issues at all. I do have Xpel ceramic tint which helps with UV and heat rejection. Use of a standard sunshield on the windshield and internal Tesla roof visors also help. I never run the cabin temp control while parked.
yes that's what I do. Not to rub it in (actually bad for electronics) it's going to be 80 in AZ next week. My car gets as high as 150 in the sun in the summer.
I also try to never park the car in sun or use a cover for sunroof
My model 3 has been parked outside for 2+ years here in SoCal. I turned off Cabin Overheat Protection. Even if it is on, it only last 24 hours after park and through out last year, it has been parked for days at a time outside not using it. Cabin temp here in the summer get to 150+. Everything still works fine.
XLR82XS
D M C
Yep. I live in S. Florida - zero problems. Cabin overheat protection and ceramic window tint help.
BTW, I turned off my car's cabin overheat protection not because I didn't want the extra energy usage. I turned it off after a year because of the mildew smell in the car. I believe the older software did not keep the fan running long enough after A/C is off, so eventually you get that funny smell in the car when you get back in. I read here that if you turn off Cabin Overhead Protection, the A/C does not turn on/off all day long, you have less chance of this problem. Sure enough after turning it off, the smell was gone. I think Tesla has fixed the software problem, so I could turn it back on, but I really don't need it so I just did not bother.
Silicon Desert
Well-Known Member
yes, but as joules points out, not good for the electronics. A lot of ICE cars don't have a large high-speed computer in the dash that creates some of its own heat.
Most automotive manufacturers should using IPC Class 3 on their printed circuit board designs. I'd have higher confidence with non-Tesla circuitry over Tesla designs because we all know how relaxed they are with their quality philosophy, at least in their manufacturing process.
These electronics can handle the heat. Nothing to worry about. Normal gas cars have the main ECU, daughter boards, and other circuitry all over the vehicle.
These electronics can handle the heat. Nothing to worry about. Normal gas cars have the main ECU, daughter boards, and other circuitry all over the vehicle.
I think Tesla would care about the quality of their MCU not working under high heat, as cabin heat protection turns itself off after 24 hours. At any one day in the summer, thousands if not tens of thousands of Tesla will have cabin temp over 150 degree. They would not want to have every Tesla being recalled! Panel gaps, on the other hand, they don't really care about LOL.
jelloslug
Active Member
There has never been a car with a sagging headliner, cracked dash, or faded seats....
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