Tips for driving in cold weather

[CyberNewbie]

The temperatures have plummeted in the U.K. and I drove last night with an outside temperature of 0 C. Car was fine but I noticed the Forward Collision Assist System indicator light was on, not sure why, disappeared this morning (parked in a garage).

Would be interesting to hear about your experiences of driving in the cold e.g. impact on range, how you manage battery heating (app seems a little flaky), and any tips to maximise range.

I have a GT and will probably switch to AWD (Sports mode) when there is ice and snow on the road.

One issue I encountered last night was the front windscreen was misting. I had the air conditioning on ECO (not sure what this actually means, assume low energy usage?) and air recirculation on Auto with a fan speed of 3. Not experienced misting on previous cars with aircon. On the way home I increased the fan speed to 7 and that seemed to resolve the issue. Anyone else had a good play with the aircon and knows why I might have been getting misting?

 

[Pete G]

Having to turn the fan up high to clear the windscreen may mean the cabin filter is blocked. It will depend on how old the car is and how dirty the air is where it has been driven.
I have read that forward collision and things like adaptive cruise control use the forward facing cameras for feedback. So if the camera is frosted or has rain on it then the system may not work well.
Where we live, the winter temperatures are around 0 to 5 degrees C, our range is usually shown as 20 kilometres lower than in summer when the temperatures are hovering around 20 degrees C.
Our car is a gen 1ZS EV, as far as I know it does not have battery heating settings. At least none that I have seen. It doesn't connect with an app, which I am happy about. I always drive on Eco mode and when the windscreen fogs up, it takes around 30 seconds of heating to clear it. We don't drive with the heater on at all, only use it to clear the windscreen.
pete

 

[CybersterWatcher]

Another UK person here.

The safety systems rely on the cameras. In the wet, ice and dark they are extremely unhappy. Expect to see the lights for those go on and off a lot in the upcoming months, mine are always on.

My windscreen mists a lot. I found cleaning the window helps.

I get roughly 2 miles/kWj on short-medium journeys as the heating takes up a large chunk of the battery.

To maximise battery:
Use just the seat warmers to keep warm, and put the front demister on occasionally to be able to see. Use only comfort mode for driving.

Otherwise, I’m just chalking the car up to only doing 150 miles in the winter and driving it normally and charging more often.

 

[Vader]

I saw a video on youtube by Bjorn Nyland about efficiency in the cold. He tried with, and without the heating as well as roof up or down. I think also, if you use the heated seats it keeps you warm and is much more efficient than the car heater. For reference, here is the link:

 

[CyberNewbie]

Was 2C this morning and I used Battery Heating (from the app) to heat up the battery for 20 minutes for only a 2 mile drive. Car was outside for 1.5 hours and battery still warm enough when I returned (Battery Heating would not enable). I guess when driving in the cold a good idea to manually switch on Intelligent Heating before heading for a fast charge.

Has anyone received a Low Temperature pop up reminder in the car? Does the reminder stay on the screen and does it give you an option to heat the battery?

In response to previous comments (thanks):

• My car is only 4 months old (low mileage) so unlikely a cabin filter issue, suspect more to do with the fan being too low, turning up seemed to resolve but will learn more in coming weeks.
• Yes, the front camera was dirty, and explains why the safety light came on. Surprised there is no warning that the camera needs cleaning. Is this an issue with other cars with cameras, I guess autonomous cars must deal with this issue?

 

[onkeldunkel]

Was 2C this morning and I used Battery Heating (from the app) to heat up the battery for 20 minutes for only a 2 mile drive. Car was outside for 1.5 hours and battery still warm enough when I returned (Battery Heating would not enable). I guess when driving in the cold a good idea to manually switch on Intelligent Heating before heading for a fast charge.

Has anyone received a Low Temperature pop up reminder in the car? Does the reminder stay on the screen and does it give you an option to heat the battery?

In response to previous comments (thanks):

• My car is only 4 months old (low mileage) so unlikely a cabin filter issue, suspect more to do with the fan being too low, turning up seemed to resolve but will learn more in coming weeks.
• Yes, the front camera was dirty, and explains why the safety light came on. Surprised there is no warning that the camera needs cleaning. Is this an issue with other cars with cameras, I guess autonomous cars must deal with this issue?

ECO means that it turns off the A/C, so you only get the old-school fan and not the effect of dry air from using the A/C.

I have huge problems with both my doors (in Denmark, even around 3-4 degree Celsius. They open 5-10 cm's and then stop. From the outside it's ok, because I can press and hold the button and that will force the door to open - however, inside the car, that trick does not work (on either buttons), so I have to manually open the door. So annoying - furthermore, I can only pre-heat 10 mins at a time and if I do it 2-3 times, the car says I'm doing it to frequently and I have to unlock/lock the car with the key and try again.

Any tips/tricks on this?

 

[CybersterWatcher]

Interesting that your external buttons work ok.

Yesterday I came back to the car and the passenger side button didn’t press as it was frozen solid and wasn’t recognised. I had to press really hard and then I thought I’d broken it. I had to use the key in the end to open that door.

 

[GranTurismoEra]

Interesting that your external buttons work ok.

Yesterday I came back to the car and the passenger side button didn’t press as it was frozen solid and wasn’t recognised. I had to press really hard and then I thought I’d broken it. I had to use the key in the end to open that door.

A heating panel under the door button and sensor would be good for next gen. Especially if youve used climate control in the app. Just an idea

 

[CybersterWatcher]

Case in point, I’ve just got back from my usual 100 mile round trip. It’s nearly all motorway at 70mph in comfort mode, with the cabin comfortably heating passengers.

In the summer I normally get 2.7miles/kWh, but now I’m getting 2.2miles/kWh and 10% of the battery is taken up just keeping everyone warm.

At 80% battery I’d probably get around 140 miles until the car died - which is a long way off the official figures.

Just means I need to charge the car to 90% if I’m doing this journey to account for any unexpected issues and to keep my range anxiety in check.