Really hot for the rear facing seats

[4sevens.com]

I haven't tinted my rear window yet - my main concern is that at night it'll be impossible to look out the back with very strong tint...

 

[TonyWilliams]

Try one of these:

Arctic Air Cooler

 

[jomo25]

^^^
Are you folks able to move the kids to where it's cooler?

Hopefully those who are thinking of this option will see this thread and nix it. I wouldn't be surprised if a mid-cycle refresh adds rear AC ducts if you choose this.

It's not even summer yet. Hope nobody in places like Phoenix and Vegas opts for those seats and put their kids there.

I haven't tinted my rear window yet - my main concern is that at night it'll be impossible to look out the back with very strong tint...

Well in theory, 3M Crystalline would be a very light tint that would be very good at heat rejection, much like the pano roof. They even have one that's light enough to put on the front windshield. Enough so that with the properly aimed AC vents (set to LO) might make it bearable, even in the summer. But I agree it is a reason to consider opting out of them. It's part of the reason I did.

 

[NoGoodID]

^^^
Are you folks able to move the kids to where it's cooler?

Hopefully those who are thinking of this option will see this thread and nix it. I wouldn't be surprised if a mid-cycle refresh adds rear AC ducts if you choose this.

It's not even summer yet. Hope nobody in places like Phoenix and Vegas opts for those seats and put their kids there.

I live in Vegas and have the jump seats...we clearly haven't gotten to summer temps yet...but so far no complaints from the kids on the jump seats.

 

[Aussie]

I live in Vegas and have the jump seats...we clearly haven't gotten to summer temps yet...but so far no complaints from the kids on the jump seats.

That's because they are silent from heat exhaustion.

 

[Psullivan]

Why do I get the feeling I'm spending $1,500 on a really cool conversation piece that will almost never get used......

I hear a giant, "I told you so" coming from my wife on this.

Although I love the seats idea the "I told you so" gets to come from me. My wife made me promise to get the third row for the grandkids if I was going to spend 100k on a car. Unless I can get the heat issue figured out it will be an expensive lesson but a great place to strap in the kids dolls.

 

[Rodolfo Paiz]

A/C for trunk?

The trunk gets very hot because A/C flow is very limited to that area. Other than the passive things one could do to prevent heat gain, like tinting, does anyone know of a portable (and non-spill) A/C unit that one could put back there to cool off the kids? I've found these:

1. EAC211TS - EdgeStar Portable Evaporative Air Cooler with Air Purification for $140

2. Arctic Air Cooler, 30 quarts, 1 fan, 12V for $495

I've used #2 in airplanes (its primary target market) quite a bit and it works well. I'm looking for other ideas. Also, both of these -- and probably anything else we find -- requires 12V power, which the trunk doesn't have, so that's another obstacle to solve.

 

[yobigd20]

perhaps one of these will do the trick:

http://www.amazon.com/O2Cool-1041-S...ry-Operated-Fan/dp/B001AVMSEY/ref=pd_sim_hi_8

http://www.amazon.com/Travelon-12267-3-Speed-Folding-Fan/dp/B003DTMXJ6/ref=pd_sim_hi_1

http://www.amazon.com/Cool-On-The-Versatile-Hands-Free/dp/B007OWTTAO/ref=pd_sim_hi_18

http://www.amazon.com/O2cool-8101-B...ter-misting/dp/B000QUC8N6/ref=zg_bs_3737631_3

http://www.amazon.com/RoadPro-RP730...e=UTF8&qid=1369704512&sr=8-1&keywords=car+fan

http://www.amazon.com/Peak-PKC0JH-V...e=UTF8&qid=1369704512&sr=8-2&keywords=car+fan

http://www.amazon.com/Hopkins-SP571...e=UTF8&qid=1369704512&sr=8-3&keywords=car+fan

http://www.amazon.com/Autocool-Sola...e=UTF8&qid=1369704512&sr=8-5&keywords=car+fan

http://www.amazon.com/Small-Fan-Min...e=UTF8&qid=1369704512&sr=8-6&keywords=car+fan

http://www.amazon.com/RoadPro-RPSC-...e=UTF8&qid=1369704512&sr=8-7&keywords=car+fan

 

[100thMonkey]

I have been putting off tinting since in the past I over did it on one car that I had all the windows done on and could not see pedestrians in the shadows at night when turning at intersections. I realized that seeing back through the rear glass really is not a problem when it's tinted so today I went and had 28 tint put on. I got in and shut the hatch and it does seem to help. we'll see what the kids say! even with tinting though, the area needs venting, there is just not enough passive circulation. I am considering adding a fan but cringe at the idea of having yet another battery operated thing to worry about in my life. i need to find something simple, I don't think it would take much, just something to move the air and exchange it with the front some. having to have the AC on full blast just to get a little bit of cool air to the back can be uncomfortable for the driver and passengers.

 

[jive_devil]

I have been putting off tinting since in the past I over did it on one car that I had all the windows done on and could not see pedestrians in the shadows at night when turning at intersections. I realized that seeing back through the rear glass really is not a problem when it's tinted so today I went and had 28 tint put on. I got in and shut the hatch and it does seem to help. we'll see what the kids say! even with tinting though, the area needs venting, there is just not enough passive circulation. I am considering adding a fan but cringe at the idea of having yet another battery operated thing to worry about in my life. i need to find something simple, I don't think it would take much, just something to move the air and exchange it with the front some. having to have the AC on full blast just to get a little bit of cool air to the back can be uncomfortable for the driver and passengers.

I've come to the conclusion that the rear seats are great for short rides, but just not workable for longer drives. And that's after installation of 30% HO Ceramic Tint.

Even with the air on full blast, it just won't get enough air to the back. Opening your windows will be more effective, but that just increases drag and the weather does not always cooperate.

 

[4sevens.com]

As elon suggested forcing fresh air from outside helps - it brings air all the way back and vents hot stagnant air in the back out the car. I usually set the fan to 11 as well and direct vents to the back. kids are fine and I have 40% 3m ceramic tint in the back.

 

[Rodolfo Paiz]

Try one of these: Arctic Air Cooler

Already found that as a good option, but how to plug it in? I'm not keen on getting a 12V extension cord going all the way to the front of the car... talk about ruining a "high tech" environment.

 

[EngineerDad]

We love the rear-facing child seats for our two small children and are pretty determined to reserve that area as "kid space", but with temperatures approaching 100 degrees here we had to do something.

We tried a couple of solutions that re-routed the back seat A/C vent to the trunk, but weren't happy with how that worked or looked.

I mentioned the problem to a friend and he suggested fans. I bought a pair of these and they are perfect:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00851LVLS/


They do a good job, they look decent, the kids love to play with them, and they were trivial to "install" -- the big clips just grab on to the lip where the parcel shelf would go if we didn't have kids back there. It would also be pretty simple to run some discreet wiring from the 12V outlet to power them instead of running them off the (detachable) battery packs, which is what we're doing now.

Note that we do not have tinting, and the kids say they're fine with just the fans.

 

[Alpha]

Just sent this to ownership... I hope I get a useful response...

The rear facing seats are a big disappointment in the Model S.
Because there are no vents in the rear, it just gets too hot back there on a hot (80 degrees or above) day in the southeast.

I have followed the recommendations of other Tesla owners to turn off re-circulation, turn the AC up to 11 and aim the rear vents all the way up.

Even went so far to put dark window tint (3M crystalline 40%, as dark as I legally can) to also help reduce the heat.

But it's not enough! - The kids really hate to ride back there!!
Also they complain about sunlight shining directly into their eyes as there is no way to shade that.

Just wanted to know if Tesla is planning on adding some vents in the back, or adding some kind of structural modification to alleviate the problem (and hopefully have a retrofit option for existing owners!)

A couple of ideas I thought about were, some kind of pipe that can attach to the rear facing vents and take the air directly over the rear seats so it's blowing down on top of them, and some kind of louvers on the inside of the rear windows to shade the sunlight even more, yet allow the rear view mirror to be unobstructed.

 

[Alpha]

I got Elon's attention on this one! I really really hope the HVAC engineers can come up with something concrete to help solve this problem once and for all! I fear that it's a basic design oversight and may not be addressed until the next MS upgrade (which means the early adopters would be S.O.L.)

 

[clea]

I got Elon's attention on this one! I really really hope the HVAC engineers can come up with something concrete to help solve this problem once and for all! I fear that it's a basic design oversight and may not be addressed until the next MS upgrade (which means the early adopters would be S.O.L.)

This is good news that it could get looked at but, if a fix is found, I hope they don't restrict any possible upgrades to those with the rear facing seats as I don't have them installed because I still need a solution for the times I am accompanied by canine friends.

 

[Alpha]

Agree, but if you look at how the rear facing seats work, they are basically kind of bolted onto the frame, so any solution (such as a new vent) proposed - should be able to be retrofitted in the same manner.

I am quite doubtful we will see anything at all - but I really really hope so!

This is good news that it could get looked at but, if a fix is found, I hope they don't restrict any possible upgrades to those with the rear facing seats as I don't have them installed because I still need a solution for the times I am accompanied by canine friends.

- - - Updated - - -

In the meantime, I'm going to try what EngineerDad recommended, some decent battery powered portable fans ... should be better than nothing.

 

[dsm363]

Good job at getting it noticed. It probably falls into one of the things are won't be perfectly addressed until the next revision but hopefully they can do something about it.

 

[Alpha]

Tesla service just called- they want to come pick up my car and give the AC a really thorough inspection - they are picking it up on my schedule w/loaner car if needed. Now that's good service!

 

[jive_devil]

Tesla service just called- they want to come pick up my car and give the AC a really thorough inspection - they are picking it up on my schedule w/loaner car if needed. Now that's good service!

Good job on that. Similarly, I actually went in to service for a HVAC inspection and they concluded it was "working". But it looks as though the HVAC design falls short for the rear seats.