[theluketaylor]

How many other cars do you know that turn their A/C on while stationary for ‘cabin overheat protection’? My 2021 model 3 did that this week while sitting in the sun in northern Ontario and was helpful enough to send a push notification to let me know.

This is not to helpfully make sure the driver gets into a nice cool car when they finish their errand. It’s because the non-automotive grade screen isn’t rated or tested above 40C and were failing in heat. Rather than upgrade the part and do a recall Tesla opted to just use battery to keep the cabin below 40-45C.

I love EVs, but that’s some pretty dodgy behaviour.

[dreamcompiler]

I take your point but to me this seems like a feature rather than a bug. Many of the plastic parts in most cars (not just Teslas) are degraded by oxidation in the greenhouse heat of the car being parked in the sun for a long time. Some of that oxidation is caused by UV, but to the extent that it's caused by heat, keeping the interior of the car somewhat cooler should prolong the life of its interior plastics.

This is not really an option in an ICE car because it would require running the engine. In an EV, it's easy.

[theluketaylor]

vinyl and plastic degradation is a many years-long process before it has any real impact on the performance of the parts. Failure or yellowing of the non-automotive grade screen in a model 3 has been seen in just a few weeks or months.