Prevent frozen door handles (suggestions)

[CubbyCub]

Anything I can do ahead of time to prevent my door handles from freezing? Expecting a flash freeze tomorrow here in the Northeast (54F to 15F in a matter of hours) Wish I had garage access but I have to stay in the driveway. Any life hacks?

Thank You

 

[Happy Hippo]

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).

I will look on YouTube on how to do this on the door handle.

 

[Z_Lynx]

My door/window froze up a couple times. Not fun!

I played around with the idea of plastic sheeting placed over the driver's window and held in place from above using a magnetic strip (had some flexible magnetic strips salvaged from old refrigerator door gaskets). It would work but be a pain.

Decided instead to add a 2 1/2' overhang to the driver's side of the open carport and partially enclose it (screening and fence boards). I am pretty sure this will stop driving snow and ice from freezing up my car.

 

[WyoDude]

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.

How do you like your xc40 recharge in comparison?

 

[astrobill]

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.

Ok, great...but I see no evidence of this occurring in my vehicle and, if it did, it clearly didn't do the trick, as all four windows were frozen shut and totally inoperable.

Also, I was pressing down on the window slightly to see if we could get it moving, and it seemed like faaaaar more was wrong than some frost or ice sticking to the gasket to me. It didn't feel as if I could've just broken through an 1/8" band of frost to get it moving again. The entire motor mechanism seemed to be completely inoperable due to cold.

Also, I can't find mention of that rumored 1/8" cold weather prep movement in the online Model Y Owner's Manual. What's your source for that information?

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).

Good tips, but....

...per my post above, this is getting to the level of needing a professional ground crew to perform cold weather operations. This isn't a Lockheed C-130J doing emergency flight operations in Antarctica or a Boeing 777 doing a half hour of de-icing prep at the airport in Reykyavik.

If people need to do all of this to make their $70 - $80K Model Ys usable in fairly common North American winter weather, the vehicle design is clearly faulty. I can imagine lots of situations where this could've turned into a real emergency. What if the power had gone out and we needed to get to a warm place or get medicine?

Again, thank god -- and Volvo -- for the all-electric XC40 we were able to use without incident after we managed to trick the Tesla into agreeing to let us move it off the driveway and into the street. Totally unacceptable and probably NHTSA-reportable.

 

[astrobill]

How do you like your xc40 recharge in comparison?

I can't recommend the Volvo enough.

Our all-electric XC40 is faaaaaaar better built than the Model Y, and the cabin is much more refined. It has an electric retractable sunshade, the extra display in front of the driver that you only get from Tesla in the Model S/X, physical buttons for a few things that are easier to use (instead of navigating menus), etc. Tesla went too far in removing buttons for things, like defrosters, for example, which are too small to press reliably while driving in the Tesla.

The XC40 is also far less stressful to drive than our Model Y. I've posted elsewhere about how much better and easier to use the Volvo lane-keeping assistance is than in the Tesla. It remains on through lane changes, instead of Tesla's Autopilot which forces you to turn it back on every time in the non-FSD versions. Moreover, the Volvo doesn't scream bloody murder at you if you start to touch a lane line or don't have enough pressure on the wheel. Instead, it gently shakes the steering wheel and making a better-thought-out reminder chime.

I would NOT buy the Model Y again, especially since they took out radar and ultrasound (both ridiculous moves..."vision-only" doesn't work and never will...it's awful). Tesla also removed passenger side electric seat adjustments, etc. and raised the prices by over $15K compared to when I bought my Model Y, despite ripping out all that stuff.

And let's not even get into the insanely-bad changes to the on-screen controls and interfaces Tesla makes every year. Each "holiday update" is a mess that moves stuff around randomly, shrinks the fonts, etc. But Tesla is *really* proud of improving the "fart app" every year.

The Model Y is a far inferior vehicle than the Volvo XC40 and costs $16K *more* these days. The new C40 all-electric model is the more aerodynamic version of the XC40 and thus has nearly the same range as the Model Y Long Range. I almost never drive the Tesla anymore if our Volvo is free.

 

[jcanoe]

Ok, great...but I see no evidence of this occurring in my vehicle and, if it did, it clearly didn't do the trick, as all four windows were frozen shut and totally inoperable.

Also, I was pressing down on the window slightly to see if we could get it moving, and it seemed like faaaaar more was wrong than some frost or ice sticking to the gasket to me. It didn't feel as if I could've just broken through an 1/8" band of frost to get it moving again. The entire motor mechanism seemed to be completely inoperable due to cold.

Also, I can't find mention of that rumored 1/8" cold weather prep movement in the online Model Y Owner's Manual. What's your source for that information?

Good tips, but....

...per my post above, this is getting to the level of needing a professional ground crew to perform cold weather operations. This isn't a Lockheed C-130J doing emergency flight operations in Antarctica or a Boeing 777 doing a half hour of de-icing prep at the airport in Reykyavik.

If people need to do all of this to make their $70 - $80K Model Ys usable in fairly common North American winter weather, the vehicle design is clearly faulty. I can imagine lots of situations where this could've turned into a real emergency. What if the power had gone out and we needed to get to a warm place or get medicine?

Again, thank god -- and Volvo -- for the all-electric XC40 we were able to use without incident after we managed to trick the Tesla into agreeing to let us move it off the driveway and into the street. Totally unacceptable and probably NHTSA-reportable.

See Post #15 for a good description of the window behavior in colder temperatures.

Passenger window rolls down and up slightly when drivers door is shut.

There is a vague reference to "minor cold weather improvements and bug fixes" in the release notes for version 2021.4.12.

2021.4.12 Official Tesla Release Notes - Software Updates

 

[BitJam]

Tesla also removed passenger side electric seat adjustments, etc.

This is not true. They only removed passenger side lumbar support adjustment. They also added a bunch of stuff like a li-ion low voltage battery, a larger main battery, Ryzen processor, bioweapon defense mode, etc etc etc.

Such one-sided hyperbole makes it harder for me to believe your other anti-Tesla, pro-Volvo claims. I'm a fan of both brands.

 

[Yelobird]

This is not true. They only removed passenger side lumbar support adjustment. They also added a bunch of stuff like a li-ion low voltage battery, a larger main battery, Ryzen processor, bioweapon defense mode, etc etc etc.

Such one-sided hyperbole makes it harder for me to believe your other anti-Tesla, pro-Volvo claims. I'm a fan of both brands.

Tend to agree. My Honda, Ford, Chevy, all had issues with frozen windows. Especially when it knew I was going to a drive through. Problem yes, world ending concern, no. Even with the weather of Chicago simply warming the car early I have yet to have an issue as profound as the OP makes it.

 

[WyoDude]

I can't recommend the Volvo enough.

Our all-electric XC40 is faaaaaaar better built than the Model Y, and the cabin is much more refined. It has an electric retractable sunshade, the extra display in front of the driver that you only get from Tesla in the Model S/X, physical buttons for a few things that are easier to use (instead of navigating menus), etc. Tesla went too far in removing buttons for things, like defrosters, for example, which are too small to press reliably while driving in the Tesla.

The XC40 is also far less stressful to drive than our Model Y. I've posted elsewhere about how much better and easier to use the Volvo lane-keeping assistance is than in the Tesla. It remains on through lane changes, instead of Tesla's Autopilot which forces you to turn it back on every time in the non-FSD versions. Moreover, the Volvo doesn't scream bloody murder at you if you start to touch a lane line or don't have enough pressure on the wheel. Instead, it gently shakes the steering wheel and making a better-thought-out reminder chime.

I would NOT buy the Model Y again, especially since they took out radar and ultrasound (both ridiculous moves..."vision-only" doesn't work and never will...it's awful). Tesla also removed passenger side electric seat adjustments, etc. and raised the prices by over $15K compared to when I bought my Model Y, despite ripping out all that stuff.

And let's not even get into the insanely-bad changes to the on-screen controls and interfaces Tesla makes every year. Each "holiday update" is a mess that moves stuff around randomly, shrinks the fonts, etc. But Tesla is *really* proud of improving the "fart app" every year.

The Model Y is a far inferior vehicle than the Volvo XC40 and costs $16K *more* these days. The new C40 all-electric model is the more aerodynamic version of the XC40 and thus has nearly the same range as the Model Y Long Range. I almost never drive the Tesla anymore if our Volvo is free.

Thanks for the response and insight, I appreciate it

 

[thesmokingman]

Anyone ever thought of using something like the static cling vinyl like the sheets used for interior window shades that you can peel/pull off? I suspect a sheet placed over your door handle would work and its simple and no mess.

 

[astrobill]

Thanks for the response and insight, I appreciate it

Sure thing.

By the way, I forgot to mention that the XC40 can be ordered with SiriusXM satellite radio, unlike the Model 3/Y. It's true satellite radio (yes, with the rooftop antenna Musk hates) so it's great for areas with poor cellular connectivity or blockages. The Google Play store automotive version in the Volvo also has the TIDAL, TuneIn, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and many other apps if one wants to use streaming.

Also, if you press the "pause" button, it's a true mute button and Volvo/Google doesn't force you to listen to the ads you're trying to mute. In contrast, the streaming in the Tesla is always out of synch because there's no true "mute" function....they literally force us to listen to ads, especially on Tune In, and it's always the same handful of advertisements 1,000 times a week. Drives me nuts.

Anyone ever thought of using something like the static cling vinyl like the sheets used for interior window shades that you can peel/pull off? I suspect a sheet placed over your door handle would work and its simple and no mess.

That's a thought. It's not clear to me it would help much unless it's really a moisture-proof seal...and not clear how it would help with the window part of the problem. So even if one stops the handles from freezing up, one still risks pulling open the door without the window having dropped. It's a god-awful sound when the glass bends out under the metal trim, by the way.

 

[KPDMinc]

When I owned a convenience Gas station back in Iowa, I kept a spray bottle with HEET in it - unfroze doors, handles, windows, etc...

 

[Bikeman]

When I owned a convenience Gas station back in Iowa, I kept a spray bottle with HEET in it - unfroze doors, handles, windows, etc...

But I wonder what the repercussions of the chemicals in Heat have on paint, plastics and rubber parts. There must be something less noxious that would work.

 

[KPDMinc]

But I wonder what the repercussions of the chemicals in Heat have on paint, plastics and rubber parts. There must be something less noxious that would work.

Never had a problem or complaint the many years I did it for customers and on my own vehicles... Plus, I've seen (and have done myself) an over run of gasoline down the side of the car - HEET is a much weaker substance than gasoline...

 

[unk45]

I can't recommend the Volvo enough.

Our all-electric XC40 is faaaaaaar better built than the Model Y, and the cabin is much more refined. It has an electric retractable sunshade, the extra display in front of the driver that you only get from Tesla in the Model S/X, physical buttons for a few things that are easier to use (instead of navigating menus), etc.

I'm happy yours is working well. My 2022 XC40 Recharge is clearly a different car. Mine has all those traditional switches and nice interior but...
1. The Volvo app linked to my phone for a few weeks and has never linked again. Dealer says they are seeking 'factory help' but this is now more than six months. Luckily I really don't need it;
2. 12v battery failed, requiring tow truck and three days at dealer; (FWIW in 2015 Tesla emailed me that the one in my Model S was weak and asked if they could come replace it);
3. All nav failed three times, I used owners forum for clues, did resets, no help. Dealer could not fix it. Spontaneously corrected itself a couple weeks alter and has been OK since;
4. Energy efficiency much worse than my Model S Plaid, which has had zero defects in two years.
5. Sensors constantly show red and buzz when a couple feet away from impediment, dealer says, "they all do that".
6. The car rarely will recognize wifi, even when in my own garage, not even on my iPhone Wifi inside the car.
6. OTOH the Waze enhanced Google Maps is Brilliant! It tends to serve a decent destination guess and is superb with traffic changes (I no longer need my Waze app) and almost automatically does multi stop routing. Using the installed sim works well, although the free subscription is about to expire
7. I will replace this one just as soon as I can justify changing to another Tesla. In the meantime I use it only locally and use another car for any trips.
8. Anyway YMMV. My neighbor ditched his SC40 Recharge and splurged for a Taycan.

 

[Rshephorse]

Silicone spray, onto a paper towel and then wiped on all seals a time or two each winter. Enough so that the inside of the windows get silicone on them.
Put de-icing spray in the frunk- the frunk is the last thing to freeze shut.
Obviously charging and 'defrosting' before you leave will help too.
Last resorts? vigorously thump the long part of door handle with the side of your fist to loosen them up, or
Crawl in through the rear if that opens!
The toughest thing is actually clearing an iced up charge port if it is not latching on the charger properly

Idea- if you know it is going to ice up what about leaving a loop around the long part of the handle- to give you something to pull on?