If you are lucky enough to become the owner of a Tesla that boasts not only a good appearance but also a good manifestation, then you probably know that this car has many quirks and benefits.
One of them is the precondition of the Tesla battery. This function has a lot of pros, which are very good for Tesla drivers. It allows you to warm the car’s battery and the car itself before you find yourself in it.
This helps especially well in cold weather. Thanks to this, you can get into an already heated and warm car, which is undoubtedly a plus. Also, it helps to avoid freezing the Tesla’s battery, extend battery life, and save your Tesla battery from cold weather conditions.
So, there are a few ways to start preconditioning your Tesla battery. Usually, cars automatically start preconditioning or you can do it using the Tesla app, through climate controls settings, touchscreen in your car. Even just driving or using the cabin HVAC system warms the Tesla battery.
In this article, we are going to explain to you how to precondition Tesla battery easily and how important it is to preconditioning battery!
Contents
What is the precondition Tesla battery and why you should start preconditioning your Tesla battery?
The precondition of the Tesla battery is heating the battery to the optimum temperature. This is usually used in cold weather, as it prevents freezing and battery failure.
Also, in winter, the Tesla battery is more difficult to perform its function. after all, it occurs by chemical reactions that slow down their action at low temperatures.
Also, the cold battery can’t work properly and starting to have its features limited. Such as lowing the battery power, regenerative braking, and many others.
Usually, the car does it by itself, but sometimes it can be done and configured by the driver.
Sometimes people do preconditioning battery before charging their electric car, cause this function affects the charging speed and provides fast charging.
As we said, there are a few ways to do it and we are gonna explain them to you!
How to precondition Tesla battery? 3 easy methods
There are three completed methods to have a preconditioning battery in your car.
Using Tesla app
By using the Tesla app, you can easily pre-heat your Tesla.
For this method, you need to simply go to your Tesla app and click on the “Climate control” setting. After you do this you will see the blue snowflake icon. This means that the battery is preconditioning and cold weather won’t beat it.
Defrost mode
By using it you can also activate Defrost mode. To do this just go to Climate then Swipe Up and click on Defrost Car.
It is also possible to set it to an appropriate temperature while using the same app. This will also start preconditioning your Tesla battery.
Using the “Scheduled departure” settings
To activate battery preconditioning manually, you can use Scheduled Departure (by turning on the A/C system).
In your car, there is such a function as scheduled departure, which could be turned on by using the touchscreen inside of your Tesla.
What is this function for?
This function means that the car will automatically start preconditioning your Tesla vehicle (Tesla electric vehicle) depending on your estimated departure time.
To use this feature just tap on the “Schedule” icon on your touchscreen, then select the “Depart At” option. Now, you can choose when you are going to drive your car and your car will precondition your Tesla battery to an optimum temperature.
For this method, just set the navigator to a Tesla Supercharger stop.
As you get closer to your destination, the car’s software starts presetting the battery to the ideal temperature for charging. This happens automatically and you don’t have to do anything for it.
Time for preconditioning Tesla battery
This usually starts 20 or 25 minutes before your scheduled arrival time at the charger. However, depending on the weather, it may start in 30 or 45 minutes.
Important
It’s always good to use your in-car navigation while driving to the Tesla supercharger for charging, even if you know the route.
Advantages of precondition Tesla car battery
Of course, this feature has many advantages that deliver various amenities before and while driving your car.
Simple and easy
The most important thing is that to precondition the Tesla battery, you need to do just a few simple steps using a Tesla app or a navigator in the car.
Also, when you precondition your Tesla battery you avoid limiting some car’s features such as fast charging, regenerative braking feature, and your freezing Tesla’s battery in cold weather which saves it from cold weather conditions.
Improved performance
You should know, that Tesla battery preconditioning helps your Tesla model to perform better.
Increased range and full power output
When you pre-charge the Tesla battery, you are essentially charging it to a higher level. This means you will have more energy available to you when you need it. This can be extremely useful in cold weather when battery power is most needed.
Tesla batteries are very powerful, but with a precondition, it becomes more powerful and has more energy.
Save energy
By preconditioning your Tesla battery, you generally consume less battery power during the trip, especially when you do pre-preparation when connected to the network.
This is because the battery already has an optimal temperature, so it doesn’t need to work so hard to maintain that temperature.
Extend the life of your battery
Precondition also helps extend the life of your battery by keeping it at an optimum temperature.
Heating the battery can prevent damage from extreme temperatures and extend the life of the battery as a whole.
Reduce charging time
If you precondition your Tesla battery before charging, it will lead to an increase in the charging speeds, since it will not have to work so hard to reach the constant temperature first.
Maximize range in cold weather
Precondition your Tesla battery in low temperatures can help increase the power reserve, as the battery will be warm and ready to work when you start driving.
How long does it take for Tesla battery preconditioning?
It depends on some factors, such as:
- Usually, when you’re preconditioning your battery for charging at home (using the Tesla app), it will take around 30-45 minutes to reach the wanted temperature.
- Preconditioning for a Supercharger will take less time since the battery is already warm from driving. It will take around 30-40 minutes.
- When you use the in-car navigation to your next Supercharger stop, the car will start preconditioning the battery itself when you’re about 15-20 minutes away. It could be a lot earlier (30-40 minutes) in cold temperatures.
FAQs
Question: How do you precondition a Tesla battery manually?
Answer: There are three ways you can do this: by using Tesla App, by using Tesla Supercharger, and by using the Scheduled departure feature.
Question: How do you precondition battery Tesla?
Answer: As we said in our article, you can do this in three different ways. As you can see, even in the choice of methods you have a variety, which is another advantage of this car.
You can precondition your Tesla battery using your phone, a Tesla app, a scheduled departure feature, or a touchscreen of the car.
Question: Should I precondition my Tesla before driving?
Answer: Tesla does not require warming up for driving or charging. Warming up (or preconditioning your Tesla battery) simply increases battery efficiency and saves energy for the long road. Instead of losing the power to warm up the engine while driving, you do it in advance to increase efficiency and productivity.
But we highly recommend using this useful feature in the cold season, so you can avoid many car limits and find some features. For example, fast charging, full power output, and avoiding regenerative braking.
Question: Is it important to precondition Tesla battery?
Answer: Yes, sometimes it is important to precondition your Tesla battery. It is important to make sure that your battery has the correct temperature before you start charging.
But you don’t need to worry too much if the battery temperature is not optimal, the car will know about it and will take care of it for you, charging slower so as not to damage the battery.
Conclusion
So, our article is coming to its logical conclusion. In it, we tried to analyze in as much detail as possible what ways you can be preconditioning your Tesla battery.
Preconditioning your Tesla battery is one of the functions that must be carried out regularly since it directly depends on the work and output of your car.
As often as you do this, your car and its battery will show you very different results. By using this function, you will automatically extend the life of your battery and ensure its long service life.
We talked about the simplest and easiest ways to do this. For example, does the battery preconditioning with the Tesla app, and scheduled departure?
We also talked about what will happen if you will not do battery preconditioning:
In winter, the Tesla battery is more difficult to perform its function. After all, it occurs by chemical reactions that slow down their action at low temperatures.
Also, the cold battery can’t work properly and starting to have its features limited. Such as low power of the battery, regenerative braking, and many others.
We hope that now you know how to do Tesla battery preconditioning with ease and without any worries. Now you don’t have to worry when someone asks you about Tesla battery preconditioning, or personal needs will lead to the fact that you have to do it.
And this is 100 percent information that you will definitely have to do the Tesla battery preconditioning since it is just a tradition in this car.
We wish you good luck and nice roads!
Read also: What happens when a Tesla runs out of battery and what to do?
