Solution for the quarter window draft of cold air!

Supercharged said:

I've solved it.
Lots of owners are complaining of really cold air emanating from the driver's quarter window in the front with a strong draft.
I noticed it too.
The solution is very simple. Put the front blue defroster on and it goes away. Simple as that.
No more cold air, no more draft. How that does it I don't know but it does. Try it, you'll like it!

It really works! Saves a trip to the service shop.

Click to expand...

Funny, I have the same issue with this P85 loaner that I've had for almost a month now. Took it in for service and they said it fell within the acceptable range using some measuring device so there was nothing they can do.

Ever since I left the service center it never happened again. Wondering if the rubber seal was just dirty - not sure what it was but it's fine now. If it ever comes up again I'll give your method a try, thanks for the post!

island said:

said it fell within the acceptable range using some measuring device ...

Click to expand...

"measuring device" : slip of paper, pulled through the gap. Feel resistance? --> it's fine.

Supercharged said:

I've solved it.
Lots of owners are complaining of really cold air emanating from the driver's quarter window in the front with a strong draft.
I noticed it too.
The solution is very simple. Put the front blue defroster on and it goes away. Simple as that.
No more cold air, no more draft. How that does it I don't know but it does. Try it, you'll like it!

It really works! Saves a trip to the service shop.

Click to expand...

Somewhat related, but why is the "low defrost" blue? It seems to blow cold air to me (it gets chilly when using it) but the red defrost eats the battery like candy and you can't leave it on long without cooking. I always thought the blue one was for condensation in the summer and red for winter but I actually looked at the manual (terribly out of date after lots of updates) and it indicated blue is low defrost. Anyone have any ideas on that>?

Supercharged said:

I've solved it.
Lots of owners are complaining of really cold air emanating from the driver's quarter window in the front with a strong draft.
I noticed it too.
The solution is very simple. Put the front blue defroster on and it goes away. Simple as that.
No more cold air, no more draft. How that does it I don't know but it does. Try it, you'll like it!

It really works! Saves a trip to the service shop.

Click to expand...

All this does is pressurize the cabin. i don't consider this a solution as it wastes battery power. Ideally there should be no drafts for minimal heating and longer range. I have tried my own solution but Tesla could do better by providing a better seal preventing air infiltration into the door panels and up from below the quarter window.

tliving said:

Somewhat related, but why is the "low defrost" blue? It seems to blow cold air to me (it gets chilly when using it) but the red defrost eats the battery like candy and you can't leave it on long without cooking. I always thought the blue one was for condensation in the summer and red for winter but I actually looked at the manual (terribly out of date after lots of updates) and it indicated blue is low defrost. Anyone have any ideas on that>?

Click to expand...

The low defrost just uses the a/c to reduce condensation, the red defrost uses heat plus a/c.

jerry33 said:

The low defrost just uses the a/c to reduce condensation, the red defrost uses heat plus a/c.

Click to expand...

Wondering if this is a reason to not have a heat pump on a car. Can't heat and dehumidify with a heat pump (without electric backup of course).

brkaus said:

Wondering if this is a reason to not have a heat pump on a car. Can't heat and dehumidify with a heat pump (without electric backup of course).

Click to expand...

Do you think there is not a heat pump? The early engineering videos showed a heat pump (in addition to other items). I've never heard that it changed (although it could have).

The thing with Tesla is they don't exactly tell you when things change, and if it's not visible... nobody knows.

brkaus said:

Wondering if this is a reason to not have a heat pump on a car. Can't heat and dehumidify with a heat pump (without electric backup of course).

Click to expand...

You can't have only a heat pump, unless you want people to freeze when temperatures drop too low for the pump to work effectively. The Nissan LEAF hybrid heating system uses a heat pump only down to about -5C/23F, a combination of heat pump/resistance heating between -15C/5F and -5C/23F and resistance heating only for lower temperatures. It is true that if you max the defrost, the resistance heating comes on regardless of temp.

If I understand correctly, the Model S also has such a hybrid system. However, when the car is stationary in mild cold the hungry resistance heater takes much more of the load than it does in the LEAF. When the Model S is driving, apparently the heat pump springs to life and consumes less energy than the LEAF's, thanks to being fed the motor's waste heat.

My service center fixed this by taking the rubber gasket seal off the door enough to fit some adhesive rubber tape to effectively thicken the rubber seal, then replaced the gasket seal. It was a significant improvement. They also used this tape to deal with dashboard squeaks. It isn't elegant, I'll grant you that.