A bunch of Tesla vehicles were unable to charge at Supercharger stations across Chicago amid an extreme cold wave.
Cars have problems in extreme cold. That’s a fact, regardless of if the vehicle is electric or powered by an internal combustion engine.
It’s very common for gas-powered cars not to start in the cold.
As for electric vehicles, it does negatively affect their range and charging speed.
However, we have rarely heard about them not charging at all in the cold.
Chicago is seeing an extreme cold wave at the moment. Yesterday, the windy city had a temperature of 2F (-19C) that felt like- 20F (-29C) after the wind factor.
These extreme temperatures have been blamed for issues at Tesla Supercharger stations across the city.
Fox News reported on a bunch of Tesla vehicles stuck with no power and unable to charge at a Supercharger in Chicago:
Tesla owners are reporting not being able to start charging their vehicles once plugged in. Several of them resorted to having their vehicles towed to the local Tesla service center.
We can confirm a significant issue based on a check on Superchargers in the region.
Most Superchargers are marked as all-in-use with wait times:
Some are suggesting that the issue is that Tesla owners are not pre-conditioning their battery pack before charging, which Tesla recommends especially in cold conditions.
However, pre-conditioning of the battery pack is done automatically if you enter a Supercharger station in the car’s navigation system.
Top comment by jrharbort
It is likely they did not precondition before arrival. If you didn't do this and your pack is frozen, it can take anywhere from 20~30 minutes after plugging in at a supercharger before the charge will even start. This makes it appear it is not charging. The car will use the power from the charger to generate heat to get the battery up to temperature during this time.
Therefore, it would be surprising if that’s the issue for most of them.
It’s possible that the Superchargers themselves are failing due to the extreme cold weather in the region.
Unfortunately, Tesla doesn’t have a PR department to reach out to and ask for more details about the situation.
Stay safe out there. The cold is not something to take likely. If you live in places with cold weather, you should have a cold kit that includes candles and blankets in your car regardless of if it’s electric or not.
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