Pre-heating Temperature Accuracy

[dave]

If I have my temperature set to 70 degrees and then tell the car to preheat - it will get quite toasty. It seems to ignore the temperature setting and keep on heating regardless of what I have it set at, often reporting temperatures up to 80 degrees.

Does everyone's car do this, or is something wrong with my thermostat? If I set it to 70, you think the car would stop heating up when it hits 70...

 

[Doug_G]

I find it usually overshoots a little bit - maybe 2-3 degrees C (3-5 F).

 

[dsm363]

Might want to get it checked out. Haven't found it to be that inaccurate.

 

[ckessel]

If I have my temperature set to 70 degrees and then tell the car to preheat - it will get quite toasty. It seems to ignore the temperature setting and keep on heating regardless of what I have it set at, often reporting temperatures up to 80 degrees.

Does everyone's car do this, or is something wrong with my thermostat? If I set it to 70, you think the car would stop heating up when it hits 70...

Mine does this too.

 

[ckessel]

Mine does this too.

Worth clarifying this only happens in preheat. In normal operations, the HVAC temperature is very consistent. My personal suspicion is pre-heat is in super-hot, super blow mode and it just blows out hot air so fast that by the time the temp gauge thinks it's good, the gauge is still in the process of warming to the true temperature.

 

[mknox]

I think on the earlier cars, without the internal temperature sensor aspirator, that the temperature can be off by quite a bit from the settings. On past cars, I would just leave it at 72 F and be quite comfortable. On my Model S, I've been leaving it at 66 or 67 F to get the same level of comfort -- even when it was extremely cold this winter.

 

[tezco]

Mine is also running hot. My Leaf's preheat/precool is factory set to 78F.

 

[rrosenbl]

App needs some tuning up, and added features

Affirmative. When I activate the preheat feature, via the iPhone App, the interior is much hotter than the temp I set, typically 72-76 degrees (VIN #128xx). Not a big issue if I'm plugged in, but when in Yosemite in January this year, over heating an unplugged car drains the battery of precious electrons. It's a great feature but at this point UNRELIABLE, so be careful.
TESLA needs to address this issue as well as other opportunities for improvement:
-Enable activating the front and rear defrosters via the Mobile App. Handy feature for our damp/foggy So Cal mornings. The windows can be stubbornly cool/damp keeping the driver shrouded too long.
-Enable activating the seat warmers (driver, passenger or any of the rear warmers in if equiped) via the Mobile App.
-Activate a feature that opens the windows 1/2" to allow a hot car to vent before you get in (uses less energy than activating the A/C.
There are more features I have recommended for the App but they are not heating related, thus not for this string.

 

[brianman]

I think on the earlier cars, without the internal temperature sensor aspirator, that the temperature can be off by quite a bit from the settings. On past cars, I would just leave it at 72 F and be quite comfortable. On my Model S, I've been leaving it at 66 or 67 F to get the same level of comfort -- even when it was extremely cold this winter.

+1 (underlined)

 

[NigelM]

-Activate a feature that opens the windows 1/2" to allow a hot car to vent before you get in (uses less energy than activating the A/C.

You already have this feature, the pano roof can be tilted via the remote app to allow heat to vent.

Edit: I shouldn't assume everyone has the pano roof. The suggestion to lower windows 1/2" is a good idea.

 

[InTheShadows]

I think the overheating during preheat is an intentional "feature". There is a lot if latent cooling energy stored in the internal mass of the car, so they overshoot the temp so that everything will be warmed up to approximately the correct temp.

I have noticed the overshooting of the temp seems to me more drastic on colder days, which this theory would make sense. Others thoughts?

 

[mknox]

I think on the earlier cars, without the internal temperature sensor aspirator, that the temperature can be off by quite a bit from the settings.

Interestingly enough, I am driving a new loaner today that has the new interior temperature sensor and have also found I have to keep the temp at about 67 F (and it was below 0 F this morning too).

 

[tezco]

Interestingly enough, I am driving a new loaner today that has the new interior temperature sensor and have also found I have to keep the temp at about 67 F (and it was below 0 F this morning too).

Maybe we just got Manopause.

 

[SeminoleFSU]

I think on the earlier cars, without the internal temperature sensor aspirator, that the temperature can be off by quite a bit from the settings. On past cars, I would just leave it at 72 F and be quite comfortable. On my Model S, I've been leaving it at 66 or 67 F to get the same level of comfort -- even when it was extremely cold this winter.

+ 1

 

[dave]

I think on the earlier cars, without the internal temperature sensor aspirator...

What is an internal temperature sensor aspirator, and how do you tell if you have it or not?

 

[mknox]

What is an internal temperature sensor aspirator, and how do you tell if you have it or not?

It will look like a dime-sized circle consisting of tiny openings on the forward edge of the center armrest above the USB ports. Its purpose is to draw cabin air in with a little fan over the temperature sensor. Without it, I believe whatever the sensor is mounted to gets influenced by the temperature of whatever it is attached to.