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Overheat cabin after fully tinted with 3M crystalline in 72 degrees outside

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Hello everyone,

I’m new in this forum and this is my first post. I tried to look for my issue but I couldn’t find any overheated article after tinting with 3M crystalline the whole Model Y. Here is my story:

I got my Model Y Performance white with white interior less 2 weeks ago (on May 14th). I park the car outside in San Diego area, it has been cloudy (May gray) all these past days, so not really hot outside. However the cabin started to heat up (around 120 degrees - 125 degrees) so I saw myself venting the car from the app constantly, with not really a big difference.
I decided to tiny with the best heat rejection tinting in the market. It seems 3M crystalline is the way to go. I spent more than 2k to tint the whole car (40 on the sides and back and 70 windshield and sunroof). I also applied PPF to the full front. I did this in a reputable tinting shop in San Diego with great reviews in yelp and google, so I felt confident with it and spending the money would be worth it.
However, today May 29th is sunny but just around 70 degrees outside.
To my surprise, the interior cabin reached 130 degrees.
I wasn’t expecting the tinting will completely avoid the cabin to get hot, I know it reduces the speed to get hot or in certain way reduce the heat overall. I am very surprised / disappointed on this.

Anyone has bad this issue too after tinting with 3M crystalline or similar? What can I do to avoid getting the car so hot inside?

If this is like this now, how it’s going to be when it’s 100 degrees out there?

Thank you everyone for reading and commenting if you have any suggestion.
Also sorry for my English if I wrote something wrong (I’m from Spain).

Cheers!
 
Hello everyone,

I’m new in this forum and this is my first post. I tried to look for my issue but I couldn’t find any overheated article after tinting with 3M crystalline the whole Model Y. Here is my story:

I got my Model Y Performance white with white interior less 2 weeks ago (on May 14th). I park the car outside in San Diego area, it has been cloudy (May gray) all these past days, so not really hot outside. However the cabin started to heat up (around 120 degrees - 125 degrees) so I saw myself venting the car from the app constantly, with not really a big difference.
I decided to tiny with the best heat rejection tinting in the market. It seems 3M crystalline is the way to go. I spent more than 2k to tint the whole car (40 on the sides and back and 70 windshield and sunroof). I also applied PPF to the full front. I did this in a reputable tinting shop in San Diego with great reviews in yelp and google, so I felt confident with it and spending the money would be worth it.
However, today May 29th is sunny but just around 70 degrees outside.
To my surprise, the interior cabin reached 130 degrees.
I wasn’t expecting the tinting will completely avoid the cabin to get hot, I know it reduces the speed to get hot or in certain way reduce the heat overall. I am very surprised / disappointed on this.

Anyone has bad this issue too after tinting with 3M crystalline or similar? What can I do to avoid getting the car so hot inside?

If this is like this now, how it’s going to be when it’s 100 degrees out there?

Thank you everyone for reading and commenting if you have any suggestion.
Also sorry for my English if I wrote something wrong (I’m from Spain).

Cheers!
Your English is fine

It's normal for a car to get heat soaked even with the best tint. The tint makes a difference when driving but not so much when parked for extended periods. I put Spectra Photosync on mine and it got to the 130s during lunch today too. Sunshades for the roof and windows will help a bit or just turn on air conditioning a few minutes before getting into it.
 
Keep in mind that the tint is on the inside of an IR absorbing insulator (a.k.a modern car glass). My old 60s car had untreated tempered glass side windows. They didn't feel hot in the sun because the IR goes right through. Modern windows try to block the IR, which is why they feel warmer in the sun

IR absorbed by tint will will heat the tint up. This heat is on the inside of an insulator (the glass).

IR that is reflected by the tint will heat the glass further as it passes back through. Both of these effects heat the air in the car.

Don't get me wrong; tint has benefits:
1. When the IR heats the tint, conduction heats the glass; the warmer window radiates some of that heat out of the car - reducing cabin temp.
2. When IR is reflected by the tint, a portion makes it past the glass and leaves the car - reducing cabin temp.
3. IMO, the main benefit is that most of the IR from the sunlight doesn't direct hit you when driving. This makes you more comfortable and keeps your body cooler.

Cabin heat protection will keep the interior below 100.

Precooling the car will make it comfortable when you get in.

The tint will make you more comfortable driving and allow you to keep the cabin warmer while still feeling cool. It will also make the cabin heat protection use less energy.
 
Last edited:
Hello everyone,

I’m new in this forum and this is my first post. I tried to look for my issue but I couldn’t find any overheated article after tinting with 3M crystalline the whole Model Y. Here is my story:

I got my Model Y Performance white with white interior less 2 weeks ago (on May 14th). I park the car outside in San Diego area, it has been cloudy (May gray) all these past days, so not really hot outside. However the cabin started to heat up (around 120 degrees - 125 degrees) so I saw myself venting the car from the app constantly, with not really a big difference.
I decided to tiny with the best heat rejection tinting in the market. It seems 3M crystalline is the way to go. I spent more than 2k to tint the whole car (40 on the sides and back and 70 windshield and sunroof). I also applied PPF to the full front. I did this in a reputable tinting shop in San Diego with great reviews in yelp and google, so I felt confident with it and spending the money would be worth it.
However, today May 29th is sunny but just around 70 degrees outside.
To my surprise, the interior cabin reached 130 degrees.
I wasn’t expecting the tinting will completely avoid the cabin to get hot, I know it reduces the speed to get hot or in certain way reduce the heat overall. I am very surprised / disappointed on this.

Anyone has bad this issue too after tinting with 3M crystalline or similar? What can I do to avoid getting the car so hot inside?

If this is like this now, how it’s going to be when it’s 100 degrees out there?

Thank you everyone for reading and commenting if you have any suggestion.
Also sorry for my English if I wrote something wrong (I’m from Spain).

Cheers!
Wow, those numbers are unbelievable when you put them together. I'm sure 3M is a quality product (I have the Xpel prime xr plus), but how do you get 130 with outside being 70 and cloudy?! I live in south FL and it's already 90+ outside with arguably the hottest sun shining directly down. I can park my Y under the sun for 3-4 hours (no windshield cover and no sunroof tint, but I do have a sunroof shade) and it's about 100 inside, which feels slightly warm but easily bearable. In the winter here it's often 70 and cloudy, my car's interior would never get above 85.
 
Window tinting only slows down the heating process, meaning it does not reflect 100% heat from the Sun. There is no such thing/material that reflects 100% heat on Earth. Objects absorb energy and transmit it and that's why your cabin heats up.
I bet heavily tinted cars will have same temperature as no tinted cars after less than an hour under the sun.
 
Wow, those numbers are unbelievable when you put them together. I'm sure 3M is a quality product (I have the Xpel prime xr plus), but how do you get 130 with outside being 70 and cloudy?! I live in south FL and it's already 90+ outside with arguably the hottest sun shining directly down. I can park my Y under the sun for 3-4 hours (no windshield cover and no sunroof tint, but I do have a sunroof shade) and it's about 100 inside, which feels slightly warm but easily bearable. In the winter here it's often 70 and cloudy, my car's interior would never get above 85.

You have cabin overheat turned on….
 
In Settings-Safety, turn on “cabin overheat protection”. This will use a fan or even the air conditioning to keep the interior temperature below 105 degrees. It does use some battery power.

Or, just don’t worry about it and use the app to turn on the climate control a few minutes before you plan to drive the car.
 
So, I've read that the cabin over heat protection is more for the potential of children in the back seat. It's not for the safety of the car. I've not searched a ton, but it seems that most folks assume it's for the safety of the car.... Thoughts?
 
I thought it was to protect the screens and internal components.
Cabin Overheat Protection operates until 12 hours has elapsed since you exited, or until the Battery energy drops below 20%, whichever comes first.
That I didn't know. So if I don't drive for 24 hours, COP will only work for the first 12 hours assuming I have plenty of battery?

I thought it was for protecting the interior electronics as well, but that's probably just because I don't have kids, LOL. Kids are the last things in any of my considerations. :cool:
 
That I didn't know. So if I don't drive for 24 hours, COP will only work for the first 12 hours assuming I have plenty of battery?

I thought it was for protecting the interior electronics as well, but that's probably just because I don't have kids, LOL. Kids are the last things in any of my considerations. :cool:
I don't think you can break anything in the car even with the COP off. Those components might not last a long time, but I don't see any potential issue even with the COP off.
 
My car right now, sitting in the driveway. It hasn't been touched since last night, and it's nearly 1pm now.
75F outside.
Cabin overheat protection off. Sentry Mode off.
3M Crystalline 70% all around, including windshield. (But not on roof glass)

Screenshot_20220602-124009_Tesla.png


So yes, it is normal.
 
My car right now, sitting in the driveway. It hasn't been touched since last night, and it's nearly 1pm now.
75F outside.
Cabin overheat protection off. Sentry Mode off.
3M Crystalline 70% all around, including windshield. (But not on roof glass)

View attachment 811869

So yes, it is normal.

Normal. Even if you had 1000 layers of 3m Crystalline, you will get the same result.
 
So, I've read that the cabin over heat protection is more for the potential of children in the back seat. It's not for the safety of the car. I've not searched a ton, but it seems that most folks assume it's for the safety of the car.... Thoughts?
Sustained exposure to temperatures over 85F without water, shade and a way to cool off are not safe for people or pets. The fact that Cabin Overheat Protection (COP) can maintain the passenger cabin at or under 105F in no way should be considered a safe temperature for the vehicle's occupants. (It is a mystery to me why COP is even included under the vehicle's Safety settings.)
 
Sustained exposure to temperatures over 85F without water, shade and a way to cool off are not safe for people or pets. The fact that Cabin Overheat Protection (COP) can maintain the passenger cabin at or under 105F in no way should be considered a safe temperature for the vehicle's occupants. (It is a mystery to me why COP is even included under the vehicle's Safety settings.)

It just gives you time. A dog/child will survive a lot longer at 100f vs 142f. I don’t think anyone is recommending forgetting your kids in the car..
 
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OP this is a common question here, but yes, all this is completely normal (and what happened in EVERY other car you have had, btw). The only difference between this car and others, is we can see, easily, in clear numbers, how hot the car is reporting the inside of the car getting.

Your other cars got this hot too, you just didnt know it.
 
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