Posted on 12/29/2022 6:22:51 AM PST by Red Badger
The story of an electric car charging problem in the dead of winter experienced by a Virginia radio show host went viral this week, once again highlighting the major issues with owning an EV.
Domenick Nati, who hosts a radio show focused on celebrities and movie stars, took to his social media accounts on Christmas Eve to voice his frustration that his Tesla was refusing to take a charge during the frigid winter weather that fell across the country last week, showing more limitations for EVs.
The problem forced him to cancel all his Christmas plans. But it could have been much worse.
The 44-year-old host posted his video showing that his Tesla Model S would not begin charging even when plugged into a supercharger station.
With temperatures hitting below 20 degrees, Nati told his fans that he first tried to charge the car with his home charger, but when that didn’t work he drove over to a supercharge station. And still no luck.
Sure enough, when Nati plugged the car into the supercharger station, he got a message that said that the battery could not charge until it was warmed up by the charging station. But two hours later, he was still getting the same “Battery is heating — keep charge cable inserted” message.
“I have no other vehicle, so I decided to see if it just needed more time. Hours went by, and with only 19 miles left to empty, I chose to leave the car plugged in and get a ride back to my house,” Nati said according to the Washington Examiner.
He went several days with the problem and also could not get any Tesla service personnel on the phone during the time to help him. Ultimately, he had to cancel all his holiday plans because he had no way to travel.
“Since I posted the video, a lot of people have mentioned having the same issue,” Nati told FOX Business Network on Sunday.
“Some fellow Tesla owners have even messaged me to see if I have found a solution,” Nati added. “Unfortunately, my answer is no.”
It is well known that electric vehicles have problems charging in cold weather and that driving distances are also severely cut down due to the cold. That is why most EVs have battery-warming devices to allow charging in frigid weather.
And, as Electrek noted, it appears that Nati had a particular problem with his car that is not normal operating conditions.
But even if that is the case — that Nati’s car was malfunctioning and there was not a problem with charging merely because it was cold out — the fact that he could not get any service was also a major problem.
The Virginia radio host is not the only one to experience problems related to the frigid weather and how it impacts their Teslas. Another Tesla owner recently posted a video showing that his car charging port and doors could not be opened because they were frozen shut.
With regular, gas-powered cars, there are multiple ways to get help, even over a holiday. But EVs are still new enough that few local shops can service them. And if an EV owner can’t get phone support in an emergency, that is a serious problem.
Nati could have been facing life-threatening conditions in that frigid weather as he sat stranded at a charging station. After all, over the same few days, a driver was found dead from exposure to the elements as she sat stranded in her car in Buffalo, New York. And dozens more have died across the country due to this brutal cold snap.
Any kind of vehicle can have problems in our freezing winters, granted. But EVs have several endemic challenges that need to be addressed, if not by the technology, then at least by the services manufacturers and dealerships offer car owners.
It could be software, but I would hope that they would have it written that, even if the battery is failing to get warmer after a specified period of time, that it would attempt to charge anyway.
I am assuming that “heating the battery” is in there so that it will simply charge faster, not that it won’t charge at all.
Leaving someone stranded because that sensor is bad, dang. That Tesla programmer would likely need a bodyguard if that happened to certain people!
“ EV’s have the same problems that they had 100 years ago. The only difference is the EV’s are wrapped in better looking shells.”
Yep. The EV vs ICE argument was settled in the early 1920’s. Now we are going to get lectured by the EV shills telling us that we are science deniers or something.
“He probably lives in an apartment complex with no garage.”
Wanna bet if he had a garage there, the terms and conditions prohibit EV’s from being in there for fire risk.
That is a Calif plate. (Obstructed)
Where they are trying to ban/restrict such generators.
And those gas cans do not have the approved vapor spouts.
Love it.
Electrics by Lucas, THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS.
What brings the battery temp down real fast is the airflow under the car when the owner is driving to a supercharger location.
Pre-cooled from my view.
LOL, so many ways to lose.
I love the concept of electric cars, not the implementation, and...that doesn’t look like it is going to change soon.
>> I am assuming that “heating the battery” is in there so that it will simply charge faster, not that it won’t charge at all.
Apparently later Model 3’s have Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) battery chemistry.
If you charge an LiFePO4 battery below freezing, it’ll permanently damage the battery. Therefore the battery management system on LiFePO4 batteries typically disallow charging below freezing.
The obvious remedy for an “all weather” solution is to install a heater in the battery (which of course takes power to operate, but that’s a subject for another time).
I imagine the heaters and battery temperature sensors are distributed throughout the vehicle just like I understand the battery cells themselves are. That’s potentially a LOT of heaters and sensors that must work correctly before the BMS will allow the battery to charge.
LiFePO4 batteries have a lot of advantages over other chemistries — for one thing, they’re inherently safer — but inability to charge at low temperature is one of the drawbacks.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a38414682/tesla-new-cheaper-battery/
They do have battery heaters, thermal management is a key requirement. I think this is the problem here - the temps were so cold that the capability of the heater, it’s operating range, wasn’t effective enough.
Well, you can charge it, but at low temps, it's at such a low rate, it could take days..
At a certain temperature, if you try to charge a lithium battery, it causes lithium to be deposited around one of the poles of the battery. This causes a permanent loss in the battery's charge holding capacity.
This lithium can also form what are called dendrites. These are basically sharp, needle like spikes.
Most importantly, over time, these dendrites can continue to grow and cause internal short circuits in the battery......
Short circuit = lot of heat = fire and big boom.
That's why the charger is trying to warm up the battery to a temperature where it can charge the battery at a high rate.
Last I heard, The judge has ordered a DNA test.
Are the results in?......................
Many of us will remember the curse in cold weather of driving with extreme cold air and blowing snow under the vehicle, freezing the gas lines. Solution being the anti-freeze in the gas, dry gas.
That same air under the car, is now crippling the EVs.
Logic should read ..
Drain battery by powering battery heater until battery temp reaches safe charging temp. But a quick drive to a supercharger can undo that temp REAL FAST.
Draining a Lithium battery below 32F does not appear to damage it, only charging it below 32F
Yup
>> Draining a Lithium battery below 32F does not appear to damage it, only charging it below 32F
That’s my understanding as well, at least for LiFePO4 chemistry.
Managing all weather battery availability algorithmically in an EV is an exercise in tradeoffs and proper assumptions. Sooner or later “stuff gonna happen” that the algorithm fails to handle properly.
I bought it used. I think it was a ‘64.
I had watched the TR 4’s dominate the SCCA track at Danville. Corvettes had a hard time beating them mostly because they couldn’t handle the curves at any speed
I got married and graduated and to my amazement had to have two cars. My new wife insisted the VW was her’s. It was black with black leather with red trim. I got shipped overseas and had to sell it.
Liberals are clueless. Nothing works well in extreme frigid weather. Even gasoline fueled cars have to be treated with TLC in extreme cold weather. Can’t tell you how many times when it got super cold in Chicago I went out to start the car to keep the fluids fluid. It’s science Morons.
Y’all have created the antidote to Tesla Gator’s obnoxious burning-car photo dumps! Thanks! :-)
Yup, anti-musk articles abounding.
I wish Tesla well, but I’ll stick to ICE.
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