While electric vehicles (EVs) are quickly becoming a part of the mainstream auto industry, there are still a few caveats that have yet to be worked out. One such caveat is the variance of battery capacity and range in cold weather.
To counter the oncoming winter and its related EV problems, Tesla has shared a webpage with a number of winter driving tips, including specific information about cold weather and sustaining your car’s battery.
In particular, the detailed guide from Tesla encourages drivers to keep an eye out for the on-screen snowflake, which means that the car may be too cold to access its full extent of stored energy. It also encourages users to practice conserving energy while driving, by limiting energy use within the cabin and driving at moderate speeds or accelerations.
@Tesla updated their winter driving tips. Time to get physical. 😮 #FSDBetaCanada pic.twitter.com/4cTzZ4i4mD
— Regen Nation (@TheRegenChannel) November 26, 2020
The guide also includes a number of tips related specifically to the buildup of ice and snow on the vehicle, in order to prevent hardware damage. These tips include things like turning auto-fold off for your mirrors, scraping any ice or snow off of frozen handles, windows, Autopilot sensors, doors, and charge ports.
In any case, winter is just about here and Tesla owners will have to learn to manage these tips. For those still unsure and worried about range, there are several range tests and other pieces of information out there – though following Tesla’s own guidelines to winter driving is definitely a start.
