Tesla has been faced with a growing number of owners that have seen their heat pumps fail, resulting in the HVAC system generating no heat in extreme cold temperatures.
The issue has caught the attention of Transport Canada, which launched a defect investigation at the Issue Assessment level on January 5, 2022 after receiving six complaints from owners.
Since Transport Canada officially announced the investigation last week, the number of complaints has grown to 171 owners from seven different provinces.
According to data provided to Drive Tesla, the vast majority owners that have filed complaints hail from Quebec, which has suffered through some bitterly cold temperatures this winter.
Unsurprisingly, Ontario and Alberta also have a high number of complaints. Only 5 owners from Saskatchewan have complained, the same number as in British Columbia.
| Province | Count |
| Quebec | 87 |
| Ontario | 40 |
| Alberta | 25 |
| Manitoba | 8 |
| Saskatchewan | 5 |
| British Columbia | 5 |
| New Brunswick | 1 |
| TOTAL | 171 |
The issue has mostly impacted Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, with the number of complaints from Model 3 owners nearly doubling those from owners of the electric SUV.
| Model | Count |
| Model S | 1 |
| Model 3 | 108 |
| Model X | 1 |
| Model Y | 61 |
| TOTAL | 171 |
As we have previously reported, a number of 2018 and 2019 owners without a heat pump have also been experiencing heater issues, with 10 filing complaints to Transport Canada.
| Year | Count |
| 2018 | 8 |
| 2019 | 2 |
| 2020 | 14 |
| 2021 | 127 |
| 2022 | 20 |
| TOTAL | 171 |
The government agency tells us their main concern lies with the fact that the lack of heat from the HVAC system may affect windshield defogging/defrosting and therefore driver visibility.
Transport Canada also confirmed their current investigation is at the assessment level, which involves them documenting and analyzing complaints to better understand the issue.
There is no fixed timeline for the completion of their investigation, which could eventually turn into a formal defect investigation.
The results of that investigation could lead to Tesla issuing a recall.
Transport Canada has informed Tesla of their investigation and confirmed with us communication with the automaker is ongoing.
If you have been experiencing HVAC issues with your Tesla would like to share your experience with Transport Canada, you can call them at 1-800-333-0510, or file a defect complaint form on their website here.
