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Comment by toomuchtodo | Hacker News Reader

The Model S and X have a dedicated battery warmer, the Model 3 does not as a cost cutting measure (it uses the motor windings to heat the coolant loop, but it appears this solution, while clever, is inadequate).

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Why not resistively heat that cooling loop? Or release it to the cabin? Turn on the de-frost?

I kinda wish my ICE car would crank everything up while engine-braking down a hill to reduce brake and fuel use.

It shouldn’t be that expensive...

that's what the model 3 does. it induces resistance in the motor at 0 rpm to generate heat which is then transferred to the coolant loop to heat the battery.

but in order to warm up the very large battery pack, on a cold morning you need to turn the car on (well) before you start driving to have it warm enough for full regen.

You can, of course, do this from the Tesla app. It’s not like an ICE car where (usually) you have to physically be in it to start it.

With my ice car in the summer I often only turn on the AC only while going downhill or exiting the freeway.

I just wish it was more automatic. Hard to say if I'm saving pennies or dollars, but a $1 chip to do it should pay for itself quickly.

Just about every modern car cuts fuel when you're engine braking.

An modern (Last 20 years) ICE engine shouldn't use any fuel while engine braking. The ECU should just cut the fuel to the engine and allow it to run under vacuum.

My 15 year old Golf does and engine braking is why I've still got the original brake pads after 180K miles.

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