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.
Owning an EV is a lot like being a Dallas Cowboys fan.
Maybe the industry will make a better battery and maybe the Cowboys will make it to the Superbowl this year.............
We now own a BMW Z4.
It’s no better than the FIAT we had 30 years ago...............
While we’ve been saying this for years, I do find it interesting how many of these stories are not hitting the airwaves since Elon has strayed from the left.
If only he had brought his solar panels from home and could burn them to warm up the battery.
Meanwhile democrats are criminalizing gas-powered vehicles. Meanwhile there aren’t anywhere near enough charging stations nor charging capacity for all the EVs that will replace the gas-powered cars.
Heading for disaster. (But not the ruling elite. They will have fuel and working cars, while they make rules for the common herd.)
Expensive book end
I had a TR-4. At the time it was the constant class winner in SCCA races.
It offered me no problems
Go EV and you give up a lot of freedom ,LOL
Brilliant!
A Rolling power Pod.
Someone is Making Money !
It’s not a design flaw. It’s called physics
So, rent a car. That is an option.
"You're f____!"
After I start it, I can travel with my gas car without a battery.
Can’t drive an EV without a battery.
Just like thousands of others all at the same time. Worse, the rental car company would likely offer you another battery powered vehicle that no one else wanted to rent.
I expect to see suspicious car fires after such events.
The more EVs sold the more we’ll see EV RAGE
It’s a design flaw when there is no heater for the batteries which turns on when they are charging in cold weather, and keeps them warm enough to change, and thermal insulation which would allow the batteries to stay warm when driving (batteries do give off some heat when discharging (from internal resistance) which could keep them warm while driving)
There was a Freeper a few weeks ago who posted that Batteries can’t charge below freezing, etc, and I didn’t call him out on it (I have decided some time back I can’t police for disinforation everywhere all the time) but to be fair-it isn’t true that batteries like these cannot charge when they are below freezing.
What seems to be true is the Tesla software that handles charging seems to be poorly written, and at least in the case of the famous video mentioned, appears to not work when the battery is below freezing or something like that.
I bet there is a problem in the software or some sensor in his vehicle where it won’t begin charging until the charger heats up the battery in some way, and the sensor isn’t giving input that it can start charging.
Bottom line, it isn’t a physical property of LION batteries that they won’t charge below freezing, I have no doubt they will charge, except slower, and less efficiently at that temperature.
This is just a guess on my part as to the cause. I think a lot of people saw that and said “See! Proof batteries won’t charge below freezing!”
There are enough reasons to dislike EVs in their current iteration, but we should stick to the facts.
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