2015 Tesla Accelerated into a wall

[Saghost]

A: I have not investigated nor studied the role of electric v. mechanical braking in a Tesla, but there could be related technical issues there as to how much braking is available from the pedal, and how quickly. Logged parameters such as whether or not the pedal is applied (brake switch signal), the brake fluid pressure, longitudinal and lateral accelerometers, yaw sensor, steering angle, and wheel rotational speeds over time can shed light on the unfolding of an incident.

As you said, you clearly haven't studied braking in a Tesla at all. That discussion is entirely appropriate to the blended brakes most of the EV market uses.

Tesla has continuously refused to contemplate blended brakes, largely due to pedal feel/response as I understand it.

Thus, with iBooster, Tesla has the most direct brake response possible - the pedal is pushing directly on the master cylinder piston just like an unpowered hydraulic brake system, and the iBooster adds braking force when the car feels it is appropriate.

Electric braking happens solely by the release of the accelerator.

 

[victusw]

Sorry to hear of the accident and glad to hear that no one is seriously hurted.

However, one question looms in my mind: I thought no insurance company will insure any "salvage car" let alone paying to repair/replace it. Perhaps I am mistaken.

 

[St Charles]

Sorry to hear of the accident and glad to hear that no one is seriously hurted.

However, one question looms in my mind: I thought no insurance company will insure any "salvage car" let alone paying to repair/replace it. Perhaps I am mistaken.

I've owned salvage/rebuilt vehicles in the past. I was able to get liability and comprehensive insurance for a salvage/rebuilt in my state (Virginia) Other states may have limitations.

 

[St Charles]

Know of any reputable shop that repairs the Tesla computer systems and its electronics?

EV West comes to mind. From a hardware and electronics standpoint, Tesla's are no more difficult to work on than any other computer hardware or software system. For those who live and breathe IT, the technology is familiar. For those not in IT, it may seem foreign and complicated.

There is nothing in a Tesla that is individually groundbreaking.

 

[Jjmboni]

I fixed that car 2 years and 60k miles ago. It had side damage on it. Why do so many of you bash salvage cars? It is just as safe as a car and drove just as good as non salvage car. I will try to pull logs of the car and hopefully will have an EDR video of it crashing into the wall. I'm sure it was user error.

That matches the story told by my seller. He bought the car in a salvage auction in California, towed it to Minneapolis to get it repaired and drove it back to Oregon. He drove it for 60,000 miles before selling it to me. Sounds like you did the repairs zhur0002.

My wife and I pretty much accept that it was her mistake. The airbags did deploy and she is unharmed. She got bumps, burns (from the airbags) and bruises and had to go to a Chiropractor for a few months but feels fine now.

My insurance company did initially want about 50% of a Tesla value, but the guy who set the price worked with me for several days and expanded his criteria of a Tesla Model S to the entire country, so I was able to find a few cars priced high enough to almost match what I paid. I lost about $6,000 out of the deal total. The worst loss was for the tires. I had just bought four new tires at $1,000 and the insurance wouldn't include that in the settlement. I found out later that they would have allowed me to swap out the brand new tires for a used set so I could've tried to sell them later to recoup some of my loss. The next time I total a car I'll remember that little tidbit lol.

 

[Silicon Desert]

I cut the OP some slack just because of history. It's pretty clear there are many whom just automatically say this is the fault of the driver without having any first hand facts about the incident. All this reminds me of what I used to see on the Toyota forum back in about 2009 whenever someone would post about sudden acceleration. Other posters would jump on them and claim all sorts of driver faults like they were too old, medical problem, mistaken brake, etc. Everything except the fact that the car might be the problem. Then it was found out to be a scandal by Toyota and they knew about the problem, Afterwards a gigantic settlement with car owners.

Ok, Tesla folks, we all love to defend Tesla, so don't get your panties in a bunch over my statement. I know the Tesla is designed differently and I have a tendency to say such an accident is almost always the driver fault, but it is not a 100% certainty. We just might discover some day that one or more of these incidents is a car issue. I hope not, and think probably not, just saying anything is possible. The best news is not personal injury.