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A local tire shop that I use discourages tire pressure sensors in snow tires. They are prone to corrosion and need to be cut off when the valve core or cap cannot be removed. People put fancy metal caps on the metal stems and they corrode solid. Sensors also have a 10 year battery life so...

For long distance road trips I purchased a single rim from Tesla to match the rims on our Model S. I bought a matching tire too and the necessary tools can be sourced easily including hockey puck for a buck. My reasoning is that having a replacement rim and tire is a perfect spare for continuing...

I wonder if this poll would be different if separated into groups based on availability of charging stations? The percentage SOC measurement looks like the fuel gauge of an ICE vehicle and its purpose is to remind the driver when it's time to buy more fuel. With refuelling stations are at every...

Whenever this topic is discussed I need to point out that with any technology...'Machines break, Software has bugs and People make mistakes'. It's a fact if life that is built into service level contracts. When bad things happen quick repair/replacement service and Engineering Changes for poor...

I added drive fluid (Dexron) change task at our two year service visit for an extra cost. I would have done this for any vehicle to remove wear in debris. After this change I consider it a lifetime fluid so worth the extra cost when spread over the life of the vehicle, in my opinion. Just an...

I have become accustomed to range (km) as the right measurement for me but it's like religion or text editors, the one that you learn first is always the best. My BMW motorcycle does not have fuel gauge so I reset the trip meter at every fill up and stop for fuel before the 'reserve light' (80km...

In Ontario a weak transponder battery at first will generate lost entry or exit signals so the toll company can only charge you for the distance to the next or previous exit. Once the battery totally expires they use photo billing which you notice on the bill as an extra processing fee. That's...

I don't provide a free show when baited by young tuners and their street race cars. I know our Model S is fast and they know it too but they want to see the show which then becomes a trap for street racing fines. Other drivers with mental issues are aggressive and when shut down by a fast Tesla...

Our 2015 85D may be an exception as there have been no serious problems and only a minor water leak at the trunk lid tail light. 12V battery, tires, brakes and fluid changes are normal usage items with this technology. With all products 'hardware breaks, software has bugs and people make...

Packing foam into tight areas where parts can touch does work and it gave me something to do. In my case the rattle was in the vents under the dash cover. Pounding it with my fist recreated the rattle and now with dense foam packed in some areas the rattle is mostly gone. It still happens on a...

I'm not sure that fussing over this discrepancy has much value. As long as our 85D provides the utility that we need it's working as planned. We charge the car using sunshine which makes extreme efficiency not a concern. Mostly I watch battery capacity in km on the dash and compare that to...

Switch tires/wheels right to left to see if the problem changes. Moving wheels front to rear is also a test for tire abnormalities. In another vehicle I chased a similar tracking issue with vehicle adjustments until it was discovered to be a tire problem. Placing the offending tire on the rear...

A couple of thoughts for your consideration... if there is no need to travel together with the second vehicle and trailer I would avoid following too closely as it's an added risk of stone chips or windshield damage. Staying in front of the second vehicle would be my choice to set the pace. When...

Our experience when on a road trip is that weather can change all of your plans. A headwind or rain/snow sucks power faster and a charging plan needs to be in place for a stop along the route. We carry a CHAdeMO adapter to have high speed charging access if required where there may not be...

I consider the UMC to be part of the car and the HPWC to be part of the house. The UMC along with as many adapters as possible should be carried in the vehicle just in case charging is required while on the road. The HPWC is a very robust device that takes the abuse of daily connection in any...

The truism of technology is that ...''hardware breaks, software has bugs and people make mistakes'. Any and all of these things can occur to cause a system to fail. Blaming all failures on human error is myopic, in my opinion. Over 10 years ago we ordered a new BMW 3 series which I discovered...

Agreed and the car was repaired. End of discussion.

Perhaps I need to be more clear on the reason for my original comment. An engine that accelerates on its own needs a lot of brake force to hold it back and with the element of surprise the car can lurch forward causing damage. How and when it happens is not important and my only experience was...

The problem was a sticky cable to the carb and the engine would race without warning. My wife experienced it and eventually refused to drive that car. It was unpredictable hence the need for hard brake pedal application especially when in close to other obstacles like parking or first moving in...

The practise was the result of an ICE vehicle that would race the engine during start up. The same practise makes sense for the Tesla when you put it into D or R. I agree that the risk is small but light brake pedal pressure is not sufficient to overcome a surprise acceleration, that's all that...

It's generally true that brakes have more stopping HP than the engine has to make the car move, however there is a surprise factor that needs to be considered. I have been in vehicles with unintended acceleration and the initial surprise drives you back into the seat reducing the foot pressure...

I just completed repair of a BMW rear door window actuator and it is considered simple but taking out the rear lights on a Tesla looks like high risk to me of broken parts, strange wiring and delays waiting for replacements. Amber turn signals would not be worth the trouble and expense for me...

Perhaps a flaw in the window glass? Something sharp punctured the rubber then tore it. Vandals still come to mind first as I once picked up a screwdriver by the curb thinking that it was lost from a parked vehicle. It was used to pierce the sheet metal of car doors near the lock assembly for...

I haven't investigated this yet but perhaps a shop vac with a custom extension will remove the leaves. I too am not that worried about leaves as they breakdown to dust eventually and the rad area is vertical so it would take a lot of debris to make any heat transfer difference. Still, adding...

I have this rule with our grandkids when we go out for driving lessons. They may not see the danger that I see so when I yell STOP they know to hit the brakes hard. It's also a good first lesson to let them feel what happens when the brake is pushed hard. Initially they try to be gentle and...

I agree that testing new tire sets against each other on the same vehicle and on the same road section can create differences in braking and avoidance performance. However, the reality in real life is that tires age and their rubber compound changes to become drier and harder, tread depth can...

I recently purchased winter tires for another vehicle and went thought the same decision. China built tires of an unknown brand turned out to be Michelins through a joint venture to make tires in that country. They came to North America at a low price and so far no problems on our BMW winter...

Creep = coast. My technique for parking my manual transmission pick up truck is to apply enough forward way to coast to the desired stop using the brake only just like an automatic tranny vehicle with creep. There is no confusion that the right foot is always on the brake. For those odd...

For our first long road trip to the East Coast I carried a full sized spare tire with tools and a CHAdeMO adapter. In addition we had the dual charger option which I couldn't test at our home HPWC so of each of these mitigation items I pretested before our trip. The spare tire change wasn't...

I don't buy the 'pads stuck in their mounts' explanation as the pads fail to release when this occurs. The rotors get hot and warp long before the pads will lose any braking effect. So it's just the opposite when pads are corroded in their holders, they grab and hold more than normal. After...

When I give test drives to friends and neighbours they are amazed at the one foot control for acceleration and regen braking. One foot control for parking has been learned already by most drivers so creep ON needs to be the default, in my opinion. Creep was the first parameter that I set to help...

After recently trying the sealant-in-a-can repair on another vehicle, I agree that it's a temporary repair only. It may seal the leak but the balance is messed up especially in cold winter months when the sealant remains jelly inside the tire. My view now is that sealant is to be used only when...

We are on the same page as I have tinkered for many decades in my workshop and now I am training grandkids (teens) in the safe use of mill, lathe, welder, band saw so that they too can tinker. I bought them an Arduino starter kit to get them programming robotics so I know the value of letting...

I have nothing more to offer. The fact that you listened and replied is sufficient. I'm sure that you will make the right decision for your kids and grandkids.

This thread is going in the wrong direction as kids don't need a faster toy car. We had a Jeep version for our grandkids and it was important that I could walk beside them (low gear) to take control if necessary while they learned to drive. Later then they were more skilled the spinning rear...

Power brake assist used to come from the vacuum produced by an ICE but on an EV that assist needs to be electrically generated. This issue sounds like a simple loss of assist and it needs to be taken to Tesla for repair. The water on rotors explanation doesn't make sense to me.

BTW, we carry a CHAdeMO adapter when we tour and on one occasion when leaving the East Coast a headwind made it obvious that the initial calculation by the NAV system of capacity remaining wasn't going to work. It just dropped and dropped and our westerly direction was going to be up wind all...

I find this story too exciting and not consistent with good risk mitigation. Personally I leave a healthy buffer of battery capacity when planning recharging stops just in case the charging station is broken and I need to find a secondary source. Driving without defrosting capacity (cold...

The cure-all for corrosion in Canada due to salt in winter is oil spraying. Maybe a Tesla needs the same protective coating to keep brine away from connections to aluminium. We kept an ICE as a winter beater as we are retired and don't travel much in winter. The winter beater also has winter...

You are lucky to have a black car as any black paint will match. I would consider painting our nose cone if I could match the paint colour perfectly and if I could be assured that it would withstand highway travel. For now I am leaving it as is.

Here's another consideration... make it two day trip. Take the Tesla and book a night at a hotel that has a charging station. When we travel using destination chargers I call ahead to book the room and the charger for the same night. It's never a problem and we have priority to recharge the car...

Rent an ICE for this trip. They are wonderful in winter producing excess heat and one rental will not affect your business case for the Tesla. Just another opinion for your consideration.

In my experience excessive tire wear is always a toe problem. In fact toe-in is set so that when road forces at speed push the wheels apart, the resulting toe is neutral. The suspension moves when under load at highway speeds so the correct toe-in needs to be set for that change in geometry. I...

Trying to eliminate battery conditioning may not be wise as it is the nature of the battery technology that we are currently using that should be more important. If the battery needs to be heated before use then I accept that to ensure that the battery survives as long as possible. When cold...

In my experience, Dyna Beads are only effective on high profile tires like transport trailers or motorcycles. The beads need to stay on the centre line to work and for wide low profile tires the beads spread and cannot balance the tire. I recently had to use sealant in a leaking tire and it is...

I had this same issue with early run flat tires on BMW 10years ago. The thick side wall and low profile tire would not withstand pot hole hits. The only good news is that it was a run flat tire so even if air was lost through this bulge in the side wall I considered the tire to be safe enough...

Old is new again. From the early 60s moon disks were popular wheel covers. Back then it was for style or for high speed salt flat runs. We need something as simple for EVs.

In the 70s some auto manufacturers bolted aluminium bumpers to the steel frame in an effort to reduce weight. Road salt soon made the aluminium into a white powder and the bumpers lost strength. Sailboats have the same issue with fittings bolted to the mast and in that situation it's common to...

This is interesting as I just had a rear window actuator fail on a 10 year old BMW. That window was almost never used and when activated last week the cable hopped out of the guide and jammed in the spool. The window would not go up so I fixed it by disconnecting the cables and supporting the...

My experience with suspension noises at low speed and over parking lot speed bumps has always been sway bar bushings. But that should have been the first thing checked and if they already know the source you can only wait. I doubt that you will get a warranty fix faster using this site. I may be...