The climate control feature can malfunction, preventing you from using the car’s air conditioning system.
During summer days, the temperature inside your parked car can quickly spike to life-threatening levels. Sometimes, even cool temperatures such as 70 degrees Fahrenheit can be a threat to children’s lives and pets.
In certain cases, you may notice the temperature display on your car dashboard reading hotter than that when it’s not. As a result, you may get frustrated seeing the cabin overheat protection can’t reduce the rising cabin temperatures.
Like any other technology device, this component is a wear-and-tear item and may fail to function at some point. This article explains major reasons why your Tesla cabin overheat protection may fail to control high interior temperatures and how to fix the problem.
Why is My Tesla Interior Temperature Reporting High When It’s Not?
Reason 1: Low battery
Your Tesla cabin overheat protection mode won’t work when the battery falls below 20%. The system requires continuous power flow for stable efficiency and optimized performance for several hours.
While the mode is designed to activate when the temperature of the car interior rises above 105°F, this system can’t function when the battery is below 20%.
The cabin overheat protection requires at least 20% of the battery charge to operate. If the battery level falls below this limit, then the cabin overheat protection will turn off to save energy.
How to fix: Recharge batteries
- Recharge the battery of your Tesla. You can either charge your car at home or on a nearby Supercharger.
- Follow the car manual book instructions to avoid making mistakes while charging your vehicle.
- Let the car charge until the battery charges based on the Tesla recommended charge limit.
- Always check your car’s battery level and recharge it if necessary before leaving it in hot places.
- Ensure the overheat protection functions as expected.
Reason 2: Maximum operating period
Another reason the cabin overheat protection mode may fail to reduce an expected interior temperature is because the system stops working whenever the 12 hours elapse.
The mode stays active for up to 12 hours after you leave the car in the parking. Once the time elapses, the mode automatically turns off.
After 12 hours, the mode doesn’t decrease the internal temperature. As a result, the cabin temperature may rise above 105°F (40°C) and make the travelers uncomfortable.
How to fix: Limit parking time
- Ensure the cabin overheat protection mode doesn’t excessively drain your vehicle’s battery.
- Although this feature consumes a negligible amount of battery power, it could impact the overall efficiency and range of your car if it’s operated for long.
- Keep time limits when intending to leave your vehicle parked in hot, sunny conditions for a prolonged period.
- Always check your battery level and ensure that it’s above 20% to take full advantage of the cabin’s overall protection.
Reason 3: Low-temperature range
The overheat protection mode normally doesn’t activate based on what most people consider “hot.” The system starts when your car’s inner temperature rises above 105°F (40°C).
So even if you feel a cool temperature of 85°F as warm to you, the system won’t activate until it reaches the set threshold temperature.
The low temperature of 85°F (29°C) could be a high temperature for some individuals inside your Tesla.
Just because 85°F might be hot for some individuals, the cabin mode doesn’t activate when it reaches this temperature.
Due to specific settings, the system only activates when the temperature increases above 105°F (40°C).
How to fix: Adjust the temperature
- You can customize the temperatures at which you expect cabin overheat protection to get activated.
- Use the Tesla mobile app to customize the temperature.
- Choose from 90°F, 95°F, or 100°F as the threshold for activation. Otherwise, your car will activate the cabin overheat protection when the interior temperature reaches 40°C (105°F).
- You cannot use the cabin overheat protection to set the lower temperatures that you wish the car to be maintained at.
- If you want to keep your car at a specific temperature, consider using Camp Mode, Dog Mode, or Keep Climate on mode, depending on your needs.
- These modes would enable you to set specific temperatures you desire for your car’s cabin. The modes are designed for different scenarios, such as providing a suitable environment for camping, keeping the vehicle comfortable for pets, and maintaining the climate while parked, respectively.
Reason 4: Software update issue
Sometimes, your cabin overheat protection mode may not activate at specific temperatures because of software issues.
The system may malfunction due to issues related to firmware or software errors on the system.
Software updates are designed to improve the features and performance of your car. However, sometimes, such updates might introduce new problems or bugs.
Sometimes, your car’s cabin overheat protection mode may stop working after installing a software update.
How to fix: update software
- Conduct a hard reset of the vehicle to clear out software issues.
- Then, install the software update (if available). Check for any updates on the Software section (Controls > Software). Click on the Software Update and let it update the latest firmware.
Reason 5: The car is not in park
It’s important to understand that the cabin overheat protection gets activated when the vehicle is parked and not moving.
Simply stopping the car’s acceleration doesn’t often mean that you’ve parked the vehicle.
If the car is in Drive, Reverse, or Neutral mode, the Cabin Overheat Protection will not work.
This happens because the cabin overheat protection mode is designed to function only when the vehicle is stationary and not in use.
How to fix: Avoid high temperatures when parking
- Ensure to appropriately park your car to enable the cabin overheat protection during high temperatures automatically.
- Make sure to park your car to prevent overheating during high temperatures properly.
- To resolve this problem, ensure the vehicle is in Park mode.
Reason 6: Sentry mode enabled
Activating specific features in your Tesla can unintentionally deactivate the overheating protection system.
For instance, enabling Sentry Mode might turn off the overheat protection.
Sentry mode is a security feature that monitors movements around your vehicle and alerts you of any potential threats.
Using the cabin overheat protection concurrently with other features (like sentry mode) consume battery power while your car is parked.
Putting your vehicle in sentry mode might disable your overheating protection.
How to fix: Deactivate the sentry mode
- Your Tesla has lots of features, it would be helpful to disable some of them as it can help extend your battery life.
- Turn off Sentry Mode in your car. You can turn off the sentry mode through the control menu or Tesla mobile app.
- Power usage may rise when Sentry Mode is active.
- To maximize your battery efficiency and life, assess your parking habits and evaluate if you need to use these features simultaneously.
- Also, rely on alternative strategies such as parking in shared areas or using window shades to keep your car secure and cool.
Reason 7: Car in transport mode
Sometimes, your car’s cabin overheat protection mode is not working because the vehicle is in transport mode.
Tesla normally activates transport mode setting when shipping its vehicles from the factory to the delivery centers.
The transport mode disables some features (climate control, sentry mode, and cabin overheat protection) that consume battery power.
Before delivering the vehicles to customers, Tesla should turn off the transport mode. However, sometimes this might not occur because of software glitches or human error.
Sometimes, your car can turn on the transport mode and cause the cabin overheat protection to stop functioning.
If your vehicle is in transport mode, the cabin overheat protection setting will be knocked out. This happens because transport mode dominates all other settings and puts your vehicle in a low-power state.
How to fix: turn off the transport mode
- Simply turn off the transport mode. This would resolve the issue.
- To turn the transport mode, in your car’s screen, go to Controls > Service > Towing > Transport Mode. Then, hit on the bar to deactivate the mode.
- Or you can just contact Tesla service center or support technicians and ask them to turn off transport mode remotely or manually.
Reason 8: Defects of HVAC system
Another reason why your car’s cabin overheat protection mode may stop working is due to your car’s malfunctioning HVAC system.
If your overheat protection is active, but it’s not working, it means the HVAC fan might have developed a hiccup.
The cabin overheat protection is a safety feature that cools your car’s cabin by automatically activating the HVAC (climate control) system when it gets too hot (over 40°C/105°F) inside the cabin.
When turned on, the cabin overheat protection starts the HVAC system with A/C or without A/C (depending on your set preference) when the temperatures rise above the set threshold.
In most cases, problems with the HVAC system are caused by poor system maintenance. However, natural wear and damage to mechanical parts can also lead to serious defects.
How to fix: Contact Tesla support
- Ensure to recharge the HVAC system with freon annually before the beginning of the summer season.
- Consider changing your AC Compressor whenever it develops defects. Contact Tesla support technicians to help you do this.
- Change the air filter whenever you notice certain signs, such as increasing dust settling on the car surfaces, lingering unpleasant odors, and decreased airflow when climate control systems are on.
- Always monitor the performance of the louvers and timely fix any breakdown. Louvers are significant components of the HVAC system and assist in cooling high-voltage batteries.
- Replace damaged cabin heater. Faulty wiring or technical breakdowns are some of the reasons why the cabin heater may stop working. Cabin heater is also an important component of the HVAC system. When the component is defective, the entire HVAC system won’t work. As a result, the cabin overheat protection mode won’t function.