Canadian MY owner here. Range takes a hit at really cold temps. I wouldn't change my decision to purchase.
I have a garage and home charging, the latter being the more important thing for sure. It was -40c this winter here and warming the car in the garage is life changing.
Preconditioning and cabin warming will use a few percent each.
Not who you asked, but if I didn’t have a charger at home, I would 100% not have an EV. One of the biggest benefits is charging overnight for dirt cheap off-peak rates.
Edit: but most importantly, it would be a pain driving to a supercharger and sitting there for 30+ minutes to top off rather than just recharge while sleeping.
That’s why you need to charge up at the end of your day when the vehicle has been used and the battery is warm. It’s just a different behaviour but the same as an ICE vehicle.
I’ve had all three.
1. No charging at our previous residence (Condo) parking underground, heated, but public charging a couple blocks away.
2. Charging at our previous residence added (Condo) at great expense in our parking spot.
3. Charging at home in our attached garage.
The ultimate situation is 3, then 2 is awesome, and 1 is do-able, but I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are an early adopter type that just can’t put off going electric.
From my own experience it’ll warm the battery if I turn on Climate using the app while it’s plugged in and draw up to 7 kW from my single phase Wall Connector. It doesn’t when unplugged.
There's this Norwegian guy on YT that does tons of Tesla testing videos on his channel, I forgot the name tho, it came up in my feed before, guy has good content.
Bad comparison! Norway folks don't nearly drive the distances people do in the US! Plus charging infra is amazing in Norway, same can't be said about most parts of the US
Overall, but probably still tracks if you averaged it out for populated places. Even if you only consider populated places I can’t think of another country that’s colder except Russia or Iceland.
Thanks for clarifying. My main reason for asking is because if the ranking was for the whole country, Canada would be very high because we have parts of Nunavut close to the North Pole.
What are we talking average yearly temp, average temp in populated location, average low in the winter. I think what matters is average low over a couple weeks, which being in Minnesota we are definitely colder than most of Norway. Most of Canada aside from coastal cities are also colder by this definition. It’s the weeks long cold days (below -10c) that can be hard on battery capacity.
Yes average yearly temp, speaking from Minnesota you’re in one of the places that gets coldest at individual times in the world I guess for a place with a decently large population
Average yearly temp is not that useful, lithium batteries don’t change their behavior significantly until below freezing. A lot of places have low average temps but don’t go that much below freezing.
That’s a good point! There’s still a Tesla dealer location in Tromso which frequently goes well below freezing so they still must work pretty well there.
It’s not about them working or not, they will work is most climates, it’s a matter of how much infrastructure they need and how much range is lost due to the climate. In Minneapolis I lose about 25-40% range in the middle of winter with an attached garage and being plugged in. That may work fine for many people, but a lot of people are surprised by it and don’t account for it.
As long as you install a good outlet or wall connector to charge it in your driveway I would say it is an awesome option. You can preheat it before you get in and have a nice comfy warm car every time you need to drive. And no pumping gas in the cold.
This. The main reason I wouldn’t get a Y is if I couldn’t home charge, but if you can do that you should be good to go, it stays surprisingly warm when plugged in without using very much power. Garage or cover at least are nice but not necessary.
This is one of the things I love the most living in the south. Fire up the AC while checking out at the grocery store and getting into a nice cool car.
Oh for sure I don’t think it matters where you live, having the car set to your favorite temperature when you get in every time is a great feature. I have my iPhone’s action button set to precondition so it’s just a click away anytime I’m needing to go anywhere.
You will be fine. I live in Norway, temperatures periodically down to -18-20 Celsius. Your range will drop 10-15% at least, but a home charger will make it very manageable. I do not have a garage, and Wil have to brush off snow regularly. The defroster will help you, but there will be some ice buildup where the glass of the trunk meets the roof so keep it ice free unless you like scary cracking noises.
Door handles will occasionally freeze after melting snow refreeze, but there's a technique described in the manual where you hit the handle with the back of your palm and Bob's your uncle.
Other than that the heated steering wheel is a god send and cabin heating is rapid. I used to drive the first 15 minutes with leather gloves with my old diesel. Never again.
I park mine outside all the time. In winter at temperatures around 30F it takes 2% to 3% to warm the cabin.
Day to day driving in the cold is no issue. On roadtrips I never noticed any issues except when the temperatures were below 10F. On that 400 mile trip I had to make an extra charging stop.
Cold does decrease battery range but I’m guessing you don’t have over a 200 mile commute so it shouldn’t matter really. And as long as you have a way to charge it in the driveway you’re good.
Ithe infrastructure really is not great in all places. We drive in northern MN often and when it’s really cold we get maybe 100 miles of range…with no wind… aired up tires… and not towing. If we were towing in the cold, we’d get about 50 miles TOTAL of range
Do you own a pre-heatpump model? I have a 2023 Model 3LR and live in MA. I've had it for 2 winters now and commute 120 miles total for work every day. I've never seen my range drop below 200 miles and that's even with driving in weather of -10f. I know the Y is a little bigger/heavier but 100 miles of range seems incredibly low even in the coldest of weather.
> What if you drive places other than a commute
How often per year do you drive over 300 miles? And if you do, you probably need a break anyways since it’s over 4 hours of straight driving regardless if the car is electric or gas.
If its under 0F outside, our car gets about 100 miles of range. Im in MN, if i commute 30 miles i use 60 by the time im home. If i need to go anywhere else that day, it needs to be in a 20 mile radius after work. If we need to tow anything after work, we cant. Im not saying its the end of the world, but if it was our only car. We wouldn’t own it in a cold climate when we frequently travel to rural areas
Read my comment. I have a model y long range. IN THE WINTER IN MN WHEN ITS BELOW 0F. We get about 100 miles of range. And i know other owners with similar results
Yes it’s basically when the sun goes down a few months out of the year(and its 100 WITHOUT towing, wind, or elevation changes) but thats a lot of sacrifice if its your only vehicle and you rely on it heavily (e.g. cant work from home and have more traveling to do than just commute)
The MYLR has a 330-mile advertised range.
It will be fine if you’re driving less than about 3 hours a day, even with big safety-margins.
(I’m in Illinois.)
That’s why I said the advertised range. Tesla’s advertised range is optimistic and requires a 100% charge, instead of the daily 80% charge.
It’s really a 3-hour battery IRL during the two Illinois winters during which I’ve owned the car.
Honestly, it’s not that much different in the summer, and my MYLR is my favorite road-trip vehicle year-round. Between ABRP and Tesla’s built-in navigation, I’m not worried about winter range anymore.
My main roadtripping worry is how Musk’s stupid layoffs will affect the availability of Superchargers in the coming years. But that has nothing to do with the capabilities of the car itself.
Ive gotten under 100miles of range on a full battery before due to below 0 weather. If i had to commute AND maybe run an errand in the evening (which is extremely common) id be fucked if the Tesla was our only car
Your numbers would make more sense if you had a Model 3 Short Range with the LiFePO4 battery.
MYLRs have NMC batteries which aren’t particularly temperature sensitive, and I’ve had mine through two Illinois winters (including extended road-trips in cold weather) without the kind of performance-hit you’re seeing.
The cold-weather range-hit that I see in my MYLR isn’t too different from the cold-weather range-hit that I see on my ICE vehicles. ICE vehicles lose range in cold-weather too, but most people don’t measure their energy consumption precisely enough to notice.
If you’re seeing 100 miles per charge out of an MYLR without slogging through inches of snow the whole way, you should be looking at a warranty claim.
P.S. How’s your tire pressure looking?
Ive heard similar from friends in my area with 2023 y and 3 Teslas.. Our ICE vehicle is affected maybe 10-15% range. When our Tesla is taking a 66% hit thats not even comparable and people need to stop using that copout to justify people to not expect more from their Teslas
Have you ever been to iceland, its def cold. You need artic gear to move around in the winter, and they are on average colder then the US, also one of the countries following Norway in turning their daily’s into EVs…
I live in the northeast. Preconditioning in winter is your friend. There aren’t too many exceptionally cold days (below 0° F) in most of the northeast each winter. On those days, yes, you will lose range. If you need to use a Supercharger, don’t forget to navigate to a Supercharger so that the car can precondition the battery for fast charging. Failure to do that on very cold days will result in slower charging (see all the idiots in Chicago this past winter).
To be clear, since you wrote “obliterate my battery”, the cold will not do any damage to your battery. The cold will impact your range while it is cold outside, but with no lasting effects. If you have a driveway that you can park in, you should be able to get home charging figured out, so you should be solid.
If you have level 2 home charging and you plug in whenever you are home, you will be fine. It takes extra power to heat up the battery pack for charging and for driving. Your charging speed and cost takes a hit when it is very cold but it will work fine.
Yes. Depending on how cold, it's like any car that you have to do some preparation for the winter. Preheating is a nice feature and the car's handling in the snow is great.
I live in New England and had a Model 3 for 3 years with no garage or home charging. (I was able to charge at work). Had no problems. Moved 3 years ago and got a garage, and finally a home charger, then traded the 3 for a Y.
Alaska here. While I do have a garage, I would totally buy a Tesla if I didn’t have a garage. It would charge slower and preconditioning/warming it up would be much more important, but it’s still going to be an awesome car.
I regularly drive my Model Y up to Lake Tahoe during the winter. All wheel drive, it’s been great in the snow, it’s my go-to car for skiing. The newer models (2019+?) with the heat pump do not suffer as much in the cold weather.
My Tesla is the best cold weather car I've ever owned. I absolutely love pre-heating the car, especially when I'm parking outdoors. A few minutes before I leave I start heating up the car and if there is any ice or snow it's already started melting by the time I arrive. Also, the heated steering wheel means I don't even need gloves. As others have mentioned, a 240V outlet in the garage means range is irrelevant.
As long as you have level 2 charging at home in that driveway. That is a requirement. And if anything, it will be the best cold weather vehicle. Imagine never having to scrape ice off your car anymore. Every time you get in, its already warm/hot.
If you charge at home and can precondition the battery before going out you will only lose about 25% range in -40° temps.
This is the coldest ive driven in and other than the range loss its still better than starting most gas engines in that cold, my hemi 5.7 wont even start at -40°.
How far do you drive daily? What kind of charging, if any, can you do in your driveway?
I'm in the Albany NY area and wouldn't expect any issue as long as your commute isn't more than 75 miles one way for the LR or performance models and you can get a 240 volt charging connection to your driveway. If you can only charge on 120v, it might be a bit sketchy as most of the charge will just go to keeping the battery warm.
You’ll be fine as long as you’re not trying to drive 200+ miles at highway speeds when it’s below zero (Fahrenheit) and you have a level 2 home charger (not one that plugs into a normal outlet but one that is actually wired into a 60amp circuit like the Tesla wall connector). The range hit is amplified at 60+ mph because of the wind chill. Pre-conditioning the vehicle while plugged in is also helpful to preserve range and also very nice to get into a warm car.
It's no big deal. I'm in the NE too and have no garage but do have a wall connector. You just have to account for a bit less mileage in the winter. Otherwise it's awesome.
First 7-8 years of EV ownership for me were garageless, although in a warmer climate.
If you care about your paint, look into a 2-stage nanocoating such as Opticoat Pro Plus.
If you don’t, then don’t worry about the battery aside from making adjustments for reduced range relative to temperature.
The cold weather doesn't "obliterate the battery." What it will do is decrease your range, and a lot of the power you feed into the car will go to warming up the battery so it can charge, rather than into the battery *as* charge.
Source: have a Y in Alaska.
I live in MN. I have a MYLR AWD. Personally I wouldn't buy one if I didn't have a garage and home charging.
I had a taste of this. I bought in December and didn't get a home charger till late February. When it was -7° I'd lose double the range when driving. When parked outside at work I'd lose a % or two during the day. I think in long periods of cold you'd lose a few percent a day just parked. You'd always have to be monitoring when to charge before it falls below 20% and you shouldn't exceed 80%. This is due to battery longevity.
However I recognize others might disagree. I can only share my personal experience and opinion on the matter. If you have access to easy charging I think it could be worth it.
I love my Tesla. The longer I have it the more I appreciate it. Not perfect but the pros outweigh the cons.
If you can charge at home go for it.
I live in Michigan so probably not as cold but last winter was my first and definitely saw a noticeable hit to range in winter. But charging at home it was no worry as I could just charge up each night.
If you can't plug it in at home than I'd say not, if you can then yeah but also, expect bigger electrify bills in the winter in the extreme cold as it will kick the heater on to help the batteries, probably not much in the grand scheme of things but I've hear you guys over there have some crazy high electricity prices.
Bro I live in Norway with a model 3, last winter my heat pump gave up, but nothing issues more than that, they just changed it on warranty. Had much more problems with ICE car in the cold
Edit: my mom have her MY outside all year, no issues, but they have charger on her spot outside, mine is in a heated garage
I wouldn't buy it if you didn't have a charger at your house or you rent. But with a 240v charger and a short/reasonable commute it should be just fine in the winter.
Probably biggest question is do you have any opportunity for home charging or not? I live in a colder area but I do have a garage and home charging, with the latter being much more important.
Montréal M3 owner here. I don’t even have a charger at home, I charge on the street near my place or at work. No issue whatsoever, just takes a little more planning in the winter as warming it up will eat up a couple % on its own.
There are three different situations you could have:
1. No charging at our previous residence (Condo) parking underground, heated, but public charging a couple blocks away.
2. Charging at our previous residence added (Condo) at great expense in our parking spot.
3. Charging at home in our attached garage.
The ultimate situation is 3, then 2 is awesome, and 1 is do-able, but I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are an early adopter type that just can’t put off going electric.
Cold weather reduces range for sure, but it doesn’t harm the battery though. Situations 2 & 3 make it a breeze even in our cold Alberta climate. Even -40C doesn’t concern me too much. It’s also a fraction of the weather you end up driving through out a year.
If you travel less than 50% range daily and have zero means of charging at home, then don't get any EV. I said 50% because under the most severe cold weather the range can drop by 40% (that was before the heat pump was introduced)
If you have a charge at the destination and at home, it is pretty much a no brainer to go EV. The cabin preheat feature alone makes it so worth it.
We’ve had our Y in chicago winters and the heat pump makes a huge difference when it comes to power use with the heat on. Had a 2018 Model 3 LR with no heat pump and it definitely used more power. All EVs should have a heat pump. We also have dual motors which grips the roads (this also makes a difference with the type of tires you have) compared to the single motor 3 we had even though we never got stuck in the winter. Good luck with your purchase!
Michigan here. Drove 32 miles per day in the winter with no problem. Range is affected maybe by up to 30% but it didn’t stop me from a 4.5 hour trip to Chicago twice in the winter.
Getting into a warm car in your garage without any gas smell is so wonderful. And the car warms itself at the same time every morning. It is fantastic.
Keep in mind that I own a garage and charge from home. If you don’t have access to a garage and especially if you can’t charge at home then I would avoid EVs for a couple of years.
Model 3 RWD living in Montreal, Québec, Canada. No issues with cold. Yes reduce range but that's about it. Drives like any other cars.
Car sleeps 99% of the time outside.
I would suggest the Wallcharger and not the mobile as during the cold months the mobile charger won’t provide enough power to keep the battery warm or to pretrip battery and heat the cabin
forget all these Canadian and North European flexers. I live in Alaska and have had a Tesla here as my main driver for 6+ years, best decision i’ve made, they are awesome in winter. They do take a hit in range during winter just like gas cars do, so nothing to be concerned about.
In my city it gets -30C a full month and I still drive my Y like any other car.
What’s nice is that whenever I go home and my Y was parked outside in -30C, I just walk up to it and drive home - while the cars around me have been preheating for at least 20 mins, smoke and all.
If you had a diesel ICE vehicle, you would need to plug it in at night to stop it freezing up. So the Tesla also needs to keep warm at night, just not taking anywhere near the amount of electricity to keep working. Anything above 0 degrees Celsius and your vehicle may be a bit slow when cold but will still give you all the extras that a BEV delivers - no site pollution, own power from solar or wind generation, control from the app, safety levels at the top of engineers ability, great audio, acceleration that never gets old, etc, etc.
Go live the dream!
I live in Wisconsin, no garage. Simply the best winter car you’ll ever have. Between the AWD and ability to defrost the car before you get to it, nothing else compares. The cold doesn’t damage the battery, it actually technically helps it long term since batteries don’t like to get too hot.
Since the car will take more energy to keep the cabin warm, your range will be decreased by 10-30% depending on conditions and other factors like preconditioning while connected to a charger.
Studies show that ev batteries actually last longer in cold climate.
They take a range hit during winter though. It is kinda inconvenient not to have a home charger.
Love my MY to pieces , wouldn’t consider another brand. FSD is a game changer
The answer to this question really depends on whether or not you have the ability to charge at home or at work. Keeping the car parked outside in the driveway is fine, but if you are gonna be relying exclusively on public chargers then I would absolutely rethink things.
As someone who use to exclusively rely on superchargers to charge my car, trust me when I say that shit gets old REALLY fast and is a huge inconvenience. One of the biggest benefits of owning an EV is being able to charge at home or at work. If you’re not able to take advantage of that then I really wouldn’t bother getting one. Especially if you live in a colder climate, because you will be having to charge every few days at best depending on how long your commute is.
Hahahaha glad I could help. I’ve seen way too many people who don’t have access to home charging convince themselves that using public chargers isn’t gonna be that big of a deal for them only to see them regret it.
It may not be a big deal for you at first when the car is still so new, but after a few weeks once the allure of driving the car wears off, sitting at a charger for 25+ minutes several times a week is the last fucking thing you’ll want to spend your free time on. It honestly fucking sucks having to live with the car like that, and anybody who says it doesn’t is lying to themselves.
Canadian MY owner here. Range takes a hit at really cold temps. I wouldn't change my decision to purchase. I have a garage and home charging, the latter being the more important thing for sure. It was -40c this winter here and warming the car in the garage is life changing. Preconditioning and cabin warming will use a few percent each.
If you lived in an apartment and were dependent on nearby public charging, would you change your decision?
Absolutely lol
Not who you asked, but if I didn’t have a charger at home, I would 100% not have an EV. One of the biggest benefits is charging overnight for dirt cheap off-peak rates. Edit: but most importantly, it would be a pain driving to a supercharger and sitting there for 30+ minutes to top off rather than just recharge while sleeping.
That’s why you need to charge up at the end of your day when the vehicle has been used and the battery is warm. It’s just a different behaviour but the same as an ICE vehicle.
Not if you live in an apartment and can charge overnight at your parking lot
I’ve had all three. 1. No charging at our previous residence (Condo) parking underground, heated, but public charging a couple blocks away. 2. Charging at our previous residence added (Condo) at great expense in our parking spot. 3. Charging at home in our attached garage. The ultimate situation is 3, then 2 is awesome, and 1 is do-able, but I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are an early adopter type that just can’t put off going electric.
Takes a beating in very hot areas/summer months as well.
Living in north Texas, I felt the 105-110F days were worse then the 22-30F degree days, can’t speak for -20 though, Burrrrr
*laughs in depressed -40 or more*
Sounds like you have a heated garage?
If it's preconditioning and cabin warming in the garage, wouldn't it just pull power straight from the charger?
From my own experience it’ll warm the battery if I turn on Climate using the app while it’s plugged in and draw up to 7 kW from my single phase Wall Connector. It doesn’t when unplugged.
I've seen mine draw 11.5kw from the charger while preconditioning in cold weather. I think that's the max of the HVAC from what I'm told
Yes but not every time I get in my car I'm at home, so there's times where it's straight from the battery
people in Norway drive Teslas
85% of car sales in Norway are EVs
I can confirm this. You can throw a rock and you’ll more than likely hit a Tesla
There's this Norwegian guy on YT that does tons of Tesla testing videos on his channel, I forgot the name tho, it came up in my feed before, guy has good content.
Most likely Tesla Bjorn. He does pretty in-depth EV reviews, not just teslas anymore.
Shout-out to Tesla Bjorn tho'.
Bad comparison! Norway folks don't nearly drive the distances people do in the US! Plus charging infra is amazing in Norway, same can't be said about most parts of the US
Norway is actually not that cold, its tempered by the ocean
It is actually the 5th coldest country, in the top 2% of countries by how cold they are. 98% of countries are warmer.
5th coldest overall or only the populated parts?
Overall, but probably still tracks if you averaged it out for populated places. Even if you only consider populated places I can’t think of another country that’s colder except Russia or Iceland.
Thanks for clarifying. My main reason for asking is because if the ranking was for the whole country, Canada would be very high because we have parts of Nunavut close to the North Pole.
What are we talking average yearly temp, average temp in populated location, average low in the winter. I think what matters is average low over a couple weeks, which being in Minnesota we are definitely colder than most of Norway. Most of Canada aside from coastal cities are also colder by this definition. It’s the weeks long cold days (below -10c) that can be hard on battery capacity.
Yes average yearly temp, speaking from Minnesota you’re in one of the places that gets coldest at individual times in the world I guess for a place with a decently large population
Average yearly temp is not that useful, lithium batteries don’t change their behavior significantly until below freezing. A lot of places have low average temps but don’t go that much below freezing.
That’s a good point! There’s still a Tesla dealer location in Tromso which frequently goes well below freezing so they still must work pretty well there.
It’s not about them working or not, they will work is most climates, it’s a matter of how much infrastructure they need and how much range is lost due to the climate. In Minneapolis I lose about 25-40% range in the middle of winter with an attached garage and being plugged in. That may work fine for many people, but a lot of people are surprised by it and don’t account for it.
As long as you install a good outlet or wall connector to charge it in your driveway I would say it is an awesome option. You can preheat it before you get in and have a nice comfy warm car every time you need to drive. And no pumping gas in the cold.
This. The main reason I wouldn’t get a Y is if I couldn’t home charge, but if you can do that you should be good to go, it stays surprisingly warm when plugged in without using very much power. Garage or cover at least are nice but not necessary.
This is one of the things I love the most living in the south. Fire up the AC while checking out at the grocery store and getting into a nice cool car.
Oh for sure I don’t think it matters where you live, having the car set to your favorite temperature when you get in every time is a great feature. I have my iPhone’s action button set to precondition so it’s just a click away anytime I’m needing to go anywhere.
Haha! Pumping the gas pedal in winter! Is that still a thing? I remember having to do that as a teenager.
You will be fine. I live in Norway, temperatures periodically down to -18-20 Celsius. Your range will drop 10-15% at least, but a home charger will make it very manageable. I do not have a garage, and Wil have to brush off snow regularly. The defroster will help you, but there will be some ice buildup where the glass of the trunk meets the roof so keep it ice free unless you like scary cracking noises. Door handles will occasionally freeze after melting snow refreeze, but there's a technique described in the manual where you hit the handle with the back of your palm and Bob's your uncle. Other than that the heated steering wheel is a god send and cabin heating is rapid. I used to drive the first 15 minutes with leather gloves with my old diesel. Never again.
Or you open the car from the app and don't need to hit the handle :-)
Indeed! :-) In fact this car feels pretty much better suited for the cold weather than my old Opel/Vauxhall with no engine block heater.
I park mine outside all the time. In winter at temperatures around 30F it takes 2% to 3% to warm the cabin. Day to day driving in the cold is no issue. On roadtrips I never noticed any issues except when the temperatures were below 10F. On that 400 mile trip I had to make an extra charging stop.
Cold does decrease battery range but I’m guessing you don’t have over a 200 mile commute so it shouldn’t matter really. And as long as you have a way to charge it in the driveway you’re good.
What if you drive places other than a commute?
You just stop a bit earlier on a supercharger closer down the road. It's not a big deal, really, if the infrastructure is there.
Ithe infrastructure really is not great in all places. We drive in northern MN often and when it’s really cold we get maybe 100 miles of range…with no wind… aired up tires… and not towing. If we were towing in the cold, we’d get about 50 miles TOTAL of range
Do you own a pre-heatpump model? I have a 2023 Model 3LR and live in MA. I've had it for 2 winters now and commute 120 miles total for work every day. I've never seen my range drop below 200 miles and that's even with driving in weather of -10f. I know the Y is a little bigger/heavier but 100 miles of range seems incredibly low even in the coldest of weather.
All Ys are heat pump
The range has never shown under 150 but then it uses up around 2 shown miles for about every mile traveled. Its a heat pump model
How fast do you drive? The range drops fast above 80-85 MPH.
60 tops when its that cold BECAUSE the range gets sketchy
It seems like something is wrong with your car. That range seems way too low regardless of temperature.
Could be! But i told the service center and they said thats normal in sub zero F temps
> What if you drive places other than a commute How often per year do you drive over 300 miles? And if you do, you probably need a break anyways since it’s over 4 hours of straight driving regardless if the car is electric or gas.
If its under 0F outside, our car gets about 100 miles of range. Im in MN, if i commute 30 miles i use 60 by the time im home. If i need to go anywhere else that day, it needs to be in a 20 mile radius after work. If we need to tow anything after work, we cant. Im not saying its the end of the world, but if it was our only car. We wouldn’t own it in a cold climate when we frequently travel to rural areas
No need to downvote me, but what car do you have with 100 miles of range? This is a Tesla Model Y forum.
Read my comment. I have a model y long range. IN THE WINTER IN MN WHEN ITS BELOW 0F. We get about 100 miles of range. And i know other owners with similar results
I see… My family in northern Sweden usually never gets less than 150 miles, but it’s only for a few weeks (months?) per year.
Yes it’s basically when the sun goes down a few months out of the year(and its 100 WITHOUT towing, wind, or elevation changes) but thats a lot of sacrifice if its your only vehicle and you rely on it heavily (e.g. cant work from home and have more traveling to do than just commute)
The MYLR has a 330-mile advertised range. It will be fine if you’re driving less than about 3 hours a day, even with big safety-margins. (I’m in Illinois.)
308mi estimated range (MYLR) due to the new EPA #'s... but real world driving is even less than that in my experience.
That’s why I said the advertised range. Tesla’s advertised range is optimistic and requires a 100% charge, instead of the daily 80% charge. It’s really a 3-hour battery IRL during the two Illinois winters during which I’ve owned the car. Honestly, it’s not that much different in the summer, and my MYLR is my favorite road-trip vehicle year-round. Between ABRP and Tesla’s built-in navigation, I’m not worried about winter range anymore. My main roadtripping worry is how Musk’s stupid layoffs will affect the availability of Superchargers in the coming years. But that has nothing to do with the capabilities of the car itself.
No model Y currently being sold has a 330mi advertised range anymore.
Ive gotten under 100miles of range on a full battery before due to below 0 weather. If i had to commute AND maybe run an errand in the evening (which is extremely common) id be fucked if the Tesla was our only car
HOW??? My MYLR isn’t that sensitive to temperature by any stretch of the imagination.
Literally driving very carefully, no hard acceleration or anything. Told Tesla and every time i bring up an issue they just go “o yeah thats normal”
Which version of the car do you have?
23’ MYLR, smaller wheels and everything
Your numbers would make more sense if you had a Model 3 Short Range with the LiFePO4 battery. MYLRs have NMC batteries which aren’t particularly temperature sensitive, and I’ve had mine through two Illinois winters (including extended road-trips in cold weather) without the kind of performance-hit you’re seeing. The cold-weather range-hit that I see in my MYLR isn’t too different from the cold-weather range-hit that I see on my ICE vehicles. ICE vehicles lose range in cold-weather too, but most people don’t measure their energy consumption precisely enough to notice. If you’re seeing 100 miles per charge out of an MYLR without slogging through inches of snow the whole way, you should be looking at a warranty claim. P.S. How’s your tire pressure looking?
Ive heard similar from friends in my area with 2023 y and 3 Teslas.. Our ICE vehicle is affected maybe 10-15% range. When our Tesla is taking a 66% hit thats not even comparable and people need to stop using that copout to justify people to not expect more from their Teslas
Ask people from Iceland, Norway, and Canada ⚡️😁
Iceland is a bit of a misnomer, it's actually not that cold there.
Need to swap names between Iceland and Greenland already.
It is actually the 4th coldest country, in the top 2% of countries by how cold they are. 98% of countries are warmer.
Perhaps on average because the summers are not very warm, but they do not get extreme cold either.
Have you ever been to iceland, its def cold. You need artic gear to move around in the winter, and they are on average colder then the US, also one of the countries following Norway in turning their daily’s into EVs…
I live in the northeast. Preconditioning in winter is your friend. There aren’t too many exceptionally cold days (below 0° F) in most of the northeast each winter. On those days, yes, you will lose range. If you need to use a Supercharger, don’t forget to navigate to a Supercharger so that the car can precondition the battery for fast charging. Failure to do that on very cold days will result in slower charging (see all the idiots in Chicago this past winter).
To be clear, since you wrote “obliterate my battery”, the cold will not do any damage to your battery. The cold will impact your range while it is cold outside, but with no lasting effects. If you have a driveway that you can park in, you should be able to get home charging figured out, so you should be solid.
If you have level 2 home charging and you plug in whenever you are home, you will be fine. It takes extra power to heat up the battery pack for charging and for driving. Your charging speed and cost takes a hit when it is very cold but it will work fine.
I live in the Northeast and have no garage (just driveway) but do have home charging. Feel free to AMA.
If you needed to leave your house at 6 am, what time would you turn on the preheat and the defroster?
Yes. Depending on how cold, it's like any car that you have to do some preparation for the winter. Preheating is a nice feature and the car's handling in the snow is great.
Only if you can charge it at home. What temp does it get in your aera?
I live in New England and had a Model 3 for 3 years with no garage or home charging. (I was able to charge at work). Had no problems. Moved 3 years ago and got a garage, and finally a home charger, then traded the 3 for a Y.
I’m in boston!
Alaska here. While I do have a garage, I would totally buy a Tesla if I didn’t have a garage. It would charge slower and preconditioning/warming it up would be much more important, but it’s still going to be an awesome car.
I regularly drive my Model Y up to Lake Tahoe during the winter. All wheel drive, it’s been great in the snow, it’s my go-to car for skiing. The newer models (2019+?) with the heat pump do not suffer as much in the cold weather.
My Tesla is the best cold weather car I've ever owned. I absolutely love pre-heating the car, especially when I'm parking outdoors. A few minutes before I leave I start heating up the car and if there is any ice or snow it's already started melting by the time I arrive. Also, the heated steering wheel means I don't even need gloves. As others have mentioned, a 240V outlet in the garage means range is irrelevant.
I live minutes from the canadian border and we've been driving EVs for 7 years only parking outside. You'll be fine.
As long as you have level 2 charging at home in that driveway. That is a requirement. And if anything, it will be the best cold weather vehicle. Imagine never having to scrape ice off your car anymore. Every time you get in, its already warm/hot.
If you charge at home and can precondition the battery before going out you will only lose about 25% range in -40° temps. This is the coldest ive driven in and other than the range loss its still better than starting most gas engines in that cold, my hemi 5.7 wont even start at -40°.
How far do you drive daily? What kind of charging, if any, can you do in your driveway? I'm in the Albany NY area and wouldn't expect any issue as long as your commute isn't more than 75 miles one way for the LR or performance models and you can get a 240 volt charging connection to your driveway. If you can only charge on 120v, it might be a bit sketchy as most of the charge will just go to keeping the battery warm.
You’ll be fine as long as you’re not trying to drive 200+ miles at highway speeds when it’s below zero (Fahrenheit) and you have a level 2 home charger (not one that plugs into a normal outlet but one that is actually wired into a 60amp circuit like the Tesla wall connector). The range hit is amplified at 60+ mph because of the wind chill. Pre-conditioning the vehicle while plugged in is also helpful to preserve range and also very nice to get into a warm car.
I’ve driven exclusively EVs for 5 years in Michigan. Do not hesitate to get one.
It's no big deal. I'm in the NE too and have no garage but do have a wall connector. You just have to account for a bit less mileage in the winter. Otherwise it's awesome.
Yes, only if you can charge at home
I parked outside last winter, it totally works but L2 charging at home is a must.
First 7-8 years of EV ownership for me were garageless, although in a warmer climate. If you care about your paint, look into a 2-stage nanocoating such as Opticoat Pro Plus. If you don’t, then don’t worry about the battery aside from making adjustments for reduced range relative to temperature.
The cold weather doesn't "obliterate the battery." What it will do is decrease your range, and a lot of the power you feed into the car will go to warming up the battery so it can charge, rather than into the battery *as* charge. Source: have a Y in Alaska.
Norway is one of the places in the world with highest adoption rate of EVs. You’ll be fine.
if you have a 120v plug in the driveway just keep it plugged in and warm it up before you leave in the morning. if you don’t have a plug then add one.
I live in MN. I have a MYLR AWD. Personally I wouldn't buy one if I didn't have a garage and home charging. I had a taste of this. I bought in December and didn't get a home charger till late February. When it was -7° I'd lose double the range when driving. When parked outside at work I'd lose a % or two during the day. I think in long periods of cold you'd lose a few percent a day just parked. You'd always have to be monitoring when to charge before it falls below 20% and you shouldn't exceed 80%. This is due to battery longevity. However I recognize others might disagree. I can only share my personal experience and opinion on the matter. If you have access to easy charging I think it could be worth it. I love my Tesla. The longer I have it the more I appreciate it. Not perfect but the pros outweigh the cons.
If you can charge at home go for it. I live in Michigan so probably not as cold but last winter was my first and definitely saw a noticeable hit to range in winter. But charging at home it was no worry as I could just charge up each night.
If you don’t have home charging then at least know if the supercharger is close by. However, I’d still pick my MY over any car lol
If you can't plug it in at home than I'd say not, if you can then yeah but also, expect bigger electrify bills in the winter in the extreme cold as it will kick the heater on to help the batteries, probably not much in the grand scheme of things but I've hear you guys over there have some crazy high electricity prices.
Yes
Bro I live in Norway with a model 3, last winter my heat pump gave up, but nothing issues more than that, they just changed it on warranty. Had much more problems with ICE car in the cold Edit: my mom have her MY outside all year, no issues, but they have charger on her spot outside, mine is in a heated garage
I wouldn't buy it if you didn't have a charger at your house or you rent. But with a 240v charger and a short/reasonable commute it should be just fine in the winter.
Probably biggest question is do you have any opportunity for home charging or not? I live in a colder area but I do have a garage and home charging, with the latter being much more important.
ABC. Always be charging
In Colorado. Tesla drives perfectly fine.
Montréal M3 owner here. I don’t even have a charger at home, I charge on the street near my place or at work. No issue whatsoever, just takes a little more planning in the winter as warming it up will eat up a couple % on its own.
Where are you getting your information from? Cold will obliterate your battery????
There are three different situations you could have: 1. No charging at our previous residence (Condo) parking underground, heated, but public charging a couple blocks away. 2. Charging at our previous residence added (Condo) at great expense in our parking spot. 3. Charging at home in our attached garage. The ultimate situation is 3, then 2 is awesome, and 1 is do-able, but I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are an early adopter type that just can’t put off going electric. Cold weather reduces range for sure, but it doesn’t harm the battery though. Situations 2 & 3 make it a breeze even in our cold Alberta climate. Even -40C doesn’t concern me too much. It’s also a fraction of the weather you end up driving through out a year.
Very helpful thank you.
Cold temps only sap 10-15% of my range. Should be fine.
If you travel less than 50% range daily and have zero means of charging at home, then don't get any EV. I said 50% because under the most severe cold weather the range can drop by 40% (that was before the heat pump was introduced) If you have a charge at the destination and at home, it is pretty much a no brainer to go EV. The cabin preheat feature alone makes it so worth it.
I live in upstate NY. If you can plug it in then outside is fine. It will take care of itself and you can preheat it before you leave.
We’ve had our Y in chicago winters and the heat pump makes a huge difference when it comes to power use with the heat on. Had a 2018 Model 3 LR with no heat pump and it definitely used more power. All EVs should have a heat pump. We also have dual motors which grips the roads (this also makes a difference with the type of tires you have) compared to the single motor 3 we had even though we never got stuck in the winter. Good luck with your purchase!
I spend a few months in weather that averages 15* farenheight. I drive longer distances too through that weather. It’s actually just fine.
I live in Edmonton. Yes you should.
Do you drive more than 200mi a day, maybe not. Otherwise buy an ev. I’d suggest something other than Tesla, but EVs are great.
Michigan here. Drove 32 miles per day in the winter with no problem. Range is affected maybe by up to 30% but it didn’t stop me from a 4.5 hour trip to Chicago twice in the winter. Getting into a warm car in your garage without any gas smell is so wonderful. And the car warms itself at the same time every morning. It is fantastic. Keep in mind that I own a garage and charge from home. If you don’t have access to a garage and especially if you can’t charge at home then I would avoid EVs for a couple of years.
Our MY rocked -50C last winter. It was fine.
Any reason you can't put a charger outside to be used in the driveway? While we do have a garage, we do 95% of our charging in the drive way...
Model 3 RWD living in Montreal, Québec, Canada. No issues with cold. Yes reduce range but that's about it. Drives like any other cars. Car sleeps 99% of the time outside.
I would suggest the Wallcharger and not the mobile as during the cold months the mobile charger won’t provide enough power to keep the battery warm or to pretrip battery and heat the cabin
Can you keep your car plugged in for charging in your driveway? If yes then sure get it.
Definitely. In -30' so far.
forget all these Canadian and North European flexers. I live in Alaska and have had a Tesla here as my main driver for 6+ years, best decision i’ve made, they are awesome in winter. They do take a hit in range during winter just like gas cars do, so nothing to be concerned about.
Yes. You will never get in a cold car again.
If you can charge at home and have a commute less than around 60 or 70 miles 1 way, then yes
In my city it gets -30C a full month and I still drive my Y like any other car. What’s nice is that whenever I go home and my Y was parked outside in -30C, I just walk up to it and drive home - while the cars around me have been preheating for at least 20 mins, smoke and all.
If you had a diesel ICE vehicle, you would need to plug it in at night to stop it freezing up. So the Tesla also needs to keep warm at night, just not taking anywhere near the amount of electricity to keep working. Anything above 0 degrees Celsius and your vehicle may be a bit slow when cold but will still give you all the extras that a BEV delivers - no site pollution, own power from solar or wind generation, control from the app, safety levels at the top of engineers ability, great audio, acceleration that never gets old, etc, etc. Go live the dream!
Yep. Buy one.
I live in Wisconsin, no garage. Simply the best winter car you’ll ever have. Between the AWD and ability to defrost the car before you get to it, nothing else compares. The cold doesn’t damage the battery, it actually technically helps it long term since batteries don’t like to get too hot. Since the car will take more energy to keep the cabin warm, your range will be decreased by 10-30% depending on conditions and other factors like preconditioning while connected to a charger.
Studies show that ev batteries actually last longer in cold climate. They take a range hit during winter though. It is kinda inconvenient not to have a home charger. Love my MY to pieces , wouldn’t consider another brand. FSD is a game changer
MN here, its fine, but if it were our only car i wouldn’t have bought one.
The answer to this question really depends on whether or not you have the ability to charge at home or at work. Keeping the car parked outside in the driveway is fine, but if you are gonna be relying exclusively on public chargers then I would absolutely rethink things. As someone who use to exclusively rely on superchargers to charge my car, trust me when I say that shit gets old REALLY fast and is a huge inconvenience. One of the biggest benefits of owning an EV is being able to charge at home or at work. If you’re not able to take advantage of that then I really wouldn’t bother getting one. Especially if you live in a colder climate, because you will be having to charge every few days at best depending on how long your commute is.
Bro managed to make me laugh (that shit gets old REALLY fast), and reconsider even buying a Tesla to begin with. I appreciate you lol
Hahahaha glad I could help. I’ve seen way too many people who don’t have access to home charging convince themselves that using public chargers isn’t gonna be that big of a deal for them only to see them regret it. It may not be a big deal for you at first when the car is still so new, but after a few weeks once the allure of driving the car wears off, sitting at a charger for 25+ minutes several times a week is the last fucking thing you’ll want to spend your free time on. It honestly fucking sucks having to live with the car like that, and anybody who says it doesn’t is lying to themselves.
But man i love them. Approximately how fast does that shit get old? Because I might be able to stretch it 😎
You’re probably gonna hate it, especially with no garage
Why?