Beat the freeze: Cold weather care for your EV
Your electric Volkswagen is built to handle cold weather with confidence.
It’s designed to perform in all conditions. With a little extra care, your Volkswagen EV will perform even better. As temperatures dip and turn the country into the winter wonderland we’re all familiar with, things like battery performance, charging speed, and overall condition can be affected. With a few smart habits and helpful tools (like the myVW app), you can make the most of your EV’s power and comfort—so you can enjoy winter without worry.
It’s just science—batteries don’t like the cold.
Your EV’s battery uses lithium-ion cells to store and deliver energy. Inside the battery, lithium ions move back and forth to keep the system balanced while electrons flow through the vehicle’s circuits.
What counts as “cold” for a high-voltage battery might surprise you—anything below about 22°C can start to slow down those ions. In Canada, where winter temperatures can easily dip well below freezing, this effect can be more noticeable: charging can take longer, power delivery may be less efficient, and range can be reduced until the battery warms up.
Help your battery brave the storm:
Precondition your vehicle
Park indoors or in a covered space
Keep your battery above 20%
Be clever about climate control
Heating and cooling any vehicle requires energy. For EVs, that energy comes from the high-voltage battery and can reduce your driving range—so make sure to find a good balance. Aside from bundling up in colder weather, here are a few smart ways to stay warm while conserving energy:
Use the myVW app to your advantage
Your EV also uses a 12‑volt battery to power essential systems and start the vehicle before the high‑voltage battery takes over. Just like in gas vehicles, cold weather can slow the 12-volt battery’s chemical reactions, which reduces its ability to hold a charge and deliver power. And if your vehicle sits unused for an extended time, especially in cold weather, this can lead to the 12-volt battery losing charge.
Turning on the Energy Management feature in the myVW app can help by allowing your vehicle to draw energy from the high‑voltage battery instead of the 12-volt battery when needed, so your vehicle stays responsive for remote commands.
Keep it clean through the cold
Buildup from ice, snow, and other road debris (like dirt and salt) isn’t just annoying to look at—it affects your vehicle’s health, longevity, and driving performance. It can interfere with your driver assistance systems by blocking various sensors and cameras. And most importantly, it could affect your visibility while driving.
Apart from monitoring your local weather forecast, here are some other things you can do:
After parking, place your windshield wipers in service mode
Regularly check your windshield washer fluid levels
Use the rearview camera washer function
If equipped, use the heated windshield
Check your tire pressure often
When possible, keep door handles clean and dry
Hibernation tips for your EV
Vehicles are meant to be driven. But if you need to park your EV for a few days or weeks, here’s how to keep it winter-ready:
- Keep it plugged into an AC charger (Level 1 or 2) to maintain battery health.
- Set a charge limit (around 80%) to avoid overcharging.
- As noted earlier, avoid deep discharge—try not to let the battery drop below 20%, especially in extreme cold.
When winter hits, you’ve got this.
With a little planning and the right tools, winter driving in your Volkswagen EV is truly a breeze–even in the harshest Canadian conditions.