I use it. But I am retired and do not drive every day. It gets disabled 12 hours after the last use of the car, so some days I find the overheat protection is not working, and the app shows my interior temps rising up as high as 120F.
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Who is using overheat protection?
- Thread starter random155
- Start date
Dithermaster
Member
Somewhere I saw one concern with Cabin Overheat Protection is that it cycles the A/C and causes moisture built-up and this can lead to mildew, etc. People suggested fan-only mode to prevent that. It would be nice the the software running the A/C did things to prevent issues, but I don't think it does yet.
buzescu
Member
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
I don’t. I think it’s a fantastic waste of energy as a default setting and have invested in some good tint and a windshield sunshade instead. I also generally park in a garage at work and at home. It’s regularly over 100F here from May to September and a full 9 hour day in direct sun can chew through close to 10% of my 75kwh battery.
I also question the value of running a $3,000 AC compressor all the time on the hypothesis that it might possibly protect a $1,200 MCU screen.
That said, I make regular use of the app to condition the car before I get to it and “keep climate control on” when I’m out and about running errands. Great features.
I also question the value of running a $3,000 AC compressor all the time on the hypothesis that it might possibly protect a $1,200 MCU screen.
That said, I make regular use of the app to condition the car before I get to it and “keep climate control on” when I’m out and about running errands. Great features.
I am puzzled by that comment. Running the A/C should dehumidify so I fail to see how it would cause moisture to build up more by running intermittently than would occur by not running.
Is the concern possibly that the compressor runs so briefly that moisture is collected in the evaporator and then sits there without draining (as it should)?
Dithermaster
Member
Why would this be true? If you run the AC, you will be extracting moisture and reducing chance of anything growing in the car
I used to use it until I read stories of compressor failures on older Model S’s. Using cabin overheat protection will significantly increase the use of the vehicle’s compressor, which may shorten its life. The cost of replacement is in the thousands.
That sounds like a legitimate concern. Any idea why the compressor is so costly? I wonder if it is because it is custom made for Tesla so it is a low volume product. Do other cars use electric AC compressors? Seems as if at least other EVs would, but do any ICE cars use electric compressors or are they all still belt driven off the engine?
Other EVs also use electric compressors. Some of the Tesla expense has to do with a bad compressor also hosing the DC/DC converter. I guess when it fails it draws too much current and fry's the additional components (speculation). That part is also not cheap. Replacing a compressor is an ICE is expensive and can also run thousands. This is not a problem unique to Tesla. I think replacing my cell phone battery early is preferable to potentially replacing my compressor.
Cabin overheat protection works fine for me with the car alarm turned on. I haven't tried it with sentry mode to see if it still works.
buzescu
Member
In the help right where you activate it it says alarm must be off. This is why I am asking. I saw temp going to 44 Celsius in my car and it won't kick in.
Yep - I read that in the help and tested to see if it works... it does for me (at least it did before my most recent software update... I guess I'll try it again).
buzescu
Member
The car allows you to turn both overheat and alarm on, so I'm not sure why the manual says you can't. Overheat works for me, but does eat 12-15 miles of battery on a sunny summer day here in NC. The car is comfortable to get into, and the seats and steering wheel don't have that heat soak that can occur with long exposure to high temps that pre-cooling as you walk to your car can't fix.
Seems a worthwhile $.40/day investment in electricity to me, and I have the extended warranty, so not too concerned about the AC compressor.
Seems a worthwhile $.40/day investment in electricity to me, and I have the extended warranty, so not too concerned about the AC compressor.
Too soon to tell with Tesla compressors. In general, cycling is worse than a constant load, but that may not be applicable here.
Anecdotally, my Model 3 compressor was just replaced at 34,000 miles and 10 months old. It still worked fine, but it was starting to make an atypical vroom noise when it cycled off, so the service center replaced it.
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