Do Teslas Have Chronic Air Conditioning Problems?

A Tesla owner says his brand-new car has an incredibly weak air conditioning system. He’s not the only one complaining that it’s too hot in their Tesla.

Fabricio (@ayofabricio) recorded a TikTok from the driver seat of his Tesla Model 3. “I’m not gonna lie to y’all,” he says. “Yeah, this looks cool, so cool to play with. But dude when I first cut the car on bro, you cannot feel [expletive].”

Then he manipulates the air flow using the vehicle on the touchscreen to make it more concentrated in one area. Next, he tries spreading the vent flow to cover a larger area.

Despite all his efforts, however, Fabricio says nothing seems to make the car cooler.

“You would think, ‘Oh, if I put it right in the middle, yes. It’s going right in my face,’” he says.

He puts his hands where the air is supposed to be coming out.

“I cannot feel it,” he complains. “I feel nothing. All this like spaceship [expletive] cool and all but like I gotta, I need to feel it man.”

He keeps trying to improve the airflow but says he doesn’t feel much of a difference. According to the images on the car’s screen, the air should be directly hitting him in the face.

Fabricio claims it isn’t. “By me putting it in the middle, it hits the steering wheel. But no. Come on, please go directly to me. It’s hot. I’m in New Orleans!”

Fabricio’s TikTok has 19,000 views as of this writing. Dozens of people have offered advice that may solve his AC woes.

A Common Tesla Problem

Other Tesla drivers have complained about their car’s climate control systems.

In 2020, a member of the Tesla Motors Club forum shared a fix they said worked for their “sweat box” of a Model X, which wasn’t blowing cold air.

While digging through the car’s air conditioning options, they noticed an error message that read “climate keeper unavailable due to system fault.” After messing with it for a while, they figured out a multi-step process that fixed the issue.

First, they disabled the Model X’s overheating protection. Next, they shut off the car’s A/C. Third, they performed a soft reset, which consists of simultaneously holding the car’s scroll keys until the infotainment screen reboots. Following this, they performed a reset, which is done the same way, but by engaging the car’s brake as well.

After doing this, they checked the vehicle’s infotainment screen to see if that “unavailable” error message had disappeared. It hadn’t, which prompted them to perform numerous hard resets until finally the message vanished. Then they were able to restart the Tesla’s cabin overheat protection. Ultimately, cold air started flowing.

Numerous users in the forum commented to share tales of their own air conditioning issues with Teslas. Many, but not all, of the reported issues were blamed on software or sensors.

“I tried several reboots, however, it turns out my [car] needed new AC hose lines. $450 CAD repair job. I wasn’t as lucky,” wrote one.

When Your Tesla’s AC Goes On The Fritz

Other factors could lead to poor air conditioning performance in a Tesla.

It could be as simple as a clogged cabin air filter. If it’s been a while since you’ve changed the cabin filter, you may want to try this first.

Low refrigerant levels in your Tesla could also be the culprit. Your car may just be low on coolant or there could be an issue with your AC line. Either way, you’ll probably have to take it to a professional.

The problem could also be related to the car’s software. Performing a reset might fix this issue.

You may also want to check to see if your EV’s software needs to be updated to the latest version. If you’re in a particularly hot place, make sure to launch the update when you aren’t in the car. Otherwise, you might be stuck in a greenhouse on wheels.

Condenser blockages, sensor, and hardware malfunctions could also be the reason why your Tesla isn’t blowing air the way you’d like.

Many say the issue is, oftentimes, user error: drivers incorrectly set up cabin overheating protection.

If their air conditioning isn’t working right, Tesla owners may want to first check their menu settings. Open the infotainment screen and tap “Controls > Safety > Cabin Overheat Protection.”

Once cabin overheat protection is selected, you’ll be presented with one of three options: Off, No A/C, and On. Click the off button and reset the car.

Advice from Tesla Drivers

Many people who say they drive Teslas commented on Fabricio’s post to offer him advice and defend their vehicles. Multiple people recommended pre-cooling the car remotely. One said Fabricio was directing the air incorrectly.

“You’ve got it top, bottom and center on. Turn off the feet and windshield and only leave the center on,” they wrote, adding, “From Texas.”

A few suggested that the problem was caused by him having all the vents open at once. “It’s because you got all the vents open,” one advised. “Just keep the one directed to your face on and turn off the other ones.”

We have reached out to Fabricio via TikTok comment for further information. We’ll update this if he responds.