Temp too cold to charge a Tesla

[rfuerst911sc]

I doubt this will be part of a Tesla ad 😋

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/tesla-owner-says-had-cancel-165555214.html

[PorscheGAL]

I've seen a couple stories like this. It is certainly an issue that will need to be sorted.

Interestingly, 95% of new car sales in Norway last quarter were EV's. I wonder how they deal with cold and charging.

[Arizona_928]

Keep them in heated garages and plugged in like a diesel.... lol

No fixing this unless you put heating elements on everything (like a diesel)...

[rfuerst911sc]

I wonder what the cut off temp is when it won't accept a charge ? This article made it sound like it wouldn't take any charge . That is a real problem for a good portion of the planet .

[JackDidley]

I do not own an electric car but I wouldnt kick one out of the garage. My question is, how many people only have one car ? Seems to me a guy would have a backup for such conditions.

[Por_sha911]

Seems to me that for what they cost to purchase, you should have a vehicle you can depend on in all types of weather to get you where you need to go without a hassle in refueling.

[911 Rod]

Is it good for the batteries to be discharged and kept at such a low temperature?

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

Is it good for the batteries to be discharged and kept at such a low temperature?

Prolly not. I can't wait to see how this will work out when half the vehicles are EV.

[Arizona_928]

It's lithium ion batteries that are daisy chained. When it gets too cold that cation doesn't want to move. It's a known weakness for all batteries. It's like trying to start your car in negative degree weather. *click* lol

It's a utility issue. Just as diesel solidifies in extreme cold.
Imho why gasoline won't be dethroned (outside of the political paradox). When it's <-10° F and your truck won't start because the diesel is solid. Gas car won't start until you take the battery inside to defrost... I digress.


Electric cars are the way of the future, but current batteries aren't.

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

Prolly not. I can't wait to see how this will work out when half the vehicles are EV.

And all emergency responders are diesel and police are gas...


It'll be gr8!

[The Synergizer]

Live in real cold areas and there will come a time when your fuel lines are frozen shut, or batteries dead and car won’t start.

So who cares.

[dlockhart]

Originally Posted by The Synergizer

Live in real cold areas and there will come a time when your fuel lines are frozen shut, or batteries dead and car won’t start.

So who cares.

My folks used to take a small charcoal grill and put it under the truck on those days.
My coworker used to work in a lumber yard when he was a lot younger.
They had small steel diamond plate sections under their trucks and burned the
scrap wood from the saw mill. His job was to get the trucks warmed up before the
drivers came in.


.

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

I have been in 40 below many many times-I and have never ever had the gas pumps say" don't pump it now. '!
I have not ever had diesel pumps say "don't pump it now," albeit we know we have to treat the fuel.
Having your battery tell you how to live is a lot more different than saying you might at some time have a maintenance issue with your IC engine.
The battery problem is a constant one with E cars .
Fuel systems are a might maybe at some point, in some cars, at some point, maybe.
See the difference?

That's the argument. Sustained 19° F? (as the in OP article)is a lot more common than negative degrees here in the US.


I've seen a gas pump say that the auto turn off doesn't work at -15 F. And it didn't. 🤣

[Arizona_928]

I didn't care. It was just a funny issue with a pump.

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by The Synergizer

Live in real cold areas and there will come a time when your fuel lines are frozen shut, or batteries dead and car won’t start.

Gas doesn't freeze. Water in the gas freezes and that has pretty much been eliminated by better sealed underground storage. Dead battery? Really? Get a jump start. Duh.

[ZOO]

A friend is 12 years plus into Tesla ownership. He lives where it gets far colder than 19F, and has never encountered this issue with his daily driven cars. He suspects that there was a mechanical or technical issue with that particular vehicle.

It's hard to extrapolate much from one single data point, especially when there are so many other data points that suggest this is a non-issue in the grand scheme of things.

[hbueno]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

Perhaps, in thinking of temps- A gas car can have a full tank of gas say at 50 deg, and when the temps drop suddenly to say zero, the tank of gas will not become about 1/2 full!
Where in the E car a fully charged Batt at 50 deg then cooled dwn to zero, loses about 1/2 its range! (Over 40 some %!)
That is quite the demarcation.
yes yes the gas vehicle will not be as good either, but by just a few % not near 1/2 !

In the ideal world, a halfway intelligent owner will take that into account. If not, tough noogies for them. Non-owning naysayers will continue to nay say.

[rfuerst911sc]

The more I think about this I am thinking this is an isolated case . That car's battery bank is either defective or the charger has an issue and possibly both .

If this was happening with the majority of EV's it would be plastered all over the news and the internet . But there is no doubt cold weather does have a negative effect on batteries .

[cstreit]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

The more I think about this I am thinking this is an isolated case . That car's battery bank is either defective or the charger has an issue and possibly both .

Agree. It was -15 here and my BI's tesla charged fine. They have a re-warming circuit so that batteries will work and charge. Probably stopped working.

Now he does see 25% less capacity in the winter and thats documented in the manual.'

I'd own an EV, but not as my ONLY car.

[MrBonus]

Drove my Tesla up and down the northeast in freezing/below freezing temperatures and never had this issue. It can be an issue if you're using a normal 110V outlet in cold, cold temperatures but never with a 220V or supercharger.