Prepare Your Tesla for Winter: Maintenance Checklist

Driving in Canada during the winter is difficult, particularly when operating a Tesla. Taking the proper precautions to prepare your Tesla for winter may greatly increase safety and preserve efficiency during cold temperatures, snow-covered roads, and slippery conditions.

Here is a comprehensive checklist that covers important cold-weather procedures, important features, and maintenance advice to help you prepare your Tesla for winter.

Best Practices for Tesla in Cold Weather

Although Tesla cars include technologies that improve winter driving, you can maximize their benefits with the right planning. During winter, you should concentrate on the following Tesla tips for driving in the snow.

1. Before Driving, Precondition Your Tesla in Winter

When snow or ice accumulates, parts such as door handles, windows, mirrors, and wipers may freeze. It’s essential to warm up the cabin and the battery for optimal range and performance. Utilize the Scheduled Precondition feature through the mobile app to set the desired cabin temperature and defrost your vehicle’s exterior 30-45 minutes before driving. This also ensures that the high-voltage battery is adequately heated for maximum efficiency.

Tip: Always activate Climate > Defrost Car through the mobile app if snow or frost is present on your vehicle. Doing this helps ensure your vehicle’s moving parts like doors, mirrors, and windows function smoothly and prevents performance issues caused by freezing conditions.

2. Charge Port Maintenance

In freezing conditions, the charge port latch may freeze, causing charging difficulties. Tesla’s Defrost Car feature, activated via the mobile app, can thaw the ice around the port, ensuring easy removal or insertion of the charging cable.

Pro Tip: To prevent freezing, use the Schedule settings to precondition both the battery and the charge port, so your vehicle is ready for charging when you are.

3. Charging Tesla Tips for Winter

Cold weather impacts the charging speed and battery range. Using Trip Planner to navigate to a Tesla charging station is crucial, as it automatically pre-heats the high-voltage battery before arrival. This process significantly reduces charging time, ensuring the battery is at an optimal temperature.

For shorter trips, precondition the battery ahead of time if you expect charging to take less than 30 minutes. It’s essential to keep the battery above 20% charge to reduce the impact of cold temperatures.

4. Window Care for Tesla in Snowy Weather

Winter weather can lead to frozen windows, making it difficult to operate them. Tesla vehicles automatically adjust the position of windows slightly to make door opening easier. However, using the Defrost Car feature from the mobile app can help melt ice and frost buildup on windows and mirrors.

Extra Tip: Tesla offers hydrophobic coatings for side and rear windows, available by scheduling a service appointment through the app. This coating repels water, reducing ice formation during extreme weather.

5. Handling Frozen Doors and Mirrors

Tesla’s sleek door handles may sometimes become trapped by ice buildup in harsh winter conditions. For Model 3, pressing the frontmost part of the door handle can help break the ice, while pressing the rear part will allow you to open it normally.

Pro Tip: Applying WD-40 to the door handle pivot pins can prevent ice from forming. Additionally, disable the Auto-Fold Mirrors function before parking in icy conditions to prevent mirrors from freezing in place.

6. Winter Tire Care and Chains

Winter tires provide better traction on snow or ice-covered roads. Ensure your Tesla is equipped with snow tires if you frequently drive in snowy conditions. If tire chains are required or recommended in your area, Tesla offers compatible chains for purchase.

Important: Tire pressure decreases in cold temperatures—approximately 1 PSI for every 10°F (6°C) drop. Regularly check and adjust your tire pressure to maintain optimal performance and avoid damage from potholes.

7. Wiper Maintenance

Wipers can freeze in place during snowstorms. Use the Wiper Service Mode to raise the wipers away from the windshield when parking to allow them to defrost along with the windshield. You can also turn on the wiper defrosters, if equipped, to further protect your wipers from icing over.

8. Winter Driving Tips for Tesla

Cold temperatures increase energy consumption for cabin and battery heating. To optimize your Tesla’s range:

• Use Snow Mode of Tesla which optimizes driving performance in winter by adjusting traction control and regenerative braking. It’s especially useful for navigating snow-covered roads. For rear-wheel-drive models, such as the Model 3, this setting can improve handling and safety in slippery conditions.
• Lower the cabin temperature and rely on seat heaters, which use less energy than the cabin heater.
• Drive conservatively, avoiding rapid acceleration or speeding, which drains the battery faster.

Additionally, regenerative braking may be limited when the battery is too cold. Precondition your Tesla before driving to maximize regenerative power, and keep in mind that installing winter tires can also temporarily reduce regenerative braking until the vehicle recalibrates.

9. Battery Care During Winter

Your battery is too cold for optimal performance if you see a blue snowflake icon on your screen. During this time, you may experience reduced acceleration and limited regenerative braking. Once the battery warms, full functionality will return.

To avoid these issues, always precondition the vehicle and leave it plugged in when not in use. This prevents the battery from becoming too cold and conserves energy.

10. Post-Drive Care

After driving, leave your Tesla plugged in to keep the battery warm using external power rather than draining the battery itself. If you plan to leave your vehicle unused for an extended period, keeping it plugged into a charger helps maintain the battery’s health and range.

11. Winter Storage and Scheduled Preconditioning

If your Tesla will be parked for long periods, it’s vital to use Scheduled Precondition to keep the battery and cabin ready for use. Preconditioning also prevents freezing of the charge port latch.

Ensure you schedule charging alongside preconditioning to have sufficient battery power for your trip. Your Tesla will automatically begin preconditioning based on your scheduled departure time.

Your Tesla will be prepared to handle even the coldest months with this winter driving advice, guaranteeing both performance and safety while driving. The secret to enjoying smooth winter driving is being organized, from keeping ideal charging conditions to taking good care of your battery.

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