Tesla Working on a Fix for Dangerous 'Dog Mode' Flaw Watch out if you use the feature to keep your furry friends cool.
This story originally appeared on Engadget
Tesla is working to fix an issue with its Dog Mode that could put our pets at risk, says CEO Elon Musk. According to one user, setting the car's fan speed manually stops the EV from regulating the temperature for your furry companion.
During the hot summer months, it's very dangerous to leave an animal in a parked car as temperatures inside can rise rapidly. This is particularly an issue for electric vehicles as you can't tell from the outside if the car is on and the AC is running.
@elonmusk @Tesla warning about dog mode...
— Rahul Sood (@rahulsood) July 31, 2019
It's hot as all hell in Seattle. Today I used dog mode and luckily I kept the app open, to my horror the car was 85 degrees and climbing!
Dog mode only works if in auto, if you manually set the fan and leave the AC turns off.
To tackle this problem, Tesla introduced Dog Mode earlier this year. When enabled, Dog Mode keeps the interior of the car at a comfortable temperature and displays a message on the center console letting passersby know that the animals inside are safe.
Rahul Sood, the founder of VoodooPC and Tesla owner, discovered the problem when he manually set his car's fan speed before enabling Dog Mode. He saw that the temperatures inside the car rose to 85 degrees by monitoring the app and reported the issue on Twitter. Elon Musk responded to him personally, promising to fix the issue.