Report from TESLA High Altitude Test Station (unofficial): Elevation = 7400ft Latitude = 41.2*N:
We have taken a couple days off (finally blue skies, warm sun!) to catch up with firewood. Actively sweeping snow & ice off the Roadster & ModelS whenever possible to avoid freeze-up problems.
Comments:
> Makes me wonder if it would be helpful to have something like a 12V-operated hairdryer (or maybe an infrared device), and use it to unfreeze various things that might get frozen? [Norbert]
@14*F doing this would have depleted the 12v batt trying to do the impossible. Portable blowtorch??
> I wonder if applying RainX to the glass and some silicone to the seals would help prevent this? [JRP3]
Excellent! In the past I would never really care if the driver's window was frozen shut. My commute was 200 mi south so that would take care of itself eventually. Or just park facing the sun at the first opportunity. But I *did* take pains to annually wipe the door seals with silicone fluid so the doors would not freeze shut. This solved that issue.
I did not want silicone smearing the whole driver's window as it was opened & closed on the shiny new S. But thinking about it now, it seems unlikely I will ever really need to open this window at all during cold weather. So why not lay a thick dousing of silicone spray along the window seal and move the window up an inch or so to work it into the seal surface. This should at least make clearing ice & freeing up the seal that much easier. Might even solve this whole problem.
TM could possibly choose a 'greasier' type of rubber for that window seal. My driver's window froze up on the following day again, this time with no ice visible anywhere on the entire door. When I opened the door the glass snapped past the chrome but could not drop down the 1/2 inch. I tried using the motor but it was stuck. Spent a minute or so inside playing with the screen, then discovered that the window had popped down silently all by itself. So now I could close the door. So there was enough moisture remaining in the seal to refreeze overnight. More reason to keep this seal soaked with silicone.
> For what it's worth, my Dad's BMW 850i would do this as well, for example if the 12V battery ran down. The 850 window was definitely designed to allow the door to open even if the window didn't go down, and it would hit the plastic trim around the window when the door closed. I suspect it's not an uncommon problem with frameless doors. [MikeK]
But it would allow the door to be closed without damage, right? The S door CANNOT BE CLOSED unless the glass can drop that crucial 1/2 inch! I can imagine an S owner off on a cig/booze run just bungeeing the driver's door 'closed' and making do. Hey, first things first!
> The tech guys at the service center and corporate I've spoken to just shake their heads at the extending handles. All they say is "Elon gets what Elon wants". I'm sure every engineer at Tesla has said the extending handles are just a fiasco waiting to happen. They are an overly complicated solution to a simple problem. Just look at those automated seatbelts that many cars had in the 90's. All of those went away too because it just added unneeded complexity. [DrComputer]
I've got one here- '90 Mitsu Coupe- I look at that seatbelt creature with fear. Probably replace it with a racing harness (if I ever manage to put the replacement engine in).
> In general, I think the door handles are "cool" (my kids absolutely love them) and a unique feature of the car, but I do worry about the long term reliability of the handles and the entire electronic door latching mechanism. [PureAmps]
My '01 Malibu Chevy has a *kids safety* back door lock-out switch that is semi-hidden away somewhere. Might be good to include on the S so the rear doors NEVER EVER open when car is in motion. NTSC requirement??
> the past several days have been rain during the day and freezing overnight. [Robert.Boston]
Time to soak the Tesla door/window seals with silicone or WD40.
> The Prius had some occasional oscillator issues that would mess with the smart key system. [efusco]
Now Toyota can dispatch a dozen engineers to focus on new issues that come up. TM cannot afford this. That is why I chose the NON-TECH Package, naively thinking it might yield a simple reliable proven KEY like the Roadster. No such luck.
> I stood in the parking lot of Walmart . . . . naturally there were onlookers. [AnOutsider]
1. You could carry camera as you climb out & instantly become a bystander oogling & photographing.
2. Never show perplexion or fear, adopt a general inspection mode: wheels, doors, screen, etc while returning obliquely to your aspect of concern. They need never know.
> Not every glitch related to this new car should be considered reasonable though. Though the car possesses some very new technologies, the door handles, as many have stated, seem to be unnecessarily complex and glitchy. As early adopters, everyone buying this car is looking forward to and willing to accept an element of adventure but everyone also has different tolerance levels. [bigsmooth125]
+1. When your module is on the Moon's surface you don't want *any* subsystems that rely on quickie Ranger visits from down the road in Menlo Park.
--
My 1965 GTO has frameless windows but just doesn't seal worth a s*&t. 
