2012 Model S Questions

[Sarevok]

Hi all,
I finally found a deal on a used S, and grabbed it Friday. I absolutely love it so far. I just don't know very much about it. I have avoided dealers my entire life, so getting this off a lot was weird but relatively painless despite lowballing them.

I'm still waiting for Tesla to add the car to my account. The day I bought it, I took it to the local SC to make sure it worked. There's a flashing thing on the display saying "supercharging unavailable" but it charged that day anyway. I took it to another SC yesterday and no dice. So I'm guessing it will be in my account by tomorrow since someone at the service center told me it can take up to 5 days to process.

The last owner has a balance for supercharging despite it being a 2012 which in my mind would have free for life charging. I'm guessing the only way this got screwy is if someone bought it as a cook from Tesla and re sold it, correct? Also, will Tesla have a vehicle history I can access once they confirm it is mine?

And I noticed the navigation controls are a little weird. Since it didn't have the tech package from 2012, it doesn't have the navigation even though you can search for anything on the map - just no directions. So I set up my phone bluetooth which works perfect on a call in the car audio setup, but the turn by turn instructions never come through. Am I missing something there?

Also, do you alternate between winter and summer tires? I read about that once and some of the discussions I see here say people replace tires very quickly. Also where do you take it to get the alignment checked? Any tire place?

Thanks for any help! I'm glad to finally have the thing I've been drooling over for close to a decade haha

 

[murphyS90D]

What is the battery size? An S60 did not come with supercharging by default. I think it was an extra cost option.

If you do a lot of high torque starts the tires will wear out quickly.

Burbank, CA is not in the snow belt so you shouldn't need winter tires unless you travel to ski resorts.

 

[Sarevok]

It's an 85, and I'm actually not in Burbank anymore but Chicago and I'm trying not to get caught off guard.

Thanks!

 

[murphyS90D]

I am north of Philadelphia,PA and switch to winter tires. Winter tires have a softer compound that doesn't get hard like summer or all season tires do when it is below freezing.

 

[SoCal Buzz]

So I set up my phone bluetooth which works perfect on a call in the car audio setup, but the turn by turn instructions never come through. Am I missing something there?

Check out the Bluetooth settings. I recall on my 2013 that you could connect the phone as source for phone calls or audio (music), but not both at the same time. I'm not sure why, but it seemed to recognize as two different sources, despite it being one device (iOS).

 

[Sarevok]

Thanks for the help guys.

For the Bluetooth settings, my options are -

Sync contacts and recent calls

Sync messages

Chime on new messages

Forget this device

Disconnect

 

[Sarevok]

Hi again, thought I'd bump this if it is allowed -

Tesla added the car to my account. So now I see it in my phone and am good there. I always thought once it was paired with your phone, you don't need the fob anymore? I still need to use the fob to get the door handles out which I could probably do if I got into the phone and selected the keyless driving thing. But isn't there a way to have it recognize my phone with bluetooth and not need to be giving commands through anything? I always thought it was a scenario where you walk up to the car with your phone in your pocket, the doors open, you get in and drive away. Then you stop, get out and walk away and it locks behind you closing the handles.

Please tell me if I'm wrong.

 

[murphyS90D]

Model S does not use a bluetooth connection to the car. That came in later models. Your phone connects to your phone ISP and then to a Tesla server. The Tesla server connects to the car via the AT&T cellular network. Both the car and your phone must have cellular access for there to be a connection. Park in an underground parking garage and it will not work. Always have the fob with you. Mine is in my key case with the rest of my keys.

 

[Sarevok]

Thanks for the help murphy! Bummer we need to carry the fob around. I've been following Tesla for so long that the features of all the cars must have blurred together.

I just wish google maps would work on the Bluetooth

 

[SoCal Buzz]

Thanks for the help murphy! Bummer we need to carry the fob around. I've been following Tesla for so long that the features of all the cars must have blurred together.

I just wish google maps would work on the Bluetooth

I just tested and got both Google and Apple Maps Nav voice directions to play in the car. However, Google Maps voice only worked when Tesla audio source was on phone or streaming. It did not work when on radio. Apple Maps voice navigation seems to work regardless of the Tesla audio source. So try that and ensure you have audio voice settings in maps set to Tesla and turned on. FYI I’m on 2020.24.6.4.

 

[Sarevok]

I just tested and got both Google and Apple Maps Nav voice directions to play in the car. However, Google Maps voice only worked when Tesla audio source was on phone or streaming. It did not work when on radio. Apple Maps voice navigation seems to work regardless of the Tesla audio source. So try that and ensure you have audio voice settings in maps set to Tesla and turned on. FYI I’m on 2020.24.6.4.

Thank you, I think I'll need to get it updated and then figure it out. I'm also on an older android so no apple maps that I'm aware of. Once I have the internet set up I'll get the software updates cranking because at the moment I can't seem to set the audio in maps to Tesla