10 Cold Weather Driving Tips For An Electric Vehicle

Tom takes us through some tips and tricks to prepare and handle an EV during the cold months.

[@shrikant490]

Excellent completion of tips Tom. I am a veteran EV driver but I still learned a thing or two

[@stlufred]

Specifying Winter Tires as the first one is perfect, because it is probably the most important one, for your safety and the safety of others!

[@nevco8774]

One tip I like the most from Chrisfix KZbin channel for folks forced to park outside is to wrap the rear view mirrors in a plastic bag before a forecasted snow storm.

[@asong0123]

one of the best winter driving advices I've seen on KZbin. Whether you drive an EV or not, safest way to drive in snow is to slow down, not accelerate/stop abruptly, keep distance, have proper winter tires, sweep snow off your car, etc. Mostly, it's not really about what you drive, it's about how you drive. So many great advices in this video.

[@ukrainekyiv7719]

Thank you Tom. Greetings from Ukraine. EV cars are becoming more and more popular in our country. And such tips and recomendations will help lots of owners in each part of a planet.

[@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney]

Thanks for watching!

[@deeem2628]

It's Kiev

[@whoisabdalle8295]

Damn

[@tuomaspietinen1485]

Greetings from Finland! Good tips and very useful as our winter 2021 has been very cold and lots of snow. One thing maybe worth mentioning that I have to do all the time: Clean the wheel wells after every drive if snow builds up in there. Go to a warm parking garage of a supermarket when you can to melt the snow and ice buildup on your car instead of fighting it outside.

[@richardscathouse]

We don't use so much salt here out west. Like back east

[@terrythomas1343]

@@richardscathouse It's not about salt. It's because there is no hot engine to melt the snow from the wheel wells. Ice can block the wheels especially when turning.

[@acceleratedriving]

Folding mirrors. Great point. Reduce regen to avoid locking up wheels when lifting ‘gas’ pedal. I experienced this on ICE car many years ago when I was in a too low a gear.

[@MrRobert1603]

Yes your right i do all that you have indicated on My model 3 LR - Love this car !!! Thanks

[@_MS__]

Helpful video. Thanks Tom

[@chuck56176]

Excellent info! Thanks for posting!

[@fortheloveofbollywood4617]

Watch at 1.25x so you don’t fall asleep watching this video. Wiper & mirror advice real good

[@garyclark6747]

Great tips Tom. Your last one can be augmented by encouraging people to charge when they reach their overnight destination at a supercharger as a destination next to where they’re staying or nearby where they’re staying. That way they can charge the batteries while warm instead of waiting till they’re super cold in the morning and then having to deal with them warming up at a Supercharger or in some other way: sunlight or a courtesy 110 outlet or by driving.

[@richardscathouse]

Not a bad plan

[@joemason9187]

That's if you can find an outlet or even one that actually works

[@conrado800]

Great video! Thanks

[@fullyelectric]

Tom, another great 👍 content.. I truly like this drive and tips style of content.. very cool 😎 I still have the rain and snow issue my model 3 is getting old now, we traded in my wife model X because of similar issues, it was a pain going anywhere in our previous Model X during winter .. when you park at the mall, outside or on the streets then heavy snow falls and packs up on top the kids always cause a mess when they open up the rear doors.. all the snow would come in on the seats floor etc,, same for heavy rain and even standing water on top .. but the car was amazing during summer times .. I think Tesla are just design for area with Great weather etc.. BTW some of the words noted on screen was hard to read .. I do like the white interior tho.. great 👍 job keep them coming

[@tonys9413]

Tom, great tips, even though my days in the snow and ice are over (shoveled enough snow to last a lifetime 😅).

[@bluedeva]

Great tips Tom I’m just about to collect my new EV and I will be following these tips

[@jledge4797]

Most of these I already knew, but my favorite that I didn’t really think about was to disable the folding mirrors!

[@jledge4797]

Except that for some reason even though I’ve disabled them in the vehicle settings on my Mach-e, they somehow folded themselves in over the weekend! 🤔

[@Markus_Jungwirth]

Hi Tom. What I do also is, having a defroster spray IN the house (not in the car) to be able to defrost the door handles and to eventually defrost the front lights instead of scratching the ice away. As the front lights are remaining cold and will not defrost themself as in a combustion car.

[@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney]

Yep - good suggestion

[@richardscathouse]

Makes me glad to live in California

[@esprit1st75]

As for lifting wiper blades up in snow: generally a good idea, however if it's a storm and very windy be aware that the wind could slam them down possibly hitting the windshield not straight and damage the windshield or wiper arm.

[@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney]

Yeah, I was going to add that but honestly, I just forgot! :)

[@kyliefan7]

ONE of my reason’s I wouldn’t buy a Tesla Model 3 or Y is the trunk! I noticed that when the car first came out knowing that would never work for Ohio winters! Very funny video about that! Lol thanks for the helpful hints!

[@richardscathouse]

That and Tesla's games. I hear now they are charging you monthly to use your heated seats and auto-drive by subscription only.. I'm buying a car not renting a cable box.. 👿👿👿

[@Wised1000]

Excellent tips! One caveat on winter tires. If you are an average driver and don't expect summer only tires level of performance, there is another option that will serve you excellent performance in any season: "all weather tires". The poster child for this newer tire category being the Michelin Cross Climate. It offers winter performance that puts some dedicated winter tires to shame. It offers the summer performance of a touring tire, comfortable ride, low noise and excellent treadwear. Finally, they are not an "ultimate performance" tire but it handles and brakes in dry conditions with confidence and aplomb. Truly a perfect year-round option even for areas that have severe winter conditions.

[@TheDangk]

All Seasons fine in MN. never ran snows but im sure they are great.

[@Nick_Smith1970]

Great advice. Thanks Tom. I have a BMW i4, and work from home, so it's a bit tricky to precondition the battery on a schedule, if I'm using the car at random times of the day. I can pre-heat the cabin for 10 mins before I leave, and that works, but without a scheduled time, the battery stays cold. Difficult to schedule battery heating, if you use the car on an ad-hoc basis. Driving doesn't heat it very quickly either. 3 miles into my trip and the battery was still at 2 deg C.

[@ecospider5]

I have always disagreed with ‘don’t use the heater’ if your vehicle has more than 200 miles of range. We are talking about 1 or 2% of your range going going to the heater. In both my model 3 and my Nissan Leaf I set the heater so I am comfortable. Yes I make use of the heated seats but I don’t try to have the heated seats replace the regular heat. I have never noticed the extra couple minutes I have to charge to keep the cabin comfortable.

[@andrewgoss6486]

......yeaaahhhh.....Imma pass on all that winter inconvenient stuff...... I want a vehicle that is relaxing and convenient.

[@presw2pw123]

I really enjoyed this, and am looking forward to my first electric winter with my 2020 Ioniq. By the way, that white leather interior is gorgeous but I kept thinking you were swallowed by a marshmallow!

[@TeslaJohn]

Tom my Tesla Model Y Pro That cost around $60,000 Gets parked in the garage to keep the snow and ice off of it. I took your recommendation on On a charger I had a Chargepoint Home Flex charger Install for free Yes free $700 charger by Xcel Energy I pay $44 a month Unlimited charging from 9:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. And unlimited charging all day On weekend and some holidays. I enjoy your videos .

[@richardscathouse]

Neat, I only get my discount from midnight to six am can be a problem remembering to set the timer at times. I use the Juice Box brand 40 amp I can always get 80% in under six hours. Usually seven or eight hours to full charge.

[@nevco8774]

Tesla Model 3 was designed for sunny California with no rains and obviously no snow in mind. You have shown the intrinsic trunk design fault in Model 3. However all Teslas have issues with frameless door window glass when it freezes and does not allow to open the door since glass has to drop an inch in order to open the door. There is a problem of no option of heated rear view mirrors as well.

[@BurnseysRT]

Great video. I am looking to get a Tesla model 3. Either a 2020 or 2021 long range. I live in NE Ohio and our winters can be brutal. My car is outside but I have easy access to a level 1 charger. If I am charging all of the time do you think I can make this work ? I drive 40 miles 3 days a week for work and work from home 2 of those days. I think I can make it work but you seem knowledgeable. My panel is maxed out and can’t get a level 2 charger in my 100 amp service.

[@Rabbit086]

Don’t own an EV but some of these tips are crazy, especially that last one

[@viktorvar]

Great tips! I have my 2014 Model S P85 parked outside without the possibility to have it plugged-in. I don't drive every day. Would you recommend to pre-condition the battery during winter months, even if not planning to drive? Let's say once per day. Just to warm up the battery so that it doesn't cool down to the bone? Of course loosing range by doing that but I would sacrifice that range if it should help the battery in the long run. Or is it actually better to leave the battery at constant temperature, although low, rather then warming it up and down? Thanks!

[@presw2pw123]

Where does one look into winter tires? Dealer? Pep Boys? Do you change tires and wheels or keep the wheels and change the tires on them?

[@SuperHermex]

When my two weeks old brand new model y 2023 was frozen, I had to use to unlatch mode to open the driver side door, but I could barely close the door again after I scraped all ice around the door windows driver side and also the passager side. Be careful, just like the side mirror auto folding, you can brake the window motor if it is frozen and unlatch mode used as window lower down and up couple of inches automatically.

[@MrSeamusMurray]

OMG. You must have English blood in your ancestry!! As a lot of your tips and hints were so obvious. That said in my opinion useful videos on recommendations on how to control the model 3 in emergency situations drifting etc, also would love to see a video on having fun with track mode. Recommending different settings within track mode so that somebody could have fun in the car park of a local shopping mall or suchlike. Here in Ireland it's very seldom we have snow. We had a little bit on 1 March 2018 and before that it was in the early 1980's that we had snow. I'm so looking forward to taking my TM3 Stealth Performance out on snow for a bit of fun.

[@SmartMart1658]

Merry Christmas! I bought a RHD UK Tesla Model Y this year which arrived in March. I don't use the car much as we have another vehicle for everyday shopping runs. As the temperature is dropping below freezing should I have any settings set to keep the battery warm during very cold spells? Or will the battery be OK during cold spells if the car is not used much?

[@ulukadanbaev897]

Thanks a lot for the wise tips out of your experience. I've one question: ​ I drive Hond MN V, chinese EV 2022 with thermal management. If I plug in the charger in the evening and during the midnight the charge reaches 100% and the charger will automatically turn off charging will it still run the thermal management becasue the charger is plugged in but disconnected due to charge complete?

[@ecospider5]

Parking in direct sunlight is a great tip.

[@gregyohngy]

Remember to visit gas stations and wash off all the windows with their windshield solution available for customers, even if just getting coffee. ☕ 😁 My 2017 Fiat 500e uses the 12v battery for the heated seats and main battery for the 1500w heater. Heat the seats.🌡️ The Sun 🌞 may provide at least 15F of free cabin heat by being in the Sun. 😎

[@WilbertIsRandom]

If you have a schedule set for when to start charging, does the Tesla pull energy from the plugged in cable while preconditioning? It doesn't seem so since my battery charge goes down while I'm plugged in.

[@philiptrautman775]

A Corollary to that supercharging tip. If you arrive with a cold battery, expect charging to take at least 15 minutes longer. Our local supercharger is at the grocery store. The extra time often means the car is not fully charged when the shopping is done. And conditioning on the way to the supercharger doesn’t do the trick when it’s only a few miles to the store.

[@richardscathouse]

You can't just remote start a few minutes before you leave... Warm the battery that way? Works for me in my Hyundai Kona

[@richardscathouse]

Twelve years.thanks you make me feel old 😓😕😒 I assume you have only tesla experience. I'm a Hyundai Kona Ev owner myself. Tesla plays too many games, i'd never buy a car I couldn't inspect or test drive.

[@investwithcertainty6340]

if needed to park outside during winter, how to protect the battery, if the temperature can be below -40C.

[@greenemultisport3919]

Is that a wrap on your car or the original color?

[@davidmccarthy6061]

8:35 HA! Kids in southern California design a car.

[@richardscathouse]

Nothing about Tesla design has ever appealed to me. Although I do like the glass roof, that's not a Tesla original feature, many European cars have that

[@bbbf09]

Living on the west coast of UK it rarely gets really cold here (or for that matter really hot) but last week it got to -1C (30F). As an owner of a brand new Tesla model 3, here's a most important tip I learnt; Never mind tweaking the regen settings - JUST DON'T TRUST REGEN AT ALL!!!!! Mine flipped out whilst setting off - from 100% to 0% . Without warning. Didn't think this was possible - but apparently it is a known Tesla 'thing' (BTW Never ever happend in my BMW i3 even when colder) . Can't quite believe it - but there it is . At best this is very unnerving - but at worst changing the braking dynamic abruptly is potentially lethal. Very disappointed to find this dangerous aspect of driving in a Tesla - and surpised it is not mentioned here.

[@richardscathouse]

Sorry to hear that, you should be able to trust your car. I trust my Hyundai

[@Wised1000]

One thing you did miss..... If you have a heated garage no need to precondition. I keep my garage at 55.

[@PaulO-ew3hd]

Hey, those are some great tips. However my concern is let’s say you have a 30 mile round trip commute daily and during winter, you would have to plug the battery in every night? It’s not good to charge the battery if you have well over 1/2 charge every time but on the same token your battery will be very cold in the morning if you don’t plug in. It’s like damn if you do or damn if you don’t. What does an ev owner do in that case?

[@darylfarrugia9623]

If you don't have a place to plug in your vehicle how do you preheat it

[@renatomoresi5246]

what is the percentage of battery loss in cold weather.

[@KaceyGreen]

I like that wrap

[@rtfazeberdee3519]

The "clear the snow" tip is not just for Tesla, it should be the first action before you do anything else. the number of people on the road with snow on the hood/roof/windows is awful and dangerous.

[@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney]

Very true! Thanks for adding.

[@rtfazeberdee3519]

@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney I forgot to say, "great video"

[@richardscathouse]

Exactly

[@KyleBrightman]

5:25 Didn’t Tesla remove the ability to adjust the regen (at least on the Model Y)? The Model Y Long Range I test drove a couple weeks back didn’t have it and the salesperson confirmed it was taken away from the menu. I think this is a mistake, as nothing is more efficient than coasting and some people (myself included) prefer to drive EVs more like all other cars (two pedal driving, coasting, creep, etc).

[@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney]

Yes, Tesla did. But most other EVs still allow the user to adjust the regen level.

[@KyleBrightman]

@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney It’s a shame when a company has the platform and ability to make things infinitely customizable and yet removes things like this and forces everyone to operate the way they think is best.

[@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney]

@@KyleBrightman I was highly critical of Tesla when they did that.

[@richardscathouse]

Sorry to hear, another reason not to have a Tesla 🙄🤭🤭🤭😒

[@richardscathouse]

@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney Like Hyundai

[@randallharman5424]

Have a Honda generator in the trunk and some good old gas to fill it?

[@richardscathouse]

I don't see a problem, I get 270 to 300 miles same as I used to get with my Toyota Prius. Just takes longer to fill. And planning for over 200mi trips

[@millennial_weeb2382]

Just turn Regen off during the Winter. It’s so cold the amount of range you would gain would be lost due to cold weather conditions. Low is fine but in some vehicles it’s a hassle to lower/up the power of Regen.

[@richardscathouse]

My Hyundai has a great range for adjusting the regen brakes.

[@philipsilverman2878]

Tom,, i have immersed myself in these EV videos, as I’m contemplating purchasing one. Your videos are absolutely the best. Thank you so much for the great information.

[@Torrent.Amador]

fym cold? You're in NJ, the winter temperature is like -5C. That's not cold, that's a little bit chilly at worst.

[@FrenchMountain1]

Who’s driving while your eyes are on the camera?

[@chris55top]

Why didn't you clean your rear window. I do realize your trying to make a point. But really Tom.

[@JohnSmith-ug5ci]

Top survival tip, drive a gas or diesel-powered vehicle.

[@dreinoehl4660]

So........leaving it plugged in to warm up the car and battery. SO you're using power from the grid to warm the car, and where does that energy come from? Hopefully from your solar panel or wind turbine, because, if not, then what are you really saving? I'm sorry, to me EVs may save something, but the way you get energy to charge the battery, plus the way the batteries are made, really don't save anything, do they?

[@laloajuria4678]

1- dont do it! 2- follow the tips....

[@feegureeetout]

I lost it on get good tires. Really? Tires matter? WTF?

[@sindarinelf1]

This guy talks so slowly, I had to speed it up to 1.5x to save time xD

[@lp3860]

Tip 1: Don' buy a Tesla if you enjoy heating in sub zero temperatures. Signed by everyone living in Scandinavia.

[@Doc1855]

Ok your talking about an EV, but so far all you talk about is tires. So I stopped listening to you