My car was 94 degrees inside and it is still only spring!

[SMAlset]

I think the highest inside temp I ever saw reported by the app during last Summer was somewhere around 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Obviously I have cabin overheat protection turned off. You never realize how hot the inside of a parked car can get until you have a way to monitor the temperature.

Ain't that the truth! When our Model S first got the cabin overheat protection feature I monitored it daily several times a day for maybe a month, mostly to make sure it worked reliably and to see what battery loss would be. Cloud cover, tree shade, what kind of surface you park on, etc. can make a big difference. I miss having a sun roof to quickly vent my Model 3 but will say that the cabin overheat protection has worked well (we've been in the 90s this week, and that's exterior temp) and it kept it in the low 100s when I checked my app. I think our Model 3 ventilation system is great, much quicker cool down (or heat) than our Model S.

I remember back in the 60s my dad's car had vinyl seats and you would nearly burn your skin if you were in shorts. Had to sit on towels. Dad became a fan of cloth seats early on. Now with cabin pre-conditioning all you have to do is remember to turn it on to get it to a comfortable temperature if you aren't using the cabin overheat protection feature.

This week was I think the hottest my car has seen since owning it (9/2018). I do really miss our Model S leather ventilated seats and almost tried to hold out hoping they would be introduced in the Model 3. I was out today and could feel my backside and legs perspiring on the faux leather so not looking forward to summer sitting in these. I also ordered the front sunshade and will see if that helps any. Might cut down on the sun hitting the drivers seat.

 

[SDKoala]

I think the highest inside temp I ever saw reported by the app during last Summer was somewhere around 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Obviously I have cabin overheat protection turned off. You never realize how hot the inside of a parked car can get until you have a way to monitor the temperature.

I just had 145F yesterday.
Just make sure the original plastic has not melted on the screen.

That's a weird coincidence. I remember checking a few times last summer when it was parked in the sun in 100F heat and saw 145F also. This was before overheat protection was added to the firmware. Now I'm wondering if 145F is as high as the car can report for some reason. Does anyone have proof of a higher internal temp recorded?

 

[UngaBunga1989]

Has anyone had this happen? It was only around 65 degrees F outside, I live in the NY. I was inside the house and sending directions to my car from my phone and I saw that it was 94 in the interior. The heat was not on, it was on the side of my house and had been in the shade for most of the day, sun for a couple of hours. Is this my car malfunctioning or is it the huge expanse of glass soaking up the sun? I know I can set the car to maintain a certain temp but I don't like the idea of using up the charge on that all day/every day. Thoughts?

Thoughts? Most cars heat up at this time of year due to solar warming of their interiors WITHOUT a fully glass roof. Instead of being happy that you have a car that CAN keep its interior cool, you "don't like the idea of using up the charge..."

Can I ask a simple question? What did you think a car with an entirely glass roof might do in the sun?

 

[MMBTUS]

I bought the Tesla sunshade for the pano roof. Fits great, looks OEM, easy on/off. It helps.

 

[SageBrush]

I was out today and could feel my backside and legs perspiring on the faux leather

A sun-shade is really important, but you have to get used to thinking about where the sun will be towards the time you will use the car for best results and you have to crack open windows for ventilation.

As for the plastic upholstery, I knew before I bought the car that seat covers are needed. We ended up buying a cheap front row set from Walmart that work quite well for ~ $30

 

[G78M3]

Does anyone know if Tesla ever implemented the fix of temporarily redirecting the cool air flow to the front seats when remotely cooling down the car?

I recall months ago Elon or someone else mentioned this as a good idea but don’t remember anything else

 

[Garlan Garner]

Has anyone had this happen? It was only around 65 degrees F outside, I live in the NY. I was inside the house and sending directions to my car from my phone and I saw that it was 94 in the interior. The heat was not on, it was on the side of my house and had been in the shade for most of the day, sun for a couple of hours. Is this my car malfunctioning or is it the huge expanse of glass soaking up the sun? I know I can set the car to maintain a certain temp but I don't like the idea of using up the charge on that all day/every day. Thoughts?

The sun doesn't have a preference on whether the car is a Tesla or not.

I'm thinking that ICE cars with black interiors heat up the same way. <------I'm assuming you have black interior.

 

[one true morty]

Ain't that the truth! When our Model S first got the cabin overheat protection feature I monitored it daily several times a day for maybe a month, mostly to make sure it worked reliably and to see what battery loss would be. Cloud cover, tree shade, what kind of surface you park on, etc. can make a big difference. I miss having a sun roof to quickly vent my Model 3 but will say that the cabin overheat protection has worked well (we've been in the 90s this week, and that's exterior temp) and it kept it in the low 100s when I checked my app. I think our Model 3 ventilation system is great, much quicker cool down (or heat) than our Model S.

I remember back in the 60s my dad's car had vinyl seats and you would nearly burn your skin if you were in shorts. Had to sit on towels. Dad became a fan of cloth seats early on. Now with cabin pre-conditioning all you have to do is remember to turn it on to get it to a comfortable temperature if you aren't using the cabin overheat protection feature.

This week was I think the hottest my car has seen since owning it (9/2018). I do really miss our Model S leather ventilated seats and almost tried to hold out hoping they would be introduced in the Model 3. I was out today and could feel my backside and legs perspiring on the faux leather so not looking forward to summer sitting in these. I also ordered the front sunshade and will see if that helps any. Might cut down on the sun hitting the drivers seat.

I ordered the sunshades as soon as I posted this. I also did realize that cars get hot but I never really had a way to tell just how hot. I too have many memories of peeling my sweaty skin from burning hot seats and had towels just for said purpose. I was really pleased at how quickly the car cooled down. Watching the numbers drop on my phone made me much more comfortable.

 

[one true morty]

Thoughts? Most cars heat up at this time of year due to solar warming of their interiors WITHOUT a fully glass roof. Instead of being happy that you have a car that CAN keep its interior cool, you "don't like the idea of using up the charge..."

Can I ask a simple question? What did you think a car with an entirely glass roof might do in the sun?

I am actually very pleased that I have a car that can cool down so quickly. I was only surprised that it heated that high in low temp and mostly in the shade. I was asking if there was something I should know about that is making get hotter than expected so fast. It seems that it can get way hotter inside and the solution is shades which I purchased.

 

[SageBrush]

I am actually very pleased that I have a car that can cool down so quickly. I was only surprised that it heated that high in low temp and mostly in the shade. I was asking if there was something I should know about that is making get hotter than expected so fast. It seems that it can get way hotter inside and the solution is shades which I purchased.

Also crack your windows open. The car has to ventilate

 

[odddiv]

Now imagine what the interior of the car will be like in a few months for those of us who hit 110 outside with a heat index of 145.
I, for one, am curious to see what happens when the internal temp sensor reads ERROR.

 

[SMAlset]

Also crack your windows open. The car has to ventilate

There is a climate setting, can't say which one of the top of my head, that will let you ventilate the car without opening the windows and using the A/C, and less of a battery drain. The car will still heat up more than with cabin overheat protection on, but that might be something that some people find a better solution for their situation.

 

[one true morty]

Also crack your windows open. The car has to ventilate

I will do that and this is going to sound insane but it is also going to freak me out. I have gotten so many spiders in my cars over the years living in the northeast that I will be in a constant state of panic. I think that I attract spiders (this is the insane part, yes you can laugh) as I have been crawled on or bitten in cars since I was a small girl. I have had them drop in front of my face while driving, scamper across my steering wheel, dash across the windshield etc. I have photographic evidence. The idea of spiders in my Tesla makes me shudder. But if the alternative is melting the interior of my car I will have to suck it up and put the car into autodrive so I don't almost crash again when one of those things happens.

 

[Sherlo]

General car inside temp calculator

Inside Car Temperature Calculator | Good Calculators

Depending on time spent 94 seems normal

 

[ATLCLS]

Ceramic tint on the windows and roof really helps . I was at a baseball game the other day , car in the sun for 4 hours . Outside temp was 82 and car only got to 98 degrees. Also amazed at how quickly the temp lowers when you remotely turn on the ac.

 

[SageBrush]

I will do that and this is going to sound insane but it is also going to freak me out. I have gotten so many spiders in my cars over the years living in the northeast that I will be in a constant state of panic. I think that I attract spiders (this is the insane part, yes you can laugh) as I have been crawled on or bitten in cars since I was a small girl. I have had them drop in front of my face while driving, scamper across my steering wheel, dash across the windshield etc. I have photographic evidence. The idea of spiders in my Tesla makes me shudder. But if the alternative is melting the interior of my car I will have to suck it up and put the car into autodrive so I don't almost crash again when one of those things happens.

Your other choice is to engage cabin overheat protection to say ... 90F. I avoid that setting because it keeps the car fully awake unrelated to AC use, so somewhere in the range of 300 watts.

Personally, I respect phobias but perhaps you can make up a mesh to cover the window opening ?

 

[Dana1]

I have a solar cooker and was thinking of using it but I guess now I will just use the car! It is good to know that this is something I should be aware of. Do you know if there are any issues w/ the cabin getting so hot? I read that A/C will kick in if it reaches 120. I will just have to do the opposite of the winter checking/heating up now I guess.

Yes, cabin overheat kicks on at 105 (according to my SC anyway) to protect the tablet. I’m in Texas. Tinted my windows and much cooler.

 

[vickh]

wonder how it'll handle our 120 summers here in AZ...

How much range loss with cabin overheat protection?

 

[aronth5]

I use the No A/C option and it works fairly well but then again we don't the high summer temperatures although I have enabled the AC on particularly hot days.

 

[UltralightBeam]

Anyone with the shades have any data on pre-shades vs post-shade temps?