Pearson Airport 10day cold soak

[kbeckley]

Thought I would let others know what to expect if the left their car for an extended period outside in cold conditions.

We left our model X at Pearson from the 23rd of December to January 2nd. I did a range charge before we left and parked it with 420km remaining. There was 243km when we got back after 10 days of very cold temperatures. It took 20 min of highway driving to get any regen.

As I have seen before in my model S the main screen stops working when it is very cold - more specifically the light does not work but you can touch the black screen if you remember where the buttons are. The heating can be controlled by the thumb wheels but not the defrost which was a problem. The screen came back on after 10 min and a reset.

The car stopped responding to the phone app about day 4 when it got really cold in Toronto. Had me a little worried but lots of range left after 10 days of constant cold.

 

[eye.surgeon]

Can you quantify what you mean by very cold? For me that means below 50 degrees Fahrenheit but I have a feeling you mean colder than that .

Also do you know what percent battery loss you had average per day, rather than range lost? That's more helpful for many.

 

[Sisko - DS9]

Can you quantify what you mean by very cold? For me that means below 50 degrees Fahrenheit but I have a feeling you mean colder than that .

Also do you know what percent battery loss you had average per day, rather than range lost? That's more helpful for many.

I also live in the Toronto, Canada area and what we mean by very cold was during that time, as well as currently, we were/are experiencing temperatures between -12 to -30 degrees Celsius. That is in your units about 10 degrees Fahrenheit to a low of -15 degrees Fahrenheit. This is no joke, those were the temperature ranges... Note, some other parts of Canada got even colder (-40 degrees, at this point both Fahrenheit and Celsius are the same). We have had this cold snap for the last couple of weeks and is expected to continue to mid January.

Now doesn't that 50 degrees F sound just down right balmy!

 

[rypalmer]

Range charging before sitting for days was probably not the smartest, in terms of battery health. It seems to be a function of time spent at high SoC. Still relatively conjecture but why take the chance. Plenty of fast charging at the Airport.

 

[Dax279]

You were cutting things pretty close in terms of the extreme operating tempurature caution in the owners manual, which notes that the car should should be plugged in when the ambient tempurature Is less than minus 30 for more than 24 hours at a time.

 

[wayner]

I also live in the Toronto, Canada area and what we mean by very cold was during that time, as well as currently, we were/are experiencing temperatures between -12 to -30 degrees Celsius.

I think you might be quoting wind chill rather than actual temperatures. When you look it up on the net the temperatures in Toronto from Dec 23 to Jan 2 ranged from a high of +1 to a low of -22. Over the last 24 hours before picking up his car the temperature was around -9 to --13.

 

[Vawlkus]

I think you might be quoting wind chill rather than actual temperatures. When you look it up on the net the temperatures in Toronto from Dec 23 to Jan 2 ranged from a high of +1 to a low of -22. Over the last 24 hours before picking up his car the temperature was around -9 to --13.

No, he isn’t.

 

[wayner]

Prove it.

Here is a link to the Environment Canada weather history. The lowest daily Min for Pearson airport was -22.6C on Dec 31.

Toronto Intl Airport
           Max     Min
23-Dec-17 1.4   -5.6
24-Dec-17 -2    -9.7
25-Dec-17 -4.2 -12.1
26-Dec-17 -11.5 -17.3
27-Dec-17 -11.3 -19.7
28-Dec-17 -12.5 -22.5
29-Dec-17 -8.4 -16.1
30-Dec-17 -7.3 -19.2
31-Dec-17 -14.5 -22.6
01-Jan-18 -8.7 -21.3
02-Jan-18 -7.8 -13.1

 

[kbeckley]

Range charging before sitting for days was probably not the smartest, in terms of battery health. It seems to be a function of time spent at high SoC. Still relatively conjecture but why take the chance. Plenty of fast charging at the Airport.

I ranged charged because I knew I was going to burn off 40km getting to the airport. I didn't expect the cold that we got but was confident of having lots of range left (and did). The car was so cold it took >80km of range to get the 40km home. It was -12C last night.

On another note I drove my Model S to work this morning (which I had had washed the night before we left) and the brake pads were incredibly welded to the rotors. Took a lot of accelerator to break the grip. The parking brake did not release until I was onto the road off my driveway. Lots of ABS and traction control warnings thrown. Once parking break had released I stopped and started and the car and all good. Not sure what else I could have done but drive it to break the rust bonds.

 

[Dax279]

I think you might be quoting wind chill rather than actual temperatures. When you look it up on the net the temperatures in Toronto from Dec 23 to Jan 2 ranged from a high of +1 to a low of -22. Over the last 24 hours before picking up his car the temperature was around -9 to --13.

If he was wrong on his temps, he won’t be for long as the system that just left us that did see minus 20s to minus 30s here out west is heading out east I believe and so there will likely be more cold temps for them to enjoy.

 

[wayner]

If you are planning on parking at Pearson for a while you might want to consider using their valet service. They will plug you into an L2 charger and charge you up the day that you arrive. If you have the right type of Amex card (which I do) the $25 valet fee is waived and you get 15% off the rate. But you do pay $225/wk as opposed to $175 if you go with the non-valet option. Or leave your car at home and take an Uber/Lyft or limo.

 

[wayner]

If he was wrong on his temps, he won’t be for long as the system that just left us that did see minus 20s to minus 30s here out west is heading out east I believe and so there will likely be more cold temps for them to enjoy.

It rarely gets to -30 in Toronto. Over the last five years the lowest temp has been -26.3 in Feb of 2016. It also got to -25.5 in Feb of 2015.

 

[Tony_YYZ]

If you are planning on parking at Pearson for a while you might want to consider using their valet service. They will plug you into an L2 charger and charge you up the day that you arrive. If you have the right type of Amex card (which I do) the $25 valet fee is waived and you get 15% off the rate. But you do pay $225/wk as opposed to $175 if you go with the non-valet option. Or leave your car at home and take an Uber/Lyft or limo.

Amex Platinum FTW!

 

[Doug_G]

It’s a combination of high SOC and high temperatures that cause extra degradation over time. So doing this in the winter at extremely low temperatures is not likely to have much if any impact. That plus the 40 km trip to the airport and I’d say the range charge was an excellent strategy.

 

[ytwytw]

Or try park n fly valet
They also charge your car one day before you arrive.

Not covered parking

I would also charge my car to 100% for such case, as it’s 80km away from home, cost around 25-30% battery

 

[Torqueria]

Thought I would let others know what to expect if the left their car for an extended period outside in cold conditions.

We left our model X at Pearson from the 23rd of December to January 2nd. I did a range charge before we left and parked it with 420km remaining. There was 243km when we got back after 10 days of very cold temperatures. It took 20 min of highway driving to get any regen.

Did you do anything else other than switch off "always connected," which I assume you also did?

I recently had about 36 hours in the deep freeze at Chicago Midway airport, my first extended stay in the cold. Temps were about -10°F to +10°F for the most part during that time, I believe. I was pretty pleased with just a 4% loss in charge when I returned. However, while I was waiting for my luggage, I turned the climate to 60°F. It was 8°F inside when I turned it on. The heat was on for about 30 - 45 minutes & by the time I left the parking garage, the battery had dropped another 13%! I was in no way trying to conserve battery at that point since I knew I had plenty to get home, but I was rather stunned how fast ⅛ of the battery's charge disappeared. Also, even after 40 - 45 miles, I didn't have full regen capability when I exited the highway. Pretty surprised by that as well.

 

[Doug_G]

Yes preheat can really drain the battery if the car is thoroughly cold soaked.

If you have a short trip, then preheating is great because you'll be more comfortable. You'll only see ~ 1/2 regen at best without actually driving though.

If you have a long trip ahead, then preheat if you're plugged in. If you are not plugged in, and need maximum range, then do NOT preheat. Turn on "Range Mode" on the touchscreen, and start driving immediately.

If you're really pushing it, then also lower the cabin heat and crank up the seat heaters. The seat heaters take negligible power compared to the cabin heater.

Also if you plan to leave your car unplugged for a long time, turn OFF "Always Connected". All that will do is keep the car's computer alive for ~4 days, and then it will shut down. In the meantime that uses a surprising amount of energy. You can turn it back on after you get home.

 

[Drone Flyer]

Range charging before sitting for days was probably not the smartest, in terms of battery health. It seems to be a function of time spent at high SoC. Still relatively conjecture but why take the chance. Plenty of fast charging at the Airport.

Absolutely, you should never ever do a 100% charge and let the car sit. Range charging is meant for long trips. Your battery, sorry to say, has now lost some of its range.

 

[wayner]

But the OP didn't let the car sit. He range charged and drove 40 km to YYZ. So he was sitting around 90% charge level when he got to YYZ.

 

[Drone Flyer]

Yes preheat can really drain the battery if the car is thoroughly cold soaked.

If you have a short trip, then preheating is great because you'll be more comfortable. You'll only see ~ 1/2 regen at best without actually driving though.

If you have a long trip ahead, then preheat if you're plugged in. If you are not plugged in, and need maximum range, then do NOT preheat. Turn on "Range Mode" on the touchscreen, and start driving immediately.

If you're really pushing it, then also lower the cabin heat and crank up the seat heaters. The seat heaters take negligible power compared to the cabin heater.

Also if you plan to leave your car unplugged for a long time, turn OFF "Always Connected". All that will do is keep the car's computer alive for ~4 days, and then it will shut down. In the meantime that uses a surprising amount of energy. You can turn it back on after you get home.

Range mode in my opinion is totally useless. In really cold weather you'd be lucky to get an extra 2% range coupled with the fact you would've less heat. Not worth it.
You could also use "Chill" mode but that too would only gain you a minute savings in cold weather. Better to preplan and use available charging.