-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Prevent frozen door handles (suggestions)
- Thread starter CubbyCub
- Start date
download newest version to car/phone that has "Unlatch door" button?
Upvote
0
MY1stEV
Member
WD-40 on the handle hinge pins
Tesla Model 3 - Applying WD-40 to Door Handle Pivot Pins
It's too late to get this now, but for future use, a product like gummi pflege applied to the door seals on your car will help prevent the seals from freezing
Tesla Model 3 - Applying WD-40 to Door Handle Pivot Pins
It's too late to get this now, but for future use, a product like gummi pflege applied to the door seals on your car will help prevent the seals from freezing
Upvote
0
Watts_Up
Well-Known Member
May be put some masking tape, used for painting, above the handles.
Also put a big piece of cardboard to cover your windshield,
so you will not have to scrap the ice on it.
Note: When I go skiing, I put a windshild cover to the front and the rear windows.
(And I do the same in summer to keep the car warm on very hot days.)
Also put a big piece of cardboard to cover your windshield,
so you will not have to scrap the ice on it.
Note: When I go skiing, I put a windshild cover to the front and the rear windows.
(And I do the same in summer to keep the car warm on very hot days.)
Last edited:
Upvote
0
Does the unlatch door function found within the latest version of the Tesla app only unlatch the driver's door or can/will the function unlatch all of the doors?
(Press and hold the Lock/Unlock icon to display the additional controls. Drag the control you want to use to the row that displays the current controls (up to 5 controls can be displayed.)
Last edited:
Upvote
0
The manual explains how to help prevent handles from freezing (you dont mention car model) .. on a 3/Y there is a process to unjamming them (basically you thump them with your fist!).
Upvote
0
ThunderBay3Y
Member
Only unlatches the drivers door, then from inside you have to press the unlatch button on each door.
Watch if your windows can't roll down when the door is open. If they stay up it seems the latch is down so your door won't close easily and you don't want to slam it and damage your window. I had to close the door slowly and then gently push the door to latch it closed.
Upvote
0
Upvote
0
Typically 2 to 4%, depending on the temperature. Snow is a good insulator. With snow on the glass roof and windshield, rear glass the passenger cabin would warm rapidly. This might not be enough time to unfreeze the door handles. That is why Tesla added a function that enables you to unlatch the driver's door mechanism using the Tesla app.
Upvote
0
I'm sure it depends on a lot of factors, but I think I set a personal record for Wh/mi last night with my 2020 M3 SR+ (no heat pump).
I preconditioned while plugged in but mistakenly just turned on climate instead of using the "Defrost car" option. I was able to get into the car but the driver's window didn't drop, so I couldn't close the door from inside. I then ran the defrost for a few minutes off of the battery, because I had already unplugged.
I then drove .8 miles to my destination with my wife in the back seat as the front passenger door was still stuck but the left rear was working. The right mirror was also stuck in the folded position. When I arrived, I kept defrost on for a while until 3 of the 4 windows were freed up. Less than 2 hours later, I defrosted the car again for a few minutes, then drove .8 miles home. The outside handle of the front passenger door was still frozen but I was able to open it from the inside since the window had come unstuck. The right mirror was still stuck in the folded position.
The car had charged to 80% the prior night. I left home at 76% (4% burned on defrost while unplugged before leaving home), had 72% when I turned the car off at the destination (about 4% burned on defrost while there). I arrived back home at 66% (about 8% burned defrosting and driving home). So this 1.6 mile trip used 14% of the battery on my SR+. Teslamate recorded that I used 8.5 kWh to add 7.4 kWh to the battery. That's about 5 kWh per mile! That doesn't include the preconditioning that I did while plugged in before getting into the car.
In warm weather this trip often uses so little charge that the car leaves at 80% and returns home still reporting 80%
Lessons learned (which I'll promptly forget):
- When the weather is going from wet to freezing, after it gets below 41°F go out to the car and unfold mirrors, then open and close a door so the windows will drop to their 'freezing weather' position.
- Use the defrost button instead of the regular 'climate on' when trying to unfreeze the car
- Start the defrost cycle early. 5 or 10 minutes isn't going to unfreeze door handles.
- Buy a house with a garage
This is the battery level graph for this <2 mile round trip:
Attachments
Upvote
0
All four doors and windows on my 2020 Model Y were frozen shut yesterday during the cold snap. We were in a hurry to get to a medical appointment, so we knuckle-punched the front door handles to at least get the doors open.
The problem, of course, is the windows were frozen so they couldn't do the infamous Tesla window drop, which one often forgets is necessary. So of course, the windows squealed and bent against the exterior door trim...luckily, they didn't break. And once the doors were open, we couldn't risk shutting them against the trim.
So what does one even DO at that point? We had to get the totally unusable Tesla Model Y off the driveway to take our all-electric Volvo XC40 so we carefully drove the Tesla forward into and abandoned it on the side of our street, holding the doors with our hands so they wouldn't flop open.
Then we bailed out, ran to the Volvo, whose doors -- and *framed* windows -- all worked fine from a cold start under identical circumstances and managed to salvage half of our medical appointment.
When I got home, I had to cover the entire Tesla in a car cover and do three "Defrost Vehicle" cycles to get the handles and windows defrosted enough to be able to close the doors safely. It took over an hour.
I'm in Northern Virginia, by the way, not Greenland. And this happens at least once every winter.
Unbelievable and infuriating. What a poor design. How anyone in a *truly* cold climate in Canada or Northern Europe can purchase a Tesla is beyond me.
The problem, of course, is the windows were frozen so they couldn't do the infamous Tesla window drop, which one often forgets is necessary. So of course, the windows squealed and bent against the exterior door trim...luckily, they didn't break. And once the doors were open, we couldn't risk shutting them against the trim.
So what does one even DO at that point? We had to get the totally unusable Tesla Model Y off the driveway to take our all-electric Volvo XC40 so we carefully drove the Tesla forward into and abandoned it on the side of our street, holding the doors with our hands so they wouldn't flop open.
Then we bailed out, ran to the Volvo, whose doors -- and *framed* windows -- all worked fine from a cold start under identical circumstances and managed to salvage half of our medical appointment.
When I got home, I had to cover the entire Tesla in a car cover and do three "Defrost Vehicle" cycles to get the handles and windows defrosted enough to be able to close the doors safely. It took over an hour.
I'm in Northern Virginia, by the way, not Greenland. And this happens at least once every winter.
Unbelievable and infuriating. What a poor design. How anyone in a *truly* cold climate in Canada or Northern Europe can purchase a Tesla is beyond me.
Upvote
0
Getting the windows to their freezing weather position is a good idea. I wonder if using the vent windows button twice is enough to trigger the freezing weather position or if opening and closing the doors is needed.Lessons learned (which I'll promptly forget):
- When the weather is going from wet to freezing, after it gets below 41°F go out to the car and unfold mirrors, then open and close a door so the windows will drop to their 'freezing weather' position.
- Use the defrost button instead of the regular 'climate on' when trying to unfreeze the car
- Start the defrost cycle early. 5 or 10 minutes isn't going to unfreeze door handles.
- Buy a house with a garage
Upvote
0
Same thing happened to me last night in the DC area. Door barely opened and the windows did not go down. Luckily I gently closed the door and it went shut without trim damage. Unreal for a 60k car. Never had this issue with previous frameless BMWs.
Upvote
0
The problem is that new "unlatch the doors from the app" function is totally useless if the Tesla's windows are also frozen in place, which prevents them from doing "the drop" that allows one to safely open and close the doors without shattering the windows. You'll see a post from me a few minutes ago describing what happened to us yesterday. Tesla's cold weather engineering design is awful...nearly unusable if one doesn't have a garage, and even then, god forbid you don't have a parking garage at work in the winter.
Good point, Bobby....people often claim "well, it's an issue with frameless windows like Tesla" but other similar vehicles in this class with frameless windows seem to do fine. It's gotten to the point where I need a pre-flight checklist, cold weather operations plan, and large ground crew for the Tesla as if I'm trying to fly a C-130J out of McMurdo Station in Antarctica.
Upvote
0
The windows in the Tesla Model Y should automatically lower approx. 1/8" in cold weather to reduce the chance of the glass sticking to the door gasket.
You can treat the door gasket with a silicone spray lubricant. (Do not use the regular WD-40 product on the door gasket as WD-40 can damage rubber but you can safely spray a little WD-40 underneath, inside the door handle mechanism (do not let WD-40 remain on the painted part of the door.)
The exterior edge of the door where the window descends into the door when lowered is another problem area. When this flocking material gets wet it stays wet and can freeze to the glass. A de-icer spray applied to this seal will temporarily melt any ice.
(Look for a de-icer spray product that is made with Isopropyl alcohol, avoid products that contain Methanol (methanol is highly toxic if ingested or even through contact with bare skin.) Alternately spraying some 70% or 90% Isopropyl alcohol should work to melt the ice. (Some hand sanitizer sprays that are almost pure Ethanol alcohol may work however ethanol is not as effective at de-icing as Isopropyl alcohol).
You can treat the door gasket with a silicone spray lubricant. (Do not use the regular WD-40 product on the door gasket as WD-40 can damage rubber but you can safely spray a little WD-40 underneath, inside the door handle mechanism (do not let WD-40 remain on the painted part of the door.)
The exterior edge of the door where the window descends into the door when lowered is another problem area. When this flocking material gets wet it stays wet and can freeze to the glass. A de-icer spray applied to this seal will temporarily melt any ice.
(Look for a de-icer spray product that is made with Isopropyl alcohol, avoid products that contain Methanol (methanol is highly toxic if ingested or even through contact with bare skin.) Alternately spraying some 70% or 90% Isopropyl alcohol should work to melt the ice. (Some hand sanitizer sprays that are almost pure Ethanol alcohol may work however ethanol is not as effective at de-icing as Isopropyl alcohol).
Upvote
0
I have to put on some boxing gloves and learn how to knuckle punch the door handles during the winter.
Upvote
0
Similar threads
