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I’m scared to drive my new Tesla in the winter
- Thread starter Tessa Robin
- Start date
ColoDriver
Member
Forget my suggestion of low regen, your Y is too new. Tesla removed that feature on newer cars (insert rant about California/Texas based companies being clueless about bad weather).
Just get winter tires and it will be great in the snow. I have the Michelin X-Ice tires on my Model 3 and they work well; good grip, seem to wear well, quiet, smooth, no significant range loss. The Michelin Cross Climate works well on a friends 3; wears better, still quiet but not quite as good grip on ice. I've used Nokian Hakkepelitta snow tires on other cars and they are great, but they wear pretty quickly.
Discount tire has been good to work with, have a decent selection and see lots of Teslas.
Just get winter tires and it will be great in the snow. I have the Michelin X-Ice tires on my Model 3 and they work well; good grip, seem to wear well, quiet, smooth, no significant range loss. The Michelin Cross Climate works well on a friends 3; wears better, still quiet but not quite as good grip on ice. I've used Nokian Hakkepelitta snow tires on other cars and they are great, but they wear pretty quickly.
Discount tire has been good to work with, have a decent selection and see lots of Teslas.
Thanks Everyone I’m going tomorrow to pick up my set of wheels and tires. Would have gone today but the snow fell. I’m getting the Tesla set but but for $1300 less than the Tesla shop price. Brand new. I’ll keep my summer tires and just swap each season. Thanks for helping a Tesla newbie.
Sounds good. But I have a minor, very-future-looking suggestion for you:
Come The Day when the summer tires and the winter ones you've got have finally worn away in a few years, reduce your lifetime spend on tires and buy some All Seasons, instead.
I take that back if you live in the Mountains or frequency Really Snowy Places All The Time. But if you're not racing or driving around in a foot of snow all the time, then All Seasons (good ones, like the Michelin Cross Climates, which I've owned) have good mileage, run forever, and have decent traction in the snow.
That’s why I was torn. I considered buying this set (see attached) but thought they didn’t look too different than what I have. Then I found some for performance but they said would fit. They were the Michelin ice but 265 and not 255. The cheapest were these Goodyears shown but being the first experience I want to be safe and not sorry. But selling my summer set and going all season was considered. But I live on the front range and hope to get the roof rack and this will be our vehicle to the mountains. Whole point was to save on gas expense and that drive is where we rack up mileage and expense.
Attachments
Just looked at my 2021 Model Y AWD with 19” tires. They say M +S so All Season. I live in the Seattle area where we only get snow a few times a year unless you go in the mountains so have never had Winter tires. Looked at some YouTube videos and they say to put it in Off-road mode when on snow. What scares me the most here is we have a lot of hills and drivers who have never driven in snow or ice and they block the road or crash into you.
Ha. So, I admit it: I grew up in the early 1960's. Back when men were men, woman were woman, and everybody drove crappy bias ply tires since that was all that was available.
Back in those days of Not Much Climate Change, standard weather in the Boston area involved 8" to 1' snow falls roughly once a week starting (usually) in the last couple of weeks of December and lasting until mid-February.
And, sure and begorrah, on the first major snowfall, Rt. 128 (now I-95), the main beltway, would be full of cars that Would Be Stuck. People would get out of the cars, trudge off the freeway, and wander into residential areas, looking for cocoa and somewhere warm, and the freeways would be impassible for snow plows. Or anything else, since they'd be full of cars. With summer tires on.
After the long, drawn-out debacle of getting all of these abandoned cars off the road, and the road plowed, the next snowfall.. was never a problem. En masse, the driving population of Massachusetts would switch over to snow tires, and that would be that. Until the next winter, when the process was repeated.
It didn't help that all these vehicles were rear wheel drive and front engine, with the exception of the occasional VW Beetle, which was considered as a Wonderful Snow Car, since it at least had the weight over the driving wheels.
The advent of radial tires and the slow advance of all season tires has changed the yearly fun to Not Much these days.
All of the above is why the Good Old Days were actually the Bad Old Days.
For anyone that wants to get into the details of snow tires vs summer vs all seasons and AWD vs RWD vs FWD, can check out this video:
Lol was just about to post that!
Jason Fenske has some good information on his videos. I was a little worried when the obviously sponsored nature of the content took a big ratchet up. But, the CrossClimate 2's have definitely worked out on my Volt for the crazy variable Colorado weather. Will probably put those on the Y once the horrible OEM Continentals wear out a little bit more.
Yes. I own Blizzaks on my Escape and work well but the cross climate 2 on my model S have performed very well so far too.
Get all weather tires. They are 3 peak mountain rated & can be driven all year. I got my wife Cross Climate 2 tires, problem solved.That complicates my decision. I hear winter and I hear all season. With your info I’m sure you know how bipolar CO weather is. So driving above 50 degrees would probably happen a lot. We r had 2 snow storms already this year and have been back in the low 70s in between. I can’t swap tires daily. So stressful to invest more money on the right thing when don’t know what that right thing is. I honestly thought I was getting a vehicle ready to driveI only know off road tires and never had anything like a car before.
@Tessa Robin
This has been my concern about Tesla. It's unstable in Snow and fish tails. Not just snow, when it rains heavily, it feels unsafe. I am sure lot of people in this forum will strongly disagree with me, but this has been my experience. I have a 2020 Y. I drive 180 miles highway a day in Upstate NY where we "get" snow. I have 117007 miles on my Y as of today. I am seriously exploring ICE options to replace my Y.
Disclaimers:
1) I have Michelin Pilot AS 4 for spring/summer/fall.
2) Michelin winter tires - X Ice.
3) I rotate tires every 5000 miles.
4) I replace tires when tread depth reaches 4/10.
5) I set the driving profile to "winter" conditions - regen set to low, acceleration set to chill and steering set to comfort.
I still drive at 65 - 68 miles/hour in winter. If it snows I slow down to 45miles or slower/hour in highway and hold on to the steering wheel for dear life. I get overtaken by almost all cars/trucks.
The problem in my opinion is the "regen braking". I hear several Tesla lovers shouting at me, you don't know how to drive, you need to easy off the pedal and not abruptly, etc. Tell that to yourself when you feel loosing control of the car driving at 45-65 miles/hour in snow with heavy trucks over taking you.
I am torn because I like my Y. But it is NOT safe in winter despite all precautions. I wish Tesla will give an option to remove the regenerative braking option for winter driving. Maybe I should also send my experience to NHTSA.
This has been my concern about Tesla. It's unstable in Snow and fish tails. Not just snow, when it rains heavily, it feels unsafe. I am sure lot of people in this forum will strongly disagree with me, but this has been my experience. I have a 2020 Y. I drive 180 miles highway a day in Upstate NY where we "get" snow. I have 117007 miles on my Y as of today. I am seriously exploring ICE options to replace my Y.
Disclaimers:
1) I have Michelin Pilot AS 4 for spring/summer/fall.
2) Michelin winter tires - X Ice.
3) I rotate tires every 5000 miles.
4) I replace tires when tread depth reaches 4/10.
5) I set the driving profile to "winter" conditions - regen set to low, acceleration set to chill and steering set to comfort.
I still drive at 65 - 68 miles/hour in winter. If it snows I slow down to 45miles or slower/hour in highway and hold on to the steering wheel for dear life. I get overtaken by almost all cars/trucks.
The problem in my opinion is the "regen braking". I hear several Tesla lovers shouting at me, you don't know how to drive, you need to easy off the pedal and not abruptly, etc. Tell that to yourself when you feel loosing control of the car driving at 45-65 miles/hour in snow with heavy trucks over taking you.
I am torn because I like my Y. But it is NOT safe in winter despite all precautions. I wish Tesla will give an option to remove the regenerative braking option for winter driving. Maybe I should also send my experience to NHTSA.
I understand. I have the snow tires on and we still rarely drive it in bad weather conditions. It still feels unstable driving. I think I’ll stick to my 4wd vehicles in bad weather.
BC-LR
Member
Living in BC Canada, we get some snow, not interior Canada snow... typically more slushy and then freezes over night. Our MY 7 seater sucked with tires that came on the MY - beyond the amount of sidewall failures and snow/rain issues - they were total garbage honestly.. I changed to Nokian WRG All Weather 3 mountain peak tires (then sold the original ones, so cost difference was like $200) I got a bit wider tire spec to help avoid curb rash.. these tires were a game changer. No more blowouts, and way way better traction. Just way better handling all around on standard 19" Gemini rims. Also, use the traction control setting "off road mode" it is NEEDED when it's a snow storm. Also roll mode settings help, so you can get rolling on ice (this option may be getting removed in 2024??) Also, setting to "Chill" and steering to "comfort". Lastly, slip start can help when needed. Try all those before getting back into a gas guzzler.. I mean "ICE" car. Also.. If you drive a MY-P model, track mode options can change Regen braking and a host of other options.. so dial it in for winter. I found with 7 seater the weight was loaded in the back, so I'd get pushed into corners on snowy days. So I throw a sand bag in the frunk in winter. Who cares about range, I'd prefer to get the family home and charge with a car that isn't wrecked. Anyway, to make this easier to remember every year, I created a profile for myself and called it Winter. So just click a button and user profile dials it all in. ... Few other winter tricks - wipers in service mode ... Always warm up/defrost before you go... Press the front of the handle to break ice, or use app door open to get inside... Tesla build smart cars, don't just go back to ICE cars, learn the settings, adjust your habits and enjoy your heated seats while driving safely. Typically, the worst thing on the roads are the other drivers! People who aren't winter ready drivers, or people who don't know there car and drive like maniacs. I spend most my time watching mirrors to avoid getting hit... Good luck.
gx9901
Active Member
That's weird that you've driven 100k+ miles and still have issues with winter driving in the MY. I got a set of X-Ice Snows on 19" wheels and have gone through two full Minnesota winters with them (the third winter, this year, featured almost zero snow) in my 2021 MYP. While I wouldn't say it's the greatest beast on snow or anything, it's been at least as stable as other cars I've driven in the winter, and I've had no issues with modulating regen braking in snow conditions. I have S3XY buttons that can disable regen completely in my car, and I've never actually used the feature because I prefer using regen braking even in snowy conditions now.
Anyway, not doubting your issues with the car, but my experience have been pretty different.
turn regen off, or run minimized
In snowy or icy conditions, Tesla recommends using the Low setting for regenerative braking to help maintain vehicle stability.
all season or winter tires
Tesla has a whole page of advice
In snowy or icy conditions, Tesla recommends using the Low setting for regenerative braking to help maintain vehicle stability.
all season or winter tires
Tesla has a whole page of advice
Model 3 Owner's Manual | Tesla
Understand various things you can do to ensure optimal performance in cold weather.
www.tesla.com
Those people shouting are right whether or not you will accept that. You wouldn't heavily brake when you slide in any other car, so why would you suddenly hard regen brake in your Tesla? Now you want to complain to the government... because you are braking too hard.
You can learn to let off regen less or get another car. It's not Tesla's fault that you're making the vehicle slide by braking too hard. Regen braking when used correctly is perfectly safe in snow and does not cause a loss of control. It's actually safer than friction brakes. It's also a lot smoother, but people who don't use it correctly complain that it's too rough... even though they are the ones making it feel that way. If it's not smooth or causing loss of traction, you're doing it wrong.
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