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Model S Temperature Limits

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wayner

Active Member
Oct 29, 2014
4,294
1,787
Toronto
This is copied verbatim from the Tesla Model S Owner's Manual:

Temperature Limits
Do not expose Model S to ambient temperatures above 140° F (60° C) or below -22° F (-30° C) for more than 24 hours at a time.
Doesn't that preclude most Canadians without a garage from owning a Tesla?

Here in Toronto it gets that cold for 24 hours, but I would think that this is a regular occurrence for Montreal, Quebec City, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, etc. And I wouldn't be surprised if last winter in Toronto we had a day like this.
 
This is copied verbatim from the Tesla Model S Owner's Manual:

Doesn't that preclude most Canadians without a garage from owning a Tesla?

Here in Toronto it gets that cold for 24 hours, but I would think that this is a regular occurrence for Montreal, Quebec City, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, etc. And I wouldn't be surprised if last winter in Toronto we had a day like this.
I don't think this applies when the car is plugged in or when you preheat or actually drive it.
 
This is copied verbatim from the Tesla Model S Owner's Manual:

Doesn't that preclude most Canadians without a garage from owning a Tesla?

Here in Toronto it gets that cold for 24 hours, but I would think that this is a regular occurrence for Montreal, Quebec City, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, etc. And I wouldn't be surprised if last winter in Toronto we had a day like this.

You must be thinking of windchill, which doesn't count.

The record low for Toronto is -20 C--happened in 2004, so Toronto has never had 24 hours of -30 C.
The record low for Montreal is -25 C--happened in 2004.
The record low for Ottawa is -27 C--happened in 2004.
The record low for Winnipeg is -31 C--happened in 1999. So it's not likely it was below -30 for 24 hours, although it could have been.
The record low for Grande Prairie, Alberta is -38 C--happened in 1998. So here is one place that you'd need to garage the car.
 
Bear in mind that all those measurements are for the town's airport. I've seen substantially colder conditions outside of town. I've seen a solid -40C at Montebello. I've seen -35C half an hour south of Ottawa.

(We had -27 in Ottawa a few days ago.)
 
Bear in mind that all those measurements are for the town's airport. I've seen substantially colder conditions outside of town. I've seen a solid -40C at Montebello. I've seen -35C half an hour south of Ottawa.

(We had -27 in Ottawa a few days ago.)

True. Outside of town always makes a difference of 3-5 degrees. Sometimes more.
 
You must be thinking of windchill, which doesn't count.

The record low for Toronto is -20 C--happened in 2004, so Toronto has never had 24 hours of -30 C.
The record low for Montreal is -25 C--happened in 2004.
The record low for Ottawa is -27 C--happened in 2004.
The record low for Winnipeg is -31 C--happened in 1999. So it's not likely it was below -30 for 24 hours, although it could have been.
The record low for Grande Prairie, Alberta is -38 C--happened in 1998. So here is one place that you'd need to garage the car.
I know windchill doesn't count but the data that you are presenting must be for the lowest daily maximum because on Feb 12, 2014 Toronto hit a low of -21.4 - but the high that day was -7. The same day Ottawa hit -24.9. But you are right that the daily highs are much above that so I guess I was wrong - the -20 doesn't stick around for a full 24 hours.
 
I know windchill doesn't count but the data that you are presenting must be for the lowest daily maximum because on Feb 12, 2014 Toronto hit a low of -21.4 - but the high that day was -7. The same day Ottawa hit -24.9. But you are right that the daily highs are much above that so I guess I was wrong - the -20 doesn't stick around for a full 24 hours.

I searched for the record low of the day. Grande Prairie was included because although most people don't recognize it, it gets some very cold temperatures. (Been there many times in winter.)
 
The Smart ED manual has a similar warning to that listed up thread for the Tesla Model S.

I encountered an interesting battery protection nuance of the Smart ED on one particularly cold day last winter.
Ref:
Smart Electric Drive: Crazy cold and the battery heater

The car required a few minutes of battery pre-conditioning before I could select the "D" for drive on my gear selector.

Contrast that to the Tesla, where the battery conditioning can be happening even when the car is not plugged in and/or not running. The reliability of Tesla in Norway would suggest there are no cold weather show-stoppers on this car, or they would have been encountered already.
 
You must be thinking of windchill, which doesn't count.

The record low for Toronto is -20 C--happened in 2004, so Toronto has never had 24 hours of -30 C.
The record low for Montreal is -25 C--happened in 2004.
The record low for Ottawa is -27 C--happened in 2004.
The record low for Winnipeg is -31 C--happened in 1999. So it's not likely it was below -30 for 24 hours, although it could have been.
The record low for Grande Prairie, Alberta is -38 C--happened in 1998. So here is one place that you'd need to garage the car.

Hi jerry33. I've lived in Toronto and Ottawa. Your figures are definitely wrong. What is your source?

Here, for example, is what the Government of Canada says, via Canadian Climate Normals

Toronto (Buttonville) -35.2 1994/01/16
Montreal (Mirabel) -37.0 1981/01/04
Ottawa (CDA) -38.9 1933/12/29 (but I assure you it's been below -30 plenty since then!)
Winnipeg -45.0 1966/02/18 (holy heck!)
Grande Prairie -52.2 1950/01/02 (holy double heck!)

I looked for locations which had minimums which were relatively recent, rather than reporting locations such as Toronto downtown where the minimum is from the 1800s. :)

If that doesn't convince you, how about Climate

Winnipeg has had 2 days so far this year with minimums below -30 (-31.5 on Jan 3 and -34.3 on Jan 4). There was only one day in December, though (-30.9 on Dec 28).

My conclusion is that it is rarely an issue, but it definitely DOES get below -30 C frequently enough in much of Canada for that phrase in the manual to be a concern.


UPDATE: I just noticed that your original data does not go back more than 20 years. Which is perhaps more relevant than all-time lows, as recent temperatures are definitely higher and the odds of new extreme lows being hit in future decrease.
 
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To be fair I think the number Jerry posted are the lowest maximum for a day, not the lowest minimums. That is probably the right stat if you want to know temperatures sustained over 24 hours. So yes, it goes below -20 in Toronto on a fairly regular basis. But it never stays there for 24 consecutive hours. Last Feb 12 it went to -21 in Toronto but the high that day was -7 so a car sitting outside would not have been exposed to -20 for a full day.
 
To be fair I think the number Jerry posted are the lowest maximum for a day, not the lowest minimums. That is probably the right stat if you want to know temperatures sustained over 24 hours. So yes, it goes below -20 in Toronto on a fairly regular basis. But it never stays there for 24 consecutive hours. Last Feb 12 it went to -21 in Toronto but the high that day was -7 so a car sitting outside would not have been exposed to -20 for a full day.

Excellent point. I sit corrected! That is, with regard to the original statement of 24 hours below -30. Jerry's original post stated that those were the lows, however, not the lowest maximums.
 
I went to wunderground.com, entered a city. There is a "History & Almanac" section (It's just a title until you expand it). And took the numbers from the Min Temperature column. My assumption was that Max Temps were the daily highs and Min Temps were the daily lows.

story & Almanacico_up.gif
Max Temperature:Min Temperature:
Normal (KADS)11 °C3 °C
Record (KADS)22 °C (2005)-6 °C (1997)
Yesterday 5.1 °C-0.9 °C