"The Tesla owners' plight"

[kenny]

This must suck!

Partial snip:

The Arctic air gripping much of the U.S. put Tesla drivers in Chicago into a pickle on Monday. Many of the cars sat in long lines at Supercharger stations, their owners saying the cold sapped the electric vehicles' normal ability to charge — and keep a charge.

In some cases, tow trucks were called to move the cars, in scenes that were relayed by local TV news. The Tesla owners' plight became an emblem of the misery extreme cold is inflicting on wide sections of the U.S. (more on that below).

Tesla owners line up, hoping to get a charge​

"I've been here for over five hours at this point and I still have not gotten to charge my car," Tesla driver Brandon Welbourne told CBS News Chicago, as car horns blared nearby. "A charge that should take 45 minutes is taking two hours."


Other cold-related problems (some exclusive to Tesla) are in the article.

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/16/1224913698/teslas-chicago-charging-extreme-cold

 

[kenny]

Do some people in these locations heat their garages?
Maybe that will become a thing ... yet another contributor to climate change.

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

Yes, kenny, coming from Wisconsin, it is highly, highly suckulent.

 

[kenny]

"suckulent"

 

[Eli22]

I got rid of my Model3P because of this. It never got the advertised range in the first place, then it plummeted significantly when it got cold! Our garage is heated, and I have the fast charger installed, but it was not enough to weather the winter (pun intended).

I recall a miserable experience when we took the car on its first (and last) “long trip” (over 200 miles). Range anxiety is real - especially when it started to quickly decrease before our very eyes, with no relation to distance driven. It was an unseasonably cold Fall day. We turned off all the heat and drove super slow to preserve as much power as we could, but we actually had to turn back to charge since we were not going to make it to the next charging station!

 

[LilAlex]

I don't know -- in our neighborhood with record-low temps, icy roads, downed trees everywhere, and widespread power outages, we are seeing Teslas left and right as we reconnoiter on foot. Presumably mostly Starbucks runs.

We have a non-Tesla EV with a fast charger at home. Never left the garage during this latest crisis but my wife enjoyed some seat-warmer time as the house dropped to the low 40s. It was also great for a much-needed phone charge or two. There are cheaper powerbanks, though.

 

[yssie]

I got rid of my Model3P because of this. It never got the advertised range in the first place, then it plummeted significantly when it got cold! Our garage is heated, and I have the fast charger installed, but it was not enough to weather the winter (pun intended).

I recall a miserable experience when we took the car on its first (and last) “long trip” (over 200 miles). Range anxiety is real - especially when it started to quickly decrease before our very eyes, with no relation to distance driven. It was an unseasonably cold Fall day. We turned off all the heat and drove super slow to preserve as much power as we could, but we actually had to turn back to charge since we were not going to make it to the next charging station!

This is a nightmare brought to life for me!! 200-350 miles scares me - I want at least 400 of stop-and-go and guaranteed refuel opportunities in-between!

 

[kenny]

One thing that annoys me is the dishonesty of this quoted above from a Tesla owner:

"A charge that should take 45 minutes is taking two hours."

Uhm, did they really say, should?
Really?

I seriously doubt Tesla's literature states a charge takes 45 minutes regardless of ambient temperature, or that the range is the same regardless of temperature.
IMO what we have here is customers who didn't do their research/homework.

But seriously, for a car costing this much Tesla should have done a better job in their marketing in winter/freezing states that freezing weather can drastically reduce battery performance of Teslas.
I think this PR headache will hurt future Tesla sales, and piss off current owners in states that have freezing winters.

I'm waiting for the next PR headache when all these Tesla batteries age, take longer to charge and range drops ... and then need to be replaced for a zillion bucks - which exceeds the used Tesla's value.

I was an early adopter of hybrid cars.
But after owning 3, one of which finally needed a new $4,000 or so battery ... uhm ... never again.

 

[kenny]

I got rid of my Model3P because of this. It never got the advertised range in the first place, then it plummeted significantly when it got cold! ...

You wrote, "advertised range".
If you recall, did you read all of the documentation that came with your Tesla, both written and online?

I doubt Tesla provides anything in writing, rather, only online info.
But please, correct me if I'm wrong.

Was there any info about low temps reducing battery performance?

 

[LilAlex]

Was there any info about low temps reducing battery performance?

It is very variable by manufacturer and, less so, by model within manufacturer. There are a bunch of tables like the floating around but I have not seen the primary data.

 

[kenny]

Thanks L.A.

Still, after this NPR story, IMO Tesla's on the hook for what they have, or not, published and sent to Tesla buyers ... which is as it should be.

Often we hear, the only bad press is no press.
But in this case? ... uhm ...

 

[Arcadian]

Even though I have rooftop solar when I lived in the NE and even here in Florida (with battery backups here), I wasn't ready to go whole hog and get an electric car and still am not.

A hybrid, yes. I've done that (I had the Ford CMax) and that was a great car with fantastic gas mileage. I would totally do another hybrid!

I drove the CMax to Florida twice before I moved and it was great! But when I lived in New England the battery would plummet to near nothing during the winter and I was running on gas most of the time.

Heat affects those batteries just as much as cold does. And there's not enough charging stations where I am if I needed to plug in away from home. I would stay stressed out.

 

[Eli22]

This is a nightmare brought to life for me!! 200-350 miles scares me - I want at least 400 of stop-and-go and guaranteed refuel opportunities in-between!

AGREED! That happened in October and I had a new car by November. I can’t deal with that type of anxiety!!

You wrote, "advertised range".
If you recall, did you read all of the documentation that came with your Tesla, both written and online?

I doubt Tesla provides anything in writing, rather, only online info.
But please, correct me if I'm wrong.

Was there any info about low temps reducing battery performance?

I purchased my Tesla in 2019, so it was a pre-heat pump model. I did not read the ENTIRE manual but I skimmed through it, it was pretty easy reading (plus I wanted to know how to operate all the special features, like climate control for pets). I do not recall any major disclosures/warnings about cold weather performance. I understand that cold temperatures affect the performance of *any* battery operated item. I just didn’t expect the level of battery degradation that we experienced. I think with proper disclosure, most people would be fine!

Here is the table of contents for 2019:


The closest thing I could find to climate/temperature info was this (only referring to extreme temps that most people will never experience):


There’s also info about tire performance in low temps:


Here’s a link to the old manual if you want to peruse for said info:

https://tesla-info.com/doc/m3/model_3_owners_manual_north_america_en_2019_0.pdf

Here is the current table of contents for the Model 3 (online)…note the addition of “Cold Weather Best Practices”

https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_us/

They obviously knew it was a problem, thus the introduction of the heat pump model later on, which was supposed to help with battery performance. I wonder what percentage of the people experiencing Tesla woes have a heat pump vs resistive heater model.

They TOTALLY advertise the range on their website. When I was building my car, I had a choice between the Standard model, the Long Range, and the Performance - all with corresponding mileage ranges. I chose the one with the most range (and 0-60 in 3.2 seconds lol). The website still lists cars by estimated range/performance.

I forget what the exact range for the 2019 Performance was, I remember it was supposed to be around 300+ but I never had more than 200-250 in reality. When the snow came, even less - closer to half of the advertised range.

They do “advertise” charging times, to a degree:


The car was just not ideal for where I live/travel habits. I think it’s ideal for places with temperate weather and better charging infrastructure.

 

[kenny]

Thanks Eli22.
Very interesting to read all this.

 

[canuk-gal]

I don't know -- in our neighborhood with record-low temps, icy roads, downed trees everywhere, and widespread power outages, we are seeing Teslas left and right as we reconnoiter on foot. Presumably mostly Starbucks runs.

We have a non-Tesla EV with a fast charger at home. Never left the garage during this latest crisis but my wife enjoyed some seat-warmer time as the house dropped to the low 40s. It was also great for a much-needed phone charge or two. There are cheaper powerbanks, though.

NO central or perimeter heating in your house???

 

[Lookinagain]

NO central or perimeter heating in your house???

I was going to ask the same question!

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

This is why I still have a hybrid.
There has been talk about this very shortcoming for a few years now. It's an issue across all EV. Where I live it could be not only inconvenient and expensive to replace the battery's shortened life- but dangerous to be caught rural in freezing temps with low charge and no stations.
I'll keep my Honda for awhile, I think.