Probably not. The workaround would be to get the Stats app, which allows you to schedule climate control at a specific time. I live on the Westside of Los Angeles, and I schedule mine to come on at 11am, right around the time the sunlight hits my car. Keeps the car from getting too warm.

 

Is there any way to simply disable the heater, as there is in almost all ICE cars, so as to just get dehumidified air or even just fresh air, without having to change the temperature constantly to try to stop the heater from coming on?

The Model 3's equivalent to "unheated outside air" is "LO" temperature with A/C disabled. I use this setting all the time during milder seasons (temps in the mid 50s or 60s with no humidity), and find that it keeps the cabin very comfortable while using very little energy. Heat from the sun and/or the car's occupants will naturally raise the temperature a few degrees, so after a few minutes the cabin reaches a comfortable equilibrium in the upper 60s to lower 70s.

Alternatively, as @Misterbee mentioned above, you can use the Tesla app (or a third-party app) to precondition the car prior to your ride. If you're plugged into a 240V outlet (or if outdoor temperatures are moderate), then the car should be able to bring the cabin temperature up from 62 to 68 on shore power alone.

 

Is there any way to simply disable the heater, as there is in almost all ICE cars, so as to just get dehumidified air or even just fresh air,

To be fair, I don't think this is possible in most ICE cars either. There is an AC button, but no heat button. You simply adjust the temp and the ICE car will redirect a corresponding amount of hot coolant through the heater core in the cabin. Since engjbe coolant does not exist in a Tesla, that function is replicated through electric current through heater core. Your best bet is as mentioned above is to turn off the AC (and hence auto) and setting the temp low enough to not trigger the heating function, simulating an ICE car restricting coolant flow to the heater core.

 

Exactly. The only reason it's not an issue on ICE is because the heat is more or less free (or should I say already paid for whether you use it or not).

I also wish there was a "Heat" button.

It is a pain to keep switching between LO with AC Off (and no recirculate) and say 68-72 with AC On (with recirculate) but that's what I've been doing.

In the summer, if it's cool, I want fresh air or if it's hot, I want efficient AC (recirculate is a must for efficiency) . And never want any (expensive) heat.

 

Most ICE vehicles use engine coolant to provide heat. And, from a cold start, there is no heat available for a few minutes at best.

 

This is also a pet peeve of mine. Including a dedicated button to enable/disable Air Conditioning but having no similar way to disable heat is utterly stupid in an EV.

Chevy and Nissan both get this right in their EVs.

The Volt has a "Fan Only" mode that disables both A/C and Heat when engaged. Otherwise the car will heat or cool the air based on the thermostat.
The Bolt has a "Heat & A/C" button that essentially does the same, except in reverse.
The Leaf has dedicated buttons for A/C and heat.

Too bad Tesla insists on sticking with this antiquated approach. Hopefully they'll see the error of their ways eventually and fix it someday.

 

The Leaf has dedicated buttons for A/C and heat.

Wait... when did Nissan add that? My 2012 Leaf didn't have that.

Anyhow, it's easy enough to accomplish - just set temp to LO. Not a big deal.

 

I also live in a moderate climate. I’ve been trying to get in the habit (and create the habit in my wife) of turning down the temp when parking in my garage. Like to 64 degrees.


Then, when we leave in the (cool) morning there’s no (or very little) heat added and I can tweak it when needed.

This retains most of the “auto” features.

Another habit I have is when I’m a few minutes from home I usually force off AC so the system can dry out avoiding any musty odor. I’ve had this habit for years even in ICE cars.

Wishlist:

1) I wish there was an indicator showing that the resistive heater is in use. And yes, maybe a way to defeat it for that drive.

2) I wish the fan would retain its “auto” mode even when I force the AC pump off. Like most cars. If it gets warm and I notice the fan speeding up to try to hold the lower temp, I can hit “auto” again (or just re-enable AC) and it will promptly cool and the fan will slow down.

 

I want to point out that ICE cars do not have heaters at all.
They simply redirect some of the heat they are already belching out into the neighborhood in the the cabin. Most ICE HVAC systems are nothing but a bunch of plastic diverter flaps. Remember the good ol' days when we had metal leavers that took some effort to switch modes and temperature? They were mechanically connected to those flaps.

However I DO wish we had some way to set a range of temperatures to keep the heat and AC off. I will set temp to 68 for heat and 72 for AC, and it is super annoying when it is within that range outside and I have to keep changing it. Or just turn it off and roll down the windows I guess.

Would also be nice if we had a heat pump for light heating use.

 

Yes! All we need is a "disable heater" button just like we can disable the AC. Right now the only way to do this is set temp to lo and turn off AC.

 

However I DO wish we had some way to set a range of temperatures to keep the heat and AC off. I will set temp to 68 for heat and 72 for AC, and it is super annoying when it is within that range outside and I have to keep changing it. Or just turn it off and roll down the windows I guess.

This is the correct solution.

Also, why does everyone "overthink" the car temp? Day car is delivered, turn on auto, set temp, done. Never think of it again.

 

I agree with you, in as afar as I *usually* keep my temp set point in a narrow range (never run on "LO" or "HI"). However this thread is about the fact that Model 3 will "think" heat is needed when it is not. No big deal in an ICE but for the Model 3 that's a waste of energy.

We "overthink" because the car's logic is too simple "temp set point higher than actual, burn heater". One example, we can human think (over the car) to realize the car is in a cool garage and about to heat up as we drive in the hot sun.

 

Started a bike ride at sunup this morning. It was 37 degF. Back to the car a couple of hours later it was ~57 outside and 95 in the car (full sun). Easy to cool the car down with no A/C or heat but 'Auto' would have used A/C then probably heat to keep it warm.

I'd like a 'Heat' button next to the A/C button.

 

I'd like a 'Heat' button next to the A/C button.

Oh goodness. I can imagine the resulting complaints...

"I turned the temp all the way up to 80° F, and it would still blow nothing but cold air!"
"Well, did you turn on the Heat button first?"
"Why is there a heat button? If I ask for 72° F, isn't the car smart enough to know to turn on the heater? My 50-year-old Honda could do that much!"

 

Then again you live in Boston.
Here in DFW it is normal for my consumption to increase from ~250 to ~275 or 280 when I add A/C.
I do like the auto mode for A/C though. It seems to work well.

 

Exactly, in the 200's no big deal. When you get to the 400's because it's colder than Hoth outside, you realize the AC is not worth stressing about.

 

I want to point out that ICE cars do not have heaters at all.
They simply redirect some of the heat they are already belching out into the neighborhood in the the cabin. Most ICE HVAC systems are nothing but a bunch of plastic diverter flaps. Remember the good ol' days when we had metal leavers that took some effort to switch modes and temperature? They were mechanically connected to those flaps.

However I DO wish we had some way to set a range of temperatures to keep the heat and AC off. I will set temp to 68 for heat and 72 for AC, and it is super annoying when it is within that range outside and I have to keep changing it. Or just turn it off and roll down the windows I guess.

Would also be nice if we had a heat pump for light heating use.

Exactly. Just like a Home Thermostat does when in "Auto (Heat/Cool)".

70F on 95F degree day is freezing. But 70F is Comfy on a 0F day.

 

Please give us a heat off toggle!!! And ideally a low and high temp range like the nest thermostat, with the ability to run the fan only /vent in-between these setpoints.

Vote here
https://moretesla.com/issues/a8FHK8b56XpeWIxIcgxx

https://moretesla.com/issues/zQN1QxK1R2tfYZVBPo03

https://moretesla.com/issues/NKl0hiiYxux8oSZS9trM

More links to other forums here
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/dont-want-heater-on-damn-it.131334/page-4

 

Setting to 'Lo' without the AC might work in dry climates, but when it's humid outside the windshield does steam up without AC. I agree with other comments, setting to 'LO' with minimal fan seems to keep the humidity down and doesn't make you too cold.

 

Here is a pic of how the nest looks with the low and high setpoints set in Heat+Cool mode. So neither the heater or ac will be used if the actual temp is within your setpoint range. But you can control the fan seperatly to move the air regardless.​

https://wwwassets.s3.amazonaws.com/global/vivint.com/Support/images/nest smarts 01.png​

 

In general I think the climate control in Auto works great.

But there are some hot days where I'd like a higher fan speed for a bit. What I do now is to bump up the fan speed, which kicks the system out of auto mode. I'd love some sort of "Extra Fan for 10 Minutes" feature, after which it resumed normal fan regulation.

If nothing else, this is another example of how different people are in terms of what they want.

 

Even an indicator that the resistive heater is energized would help.

The original firmware for Model 3 showed the blowing air color as red when heat was on. I could just tap the temp lower a couple of clicks and it would turn white indicating no wasted energy.

I would suggest they make the temp display (numerals) show red to indicate status of the resistive heater.

 

Even an indicator that the resistive heater is energized would help.

The original firmware for Model 3 showed the blowing air color as red when heat was on. I could just tap the temp lower a couple of clicks and it would turn white indicating no wasted energy.

I would suggest they make the temp display (numerals) show red to indicate status of the resistive heater.

Except the status is very variable. Precomdition with heat while plugged in at home and watch it use 5+ kW in the first minute then quickly from to 2 to 3 then 1 once it is at temp.
Actually, the power meter under the speedometer will show power used by the heater, if you notice a few pixels are used when you are not driving.
I really wish I could make my gauges easy enough for everyone to use so you could make your own indicators for whatever you want.

 

...

1) I wish there was an indicator showing that the resistive heater is in use. And yes, maybe a way to defeat it for that drive.

...

However I DO wish we had some way to set a range of temperatures to keep the heat and AC off. I will set temp to 68 for heat and 72 for AC, and it is super annoying when it is within that range outside and I have to keep changing it. Or just turn it off and roll down the windows I guess.

Maybe we can come to a consensus on a wish list and start a movement to get some Tesla/Elon love?

1. Indicate when the resistive heater is in use. Turning the temp or fan display at the bottom of the screen to red to indicate heating, blue to indicate cooling, white to indicate venting. Given that the seat heat and defrost controls have color, I would assume anything on that bottom row would support color.
2. Allow a comfort range like most modern thermostats. i.e. Heat below 65 and AC above 72. Include a minimum fan speed setting.
3. Within manual controls, add a heat on/off option and/or add a 'vent' option.

1&2 would satisfy the set-and-forget crowd. 3 would satisfy the control freaks. (I consider myself a hybrid between the two)

 

I fully support 1 & 2.

For #3, how about if instead, a button was added that would immediately change the temp to LO. That would remove the confusing redundancy between having a hypothetical "heat off" button as well as a temperature setting.

1. Indicate when the resistive heater is in use. Turning the temp or fan display at the bottom of the screen to red to indicate heating, blue to indicate cooling, white to indicate venting. Given that the seat heat and defrost controls have color, I would assume anything on that bottom row would support color.
2. Allow a comfort range like most modern thermostats. i.e. Heat below 65 and AC above 72. Include a minimum fan speed setting.
3. Within manual controls, add a heat on/off option and/or add a 'vent' option.

1&2 would satisfy the set-and-forget crowd. 3 would satisfy the control freaks. (I consider myself a hybrid between the two)

 

So the wiring for the heater is accessible behind the RH console trim panel....

 

I like the list, but I think it should be enabled in options as extra stuff is confusing, and I also agree with Tesla's goal of keeping the car and the GUI as simple as possible.


Please don't mess with that. It is high voltage and will kill you.
Serious.

 

Antifreeze is poison too and so is brake fluid come to think of it.
Obviously you should always be careful and know what you are doing.

Better idea
MPP "disabled" some of the driving nannies with programming and a box. Could the same thing be done with the heat?

 

They are if you drink a large amount, but they can't kill you instantly if you so much as touch it.
I'm not thrilled there are HV cables right in the footwell, and thin so they seem less intimidating than the big ones in the back. You may be smart enough not to cut into them, but someone randomly reading your post may not be, so I just wanted to add the disclaimer.
If you want heat off just set temp to Lo and turn off AC.

 

Garsh, the temp doesn’t need to go to “LO”. ICE cars with climate control usually allow you to turn off AC and then it simply regulates the fan speed based on your temperature choice.

Then, if the fan is blowing too hard the user will notice - and feel warm - and pushes the AC button.

With a “heat off” button also the system, in theory, would shut the fan off if the cabin were below the set temp point. The logic could be written that in this event, if the user increases the set temp it will automatically RE-enable the resistive heater (making it idiot proof - or more likely, uninformed-proof)

 

Garsh, the temp doesn't need to go to "LO".

I disagree, for the reason I gave earlier:

Oh goodness. I can imagine the resulting complaints...

"I turned the temp all the way up to 80° F, and it would still blow nothing but cold air!"
"Well, did you turn on the Heat button first?"
"Why is there a heat button? If I ask for 72° F, isn't the car smart enough to know to turn on the heater? My 50-year-old Honda could do that much!"

The logic could be written that in this event, if the user increases the set temp it will automatically RE-enable the resistive heater (making it idiot proof - or more likely, uninformed-proof)

But by that same logic, shouldn't the temperature also go to LO when you disable the resistive heater? The idea here is to keep everything in sync to avoid the car providing bad feedback as demonstrated in the scenario above.

 

I suppose this is why a change is not yet implemented and may never - many of the ideas and alternate solutions don’t make sense for everyone.

The only idea that seems to not have disagreement is a simple representation of the resistive heater being active (red temp numbers).

 

two miles in less than a minute of low heat? But as you say there are better ways to run the hvac

 

Yes, it seemed to very aggressively try to get the cabin from 64 to 71. It was more than a minute, probably 2 but not more than 3... My teenage son had gotten in the car a couple of minutes before me. When I got into the car it felt "stuffy" because the heat was blowing. I knew 2 miles were lost because I had just checked the app before we went to the garage.

I'm sure turning down the temp when I part at home will become a "habit" soon enough.

 

I finally bit the bullet and pulled the CAN connector to the cabin heater in my M3. My wh/m has dropped 5% the past 1000 miles with most of my driving on the freeway at 75-80mph.
Before I pulled the plug I was doing the whole routine to disable AC and set temp to LO and then turning it back on, etc so I should not have been using the heater at all ... Or so I thought.
It appears the heater is run all the time even when you are trying to cool the car.
The AC now cools the car super fast and actually too good. If it's 85 outside and I have the temp set to 81 the car cabin still gets down to 68!!
This is not a trivial amount of juice that appears to be straight wasted.
I really think the 2 temp setpoints is by far the best solution to extend your cars range and keep you comfortable within a larger temp range rather than just having 1 temp setpoint for the heater and ac to battle to keep. Until the 2 temp setpoint option is availiable a heater off button would be an amazing quick fix.
Will put a video showing how to do it hopefully this weekend.

 

It appears the heater is run all the time even when you are trying to cool the car.

If you really had temp set to LO and still had the heater turning on, then I suggest taking your car to a service center and having them take a look at it. That's not normal.

If you leave the car in auto, and set a temperature, then yes, it will use the heater in conjunction with the A/C to maintain that temperature as well as keeping the humidity down. That's why I generally keep the car in manual mode with temp set to LO all summer long, and just adjust the fan speed and vents used as I desire.

The AC now cools the car super fast and actually too good. If it's 85 outside and I have the temp set to 81 the car cabin still gets down to 68!!

If you're in Auto mode with a temperature set, and you've physically disabled the heater, then that's the result you're going to get. The A/C stays on to control humidity. The car still thinks it turned the heater on to maintain your set temperature. It's not any more efficient than manually turning on the A/C and setting the temp to LO.

 

I need to run the AC (cold air only desired) 90% of the time here in LA. And it seems fairly conclusive now that the heater is being actively used all the times even when if crazy hot outside. I went to a service center yesterday to see if they had the can connector plugs for the cabin heater so I can attempt to do a man in the middle control to enable or disable the heater via a separate software control. And the SC tech verified that the cabin heater does in fact run all the time no matter if it's hot or cold outside. I will maybe put my own current sensor on the main power to the cabin heater to see what it's actually pulling current wise while I'm trying to just cool the car off and would think the cabin heater should be completely off.