How Good is Tesla's Defrost Mode? - Tesla Model Y

Today I am testing the defrost mode on the tesla model Y to see if will be able to melt all the ice or if it will need to be cleaned by hand. I hope to answer your questions in this video.
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[@TRClem.]

Saw you at 499 and decide you know what why not. CONGRATS ON 500 SUBS!

[@techsteinyt]

You’re a real one. Thank you!

[@TRClem.]

@@techsteinyt No problem also great video!

[@Kalmar-editz]

😅

[@adenshiu]

@@TRClem. I think you pulled it wrong lol

[@TRClem.]

@@adenshiu ?

[@sydxn]

hey, quick tip from a detailer! Please turn off the auto folding mirrors when your vehicle is not active for longer then 5 hours in the cold. We replace so many mirror motors due to the cold freezing the wires in position when they are folded in then get pulled out of their terminals or wires even pulled directly out. Best chance to save some cash is to turn it off unless engineers come up with a new way for them to work in colder temps.

[@techsteinyt]

Wow I had no idea, thank you! I will go change it on my car haha

[@abesview5855]

Wow super dope comment! Appreciate it. You rock! Keep doing your detailing.

[@S1RLANC3]

You also run the risk of not being able to put them back into position when you are ready to drive the car. You should also consider doing the same by pulling your windshield wipers out as well in the event that they get frozen to the window. You should also have a widget update as well so wouldn't hurt to consider adding that to your homescreen to more easilly access the door feature for opening it as well. 👍

[@Johnny24rs]

@@S1RLANC3 you can put them in position manually

[@S1RLANC3]

@@Johnny24rs Depending on the person like what you saw earlier. If it is very iced up than it’ll require a little force to pull them out and depending on who drives the car. Either way, still not good for the car.

[@same418]

-40 Celsius this week in Canada I'm glad I have a truck with normal handles haha

[@martinbooth6040]

I’ve had my Tesla +2 years and i had no idea you could customise the app controls by long pressing!! 😂 Thank YOU!!

[@FeehLzTv]

same, close to 6 months an I had no idea X_x

[@jonasespinoza4774]

i’m from Mexico and i’m learning English and your pronunciation is very easy to understand, i just wanted to say thanks haha

[@lahtistemme]

Actually the seat heaters help the whole interior to warm faster so if you already get the power from the wall, I would keep those on.

[@techsteinyt]

Thanks for the tip, I will try it out!

[@koosbalazs]

If you want to defrost a car, you should run all heatsources available in the car, steering wheel and seats too, letting more surface to warm up helps the air inside the car to warm up faster. Not just Teslas, any car.

[@ondraro]

True 👍

[@arturbieniek6360]

They're less efficient - using tradicional heating coils instead of AC, anyway it's like 200W, nothing compared to the 7kW his car is using to defrost.

[@averyalexander2303]

You are correct in theory, but in practice, I don't think that's going to make much difference. A typical car's main heater can produce somewhere around 5-10kW of heat depending on many factors. Heated seats are usually somewhere around 50 watts each, so that's ~100 watts for both front seats. Not sure about a heated steering wheel, but let's say it uses 25 watts- half the power of a heated seat. Now we're up to 125 watts, which isn't much when it comes to heating the air in a cold car. I like the way you think though!

[@jort93z]

Efficiency doesn't matter for heating, it all becomes heat in the end anyway. But yes, compared to the main heater, the difference is probably small. @@arturbieniek6360

[@pvic6959]

yeah i was confused whey he turned it off at 4:09. i assumed the car turned it on on its own for heating purposes lo

[@blackfish95]

I assume you do, but you should mention if you have the heated wiper park function in your car. That really helps get the car ready to go. It came out early 2022.

[@johny1220]

8:00 you can actually add a 5th option if you move it all the way to the right. Also, just because it says the car is at the desired temp, it doesn’t mean that it’s done defrosting, it can’t possibly know if all the snow has melted or not lol. Just keep it running like that for 30/40 minutes depending on how bad it is, especially considering yours gets to stay plugged in. Another tip, keep auto folding mirrors off, Tesla recommends this when leaving your car out like this so you don’t damage the motors when they’re frozen.

[@danielsiffredi8403]

Didn’t know that I could add a 5th icon, thanks for the info.

[@73av8r5]

I was leaving the airport the other day for the parking lot where my car was parked during the DFW ice storm. I hit defrost on the app about 20 minutes before getting to the car….by the time I got there the windows were perfectly clear and the temp inside was about 80 degrees. Pretty damn awesome feature….no scraping required. 👍🏻

[@rekunta]

Yeah, the mirrors are expensive to replace……one BILLION dollars!!

[@teedeekay9720]

@@rekunta hahahahahaha... Thats what it would look like when you hear the bill amt!

my experience with Legacy S (non LED headlights I think) is that I can turn them on (although that requires getting into cabin) and they will if not melt, then at least unfreeze

[@73av8r5]

This is why I put my M3 in the garage. 😜

[@Branman345]

Yeah but they are made to be driven. I hope you don't let it sit in the garage all winter lol. I love the M3 they are great vehicles!! As you already know.

[@73av8r5]

@@Branman345 oh I drive the crap out of it. Pushed my wife out of the garage for the spot. 👍🏻

[@NoobyTheBot]

MeToo 😂

[@vegasr8iders43]

This is why I live in San Diego.

[@AlexLife_47]

This is why petrol is better that battery

[@Zolfried]

dont need to leave it that long, the ice melts from the glass and out.. as soon as theres a thin layer of water between the glass and the ice, everything comes right off if you just wipe over it with a piece of cloth or something that doesnt leave scratch marks. as for the door handle, gently knock around the handle, water gets inside the handle and freezes that entire area in there. but gently knocking around the handle will break all that ice and it opens easily after 4-10 taps around.

[@Epin-Ephrine]

Saw you at 799 and decide you know what why not. CONGRATS ON 800 SUBS!

[@techsteinyt]

Thank you!!

[@Sony2000ize]

Great video, living in Germany and recetly having eaxtly those scenarious is quite intressting to see, how Long it‘s going to take defrosting itself. Lttle FYI from my side, you can have more than 4 shortcut options at a time in the shortcut view buy press and holding your desired icon to the rightes part of the screen and you can add up to 5 Icons :)

[@dathyr1]

For me, the Tesla Model Y will be in my home garage during weather like this. So should not have to worry about the door handles freezing. Just need to precondition the car to get it warmed up ready to go. Thanks for the video.

[@ricarmig]

For all those on snow climates: you DON'T need any defrost modes or scrub the ice!!! Just do the following: - pick up a 5 L bottle, fill up with normal NON HEATED tap water (in the morning it will come at

[@exwhyz33]

Yes, its what I do. Use lukewarm water and wipe away excess with a squeegee just like a window cleaner - has never failed me - screen/windows/handles/camera, the lot.

[@66xXDeathIsNearXx66]

also just wd-40 the door panel where it seals. everyone's too dependent on technology expect this car to do everything lmfao

[@mjsabie8517]

This is aHORRIBLE idea. You put room temperature water on a frozen windshield, you are risking cracking the windshield. Might work with a light freeze but in a true cold weather environment that’s a really bad idea

[@gord6695]

@@mjsabie8517it totally isn’t. you are making it straight up. last 10 years i’ve tipped 5L of hot water from my tap over my van and cars and had no problems. just don’t use boiled kettle water. stop spreading lies when you have not even tried it only read it from comments. try before you lie

[@whothefcukrmutd2008]

A glass bottle isn't the same as a laminated windscreen 🤦‍♂️

[@asdandy148]

Wd40 on door handles helps, but the window itself gets stuck frozen so if you pull the door open sometimes the door won't shut when you get in. The glass hits the rubber and stops door closing , don't force it as glass will break. 😢

[@MrDerekRobinson]

Heat and AC blows through my handles on my 2015 S model. Great for super hot days and freezing days

[@Branman345]

As much as everyone wants to say these cars are the best I will still say I would go with a petrol vehicle especially in the winter time. I don't think it would do good in the winter really do to the extreme cold conditions and the ability it needs to charge. I don't think they are really made for the winter, I follow a guy that is from Canada and the city he lives in is always in the negatives and he literally has to charge all the time the batteries don't hold up as well. Save yourself the headache and just drive a normal car lol until Tesla gets it together. They still have along way to go but they are still an upcoming company and still have a lot to learn. Great content keep up the great work!

[@techsteinyt]

They still have some ways to go, I just tell myself to expect 280-300 miles in summer and 200-250 in winter. And thank you!

[@777jrg]

The thing about 'having to charge all the time' is that you just plug the car at the end of the day and that's all you do really. No bother at all.

[@simeonellinger2064]

​​@@777jrgnot true if you're going a very long distance. Of course you can, and should, charge at home, but getting back could be problematic. I will say, many of the complaints about winter charging are from owners without home charging though, as evidenced by the Teslas stuck in Chicago recently, of which most were rented Uber/lift vehicles that relied 100% on public chargers, which went down.

[@stever7638]

Kinda cool thanks.. but our 2005 Toyota Sienna had a defroster grid at the base of the windshield to defrost under the wipers, I think Subaru does that slso....should be mandatory on all vehicles.

[@3funfarm]

It works better if you have the car precondition before using defrost. Heats up slow storing heat in the battery then blasting interior heat when you hit defrost. Gives more time for things to thaw.

[@meSOOlame]

You lightly press from upper and lower edge of the door, near handle. This is how you free the handle. I think it even reads in the manual. I've never ever had problem with handles this way and I live in Finland.

[@burnoutparadise4793]

😂 try living in norway buddy

[@kaaskrekker2775]

how can you only have 1k subscribers. your video’s are insane!

[@anilkumar1971]

Yes, me thinking the same!!

[@Apemania69]

just smack the door handle. works everytime for me and others^^

[@amaionnaise]

amazing video!!! I definitely agree that those door handles should heat up so they don’t freeze!

[@KineticEV]

Awesome. I have a Model Y as well and have had it about 3 months now. I'm here in Virginia and while we don't always get snow or a lot of snow one of the things I'm doing going forward is keeping up with the weather reports. I bought a Model Y car cover and on those days when it snows I'm just going to cover the car since I too park outside. Even if I have to brush the car cover off first I'm hoping it's going to be easier that having to clean off the car itself.

[@transmath]

I confirm it’s working pretty well on my tesla M3 with -9 degrees. But it just kill your battery you loose at least 5%

[@mattsimon931]

I use these features quite often living in WI-USA. Works great. I was surprised as well at how loud it can get when defrosting. Not sure if this is only the case with newer models with the heat pump vs older cars with the resistive heating.

[@James-cq9dp]

its actually running the motors in the car to generate heat to heat the battery and cabin. its like flooring the accelerator in place

[@maashrurgazi7515]

my 99' bmw has heated key inserts, when you pull on the door handle it activates so the cynlinder starts to heat up so u can stick the key in and turn to unlock, it amazes me how some old technology gets lost over the years

[@techsteinyt]

True, feel like they should have thought this one through better

[@Iqtidar]

You got the video in my latest article. Thx for the info.

[@techsteinyt]

Please note that after posting this video I learned that for the door handles to melt, you would need to leave the defrost mode on for 30 to 45 minutes instead of the 15 minutes that I did. After about 15 minutes the car sends you a notification that the cabin was at the desired temperature. Which made me think it was done defrosting. Hope this helps!

[@mcunha81]

The 3 orange lines ,next to snow flake ,means battery is warming up. I dont use defrost like this, u could easily crack your windshield. U gotta be a bit more forceful with the handles,I usually kinda use my fist near them,and the vibration usually knocks the ice lose.this is gonna be my 3rd winter with the 3

[@tpp4007]

I usually use a dynamite 🧨 to melt the ice on my car 🚘 💥 it works every time.

[@techsteinyt]

I personally prefer grenades, much easier to use

[@fawadafridi3570]

You nubs nothing can be better than a flamethrower

[@yazmat96]

For opening a forzen door you can simply do a gentle punch whit the side of your hand (so not whit the knuckles) on the big part of the handle, it will always work whit me ;)

[@bugjuicer]

8:00 - apparently if you hold the icon there, you can have 5 options

[@bloodstockvip2176]

Remote door open is good. 5 shortcuts are possible on the app. Also, always close the frunk with a hand on either side of the badge, says in the manual but don't know why although some have said it can cause an issue if you don't 👍

[@Cakeytoo]

Congrats on 650 subs

[@techsteinyt]

Thank you!

[@craigbmm4675]

. for head lamps . door handles . Rubbing alcohol! Mix ⅓ water and ⅔ isopropyl or rubbing alcohol together in a spray bottle. Spray the solution directly onto your front and back windshield and watch the ice melt instantly.

[@hayko00105]

congrats on 1k brother, just saw the 999 :)

[@techsteinyt]

Thank you!!!

[@hebytpaul]

Neither I have a tesla nor I am living in a cold country, still watching 😅

[@bripayton3723]

Don't use defrost setting. in the UK there has been lots of cracked windshields from using it. Simply use 16c heat.

[@ČaČaraATL]

Should have parked the gasoline car next to the tesla and Time laps both cars at same time and see which one would Defrost faster:D would be cool to see

[@simeonellinger2064]

I love EVs but I bet the gas car heats faster. It runs on hot explosions.

[@virtualmartijn]

@3:30 - correction: the orange marker is a notification that the battery pack is heating up (not that the car is heating up)

[@bboysfanatic]

Funny, you didn't test the horrible charging range in cold weather🤣

[@andrewcooke3806]

This is all good and well but it’s just a frost, I’d like to see what happens when it’s iced up properly, there’s not any ice on that viechle

[@rauloja]

Tesla could add illuminated and heated door handles. It's not much to ask.

[@juhaphartikainen]

Thanks for tip to open frozen door! :)

[@richardbambenek2601]

Need your phone and an app to operate your car is convenient but could also be an issue if your phone has issues.

[@simeonellinger2064]

Agreed. Or what if your phone is frozen inside your locked car lmao or you drop and break your phone.

[@davidcarlin3850]

3:22 you said I guess the AC is kicking on to melt the ice 😜😜

[@Ashh602]

When your futuristic car wont open because the snow froze the handle shut. Apparently the window will explode too since yhe ice keeps it from moving put of the way of the frame. Very smart design

[@777jrg]

The futuristic car has an app button that unlatches the drivers side door automatically without having to use the handle. Did you even watch the video bro? 😂

[@AlexandruHasegan]

Nice video! With all that great technology and Tesla still not able to create better handle for the doors? I hate them, especially in cold weather.

[@777jrg]

There's a button in the app that you can press and it will unlatch the drivers door.

[@AlexandruHasegan]

@@777jrg, I know but I am not that kind of guy, stranded at the phone all day, I like the normal door handles.

[@simeonellinger2064]

​@@777jrgstill Inconvenient, especially at that price range. And the door isn't easy to open just because it's unlatched. It would be an easy fix and one less point of failure to have pull handles on the door instead of gimmick handles that trade functionality for fashion. Or make it an option.

[@pkerry12]

I don't have this issue simply because I live in Australia and winter never happens. Also Australians put there cars in there garage, not outside.

[@techsteinyt]

It was for science!

[@kathyfann]

Get the Hair dryer and an extension cord and melt the ice off necessary areas to save batteries

[@ryanlohonen4272]

Seems like more of hassle than just doing scraping it yourself

[@simeonellinger2064]

You can activate defrosting from inside your home, much like remote starting any other car. Seems pretty convenient IMO. In this case, he should have let it defrost longer and should have left the heated seats/wheel on. I wouldn't jump into my gas car after only 15 mins but it's old. I'm sure newer gas cars heat up quicker than mine and likely moreso than a Tesla as well due to the nature of burning gas.

[@mihaiobaciu3018]

How about just covering your car with a special cover and just take it off when it snows like that? and the car won't use that much energy to defrost

[@engineeringtheweirdguy2103]

It uses very little energy to do that anyway

[@dmitry7269]

Great video buddy

[@briq4409]

Wow. A car that you can’t get into unless you have cell phone service in freezing conditions. Nice.

[@777jrg]

'unless you have cell phone service in freezing conditions' - cause the weather now affects cell phone service 😂😂😂😂 Tesla hates and their usual bs

[@pvic6959]

4:09 are we sure the car didnt turn up those seat and wheel heaters in order to aid with the defrosting?

[@techsteinyt]

Good to test in my next video

[@Ob1knob]

nICE explanations ! Thank you. I learned the customisation of the app menu ;-) What about the wipers ? Did they stick to the windshield or were they defrosted? But one thing : this is very energy consuming actually 😒

[@techsteinyt]

It is, took like 8% of the charge. Also it did melt the wipers, they were fine.

[@simeonellinger2064]

​@@techsteinytI thought you had it plugged in. Isn't the charge instantly restored? Or did it pull more power to defrost than what was flowing in?

[@Tippyyyy690]

Looks like it works good!

[@JimSpence]

I wish they had a heated windshield like ID.4

[@jimmyfreeman9968]

The great trick is to spray WD-40 inside and around door handles. Never have frozen handles again. 🎉🎉

[@StephanPluemer]

My Ioniq need 1-2 Minutes and the Windows are free, but nice Video ...

[@dragos-lucian]

I wake up, get dressed, scrape the ice off the car, headlights included, get in the car and leave. In 15 minutes I've already reached the town.

[@techsteinyt]

The idea with the defrost mode is that you would schedule it to the time you leave, so when you wake up and get dressed you walk outside and just get in your car and leave. No need to scrape or do anything.

[@dragos-lucian]

@@techsteinyt True. It's like a Webasto heating system which uses fuel to preheat the car and the coolant before you get in the car.

[@techsteinyt]

@@dragos-lucian yep, and usually because you’re home, you would have it plugged in from the day before, so that it wouldn’t lose that much charge

[@miraldinjos]

Or just buy 2.0 TDI

[@nanterre38]

Don’t have wiper defrost? I have it on my model 3 Performance of March 2022. Heating resistances at the bottom of the windscreen should melt ice at this level.

[@mikerilling6515]

😂 now show us a real world example by doing that experiment without the car being plugged in so we can see the actual performance😂

[@777jrg]

I do it on a regular basis. It uses 2 to 3% when the weather is super cold. During normal conditions it doesn't even use 1%. Car is a beast. Hope this helps.

[@JustFrugalMe]

Nice content!

[@techsteinyt]

Thank you!

[@evydaemon]

Glad the glass didn‘t melt. 😂

[@kkent4174]

The fkn battery is just hot man

[@johans7119]

Warm water on the door handles? I don't see any reason why not - just not the glass

[@octavianbaba5269]

Hello. How much range do you lost after a frozen night?

[@DdgeShelby]

How much range is used on the heating option?

[@dian_gaming8683]

why do you have a dashcam on a tesla?

[@walterwhite1]

Why did the AC blasting inside?

[@darkdev99]

Think -1° is cold? In sweden it gets to -29°

[@simeonellinger2064]

I mean, for me, I feel like anything below 10 feels the same. Given, I've been in some subzero temps that hurt to breath but it's all hibernation weather for me lmao Keep warm swede bro.

[@nabilfreeman]

Only a Tesla owner could make a 10 minute video about putting the heating on max in their car to defrost it

[@alexsmith6271]

I have m3P. Cheaply made car. Designed for California and definitely not for Canadian winter. Your video shows that other cars the exact same thing. Even civic

[@markhall7222]

I like to pour room temp water over the windows to melt ice its been working great for the last 50 years with no problems 1 gal. milk jugs LOL = ps it might help the bat. out

[@MrMan-ys2jq]

Bioweapon Defence Mode is crazy

[@mirali7287]

Subscribed !

[@limitlessdev]

Wait how do you have the vent mode us this a 2023 model

[@loganpass]

So how is this different from any other car that's been idling in the driveway for fifteen plus minutes?

[@techsteinyt]

The idea is that you can set a scheduled departure time. So you make set it to a set time every morning for example when you are going to work, and it will make sure that by that time, the car is warm, defrosted and has max efficiency.

[@caturlifelive]

Awesome

[@cachememory]

What about the charging port getting wet?

[@morganjohansson3341]

Dont you need identityplate in the front?

[@alek1004]

what about the roof?

[@AnjoSolitario]

Tesla Model Y is a bunker or a tank ? something like that... why did it have Bioweapon defence mode ??

[@techsteinyt]

lol it’s a big name for a HEPA filter, it filters 99.97% of stuff in the air, tesla likes to go big with the naming for some reason.

[@malaquiasbuble]

Why you guys don't left the car in the garage?

[@kdaltex]

How much range does it make you lose?

[@fabianmorgan9109]

how’s the charger in the cold and outside?

[@RzariRzari]

Why door handles are so complicated in modern cars? It's serves no purpose other than being cumbersome and another point of failure. It also doesn't look great in my opinion

[@rohinkanwal2355]

Pro tip: get a bag of hot water and rug your car door handle…it should work!

[@aidsjah]

it's like no snow at all... The car works in Norway, so i guess it works in America.

[@joshuadelaughter]

What temperature is it though?

[@passattd3288]

why didnt you put the car to the garage

[@nathanielwilson1899]

Can’t beat gas or diesel with remote start. And there is zero lost of range. Let’s face facts EVs have a limit to their usage. Very cold weather is against them. But having said that I can see having one as a second and around town car. Outside of Tesla charging, the videos I see of other charging stations is a nightmare. Ford CEO found out. Quite simply they don’t measure up to ICE cars for extended road trips. Very few people can afford a LUCID which I believe is the best road tripping car. If you own a house with a garage and charger then having a EV can be cost effective. I live in an apartment,even if I bought one as a second car charging would be a hassle. Legacy car companies that go completely EV will not stay in business long. Can you imagine waiting for hours to charge your car to only be able to drive 200+ miles to recharge again. EV will have their place in the automotive world,but they will never completely remove ICE vehicles. And how are you saving the planet when you’re going to have the power to charge them. Solar won’t even come close to it. Anyone with common sense knows you’re going have built more power stations. And only coal or nuclear power will do it. This country is years behind other countries in nuclear power stations,that we developed. This planet is not dying from climate change. Cars are not the problem. The real problem is trying to keep undeveloped countries from achieving what we have and no longer needing us. Look what CHINA has done. They have embraced cheap labor and selling to world. In a matter of about 30 years they have caught up and surpassed many countries in technology. Thousands of miles of roads in these countries and huge factories with no oversight. Foreign companies are buying up AMERICA and you can’t see it. We are slowly being forced to be ruled by a government that has lost its way. We are no longer a democracy for the people and by people. Many of us are embracing communism. So sad. And the communists are becoming capitalist.

[@engineeringtheweirdguy2103]

There are a lot of incorrect statements in here. I appreciate what you’re trying to get at but my golly there are a lot of false facts in here.

[@FLYBOY123456789]

might i suggest using that garage behind the car...just saying...

[@techsteinyt]

This was for the name of Science!

[@gisellehernandez2679]

6:45 ABLE TO WHAT. LOL. 7:30 I NEVER HEARD A PHRASE OF “ FROZEN WAY TO HARD”

[@TeslaFanXRVT]

Teslas are best

[@laurisdemons]

my 1999 wolvagen passat in 15 minutes all front window is clear from ice ,so this is bad

[@engineeringtheweirdguy2103]

And please walk us through that process.