Using a full car cover in winters

[Drazer]

Hi All,

I live in Illinois. This will be my 1st winter with a car. I live in an apartment and I don't have access to a garage or home charging. I'm currently using mostly SC and a 6KW charge point near a shopping mall (if no time constraints).

I'm learning how to maintain it during winters. From few posts, I learned that it won't be a big problem leaving the car outside except that I may have to charge frequently and expect a drop of ~30% efficiency.

Can someone please advice if it is ok to use a full cover during a harsh winter (like a snow storm)? If so, can someone suggest a good product for a Model Y?

 

[jcanoe]

Are you going to be regularly driving the Tesla vehicle or leaving it parked for an extended period?

Car covers can damage the finish on the vehicle due to wind causing the cover to rub on the vehicle. Some car covers also trap moisture. Car covers can be difficult to put on, especially for one person.

A windshield cover would make it easier and faster to remove snow and ice from the windshield. There are many types; typically tuck inside the doors. A windshield cover would be less expensive than a full car cover and also would not damage the finish.

Since you can precondition the Tesla Model Y even if not plugged in this can help by starting to melt accumulated snow and ice from the windows.

Consider renting a parking space in a covered garage for the winter. When everyone else is scraping and brushing snow from their vehicle you be driving a clean vehicle (assuming the roads have been cleared.)

 

[Drazer]

Are you going to be regularly driving the Tesla vehicle or leaving it parked for an extended period?

Car covers can damage the finish on the vehicle due to wind causing the cover to rub on the vehicle. Some car covers also trap moisture. Car covers can be difficult to put on, especially for one person.

A windshield cover would make it easier and faster to remove snow and ice from the windshield. There are many types; typically tuck inside the doors. A windshield cover would be less expensive than a full car cover and also would not damage the finish.

Since you can precondition the Tesla Model Y even if not plugged in this can help by starting to melt accumulated snow and ice from the windows.

Thank you for the reply. I'm currently WFH. so might not be driving extensively. May be 15-25 miles/day.

I thought snow might damage the finish and hence looking into full cover options. Didn't knew that covers can also damage the finish.

I'll explore the windshield cover option. Thank you!!

 

[GtiMart]

@jcanoe has it right. Winters are fine, it's a car, not a fireplace decoration . You can precondition the car if you want the snow and ice to melt, otherwise use a snow broom / ice scraper like any other car you've had before.

The Tesla has frameless windows which means the windows can stick to the rubbers. Recommended to treat rubbers with a silicone lubricant to help. Just like other frameless window cars.

The Tesla has flush door handles so they could be stuck under ice. Preheating could help, or gentle taps to break the ice.

If charging overnight, the charging handle could be stuck to the car because of ice if it snowed during the night. Preconditioning will fix this. Some people use a soft "cap" that goes over the charge port around here. Not essential.

Suggested to not use auto-folding mirrors in the winter. I manually fold them if I park in a tight place and I see my mirrors don't have 3 inches on ice on them.

Mostly, these are general comments about cars in the winter, not much specific to Tesla.

Two things about cold and EVs: First, a cold battery will have less energy available. That energy is not lost, but it's not available at the moment. Tesla show this with a blue slice of the battery, a snowflake icon etc. As the battery heats that energy will become available. Separately, driving in winter consumes more energy (denser air, cabin heating, dviring through snow/slush etc). How much depends on your conditions. Some say 20%, some say 50%. Shorter rides always appear worse because you heat the cabin and that takes more energy initially.

 

[jcanoe]

The Good: In cold weather the Tesla Model Y will automatically slightly lower the windows a fraction of an inch so the windows don't freeze to the door gasket.

The Bad: The door handles of the Tesla Model Y can freeze. You may have to give the thick part of the door handle a firm rap with your gloved hand to release the handle. Spraying inside the door handle mechanism with silicone spray can help prevent the door handle from freezing up.

The Ugly: The Tesla Model Y design uses a flocking material at the lower edge of the window where the window descends inside the door. (Most other manufacturers use a rubber window seal.) When the flocking material gets wet it stays wet for several days. This can be seen after it rains or you wash the Tesla Model Y and lower the window. When you raise the window again the glass will be wet. If the temperature drops below freezing the wet flocking will freeze to the window. This can prevent the window from lowering so you can enter the vehicle. You can temporarily melt the ice by applying a windshield de-icer spray along the lower edge of the window. This should enable the window to lower so you can open the door. (This is what happens when automotive designers are from SC instead of Detroit.)

 

[blinkme323]

I have this same exact question. We have two model Ys but only a single car garage, so I'd love to get some extra protection in the winter for the odd man out.

 

[GtiMart]

Unless you go to drive throughs often, the window freezing isn't a major problem. When you open the door, the window will unstick. Since it stays lower in winter, the window will not scrape the chrome (or blackened) trim anyway. I've had to pay at the drive through a couple times by opening my door, not enough to sell the car

 

[Drazer]

Thank you everyone for the responses.

 

[Watts_Up]

In cold weather the Tesla Model Y will automatically slightly lower the windows a fraction of an inch so the windows don't freeze to the door gasket.

I didn't know about this feature. Which temperature will trigger it?

However, from your phone App, you can use the 'Climate' -> ''Vent' to crack the windows.
This very useful in hot weather as the inside car temperature can become higher than the outside.
Note: This is fine if you park in a parking lot in front of your work, however, I would worry a little bit
if it was in a street with many people passing by and a risk of breaking the windows.

About a full car cover, you have to use one designed for Tesla cars, with a vent under the front license plate.
Also to have an opening cover letting you using the charging plug. Good quality covers have an internal layer
to prevent scratching the paint. If you are in a windy area, the issue is to keep the cover tight,
by passing straps under the car. This is obviously a great protection, like a butterfly cocoon.
The only issue is that it can be unpleasant to have to roll it when wet or cover of snow,
and takes space in the trunk, but should fit in the frunk.

In summer, I use also a Windshield cover, to keep the car less exposed to the sun
when I have been using the air conditioning, as this is more efficient than an inside sunshade cover,
but it takes a little bit of time to install it. There are straps that you can attach to a spoke of your front wheel.
But for the rear straps, I prefer to attach those inside the car, to the passenger handle, to prevent to get it stolen.

 

[jcanoe]

I didn't know about this feature. Which temperature will trigger it?

However, from your phone App, you can use the 'Climate' -> ''Vent' to crack the windows.
This very usefull in hot weather as the inside car temperature can become higher than the outside.
Note: This is fine if you park in a parking lot in front of your work, however, I would worry a little bit
if it was in a street with many people passing by and a risk of braking the windows.

About a full car cover, you have to use one designed for Tesla cars, with a vent under the front license plate.
Also to have an opening cover letting you using the charging plug. Good quality covers have an internal layer
to prevent scratching the paint. If you are in a windy area, thee issue is to keep the cover tight,
by passing straps under the car. This is obviously a great protection, like a butterfly cocoon.
The only issue is that it can be unpleasant to have to roll it when wet or cover of snow,
and takes space in the trunk, but should fit in the frunk.

In summer, I use also a Windshield cover, to keep the car less exposed to the sun
when I have been using the air conditioning, as this is more efficient than an inside sunshade cover,
but it takes a little bit of time to install it. There are straps that you can attach to a spoke of your front wheel.
But for the rear straps, I prefer to attach those inside the car, to the passenger handle, to prevent to get it stolen.

View attachment 852908

~32F/0C to keep the top edge of the window from sticking to the door seal.

 

[Watts_Up]

~32F/0C to keep the top edge of the window from sticking to the door seal.

Do you know where the temperature sensor is located? I would like to test it using some ice.

Here is the BMW iX probe located near the front driver wheel. (See Sandy Muro Youtube)

 

[jcanoe]

Do you know where the temperature sensor is located? I would like to test it using some ice.

Here is the BMW iX probe located near the front driver wheel. (See Sandy Muro Youtube)

View attachment 852922

I believe the outside air temperature sensor is located inside the right front wheel well. (It might be behind the wheel well liner.)

 

[WillwayGTO]

Driving in winter gets salt and sand on the car. If you put a car cover on top of that you will get scratches. Once it gets on the cover it will still scratch the clean car. Modern cars are made to deal with winter.

 

[Tonedog77]

love the tesla outdoor cover. super soft on the inside, goes nicely with my fully PPF'd MYP

 

[GtiMart]

I think the temperature when windows lower has changed last year as many people were suddenly surprised that their car was doing it. Might be a few degrees above freezing now...

 

[jcanoe]

Dirt and debris can get trapped under the cover, still damage the finish.

 

[bobbyjae]

Just get a ceramic coat and hope for the best. As long as it's not black, you should be fine.

 

[Tonedog77]

Dirt and debris can get trapped under the cover, still damage the finish.

That’s why you do full ppf and then put the cover best of both

 

[THEbuz]

Hi All,

I live in Illinois. This will be my 1st winter with a car. I live in an apartment and I don't have access to a garage or home charging. I'm currently using mostly SC and a 6KW charge point near a shopping mall (if no time constraints).

I'm learning how to maintain it during winters. From few posts, I learned that it won't be a big problem leaving the car outside except that I may have to charge frequently and expect a drop of ~30% efficiency.

Can someone please advice if it is ok to use a full cover during a harsh winter (like a snow storm)? If so, can someone suggest a good product for a Model Y?

Why don’t you just get a portable cloth/GorTex car port/canopy with a metal frame and four metal posts to park it under since you cannot store it in a garage???

 

[lubapurkhiser]

Covers are useful, but you have to use them correctly. A car cover can easily make water build-up underneath the cover and cause rot. It’s really dangerous, and that’s why I recommend choosing multilayered covers that let the humidity out and let the car “breathe” under the cover.
I only use such covers as my 22ft travel trailer cover. It helps me maintain the RV in good shape and prevent certain car parts from rotting. I try not to leave it under the cover for a long time and prefer to keep it in a garage. However, there might be different situations, and a correctly chosen car cover can also be good for a car.