Stationary Climate Control
Stationary climate control is the deliberate operation of cabin heating, cooling, ventilation, or related comfort functions while a vehicle remains in Park. It is an umbrella term rather than one standardized feature name, and manufacturers divide the parked functions in different ways.
Main forms
- Keep-climate or hold-climate mode: maintains a selected cabin condition after the normal drive state ends. Depending on the vehicle, it may be intended for an occupied cabin or a short stop away from the vehicle.
- Camping mode: supports people remaining in or around a parked vehicle and may combine climate control with accessory power, displays, entertainment, lighting, or a special parked-energy state.
- Pet mode: is intended for a short, monitored stop with an animal in the cabin and may add an exterior-facing message, app status, alerts, or different lock, window, and alarm behaviour.
These labels do not establish a common capability set. Tesla groups Keep Climate On, Pet Mode, and Camp Mode as separate parked settings, while Polestar separates preconditioning, keep climate, and animal mode. Rivian's Camp Mode adds controls such as parked-energy states, outlets, displays, lighting, and vehicle levelling. Each example describes one manufacturer's implementation. Tesla Model 3 owner's manual: Keep Climate On, Pet Mode, and Camp Mode Polestar 4 manual: interior climate when parked Rivian: Camp Mode
How it differs from preconditioning
Cabin Preconditioning prepares the cabin for a future departure and may stop when its timer completes or the journey begins. Stationary climate control, in the narrower EVKX use of the term, is intended to maintain a parked operating state after it is selected. Some owner manuals use parking climate as a broader category that also includes preconditioning, so the manual's definition matters more than the menu label.
What varies by vehicle
Check the permitted duration, minimum battery level, shutdown conditions, notifications, connectivity, lock and alarm behaviour, available outlets and screens, and whether occupants are expected to remain inside. Continued climate operation uses energy and can reduce available driving range. A mode name does not guarantee a temperature, runtime, remote warning path, or safe response to a system fault.
For the heating, cooling, air-handling, and energy systems behind these modes, see Climate systems in electric vehicles.