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Chuanrui Wu is a brand new Cybertruck owner from Ontario, Canada, and says his life was at risk when his truck’s A/C stopped working in the middle of the cold while he was driving on the highway.
Chuanrui was returning from a trip from Montreal back to Toronto when his Cybertruck heater failed. In this icy environment, the Cybertruck owner says he was forced to wear insulated clothes to keep himself from freezing.
Not only that but without the A/C working, Chuanrui was unable to defrost or defog his windshield, making his trip that much more perilous.
Chuanrui shared his predicament on the Cybertruck Canada Facebook group, and the story was later reposted on Reddit.
Here is what he wrote…
“I recently drove my Cybertruck from Toronto to Montreal for a skiing trip. During the initial leg of the trip, everything worked perfectly, and using FSD (Full Self-Driving) made the journey very convenient. However, after a few days, the heater in my Cybertruck started malfunctioning—it worked sometimes and then stopped completely. This caused serious issues as I could no longer defog or defrost the windows.
On the way back to Toronto, the heater wasn’t working at all, and I had to wear a down jacket inside the truck just to stay warm. The windows were fogged up the entire time, and I couldn’t find any effective solution. Driving on the highway in such conditions felt extremely unsafe.”
It’s bad enough when the A/C stops working on a hot day; however, not working while driving on the highway in the middle of snow is not only inconvenient but downright dangerous.
I wonder, if Chuanruai’s trip had ended in a crash, would Tesla have taken responsibility for the accident?
Continuing his post, Chanraui says he was only able to keep driving with the aid of Tesla’s FSD software. According to the Toronto resident, this has increased his confidence in the software, but he says he feels let down by the Cybertruck’s performance in the cold.
Here is what he wrote…
“Without FSD, this would have been even more dangerous. While I think FSD performs well in icy and snowy conditions, the Cybertruck itself does not. This experience has left me very frustrated and concerned about the Cybertruck’s reliability in winter conditions.”
Finally, Chuanrui concludes his post by sharing several pictures of his Cybertruck’s center touchscreen, showing the error message he received and that the A/C function was unavailable.
Listening to Chuanrui’s story, the situation looks bad for Tesla; however, fellow Cybertruck owners believe that Chuanrui should have expected this would happen in a first-generation vehicle and that he shouldn’t complain.
For example, Dan GL writes, “It is to be expected for the 1st generation to have some issues. They will fix it for you.”
Sass Peress adds, “You bought a first-year vehicle. Let that be your worst issue. Get it fixed at the showroom.”
Bob Newby agrees, "Don’t buy Gen 1 of any new product. Thankfully, the early adopters will show what needs to be improved.”
Thomas Hekl writes, “Well if you have to be the first macho guy in Canada to buy a brand new Cybertruck, you are buying it with a developer package. You didn’t know that?”
Overall, the sentiment amongst Cybertruck owners and Tesla fans is that these kinds of failures are to be expected in a first-generation vehicle. However, I would counter that the vehicle has been out for a year, and Tesla should have worked out these issues already.
Please let me know what you think in the comments. Share your ideas by clicking the red “Add new comment” button below. Also, visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.
Image: Screenshot from Dirty Tesla YouTube channel
For more information, check out: My Tesla Cybertruck Just Died in The Middle of the Road, No Power & I’m Locked Out; How Do I Get Back in?
Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space daily for several years. He covers everything about Tesla, from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.
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Comments
New cars have problems too,…
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New cars have problems too, especially a brand new model. Thats what warrantys are for. I'm sure this isnt the first car under warranty to have heater problems in canada, and any canadian making a winter trip knows to bring warm clothes in case of a breakdown or accident. How many other vehicles can help by driving themselves? Having problems with a new product is frustrating but there is a positive story here of you chose to see it.
Not surprised this guy is…
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Not surprised this guy is Asian. Tesla’s in Canada are very popular with Asians and Indians. It’s rare to see a white person driving a Tesla. As people have said, his need to be a show off and be one of the first owners of a Cybertruck serves him right for paying over 150K for a vehicle that fails at the most basic of things. Sooo sad… Too Bad…
Having owned several evs and…
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Having owned several evs and driven across Canada in them several times, you have to be prepared for road and weather conditions. You are ultimately responsible and you can't blame faulty equipment. Having driven over 3000 KMs in -35 C, recently in a Tesla, you need to prepare for Canadian conditions. Unfortunately , I see far too many drivers that are not prepared for the drive and blame everything but themselves for their misfortune. It's better to be late in this world than early in the next. If it's not safe then don't go.
It's that simple.
If your defroster stops…
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If your defroster stops working you could stop as soon as its safe and call a tow truck.
If you can afford a Cyber…
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If you can afford a Cyber Truck, you can afford AMA. This vehicle should have been towed, not driven. Towed straight to a Tesla Service Center.
HVAC. it was the HVAC system…
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HVAC.
it was the HVAC system that failed. NOT the A/C. if it was just the A/C that failed in winter then the heater would have still worked. unless the A/C would have failed to turn off at all. and stayed permanently on & running. that would have actually been an A/C malfunction. its still not what happened in this case.
a SHITsla driver, still driving on the highway for hours without being able to see properly, is exactly what would be expected of a piece of shit:
1) sibretrukkk buyer
2) SHITsla buyer.
average SHITsla driver, endangering all of society for their vanity & cult behavior.
"stILl l0Ve tH3 trUKkk TH⁰u6H"
Also, if Mr. Chuanrui felt…
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Also, if Mr. Chuanrui felt it was unsafe, why did he continue to operate the vehicle? That unnecessary creates a dangerous situation for himself and others on the motorway.
I wouldn't buy the cyber…
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I wouldn't buy the cyber truck. It's ugly and a pos.
Fun fact about ICE: No…
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Fun fact about ICE:
No matter how cold, unless you're heater core is clogged all the way, you will always have heat.
Hit piece article. Author…
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Hit piece article. Author says the drivers life was in danger (at risk) but that's not true. The truck never put him at risk. Moreover he's blaming the AC/Heater going out on Tesla without any evidence. He says these problems should be "worked out" after about a year... but please show me a single car manufacturer that has made perfect cars for an entire year - you won't find one. The issue isn't that the Cybertruck isn't perfect because no car is perfect. The issue is whether or not the Cybertruck is a good vehicle compared to other trucks. When you do that comparison then that article will be worth reading.
How has this writer lived…
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How has this writer lived his whole life without learning the difference between heater and A/C? These are not interchangeable terms, they are in fact opposites.
No, you don't spend over…
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No, you don't spend over 100k for a vehicle that has been in development for at least 4 years and give them a pass for not getting HVAC operating system right. That's crazy talk, especially since it is no different than what they've used on ALL Tesla's since 2013. Change to heat pump notwithstanding.
You can be a fan of…
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You can be a fan of something without going over the top and being ridiculous, but so many Cybertruck owners are just delusional. I don't know how they function in reality, when they are so happy to pay an exorbitant amount for something that is riddled with faults and frequent recalls, and then won't stand up for themselves against Tesla or other CT owners.
It just seemed incompatible with operating a business, interacting with adults, or doing anything in life, really.
The Tesla cultists…
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The Tesla cultists willingness to excuse anything is both laughable and sad. If another car exhibited all the issues the CT does they would bury it, but when it comes to Tesla they lose the ability to think.