Model S in the snow. Need advice on temperature management.

[YauKwan]

Just drove through first major snow storm in the Tesla and found a couple of things that maybe others can shed some light on so I can be more prepared for the next storm.

I have the cold weather package. But even turning on the wiper heaters I still get ice accumulation on my wipers. This would cause areas on the windshield to not get cleaned reducing visibility.

To try to combat this. I turned on front defrost to max by double tapping the defrost button. The car cabin temperature got unbearably hot and I was running at about 1000wh. But it still did nothing to melt the ice on the windshield.

The wiper heater turned off every 15 minutes. Same with rear defrosters. Kind of annoying as I would have to reactivate while driving in the snow.

My feet were still frozen even while the cabin was lava hot.

Overall how do I balance everything so I can see and not be on fire but with frozen feet?

Thanks.

Ps. I drove about 40 miles. Used 160 miles in range.

 

[Mknac]

I can't speak to the other things but air flow to the drivers feet is poor in my MS. I have cold feet driving in the winter.

Others have noticed this too.

 

[scottm]

Scrape the ice off all windows before driving, using a scraper. Or if your car is plugged in and charging, go ahead and turn on climate to very hot about 10 minutes before driving.

Don't try melting ice with cabin heaters. Waste of battery. I never use the rear window defroster either, same reason - waste of battery.

I have the winter package. Only the for the heated seats all around. The wiper heat is useless, don't use it.

Use the HVAC control to direct heat at your feet if your feet are cold.
Press the climate on the center console to get the climate pop up window to see/adjust all the sub-controls A/C on/off, recirc/fresh, directed air top/vents/floor, and fan speed.

And wear warm socks and boots.

In general, you should dress warmer for EV driving and leave your coat on. Leave a hat on too.

If you use "Range Mode ON" you don't get very much HVAC heat output (by design). Turn the mode OFF if you want more cabin heat.

 

[HX_Guy]

#coldplacesproblems

On the flip side, how does the Model S handle dry, 110° Phoenix summers?

 

[aronth5]

A recent thread on extreme cold and I mean cold!
I hope Tesla engineers are following this topic.
Staying comfortable in Extreme Cold

 

[byan1232]

Omg... u used 160 rated miles driving 40 miles? Is that normal at all?

 

[Maximapolak]

You hit the front defroster. That turns off the foot option.

 

[jdw]

For me, semi-manual settings work great - turn off the AC, leave recirculation on auto, set vents to windshield and floor and temp to about 72 degrees. Map the fan speed to the right scroll wheel and use it to keep the windows clear if needed, alternating between manual and auto. Comfortable at -20 C today and all winter long.

What does not work well is cranking the temperature high on full auto-climate or running defrost on high for more than a few minutes after the car is warm.

 

[Dax279]

Did you have proper windshield washer fluid that is designed for the cold?

If you came to a stop I would have tried that to see if I could clear things up, as this can sometimes help (perhaps a last ditch effort before going out to scrap as depending on the temp and if you start driving it could makes things a little worse). It almost looks like you were driving in freezing rain, but hard to tell.

I note that I did have some Ice build up the other day when we had snow and it was about -5c. It was very small and below where the defroster get and so I just ignored it for my short trip. Not sure if the cold weather package would have helped here as it was above where those defroster are in the windshield.

This is my first year with the MS and I don't have the cold weather package. I have driven a lot in negative temps as well as snow storms. The worse thing for me is when it warms up and I want to clean my windshield. The spray is not very good and I use more fluid than I'm used to.

I have a late model 2015 car and note that my feet have yet to feel cold. When I installed my updated interior lights from Abstract Ocean I did notice that I seem to have three vented holes on the driver side footwell for hearing my feet.

 

[YauKwan]

Just to follow up and summarize a little for my next trip.

I had preheated the car while plugged in and scrapped the window prior to leaving the house. But ice accumulated on the wiper as i was driving and would not deice no matter what. I sprayed a lot of window washer fluid which is rated for this weather and should be warmed/heated because of the cold weather package. I had to refill on Sunday morning, so i used a gallon of fluid in the 40 miles.

Range mode is off. I had boots and socks on. Couldnt really stop on the highway to scrap again. I think the usage is in line with the wh/mi i was using. it was 3x-4x normal usage so range is 1/3-1/4.

it sounds like i need to make a couple of changes.

1. Crank up the temperature higher, but put the fan on relatively low. Don't use front window defrost setting and don't use auto. Rear defrost seems like it works and is OK.

2. Manually select options , turn off AC, set to not recirculate, point it to windshield and feet but not my face and set fan setting to 1-3.

3. I think there are usb + battery powered socks? i'll look into a pair.

I still love the car. Just a little disappointing in paying for additional features that doesnt work well(cold weather) while forgoing other packages that would have made the car better overall. I have much more experience for when i order the X!

 

[Dax279]

This might be why I thought it was freezing rain you drove in, applying the windshield washing fluid while driving with the cold would cause the fluid to freeze onto the windshield if there is already some ice build up. I have had it happen to me with an ice in the past. Adding more fluid when driving and moving if I recall only can make things worse.

 

[BestRadar]

This might be why I thought it was freezing rain you drove in, applying the windshield washing fluid while driving with the cold would cause the fluid to freeze onto the windshield if there is already some ice build up. I have had it happen to me with an ice in the past. Adding more fluid when driving and moving if I recall only can make things worse.

Unfortunately the salt from the road makes the windshield impossible to see out of so you have to constantly clean the windshield with washer fluid.

 

[jdw]

Bosche Icon OE blades and adding a cup or two of isopropyl alcohol to your washer fluid help when it is very cold. The extra alcohol helps dissolve the ice and salt and keeps the washer fluid from thickening. The blades are a big step up from what Tesla uses, which are Bosche, but not Bosche Icons. They reduce chatter and streaking significantly.

 

[brkaus]

If it's just snow, I have the best luck keep in the front windshield cold. So nothing melts on it, it all just blows off .

Clearly very dependent on actual weather conditions, Road slush, etc.