[Solved!] Cabin Overheat Protection not working when car sits

[brianh321]

I've researched the issue of cabin overheat protection not working if you leaving your car sitting for 2+ days. Sometimes I drive a lot and sometimes I work from home a lot. This leads me to having to go out in the morning, unplugging my Tesla, putting it in Drive, putting it back in park, and plugging it back in just so that cabin overheat protection will turn on that day.

I got frustrated one morning and I decided to just turn on my AC through the app and leave it on (I was plugged in so I wasn't worried about draining my battery). I got the normal "cabin reached desired temp" notification. Then I got a couple notifications about my AC being on and a final one that the AC was being turned off. Shortly after that I got a notification that cabin overheat protection turned on due to cabin temperature! This worked out great when I was recently out of town.

Solution: Turn your AC on through the Tesla app and just leave the AC on. After about 2 hrs the AC will be turned off automatically and Cabin Overheat Protection will be activated. (Note: Not recommended if your Tesla will not be charging during this process.)

Hope this helps!

 

[ewoodrick]

The car doesn't need overheat protection. It is quite happy to bake in the southern sun. And even worse, the Arizona sun.

 

[Ctuna]

Can cabin overheat or preconditioning use the charger as oposed to the main battery
and not decrease the range by using the main battery?

 

[brianh321]

Can cabin overheat or preconditioning use the charger as oposed to the main battery
and not decrease the range by using the main battery?

I mostly work from home. So, I'm plugged when doing this. If not plugged in, yes it will reduce your range because it will drain the battery.

 

[Kenneth Cyrus]

I've researched the issue of cabin overheat protection not working if you leaving your car sitting for 2+ days. Sometimes I drive a lot and sometimes I work from home a lot. This leads me to having to go out in the morning, unplugging my Tesla, putting it in Drive, putting it back in park, and plugging it back in just so that cabin overheat protection will turn on that day.

I got frustrated one morning and I decided to just turn on my AC through the app and leave it on (I was plugged in so I wasn't worried about draining my battery). I got the normal "cabin reached desired temp" notification. Then I got a couple notifications about my AC being on and a final one that the AC was being turned off. Shortly after that I got a notification that cabin overheat protection turned on due to cabin temperature! This worked out great when I was recently out of town.

Solution: Turn your AC on through the Tesla app and just leave the AC on. After about 2 hrs the AC will be turned off automatically and Cabin Overheat Protection will be activated. (Note: Not recommended if your Tesla will not be charging during this process.)

Hope this helps!

In south Florida, interior can reach 145 to 150 degrees F. My steering wheel "melted" in several places, and I had to get a replacement steering wheel cover.

 

[ewoodrick]

In south Florida, interior can reach 145 to 150 degrees F. My steering wheel "melted" in several places, and I had to get a replacement steering wheel cover.

Your steering wheel melted or your steering wheel cover melted.

150F should be no big deal to a steering wheel. 150F isn't really that warm. To a human yes, to a car no.

 

[drdumont]

Your steering wheel melted or your steering wheel cover melted.

150F should be no big deal to a steering wheel. 150F isn't really that warm. To a human yes, to a car no.

I fain would disagree. the interior of the car, mostly plastics, will outgas at those elevated temperatures. Even if you are a non smoker, ever wipe the interior glass and see you have removed a film? That's the outgassing of the synthetics in the car, outgassing is accelerated in high heat. Plastics will also begin to deteriorate and change color. Seating fabric - either plastic, the Tesla Unborn Naugahyde or leather will certainly deteriorate or fail earlier.
Additionally, other objects in the car will suffer from such high temperatures. I have a battery power pack for recharging cell phones, etc. Of two I bought simultaneously, one which lived in the car died early, while the one which lives in my office is still going strong. Forget about my box of mints or chewing gum, even my sunglass frames.

 

[ewoodrick]

I fain would disagree. the interior of the car, mostly plastics, will outgas at those elevated temperatures. Even if you are a non smoker, ever wipe the interior glass and see you have removed a film? That's the outgassing of the synthetics in the car, outgassing is accelerated in high heat. Plastics will also begin to deteriorate and change color. Seating fabric - either plastic, the Tesla Unborn Naugahyde or leather will certainly deteriorate or fail earlier.
Additionally, other objects in the car will suffer from such high temperatures. I have a battery power pack for recharging cell phones, etc. Of two I bought simultaneously, one which lived in the car died early, while the one which lives in my office is still going strong. Forget about my box of mints or chewing gum, even my sunglass frames.

My answer was in response to a steering wheel melting. There isn't any way that elevated interior temperatures is going to do that. Steering wheel plastics would probably have to go well above 400F before having any issues.

I never talked about outgassing, nor plastics deteriorating.

But automotive parts are built to a different standard than other things, built to withstand elevated temperatures, since that's a standard occurrence.
Automotive plastics are also built to a higher standard as well, they expect to live in hot (and cold) temperatures.

Your battery pack was built to a completely different standard.

 

[drdumont]

My answer was in response to a steering wheel melting. There isn't any way that elevated interior temperatures is going to do that. Steering wheel plastics would probably have to go well above 400F before having any issues.

I never talked about outgassing, nor plastics deteriorating.

But automotive parts are built to a different standard than other things, built to withstand elevated temperatures, since that's a standard occurrence.
Automotive plastics are also built to a higher standard as well, they expect to live in hot (and cold) temperatures.

Your battery pack was built to a completely different standard.

400 degrees? Where did you get that figure? Perhaps for an instantaneous effect, sure. The long term effects of temps from the 130-150s cannot have a salubrious effect on any plastic/organic matter, however.

The same outgassing issue occurred in my MIL's Olds. It was left for years in New Orleans Summer heat, often not driven for a week at a time. Steering wheel plastic crumbled,dashboard padding buckled and cracked. You could scrape plastics with a fingernail and get a layer of plastic under your nail. Inside glass coated with film which took a mild solvent to remove. Whether or not Tesla uses different plastics, my 30 year trusted mechanic agrees with me, as does a Chem prof I asked. I also asked Dallas SC about the issue and was roundly agreed with.

Since I no longer have to make the schlep to work each day I just cycle the system in the morning as part of my routine. It's a small price to pay, My charger and the Internet hotspot et al remain in good condition. (Cars live in an AT&T dead zone).

 

[ewoodrick]

400 degrees? Where did you get that figure? Perhaps for an instantaneous effect, sure. The long term effects of temps from the 130-150s cannot have a salubrious effect on any plastic/organic matter, however.

The same outgassing issue occurred in my MIL's Olds. It was left for years in New Orleans Summer heat, often not driven for a week at a time. Steering wheel plastic crumbled,dashboard padding buckled and cracked. You could scrape plastics with a fingernail and get a layer of plastic under your nail. Inside glass coated with film which took a mild solvent to remove. Whether or not Tesla uses different plastics, my 30 year trusted mechanic agrees with me, as does a Chem prof I asked. I also asked Dallas SC about the issue and was roundly agreed with.

Since I no longer have to make the schlep to work each day I just cycle the system in the morning as part of my routine. It's a small price to pay, My charger and the Internet hotspot et al remain in good condition. (Cars live in an AT&T dead zone).

400 was a guess, but after a little research, it appears to be realistic.

Cars are commonly presented with extremely hot internal temperatures. Have you never seen the TV or YoutTube "You can fry an egg" postings in the heat of the summer. It is normal for car interiors to get to 200 degrees.

Car specs account for that, one manufacturer specs their car devices for

• Automotive: −25 °C to 125 °C

That's 257F!

You seem to be caught up in material outgassing. I'm pretty sure that there are vehicle standards that address this and therefore limit the materials that can be used. I believe that this was probably an outgrowth of the EPA's work on how dangerous the "new car smell" can be.,

 

[drdumont]

400 was a guess, but after a little research, it appears to be realistic.

Cars are commonly presented with extremely hot internal temperatures. Have you never seen the TV or YoutTube "You can fry an egg" postings in the heat of the summer. It is normal for car interiors to get to 200 degrees.

Car specs account for that, one manufacturer specs their car devices for

• Automotive: −25 °C to 125 °C

That's 257F!

You seem to be caught up in material outgassing. I'm pretty sure that there are vehicle standards that address this and therefore limit the materials that can be used. I believe that this was probably an outgrowth of the EPA's work on how dangerous the "new car smell" can be.,

I'm not "caught up" in outgassing. Was "caught by", perhaps. It is a phenomenon, however. High temperatures accelerate the process. Indeed, that station wagon we had was parked in direct sunlight for unusually long times. The combination of heat and ultraviolet contributed to the decomposition of the plastics, they became brittle, friable and outgassed. The dash pad buckled, the surface cracked, the steering wheel plastic came off in chunks, and crap deposited on the window glass.
As to the Tesla system needing to be restarted each morning, for the nonce I set the system to precondition for temp each morning an hour after sunrise more or less. Yeah, it wastes a little energy on the battery, but I guess that is a beating I will take to protect the interior and contents.
However, comma, an option to make the protection automatic would certainly be a boon.

 

[ewoodrick]

I'm not "caught up" in outgassing. Was "caught by", perhaps. It is a phenomenon, however. High temperatures accelerate the process. Indeed, that station wagon we had was parked in direct sunlight for unusually long times. The combination of heat and ultraviolet contributed to the decomposition of the plastics, they became brittle, friable and outgassed. The dash pad buckled, the surface cracked, the steering wheel plastic came off in chunks, and crap deposited on the window glass.
As to the Tesla system needing to be restarted each morning, for the nonce I set the system to precondition for temp each morning an hour after sunrise more or less. Yeah, it wastes a little energy on the battery, but I guess that is a beating I will take to protect the interior and contents.
However, comma, an option to make the protection automatic would certainly be a boon.

You evidently haven't driven a vehicle created in the last 40 years. Lots of those material issues are way behind us.
And the problems you described were probably more caused by solar radiation then heat.

AFAIK, the number of cracked leather or pleather for solar or heat purposes is probably 0%.

Doing the conditioning may indeed help with materials. But they are cheap compared to the wear and tear by running the car a few hours every day.

AFAIK, you are the only person that has indicated concern about this.

 

[drdumont]

You evidently haven't driven a vehicle created in the last 40 years. Lots of those material issues are way behind us.
And the problems you described were probably more caused by solar radiation then heat.

AFAIK, the number of cracked leather or pleather for solar or heat purposes is probably 0%.

Doing the conditioning may indeed help with materials. But they are cheap compared to the wear and tear by running the car a few hours every day.

AFAIK, you are the only person that has indicated concern about this.

Actually, friend, I have had the issue with a 2002 Buick LeSabre, a 2004 Taurus, and of course, the original Olds. That was an extreme case, as my MIL seldom used it, and it sat in the South Louisiana sun its first 10 years.
None of my cars were EVER SMOKED IN.
My 2020 Model3 had a film deposited on the inside of the glass in the first 6 months. It was most evident in an afternoon oblique sunlight, and normal water/soap did not effectively clean it. A liberal use of commercial lens cleaner cut it. Fortunately we used it at the TV station, i was a little expensive.
Same with my other 2020 Model 3 and my 2022 Model 3. I chalk that up to their being new and stored outside. Ultraviolet, new synthetics and of course heat will all combine to create this issue to one degree or another.
Interestingly enough, the 2022 Model 3 was used for my commute, and parked in a covered garage days a week. Had minimal glass coating.
Would have been interesting to analyze the residue.

And of course my major annoyance is the overheating has a deleterious effect on other items which live in my car. Ham radios, tablet, and the occasional roll of mints and the like.

In closing, temps in excess of 120 degrees are not good for anything except perhaps a cup of coffee or a steak. I've just started leaving the Schedule set for 0800 which is about the time the Sun is coming up to full. If that resets the automatic, fine. Otherwise I'll just do it manually until I come up with another plan. Denks Gott going to work every morning is no longer the cure.

 

[ewoodrick]

In closing, temps in excess of 120 degrees are not good for anything except perhaps a cup of coffee or a steak. I've just started leaving the Schedule set for 0800 which is about the time the Sun is coming up to full. If that resets the automatic, fine. Otherwise I'll just do it manually until I come up with another plan. Denks Gott going to work every morning is no longer the cure.

Sure, but temperatures of 120 in a vehicle are expected and designed for.

 

[drdumont]

Sure, but temperatures of 120 in a vehicle are expected and designed for.

Perhaps. But 133+ in my car is not out of the ordinary.
So I just leave the Scheduled departure set for 0730 or so and it resets the clock.
Waste energy and battery, you say? A mere bag of shells, Norton... I have solar charging at home. A mere bag of shells.