Electric vehicles may not have reached widespread adoption quite yet, but for those who can afford it, a Tesla is likely high on your list. If you have recently purchased a Tesla, especially if you do not have any prior experience with electric cars, you probably have a few questions about all the fan sounds the vehicle makes, or other seemingly odd behaviors that the car has.
This is why your Tesla’s fan keeps running. The most common reasons for Tesla fans to be running include:
- Automated Climate Control
- Battery Heat Level Maintenance
- Tesla Not Properly Shutdown
- Cabin Overheat Protection
Tesla vehicles perform a number of actions automatically in order to maintain smooth operation. If you hear your Tesla’s fan running for no appropriate reason, do not panic or call customer service, unless it is absolutely necessary. There are a number of completely normal reasons that your Tesla is running its ventilation systems. Don’t get alarmed until you know what is “normal.”
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4 Reasons Your Tesla’s Fans Keep Running
New owners and old owners alike, those who are lucky enough to drive a Tesla, have likely noticed that at some point in time, your car will activate its fans (plural), seemingly without any good reason.
Some have reported hearing their car’s fans running for extended periods of time, even while parked, or after a short drive. The truth is, your car is functioning normally. Here is a list of probable reasons your Tesla fans are running.
1. Automated Climate Control
One of the many convenient features of Tesla vehicles is the ability to activate an automated climate control system, which will keep the cabin of the car at a chosen temperature even after you’ve parked and walked away.
The automated climate control is a setting that some owners don’t realize they’ve enabled. Check your climate settings to see if this is the culprit to your fans staying on.
2. Battery Heat Level Maintenance
As an electric car company, all Tesla vehicles are made to run off of batteries instead of internal combustion engines. While you might think that batteries would never get hot enough to need cooling, the reality is to the contrary. The batteries that Tesla cars run off of need to be kept within a certain temperature range in order to maintain stability and safety.
If you hear your Tesla’s battery fans running intermittently over long periods of time, even when it is not charging, it is likely your car is simply trying to keep the batteries from overheating due to warm surroundings, or it is performing a standard cooling process after having been driven.
3. Tesla Not Properly Shutdown
One of the most common reasons your Tesla’s fans are running is because the car has not been fully powered off. One of the easiest ways to inadvertently prevent your Tesla from fully powering down is to leave the door ajar or still be close enough to the vehicle that your phone is still connected via bluetooth.
It is an easy mistake to make, but if it happens, some of the interior lights and automated processes that should otherwise be off will remain turned on, the automated climate control feature being one of them.
Another easy mistake to make is forgetting to disconnect Bluetooth devices, such as your phone, from the car. If a Bluetooth device remains connected and within range to the car, some automated features will continue to run. You’ll be able to tell you are still connected by the side mirrors on the vehicle, if they are still open, you are still connected. Make sure you walk far enough away that your side mirrors fold in and the car locks.
4. Cabin Overheat Protection
Another cool and practical feature of Tesla cars is their automatic cabin overheat protection, an automated feature that prevents the cabin of the car from reaching above 105 degrees Fahrenheit. This feature is on by default to ensure that the car will always be tolerable to drive, no matter where you are parked or how hot the weather conditions become.
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How to Turn Off a Tesla Fan
Despite being known for their extremely quiet engines, even while driving, electric cars, and particularly Teslas, actually make a fair bit of noise, even when they are not turned on. While the primary source of noise from a Tesla will come from its many fans, the actual amount of sound they make is not very much but is still enough to annoy some people.
If you are one of those individuals who finds the constant fan noises from your Tesla to be annoying, or if you want as little phantom battery drain as possible, then you will be happy to know that there are ways to mitigate frequency with which your Tesla uses its various fans.
While there are some automated fan systems that cannot be turned off, you can stop most of the cars fans by using any of the three methods described in the list below.
How to Turn Off Tesla Fans
- Turn Off The HVAC: You can turn off the heating and air conditioning for your Tesla by pressing and holding the fan icon for a few seconds. Doing so will turn off the AC and the blower.
- Turn Off Climate Control: Either through your Tesla’s dash or through the app, you can navigate to the climate control menu to turn off any automated features.
- Open and Close a Door: If you notice a fan is running on your Tesla but everything seems like it is turned off, you can open and close any of the car’s doors to stop random fan noises. You may also need to walk away far enough that your phone’s bluetooth disconnects so the car locks and the side mirrors fold in.
What Other Features Do Teslas Have?
Tesla vehicles are packed full of some of the latest and most technologically innovative features that have ever been put in a car.
But, for the most part, all that people know about Tesla is that they make electric cars with computers in them. If you are thinking of buying a Tesla, you probably want to know exactly what the car offers.
For the most part, all Teslas that can be currently purchased will contain the same basic set of features, but there are some specific abilities that are limited to specific models of car. A few of the most interesting and useful features are listed below.
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Features That Come With Your Tesla
- Folding Mirrors: Teslas have automatic folding mirrors which open and close to signify the vehicle is unlocked, or locked. Something interesting is you can set a location of a car wash, and your Tesla will automatically close your side mirrors every time you approach that car wash in the future. Pretty neat automated safety feature.
- Dog Mode: With Tesla’s “Dog Mode,” you never have to worry about leaving your fluffy companions in the car on a hot day. When activated, “Dog Mode” keeps the internal temperature of the car at a comfortable level until you return, and uses the large front touchscreen to inform passerby’s that your dog is enjoying climate control so there’s no need to panic.
- Autopilot: Teslas come with 2 versions of Autopilot: Autopilot (Standard) and Full Self-Drive (Optional Upgrade). Autopilot comes standard on all Teslas, and allows drivers to enjoy the most advanced adaptive cruise control and lane keep on the market. Full Self-Drive is an optional upgrade that adds full navigation, making turns for you and even navigating busy intersections. It can be purchased once (for the full duration you own the vehicle) or monthly (on a monthly subscription plan).
- Streaming Services: All Tesla cars come with a large touchscreen that can be used for more than just GPS and radio. In fact, when the car is parked, you can browse the web, stream video services like YouTube and Netflix, or listen to Spotify. These features are free for the first year, but then cost about $10/mo to access with “Tesla Premium Connectivity”.
More About Tesla Cars
If you still have more questions about why your car is behaving a certain way, or if you are simply interested in learning more about all the amazing features that come with Tesla vehicles, we recommend that you head over to the Tesla Motors Website for more information.