[ad_1]
The Tesla Model 3 will experience a serious first winter in the coming months and some homeowners are already reporting some major problems in cold weather.
While Tesla officially started model 3 shipments last year, the first months of deliveries took place under the California sun and it took a while for Model 3 to move into more climates. cold.
Some vehicles have reached the north during last winter, but one could argue that Model 3 will only begin to live its first full winter – at least for many homeowners.
In recent days, there has been a cold snap in Quebec and the temperature has dropped below freezing.
Tesla Model 3 cold weather problems
Electrek has received several reports from local Model 3 owners who have been having problems with their door handles, windows, and charging ports in recent days.
Model 3 door handles are built into the door and you need to push one side to pull and pull.
Once you pull, the window slides down slightly and allows you to open the door.
With the cold, many homeowners report that the door handles are extremely hard to pull out and that when they do, the window does not always fall.
After reading the reports, I decided to film myself by trying to open my Model 3 after it had stayed out all day. Indeed, I have encountered exactly the same problems:
My front driver's window has gone down enough to open the door, but it does not go up and down properly.
For the background, it was about -7 outside and my Tesla app was showing 1 inside the vehicle when I started preheating it to 22.
Preheating lasted about 10 minutes before heading to the car, which is generally more than enough for the heating system to reach the pre-set temperature, which in this case was 22.
It was not even cold enough to activate the preheat function of the battery.
We have received a dozen reports from model owners 3 with similar problems in the northeast as a result of the recent cold. Many of them also have problems opening and closing the load port door.
Electrek contacted Tesla about the problem and the company said it was interested in the issue. We will update if we get more details.
Electrek's Take
This is disturbing because I do not see an easy solution to this and the temperature is getting colder now.
In the coming months, it will be much colder here and there is still no snow or ice.
If people have problems right now, I can not imagine what will happen if we reach -15 ℃, -20, -25, which is not unusual here.
The problems we are currently seeing are unusual for Tesla vehicles, as they have gained a good reputation in cold climates. Tesla likes to say that Norway, where winters are tough, is their biggest market per capita.
I spent all of last winter in Quebec with a Model S and it was not a problem for me:
Driving in snow conditions was excellent and I had no problem with windows or handles. I would preheat the car at least 10 minutes before using it and give it more time as it cools.
In fact, I thought it would be even easier with model 3 because the handles are not robotized like the S model, but it's not a good start.
The only good thing is that Tesla has generally been good enough to remedy such defects when they are discovered.
Meanwhile, the best solution may overheat the cabin for a longer time before attempting to unlock the model 3. Of course, this is not really practical or effective, but it is the best way to think at the moment.
We will keep a close eye on the issue and we will report soon.
If you have experience with this, please contact us.
Source link
