Late 2021 onwards MIC Model 3s Have poor/faulty air conditioning from factory

[DasHHat]

After 4 Months of sending my Model 3 (December 2021, china factory) back to the service center for blowing on my knees and being told that "nothing was wrong" and everything being correct in the dash, it turns out that I was just the first of people noticing that the Model 3 with the new Heat Pump effectively has poorly designed/faulty fans from the factory.

I noticed this on the first hot day we had in February, the COLD AC air blows DOWNWARDS onto my left knee.


The loaner 2019 model 3 DID NOT have this problem and acted completely as you'd expect.

Video evidence of me showing where the air is blowing on a 2019 loaner (no heat pump) and the 2021 with issues.

I was told this was impossible over the phone due to how the fans were. And they said everything was fine.


I was causing such a hassle for them over the next few months they had a Tech stay on the phone with me as he went and sat in several Model 3's of different years. turns out, it wasn't all in my head!! 2021 cars onwards with the heat pump have seriously bad fan direction issues, they cannot be angled upwards, the maximum they can go is blowing directly at the face, and as the AC gets colder, the angle of the fans goes down and down until it's blowing on your knees.

And another quirk, as the cars speed increases, the AC strength increases. So the cabin will be cool on the motorway at 70mph, slow down to 10mph traffic and the fan speed is so much slower the cabin started to heat up!


A quick search on this forum shows that the reports are starting to come in:

Air flow to my face

How do I get air to blow in my face. Quite a warm day in the UK today and wanted the cool air blowing on my face but after playing for the nearly 2 hour drive, I couldn’t get it any higher thank my waist / knees. Not normally and issue but just felt warm today and would have liked the air. Think...

teslamotorsclub.com

Model Y Air Blowers on face

Hi. I still can’t do it. Couple of months in. Has anyone managed to get air blowing directly onto their face (driver side)? If so, could you please show me your airflow graphic. It’s crap. Far worse than the model 3. Many thanks

teslamotorsclub.com

Drivers air vent

Hi, Is it normal that the drivers air vent doesn’t blow into the driver face? I’ve not been able to move the vent to achieve this thanks

teslamotorsclub.com

Tesla Tech says these issues may be able to be resolved with software, what's likely happened is they've fitted the new Heat pump system, but not calibrated the fan directions and speed curves for it, resulting in wrong behaviour. Worst case scenario, they're all broken and need new dashboards entirely.

UPDATE: I believe Tesla knows something's wrong. Today I have gotten in my car and the AC is not cold at all, I have to set my temperature MUCH lower to get the cold air blowing. I believe this is them hiding the poor fan direction by turning the AC down, this is what causes the angle of the fans to dip and blow low. The heater stays high, which is why nobody knew this was an issue until spring/summer rolled around!

 

[Gulfcoaster]

Hi,

Is this just UK based and/or China built cars? I don't believe I've noticed this in the 2022 demo Model 3 Performance cars I've driven in Florida

Keep us posted.

Thanks

 

[DasHHat]

Is this just UK based and/or China built cars? I don't believe I've noticed this in the 2022 demo Model 3 Performance cars I've driven in Florida

Yours will be an American made one? It's very likely this is just a China production issue. Thank you for confirming that US made cars don't seem to have this issue though, it helps narrow down what's going on here.

 

[Kenners]

Would it be stupid to assume this is fixed on the latest MIC deliveries?

 

[DasHHat]

Would it be stupid to assume this is fixed on the latest MIC deliveries?

The only way to find out would be to try and find a very new one off the boat and give it a go. I'm in the north of the UK so I'm unlikely to see one so new for a while. But if I do see a 22 plate car I may run down the street after them!

 

[Nick77]

After 4 Months of sending my Model 3 (December 2021, china factory) back to the service center for blowing on my knees and being told that "nothing was wrong" and everything being correct in the dash, it turns out that I was just the first of people noticing that the Model 3 with the new Heat Pump effectively has poorly designed/faulty fans from the factory.

I noticed this on the first hot day we had in February, the COLD AC air blows DOWNWARDS onto my left knee.


The loaner 2019 model 3 DID NOT have this problem and acted completely as you'd expect.

Video evidence of me showing where the air is blowing on a 2019 loaner (no heat pump) and the 2021 with issues.

I was told this was impossible over the phone due to how the fans were. And they said everything was fine.


I was causing such a hassle for them over the next few months they had a Tech stay on the phone with me as he went and sat in several Model 3's of different years. turns out, it wasn't all in my head!! 2021 cars onwards with the heat pump have seriously bad fan direction issues, they cannot be angled upwards, the maximum they can go is blowing directly at the face, and as the AC gets colder, the angle of the fans goes down and down until it's blowing on your knees.

And another quirk, as the cars speed increases, the AC strength increases. So the cabin will be cool on the motorway at 70mph, slow down to 10mph traffic and the fan speed is so much slower the cabin started to heat up!


A quick search on this forum shows that the reports are starting to come in:

Air flow to my face

How do I get air to blow in my face. Quite a warm day in the UK today and wanted the cool air blowing on my face but after playing for the nearly 2 hour drive, I couldn’t get it any higher thank my waist / knees. Not normally and issue but just felt warm today and would have liked the air. Think...

teslamotorsclub.com

Model Y Air Blowers on face

Hi. I still can’t do it. Couple of months in. Has anyone managed to get air blowing directly onto their face (driver side)? If so, could you please show me your airflow graphic. It’s crap. Far worse than the model 3. Many thanks

teslamotorsclub.com

Drivers air vent

Hi, Is it normal that the drivers air vent doesn’t blow into the driver face? I’ve not been able to move the vent to achieve this thanks

teslamotorsclub.com

Tesla Tech says these issues may be able to be resolved with software, what's likely happened is they've fitted the new Heat pump system, but not calibrated the fan directions and speed curves for it, resulting in wrong behaviour. Worst case scenario, they're all broken and need new dashboards entirely.

UPDATE: I believe Tesla knows something's wrong. Today I have gotten in my car and the AC is not cold at all, I have to set my temperature MUCH lower to get the cold air blowing. I believe this is them hiding the poor fan direction by turning the AC down, this is what causes the angle of the fans to dip and blow low. The heater stays high, which is why nobody knew this was an issue until spring/summer rolled around!

Thanks for the update. Good to know we're not talking rubbish.

I find I have to turn off the windscreen and footwell fans and jack up the fan speed up to at least 6-7 to feel it on my face. Then it's fine. And that's with it on LOW.

 

[GRiLLA]

Would it not make more sense to avoid talking about direction of fans, as that's not what controls the direction of airflow, the fan doesn't move.

The model 3 air vent has two airstreams that meet, one coming our horizontally, the other vertically, as these two intercept the resulting stream is some kind of product of the two directions. So rather than the fans angling down, this implies that the vertical airstream isn't blowing hard enough. I'm not really sure how it's going to be reaching your knees unless it's coming out of somewhere other than the main cabin vent which is confusing, maybe it's not opening right and cold air is leaking a different route.

I'm also surprised how temperature might make a difference, I assume that happens somewhere further back in the system and by the time it reaches the cabin vent it's all just airflow.

Anyway, changing my 2019 model for a 2022 model next week, lets see how the air compares.

 

[DasHHat]

Would it not make more sense to avoid talking about direction of fans, as that's not what controls the direction of airflow, the fan doesn't move.

The model 3 air vent has two airstreams that meet, one coming our horizontally, the other vertically, as these two intercept the resulting stream is some kind of product of the two directions. So rather than the fans angling down, this implies that the vertical airstream isn't blowing hard enough. I'm not really sure how it's going to be reaching your knees unless it's coming out of somewhere other than the main cabin vent which is confusing, maybe it's not opening right and cold air is leaking a different route.

I'm also surprised how temperature might make a difference, I assume that happens somewhere further back in the system and by the time it reaches the cabin vent it's all just airflow.

Anyway, changing my 2019 model for a 2022 model next week, lets see how the air compares.

Yep, as the tech said when I told them of these faults "that's impossible".

But here we are with myself and others complaining about strange fan directions.

By fan direction I just universally mean "air direction". As you say, they don't move; so its the direction of air caused by the fans in this instance.
It's looking likely that cold AC is only being pumped into the vertical channel, causing it to bend the air stream right the way down. As the air gets colder with the more AC air, the lower it angles.

Do let us know how the mid-year 22 model is. If they've fixed it mechanically then the chances of this being resolved via a software fan curve for those of us who have taken delivery over the last 6 months is basically 0.

(other than what they seem to have done for now, and completely neutered the air con to prevent the cold air affecting the direction. I now have semi-cold, luke warm air blowing at my face, rather than cold on my legs)

 

[GRiLLA]

Yep, as the tech said when I told them of these faults "that's impossible".

But here we are with myself and others complaining about strange fan directions.

By fan direction I just universally mean "air direction". As you say, they don't move; so its the direction of air caused by the fans in this instance.
It's looking likely that cold AC is only being pumped into the vertical channel, causing it to bend the air stream right the way down. As the air gets colder with the more AC air, the lower it angles.

Do let us know how the mid-year 22 model is. If they've fixed it mechanically then the chances of this being resolved via a software fan curve for those of us who have taken delivery over the last 6 months is basically 0.

(other than what they seem to have done for now, and completely neutered the air con to prevent the cold air affecting the direction. I now have semi-cold, luke warm air blowing at my face, rather than cold on my legs)

This is a useful video that answered some things I didn't quite understand

So it would sound to me that either the bleed vent isn't operating, or there's some broader disruption to the flow out of the wave vent that means it doesn't behave in the way intended.

 

[Gulfcoaster]

Yours will be an American made one? It's very likely this is just a China production issue. Thank you for confirming that US made cars don't seem to have this issue though, it helps narrow down what's going on here.

To my knowledge, all Tesla vehicles sold in the US are made in the US. Most notably Fremont CA, which holds the prestigious award for building complete and total garbage 99% of the time.

 

[DasHHat]

To my knowledge, all Tesla vehicles sold in the US are made in the US. Most notably Fremont CA, which holds the prestigious award for building complete and total garbage 99% of the time.

But hey, working air con!

 

[Gulfcoaster]

But hey, working air con!

So far
But plenty of other issues...

 

[Gulfcoaster]

Just for fun, I bought a new 2022 GTI Autobahn DSG last week to relive my 20's (I'm 61 now) I owned a GTI in 1983, most fun car I've owned since. And I must say the build quality of this car is on par with a 911, which I've owned many. WELL DONE VW!!

 

[Undecided_2]

The only way to find out would be to try and find a very new one off the boat and give it a go. I'm in the north of the UK so I'm unlikely to see one so new for a while. But if I do see a 22 plate car I may run down the street after them!

I have a 22 plate (March, Helensburgh) I’ll go test it as I do find it warm in slow traffic and very cold travelling at speed.

 

[DasHHat]

I have a 22 plate (March, Helensburgh) I’ll go test it as I do find it warm in slow traffic and very cold travelling at speed.

Did you manage to give it a test?

 

[Undecided_2]

Did you manage to give it a test?

Yes. It gets warmer when stationary/slow and colder/very cold when up to speed.

 

[Bouba]

I have a Made in China M3LR, third quarter 2021...and I live in the South of France..the air con seems to work fine...it blows in our face (in fact we usually have it so that it blows over our head because it’s too cold on the face)...
But the Tesla service man is coming tomorrow to ‘fix’ it...I made an appointment because a small part fell out of my wing mirror... and Tesla said they will fix the heat pump...I will see what happens tomorrow

 

[Bouba]

to follow up..this is the work schedule…please excuse my French

 

[TomT]

My 2022 does not have the AC issue but being built in Fremont, it has a number of other quality lapses...

 

[DasHHat]

Yes. It gets warmer when stationary/slow and colder/very cold when up to speed.

Did you test if it blows on legs when air con is cold temperature?