118 comments.

  1. [deleted]

    Tap defrost two time and it turns on a heated version of defrost.

    1. Relaxtakenotes

      I hope this isn't the issue.

      1. ZimFlare

        It so often is in this sub

        1. [deleted]

          why read the manual when what I really want is an excuse to complain online? /s

          edit: jokes aside a lot of car owners, not just tesla owners don't know how their hvac works. even recirculate/vent outside air on the dial is not used. Please google/youtube videos on how defrost and defog functions work for your rear and front windshields.

          1. ragefaze

            Why make a function that you need every day 8 months of the year hidden behind a function that you need to read a manual to find?

            Oh maybe because the Tesla was designed by a bunch of guys in Southern California?

            Heated windshield? Find it yourself. Heated steering wheel? Go fuck yourself.

    2. Aye-Kaye

      I know stuff. I did not know this. Thanks.

      1. [deleted]

        I thought most people knew this..? 🤷‍♂️ glad to have been able to help though!

    3. invoman

      The blue defrost actually uses your set temp; red maxes out heat and fan

    4. dezent

      There is a non heated defrost? Btw i do not have this problem on my model s.

      1. krische

        As I understand, single-tap defrost is basically "auto climate but blow it on the windshield". Double-tap defrost is "max heat on the windshield".

    5. Starch-Wreck

      We tap all the things 2 times now. It’s like living art and Elon getting back at us for the 2 weeks jokes.

      1. constantlyanalyzing

        It’s always been like this. In the old UI defrost turned blue for one tap, red for two taps. Red means heat.

        1. TKK2019

          I thought it was just max defrost like all defrosts with other cars. Regular defrost uses whatever the temp of the car is set at, no?

          1. constantlyanalyzing

            No it blows cool air. The first setting is defog

          2. Impressive_Change593

            TIL

          3. ChunkyThePotato

            That's a myth. The first setting blows warm air, same as the temperature you set your climate to. The second setting blows max temperature air at max speed. Explanation: https://youtu.be/0gff-FG_k9g

            It wouldn't be a defogger if it blew cold air lol. That would just fog up the windshield even more.

          4. constantlyanalyzing

            Good point. It’s “cool” relative to the hottest temperature mode.

      2. callmesaul8889

        “2 weeks” was never a joke… they literally run on a 2 week development cadence called a “sprint”. The internet community turned it into a joke and beat it to death because of a misunderstanding of what was being said.

        1. Positive_Channel3162

          Exactly, in Agile software development, that’s the standard sprint - 2 weeks

          1. discoverwithandy

            Agile only works in tech that isn’t all that “important”. I.e., if it’s tech that can kill someone, it shouldn’t be part of Agile.

          2. asignore

            As someone who works agile in tech, why do you think that?

        2. [deleted]

          No comment text found

      3. goodvibezone

        Tap tap.

        Press and hold.

        Swipe.

        Nope. Still a POS design.

      4. Englishphil31

        Then the UI changes and now we have to tap 4 times

        1. Gold-Tone6290

          And then they down vote you for talking bad about Elon.

    6. Own_Support_3402

      Thank you I had no idea .. no I don't own one yet

    7. thelawtalkingguy

      Oh, totally intuitive.

      1. callmesaul8889

        First car that’s had heated and cooled defoggers?

        1. Pixelplanet5

          most cars operate them in heated/cooled mode automatically.

          even my old Cruze does this automatically depending on the temperature and humidity.

      2. sakucee

        Also nothing new, the defog/defrost operation has been like that over 2 years.

    8. idontliketopick

      Do you know why it's this way? I'm from a cold climate and never used a cold air version of the defroster, always hot air. Is it something useful in warmer climates?

      1. CC_DKP

        Cold (dry) air is faster at defogging the inside of the window. Warm is for wanting to de-ice the outside. Heating air is not very efficient and it takes a lot of energy to heat the glass, when a lot of time what many people really want is to just defog the inside of the window quick.

      2. ExigentCalm

        Yes. When it’s all swamp ass outside and humid af, and the temp is on the warm but not super hot side, you get fog as well. The ac air clears it.

  2. [deleted]

    The windshield defroster distributes air flow to the windshield. Touch once to defog the windshield (the icon turns blue). Touch a second time to defrost the windshield (the icon turns red and the heating and fan operate at maximum levels). Touch a third time to turn off and restore the air distribution, heating, and fan to their previous settings. In cold ambient temperatures, the exterior side mirrors are also heated whenever the windshield defroster is operating.

  3. psaux_grep

    As others say, either use defrost, or manually adjust the temperature, outputs, and fan speed so that you get warm air flowing over your front windshield.

    It’ll consume more power, but it will be usable.

    On long trips I recommend turning on the rear heat as well, stops you from getting a cold draft from the back.

    In V11 this has moved to the “rear” portion of the climate screen. It used to be blower and heaters, now it is front and rear (except you turn on the rear+mirror defroster front the “front” page).

    Tesla tests mostly in California and Alaska. Neither are representative for Nordic climates and salting behavior.

    1. Bargh_Joul

      They should test also in Nordics. Car would be so much better.

      1. Alternative-Split902

        If I’m not mistaken they do test there. Before the model 3 came out there were spy shots taken in Norway or Sweden.

      2. HengaHox

        I live in nordics and the model 3 does great in winter. Even with freezing rain like in the video. Just turn on the windshield defroster like you have to do in any other car and you’re golden

  4. jdogworld

    i actually find the defrost in my M3 to be extremely effective (Chicago)

    1. medevil_hillbillyMF

      BMW?

      1. deuteronpsi

        That joke’s so old the last time I heard it I fell off my dinosaur.

        1. medevil_hillbillyMF

          😂 chill it was a shit joke, although the 'M3' is most notably a BMW performance car.

      2. pkpowerhouse

        Model 3

  5. crisss1205

    Is your defrost on?

  6. Appropriate_Wafer_38

    Blow heat to your window...? How cold are you talking about? We got no issue here with -25c winter in my 2018 RWD.

    1. rjuhela

      Temp was approx -5c (23f) when the video was recorded. HI setting was active. Last winter I had zero issues when driving to Lapland where it was constantly below -25c (-13f). I’ve tried the auto mode, which activates the a/c and the cabin gets really cold. In manual mode it’s a bit warmer but still not warm enough to keep the windshield from fogging. And I must say that it is not blowing too well… I think that in general heating & a/c changed in Aug after a software update, but it is impossible to say for sure. In Finland there’s been a lot of issues with M3 with heatpump. Tesla is trying to solve it with a software update. This makes me think that maybe some ”Cold Weather Update” is the root cause for this issue as well. I’ve service appointment pending since there is still warranty period left.

      1. XJ--0461

        That's not very cold for this to be happening like that.

        It's either:

        User error. You're actually just not using the correct settings.

        Mechanical/software failure. It can't get hot enough.

      2. bjorn1978_2

        Is your airconditioning cooling?? If it is not cooling, the system will not be able to pull humidity from the air. Check if you have water ingress somewhere.

        Both of these will result in a really humid car, and issues with wid ows covered by fog and/or ice.

      3. Appropriate_Wafer_38

        Just use manual mode, I never really liked the auto even in 2018 model... Nowadays I just set it to 18c and set the fan speed at 2, seems to work isn't fine. When I need to defrost, I turn them on manually.

  7. FortunateSonofLibrty

    You’re not using your defroster right.

    Most here will say you need to double tap the defroster to get it to defrost with hot air, but I actually dislike that because it gets WAY too warm.

    Instead, tap the uppermost airflow direction. Leaving it at 3 has kept my windshield totally frost free while driving across WA, ID and Montana in -15F (-26.1C).

    Make sure you’re preconditioning the car for 10~ minutes before you depart too; this makes all the difference in the world. A cold Tesla takes a long time to get chugging, and if the frost is very intense, you’ll waste a lot of battery, time and heartache trying to overcome it.

    1. rjuhela

      Yeah, double tapping used to do the trick but it is not getting as warm as before. I have a cool +5c carage (I’m not heating it too much during the winter) and I’m preconditioning the car before driving. For some reason the a/c is always on eventhough it’s cold in the carage. Thus the cabin gets pretty cold during precond and as soon as I’m on the road a/c is swithed off (due to cold weather -10c and below). Then the fogging & freezing begins… there has to be some hw or sw issue since the car worked like a charm last winter. Much better than my previous BMW or Merc ever did.

  8. tkhelm

    Use winter windshield washer fluid.

    1. [deleted]

      Don't buy that stuff. Just add a bottle of 99% isopropyl that costs $2. The winter mix is just more alcohol content possibly with a bit of methanol.

      1. HengaHox

        Or don’t use premix at all and use concentrate to mix it yourself depending on the conditions

      2. Auticons

        Genuine question, why mixing your own when you can get a can of 1 gallon premixed washer fluid for less than $5?

  9. ProcedureAcademic109

    Also increase your ambient temp. Start the heat before you leave and set to at least 78 degrees. Or fjorpen or whatever you call it there.

    1. dreamcinema

      What’s 78° in Celsius?

      1. koolman2

        25.5. You’re welcome.

        1. ahh_that_guy

          Hey! We speak in murica here! 🤠

      2. ProcedureAcademic109

        The bigger question is, what’s Celsius?

        1. dreamcinema

          Wikipedia says this “Since 1743 the Celsius scale has been based on 0 °C for the freezing point of water and 100 °C for the boiling point of water at 1 atm pressure”

          1. ProcedureAcademic109

            That sounds good let’s try 78°C. Might want to crack a window a little though.

        2. Throwaway_black_not

          Can’t tell if you got downvoted because people missed the obvious joke or they downvote jokes they think aren’t funny.

        3. sphawkhs

          Lol the rest of the planet

      3. needhelpbuyingacar

        What’s google

  10. [deleted]

    Sad how so many ppl don't know about defrost

  11. fireballmalone1

    Mine improves if I am using fresh air and not cabin air.

  12. ProcedureAcademic109

    There’s a button for that.

  13. iamozymandiusking

    Can’t really speak to the freezing issues but if you have fogging the pro tip is to turn on the AC compressor. It removes moisture from the air and it defogs the window very quickly. The heating element heats the air up anyway. Maybe not quite as hot but at least you can see.

  14. Ni987

    Works absolute fine in the Nordics. Drove 3 days with -10 during Christmas - no problems at all. Have you been overruling the heating auto settings? Forgot to pre-heat maybe?

    NB: Seems there have been an software issue with latest update affecting some of the heat pump equipped units. Will be fixed with Update 2021.44.30

  15. liquidmonkey75

    Was told a week or so ago in a tesla service sms that a new update was coming to address heating issues and tonight it came. Will install tomorrow. Am in Sweden. But actually no heating issues for my MY LR yet and its 1 month old.

  16. hrds21198

    Since you mentioned freezing I’m guessing it’s freezing rain, but if the only issue was the fogging then as long as you set the A/C to auto and leave on like 20°C then you should be fine.

  17. opticspipe

    I do a lot of winter driving and this is either user error (running Defog instead of defrost) or something wrong. You should be able to set auto to a comfortable temperature and then only toggle defrosters as needed. I’ve found once it clears, they’re hardly needed again.

  18. WebMaximum9348

    Live in chicago. Drove through a few polar vortex days last year and never had that problem. Just use hot air defrost.

  19. [deleted]

    I get fog a decent amount of the time. Especially if I'm stopped for a while. And when I go to supercharge in the cold, INSTANT SAUNA WINDOWS. Not sure what causes it, but I usually just bump up the temperature in the cabin. Usually have it around 66 and bump it to 68.

  20. [deleted]

    Put rainex or anti fog spray on the inside of the windshield….pro tip 👍🏼

  21. EverUsualSuspect

    Maybe you have the same problem as I had? There was a system fault but it doesn't exactly shout about it. On the Climate screen, there was a small message saying 'Climate keeper is not available due to a system fault'. Resulted in what you have there. Putting on the screen demister works a little but not much. Like you have there.

  22. [deleted]

    EVs don't generate heat like an ICE. The heat pump boosted the efficiency but you still need to enable the heating element for the windshield.

    Also you can add 99% isopropyl alcohol to your wiper fluid as it will help melt the sleet faster than without.

  23. SandmanWithPlan

    The freezing part happens to mine in the wintertime

  24. Spare-Analysis-5733

    Un real that people can’t figure this out 🙄

  25. menormedia

    I've been dealing with that in my S. I hate turning on the defrost because that turns on the AC compressor and it gets chilly in the cabin during the winter

    1. [deleted]

      Tap defrost twice to active a heated version of defrost.

      1. menormedia

        I'm a derp.. 🤦🏾‍♂️

        1. [deleted]

          Easy thing to overlook.

    2. callmesaul8889

      What’s with some peoples’ reluctance to run the A/C compressor? Everyone over 40 in my family vehemently prevents the compressor from turning on in their cars even though the climate would be much more comfortable with it on.

      They’ve stated in the past that they “don’t want to turn on the A/C for hot air”, but that’s not what it’s doing… it’s removing the humidity and creating a drier, more comfortable cabin. That’s like.. exactly what you want if you’re trying to decoy/defrost your windshield.

  26. rdi2

    Use rain x anti fog or a similar chemical. Saves you power and time to defrost it.

  27. Alarratt

    Should have bought FSD

    1. countextreme

      It should go without saying that this comment was made tongue-in-cheek, but for those of you that might think this is actually a thing:

      Do not engage AP or FSD if you cannot see where you are going. You are asking for a disaster, and you will be at fault.

      I really don't want to see a "AUTOPILOT CRASHES DRIVER WITH FOGGED OVER WINDSHIELD - SHOULD TESLA BE CHECKING DEW POINTS?" article, no matter how much Darwin would enjoy it.

    2. JustCause1010

      I guess you’re from Cali or some desert? During winter like OP’s having the sensors are usually blocked by ice; hence AP nor FSD does not work.

  28. BlueZea1ot

    Yeah and Tesla's wiper is not the best one in the industry as well. Would anti frozen windshield washer help?

  29. tttulio

    install a car hair dryer blowing into it

  30. azMayoor

    I do have this sometimes. And i turn on the heated wipers (Atleast i think thats what it is) in climate and it solves the issue

  31. dannyMcDoge

    “Auto” wipers are on full speed the moment light rain drops hit and they don’t turn off till I turn them off. One of my least favorite features. In a 2022*

  32. praguer56

    Mine does this - not to this extreme because I'm in the southeast US - but it frosts and fogs and I've NEVER had a car do this so consistently. EVER! My Volvo xc60 is 11 years old and I've never seen the degree of frost and fog like I do with my MY. Sometimes I think it's the seal around the window.

    1. Falkey777

      You shouldn’t have a problem. Double tap the defrost button it should turn red.

      1. Falkey777

        Also you might need some winter weather windshield washer fluid.

  33. ComprehensiveBread87

    Yes

  34. FunkyTangg

    Designed in California, at its finest.

  35. megesever

    Not Tesla specific, but when I experience this in other vehicles, I usually tap the windshield washer fluid and continue to use wiper blades. Usually that fluid is warmer and will clear the windshield for visibility. You’ll use a lot, but it worked for me, granted I’ve never had it freeze over this bad.

  36. Moldy_Cloud

    Is there a way to use defrost consistently WITHOUT it being set to "HI"?

    1. WrappedRocket

      In the settings you can just set the fan direction to up and manually blow at whatever fan speed and whatever temp, but unfortunately not in auto. That’s what I’ll do to maintain heat on the windshield.

      Sometimes I miss all the heat waste on a gas engine, those had heat everywhere!

    2. [deleted]

      Ideally you melt it off then can turn it off while additional accumulation sublimates as you drive and/or the wipers can function better.

  37. JustCause1010

    Try using windshield washer fluid… if you have rain x on it, then you’ll have a bad day. Use the cheap blue washer fluid.

  38. pillowfightr1

    I’m getting mine in Colorado soon. Can’t wait for this annoyance!!

  39. FreeThoughts22

    Freezing rain is freezing on your window. A little antifreeze in the windshield washer fluid or just double tap the defrost to heat.

  40. trip6480

    that is no good, more heat on the window

  41. Twostock

    No issues with my 6.2L gmc land yacht making heat. Just saying.

  42. Twitfried

    I have a different EV but a similar problem. Turned out my AC drain hose was kinked and retaining all the water. Turning on the Ac did nothing to dry the air and made the problem 10x worse.

  43. lokiintasmania

    Im glad I live in a place that does not get that cold. It would suck to have to deal with that.

  44. justmaillinda

    If it always occurs, it may be an Aircon calibration issue, eg blowing at the windshield. After I sent mine to the service centre for a quick fix, it never recurred.

  45. philosopherrrrr

    Just preheat your Tesla before driving

  46. [deleted]

    I don't know about the buttons but you can also just tell it to defrost.

  47. Bgatesfakeaccount

    Windshield de-icer

    https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rain-X-128-fl-oz-25-F-Degree-De-Icer-Windshield-Washer-Fluid-113655/204177906

  48. FatboyNomNom

    When you have a day or two off.. clean the windshield extremely well and apply some glass ceramic coating. I’m found it to help a lot with maintaining visibility in cold weather.

  49. Las-Vegar

    Put the heat fan on and Also get of the road, i got moist reomvoal poches in my car. 1kg bag

  50. concentr8notincluded

    Next you'll be complaining that your wipers are leaving lines...

  51. [deleted]

    There’s cars renowned for reliability, and then there’s cars known for their prestige. Once in a while, you might get a car that is both- I don’t think a cutting-edge electric car is quite there yet.

  52. EPOSGT3

    UI/HVAC designed by a bunch of cali hipsters who don’t live in the real world and this is the result lol

    Auto climate control in this car is the worst I have experienced. I just leave it in manual and do it myself.

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