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Winter Has Barely Started, But Tesla Model 3 Cold-Weather Complaints Are Pouring In

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Winter Has Barely Started, But Tesla Model 3 Cold-Weather Complaints Are Pouring In

The Tesla Model 3's inaugural winter hasn’t really even started yet and already owners are beginning to have issues with their vehicle, according to a new report by pro-Tesla blog electrek.


Even though Tesla technically began delivery of its Model 3 vehicles last year, the first few months of deliveries took place in California where there was no notable cold weather. It took some time for the Model 3 to make its way east and to colder climates, but it finally has, spurring a litany of complaints.




Tesla Model 3 is going to see its first serious winter in the next few months and some owners are already reporting a few important issues in cold weather.



While Tesla officially started deliveries of Model 3 last year, the first few months of deliveries were in sunny California and it took a while for Model 3 to make it to colder climates.

There were some vehicles that made it up north during the last winter, but it could be argued that Model 3 is only now going to see its first full winter – at least for many owners.

Over the past few days, there’s been a wave of cold in Quebec and the temperature went below freezing.

Tesla Model 3 cold weather issues

Electrek received several reports from local Model 3 owners having issues with their door handles, windows, and charge ports over the last few days.

The door handles of the Model 3 are embedded inside the door and you need to press on one side for it to pop out and pull on it.

Once you pull, the window slides down slightly and enables you to open the door.

With the cold, several owners are reporting that the door handles are extremely hard to pop out and when they do, the window doesn’t always come down.

After reading the reports, I decided to film myself trying to open my Model 3 after it sat outside all day. Sure enough, I experienced the exact same problems:


The recent cold front coming through Quebec, where temperatures went slightly below freezing for the first time this year, resulted in a number of reports from local Model 3 owners facing issues with things like door handles, windows and charge ports.

Owners are reporting that the Model 3 door handles are becoming extremely difficult to use because of the cold weather. They are usually activated by pressing on one side of them to pop them out. This is usually followed by the corresponding window rolling down slightly, something that other owners are reporting is not happening as it should.

But don’t take it from these reports, take it from the editor of the pro-Tesla blog electrek himself, Frederick Lambert. He decided to do some testing of his own after reading this report and, on a whim, arrived at the exact same problems. He documented his problems on a YouTube video.


As you can see by viewing the video, he struggles for about a minute, with his bare hands in the freezing cold, just to get the door handle to pop out so he can open his driver side door. Welcome to the future of automobiles.

He claims that preheating was on for about 10 minutes before he even walked up to his car. Prior to turning on preheating, the temperature outside the vehicle was -7C (19F) and the temperature inside the vehicle was about 1C (34F). The preset temperature for his car was 22C (about 71F). Those temperatures shouldn't be too troublesome, he alludes, because they weren't even cold enough to activate the battery pre-heating feature in the car.

Lambert says he has gotten "a dozen" reports of Model 3 owners having the same types of issues. Some have also complained about the charge port door not opening and closing as it should, despite Lambert being able to do so in his video.

Lambert calls the problems "worrying" because he "doesn't see an easy fix" for it and because "the temperature is just starting to get cold". The fact that it's going to get much colder - and then eventually snow - seems to have him worried about what the winter will hold for his Model 3.

What's his sage-like advice to other Tesla owners?

In the meantime, the best solution is likely to overheat the cabin for a longer period of time before trying to unlock the Model 3. Of course, it’s not really convenient or efficient, but it’s the best ai [sic] can think of for now.

So much for efficient energy usage. Enjoy your winter in Quebec, Fred.

https://electrek.co/2018/11/14/tesla-model-3-cold-weather-flaws/
 

Aardvark154

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That certainly isn't a good recommendation particularly at the price.

Lord knows what it would be like when there is freezing rain or there is wet snow and then the temperature falls to -15 to - 21
 

essguy_

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Tesla has made some odd, gimmicky design decisions for doors on its recent models. The Model 3 door handles COULD have just been made a simple flush or semi-flush mount - not only would that have been more functional and proven to operate in winter - it would have been cheaper to develop as well as manufacture - so margins would increase. The other gimmicky decision was to put "Falcon Wing" doors on the Model X. Many SUV drivers want to carry stuff and often that means putting a roof box on the car. You can't do any roof storage on the Model X because of the Falcon Wing doors. Further - the marketing for the doors was that you can park really closely to another vehicle and still operate the doors and get out. That's great - but what about the driver and front passenger (where there are regular doors)? I guess they're supposed to crawl to the back seat and get out.

The Model S was a great design - priced in the semi-luxury range which would have been a nice sweet spot for Tesla to continue to grow their business. But Musk just loves hype and he's gone off the deep end the past 1.5 years. The Model 3 is still being produced in numbers that are laughable for a company that considers itself a player in the car business. Further - as an investor - why would anybody feel comfortable with company having so many problems and putting so much effort into something that has lower margins - when the volumes have not been achievable? And IF they are successful - with higher volumes comes more problems: Warranty issues, service, even body work (another area where Musk has made wild promises). Eg: In Toronto there are only two authorized Tesla body shops. I had to get my daughter's car (not a Tesla) repaired so went to Leon's (one of the two) and their lot is FULL of Tesla's waiting to be fixed for dents. If you need a body panel - you have to order it directly from Tesla - no third party sellers. It creates a backlog which will only get worse when and if volumes increase.

Anyway, the Model 3 door handles sum up Tesla's problems in microscosm. More hype than delivery.
 

essguy_

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How do you remote start this thing?
It's a phone app. Of course, there is no need to remote start to warm up an electric motor - so the remote start is just to pre-heat the cabin in winter or cool in the summer. For the Model 3 - In order to pre-heat the cabin enough that the door handles (which are external) are heated enough to unfreeze would use up a lot of battery. Tesla will likely have to retro-fit something for the doors to avoid sticking when it gets cold. It might be something as simple as sending owners a bottle of spray lube. Worst case - it might be one of these things which will require a retrofit. But kind of an unnecessary problem when it's kind of of dumb to put retractable door handles on their lower priced model. Even the Model S has had problems with the door handles. Gimmicky when a failed door handle can prevent you from using your car.
 

Aardvark154

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But kind of an unnecessary problem when it's kind of of dumb to put retractable door handles on their lower priced model. Even the Model S has had problems with the door handles. Gimmicky when a failed door handle can prevent you from using your car.
Your final sentence says it all, are the owners of more expensive automobiles less upset when they can't get into their car or the door won't close and lock properly?
 

The "Bone" Ranger

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I would like to pre-heat the interior cabin (with bum warmer) as well as be able to get into my car...lol.

It's a phone app. Of course, there is no need to remote start to warm up an electric motor - so the remote start is just to pre-heat the cabin in winter or cool in the summer. For the Model 3 - In order to pre-heat the cabin enough that the door handles (which are external) are heated enough to unfreeze would use up a lot of battery. Tesla will likely have to retro-fit something for the doors to avoid sticking when it gets cold. It might be something as simple as sending owners a bottle of spray lube. Worst case - it might be one of these things which will require a retrofit. But kind of an unnecessary problem when it's kind of of dumb to put retractable door handles on their lower priced model. Even the Model S has had problems with the door handles. Gimmicky when a failed door handle can prevent you from using your car.
 

essguy_

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Your final sentence says it all, are the owners of more expensive automobiles less upset when they can't get into their car or the door won't close and lock properly?
The Model 3 was meant to be a lower priced, hence higher volume model. Why put an overly complicated expensive door handle on a car that is supposed to sell multiple times more units than the higher priced/lower volume model? It’s a numbers game. On the Model S it’s had problems but the sheer number of cars means the number of complaints is low. Also - on the Model 3 they may have used a lower spec’d door handle so more problems. They’re supposed to be selling 5,000 a week of these things.
 

shack

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Door handles. Really?
That’s gonna be the biggest winter problem?
It may seem small, but not being able to get into your car is significant. LOL

As well, it would make me nervous as to what else they didn't engineer correctly for our climate.
 

essguy_

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Door handles. Really?
That’s gonna be the biggest winter problem?
Tesla's door handles are all electric. i.e. there is no mechanical connection to the latch. But to access and open the door - it needs to pop out from the body (it retracts fully and sits flush to the body) - then you pull it to activate a microswitch and the electronics unlock the latch. Again - WAY too complicated and Tesla's solution (an all electronic door latch) didn't actually improve the experience. In fact - there's a delay between pulling the door handle and the door unlatching - so it doesn't feel natural, IMO. So it's a solution to a problem that didn't exist and reduces functionality. Tesla will claim that the flush door handles save energy - but the reality is - the difference between a traditional flush mount handle and Tesla's is negligible.

I'm guessing that a workaround for Tesla would be for the app to have a way to open the latch without accessing the door handle allowing an owner to open the door by pulling on the door frame. Or in future they'll have automatically opening/closing doors.
 

|2 /-\ | /|/

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Thats too bad that they failed to get this right. With an electric car this problem should have been a trivial solution. i.e run a defrosting circuit along the problem areas and have the ability to defrost and know approximately how long it will take via app.

Even hough this is disappointing it will not stop people from getting teslas including myself in the near future. This is part of the process and we need to see that they are taking steps to address these types of problems and providing updates which they have.
 

GameBoy27

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Nov 23, 2004
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It may seem small, but not being able to get into your car is significant. LOL

As well, it would make me nervous as to what else they didn't engineer correctly for our climate.
Like poor range in cold climates?

According to ABRP’s real-world data, the maximum range of a Model S at temperatures below freezing is about 22% less than at temperatures above 20° C (68° F), and almost exactly the same range reduction was found for the Model X. Stay tuned to ABRP to find out how cold temperatures affect Model 3.

Not to mention, I'm not overly impressed with the styling. And those wheels are fugly!

 
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