X vs. Ice

[Cellsaver]

Ahh you're probably all thinking internal combustion engine, but I'm talking about good old fashioned frozen H2O...

I live in Cincinnati, and about once every few years we get a sleet storm straight out of hell and it takes 2 hours to make what is usually a 20 minute drive. We had one of these yesterday.

I have a 2016 P90DX with the subzero package, and unless I keep the wiper heater on (which keeps going off so I have to keep turning it back on) and the front windshield defrost on (which only works if the blower is on 100%) I can't keep ice from accumulating on the wiper blades.

This results in a cabin temperature of about 200 degrees, so I have to drive with the window down which is kind of hilarious.

Am I the only one who has this issue, and is there a way to keep the front defrost on without the fan on 100%?

Trace

 

[Richbot]

No but the wiper fluid on this thing is like a dang firehose and I went through a gallon in two days in all this salt/ice we've gotten in the STL area heh. PANORAMIC WINDSCREEN*






*estimated cost savings - zero to +$100 per year in washer fluid lol

 

[DCGOO]

Ahh you're probably all thinking internal combustion engine, but I'm talking about good old fashioned frozen H2O...

I live in Cincinnati, and about once every few years we get a sleet storm straight out of hell and it takes 2 hours to make what is usually a 20 minute drive. We had one of these yesterday.

I have a 2016 P90DX with the subzero package, and unless I keep the wiper heater on (which keeps going off so I have to keep turning it back on) and the front windshield defrost on (which only works if the blower is on 100%) I can't keep ice from accumulating on the wiper blades.

This results in a cabin temperature of about 200 degrees, so I have to drive with the window down which is kind of hilarious.

Am I the only one who has this issue, and is there a way to keep the front defrost on without the fan on 100%?

Trace

Same thing over here in Indy, and right now my X is parked outside (my wife gets the remaining garage spot for her 3). My main countermeasure against the ice is to turn on the turn on the climate at least an hour before leaving, this includes the wipers and steering wheel. If necessary to melt any snow, I’ll turn on the defrost. But you are correct, that is super hot. I never drive with defrost on hi heat. If the windows fog up, I might turn it on for a 15 - 30 seconds. But it clears things up very quickly. Don’t forget there is also low heat defrost, the icon lights up blue.

But the key is having the vehicle throughly warm before you leave. This also heats the battery, which means you can have full regen when starting out. Obviously this is best done when the car is plugged in. But it also works on battery only.

 

[DCGOO]

No but the wiper fluid on this thing is like a dang firehose and I went through a gallon in two days in all this salt/ice we've gotten in the STL area heh. PANORAMIC WINDSCREEN*
*estimated cost savings - zero to +$100 per year in washer fluid lol

Yeah I forgot about that. In almost 3 years though, I have never added windshield juice to mine. Now the car has been into the Service Center a few times, and I am sure they top it off whenever they touch it.

 

[Cellsaver]

Yeah I did all those things but I'm talking about driving in an active sleet storm. As soon as you turn off high defrost it starts building up, the wiper heaters are not enough. But I didn't realize that blue on the defrost button was warm air, I thought it blew cold air.

 

[DCGOO]

But I didn't realize that blue on the defrost button was warm air, I thought it blew cold air.

It depends on ambient conditions. Blue defrost (defog) means dehumidified air. Warm or cool as conditions dictate.

 

[DIL]

It depends on ambient conditions. Blue defrost (defog) means dehumidified air. Warm or cool as conditions dictate.

Then why wouldn’t you use blue mode all the time?

 

[DCGOO]

Then why wouldn’t you use blue mode all the time?

Because you don't need it, or poor conditions dictate (ice). I rarely use it. If needed I turn it on. Most of the time here in Indiana, the weather is blue jays and sunshine. Once in a while (like this weekend) it is sub zero and frozen blue jays.

 

[R8M3MS]

Tesla heater controls are confusing. You don't have to turn the DEFROST RED icon to have the windshield heated. Just set the temperature and then make sure the icon that shows air going to the TOP is on (blue). That is the three people icons, the left-most one. In auto mode with the heat on the default is just the floor and the middle vents not the top vents. Push to add the top vents and that will keep the windshield ice-free as you drive without needing the DEFROST RED on which I think is just meant to defrost the entire car once you are in it and then turn off while driving because it is way too hot. You can also increase the blower fan speed up a bit if needed and as long as the temperature is set where you are comfortable it should not overheat he car but still keep the windshield ice-free. Works for me in Montana cold and snow.

 

[mxnym]

Tesla heater controls are confusing.

Not really, they work the same as any other vehicle with auto HVAC (defog makes air go to windshield only at the appropriate set temperature, you can manually set heat to high to defrost) outside of an added function (front defrost, which automatically sets heat to HI while having defog on). The added function or color choices for "on" indicators may confuse some people, but the controls are otherwise pretty much standard.

 

[KDiZ88]

No but the wiper fluid on this thing is like a dang firehose and I went through a gallon in two days in all this salt/ice we've gotten in the STL area heh. PANORAMIC WINDSCREEN*
*estimated cost savings - zero to +$100 per year in washer fluid lol

Same here! Drove 2hrs to Chicago and 2hrs back home. I ran out of washer fluid half way to Chicago (1hr into the trip). Had to get off in Gary Indiana and try to find a gas station. Found a shady station who only had 1 jug left, bought it and filled up the reservoir the entire way. Then on my way back home, I RAN OUT AGAIN. Use the entire reservoir twice on this trip... Crazy.

 

[R8M3MS]

Not really, they work the same as any other vehicle with auto HVAC

I disagree.

Not in the other cars I own: BMW, Toyota, and Audi. On "auto" on those cars when the HVAC is heating, it automatically opens vents to the windshield and the floor. When cooling it opens the console vents.

The Tesla doesn't matter if heating or cooling; if you use "auto" it only opens vents on the floor and the console. That is unusual that the windshield vents are only opened manually.

There are many other threads on here where people driving in the cold get an iced over winshield because they don't realize that when the system is on "auto" it does not heat the windshield which is unusual and confusing.

Even more confusing is the "windshield" button is not intuitive. It appears that a single press would start heating the windshield but it only does a defogl the air is cold and the icing can worsen. It is not intuitive since you can only get it to "defrost" (red) by double tapping it. Hitting it once and waiting a minute or two then hitting again will just turn off the defog. Double-tapping will turn on the defrost (red). This is not intuitive and confusing. It's the only "button" on the Tesla screen that I know that requires a double tap and there is no indication that you can double tap it. Poor design interface with this button.

 

[mxnym]

I disagree.

Not in the other cars I own: BMW, Toyota, and Audi. On "auto" on those cars when the HVAC is heating, it automatically opens vents to the windshield and the floor. When cooling it opens the console vents.

The Tesla doesn't matter if heating or cooling; if you use "auto" it only opens vents on the floor and the console. That is unusual that the windshield vents are only opened manually.

The thing about observations is that they rely on us humans, and we aren't the greatest observers. To be clear, I'm intentionally including myself in that generalization before dropping this observation: Every vehicle I have driven with automatic HVAC starting with vehicle model years as old as 1993 and all the way up to my Model X sometimes send air to the windshield; none of them always do. I will admit that the auto HVAC in the Tesla generally sucks when compared to most others, and IMO, it only worsened with the release of v9 back in 2018, but it does still direct air to the windshield while on auto for me "when it thinks it needs to."

There are many other threads on here where people driving in the cold get an iced over winshield because they don't realize that when the system is on "auto" it does not heat the windshield which is unusual and confusing.

Even more confusing is the "windshield" button is not intuitive. It appears that a single press would start heating the windshield but it only does a defogl the air is cold and the icing can worsen. It is not intuitive since you can only get it to "defrost" (red) by double tapping it. Hitting it once and waiting a minute or two then hitting again will just turn off the defog. Double-tapping will turn on the defrost (red). This is not intuitive and confusing. It's the only "button" on the Tesla screen that I know that requires a double tap and there is no indication that you can double tap it. Poor design interface with this button.

It appears that you didn't understand my post. Hitting the button once is the same as hitting the defog button on any other vehicle. Hitting the button again is the same as turning the heat all the way up on any other vehicle while defog is on. The temperature of the air going to the windshield is controlled by the temperature setting, not the defog button. In fact, if you observe the temperature setting when you hit the button a second time, you should notice that it changes from whatever you have it set at to HI. AFAICT, the reason there is more ice on the windshield (in the winter, along with more condensation in the summer) is because there isn't an ICE under the hood heating the windshield from the outside.