What you need to show/do on your next video is to set the cabin pre-heating to go on at it's very lowest setting an hour before you plan to leave -- WITHOUT being plugged in. As long as the battery is above 20% SoC, this forces the battery to slowly warm itself so that when you battery pre-condition on your way to the charger it's warm enough to do so. All modern Teslas and most new EVs worth their salt all have heat pumps that use very little energy to do this. You do NOT need to be plugged in for any of this. Otherwise the BMS will refuse to charge the battery until it's warm enough so as not to damage the battery. This is basic EV knowledge that unfortunately those mostly unfortunate ride share drivers don't have a clue on because they don't own the EVs and many are uneducated. All people in Norway (way colder than any part of the lower 48) know this by by heart. And that's the country with the highest EV uptake per capita in the world at over 88% now. Not all of them have the ability to plug in overnight, and yet they have no issues with their EVs simply because they know what to do.

@alexkno11

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the tip, I did not know you can set up scheduled preconditioning! Now I'll have a warm car to greet me each morning. 😌

@Paul-cj1wb

4 ай бұрын

@@alexkno11 I didn't say schedule battery pre-conditioning, if that's what you're thinking. I said you can schedule cabin pre-conditioning which forces the battery to be used and therefore warm itself. Battery pre-conditioning is only if you're going to DC fast charge. That requires the battery to be over 80F for optimal DC fast charging. So if the plan is to go to a DC fact charger after you get in the EV, then forcing the battery to keep itself warm an hour before taking off, that makes the battery preconditioning on your way to the charger much easier and faster as the battery is not super cold.

@outragousbob4367

4 ай бұрын

@@Paul-cj1wbNorway is not colder than anywhere in the lower 48! Oslo is in the high 30’s F to low 40’s F between now and February 1.

@Paul-cj1wb

4 ай бұрын

@@outragousbob4367That's right now. I'm referring to most of the time. For examples, a few years back it was below -0 degrees F all over the NYC metro area (with Hope NJ being -20F below), yet there was only one place is ALL of Alaska that was below freezing (32F). And that was barely below freezing at 28F. These things happen occasionally due to the upper jet stream. You also have to keep in mind that Oslo in is the south east of Norway and, for the most part, not facing the brutally cold North Sea air like the rest of Norway is. So yes, most of Norway is usually way colder than in the lower 48. Keep in mind that the north part of Norway has 24 hours of darkness right now. And it's the closest to the north pole of any major country on earth.

@outragousbob4367

4 ай бұрын

@@Paul-cj1wb 50% of Norways population lives in or near Oslo. If I’m correct, 98% of EV’s are there. It is more temperate than the upper mid west and New England. Terrible example you chose to through out.

This is exactly what happened in Chicago. No one preconditioned their battery long enough, or even at all.

@teardowndan5364

3 ай бұрын

For pre-conditioning to work, there needs to be available chargers for you to plug in when you get there. Once there is an hours long waiting line that exceeds the amount of time people can keep heating their battery while waiting, you are screwed unless you realize what is up before you run out of range to get to the next charger. What happened here is that a few "available" chargers were not working properly due to an issue self-diagnostic couldn't catch such as ice in the connector preventing full insertion, the app kept sending people there to charge since there were unused chargers and the waiting line grew to hours from there. Then you also had people with dead batteries getting towed in on top. The simplest fix for this would likely be to fit every parking space in the waiting area with 12kW L2 EVSEs for people to thaw their battery and stay warm while waiting. Worst case, you can stay on L2 until you have enough range to hop on to the next fast/super-charger and try your luck there. Then at least you wouldn't be completely stranded in the cold while all fast-chargers are hogged by frozen batteries.

@r3x_delta30

3 ай бұрын

Also most of the people at the chargers were Uber/lyft drivers that left their cars outside overnight with like 5% on them

@nbrown73

3 ай бұрын

@@teardowndan5364 No, the car can use battery power to preheat the pack, but won't under 20% state of charge. The lack of knowing what to do from new owners who haven't had to deal with winter yet is the main cause. The right way to do it is: Charge the night before leaving it outside, right after a drive when the pack is already at least partially hot if not already there. This is why the on screen tip said to set the Supercharger as a destination to get the pack hot before arrival - most people are at least 30 minutes or more from the charger, enough time to get the pack warm enough to take in a decent about of power if not max.

@teardowndan5364

3 ай бұрын

@@nbrown73 All pre-planning on your part does you no good when you get to your intended charger and discover that the only chargers still free aren't working reliably if at all despite the app saying all chargers are working. IIRC, at least three chargers were confirmed as actually not working. More were likely hit-or-miss due to ice getting inside the connectors. If the problem as only people arriving at superchargers with frozen batteries, plugged in and occupying all working chargers, then the app would report the site as full and quit sending more people there until the queue drops below threshold. That didn't happen in Chicago because at least three unusable chargers still listed as working caused the site to perpetually show vacancies despite there being none and the parking got packed with dying EVs.

Good one Alex, Glad you could show this so people can understand what happens. I had my first run in with cold charging our Model Y at a Super Charger in Albuquerque NM. We had stopped for a hotel stay that night and it was late so I didn't get to charge before morning. When we arrived we only had 20% remaining, I should have known better and charged while car was warm. But we were tired after a long trip driving all day so I just waited till morning. It had reached -5 when I got up to go charge the car and took almost 45 mins to get to 80%. Knowing what I do now I will charge the car for 20-30 mins to 80% before letting car get cold. Looking back it was a bit of a learning experience and yet not a big deal just had to wait a few more mins than usual. The image some people and media like to portray is horrible like recently with the cold weather and Chicago. Like you said these people need to plug in at home and not rely on running to a supercharger at 7am to get to work. Charging at home makes sure your ready every day so you don't have to stop and it saves money. Thanks for the great video and take care! Casey

Great video. People in Chicago need to see this!

Interesting experiment & cool video 👍

Thank you 😊

Cool vid. Lov the time laps. Also cool to see what it is like owning an EV during a northern winter. Great detail out of svc mode too. Really good content & I am sure gonna be helpful to many. Thx.

@alexkno11

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

Got a 2023-2024 MYLR for almost a month now in Sweden. Also new to the EV's and trying different things. During our -15/-20 C week we had, we did not loose much phantom drain, mostly about 1% overnight, tops 2. What did take most enegry is the sheduled preconditioning. often taking between 5 and 7% of the battery since the night before. (we do not have charge capabilities at home) Pros with sheduled procondition: car is nice and warm, battery is up to temperature, no issues with regenerative breaking and the windows were mostly defrosted. Con is that it takes quite a bit of percentage to get there, but then again it seemed like it takes the energy later either way once you start driving. Also keeping in mind the windows are often frosted, you can't use regen brakes for about 5-10 minutes. I am happy with the car so far, but the extra unexpected drain took me by surprise a bit. Since we bought the car dead winter, it will only get better from here i guess :)

@alexkno11

4 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing your experience! I'm learning that I need to set up the scheduled preconditioning, that sounds way cool.

@JBoy340a

3 ай бұрын

I assume Sweden has 240V power outlets. If you get somewhere with outside power, it would great to see how well the car charges at night.

ABC... Always Be Charging. Basically if you're parked, especially at home, whether it's outside or in a garage during these cold months where temperatures are below 32 degrees F then the car should be plugged in at all times. If you leave for work in the morning then set your departure time and turn on Preconditioning. Turn off Sentry Mode as you feel comfortable to do so. It is a energy hog but can be necessary since it acts as an additional security.

Awesome tests, I'll have to keep an eye out for you around the metro! I'm glad you showed the 120v comparison, do you do much home charging now that you're on the Tesla? I've had family members ask me about how my Bolt EUV is holding up since the whole Chicago debacle. Cheers!

@alexkno11

4 ай бұрын

The charging cable in my video is the same one I use for my home charging, and I'm surprised at how long I've been able to get by on just 120V. I also charge at the Level 2 chargers at work quite a bit. I sure feel more conspicuous up here in the metro with my Tesla; there are a lot of white Tesla Model Y's up here! 😅 Cheers to a fellow MN EV driver, and thanks for watching!

Unlock door using key. Press home-installed glow plug button 20 seconds to preheat chambers. Turn key to START firing preheated cylinders instantly. Run diesel a minute before pulling out of parking place. No recharge necessary as 115 amp alternator recharges battery and runs all loads, including heater water pump. Heater fan comes on heating cabin in 2 blocks. As cabin warms to toasty 80F, climate control lowers fan speed and mixes fresh air to keep from roasting us.... Recharge fuel oil next week if it gets low.

@alexkno11

3 ай бұрын

Sounds like 20th century technology to me

Really good video. Knowing the dual motor cars can generate basically double the heat that a RWD can I’d be interested to see if a RWD LFP would survive such a test.

@alexkno11

3 ай бұрын

It'd be a cool test for sure. Problem is, I don't know anyone with an LFP Model Y, and I'm pretty sure the winter is already over here in Minnesota. 🫠

@migmigjohnson9351

3 ай бұрын

No one in their right mind buys RWD. The savings just aren't worth it.

Alex, in my experience the optimal charging temperature of these batteries is 40°C+ (104F). I have an LFP battery in my Tesla and it reaches the maximum charging power around 43°C (109F). So it is not surprising it wouldn't even start charging at those low temperatures. Driving 2-3 miles is just not enough for the battery heater, this is more meant for road trips, where the car will start warming up the cells way before. In really cold weather I've seen as much as 40 minutes on my LFP pack if it was allowed to plan the charging stops along the road and start preconditioning the pack whenever it wanted to. In fact, I've just checked, and Tesla's manual says: "Tesla recommends using Trip Planner to navigate to a charging location for at least 30-45 minutes before arrival to ensure optimal Battery temperature." And yes, it also won't precondition the battery if you are below 20% SoC as it prioritizes you actually getting there vs. charging speed.

@outragousbob4367

3 ай бұрын

Wow, talk about a total pain in the backside. How exactly is this even remotely an improvement on ICE technology? I’ll wait….

@ProXcaliber

3 ай бұрын

@@outragousbob4367 Because as we saw in the video, just plugging in to a standard 120v outlet makes a world of difference and actually gains you range. And he didn't show it, but you can do that and also set up the car to precondition automatically, so that it is ready when you leave. All of this without needing to visit a fast charger. In reality, fast chargers are mostly only used when going on trips or during longer drives where it is warranted. But for daily use, just plugging in at home overnight makes the world of difference and can most likely recover most if not all of your drive for an entire day.

So I would’ve thought that you would’ve simply used the app to start preheating the battery prior to going to charge your car. That’s what I do prior to going to a supercharger, as the nearest Tesla supercharger is about 5 miles away from where I live, which isn’t very far in subzero weather. So I know that if I just go out get in the car, particularly in subzero weather, and then navigate to the nearest supercharger, which is about 5 miles away, I will get that exact same message reminding me to navigate to the supercharger, and that’s all that is a reminder. So if I don’t want to wait at the supercharger, I simply use the app to start preheating the battery, and the way you do that is just put the destination in the navigation from the app, and it’s programmed to start preconditioning the battery before you even get in the car. I should note that, you can also precondition the interior by making sure that you do the same thing to preheat the interior before you get in the car, and all of this can be done through the app, and you never have to leave your home. So one other thing to remind, Tesla owners, particularly if you’re going to go on any type of road trip, where range can be a factor is to make sure that your tires are properly inflated, you’d be surprised how people don’t pay attention to that little detail, which is easily accessible through the touchscreen in your car, and the very last thing is to make sure that you wash your car because keeping your car clean helps with your range too and if you get yourself in a situation where range become an issue, fold the mirrors, folks just don’t remember that one either, but of course range should never be an issue, because you are the kind of person, I believe would never not plan your trip particularly when the weather is always a factor and you’d be surprised how many people don’t remember to do that as well. So a little planning can make big difference between you having a great experience in your Tesla or ending up in a preventable situation, where, if you had only did a little planning, it could make a world of difference and could save you money, and maybe even save your life, as no one wants to end up in subzero weather on the side of the road waiting for someone to come and service your vehicle. So thanks for the video, and the ride along, I think you did an overall excellent job of explaining how your Tesla operates in this kind of frigid weather, and I look forward to seeing you in your next video. Cheers 🥂

In Chicago during the Deep Freeze Eevee's were dead all over the place

Great video Alex. The service mode section was informative. Have you had any road trips this winter, and if so what was the range impact in the colder weather? This is my first Winter with my 23 Model Y and I'm still learning how the cold is impacting my range. Keep up the good work!

@alexkno11

4 ай бұрын

We did take the Tesla on a 650 mile road trip over Christmas, and the car did great! We only had to supercharge once each way. Granted, temps were in the 20s and 30s. The range takes a hit when temps drop to around 0F, but I've still been able to make 90 mile one-way trips without worrying about charging. In all cases, I've found the car's estimated arrival % in navigation to be spot-on. Hope you're enjoying your Model Y, and thanks for watching!

I would love to see a comparison with a Tesla plugged in overnight vs an ICE car after a snow storm. Are the windows clear of snow and ice or do you need to scrape, I live in Anaheim Ca and we see snow one a century unless you look up at the local mountains (Big Bear) when they measure in feet not inches of snow.

@alexkno11

3 ай бұрын

The car will still be covered in snow and can require defrosting when parked outside. But it's easy to initiate these things from the app. If Sentry mode is on, the area around the front camera will melt the ice so the camera can see.

Something that would help slow charging infrastructure would be if they used 240V or something better instead of the anciant 120V. Just plugging in while at work would give a pretty decent charge.

@alexkno11

3 ай бұрын

Couldn't agree more. Europe did it right! With the 12 gauge THHN wiring found in most newer homes, it's easy to convert an outlet with a dedicated circuit to 240V by simply upgrading the breaker.

In the beginning he is pulling 6 KW solely for the heating system, not charging at all because charging at these low temps would lead to massive degradation. This is also why Tesla's take so long to go from 99-100%. Tesla actually takes care of your Battery, while other brands just recklessly pump voltage into theirs. Looks impressive when it loads with 20kw at 99%, while actually just kills your battery for meaningless speed on paper.

What year and model is your Tesla. Some Tesla cars have heat pumps, some single motor and some have LFP batteries which would effect the time to warm the battery. Your car has a heat pump and appeared to be a dual motor when you backed in. I was surprised the heat pump loop was through the front radiator which was much cooler than the other loop. The heat pump would be much more efficient dealing with the warmer coolant of the other loop. Maybe the other coolant loop can't be routed through the heat pump or that heat pump loop is a refrigerant loop and not a coolant loop? The heat pump/radiator loop had a pump symbol with an indicated RPM which would be a coolant loop?

@ronolsberg1468

3 ай бұрын

I forgot to mention, a great video with lots of data points. I did not think the battery would start accepting a DC fast charge at around 32F cell temps but your video shows it does!

@alexkno11

3 ай бұрын

It's a 2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range (Dual Motor). I may have been incorrect when I showed the 6000 RPM device on the coolant screen and said it was the heat pump; that may have just been the coolant pump. This video was the first time I had ever been in service mode, so I'm learning a lot. Thanks for watching!

@ronolsberg1468

3 ай бұрын

After viewing your video again, the purple coolant loop appears to be doing nothing. Don't know why it is purple and not greyed out? The purple loop does have a refrigerant connection. Were you running the cabin HVAC while waiting the initial 10 min? Did you hear the heat pump making a lot of noise? I ask because you were drawing a max of 7kw during that initial 10 min so it appears the heat pump was not drawing any energy. Maybe the heat pump efficiency is so low that it might not be used to help warm the traction battery/cabin at very cold ambient temp? It is possible that the two motor afterburners were not drawing there possible max of around 7kW and some of that energy was going to the heat pump. When the traction battery first started to accept energy, the energy meter on the top left of the screen went from 7kWh to 10-12kWh. Since the miles/hour was around 10 at that point, it appears 7kW was still going to the motor afterburners and the remaining to add energy to the traction battery. From the data shown on the screen during the first 10 min after plugging it, it appears the heat pump was possibly not doing anything? Anyone with insight to when/if the heat pump was used during this entire video inquiring minds would like to know. I suppose Scan My Tesla might help clarify some of the questions/observations above.

@ronolsberg1468

3 ай бұрын

This video has a VERY detailed overview of how the heat pump system works! kzread.info/dash/bejne/dqme1JV9gs7WdLg.html At 43:40 of the video it shows the four modes one of which answers my question above regarding the purple loop. The purple loop in your video is just one of the four modes. I don't remember seeing this purple loop prior to your video..

The screen showed estimated 10 min wait when you got to the Supercharger, & it looks it was an actual 10 min wait? How was it able to predict that, with so many cars charging and waiting?

@alexkno11

4 ай бұрын

Wow, you're right! The car knows how many are in use at any given moment in time, so it must have some way of estimating based on stations in use and average charge duration. Pretty ironic how accurate it was though!

@ProXcaliber

3 ай бұрын

This is why the Tesla supercharging network is above the rest of them. The integration is superb and always very accurate with displaying available stalls, wait times, prices, etc. The car also factors in how much you will arrive at the charger percentage wise by taking into account a multitude of factors, including weather.

you should add air to tires according to the screen.

@alexkno11

4 ай бұрын

I think I have a hole in one of my tires 😓

@ProXcaliber

3 ай бұрын

It could also be the colder weather making the tire pressure drop pretty low.

Great video and it explains very well what needs to be done in cold weather with ANY EV, not only a Tesla. Just for your information, it takes about 20 minutes of preconditioning the battery for an almost optimal charging, depending on how cold the weather is outside. The preconditioning wastes in this situation about 1% every 5 minutes.

grade 1 ,, ,batteries dont like the cold

soo i think we can conclude that a heated garage will be the best for my ev.

So the temp of the battery was too cold for it to get supercharged. The takeaway here is that EV ownership works best with the car in a garage and plugged into a home level 2 charger . Precondition it for a scheduled departure and all will be ok …even in artic freeze temps

@alexkno11

3 ай бұрын

I'd argue that Level 1 120V charging outdoors is sufficient, except in the coldest of weather. Even best practices such as preconditioning before supercharging allows for normal usage in cold weather.

Not so different than my ICE car. I leave it outside at night and in the morning I always find it with 10% less gas in the tank. /sarc

@ProXcaliber

3 ай бұрын

I mean, he literally showed that just plugging it into a standard 120V outlet made a world of difference and actually increased his range. Your gas car might not lose any gas while parked, but does it gain gas while parked? 🤔

Keep it simple. Cars should be simple put gas in and drive. Or just plug in and drive.

You need to defrost before charging.

please fix your flat tire....

Don't you know that when you put your Tesla in Chill mode, you limit the energy it has available, and therefore the Tesla has a slower acceleration. ?

@alexkno11

3 ай бұрын

Yes, but the cold battery limited the power output even further than Chill mode normally does

Why are people buying the model y is beyond me I seen it irl and is ridiculous , the model 3 its obviously the way to go All this SUV hype is mass madness

@JBoy340a

3 ай бұрын

Hmm. I drive an X so ... it does work well hauling stuff. I put a 6-foot bookcase in the back with the seats folded down.

Why in God‘s name would you see it necessary to play music in the background? It’s a major distraction and caused me to stop watching this video.

@Alex-lc1bv

3 ай бұрын

I disagree. It was the only reason I kept watching.

@MrSeamusMurray

3 ай бұрын

@@Alex-lc1bv you know KZread has a music section. Specially for people that like to listen to music with video in the background.

Nice video, but all that this has done was to convince me NOT to buy an EV. 😕

@alexkno11

4 ай бұрын

You're missing out!

@kennyfordham6208

4 ай бұрын

@@alexkno11 Gasoline freezes around -100 degrees fahrenheit, so my ICE car will take care of me just fine...and I don't have to plug it in. If it ever gets any colder than that, where I live, I'll be dead anyway.

@alexkno11

4 ай бұрын

Where do you live that it regularly gets -100F outside?

@outragousbob4367

4 ай бұрын

I’m with him, god EV’s stink in winter!

@ObiePaddles

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for putting the NOT in CAPITALS. Makes your comment louder.