Autopilot - Tesla MODEL 3 2020 Owner's Manual

While Driving
Cold weather can increase energy
consumption because more power is required
for driving, cabin and Battery heating. Follow
these suggestions to reduce energy
consumption:
• Using the seat heaters to keep warm is
more efficient than using climate controls.
Lowering the cabin temperature and using
seat heaters will reduce energy
consumption (see Climate Controls on
page 154).
• Slow down your driving and avoid
frequent and rapid acceleration.
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 on page
78).
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.
NOTE: Installing winter tires may result in
temporarily reduced regenerative braking
power but Model 3 will recalibrate itself to
correct this after a short period of driving.
Blue Snowflake Icon
A blue snowflake icon appears on
your touchscreen 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.
Driving
Cold Weather Best Practices
Warming the Battery Before
Supercharging
If you are using Trip Planner (see
on page
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
108).
After Driving
Leave Model 3 plugged in when not in use.
This uses the charging system, rather than the
Battery itself, to keep your Battery warm (see
Battery Information on page
Scheduled Departure
When parked, plug in Model 3 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 Scheduled Charging and Scheduled
Departure on page 197
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
• 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
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.
165) and navigate to a Supercharger
About Autopilot on page
191).
for more information.
Manually Releasing
194.
186).
Trip Planner
Mobile
105