Problems with new Tesla in the Snow

[Tessaract]

Unfortunately it can draw even more, i just set the heat to full blast and saw heater drawing 6.7 kW

Obviously it won't stay like that for very long, but it's surprisingly powerful

View attachment 484111

Interesting data point. I calculated mine while charging, with and without climate control on, and the car deciding how strongly to heat. Also, temp in the garage was still slightly above freezing at the time (Oct30).

 

[LACALawyer]

I moved to California to solve all those Model 3 problems.

 

[Nocturnal]

Last winter the forums were flooded with Model 3s with stuck windows and charge port doors, etc. If you dig, there are some product recommendations for stuff to put on the window seals.

Also, I believe Tesla changed the software to no longer lock the charge port in the car during the winter (removing a frozen charge cable was also a problem) and maybe changed the preheat software to aim the vents at the doors.

Silicone gasket lube.

 

[dklein]

Unfortunately it can draw even more, i just set the heat to full blast and saw heater drawing 6.7 kW

Obviously it won't stay like that for very long, but it's surprisingly powerful

View attachment 484111

How do you view consumption like this?

 

[kbecks13]

How do you view consumption like this?

Scan My Tesla App, see thread here: Scan My Tesla (OBDII) Install

 

[dklein]

awesome, thanks.

 

[mswlogo]

That's normal because the heater uses a lot of energy. Getting the car battery happy takes a lot of energy too

The trick to reduce the range loss is to preheat the car while plugged in and to time charging to finish when you need to leave. Tesla has a new feature but it isnt 100% there yet as a solution (only will time charging properly if you leave before 6am)

Which will increase your net electric bill to drive. Only preheat if you don’t have enough range. And it might only gain you a few miles at best.

Otherwise it’s net negative result. And besides, the Model 3 is so poorly insulated it hardly retains any heat. Especially on the highway. Watch how quickly it cools off at -10C while doing 70 mph if you turn HVAV off. You’ll be freezing in 5 minutes. Not to mention you won’t be able to see out the window either. So the heater/ac (or vent) has to work quite a bit to keep windows clear (all the time). Which preheating does nothing for.

So for a long trip preheat has very little gain. And for a short trip it’s incredibly expensive.

 

[mswlogo]

See if this helps you:

There are a lot of Teslas driving around in cold snow countries and I don't see these issues brought up much on the forum.

And what forum might that be?

I think this topic beats out the “my range at 100% SOC keeps going down” threads in the winter.

 

[coleAK]

I’m in Alaska on 2nd winter with the 3, and pre heating fixes any frozen door handle/door/window issues. Didn’t deal with frozen car issues once last winter with a 10-15+ pre heat. Did the same thing in our ICEs with remote start.

I used Black Magic wet tire silicone on the door seals when I had my G500 and it helped, it was awful for the doors freezing shut. Many times I had to crawl in through the rear door.

cameras don’t see the lines road up here 6+ months a year so I didn’t buy any of the AP.

 

[Jeff32]

Hand warmers can be helpful to thaw a charge port. I read a post from a guy who got his port door to open, then couldn't get electricity to flow due to an inability to make a connection from ice in the charge port. He activated a hand warmer and stuffed it into the charging receptacle (making sure not to puncture the bag letting chemical leak into the port) for a few minutes. I carry a hand warmer in my glove box since reading that post.