...sad thing is that people gladly pay for it...

In moderate climates, heating is just a matter of comfort. In all other places where temperatures go well below 0ºC (32ºF), that feature means life or death. Many Tesla owners are complaining about the lack of heating with Model Y and Model 3 units. We spoke to two of them. The first was Mark, who prefers not to reveal his full name.

Tesla Owners Complain About Life-Threatening Heating Issues With Their EVs

This Tesla customer lives in Saskatchewan, Canada, but he picked up his Model Y in Calgary because his home state did not have a Tesla delivery location at the time. Trusting the EV maker’s promise that the Model Y would be the best Tesla ever in cold climates, Mark just enjoyed his electric crossover until winter said "hi."

“January 2021 came, and we had no heat in our cabin unless plugged in or standing still. The car was first towed mid-February to Saskatoon literally days after the opening of that location. After a four-week stay in the service center, we got our car back, having had a major rebuild of the heat pump system, replacing a part called the Super Manifold.”

The Super Manifold is one of the components that Sandy Munro was most impressed with when he and his team tore down a Model Y – that and the Octovalve. Both are part of the heat pump system that made the electric crossover more efficient. It seems nobody asked if it would also be more effective. In Mark’s case, it was not.

“The car seemed fixed, but the worst of winter was over by mid-March. To Tesla's credit, they paid for the tow from Estevan to Saskatoon and a rental for the entire time. However, Tesla does expect you to retrieve the vehicle at your own expense.”


When the weather got cold again, Mark had to schedule the regular maintenance and learned about the “need to replace the sensors in the heating system as part of a service bulletin.” This issue is reported by other Tesla owners on Twitter.

“This work was performed in the third week of December as the earliest I could travel the 450 kilometers (279.6 miles) to my service center. Everything seemed great for the first few days while we traveled for our Christmas holiday.”

Things got dangerous when Mark and his family tried to get back home.

“Driving between Moose Jaw and Regina at -30ºC (-22ºF), we experienced no heat in our cabin. I thought if we could make it to Regina – where the only tow company certified for Tesla is – so we'd call Roadside Assistance and get help again.”

Luckily, Mark and his family made it there, but the description of what they went through makes the word “luckily” gain a broader meaning.

“It was a very, very cold drive that only was made possible using hand and foot warmers and blankets. My family was in the car and my youngest – 9 years old – started to complain of stabbing pains in her feet. It was a horrible experience and one I have vowed never to replicate. The car was towed the next day (December 27) from where it was parked in Regina.”


The car was with the Saskatoon Tesla Service Center from December 31 until January 6. Mark lives far from it, so he asked a relative to pick up his car and drive it halfway to a family member’s house. The fact that this relative got there without issues made Mark confident: the Model Y owner thought it was finally and definitely fixed.

“Before my relative got the car back, it was cold-soaked overnight, unplugged at -30ºC. The technician heated it up fine the next morning. After he tested it, they pulled it inside the shop to charge for the trip home.”

Mark was informed that the Super Manifold was replaced for a second time, as well as the expansion valves and AC lines. A front louver was also fixed.

“I could not make it to pick up the car immediately due to a blizzard, so the car sat at the family member’s house plugged in outside for two nights on 110V, which was all that was available. On January 9, I drove my rental to go get my car after the storm cleared. We set the car to precondition and tried to follow all the recommendations sent out by Tesla.”

Mark’s happiness did not last for long.

“Five minutes before returning the rental car, my family member called me and said the 'no cabin heat' warning returned. My heart sunk. Luckily, I still had the rental, so we all met back at the house. I called roadside assistance once again to schedule another tow."


When we interviewed Mark, he was waiting for the tow truck and wishing Canada had a lemon law.

“I was informed late today the car will be getting another rebuild of the heat pump system. I have been informed even engineers have been working to figure out what is wrong with it. If that doesn't qualify it as a lemon, I don't know what does. All totaled, our Model Y has been in service now for 39 days and counting. Understandably, I am pretty much finished with this particular car.”

From being an EV advocate, the experience with the Model Y made Mark consider going back to ICE vehicles.

“I am no engineer or expert, but in my limited experience, it is my belief these cars have fundamental design flaws in terms of extremely cold climates. At a minimum, a backup resistive heating system should be included in cold-climate-destined cars to prevent the sort of life-threatening situations my family and I found ourselves in. Most traditional cars come with a ‘cold-climate package.’”

Mark is part of a big EV organization in Saskatchewan, and he knows more Tesla customers are having problems with the heat pump.

“Roughly a third to half of the people with Teslas containing heat pumps are experiencing some sort of issues ranging from minor to extreme like mine. Tesla should be issuing a public recall on this. Elon has been silent on the issue.”


One of these owners is Tyler Selvig. He bought his brand-new 2022 Tesla Model Y in November 2021 and took it from Saskatoon to Regina for the Christmas holidays without issues. On his way back and with his two kids – both under 3 years old – in the EV, he started the trip back on December 29. After 45 minutes, the heating systems stopped working.

Lucky was also on Selvig’s side. His father-in-law was following behind him with a truck. The Tesla owner put his son and his daughter inside the truck to keep them warm and called Tesla Service. He was warned that it was a widespread problem, which did not make him feel less frustrated. It was -40ºC (-40ºF).

In a tweet tagging Elon Musk and Tesla, Selvig said that the issue could have killed his family. He argued that if this is a known issue, Tesla should have warned him so that he did not put his family at risk.

“The car was in service at the Saskatoon dealer, and they were waiting for parts until the engineers at Tesla HQ told them to replace the Super Manifold. I got the car back, and it seems to be working great.”

Selvig did not hear about a technical service bulletin on the issue – as Mark did – but he added essential pieces to the puzzle. Apparently, the problems started after an OTA (over-the-air) update took place a while after his trip to Regina. This is why it would have only occurred on his way back home.

“The technicians here told me they hope there is a future fix to avoid this with software updates. It sounds like the intake valves/louvers for the heat pump can get frozen open and then potentially cause the valves in the Octovalve to fail.”


The problem is international. Lauri Orrainen, from Finland, tweeted that his Tesla Model 3 is still at a Service Center after three weeks with heat pump problems. The lack of chrome suggests it is part of the refreshed vehicles presented after October 2020, and the lack of badges implies it is a Standard Range Plus. In other words, Orrainen's car may have been made in China. We have tried to contact him to confirm the information but have not heard from him so far.

If you have had issues in cold weather with your Tesla, please get in touch to tell us more about what happened. So far, it seems that Tesla released a software update without properly testing it, but older problems such as the ones Mark had in January 2021 may reveal that the heat pump system was not tested enough to ensure it works at very low temperatures. Perhaps it is a mix of both things. Tesla may have shared information with you that may explain what is affecting many other owners apart from Mark and Selvig.

In Mark's case, the disappointment may mean he will not own a Tesla again – or any other electric car.

“We do love our Tesla for many reasons, but I am at my wit’s end. I am considering selling our car once given back to us from the service department and purchasing an internal combustion engine (ICE) car again.”

For a company that states it puts safety and "the mission" to make cars go electric above all else, this is a massive backfire. Proper testing prevents that regular customers face life-threatening risks such as freezing to death. Exposing them to that very possibility is not the best way to win their trust.

Following a successful introduction in China, Tesla has started to switch all Standard Range vehicles to using Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries. These are heavier and slightly less powerful, among other things, but they seem to shine in colder climates.
7 photo

Tesla began using the new chemistry a year ago for the base models built in China but later decided to extend the use of LFPs to all its base models sold throughout the world. Having a lower energy density, LFP batteries are only good for the base Standard Range models, at least for now. This goes well with their lower price, although Tesla inexplicably put a premium on their base model after switching to the new battery.

Of course, being new to the western markets, the LFP batteries are little known and a lot of people want to know how they hold both as range and as durability in the long run. The good news is coming from the coldest territories of Norway in Europe and it says the new battery is even better in sub-zero temperatures than the older NCA (lithium nickel-cobalt-aluminum oxide) battery it replaced.

YouTuber Kris Rifa wanted to find out just how good the new batteries are in the cold. Therefore he conducted a range test on the highway in Norway at temperatures ranging between -4°C and -7°C (25°F and 19°F). For those who keep count, regular Li-Ion batteries start to lose their efficiency in the cold, and not even LFPs have a good record in this regard.

But, alas, a Tesla Model 3 RWD featuring the new battery showed impressive results in the range test. The car started with a 99% state of charge and was driven over 237.8 km (147.7 miles) at an average speed of 112.7 kph (70 mph)/ It still had 19% battery at the end of the journey.

While this doesn’t sound impressive, it should be noted that the car has a 60 kWh battery, and this means a consumption rate of 18.8 kWh/100 km (3.30 miles/kWh). It’s the lowest yet compared to 12 other EVs Kris tested along the same route. This includes the Tesla Model 3 with an NCA battery, which managed 20.3kWh/100km (3.06 mi/kWh).

So there you have it, LFP batteries are even better than the previous NCA cells, at least when powering the Tesla Model 3. This is especially true when it comes to driving in the cold. Did we mention that LFP batteries can be charged to 100% without risking degradation? That is another bonus for longer trips, so it looks like the new chemistry is already a winner.

If you read our previous article about heating issues Tesla owners are facing in cold-weather regions, you know the complaints started around December 30. In a discussion on a Facebook group, a Tesla owner shared a discussion about that with the company. It reveals the EV maker knew about the situation for quite a while: at least since December 29.
11 photos

Sent on that day, the message reads as follows (the bold is on us):

“Greetings from Tesla. We are currently reviewing your heating concern and have confirmed this is a known firmware concern related to extreme cold climates. A fix is currently being developed by the software engineering team, and there is no ETA on the firmware version fix. Please keep your vehicle connected to WIFI so your Tesla can download the latest version as it becomes available.”

Tesla then asks this owner some questions:

“Can you confirm that your heating operation is intermittent, for example(,) the heat will come on then goes off but will eventually recover and work correctly, usually after parking the vehicle in a warmer area?"

Finally, the company gives that owner some recommendations about how to deal with the car while the issue is not solved.

“In addition, please set your Climate to "auto" (Auto button should be blue in full Auto mode) and only adjust the set temperature to your comfort level as this is the most efficient heating/cooling setting. If these are the symptoms please let us know, as an in-person service visit may not be required. Thank you.”

The owner responds that he had hard reset the car and that the system started working again, warning the company that a fix should be provided soon or “there will be a few deaths soon.” Tesla answers on December 30 that the issue was discovered "recently" and that future firmware updates currently under development should bring “improvements.” The company then adds some more suggestions to deal with the problem.

“Current mitigations are to precondition vehicle 30 min - 60 min prior to departure, use (the) recirculating air mode and use auto mode. Symptoms may still occur when driving in climates -15(º)C and below. If heat does not return please park (the) vehicle in a warmer location and allow (the) vehicle to warm up.”

Tesla then apologizes “for the inconvenience” and states that it closed the appointment this owner required because “an in-person service visit is not required.” This customer does not waste the opportunity to tell Tesla what other owners affected by the problem would probably want to say:

“How about telling people in cold climates about this issue before selling them a Tesla?”

This customer owns a Tesla Model 3 but knows that more Model Y units are involved with the problem, clearly connected to the use of a heat pump, the Super Manifold, and the Octovalve. In short, only Model 3 units that already have this system also have the heating problem.

It is not clear if Tesla warned NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) or Transport Canada about the situation. Since the EV maker does not talk to the press, we have just asked the safety organization and the Canadian ministry if they have received any warnings. We’ll update this article or write a new one depending on what they have to tell us.