Tesla MODEL S Operating Manual page 85

Cold Weather Best Practices
Regenerative Braking
Regenerative braking may be limited if the
Battery is too cold. As you continue to drive,
the Battery warms up and regenerative power
increases (see Regenerative Braking
67).
Note: Limited regenerative braking can be
avoided if you allow enough time to
precondition your vehicle or use scheduled
departure before your drive, as mentioned
previously.
Blue Snowflake Icon
A blue snowflake icon appears on
your instrument panel when
some of the stored energy in the
Battery may not be available due
to cold Battery temperature. This
portion of unavailable energy
displays in blue on the Battery
meter. Regenerative braking,
acceleration, and charging rates
may be limited. The snowflake
icon no longer displays when the
Battery is sufficiently warmed.
Warming the Battery Before Supercharging
If you are using Trip Planner (see
on page 138) and navigate to a Supercharger
station, your vehicle will allocate energy to
pre-heat the Battery in cold weather. This
ensures you arrive at the Supercharger with an
optimal Battery temperature, reducing the
amount of time it takes to charge.
Autopilot
To ensure optimal Autopilot performance,
keep the sensors and radar free of snow, ice,
mud, and dirt (see About Autopilot
85).
After Driving
Leave Model S plugged in when not in use.
This uses the charging system, rather than the
Battery itself, to keep your Battery warm (see
Battery Information
84
on page
Trip Planner
on page
on page 162).
Scheduled Departure
When parked, plug in Model S and set a time
at which you want your vehicle to be ready to
drive. Your vehicle determines the appropriate
time to begin charging so that charging is
complete and the cabin and Battery are warm
by your set departure time. See
Charging and Scheduled Departure
167 for more information.
Charge Port
• If your charge port latch freezes in place
and a charging cable becomes stuck in
the charge port, try manually releasing the
charge cable. See
Charge Cable on page 165.
• Use the mobile app to precondition your
vehicle on HI to help thaw ice on the
charge port latch so that the charge cable
can be removed or inserted (see
App on page 159).
Note: If your charge port latch is frozen in
place, it may not lock the charging cable in
place when inserted, but it is still able to AC
charge at a slower rate even if the latch is not
engaged.
Storage
If you leave Model S parked for an extended
period of time, plug it into a charger to
prevent normal range loss and maintain the
Battery at an optimal temperature. Your
vehicle is safe to say plugged in for any length
of time.
When not in use, Model S automatically enters
a sleep mode to conserve range and energy.
Reduce the number of times you check your
vehicle's status on the mobile app, as this
automatically wakes up your vehicle and starts
normal energy consumption.
Note: See Wipers on page 83 and
page 83 for more information on preventing
ice buildup when parking your vehicle.
Scheduled
on page
Manually Releasing
Mobile
Mirrors on
Model S Owner's Manual