Winter driving advice, winter tire choices, etc.

[navguy12]

Since there are probably a lot of people heading into their first winter with a Model 3 I thought I'd start a tip thread.

I have a LR RWD which I got July '18. I've driven it through one Minnesota winter. Here's a few things from my experience.

• Preheat. In cold weather it helps to turn on climate control while you are getting ready in the morning. This allows the car to use wall power rather than battery power to heat up the interior. It also warms the battery pack some.
• Reduced Regen. When the car has sat overnight in any temps below about 60F you'll notice some regen limitation. This is shown by the dots in the upper left on the power bar. The colder it is the more dots you will have and less regenerative braking. As the battery warms up you'll get back some or all of the dots. In sub zero weather you'll probably not be able to get all of them back. Be prepared as it is sometime a bit of a shock when you let up on the pedal and the car does not slow down as expected.
• Winter Tires. You'll find many threads on winter tires and which are good. In short, winter tires are no more or less necessary then on any other car. If you don't usually need winter tires then you may not on the Model 3. If you do get them, you'll have much better stopping and turning ability in cold/icy conditions. AWD will help you get going, but only the tires will help with stopping and turning. Last winter I used the stock 18" aero tires and had no more or less problems then previous cars. I can say the car is very smart about recovering from any slips. This year I plan on getting winter tires for the added safety.
• Chill mode and low regen. Tesla recommends you put the car in chill mode and low regen for slippery conditions. I did try that last year and quickly went back to normal settings. For one, in cold weather you already have reduced regen so setting it to low did nothing much. As for chill mode, I find I can easily modulate my acceleration for the conditions and don't really need the car restricting me. If you are having trouble, you may want to give those a try for yourself.
• Handling. The car is very good at handling wheel slip. It will accelerate without spinning the wheels. (there is a mode to allow slip if you need it to get unstuck) It is also quite good at recovering from back end slide outs. I found the RWD has a tendency to slide out a bit when starting an acceleration on ice. The first time it does it you think you are going to spin out, but it pulls itself back to straight almost before you can react. I have not driven the an AWD so I'll let someone else post how that handles.
• Reduced Range. Depending on the temperature you will have some range reduction. I would say most of the winter it was in the order of 20-30%. We had a couple days around -30F and range reduction was closer to 50% at that extreme cold. One of the biggest hits to your range is the cabin heat. If possible preheat while you are still plugged in. If you really need the range, use the seat heaters rather than the cabin heat. They require less power. The other factors are cold batteries and reduced regen. Some people have found that timing your nightly charging so that it finishes right before you leave in the morning will allow you to start with a warmer battery pack and give you more of your normal range back. People tend to dwell on reduced winter range as a drawback to BEV, but ICE cars also have reduced range in the winter.
• Defrost. The front window defrost has two settings. On the first press the icon turn blue and it directs cabin temperature air to the front window. On the second press the icon turns red and it directs full heat to the front window. I wish there was something in between. During snow storms the first setting is not enough to keep the window clean and the second setting is like having a hair dryer pointed at your face. Turning up the cabin temp does help the first setting.
• Instant heat. One of the very nice things about electric heat is that you don't have to wait for an engine to warm up before you get nice warm air coming from the vents.
• Sticking Charger Plug. In damp freezing conditions it is possible for the charging plug to get stuck and not release from the car. Tesla did put out an update last winter to help with that. If it does happen to you there is a release pull inside the trunk directly behind the charging port.
• Frozen door handles. I only had this happen once. I washed the car on a warmer day and did not dry the handles well enough. It took some determined pushing to get them to open. If you do have a situation where the handles are wet and you know you'll have freezing temp overnight, make sure you dry the handles off.

If you have any more tips, please add them to the thread.

Great write up!

I used a different technique for winter HVAC than leaving the system in auto and then having to play with the full cold/full hot defrost setting (eastern Ontario is home base).

Besides seat heat, I keep the HVAC set to 17c (cloudy, with 20c when sunny because sun load sensor goes way overboard IMO), fan speed set to 2, ac off, fresh air only (no recirc), air flow on feet, windscreen and mains with mains all aimed at side windows.

I have a remote digital temperature probe mounted in the drivers footwell air vent outlet to monitor actual temperatures exiting the HVAC system.

That technique worked successfully all last winter (YMMV).

As for range losses, my only measurable and repeatable results are a routine 257 km trip. In the summer, that requires 52% battery. In the winter, 67%.

 

[St. Rock]

This will be my second winter in the Mid-Atlantic with a M#. While it doesn't get as cold here as in Colorado or New England, I learned early on (I took delivery in November) about the reduced regen. I was surprised when the car did not decelerate for the stop sign at the end of the street. I also charge in the morning, timing the end-of-charge right before I plan to leave. It does help significantly. Also, warming the entire vehicle while still plugged into ground power helps alleviate the range drop in cold weather.

Nice Post. Thanks!

 

[ElectricOrgan]

Fantastic list @nicholb
Wipers: If you're worried about the wipers freezing to the windshield, then turn on Settings | Service | Wiper Service Mode. This will move the wipers up a couple of inches. They can't be lifted off the windshield and stay there, but it does make it easier to lift the wipers off the windshield if needed when you get back. I suppose you could place an object under them if really needed.

Be careful putting anything under the blades in cold weather. They may hold that deformed shape for some time. Better to put something under the arm only.

Supercharging: I had real issues with very slow Supercharging due to a cold battery. This was an issue even after 4 hours of highway driving in cold temps. I really look forward to seeing how the battery pre-heating works this winter. I spent a couple of long calls with Tesla support while having issues with this and I suggested they implement a fix where if a Supercharger was a destination in the Nav, then they pre-heat the battery. I was thrilled to see this implemented. Now to see how it works in a Northern Canadian winter!

Hopefully this won't operate in a manner to limit your range. I'd prefer that the heater only come on once I reach the Supercharger and have plugged in. Sucking out the battery to heat the battery sounds like a bad idea to me unless it is done very carefully.

 

[KetchupKilla]

I currently only leave charge at 70 all week since I rarely touch it and jump to 80 on Saturday before I go out. For how I drive I never need it above that 80. I have so far only charged up to 90 5 times on my road trip with SCs max ever was 93. In terms of pre conditioning before driving, how long does it take to get most of the Regen back let's say if it was just below freezing.

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

I currently only leave charge at 70 all week since I rarely touch it and jump to 80 on Saturday before I go out. For how I drive I never need it above that 80. I have so far only charged up to 90 5 times on my road trip with SCs max ever was 93. In terms of pre conditioning before driving, how long does it take to get most of the Regen back let's say if it was just below freezing.

I've been doing 1 hour from 70% to whatever it can get in that time. May bump it to 80% plus 1 hour when it snows. There was one storm that actually used up all 90% of range last winter and it was the first snow. People were slipping and sliding and blocking the roads. Spend about 4 hours running around trying to find a way past a river valley in here Toronto.

I think 80% for winter is more than enough if your commute is short. My commute is 120kms which cycles about 20~25% of the ~450kms I set at 90%.

Having more is always better than not enough and lining up for a charge somewhere. Until EV chargers are everywhere (even on the street) like in Montreal QC. Planning for the worse case is best

 

[Dexterryu]

I've found using the heated seats (contact points to your body) keep me just as warm as heating the cabin and are much easier on the battery. If the Model 3 had a heated steering wheel I doubt I'd to warm the air in the car at all.

 

[dneteng]

Since there are probably a lot of people heading into their first winter with a Model 3 I thought I'd start a tip thread.

I have a LR RWD which I got July '18. I've driven it through one Minnesota winter. Here's a few things from my experience.

• Preheat. In cold weather it helps to turn on climate control while you are getting ready in the morning. This allows the car to use wall power rather than battery power to heat up the interior. It also warms the battery pack some.
• Reduced Regen. When the car has sat overnight in any temps below about 60F you'll notice some regen limitation. This is shown by the dots in the upper left on the power bar. The colder it is the more dots you will have and less regenerative braking. As the battery warms up you'll get back some or all of the dots. In sub zero weather you'll probably not be able to get all of them back. Be prepared as it is sometime a bit of a shock when you let up on the pedal and the car does not slow down as expected.
• Winter Tires. You'll find many threads on winter tires and which are good. In short, winter tires are no more or less necessary then on any other car. If you don't usually need winter tires then you may not on the Model 3. If you do get them, you'll have much better stopping and turning ability in cold/icy conditions. AWD will help you get going, but only the tires will help with stopping and turning. Last winter I used the stock 18" aero tires and had no more or less problems then previous cars. I can say the car is very smart about recovering from any slips. This year I plan on getting winter tires for the added safety.
• Chill mode and low regen. Tesla recommends you put the car in chill mode and low regen for slippery conditions. I did try that last year and quickly went back to normal settings. For one, in cold weather you already have reduced regen so setting it to low did nothing much. As for chill mode, I find I can easily modulate my acceleration for the conditions and don't really need the car restricting me. If you are having trouble, you may want to give those a try for yourself.
• Handling. The car is very good at handling wheel slip. It will accelerate without spinning the wheels. (there is a mode to allow slip if you need it to get unstuck) It is also quite good at recovering from back end slide outs. I found the RWD has a tendency to slide out a bit when starting an acceleration on ice. The first time it does it you think you are going to spin out, but it pulls itself back to straight almost before you can react. I have not driven the an AWD so I'll let someone else post how that handles.
• Reduced Range. Depending on the temperature you will have some range reduction. I would say most of the winter it was in the order of 20-30%. We had a couple days around -30F and range reduction was closer to 50% at that extreme cold. One of the biggest hits to your range is the cabin heat. If possible preheat while you are still plugged in. If you really need the range, use the seat heaters rather than the cabin heat. They require less power. The other factors are cold batteries and reduced regen. Some people have found that timing your nightly charging so that it finishes right before you leave in the morning will allow you to start with a warmer battery pack and give you more of your normal range back. People tend to dwell on reduced winter range as a drawback to BEV, but ICE cars also have reduced range in the winter.
• Defrost. The front window defrost has two settings. On the first press the icon turn blue and it directs cabin temperature air to the front window. On the second press the icon turns red and it directs full heat to the front window. I wish there was something in between. During snow storms the first setting is not enough to keep the window clean and the second setting is like having a hair dryer pointed at your face. Turning up the cabin temp does help the first setting.
• Instant heat. One of the very nice things about electric heat is that you don't have to wait for an engine to warm up before you get nice warm air coming from the vents.
• Sticking Charger Plug. In damp freezing conditions it is possible for the charging plug to get stuck and not release from the car. Tesla did put out an update last winter to help with that. If it does happen to you there is a release pull inside the trunk directly behind the charging port.
• Frozen door handles. I only had this happen once. I washed the car on a warmer day and did not dry the handles well enough. It took some determined pushing to get them to open. If you do have a situation where the handles are wet and you know you'll have freezing temp overnight, make sure you dry the handles off.

If you have any more tips, please add them to the thread.

Winter Wheels for Model P3D. TSPORTLINE Tesla Model 3 Aftermarket 18 inch Tesla Wheels wheels are the only aftermarket 18" wheels that will fit the Modle 3 Performance with clearance for the larger Brake Calipers and the 3MM lip on the hub that I was able to find. Buying a set to mount your Snow Tires on has several benefits. You don't have to keep unmounting and mounting tires on your summer rims. You can do a thorough cleaning of summer rims and tires before storage. The additional sidewall height of the 18" winter tires reduce the chance of bending a rim in the pot holes that abound in the winter. Staggered wheels in the snow and ice are a disadvantage for traction. There are many more snow tire models available for 18" rims and they are considerably less costly than 20" snow tires. On all previous cars I have always gone to a cheaper narrower wheel set for my snows. In the long run it is pretty cost effective vs paying for mounting and unmounting Spring and Late Fall.

 

[alexdye]

Great post with insights that accurately align with what I learned last year in my first Wisconsin winter with my M3 AWD. I would only add that the overall weight and broad weight distribution of the M3 also contributes to very solid handling in snow and ice. I made it through my first winter with stock tires and had no issues at all for what it's worth.

Since there are probably a lot of people heading into their first winter with a Model 3 I thought I'd start a tip thread.

I have a LR RWD which I got July '18. I've driven it through one Minnesota winter. Here's a few things from my experience.

• Preheat. In cold weather it helps to turn on climate control while you are getting ready in the morning. This allows the car to use wall power rather than battery power to heat up the interior. It also warms the battery pack some.
• Reduced Regen. When the car has sat overnight in any temps below about 60F you'll notice some regen limitation. This is shown by the dots in the upper left on the power bar. The colder it is the more dots you will have and less regenerative braking. As the battery warms up you'll get back some or all of the dots. In sub zero weather you'll probably not be able to get all of them back. Be prepared as it is sometime a bit of a shock when you let up on the pedal and the car does not slow down as expected.
• Winter Tires. You'll find many threads on winter tires and which are good. In short, winter tires are no more or less necessary then on any other car. If you don't usually need winter tires then you may not on the Model 3. If you do get them, you'll have much better stopping and turning ability in cold/icy conditions. AWD will help you get going, but only the tires will help with stopping and turning. Last winter I used the stock 18" aero tires and had no more or less problems then previous cars. I can say the car is very smart about recovering from any slips. This year I plan on getting winter tires for the added safety.
• Chill mode and low regen. Tesla recommends you put the car in chill mode and low regen for slippery conditions. I did try that last year and quickly went back to normal settings. For one, in cold weather you already have reduced regen so setting it to low did nothing much. As for chill mode, I find I can easily modulate my acceleration for the conditions and don't really need the car restricting me. If you are having trouble, you may want to give those a try for yourself.
• Handling. The car is very good at handling wheel slip. It will accelerate without spinning the wheels. (there is a mode to allow slip if you need it to get unstuck) It is also quite good at recovering from back end slide outs. I found the RWD has a tendency to slide out a bit when starting an acceleration on ice. The first time it does it you think you are going to spin out, but it pulls itself back to straight almost before you can react. I have not driven the an AWD so I'll let someone else post how that handles.
• Reduced Range. Depending on the temperature you will have some range reduction. I would say most of the winter it was in the order of 20-30%. We had a couple days around -30F and range reduction was closer to 50% at that extreme cold. One of the biggest hits to your range is the cabin heat. If possible preheat while you are still plugged in. If you really need the range, use the seat heaters rather than the cabin heat. They require less power. The other factors are cold batteries and reduced regen. Some people have found that timing your nightly charging so that it finishes right before you leave in the morning will allow you to start with a warmer battery pack and give you more of your normal range back. People tend to dwell on reduced winter range as a drawback to BEV, but ICE cars also have reduced range in the winter.
• Defrost. The front window defrost has two settings. On the first press the icon turn blue and it directs cabin temperature air to the front window. On the second press the icon turns red and it directs full heat to the front window. I wish there was something in between. During snow storms the first setting is not enough to keep the window clean and the second setting is like having a hair dryer pointed at your face. Turning up the cabin temp does help the first setting.
• Instant heat. One of the very nice things about electric heat is that you don't have to wait for an engine to warm up before you get nice warm air coming from the vents.
• Sticking Charger Plug. In damp freezing conditions it is possible for the charging plug to get stuck and not release from the car. Tesla did put out an update last winter to help with that. If it does happen to you there is a release pull inside the trunk directly behind the charging port.
• Frozen door handles. I only had this happen once. I washed the car on a warmer day and did not dry the handles well enough. It took some determined pushing to get them to open. If you do have a situation where the handles are wet and you know you'll have freezing temp overnight, make sure you dry the handles off.

If you have any more tips, please add them to the thread.

 

[Merle]

I come from an area of the mountains where we get snow - last year it was 9' which means you're up to the roof line, and higher when you try to clear snow off the side of your 120' driveway.

1. Ground clearance. Make sure you raise your suspension. It's very easy to 'high center' a vehicle and if you do, no tire nor chains is going to save you.

2. When you shop for winter tires, look for the mountain-and-snowflake symbol. Studs don't work as great on plowed roads, and are banned in many areas due to the job they do to road surfaces. If your tire doesn't have the mountain-and-snowflake symbol, they're not severe snow rated. Toyo Celsius fits and meets that requirement.

3. AWD helps you go, tires help you stop. It takes much more distance to stop the faster you are going, so slow down. Getting there in one piece is more important than arriving early.

4. I drove through I-70 before, during and after they closed it down around April, and we were well below freezing temperatures. Even with the Pilot summer tires, if you have tread, you'll make it. Kept going to SLC up I-6 (IIRC) when we didn't have visibility of the road. Would not risk Wyoming though due to icy road conditions combined with wind.

5. Colorado chain restrictions are ... laughable. There weren't chain control stations and the roads are great. Further west you have R1 and R2 conditions, potentially even R3 where you have to have 4WD and chains on all tires for your vehicle. Trucks had to pull over, but passenger cars in Colorado?!? We kept going.

6. Charge early, charge often. If you're below 20% you've already pushed it too far because if traffic stops, you may freeze. And if your car gets stuck on the side of the road, it's going to be flatbed trailer time.

7. Chains > cables > sock. I carry 2 sets (four) of chains in my 4WD with locking diffs and traction control. And I still get stuck as I'm on a Tier 2 road that doesn't get cleared fast enough.

8. Know where your little screw-in tow hook is. Know how to put it in. Carry gloves (two pair of thinsulate winter gloves are $20 at Costco), a shovel and non-clumping cat liter (in that order). If you have room for a snatch strap (harbor freight 20' is less than $20), have one as well because someone with a tow hitch (ball) can get you out but most people don't carry supplies.

9. Practice in a snowy parking lot (look out for potholes) by jamming on the breaks, taking turns fast, and trying to break out the rear. Know how your car handles snow in a safe environment before you have to venture onto the road. We do this annually.

Enjoy the ride.

 

[WaltG]

A Better Routeplanner[/URL]

 

[SageBrush]

Not sure I understand what it is you feel is happening when regen is turned off or down. Regen only acts when the car is slowing down or you are going down a steep hill. Those are the times you want regen to kick in because the alternative is to use the brakes which work with 0% recovery of the energy put into the car. Isn't 80% better than zero?

Regen is braking using a generator. Stated another way, it is converting kinetic to electric energy. Whether the car slows down or not depends on the contribution of potential to kinetic energy.

 

[George I]

An older thread 2015 written by a Model S owner (so a few things do not apply or have changed) but should be read by all before driving an EV in the winter.
Cold Weather Driving

As someone who has spent 3 winter in Ontario with a Tesla: a)on a long trip the first ~50km or ~half an hour are the worst on electricity consumption b)when going on a long trip preheat from shore power for 20+min not just to warm the air in the car but also the seats and dash etc. c) at your destination, if all you have is 120v, plug in as soon as you get there (ie before you unload your car!) so that way you don't find the battery has gotten too cold too charge overnight c)if range is an issue use seat heaters generously and defroster & cabin heat only as much as is necessary d)driving even 5-10kmh slower will partly (sometimes substantially) compensate for loss in range d)get winter tires or at minimum all weather tires if available in your size, all seasons are not enough in a real winter, Michelin X-ice winter are a less costly, durable, decent handling and readily available alternative that works well as long as you do not demand performance level+ super crisp response in your winter tires

 

[JBHinPA]

VERY helpful and "thank you." This will be my first Philadelphia, PA winter with the Model 3.

 

[Philh2o]

Great post, thanks. (With great additional information in the comments.) Three things to add while steering our AWD/Lr Model 3 toward its second Colorado winter garaged at 8,000 ft:

1) Stay with me on this unless you have more hair on your head than Howard Stern: Consider getting the Glass Roof Sunshade. We got ours for a trip to Las Vegas last summer along with the one for the rear window which I don't see listed on the Tesla website right now. Both were effective in keeping the cabin a bit cooler. However, what I'm noticing now is that it can also keep the cabin, and the top of my head, warmer in winter. Warmer head, less heat—especially if you're using seat-heat only as is suggested for power conservation.

2) A clarification on Colorado chain laws, which aren't as simple as "…if you don't have chains you'll get fined." The new law, implemented in 2019, are either very simple or very complicated, depending on (literally) which side of the issue/chart you come down on. See below. On the left side, two 'Yes' answers and you're good to go. With a 2WD or RWD vehicle it gets tougher.

3) After 18 winters in Colorado driving a Jeep, Audi, Volvo, Prius, a couple of Hondas and now the Tesla I have never observed any kind of paint/body degradation due to mag-chloride aka, 'salt', that is applied to the roads—unless you're following the snowplow too close where chunks of 'sand' are bouncing off the road and up onto your hood and pitting the windshield. However, "Chrome" trim—the fake plastic-y stuff that, thankfully, is little used on the Model 3—that stuff has corroded on every vehicle I've owned. Some home remedies to remove it include vinegar diluted in water, but you gotta stay on top of it with frequent visits to the car wash or a quick home rinse. (Which, in winter, will introduce a bunch of other issues.)

Now, who's going to race me to the free charger at Copper Mountain?

 

[Beardley]

I have an X P90D. To handle the cold weather charging, I usually charge to 80% over night, which is enough for my daily needs, even in winter. Then when I wake up, I set the charge to 90% to warm the battery up before I leave for work. We have mild winters here, so it works for me. I'd love to be able to make the changes between 80% and 90% automatic.

I've been using the Stats app to do just that. It has a battery prep setting, and I have it set to bump up to 90% about an hour before I leave for work. It also has a climate prep, which kicks on the heat 15 min before I leave. It works pretty well, but once in a while, it just deletes my entries in the app, and I haven't figured out why.

This is one of the only things I don't like about the M3. My leaf was set to complete the charge at my leave time, and had a built in climate timer. Seems silly that Tesla hasn't done that yet. Elon needs to live in the cold for a bit.

 

[Scoutniagara]

Since there are probably a lot of people heading into their first winter with a Model 3 I thought I'd start a tip thread.

I have a LR RWD which I got July '18. I've driven it through one Minnesota winter. Here's a few things from my experience.

• Preheat. In cold weather it helps to turn on climate control while you are getting ready in the morning. This allows the car to use wall power rather than battery power to heat up the interior. It also warms the battery pack some.
• Reduced Regen. When the car has sat overnight in any temps below about 60F you'll notice some regen limitation. This is shown by the dots in the upper left on the power bar. The colder it is the more dots you will have and less regenerative braking. As the battery warms up you'll get back some or all of the dots. In sub zero weather you'll probably not be able to get all of them back. Be prepared as it is sometime a bit of a shock when you let up on the pedal and the car does not slow down as expected.
• Winter Tires. You'll find many threads on winter tires and which are good. In short, winter tires are no more or less necessary then on any other car. If you don't usually need winter tires then you may not on the Model 3. If you do get them, you'll have much better stopping and turning ability in cold/icy conditions. AWD will help you get going, but only the tires will help with stopping and turning. Last winter I used the stock 18" aero tires and had no more or less problems then previous cars. I can say the car is very smart about recovering from any slips. This year I plan on getting winter tires for the added safety.
• Chill mode and low regen. Tesla recommends you put the car in chill mode and low regen for slippery conditions. I did try that last year and quickly went back to normal settings. For one, in cold weather you already have reduced regen so setting it to low did nothing much. As for chill mode, I find I can easily modulate my acceleration for the conditions and don't really need the car restricting me. If you are having trouble, you may want to give those a try for yourself.
• Handling. The car is very good at handling wheel slip. It will accelerate without spinning the wheels. (there is a mode to allow slip if you need it to get unstuck) It is also quite good at recovering from back end slide outs. I found the RWD has a tendency to slide out a bit when starting an acceleration on ice. The first time it does it you think you are going to spin out, but it pulls itself back to straight almost before you can react. I have not driven the an AWD so I'll let someone else post how that handles.
• Reduced Range. Depending on the temperature you will have some range reduction. I would say most of the winter it was in the order of 20-30%. We had a couple days around -30F and range reduction was closer to 50% at that extreme cold. One of the biggest hits to your range is the cabin heat. If possible preheat while you are still plugged in. If you really need the range, use the seat heaters rather than the cabin heat. They require less power. The other factors are cold batteries and reduced regen. Some people have found that timing your nightly charging so that it finishes right before you leave in the morning will allow you to start with a warmer battery pack and give you more of your normal range back. People tend to dwell on reduced winter range as a drawback to BEV, but ICE cars also have reduced range in the winter.
• Defrost. The front window defrost has two settings. On the first press the icon turn blue and it directs cabin temperature air to the front window. On the second press the icon turns red and it directs full heat to the front window. I wish there was something in between. During snow storms the first setting is not enough to keep the window clean and the second setting is like having a hair dryer pointed at your face. Turning up the cabin temp does help the first setting.
• Instant heat. One of the very nice things about electric heat is that you don't have to wait for an engine to warm up before you get nice warm air coming from the vents.
• Sticking Charger Plug. In damp freezing conditions it is possible for the charging plug to get stuck and not release from the car. Tesla did put out an update last winter to help with that. If it does happen to you there is a release pull inside the trunk directly behind the charging port.
• Frozen door handles. I only had this happen once. I washed the car on a warmer day and did not dry the handles well enough. It took some determined pushing to get them to open. If you do have a situation where the handles are wet and you know you'll have freezing temp overnight, make sure you dry the handles off.

If you have any more tips, please add them to the thread.

 

[Scoutniagara]

For mine, I take the soft part of my fist, and thump the handle area, to free up the stuck ice around it. Make sure to manually push it back in, or the door won't close.

 

[jcal0820]

Leaning towards my first winter in northern Virginia with the stock all seasons on my ‘18 Long Range RWD Model 3. With the inherent weight/center of gravity, and overall driving dynamics w/ advanced traction control, feeling rather confident... for now.

 

[Feathermerchan]

VERY helpful and "thank you." This will be my first Philadelphia, PA winter with the Model 3.

Coincidentally We will be driving to Phila the first part of Nov. Hope its no too cold.

 

[MidwestM3P]

When temp is around or below freezing, do not expect to gain any charge from a regular 110V 15A outlet. It is just enough power to warm the battery enough to allow for charging, but does not add any significant range.

Not sure of your charger setup, but...
When temp is around or below freezing, do not expect to gain any charge from a regular 110V 15A outlet. It is just enough power to warm the battery enough to allow for charging, but does not add any significant range. ​

Will respectfully disagree with this. I had my LR Perf model during the coldest of the winter months here last winter, parked in an attached but not climate-controlled garage and was able to charge at about 3mi/hr from the 110 wall outlet. Temps in the garage sometimes got down into the upper teens/lower 20's, and even after having the car sitting out in the middle of an open parking lot with the wind howling through it for 10 hours a day with temps near 0, I was still able to get it to charge when I got back home. It did appear to want to warm the battery for a bit while plugged in and the charge speed was reduced some, it still usually stayed steady at 3mi/hr.