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Okay to Turn Off Cabin Overheat Protection

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I set up an old camera to record my surfing, and when I watched the video, I was surprised to hear the AC come on!

Googling showed me it was the Cabin Overheat Protection. It was 55 degrees out, but the car was in the sun. It rarely gets above 65 degrees here (F).

I want to confirm that since there will never be any kids or pets or old people in the car, it's okay to turn off COP.

Thanks!

 
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Sure if you don't mind coming back to a hot cabin if you forget/don't precondition or you don't have anything in the car that may be damaged by heat like maybe your "old camera".

But the best question is why. It is great knowing that if you accidentally leave something in the car it will be at least minimally protected and it uses very little power. Also it can SAVE power since it takes a lot less energy to cool the cabin that is not above 100ºF/38ºC.
 
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I set up an old camera to record my surfing, and when I watched the video, I was surprised to hear the AC come on!

Googling showed me it was the Cabin Overheat Protection. It was 55 degrees out, but the car was in the sun. It rarely gets above 65 degrees here (F).

I want to confirm that since there will never be any kids or pets or old people in the car, it's okay to turn off COP.

Thanks!


Sure you can turn it off, but understand that the temperature outside not getting above 65 doesnt mean that the inside of your car will stay "comfortable" without it on. If your car is in the sun, even if its 65 outside its likely your car will end up being 95-100 or even hotter. on an 80 degree day in the sun, the car will likely get 120-130 or even hotter inside. Thats not a huge deal but people under estimate how hot it will get in the car.
 
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I use overhear protection with no AC. Seems like a happy medium and uses virtually no battery when sitting outside all day in summer So Cal heat. My windows are tinted and I use a sunshade for the windshield. Couple minutes of preconditioning and it’s pretty cool when I get in. White interior also helps. Way better than when I had a black interior ICE car with no ability to turn on AC remotely.
 
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I use overhear protection with no AC. Seems like a happy medium and uses virtually no battery when sitting outside all day in summer So Cal heat. My windows are tinted and I use a sunshade for the windshield. Couple minutes of preconditioning and it’s pretty cool when I get in. White interior also helps. Way better than when I had a black interior ICE car with no ability to turn on AC remotely.

This is exactly what I do (cabin overheat with no AC), same situation, windows tinted (including glass roof) with 3m Crystalline, and I have a nice sunshade for the front window. Only takes a few minutes of pre conditioning to get the car to an acceptable temp (but it will still get quite hot inside, if you check the app and see what temp it reports.
 
I'll do that, thanks.

I don't mind a hot car in terms of getting in, especially after spending three hours in the ocean.

BTW, I've been using the Sentry Cam for taking video of my surfing, but it only gets the last minutes before I return to the car.

It’s not detecting the surfing as movement. It’s only recording you getting close the car and a few mins before and after.
 
Also it can SAVE power since it takes a lot less energy to cool the cabin that is not above 100ºF/38ºC.

I’m sorry, that’s just not true. Cooling takes energy, and it will always take less to cool from a high internal temperature after sitting for a few hours then consistently removing heat as it sits. If that principle were true, programmable thermostats wouldn’t exist. You certainly save energy by leaving it off, but probably not a huge amount unless the car sits for a while.
 
I’m sorry, that’s just not true. Cooling takes energy, and it will always take less to cool from a high internal temperature after sitting for a few hours then consistently removing heat as it sits...
Let me help you read my post;)....it can save (depending on the circumstance) NOT it DOES save (like it won't in your "few hours" example).
 
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I'll do that, thanks.

I don't mind a hot car in terms of getting in, especially after spending three hours in the ocean.

BTW, I've been using the Sentry Cam for taking video of my surfing, but it only gets the last minutes before I return to the car.

Nice Vid. Looks cold out. Yes it is totally fine to leave COP off.
I see it as a bit of a gimmick and don't use it. On a hot day simply winding down the windows will drop the internal temp to near outside temp very smartly. Alternatively powering on the AC as you approach the car will also cool it very quickly. I often leave my car parked in an airport parking lot while I am away for extended periods.. I need to minimize battery drain so that I can drive home without the need to charge. The last thing I want is for COP to be constantly waking the car, cooling it and draining the battery. Leaving sentry mode active is even worse of course. So for me I have never activated COP
 
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I’m sorry, that’s just not true. Cooling takes energy, and it will always take less to cool from a high internal temperature after sitting for a few hours then consistently removing heat as it sits. If that principle were true, programmable thermostats wouldn’t exist. You certainly save energy by leaving it off, but probably not a huge amount unless the car sits for a while.
We drove to a remote area along the Potomac River to ride bikes on the C&O towpath. Our Model X (2018, 100d) range melted away in the last part of the trip (unusual), so I checked the range as we got out of the car to bike. 3-4 hrs later, we returned and I checked range. 15 miles less than when we got out of the car. 79 degrees high temp outside. Hot inside. Later, a message said it turned off Cabin Protection whatever. We had to drive very slowly to nearest supercharger.
 
I have heat protection turned on now, but WITHOUT A/C. And I saw first hand that it's enough even in near 110F heat here in TX. How? I had it turned off, precisely for fear of decreasing range dramatically, since I thought you had to have A/C on in order to be effective. So when I turned on climate to cool the cabin off while shopping, with the interior being at 135F+, the car was already at 114 after the few minutes it took us to get to the car. And to my surprise, A/C was off, since I always turn it off before shutting off HVAC. So there's no need to turn A/C on, folks, especially since the interior wouldn't get past 114F anyway. And also keep in mind if you left A/C off, the app WILL NOT turn it on. Hope this helps.
 
I’m sorry, that’s just not true. Cooling takes energy, and it will always take less to cool from a high internal temperature after sitting for a few hours then consistently removing heat as it sits. If that principle were true, programmable thermostats wouldn’t exist. You certainly save energy by leaving it off, but probably not a huge amount unless the car sits for a while.
I always roll down the windows to quickly cool the car instead of just popping the AC on with the windows still closed.
 
When I first got the car I left the COP on the default setting, which had AC enabled and I also enabled Sentry Mode. In Florida that equated to around 20-25% of depleted battery charge over 8 hours in a parking lot and a puddle of water from the HVAC draining all day. No thanks, that seems ridiculous to cool a car all day with no one in it. If you tend to freak out over getting in a hot car then just start the AC remotely a couple minutes before you get in you can even watch the temp drop from like 145 to 80 in 2-3 minutes.
 
Yeah, the A/C option shouldn't even be available, IMO. No A/C cools the cabin quickly, even in near 110F heat. I found out when turning climate control on from the app, and A/C didn't turn on (because I turned if off before exiting the car). I was surprised the interior was at ambient temperature (like 105) in the 2 minutes it took us to get to the car. Having said that, I did have a windshield sun-shield (heatshield brand), as well as the same company's 2 roof panels, which totally block (and insulate against) the sun. At that point, I turned the feature on without A/C, since it should consume way less energy that way. And we rarely leave the car outside, so not a big deal for us. Due to the lack of seat ventilation, if you get into the car very hot, we're miserable until we get home, and that's with white interior.
 
I agree the battery drain is an issue, my argument for turning cabin overheat protection off is you can easily cool the cabin for a couple minutes upon approaching the car using the app.

However consider Teslas are big driving computers and I'd never leave a tablet or laptop in a sweltering car I'm not sure I'm comfortable letting the car internals bake all day just to save battery.
 
I think folks may not realize that the Cabin Overheat protection was actually a software ‘fix’ for the MCU units in the Models S which were not automotive grade and had (and still do today) issues with the screens ‘melting’ and getting warped. It was due to the screen adhesive melting - was never intended to be in installed in cars that sit in the sun.
the COP settings are not set for humans or animals - the temps are set for saving electronic hardware. If you have full faith that Tesla solved the issue with the 3/Y, then feel free to turn off COP.
there’s a couple of articles out there on this..
 
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I agree the battery drain is an issue, my argument for turning cabin overheat protection off is you can easily cool the cabin for a couple minutes upon approaching the car using the app.

However consider Teslas are big driving computers and I'd never leave a tablet or laptop in a sweltering car I'm not sure I'm comfortable letting the car internals bake all day just to save battery.
But all modern cars have computer and displays now. The devices in the auto industry are built to withstand the heat and cold that our cars will encounter. It is not like the computers are actively running in that heat, they are idle. Another way to look at it is you may be shortening the life of your HVAC system to keep your seats and screen cooler. HVAC compressors, condensers and blower motors are expensive items that will not be covered under warranty after year 4. I think replacing the screen would be less expensive than the HVAC repair. A condenser replacement on a cheap Honda Civic is $1,900 for parts and labor.