How good is your Taycan at winter?

[prj]

Eventually, this week I had my J1.1 winter wheels fitted with TPMS valves which work with the J1.2.

(With all the things wrong with a Taycan, why did Porsche dick about with something which worked perfectly and change the TPMS frequency!)

I contemplated buying a set of valves from Amazon and getting the local tyre place to fit them, but getting the correct part seemed to confuse many sellers who lacked product compatibility knowledge.

If you need TPMS valves for a J1.2, the part number is shown below.

1. It's insane to pay 3-5x the price buying them from Porsche in a Porsche box. When the same manufacturer can be bought online for a fraction of the cost.

2. There are four different sensors on the facelift:

7K3 is 433 Mhz, 7K4 is 315 Mhz. The other difference is the color.
USA and Europe should always have the 433Mhz.

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[535GTS]

This is my first winter with my 2023 GTS Sport Tourismo riding on 21" Mission E wheels and new, staggered Continental all weathers. It's my first Porsche, and Toronto is having a right proper winter so far. It's been cold, snowy, and iced over since early December. I've put on about 3,000km of winter driving so far.

My Taycan experience hasn't been perfect, but overall, I'm happy with the car's competency and composure in mixed winter conditions. It has 10/10 traction. I've driven all manner of Quattro Audi's, and this is like those, but with more torque and precision. The car feels planted and I feel connected to the road outside while driving it, moreso than other cars. The braking is quite good with these tires; obviously winters would be that much better. Maybe I'll get a set later on, but I haven't felt the need for winter city/highway so far. The heated steering wheel is great, but the button is in a dumb place (easy to press accidentally). The heated seats are similarly fast and hot. App/remote climate control has been reliable, and this just may be the feature I just can't live without anymore. Overall, the Taycan GTS ST is a great winter car that looks and feels the part. Now for the trouble bits:

- The cameras are not well shielded from ice buildup. You need to check and clear them if you plan to use them at all. It also causes an annoying number of alerts and bloops and bleeps inside the cabin. Leave me alone, I'm winter driving here!

- The manta air intakes clog up with snow and ice - I dunno what this does to performance, but it can't be good. I clear them out all the time, but they clog right up again.

- My cabin heater completely died 2 weeks ago, replaced by Porsche Vaughan under warranty.

- My rear windshield blade snapped right off yesterday! I activated it while driving and it was frozen to the window. The motor overcame the windshield blade, and it snapped. C'mon really?

- Remote climate control doesn't work unless you fork out for Porsche Connect. Pay up!

- Everyone already knows the range isn't great and it's further compromised in the cold. I charge at home and 99% city drive, so it's really not an issue.

 

[f1eng]

Mine has just stopped being good in winter again since the vent flow has stopped again.
The breakdown bloke reset it by disconnecting the 12V battery last time (in November) and it has been back to normal since but yesterday I went to pick up my daughter, it worked normally on the way there but not when we went on, nor on the way home, so I tried the 12V battery disconnect for 8 minutes this morning which meant I had to recalibrate brake pedal and windows, but the heater still has no vent flow. Fan blasting away audibly, and speed controllable from the PCM but no flow.

I was just thinking back over breakdowns and faults I have experienced in 49 years of motoring and I think more than half of them have happened in the last 3 years with my Taycan.

 

[Old man]

I have a 2022 CT 4 and generally it has been great in snow both in Maine and western New York. The major issues, as many others have noted, is with the sensors and cameras. I have encountered an issue with the charging door (manual)not opening on 2 occasions. I wonder if it was frozen shut. One time I used my wife’s hair dryer for several minutes and it opened. The second time I just repeatedly pressed and pushed multiple times and it eventually opened. Any ideas about how to keep this from recurring?

 

[E500]

Have you tried putting a smear of Vaseline or silcone grease around the edges of the windows? This might ease them opening.

I've not tried it as I haven't had the problem, although I noticed the door handles struggled a bit to open the other day.

Use Gummi Pflege: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Liqui-Moly-7182-Rubber-Care-75-ml/dp/B00CSYM1K8

 

[ovonrein]

Any ideas about how to keep this from recurring?

Never experienced the problem myself but would have thought some moisture repellent like WD-40 on the frame of the flap.

 

[Old man]

Thanks. Worth a try.

 

[Fogsvans]

I have a 2022 CT 4 and generally it has been great in snow both in Maine and western New York. The major issues, as many others have noted, is with the sensors and cameras. I have encountered an issue with the charging door (manual)not opening on 2 occasions. I wonder if it was frozen shut. One time I used my wife’s hair dryer for several minutes and it opened. The second time I just repeatedly pressed and pushed multiple times and it eventually opened. Any ideas about how to keep this from recurring?

Use silicone grease around the edges of the charging doors and you may be good. However, if there is a lot of water/melting snow followed by a severe drop in temperature it will most likely freeze anyway. Hard to avoid.

 

[Fogsvans]

- My rear windshield blade snapped right off yesterday! I activated it while driving and it was frozen to the window. The motor overcame the windshield blade, and it snapped. C'mon really?

Classic. VAG issue, too weak plastic construction. I try never use the rear wiper during winter, but just the weight of melting snow on the car may break the wiper when parked. Yes, happened to me two years ago.

 

[RED!]

I just got my 24 ST GTS and driving in Ontario winter I will agree that the low down nose sensors are a PITA. My E63 had problems too, but fewer. The big issue is range. I need to drive 250 kms without a recharge. I’m a little nervous about making it on a cold with 100% charge to start. I’ve noticed losing 20-30 kms in 5-10 actual kms.
I’d love to hear from a veteran winter distance driver!

 

[RED!]

Also curious about charging outside in the snow. Any advice? The car is aluminum so the charger boots won’t stick

 

[Fogsvans]

I just got my 24 ST GTS and driving in Ontario winter I will agree that the low down nose sensors are a PITA. My E63 had problems too, but fewer. The big issue is range. I need to drive 250 kms without a recharge. I’m a little nervous about making it on a cold with 100% charge to start. I’ve noticed losing 20-30 kms in 5-10 actual kms.
I’d love to hear from a veteran winter distance driver!

We have the coldest winter for many years here and the temperature has not been over freezing point since new year. I make regular 275 km trips with my 23 RWD and it works but i would have preferred some more margin. In temperatures between 5-10 below zero I need to charge the battery to 100%, precondition before start to warm it, drive careful, not faster than 100 kmh and I will arrive with 5–20% left in the battery (performance plus) without having to charge on the road. The difference on how much is left depends on wind and road surface conditions. You will probably have less margin than I have due to driving a GTS and perhaps more ”thirsty” wheels. My winter tires are 19 inch. But I think you will be OK for 250kms as long as you keep the speed down and have max 20 C inside

 

[Fogsvans]

Also curious about charging outside in the snow. Any advice? The car is aluminum so the charger boots won’t stick

Slow charge over night - no problem. Just plug it in as usual and leave. Fast charging - a pain to precondition the battery to get charging speed. Apart from that there are no problems.

 

[Crazymind]

Use silicone grease around the edges of the charging doors and you may be good. However, if there is a lot of water/melting snow followed by a severe drop in temperature it will most likely freeze anyway. Hard to avoid.

Not a good idea to use silicone grease, it will damage the paint. Use PTFE lubricant.

 

[d00d]

Also curious about charging outside in the snow. Any advice? The car is aluminum so the charger boots won’t stick

Had to look up `charger boot'.
I've been charging outside in NH for three years and it's never got stuck, there's some heat generated, you'll see the cable sink into the snow.

My standard PB gets 322 km in the coldest MA/NH weather, you shouldn't have a problem with your PB+.

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