Winter Weather

  • 2012 Tesla Model S Signature

    Tesla will recall roughly 123,000 of the Model S electric cars it built from 2012 through April 2016 to replace bolts in the power-steering units of the electric cars. The company said the bolts could corrode in cars used on roads where calcium or magnesium salts are used to melt ice. The Model S steering would not fail even if the bolt sheared, Tesla said, but the effort required to turn the wheel would increase. DON'T MISS: Tesla recalls 53,000 Model S, Model X electric cars for parking-brake issue (Apr 2017) Tesla calls yesterday's action a "voluntary recall," and noted that the issue had...

  • Winter testing of electric cars in Norway by the Norwegian EV Association (Norsk Elbilforening)
    Five electric cars tested in cold Norwegian winter: how did they do?

    Drivers in the parts of North America that get winter weather are deeply familiar with snow-clogged wheel wells, iced-in wipers, and weak batteries, to list just a few. Our counterparts in Norway have exactly the same challenges in winter—but they're far further along in adopting plug-in...

  • Two 2018 Nissan Leafs with EVgo fast charger at NJ Turnpike Joyce Kilmer travel plaza, Feb 2018
    2018 Nissan Leaf electric car: four-day winter road-trip review

    The first generation of mass-priced electric cars with ranges of 60 to 90 miles simply didn't have enough range to be used outside predictable daily commute duties and local errands around town. Sure, four-fifths of vehicles in the U.S. cover less than 40 miles a day—but that other fifth...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car after snowfall, Glacier National Park [photo: D Gadotti]
    Chevy Bolt EV electric car range and performance in winter: one owner's log

    The arrival of the first affordable long-range electric car on the market has naturally led some owners to push the car in a way that they might not do with a plug-in car offering just 80 miles of battery range. The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, EPA-rated at 238 miles combined, removes most daily range...

  • Opel Ampera-e
    German magazine compares real-world electric-car ranges, efficiencies in cold weather

    It's 41 degrees F outside. Your electric car, rated for 100 miles, has been charging all night in the cold. Ahead of you lies a 80-mile drive. How confident are you that you'll make it to your destination? What if you want to set your climate control to a comfortable 70 degrees F? Germany's...

  • 2014 BMW i3 electric car during winter [photo: owner Chris Neff]
    Driving electric cars in winter: tips from experienced owner

    One of the challenges of electric cars is persuading potential buyers that they can do virtually everything that most other vehicles can. For those who live in wintry climates, that includes dealing with snow, slush, road salt, ice, and variable traction. Given the recent major snowstorms that hit...

  • Penn State EC Power "all-climate battery" self-heating lithium-ion cell

    Penn State researchers say they've created a self-heating lithium-ion battery cell.

  • 2012 Nissan Leaf winter test
    Electric-Car Battery Energy: Why Waste It On Cabin Heating? (Video)

    Among the drawbacks of cars that run on battery power is the energy required to heat their cabins. As electric-car drivers in less temperate climes know, heating the cabin to room temperature has an enormous impact on battery range--conceivably as high as 40 percent. A similar impact is seen from...

  • 2016 Nissan Leaf
    Both Electric And Gas Cars Lose Range In The Cold; Electrics Just Lose More

    Fleet data shows that electric cars have greater range loss in cold weather than their gasoline counterparts.

  • Jens Kratholm with two of his six Tesla Roadsters (via the Tesla Motors blog)
    Envy The Man Who Owns Seven Tesla Electric Cars (In Norway)

    Meet the Norwegian opthalmologist who owns a Tesla Model S and six Roadsters.

  • 2012 Nissan Leaf winter test
    What Does It Take To Drive An Electric Car In Canadian Winters?

    So how on earth do you use an electric car in places that consistently get many feet of snow every winter? Short answer: snow tires. Long answer: plan ahead. Being based in Vancouver--what passes for the Canadian tropics*, where snow had to be helicoptered onto local ski hills during the 2010...

  • 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI Six-Month Road Test
    Diesels In Cold Weather: Think Before You Buy

    Chances are, somebody reading this lives in a fairly cold climate. You also probably want to save money on fuel, and may have considered diesel. But have you considered the effect that cold weather might have on a diesel vehicle? One tale from The Car Guide shows why diesel vehicles may not be your...

  • 2012 Nissan Leaf winter test

    We get asked a lot whether winter weather makes electric cars impractical. Short answer: No. We even rounded up some of the best electric-cars-in-winter stories last month. But it's a fact of physics that a plug-in electric car will have a longer range in temperate Southern California than in the icy steppes of the Northeast, upper Midwest, and much of Canada. We've done our own cold-weather test of the 2012 Nissan Leaf, for instance. We found that without using the heater, 80 miles of range was still possible--if not very pleasant. But switch on those accessories, especially seat heaters or...

  • 2012 Nissan Leaf winter test
    Electric Cars In The Winter: Ultimate Guide

    Winter is well and truly here for many of us now, particularly in more northerly regions. It brings with it not just snow, cold weather and a little extra danger on the roads, but also an added dose of anxiety for electric car owners. Cold weather can play havoc with range, particularly when using...

  • 2012 Nissan Leaf winter test
    Polite Reminder: As It Gets Colder, Your Plug-in’s Range May Drop

    The nights are getting longer, children are starting to get ready for Halloween, and in certain states, you’ll have already had the first fall frost. If you’re approaching your first winter of plug-in car ownership, however, you might be in for a shock as the mercury starts to drop...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S beta vehicle, Fremont, CA, October 2011
    2012 Tesla Model S Winter Testing Video Mashup Released

    Over the past few years, it’s become almost customary for Californian automaker Tesla to release regular videos detailing the final developmental and testing stages of its 2012 Model S Sedan. So far, we’ve seen pretty videos of it moving under its own power, and even a trio test-track...

  • BMW i3 and i8 preview, New York City, November 2011, photo by Tom Moloughney
    BMW i3 Electric Car Spotted Winter Testing In Northern Europe

    Last week, we were 90 miles north of the Arctic Circle, putting the Volvo C30 electric through its paces. But we weren’t the only people driving electric cars in the Arctic Circle as our colleagues over at Motor Authority found out earlier today. As our own Viknesh Vijayenthiran reports...

  • Volvo C30 electric concept, 2010 Detroit Auto Show
    2012 Volvo C30 Electric Winter Testing: What Should We Test?

    It’s no secret that electric cars prefer temperate weather in which to operate. That’s why many electric automakers add features to their cars to ensure that battery packs are kept at optimum temperature, regardless of how warm it is outside. But how do electric automakers test their...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt drive test, March 2011

    As anyone who has lived in the Pacific Northwest will tell you, cities like Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon are known for their damp, dreary winter months. This winter, as with many other parts of the U.S., heavy snowfall is taking the place of rain, turning the usually temperate Northwest into a winter wonderland. But what do you do if you’re an electric car owner facing heavy snowfall and low temperatures for the first time? What should you know about driving your electric car in the cold? Keeping Warm Is Key As we’ve said before, electric car battery packs do not like...

  • winter tire
    Five Ways To Keep Your Gas Mileage Good This Winter

    It’s October, and for thousands of motorists in colder states that means only one thing: winter is on the way. But as the trees start to turn to golden reds, the winds start to blow and fall quickly turns to winter, here are five things you should do to help your car keep its gas mileage high...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf
    2012 Nissan Leaf Gets Ready for Winter, Gets More Heating

    The 2011 Nissan Leaf may have been the first all-electric mass-produced electric car from a major automaker to hit the roads, but in the first few months following its launch Nissan came under a lot of criticism for not having a more sophisticated thermally managed battery pack inside the Leaf. Now...

  • winter driving  -  by flickr user Hey Paul
    Will Winter Storms Spell Disaster for Your Electric Car?

    Is it really all doom and gloom for electric car owners when winter weather comes, and will electric car owners be stranded in the snow as many columnists have suggested? That's the suggestion we've seen time and time again over the weekend as another band of heavy winter storms is poised to hit...

  • 2010 Tesla Roadster Sport 2.5 Cold Weather Testing
    Electric Cars Can’t Handle Cold Weather? Myth Busted

    We’re big fans of Mythbusters here at AllCarsElectric and love busting some of our own myths. So we decided to test a myth we hear time and time again: electric cars can’t go very far in the Winter when in-cabin electric heating zaps the power from the battery pack. We put on our...

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