Tesla AC is a bad design

Longjumping-Client42 | 2025-11-11 16:47 | 58 views

I have rented some Model 3s and my girlfriends kid has a brand new 2026 model Y so have driven around it and looked at it and both have a very similar AC / cooling system with an inclined rediatior that is inefficient and noisy. It doesn't take long in the hot desert with a short drive and the car sitting to hear the fan roaring to cool the battery. If you look at a normal car the radiator is mounted vertically with the aluminum metal folds of the radiator sitting horizontally. Both sides of the radiator are open to the air usually with slots in the bumper in front to allow front to back air movement. Cooler air can quickly travel from front to back efficiently to cool the radiator. The Tesla design is different. The radiator is angled at like a 35-45% angle and has a pizza pocket like clamshell plastic that encapsulated the radiator. There are maybe an inch or so of air space around the radiator and front what I have seen in videos the radiator aluminum fins are not angled different that a regular radiator. So the Tesla uses a fan to suck the air thru this housing at high speed and the air has to move up around it and cool it or take a sharp bend to cool the air. This doesn't seem efficient and perhaps that is why everyone complains Teslas feel so lukewarm to barely cool inside compared to regular cars. So the fan has to roar all the time to cool the car because it isn't very efficient. The downside to this is poor cooling, noise and an AC that likely needs to be replaced more often which many seem to have done. This system often gets clogged with leaves and debris which many fail to clean out also. The upside to this system is greater visibility for the driver, no annoying looking slots in the front bumper for cooling and greater aerodynamics. It would be nice to see a improvement in the Tesla cooling system.

Comments (15)

SpectrumWoes 2025-11-14 14:06

“Worse performance for better aesthetics” is the Tesla slogan. Case in point, the electronic door handles and ridiculous manual door opener locations hidden away.

MikeRippon 2025-11-14 19:36

Which is ironic, because these cars looked like dogshit when they were released 8 years ago

[deleted] 2025-11-14 20:03

[removed]

Counting-Tiles4567 2025-11-15 17:27

Ya know, companies wasted billions of dollars on thermal system design, advanced simulation and modeling software, and years of multi-climate testing when they should have simply consulted you. Impressively, you deftly determined the system is badly designed and inefficient due to "looking different from other things you're familiar with and its noise". Please, join the industry! With your skills we could leapfrog SO much of the math and testing we do and instead have you take a look and a listen. That would be SO much easier!

[deleted] 2025-11-15 19:43

The AC in my Tesla seemed like it's primary purpose was to exist without consuming power instead of actually cooling the car cabin. If you live in a hot climate the AC is going to be insufficient, especially with the roof trapping letting in heat then trapping it in the car. I am glad to have a different EV that has a working AC, it's nice.

Bubbly_Manager2227 2025-11-15 20:09

I’m no expert but I very much doubt the battery will be being cooled whilst driven. The big difference with an ICE is that more than half the energy used goes into waste heat; with electric hardly anything is lost as heat. So in an ICE this all needs cooling with a big air forced radiator. If it’s true that the Tesla AC struggles compared to other cars in the desert I suspect the big glass roof may be more of a challenge for the cabin AC than anything else, although I think newer ones have more tinting.

Ascending_Valley 2025-11-15 20:43

This. They have to balance battery temperature management, overall aerodynamics, heat pump vs ac only, but, it looks different. The single system that manages all of these needs is very impressive.

NJ71recovered 2025-11-15 22:03

Which EV has the best AC?

[deleted] 2025-11-15 22:58

Between the 3 that I have owned, a bolt, a model y, and a buzz the only ac that is memorable is the model y because of how impotent it was. The bolt and the buzz are both about as good as my Prius.

Retox86 2025-11-16 02:15

I doubt any of that applies to Tesla, years of multi-climate testing? Right..

hashswag00 2025-11-16 03:42

Everything in a Tesla is a bad design.

Counting-Tiles4567 2025-11-16 04:16

Without doxxing myself, I have it on excellent authority that they do, in fact, do extensive environmental testing. Anything you may notice or hear about has been known internally for a long time. At some point, a product is good enough and ships.

AlloAll0 2025-11-16 09:56

Without doxxing myself, I have on excellent authority that Tesla verification and validation is among the worst on the market. Teslas "good enough" is very, very different from the "good enough" accepted by the generality of other car manufacturers. Besides, Tesla knowing about some issues and choosing to ignore them, is not the take you think it is.

failinglikefalling 2025-11-18 00:26

Slate

failinglikefalling 2025-11-18 00:27

Best in breed. Nothing is like a Tesla! However when compared to the EV breed they fall shot and keep falling.

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