Luke

Model 3/Y Achilles’ Heel – The Maintenance Nobody Expects Over the past multiple months, we’ve been analysing one of the most overlooked causes of Model 3/Y battery overheating, compressor failures, and HVAC-related powertrain issues. Most people assume the problem starts with the compressor, software, or the heat pump itself. It doesn’t. We’ve also seen many third-party workshops incorrectly servicing heat pump systems. Instead of properly evacuating the refrigerant and compressor oil by opening the Octovalve, they recover only part of the system and then add around 1,000 g of new refrigerant on top of the 500 g still trapped inside - and statement were “ah it was only missing gas issue”. The result is an overcharged system that can destroy HVAC components. What many don’t realise is that HVAC is one of the most critical systems in an EV. Just 30 seconds of insufficient cooling can overheat components such as the OBC (for example Kia ICCU), damage an Audi e-tron drive unit and inverter, or, in the worst case, overheat the battery pack. A single severe overheating event can permanently and irreversibly damage battery cells. What surprised us most was that, on the Model 3/Y, the root cause often isn’t a faulty HVAC component or software. It’s the radiator design. The front heat exchangers compartement act like a road vacuum cleaner, trapping dirt so deeply inside the honeycomb that airflow is dramatically reduced. Cooling performance gradually degrades until it starts triggering failures across the entire powertrain. Owners often keep replacing the consequences while never finding the real cause. This is something what reduce the range-soh and increases Wh/km and mostly known situation “hey i drove my tesla from 100% to 0% and it has only 60kWh, not 74kWh” Recommendation on HVAC servises is to contact NRF (Nederlandse Radiateuren Fabriek) experts and take the full training session how to properly service it. (we will too) Our recommendation for every Tesla Model 3/Y owner: * Visit highly skilled worksop to Clean the radiator pack using a dedicated chemical cleaner to dissolve embedded dirt. * Flush thoroughly with low-pressure water (such as at a self-service car wash). * This is not a simple DIY job. Proper access requires partial disassembly and typically takes 2–4 working hours. * Every 80000-120000km Protect your battery. Protect your HVAC. Available at: * EV Clinic Stupnik * EV Clinic Mlaka * EV Clinic Ljubljana * EV Clinic Belgrade * EV Clinic Budapest * EV Clinic Paris * EV Clinic Berlin * EV Clinic Amstetten (soon) * EV Clinic Copenhagen (soon) * EV Clinic Istanbul (soon) * EV Clinic Innsbruck (soon)