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Winter with a Tesla

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It’s the time of year when this forum starts to get new winter related posts. Thankfully there is already a wealth of information in the forum.
We’ll take it as read that few people read the manual and the advice it contains for cold weather.
Let’s start with probably the most common query as temperatures drop -

Where did my miles go?
Put very simply, batteries don’t like the cold. They like to work at an optimum temperature and your car will do all it can to keep them at this temperature. That means it will use some of the energy in your battery to heat them up and to keep them warm. This obviously uses more energy than in summer when the ambient temperature is higher. It also takes a wee bit of time to get the batteries warm so they will be less efficient before they come up to temperature. You’ll also lose more energy when charging in winter as the batteries have usually got to heat up to charge as efficiently as possible. If you are heading to a Supercharger the car will automatically preheat the battery during your drive. This can seem to be a bit variable, but depends on a host of factors such as outside temp, battery temp, distance etc. Even if you are not heading to a supercharger to charge, you can trick the car into pre-heating by selecting a supercharger as the destination in the navigation. The car should start to preheat and when you arrive at your non-supercharger charger the battery will charge faster due to it being a bit warmer.

Keep an eye out for the snowflake icon on the screen. this indicates that the battery is cold and the car has reserved some of the capacity. You’ll probably notice it when your battery capacity or miles remaining jumps up. This is the car releasing the reserved capacity now that the battery is warm.

Aside from batteries there is at least one other component that likes to stay warm - the driver and possibly passengers. If it’s cold outside more energy will be needed to heat the cabin and therefore there will be less available to drive the wheels. This also applies when you’re sitting in the car while charging.

Also the weather can have an impact on your efficiency too. While in the UK & I we can get heavy rain in the summer, it is much more common in winter and is therefore more noticeable. Thankfully Tesla have started to incorporate the weather in trip range calculations, but I’m not sure it will accommodate the 4 seasons in one day we get here.

What does all this mumbo jumbo mean to you? It means that you will get less range with your car than you did in the summer. There are lots of threads that delve into this deeper if you want to understand how it impacts you.

Incidentally ICE cars are impacted by cold weather as well. They are just so inefficient that the loss due to the cold is less obvious and a lot of the waste is heat which can be quite useful at this time of year.

What Tyres?
As the weather starts to deteriorate people’s thoughts will start to drift (no pun intended) to the best tyres for winter use. If you can afford them and can be bothered with changing them, then winter tyres offer the best performance in sub 7C temperatures. Nowadays though you also have very good all season tyres. Again plenty of threads that deal with the pros and cons of each type and what size is needed for various Tesla models. Just don’t make the mistake this driver did by thinking that AWD makes your car invincible.

Your tyre pressures will also be affected by the cold weather. Pressure drops by about 1-2psi for every 10C drop in air temperature. Therefore if you pumped your tyres up in the summer, by the time winter comes - and don’t forget those cold autumnal mornings - you could see quite a substantial drop in your tyre pressures. It is also not uncommon for each tyre to have different temperatures especially first thing in the morning. I often see this when one side of the car has been heated by the sun and the other is in shade. I’ve even seen just one tyre heated by the sun and the rest at a much lower pressure. Keep an eye on them and follow best practice for winter use.

Windscreen washer
The size of the fluid reservoir can be found in the manual. What you put in it has already been discussed and this is largely a matter of personal choice. What you used in your last car will likely work in your Tesla, it ain’t that special.

Ice, ice baby
Frosty mornings also bring frozen windows, doors, charging ports etc. There are some precautions you can take to mitigate the impact of these, but there are also some good threads in the forum about what can go wrong and how to get in your car if something is frozen.

Cold windows can sometimes lead to condensation on the inside and occasionally ’steam/smoke’ when charging. It’s not unusual for the tail lights in particular to be affected. Lots of posts about what Tesla consider to be ‘within spec’ for this.

You may also hear your car making more noises than usual. This is likely the heat pump moving heat around the car and battery. It’s even mentioned in the manual along with some sample sounds.

If you have an LR or Performance you’ll have 4 wheel drive, but that doesn’t mean you can drive like Hannu Mikkola in snow and ice. Without decent tyres, see above, you’ll just slide in a potentially expensive manner. A RWD car with winter/All season tyres will out perform an AWD car with summer tyres in these conditions.

If you have any other links to existing threads then please post them. Most of all, use the search function, it's not our first winter :)

49588601437_2eacee773a_b.jpg

"Tesla Model 3 Bola B16" by Bola Wheels is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.
(Note: Above Image added by TMC admin)
 
Maybe things had changed since 2007, where I was warned by my relatives. whether it was a misunderstanding and it was a condition of the insurance companies in Germany. I had gone over for a funeral in February and only drove to where I was staying and back to the ferry.
 
I have a single trip to a ski resort in the alps this winter and am really wondering if I should be forking out £1000 for changing my brand new OEM (summer) tyres with winter ones. Used to have M+S Crossclimate before so never really wondered before... I have a pair of snow socks in the frunk so I'm compliant with the law but the problem with those is that you shouldn't put them on if there's still a bit of tarmac, and when there is already a thin layer of snow and you forgot to stop to put them on, well, it's already too late....

I'm also wondering when to switch on the toggle 'Off-road assist' on the Model Y if the road is moderately slushy... The manual is not abundantly clear on that (Model Y Owner's Manual | Tesla)
Dude, I gave you links to existing threads about the pros/cons of winter tyres. Why not pop onto one of them and see if you can get an answer to your question.
 
Dude, I gave you links to existing threads about the pros/cons of winter tyres. Why not pop onto one of them and see if you can get an answer to your question.
Yes, I'm well aware that they provide better grip in the winter, hence the name 'winter tyres', thank you...

Just wondering if at £250 a pop the cost of replacing my four brand new summer OEMs would be justified for a 1-week holiday in a ski resort, as the car will otherwise be spending the rest of winter in London where it would be lucky to see a single snowflake by March.
I'm probably in a different situation than yours, living in Scotland, where it's surely a no-brainer.

Not sure I've seen that debate on the other topics but happy to hear other member's views.
 
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Just wondering if at £250 a pop the cost of replacing my four brand new summer OEMs would be justified for a 1-week holiday in a ski resort, as the car will otherwise be spending the rest of winter in London where it would be lucky to see a single snowflake by March.
I'm probably in a different situation than yours, living in Scotland, where it's surely a no-brainer.
Actually even in Scotland most people don't switch to winter tyres either so it's not as much of a no-brainer as you would think! Though I've become a convert to winter tyres it really does depend on circumstances. I would just comment that for various reasons (not least of all laziness) I have driven through an entire year on winters ... guess what, they were fine ... even in hot weather (south of England not Scotland) they don't melt into a black pool of sticky rubber* ... so keeping them on for the entirety of the winter in London would still allow you to get some useful wear out of them.

* I'm not saying it would be good idea to push the limits of tyre adhesion in seriously warm weather but for calm efficient EV driving (!) they are pretty much indistinguishable from any other tyre.
 
Yes, I'm well aware that they provide better grip in the winter, hence the name 'winter tyres', thank you...

Just wondering if at £250 a pop the cost of replacing my four brand new summer OEMs would be justified for a 1-week holiday in a ski resort, as the car will otherwise be spending the rest of winter in London where it would be lucky to see a single snowflake by March.
I'm probably in a different situation than yours, living in Scotland, where it's surely a no-brainer.

Not sure I've seen that debate on the other topics but happy to hear other member's views.

Considering it's a legal requirement to have tyres with the 3 peak snow mark on for that entire region when conditions are icy, it's not really something you have a choice on. Snow socks don't count - 9/10 they will pull them off and fine you, they don't like them at all in my experience (rightly so especially if you've got summers on underneath of all things, they're a last ditch get out of jail card, not a safety device), and the legal wording around snow tyres is much clearer than it was in the past (and more unified - geographically speaking).

If the conditions are snowy/icy, and you're caught driving with non-marked tyres, you get the fine and possibly an abrupt end to your holiday. Combine this with the old rule of "O to O" (October to easter) to help ensure you don't get caught out. Also consider insurance and your safety.

TLDR: it's an associated cost with driving in that region in the winter, and isn't optional. Sell the tyres when you get back if you don't think you'll use them again.
 
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Considering it's a legal requirement to have tyres with the 3 peak snow mark on for that entire region when conditions are icy, it's not really something you have a choice on. Snow socks don't count - 9/10 they will pull them off and fine you, they don't like them at all in my experience (rightly so especially if you've got summers on underneath of all things, they're a last ditch get out of jail card, not a safety device), and the legal wording around snow tyres is much clearer than it was in the past (and more unified - geographically speaking).

If the conditions are snowy/icy, and you're caught driving with non-marked tyres, you get the fine and possibly an abrupt end to your holiday. Combine this with the old rule of "O to O" (October to easter) to help ensure you don't get caught out. Also consider insurance and your safety.

TLDR: it's an associated cost with driving in that region in the winter, and isn't optional. Sell the tyres when you get back if you don't think you'll use them again.
What region / legal requirement are you referring to?

For France it's EITHER 3 peak (winter or 4seasons tyres) OR summer tyres with snow chains (either simply in the boot, or fitted on tyres depending on the road sign).
The only case where they would stop and fine you is if you have summer with no chains or socks at all in the car.
And socks are legally equivalent to chains as far as the policeman / gendarmerie is concerned.

Switzerland is the same, there is no legal requirement, but if you skate into another vehicle, logically, you're the one at fault insurance-wise.

Germany, you're fine if the road is dry, you need 3PMSF if it's not (but I'm not going through Germany)
 
I have a single trip to a ski resort in the alps this winter and am really wondering if I should be forking out £1000 for changing my brand new OEM (summer) tyres with winter ones

its not really £1,000 ... its just some money from your tire-change-budget.

I bought winter tyres primarily for a ski trip many years ago, in a front wheel drive car. There was packed snow all the way up the mountain from the valley floor in Moutier ... the Gendarme stopping everyone to put chains on waved me on when I told him my tyres were Winters ... and I sailed past everyone going up the mountain on chains .... even the Range Rover in convoy behind me with Chains, and in Snow mode, made hard-work of the job ...

Since then I have changed my tyres to Winters in November when the first wintery weather arrives ... and take them off in the Spring. So I put 4 or 5 months wear on the Winters, and 7 or 8 months on the Summers and both sets last "longer". Some initial outlay, the driving difference in wintery conditions is like night-and-day, I'm safer, and if we get a sudden snow fall I have no inconvenience / risk compared to everyone on "regular tyres".

Helps if you have somewhere to store them ... but tyre change outfits / car dealers will do that for you ... for a price.
 
I'll just add in a mention of door handles (Model 3 and Y). In some less common scenarios it is possible for the car to have been soaked by rain followed by a sudden freeze. The flush door handles live in a little "bucket" that can end up freezing. I recommend a squirt of WD40 in the pivot area (in advance ... only a couple of times per winter season). This greatly reduces the likelihood of the handle getting stuck. You can give the fatter end of the handle a very firm thump with the heel of your hand if necessary. We have recently been given a new facility via software update that allows you to unlatch the driver's door without even having to move the handle (using the app) so this could be another solution. (I've not had to use this new action in the frozen handle scenario but it certainly unlatches the door successfully.)

Love that new update! Can’t wait to try it this winter!!
 
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Under the general heading of winter use, has there been a significant change in charging behaviour in recent updates? (I'm on 2022.20.8 MS Raven LR) I haven't been taking as much notice of exact charging behaviour as I did in previous years, but a couple of weeks ago I was charging from solar PV and looking more closely at what was going on. Ambient temps around 10 to 12 C, charging turned down to 2 to 3 kw but the app shows pre heating the battery. Pre heating I can understand if temps getting near to say 5C or to fast charge, but I reckon the entire 3kw would have to go to heating to make much difference in battery temp. I'm thinking in cold weather we could see significantly longer AC / home charging times to the point that charging less than 3 or 4 hours might not be worthwhile, especially at less than 7kw.

With high energy costs, it makes it more important to know what's going on, especially weighing the balance of plugging in to charge immediately after a drive to avoid wasteful pre heating vs charging at off peak over night but having to waste time and energy pre heating.

Tesla have fiddled with heating and regen with many updates but now it feels like it's more important to know for certain how your car behaves.
 
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Sorry, I'm still stuck on the tyres issue:

We know our MYLR came with Geminis 255/45/19/104Y OEMs.
So 104 as load index, as it's a particularly heavy vehicle, but Y seems like an overkill as it's a rating for up to 186mph(300kmh).
The MYLR rated top speed is 135mph as per Tesla specs.
Therefore, am I correct in assuming any tyre rated from V is compliant / lawful? (V is rated for up to 149mph), especially regarding insurance purposes.

The reason I'm asking is because the Michelin CrossClimate only exist in 104H at best. So it doesn't seem enough as H = 130mph. Therefore a picky insurer (that's redundant) could deny a claim?

I was finally able to source a Goodyear All Season, which is probably not as good as the Michelin, but at least it's a W rating so fits with the car specs.

Any thoughts?
 
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Sorry, I'm still stuck on the tyres issue:

We know our MYLR came with Geminis 255/45/19/104Y OEMs.
So 104 as load index, as it's a particularly heavy vehicle, but Y seems like an overkill as it's a rating for up to 186mph(300kmh).
The MYLR rated top speed is 135mph as per Tesla specs.
Therefore, am I correct in assuming any tyre rated from V is compliant / lawful? (V is rated for up to 149mph), especially regarding insurance purposes.

The reason I'm asking is because the Michelin CrossClimate only exist in 104H at best. So it doesn't seem enough as H = 130mph. Therefore a picky insurer (that's redundant) could deny a claim?

I was finally able to source a Goodyear All Season, which is probably not as good as the Michelin, but at least it's a W rating so fits with the car specs.

Any thoughts?
Tyre speed rating for MOT test state that it must be higher than 70mph.
As it's illegal to drive at a speed higher than 70mph I don't think you could be legally or insurance wise penalised for fitting H speed index tyres.
I have just fitted Crossclimate 2 suv and am very happy with them.
I found ATS Euromaster fully fitted at £199 per corner.
 
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We're driving in below freezing temps now, and with the winter tires it's definitely affected consumption. In summer conditions we'll use 160 - 180 wh/km according to the trip meter. Now we're doing around 200 - 240 wh/km, but the car doesn't tell you about consumption when idle or parked like the trip meter would on a ICE car. Including that gives us around 275 wh/km delivered power, and by looking at wall charger stats, which seems to include preconditioning, we're around 340 wh/km wall charger power.

Still, it's muuuch cheaper than gas here and being able to "idle" the car without gassing people is really nice! Also, the ride quality is MUCH nicer with the 19" winter tires due to more sidewall and softer rubber. On the 20" all-seasons, concrete highways cause the car to "buck" back and forth making my head bounce on the headrest, which is really annoying.
 
Sorry, I'm still stuck on the tyres issue:

We know our MYLR came with Geminis 255/45/19/104Y OEMs.
So 104 as load index, as it's a particularly heavy vehicle, but Y seems like an overkill as it's a rating for up to 186mph(300kmh).
The MYLR rated top speed is 135mph as per Tesla specs.
Therefore, am I correct in assuming any tyre rated from V is compliant / lawful? (V is rated for up to 149mph), especially regarding insurance purposes.

The reason I'm asking is because the Michelin CrossClimate only exist in 104H at best. So it doesn't seem enough as H = 130mph. Therefore a picky insurer (that's redundant) could deny a claim?

I was finally able to source a Goodyear All Season, which is probably not as good as the Michelin, but at least it's a W rating so fits with the car specs.

Any thoughts?
To be honest I don’t think it’s worth it living in London.

I don’t have space to store winter tyres and the efficiency outside of winter (or indeed all but the coldest time in London) isn’t worth it.

It does depend when you’re going - we’re off to Avoriaz before Xmas so might not be very cold by then.

I’ll also aim to hit the drive up after lunch on Saturday and the roads are usually warmed by the mornings traffic exhausts and it’s just wet.

Similarly will probably leave Friday evening and hopefully roads will be cleared of snow by the days traffic.

Snow socks as a just in case.

Only once had to use chains before - and that was in Champagne on the drive down to the Alps!!
 
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I’ve noticed in this colder weather that my car doesn’t go to sleep as fast as it used to. Generally it now stays awake for about an hour after I park home. It used to be pretty much instant. (Looking at Tessie stats)
Any idea of what (if weather related) could keep it that way? That’s definitely a battery depletion factor that seems avoidable?
 
Winter "service" complete:
  1. Set tyre pressures to recommended values. (had dropped 5 psi since summer)
  2. Increased concentration of screen wash.
  3. WD40 Silicone Lubricant around pins in external door handles.
  4. Gummi Pfledge around door rubbers.
  5. Set wing mirrors to not auto fold on all profiles.
 
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Also, I've noticed my electric windows are struggling. Sometimes reversing their course down like if fingers were trapped (which wasn't the case obvs). This seems way too sensitive. Any idea on how to correct that?
 
Also, I've noticed my electric windows are struggling. Sometimes reversing their course down like if fingers were trapped (which wasn't the case obvs). This seems way too sensitive. Any idea on how to correct that?
Winter has barely started, but this might help:

Calibrating Windows​

In the unlikely event that a window behaves unexpectedly (touches the bright molding, fails to open or close properly, goes down more than normal when the door opens, etc.), you can calibrate it to potentially fix the issue.
To calibrate a window:
  1. Close the door with the affected window.
  2. Sit in the driver's seat and close the driver door.
  3. Using the window's switch on the driver's door, raise the affected window until it stalls.
  4. Using the window's switch on the driver's door, lower the affected window until it stalls.
  5. Repeat step 3 and raise the affected window until it stalls.
The window should now be calibrated. If the issue continues after attempting the calibration procedure a couple times, contact Tesla.
 
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