How Miserable Is A Winter Tesla Road Trip? -18°C & Broken Superchargers

Can a Tesla Model 3 handle driving well below freezing for a road trip? How do cold temperatures affect electric car range? Comparison of summer versus winter driving efficiency!

I drove my 2018 Tesla Model 3 Performance 2,500 miles to test its performance and efficiency in freezing conditions. Temperatures reached as low as 0°F (-18°C), and rarely jumped above freezing. There were icy parking lots, snow filled wheels, snow storms, and chilling temperatures, allowing for the ultimate test of Tesla's winter efficiency and performance. I also encountered my first broken supercharger, it genuinely would not provide any charge for my car!

This video will cover the 2,500 mile road trip, how navigation and superchargers work, why cold temperatures result in less range, what studies have been performed to estimate winter efficiency, what my actual efficiency was, how this relates to gasoline vehicles in terms of fuel equivalency, different driving strategies to minimize stops or minimize total driving/charing time, how higher speeds affect efficiency, how wheels and tires affect efficiency, charging at night vs morning, broken superchargers, how much EV road trips cost, how comfortable the road trip is in a Tesla, and Tesla's AutoPilot and Full Self Driving features. It's a data and info packed video, enjoy!


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[oniinu]

What's more impressive is how he narrates a long video with precise numbers entirely from memory and what looks like in one or a few takes

[VictorKohnke]

I absolutely love the way he makes the argument for and against the Tesla. Honest, straightforward, and clear

[Rad_Triumph__RS]

Props to the cameraman for hanging out on the dash to get the best driving shot.

[Tordogor]

This guy deserves a lot of praise for his huge knowledge and methodic attention to detail.

[toobalicious]

I really like the fact that, in your reviews, you touch on just about every question I would have about whatever you’re covering. 👍

[BradRange]

Videos like this are why I’m subscribed. So much information and you consider a lot of the variables. Must be the engineer in you.

[mattsmucker]

A. Love your videos. B. The counter argument is that an ICE vehicle would only need to stop to refuel ~5 times and only for a few minutes each time (roughly 7 hours less wait time over the 2K-mile trip). A much bigger deal when traveling with kids.

[Bender]

Great no nonsense review. Let’s not forget though that we don’t regularly go on long road trips. The average driver travels about 60 miles a day….to and from work, do some shopping, kids to ball or hockey practice etc. and your Tesla will handle all this with no issues. A fast charger in the garage or just use one where you shop or dine maybe once a week and you’re all set. For most of us a 2000 mile road trip might happen once a year on vacation but even then most of us usually head up to the cottage or camp somewhere well within the distance a Tesla is capable of. My buddy goes up to his cottage with his family every weekend…..2 and a half hour drive with no issues. Plugs her in and she’s ready for the trip home. This is all doable. And remember, new battery technology ….solid state comes to mind as one….is just on the horizon with promises of greater range and ten minute charge times and once the big auto companies start competing for your dollar, you can bet the EV will soon be the car of choice for most drivers.

[rainonedavid]

This video sounded like a F1 pit-stop analysis

"Going for the one-stop, I could drive more aggressively, even if I spend more time getting to the charging stations"

[jeffrsd]

Eight hours total charging seems like a LOT of time sitting at a charger. That number was kind of a shock. That’s an extra day on the trip.

[FuncleChuck]

Thanks. Winter is definitely the reason I buy my cars, even if it’s only ~4 months where it goes below freezing here - but the worst weather is the time it needs to shine.

[juancuelloespinosa]

15:41 jason keeping notes like a good engineer/scientist should 😆

[starshipdriver]

16:06 there’s a black plastic ring in the plug that came off of somebody’s charge port pins so it won’t seat properly when plugging in.

[redmanhigh]

Title should been: I drove 2500 miles with my cat. In the winter with a Tesla.

[sking]

To me, the 18” wheels look a lot better than the 20’s. They are also more practical ...

[reasonitout]

Love your video. To be clear, HEAT PUMPS also take electrical energy from your battery to run an electric motor inside the heat pump compressor which scavenges ambient heat from the environment and transfers it into the cabin...again using more electricity to run the ventillation blower. The more available heat in the outside ambient air the more BTUs for a given electrical consumption and viceversa. To your point, yes, resistance heat uses more energy...but in extreme conditions will blow nice and hot compared to heat pump cold-blow...unless there are supplemental resistance heaters in the duct for very cold outdoor conditions. I do not know if this is how TESLA heat pumps handle extreme cold. But yes, HPumps are great.
For my 2018 Model 3 I fabricated a layered mylar insulated roof sunscreen for front and rear glass roofs, thus eliminating major heat loss through glass roofs. I Just use seat heater and am very warm.
Just use sunscreens as a pattern to cut emergency mylar aluminized "space blanket" to fit between Tesla mesh sunscreens and glass roofs. Trapped air is the insulator. Reflective coating bounces your body's radiated heat back down to you.

[infosecdotexe]

3:21 man, that scenery is beautiful. 🌲

[PhilipOberg]

There are a few Tesla's up here in Yukon Canada. -28°C right now. Go test a Tesla in Dawson city, Yukon and you could see if it will function at -50°!

[SammyVista]

You took Bucket with you! Bucket is so adorable, cats (and dogs!) never complain about the radio station you are listening to, they are in the present and give you their vibes of warmth and love. They have such a calming effect for us as well. The perfect traveling companions. Thank you for posting about the road trip in the Tesla and showing Bucket!

[bstarr]

There is a black piece stuck in the supercharger plug, these come off of older charge port designs, possibly because of summer heat fatigue or because of mechanical fatigue. Seems to be happening less often these day but still something to be aware of. Something interesting is if your own charge port guide post has broken of in the same prong then you’d be able to plug into the cable you had trouble with in your video 😂