leaving new M3 outdoors (snowy winters in upstate NY)

[si633]

Potential Tesla owner here. I'm seriously thinking about buying a new M3SR. But I live in an area (upstate NY, somewhat near Syracuse and Buffalo) with pretty cold winters, including plenty of snow and ice storms. And I don't have any covered parking available.

If I were to leave the M3 parked outside at all times, how much would extreme temperatures deteriorate the battery? Of course, I would make sure that the battery has enough juice and keep things in good conditions to the extent possible. I don't drive too much, usually a couple times a week. If this will significantly accelerate battery degradation, I would reconsider buying it now, as I will be moving to a slightly warmer region and a place with my own garage in about two years. But also the current discount and incentives are hard to pass up!

I'm also curious whether the new LFP batteries withstand routine exposure to cold temperatures better. Thanks everyone!

 

[smogne41]

The battery should be fine, but there are other considerations.
You don't have covered parking, but can you leave it plugged in at least some of the time, or will you have to use off-site charging?
Another consideration is the door handles and windows are kind of a pain if they have been iced over. The Model 3 has framless windows which have to retract a cm or so when you open the door, if they are frozen over they can't and you may damage the window or the trim. Preheating the cabin will help a lot with that (at least the windows) but that will use a lot of energy and if you can't plug in regularly where you park that could be inconvenient in the winter. The door handles will still be a pain though and will take longer to melt, but you can pop open the doors from the app now at least.

 

[E90alex]

Cold is fine for batteries. It’s heat that degrades them.

LFP can take a long time to warm up so you may have limited power and regen when cold, especially if you don’t drive often and it’s parked unused for days. Also reduced charging speeds and less accessible battery capacity.

If you can plug in (to 240v power) when parked then that’s better. It may be too cold to even get a charge with a 120v plug.

 

[Regaj]

My Model 3 sits outside a shed, uncovered, 125' from my house. I wired a Tesla Wall Charger to the outside of the shed, so am able to keep it plugged in whenever I want.

We get pretty significant temperature swings across the seasons here in the Mid-Atlantic. EV considerations for me include unplugging whenever precipitation is imminent (to minimize water ingress into the charge port); remote triggering Climate Control for 30-45 minutes prior to driving the car whenever it is very cold (to induce pack heating - which may or may not happen, depending upon whether cell temps are below the trigger set point); charging immediately upon returning from a trip during the winter (before the pack cools); and NOT charging when the pack and ambient temps are both cold.

Heat is, indeed, the great enemy of battery longevity. But there's not much we as owners can do to manage that. The car's BMS does a reasonable, but not perfect, job of dealing with heat.

There's no question that having a climate-controlled garage is the ideal for an EV. But potential owners ought not be put off simply because they would have to park outside. It's totally fine.

 

[EatsShoots]

“(upstate NY, somewhat near Syracuse and Buffalo)”

I think we call that place Rochester

 

[doghousePVD]

My car lives outside in Maine. No unusual problems, just scraping snow and ice …