No garage in cold weather environment?

[Cyber111]

Hey all, so I may be relocating to Bend, Oregon, which gets cold weather, and snow in the winter time. The problem is, where I’ll be living, the Cybertruck will have to be parked outside. (Of course I’ll have a charger installed after I relocate.) Here’s my question: how will the Cybertruck do being exposed to cold weather, snow and ice wild parked in the winter time?

Thanks in advance for your responses and input.

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[Pulaski]

I've had mine parked outside in Wisconsin through 2 winters and it's done great. Click the defrost button on the app in the morning and you're good to go when you walk out the door. Even after some snow and ice. I have a snow brush in the truck but have only ever used it to clean in front of the headlights real quick after big snow events.

 

[CyberGus]

Texas here, so much of this is hearsay (lol) but...

You do not want to use the wiper when packed snow or ice remains on the windshield. If one end of the wiper grabs/sticks more than the other, it will twist around the attachment point and snap it. However...

...you can defrost directly from the app (or on a schedule!), and there's even a special defroster just for the wiper-park area:

...plus the warm-up will use shore power, preserving range. (I believe the scheduled preconditioning only sets the climate; to defrost, you should manually select Climate -> Defrost Truck from the app.)

The bad news is that FSD will leave the wiper control on Auto, so ensure the windshield is unobstructed before you get in and put your foot on the brake, otherwise:

Spoiler: surprise!

As I park outside myself, I have the opposite problem: now that Spring is here, the oak trees are oozing a sappy mist, leaving stubborn little specks across the glass that will require solvents to remove. Defrosting doesn't help lol

 

[koolio]

Texas here, so much of this is hearsay (lol) but...

You do not want to use the wiper when packed snow or ice remains on the windshield. If one end of the wiper grabs/sticks more than the other, it will twist around the attachment point and snap it. However...

...you can defrost directly from the app (or on a schedule!), and there's even a special defroster just for the wiper-park area:

...plus the warm-up will use shore power, preserving range. (I believe the scheduled preconditioning only sets the climate; to defrost, you should manually select Climate -> Defrost Truck from the app.)

The bad news is that FSD will leave the wiper control on Auto, so ensure the windshield is unobstructed before you get in and put your foot on the brake, otherwise:

Spoiler: surprise!

As I park outside myself, I have the opposite problem: now that Spring is here, the oak trees are oozing a sappy mist, leaving stubborn little specks across the glass that will require solvents to remove. Defrosting doesn't help lol

Lol, love the suprise gif.

I haven't had this happen to me but I do remember seeing one or two folks post about a broken wiper due to a lot of snow on the windshield. So, it's definitely something to be mindful of.

One thing to note, the Cybertruck's 4680 cells do get cold much more quickly than the 2170 cells in the Model 3 and Y. I get the snowflake icon pretty much throughout winter (even though mine is parked in a non-heated garage) while my wife's Model 3 rarely gets the snowflake icon when in the garage. All this to say, you'll have less battery capacity available until the pack warms up (and charging will be slower until it warms up the pack).

 

[CyberLucky]

I'm in Edmonton. It gets to -40C here (which I think is about -40F too). A neighbor leaves his Cybertruck out year round without issue.

Mine lives in a heated garage, but I've taken it on multiple ski trips in -20C where it's been outside for days, without issue. Range drops by about 25 miles.

As others have mentioned, use the remote defrost to clear ice and snow from the windshield.

You'll be fine.

 

[Gigahorse]

Good advice above by others, especially about the wiper.

That said with it being cold outside plan on a significantly higher vampire drain, up to about 10kwh a day. Depending on your utility rate that will be about $1-$5 a day to have the truck just sit there.
Vampire drain exists in all Cybertrucks and has gotten a bit better but is still significant, especially if parked outside and depending on settings you may be paying about $1,500 a year from your truck "leaking electrons"

 

[HighTechJoe]

Totally fine out in the cold, just making sure you have a higher power charging option. A standard outlet isn’t going to keep the battery warm enough to charge.

 

[TyPope]

I use the scheduled charge and scheduled cabin control to make everything nice when I leave in the morning. I park outside. However, I put up a "temporary" carport since I couldn't build anything permanent here.... Highly recommended... and not too expensive. Keeps sun and most of the snow away. Maryland isn't the same as where you are but I'm VERY familiar with cold weather... North Dakota, Montana, etc...

I haven't noticed many snowflakes though. I do use the scheduled departure so it's warmed up and ready when I leave. From work, I guess I haven't noticed. I don't use scheduled departure from there.

 

[Jager]

No garage. Never had a garage. Probably never will have a garage.

Cybertruck and Model 3 both do fine, albeit ambient temps are colder in winter and hotter in summer than most folks with a nice garage. (I do actively manage pack temps, something most people don't).

Thermal behavior of the Cybertruck and its 4680 cells is a bit different than the 2170 cells in the Model 3. But they're both good.

Not sure about the comment about significant (parked) battery drain. Unless you leave Sentry Mode on, that shouldn't be (much) a thing.

 

[kpanda17]

Hey all, so I may be relocating to Bend, Oregon, which gets cold weather, and snow in the winter time. The problem is, where I’ll be living, the Cybertruck will have to be parked outside. (Of course I’ll have a charger installed after I relocate.) Here’s my question: how will the Cybertruck do being exposed to cold weather, snow and ice wild parked in the winter time?

Thanks in advance for your responses and input.

Biggest challenge is if you have to supercharge close by, maybe short on SoC before a trip and want to top off
Not related to home charging

preconditioning only really works when navigating to a supercharger
The 123kwh battery is so large it takes approx 20 min to precondition

if the Nav to SC is too short a distance/driving time, Precond does not finish
The rate of charge won’t be 325-500 kw at start

understanding that and planning accordingly will help, instead of topping off locally, nav to a farther SC so that Precond can finish

Daily ops of a CT in winter is easy
Good luck

 

[Limes2]

Only issue that the wiper blade will need to be replaced more frequently but that's the same with any other vehicle.

 

[henchman24]

CT will be fine. You'll see the blue snowflake a lot more in the winter when temps are <40. Preconditioning helps and if you care about efficiency, chill mode helps (doesn't heat the battery as much).

Congrats on Bend though! That's an awesome town and would be near the top of my list of places to move if money was not an object.

 

[Cyber111]

Thanks for all of the input, that really helps! Yeah I might set up a "temporary" car port for the CT since the city won't allow a permanent add on to the garage or a free standing permanent enclosure.

 

[HaulingAss]

Thanks for all of the input, that really helps! Yeah I might set up a "temporary" car port for the CT since the city won't allow a permanent add on to the garage or a free standing permanent enclosure.

A carport won't be of much value in Bend, an inland, high desert climate. While Bend can get winter storms and significant snowfall, it's not very common, and a carport doesn't protect from wind and cold. Where I live in the PNW, a carport is a significant plus, keeping the car dry through incessant rain. But we can only fit one car in ours, so the Cybertruck mostly lives outside 24/7. Not a problem. Cold wind is the major thing you will face, keep it plugged into a wall connector and you'll be just fine.

No, it won't take up to $5/day in electricity just to keep it parked in Bend, more like 25 cents.

 

[mongo]

Hey all, so I may be relocating to Bend, Oregon, which gets cold weather, and snow in the winter time. The problem is, where I’ll be living, the Cybertruck will have to be parked outside. (Of course I’ll have a charger installed after I relocate.) Here’s my question: how will the Cybertruck do being exposed to cold weather, snow and ice wild parked in the winter time?

Thanks in advance for your responses and input.

Two winters outdoors in Michigan, no issues. Preconditioning is your friend.

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