Frozen snow / ice blocked my headlights last night

[CyberTruckeeTheOne]

No chains on the front? That's just... Dumb.

If you can't put traction devices on all four, you shouldn't be on the roads sometimes (California law).

-Crissa

Agree!

Used to go up my farm in deep mud with all fours in tire chains.

Sponsored

 

[TexasRaider]

It's the "ledge" that is in front of the headlights that just invites snow/slush to sit there in front of the lights. I think only good solution might be a lower mounted light bar, or frunk mounted one like the ones from UP.

Maybe these from sportline: Tesla Cybertruck CTX Front Bumper Morimoto Off-Road LED Pod Lighting K - T Sportline - Tesla Model S, 3, X & Y Accessories

But you’d have to purchase the bar to use those lights. $5,000-$7,000 is Too expensive for some of us.

 

[HaulingAss]

But you’d have to purchase the bar to use those lights. $5,000-$7,000 is Too expensive for some of us.

Well, I could easily afford that without blinking an eye.

But why? I had a Volvo with headlight wipers and sprayers. Once in a while it was a nice luxury, but not often enough to make it worth the added complexity, cost and maintenance. I'm totally cool hitting them with a rag once in a while.

Here's another gadget I can do without:

 

[CyGo]

I experienced this issue last night without knowing what had happened. It had snowed while we were eating dinner (maybe a .5”), and it was still snowing while we were driving home. We couldn’t see anything once we left the lighted city street and headed onto the dark backroads. Having the DRL on while it was snowing and snow covering the headlights is a dangerous combination. This is an issue that I’ve never experienced with any other LED headlight vehicle I’ve owned.

There should be a way to turn off the DRL. Having it on while it’s snowing is like driving with your brights on while it’s snowing. It reflects off the snowflakes, creating glare, making it even harder to see.

Regarding the headlights, I’m not sure what solution would prevent snow from building up. The bumper creates a large shelf for snow to build up, so heating the headlights may not work well enough to clear all the buildup. Maybe a clear, heated insert that fills the shelf area would work.

We'll check and clear the headlights after it snows before driving next time, but snow building up while driving is dangerous and should be addressed by Tesla.

 

[jahansolu]

Guys, I'm going to work with @Tesstudio to hopefully form a partnership for them to produce an exclusive @Tesstudio product which can solve this problem.

Unfortunately, the talks with @Tesstudio didn't transpire and fell through so I have instead ordered some items here and there to make my vision and solution (hopefully for all of you) a reality. Once I get the components and do some testing, I will share my findings with you all (in case you'd like to replicate it). I will, obviously, have to stress that this will be a DYI solution therefore I will assume no liability if something goes wrong. If there are any persons reading this that knows how to market, package, and source - such as @TESBROS , @Cybergear , etc. let me know.

 

[trentsize]

it’s not the forward facing issue that is the concern. That’s normal. It’s the recession that is unique and looks like it would pose a problem. And people are saying it does just that. It looks like it will fill with snow pack and not just coat with ice like a normal front facing light. Once cleared I’ve never had an issue getting coated by snow on a front facing light while driving, inky in freezing rain/ice storms. But with the CT if slush and snow kicking up in front of you packs in that open cavity in front of the led’s, that’s the problem and 100% isn’t going to happen to a light bar.

My 4Runner and Subarus with LED were not recessed at all and still had the issue, because they were forward facing and not sloped enough. It starts getting covered with wet slush, freezes, then new stuff quickly packed on top.

Solution: don’t drive at night during snow storms. I understand some can’t avoid it, but it’s not worth the myriad of other risks besides headlights.

 

[Jack27]

Get a light bar

 

[Outdoors]

Solution: don’t drive at night during snow storms. I understand some can’t avoid it, but it’s not worth the myriad of other risks besides headlights.

I always try to avoid night snow storms. The weather can humble the strongest of men and machine. Most people are underprepared, and overconfident. A recipe for disaster.

@HaulingAss. The light of the snow can hypnotize, it is freaky. Can make you think your driving fast yet I have found myself slowing to a crawl. That's when I head for a truck stop.

When stuff goes bad at negative degrees, problems seem to go exponential, and room for error is greatly diminished.

 

[HaulingAss]

Get a light bar

Roof-mounted light bars have even more glare in snowy conditions than regular headlights. They become completely unusable when it's snowing.

Driving at night in heavy snowfall comes with real challenges for the driver to manage. In winter conditions, at night, I always clear the lights before I begin my journey. Not understanding why you can't see adequately is not a reason to continue driving. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to conclude that you have to pull over until you can see. It doesn't matter if the reduced visibility is caused by the severity of the storm, burned out headlight, or icing or snow buildup. Even airplanes can have trouble flying in such conditions, I'm just saddened that common sense isn't so common.

Obviously, once you have pulled over due to inadequate seeing conditions, that is a good time to check your lights for icing or snow buildup.

 

[Jack27]

Roof-mounted light bars have even more glare in snowy conditions than regular headlights. They become completely unusable when it's snowing.

Driving at night in heavy snowfall comes with real challenges for the driver to manage. In winter conditions, at night, I always clear the lights before I begin my journey. Not understanding why you can't see adequately is not a reason to continue driving. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to conclude that you have to pull over until you can see. It doesn't matter if the reduced visibility is caused by the severity of the storm, burned out headlight, or icing or snow buildup. Even airplanes can have trouble flying in such conditions, I'm just saddened that common sense isn't so common.

Obviously, once you have pulled over due to inadequate seeing conditions, that is a good time to check your lights for icing or snow buildup.

? I just set my FSD say 5 prayers and grip it and rip it.
J/k there is no snow in LA before someone says I’m endangering society ?

 

[M0unt41nm4n]

I gotta tell y'all. I have 3 other ICE trucks. When we get a heavy wet snow, they all have the same issue as the CT. Yes, they all have LED lights. It's generally a problem in Fall and Spring. I cant tell you how many times I had to pull over and clean my head lights. It par for the course with LEDs. I can't tell you even how many times I pulled over to clean my windshield due to built up heavy snow.

 

[HaulingAss]

@HaulingAss. The light of the snow can hypnotize, it is freaky. Can make you think your driving fast yet I have found myself slowing to a crawl. That's when I head for a truck stop.

I've experienced this many times, not in the Cybertruck yet since I didn't get delivery until April. Hypnosis by falling snow, lit by headlights, is real. Turning your high-beams off is critical, but not always enough to prevent it. The low mounted headlights of the Cybertruck should be an advantage in this regard, but it may still be necessary to pull over if hypnosis starts to set in. It feels like vertigo.

When stuff goes bad at negative degrees, problems seem to go exponential, and room for error is greatly diminished.

Yep. What would be a quick 30-minute drive in normal conditions can turn into a multi-hour journey. The English language has one word for "snow", and a handful of related words. The Inuit had over 100 words for "snow", each one describing a particular type of snow. How is this related to driving in the snow? Every type of snow presents its own challenges. I bring this up because some people reading this will be thinking they have driven in the snow a number of times, and it was easy. Yes, it can be, right up until it's not. Snow, temperature and wind will all affect how it impacts your trip.

Whenever there are potential winter conditions on my route, I travel with warm sleeping bags and caps for each occupant, extra food and water, and good, lightweight boots for walking in the snow and ice, with gaiters. You never know how bad it can get.

I might be weird, but I love it! Probably because I associate it with unreal skiing conditions the next day. Assuming the ski area is able to open at all.

 

[HaulingAss]

Guys, I'm going to work with @Tesstudio to hopefully form a partnership for them to produce an exclusive @Tesstudio product which can solve this problem.

My recommendation, in terms of business success, would be to develop products for higher volume truck models first, because whatever you come up with will sell in higher volumes if it can solve winter driving challenges on cars or trucks that sell in higher volumes.

The problem, from a business perspective, is that only a fraction of all motorists even drive in winter conditions on a regular enough basis to make them consider such a purchase. Therefore your sales will be very low volume on a vehicle like the Cybertruck, at least until it ramps to high volume production. If I were developing such a product, I would start with one that worked on F-150s and Dodge Rams.

This is a hard market to make a profit in. The testing alone would be very time consuming and expensive, due to the wide variety of winter conditions encountered. You might test your prototype in a snowstorm with great success, only to find it barely works at all in another type of snowstorm.

 

[Starscream]

Heavy blowing snow and slush froze over my headlight bar last night. It was very difficult for me to see while driving. Turning on the brights had no effect.

I turned on my hazards and followed the road's tire tracks *very slowly* to get home.

Anyone else experience this? What's the solution?

The solution is to get a vehicle that actually works. I'd recommend a Datsun or a kei truck if you're looking for something compact that still does truck things. Otherwise Rivian makes a good electric truck, or you could get a regular truck

 

[rlhamil]

If it really is surface safe, this might work:

https://www.amazon.com/DuPont-Silicone-Lubricant-Value-Pack/dp/B077XVR1F4/

Sponsored