Rear Defroster

[wem]

For most of the past two years, my Taycan has been in Georgia. It experienced its first winter in Connecticut this year. While in Georgia, I didn't use the rear defroster much especially since the car was in a garage. Up North and being parked outdoors, there have been occasions this winter when I tried to use the rear defroster. When I turn it on, the icon lights up for about 5 seconds and then turns off. The same thing happens regardless of the state of charge or the outside temperature. I had the dealer in CT look at it when it was in for one of the software recalls in February. They checked it and said they could get it to stay on by bypassing the sensor (so the wires in the rear glass are all working and there are no shorts in the system). They gave me a ridiculous excuse that since it was an EV, the sensor will only operate when the temperature warrants it and it has enough charge in the system. My personal belief is that the sensor is defective. Before I bring the car back to the same dealership for its 2 year service and ask then to change the sensor, I wanted to see if any of your rear defrosters stay on/work.

[Tom]

The owners manual says that it will turn off after 5 to 20 minutes depending on outside temp (but not after 5 seconds). There are other people reporting the same thing on other forums, and the solution seems to be a software update. Either way, your dealer's answer sounds silly to me.

taycan manual.jpg (1.04 MiB) Viewed 1319 times

[VA_CT]

I dont think mine turns off in 5 seconds. I havent had a need to use my rear defroster much lately. Will check and report back.

[Draman]

I've had mine on for a few minutes before. Probably around 3 minutes if I had to guess, but I've never timed it. Seems like a bug or malfunction of some kind if it's turning off after a few seconds

[wem]

Thanks for the feedback. I’ll need to decide whether to bring it back to the same dealer, a different one in CT, or wait until the car is back in GA. I have done business with all three dealerships over the years.

[Tom]

Thanks for the feedback. I’ll need to decide whether to bring it back to the same dealer, a different one in CT, or wait until the car is back in GA. I have done business with all three dealerships over the years.

Sometimes it helps to ask the Service Director to get involved on something like this, if he/she isn't already. If your defroster is turning itself off in 5 seconds, when you need it for actual defrosting, I just have to wonder how high up the command chain they'd be willing to stick with the 'that's normal' story....

[wem]

I know the service manager very well. An easy experiment will be to have the service tech turn on the defroster on another Taycan at the dealership, and then to try mine. This will eliminate any excuse about the ambient temperature. I will also make sure that my car has a high state of charge to eliminate any excuse that the battery charge is too low to allow the electrical drain of the rear defroster.

The service departments are having a really hard time adjusting to the EVs. When I first got the car, I was hard wiring my radar detector into the fuse box. There is a pink plastic cover that keeps the fuses seated. The pink cover is a PITA to get off. I called the service department to get hints to remove it without breaking the tabs. The service tech freaked out. He said don't you know it's an electric car, you can't touch the fuse box otherwise you'll get electrocuted. He was clueless that the fuse box tied to the 12v little battery, not the big battery pack.

[GDPR1]

I feel your frustration- love my Taycan 4S, it’s an amazing car but like many I have had niggling issues for the 18 months I’ve owned…. For example, last winter the heater broke and now in the UK summer (yes we do get a few days of sunshine occasionally) my air con has packed up! C’est typique