On Sunday night about 11 PM, I checked my Tesla phone app to see how much charge my car had, because I had forgotten to plug it in when I came home. The screen did show my car was unplugged but I decided the 59% was plenty for what I had to do the next day. I live in a condo and the car is parked some distance away – so it was rather inconvenient to go out and plug it in.
While I was looking at the phone, I happened to notice that the interior temperature was shown under the “CLIMATE” heading, which surprised me. So far as I recall from having this car 3+ years, the temperature shows up only if the Climate control is turned on. The climate control was off. The screen showed 32F. Almost immediately, it dropped to 31F, and then over the next five minutes or so, the indicated temperature rose steadily, from 31F to 39F. Why would this happen? Normally, the indicated temperature would only rise quickly if the HVAC fan were on – the circulating air brings air to the temp sensor. But the climate control was off. Since the car was unplugged there would most likely have been no battery heating to cause any change in car temperature. Plus, the car was not that cold to begin with. After another 5 minutes or so, the temperature rose again by one more degree, to 40F, where it stayed as I drafted this note.
By the way, the outside air temperature was 30F at 11 PM. I have a remote thermometer on my charging post adjacent to the car. So, the starting temperature of 31-32F I observed would make sense.
During the night, I checked my phone about 4 AM and observed the same behavior. At first glance, the interior temperature was not shown. Then after a minute or less, the temperature appeared (28 or 29), and then began to rise, just as before. When I got up about 6 AM, the temperature (29F) was already shown when I turned the phone on – had the fan stayed on for the past two hours?
But at 9 AM when I turned on the phone, the app did not show the interior temperature, even after several minutes. The outside temperature was 30F at this point.
What phenomenon was I seeing? Why should the car get warmer as I watched the phone app? I could understand it if the HVAC were on, or if it were a hot summer day and if I had cabin overheat protection on. But neither was the case. What is causing the interior temp to be displayed, and to vary? Is the fan on for some reason?
I have had no recent software updates. I am on 2018.48.12.1 in the car. The app is version 3.8.1
While I was looking at the phone, I happened to notice that the interior temperature was shown under the “CLIMATE” heading, which surprised me. So far as I recall from having this car 3+ years, the temperature shows up only if the Climate control is turned on. The climate control was off. The screen showed 32F. Almost immediately, it dropped to 31F, and then over the next five minutes or so, the indicated temperature rose steadily, from 31F to 39F. Why would this happen? Normally, the indicated temperature would only rise quickly if the HVAC fan were on – the circulating air brings air to the temp sensor. But the climate control was off. Since the car was unplugged there would most likely have been no battery heating to cause any change in car temperature. Plus, the car was not that cold to begin with. After another 5 minutes or so, the temperature rose again by one more degree, to 40F, where it stayed as I drafted this note.
By the way, the outside air temperature was 30F at 11 PM. I have a remote thermometer on my charging post adjacent to the car. So, the starting temperature of 31-32F I observed would make sense.
During the night, I checked my phone about 4 AM and observed the same behavior. At first glance, the interior temperature was not shown. Then after a minute or less, the temperature appeared (28 or 29), and then began to rise, just as before. When I got up about 6 AM, the temperature (29F) was already shown when I turned the phone on – had the fan stayed on for the past two hours?
But at 9 AM when I turned on the phone, the app did not show the interior temperature, even after several minutes. The outside temperature was 30F at this point.
What phenomenon was I seeing? Why should the car get warmer as I watched the phone app? I could understand it if the HVAC were on, or if it were a hot summer day and if I had cabin overheat protection on. But neither was the case. What is causing the interior temp to be displayed, and to vary? Is the fan on for some reason?
I have had no recent software updates. I am on 2018.48.12.1 in the car. The app is version 3.8.1