E-Tron won't start by design in freezing cold weather?

Jc12345 · Dec 10, 2016

Hello,

I have an E-Tron on order and was just going through the manual and I noticed that it says that below -28c, the car will not even start. Being in Canada, wouldn't this be an issue? I did check local reports for Toronto on recorded min and where I am, I'd be ok 99.9% of the time, however if I travel to Ottawa or even the ski bumps a little further north I could see being stuck for a while. If the car is plugged in but outdoor temp is -30, is it just going to quit?

Thanks

rfortson · Dec 12, 2016

Maybe some of your Canadian neighbors will chime in, but I seem to have read from a Scandinavian member on another site that may be the case. He ran into the situation once it seems like.

jerry3561 · Dec 13, 2016

rfortson":4cdi6p97 said:
Maybe some of your Canadian neighbors will chime in, but I seem to have read from a Scandinavian member on another site that may be the case. He ran into the situation once it seems like.

Yes indeed, a member of another forum who lives in Norway stated that the EV/hybrid functions were only available down to -10 degrees Celsius and that the ICE was only available down to -20 degrees Celsius. Below -20 degrees Celsius the e-tron won't start because the ICE needs the HV battery to be able to start and it shuts down at -20!

user 293 · Dec 14, 2016

My owner manual states: “Should the vehicle be parked for longer than 2 days at temperatures below -13 °F (-25 °C), the high-voltage battery could freeze and not be able to provide energy to the electric motor. The battery will start working again, once it warms up. The battery can be warmed up when the outside temperature rises or when being used (switching on the air conditioner, the heater or by driving the vehicle). Should you have to park your vehicle at very low temperatures for longer than 1 day, make sure that the high-voltage battery does not freeze by parking the vehicle in a garage that is heated or protected from the outside temperature.”
Living in the Ottawa region will bring me into this window, we are expecting this temperature in the next few days, however I keep my car in a garage and run it every day. I’ll this thread posted on how it does.

Jc12345 · Dec 14, 2016

Mine is here and I should be picking it up in the next few days and since it's -10ish here I'll be able to comment on the EV usage in the cold but according to a manual I've seen for the 16,

Outside temperature to low. Engine start not possible. See owner's manual

The outside temperature is too low. The vehicle can no longer start at temperatures below -18F (-28C). Contact.....

Fortunately we rarely see air temperature of -28, so I'm not anticipating to many issues. And to be honest, when it's -28 it's time to WFH...

iang · Dec 14, 2016

I think it was this thread on SpeakEV, which detailed some pretty terrible experiences, but to confirm is is -28 Celsius not -20. https://speakev.com/threads/a3-e-tron-owners-experiences-and-complaints.7732/
Bit better, but still a concern as -28 C is far from unheard of temperatures in southern Ontario..
I can confirm this morning at -10.5 C showing on my dash, the car ran on battery but it had preheated ahead of time. Note my vehicle lives outdoors.

Ian

Jc12345 · Dec 14, 2016

In GTA, it's probably ok 99% of the time. The actual air temperature rarely drops to that level. According to wiki....

The coldest minimum temperature of −33 °C (−27 °F) was recorded on January 10, 1859. The coldest temperature recorded at Toronto Pearson International Airport was −31.3 °C (−24.3 °F) on January 4, 1981, and the coldest windchill recorded was −44.7 °C on the same day.[4][5] The coldest month overall was −12.6 °C (9 °F) at the airport in February 2015 and at downtown in February 1875

Like I said earlier....those would be good days to WFH.

iang · Dec 14, 2016

It's a good point, you get used to thinking of windchill which can get much colder than air temp. Even ICE cars cease to function when it's cold enough without being warmed with a block heater.

Ian

user 293 · Dec 16, 2016

I posted an update on how my Etron ran in cold temperature on another thread see: http://www.myaudia3etron.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=83&p=1635#p1635.

E-Tron won't start by design in freezing cold weather?

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