Tesla Winter Necessities: Do not Go away Dwelling in Your Mannequin 3 or Mannequin Y With out These 10 Gadgets

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With winter in full swing within the Northern Hemisphere, it’s time for Tesla Mannequin 3 and Mannequin Y house owners to organize for street journeys within the chilly climate. Final month, I supplied up 11 Ideas for Driving and Charging your Tesla in Chilly Climate, however listed below are some suggestions for ten objects to maintain in your Tesla for chilly climate journey. I didn’t embrace primary stuff like a great snow brush and ice scraper, or perhaps a compact snow shovel and a set of tire chains should you’re heading for someplace with a lot of snow. Many of the beneficial objects are particular to Teslas and different EVs.

Many chilly climate points together with frozen door handles and caught cost port latches might be prevented by merely pre-heating your automobile utilizing the “Defrost Automobile” function within the app 20-Half-hour earlier than it’s worthwhile to drive anyplace. However in case you overlook, these winter EV necessities will turn out to be useful in your subsequent chilly climate street journey.

Most of these things might be bought at any auto components retailer or at your native Walmart or Goal. I’ve offered hyperlinks to buy them on-line on your comfort. Decide up a couple of for your self or a Tesla-driving cherished one for a bit further peace of thoughts on these lengthy Winter drives.

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#1: Tesla Cellular Connector (or Comparable Moveable EV Charger)

Whereas the Tesla Supercharger community is each in depth and dependable, and the Tesla Navigation system robotically routes you to Superchargers on a street journey, it’s all the time good to be ready for the surprising. Possibly there’s a freeway closure on account of excessive climate or perhaps you arrive at your last vacation spot with lower than anticipated battery vary. In these instances, it’s finest to maintain your Tesla Cellular Connector or a comparable transportable EV charger in your trunk or frunk for emergencies. This lets you plug into any out there 120V or 240V outlet and get a couple of further miles of vary when you end up removed from your private home charger or a excessive velocity public charger.

Since Telsa features a J1772 adapter with all automobiles, you should buy any third occasion cell EV charger with a J1772 connector and use Tesla’s J1772 adapter to attach it to your automobile. And should you’re getting one in all these transportable chargers only for emergency functions to maintain in your automobile, there are a number of nice decisions for Degree 1 (120V) or Degree 2 (240V) charging. Personally I desire one which works with each 120V and 240V retailers so I’ve extra choices and fewer gear to hold round.

The Tesla Cellular Connector comes with a 120V NEMA 5-15 plug and a 240V NEMA 14-50 plug. The plug itself is removable so you should use both plug relying on what’s out there. The NEMA 5-15 plug is the most typical kind of family energy plug in North America. The NEMA 14-50 240V plug can be fashionable and continuously discovered at RV parks and campgrounds. Utilizing the Tesla Cellular Connector at 120V, you’ll be able to achieve as much as 6 miles/hour of vary and at 240V, you will get round 30 miles of vary per hour on a Mannequin 3 or Mannequin Y. There are different specialty plugs you’ll be able to order from Tesla in case you wish to plug right into a 240V electrical dryer outlet, a range outlet or a 20-Amp/120V outlet.

One other advantageous alternative is Lectron’s Degree 1/Degree 2 (120V/240V) EV combo charger. It features a common J1772 connector and removable energy plugs. The corporate expects to start transport this cell charger later this month (February, 2024). Just like the Tesla cell connector, the Lectron combo charger comes with a NEMA 5-15 120V plug and a NEMA 14-50 240V plug making it suitable with the most typical 120V and 240V retailers. The J1772 plug makes it suitable with most non-Tesla EVs however you may also use it along with your Tesla utilizing the Tesla/J1772 adapter.

#2: A Good Extension Wire

Most cell EV chargers include a protracted charging cable: the Lectron charger above comes with a 16 foot cable and the Tesla Cellular Connector has a 20-foot twine. However typically it’s possible you’ll end up a bit farther from an outlet. Whereas fixed use of an extension twine will not be beneficial by Tesla, it’s advantageous to make use of one in a pinch, so long as the twine itself is thick sufficient (low sufficient gauge) to hold the requisite voltage and present. 120V charging peaks at 16 amps (should you’re utilizing a NEMA 5-20 plug) or 12 Amps should you’re utilizing the usual NEMA 5-15 plug. I repeatedly use (and suggest) a 15-Amp/12 gauge (12AWG) cable with my Tesla Cellular Connector. This waterproof outdoor-rated 15-Amp cable is offered on Amazon for round $30 in a 50 foot size or $50 for 100 toes:

#3: Rubber Conditioner to Stop Frozen Home windows

As a result of Teslas have frameless automobile home windows, once you open the door, the window drops a couple of centimeters robotically to clear the glass from the door body. After a snowstorm or freezing rain, the home windows can typically get frozen in place, stopping them from reducing. One factor I’ve realized from my Tesla-owning buddies in Finland is that it’s a good suggestion to use some silicon rubber conditioner to the rubber trim contained in the doorways earlier than the climate will get chilly. It solely takes a couple of minutes and it’ll stop the home windows from sticking to the rubber seals within the winter. It additionally extends the life of those rubber seals so win, win! The one which will get high marks from our Finnish buddies is known as Gummi Pflege Stift (“Rubber Care Pen”) and it’s made by German firm Nextzett. It’s out there on Amazon for round $12.

#4: WD-40 Silicon Lube for Door Handles And Cost Port Door

Haters like to hate on Tesla’s non-traditional flush door handles. However the handles are flush for a motive: effectivity. By making the handles flush to the automobile, you’ll be able to scale back air drag thereby growing vary. Because of this many different EV makers have adopted swimsuit. However having the handles flush to the automobile could make them a bit extra vulnerable to freezing in place. You may often get them unstuck with a couple of knocks from the facet of your fist, however should you apply a little bit of lubrication upfront, you’ll be able to stop them from freezing up within the first place. WD-40 Silicon formulation works significantly nicely for this. It’s finest should you maintain the handles open, spray some lube into the pivot level which is true the place the deal with on the Mannequin 3 and Mannequin Y angles up, then open and shut the deal with about 10 instances to work the lube into the hinge. Spray a bit into the cost port door mechanism when you’re at it.

#5: De-Icer For Doorhandles, Home windows, Mirrors and Cost Port Door

In case you overlook to pre-treat the door handles earlier than a bout of chilly climate or have extra ice constructed up in your door handles, cost port door, home windows or facet mirrors, a couple of sprays of a great de-icer can soften that ice briefly order and get you in your manner shortly. Pre-heating your automobile utilizing the “Defrost Automobile” function within the Tesla app can often stop door handles and home windows from getting caught, however should you overlook to do this, a couple of sprays of de-icer will do the trick. I hold a sprig bottle of Prestone de-icer in my trunk and it really works nicely for melting that pesky ice.

#6: Hand-Heaters – They’re Not Only for Palms

The media had a area day earlier this winter when some Tesla drivers bumped into hassle charging at a Supercharger station outdoors Chicago in frigid climate. Drivers deserted their automobiles after they ran out of juice or couldn’t discover an out there charging stall. There have been a couple of issues that contributed towards this case, however two of the problems have been frozen charging ports and snow-pack on the precise Supercharger charging cables.

In sub-zero temperatures, the charging cables on the older V2 (150kW) Superchargers can stiffen up, which causes them to fall out of their holsters. In the event that they fall into snow, this could pack snow into the charging cable finish. This snow will stop the charger from making a connection along with your cost port. One answer is to place the charging cable into your heated automobile for a couple of minutes to thaw. However you are able to do the identical factor with a hand hotter. Merely activate and maintain the handwarming packet on or close to close to the charging cable finish till the snow melts, shake it off and plug it in. The newer V3 and V4 chargers don’t have this downside as these cables embrace a liquid coolant which additionally acts as an antrifreeze in chilly temperatures.

One other difficulty that may stop you from with the ability to cost a Mannequin 3 or Mannequin Y in frigid climate is a caught charging port latch. That is the place the place the supercharger cable plugs into your automobile. In excessive chilly climate, the cost port latch can get locked up, stopping it from securely latching to the cost cable. A couple of minutes with a hand hotter fixes this difficulty as nicely.

In early 2020, Tesla added a heating component contained in the cost port that stops this downside from occuring. So when you have a Mannequin 3 constructed after March 2020 or any Mannequin Y, the “Defrost Automobile” function additionally heats up the cost port, stopping the latch from misbehaving within the chilly. However in case you overlook to preheat your automobile, a couple of of those handwarmers in your glovebox might turn out to be useful. In case you don’t just like the disposable ones, you could find rechargeable electrical hand heaters as nicely.

#7: Tire Restore Package or Spare Tire

As is the development with many new automobiles, Tesla Mannequin 3 and Mannequin Y don’t include a spare tire. Tesla does present free roadside help throughout the unique 4 12 months/50,000 mile guarantee. However should you’re caught within the chilly with a flat and don’t relish ready for street service, a tire restore package can turn out to be useful. Tesla sells their very own branded model within the store, however actually any tire compressor and may of “slime” will do. Repair-a-flat is one model that works nicely in most conditions.

These tire slime kits are solely meant for emergency use. They will briefly fill a small puncture and permit the tire to carry air sufficient to drive it house or to a restore store. It’s not beneficial that you just drive greater than 200 miles or over 50 MPH (80 km/h) with such a restore. Relying on the harm, you might be able to have the tire professionally repaired at any tire store or at a Tesla service heart.

One other extra long-lasting possibility is a tire plug package. These can be found at any auto components store or on-line. Whereas these require way more effort than a easy can of “repair a flat,” additionally they usually maintain up higher. In lots of instances, a plug restore might be finished with out eradicating the wheel from the automobile and even lifting the automobile on a jack. A correct plug restore can maintain up for the lifetime of the tire. However should you’re not a professional, it’s all the time a good suggestion to convey your automobile right into a tire store to have the restore inspected. In some instances, the plug might have to be changed with a patch (finished from the within of the tire) or, relying on the severity or location of the harm, it’s possible you’ll want a brand new tire.

For individuals who desire a extra skilled answer, you should buy an entire spare tire package for Mannequin 3 or Mannequin Y. These kits include a tire iron, scissor jack, a spare wheel and tire in a pleasant carrying case. Fashionable Spare was the primary to supply these kits however now they’ve competitors from an organization referred to as StanceMagic. Each corporations make variations for Tesla Mannequin 3 and Mannequin Y. The Fashionable Spare for Mannequin 3 has a number of bolt holes permitting it to work with each the usual Mannequin 3 and the Efficiency trim. The StanceMagic model has a distinct measurement for the Efficiency Mannequin 3 so make sure to order the proper model on your automobile. The one downside of this answer is that these kits take up a little bit of house in your trunk or hatch. It’s doable to switch the Mannequin Y sunk (sub-trunk) with a purpose to match one in all these again there and nonetheless hold your full hatch house out there for storage on a visit. Right here’s a video with a method to do that with none chopping.

Try Fashionable Spare and StanceMagic Spares on Amazon:

#8 – Mylar Blankets – Lure That Warmth

Even with the most effective planning and preparation, emergencies occur. Storms can shut highways otherwise you may need an accident off the crushed path in an space with no cell reception. And though a Tesla Mannequin 3 can hold you toasty heat in sub-zero temperatures for as much as two days on a full cost – it’s all the time finest to be ready for the worst. Cheap Mylar emergency blankets can seize and replicate again as much as 90% of your physique warmth. Decide up a 4-pack for about $10 and depart them in your glove field or trunk. You’ll in all probability by no means want them however should you do, you’ll be joyful to have them.

#9: A 12V Battery Booster

Chilly climate is hard on batteries of every kind, together with the low voltage 12V battery in Mannequin 3 and Mannequin Y. In case you do handle to totally deplete your excessive voltage battery, then the automobile’s 12V battery will take over powering up the automobile’s laptop and local weather management system. And should you’re ready round in frigid climate for a tow truck, the 12V battery might die as nicely. And if the 12V battery dies, you gained’t be capable of cost the principle battery. If this occurs a easy 12V Battery Booster might be linked to the automobile’s 12V battery to get up the automobile and permit it to start out taking a cost. You’ll additionally want one in all these to place the automobile in “Transport Mode” should you do have to get the automobile towed and your 12V battery is flat.

I’ve been carrying one in all these NOCO battery boosters round in my ICE automobiles and boat for years. And after working out of juice as soon as in my Mannequin 3, I’ve stored one in all these in my EV as nicely. It’s a good suggestion to high off the booster’s cost annually or earlier than a protracted street journey to ensure it’s prepared for motion.

#10: A 9V Battery

Sure, I’m speaking about these little rectangular 9V batteries that you just usually discover in a smoke detector. This will likely look like a bizarre one, however let me clarify. Let’s say you’ve run out of energy and even managed to empty the 12V battery as nicely. To be able to increase the 12V battery in a Mannequin 3 or Mannequin Y, you want entry to the frunk (the entrance trunk) the place the 12V battery is saved. And guess what? The frunk latch is electrically actuated. No energy, no frunk entry. However Tesla gives a workaround. Within the entrance bumper of the Mannequin 3 and Mannequin Y you’ll see a small disc formed cowl. Gently push the facet of this disc in and it’ll come out to disclose two wire leads. In case you join 12 volts (and even 9 volts) to those wires when the 12V battery is lifeless, it is going to activate the frunk launch, supplying you with entry to the frunk. Take away the vent cowl on the high/again of the frunk to disclose the 12V battery, join your battery booster to the 12V battery and your automobile will get up and start to just accept a cost on the charging port.

After all, as an alternative of a 9V battery, you may also join your battery booster leads (merchandise #9 above) to those self same wires to set off the frunk launch. However should you hold your battery booster inside your frunk, then that little 9V battery will turn out to be useful. Simply don’t retailer that 9V battery in your frunk (or in your glovebox, which additionally wants electrical energy to open). I hold one in my heart console simply in case.

The Backside Line

In case you or a cherished one drives a Tesla Mannequin 3 or Mannequin Y in frigid climate repeatedly, the above objects will assist present peace of thoughts and should save quite a lot of time and aggravation on a winter street journey. After all, it’s possible you’ll by no means want them, nevertheless it’s all the time a good suggestion to be ready.

Acquired another recommendations for winter EV necessities? Tell us within the feedback.

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