3 days in the Tesla world: Questions

[Shrktank]

First, thanks for all the responses to my first post in regards to a used Tesla. I did indeed purchase it, but after several inspections over a few visits.

Love the car!

I have several questions have perhaps 300 miles driven:

1. I normally do not drive with the AC on and prefer just to have airflow through the vents. I cannot seem to see away to do this in the Tesla Model 3.

2. When using Autopilot and FSD, it will tell me to take the next exit. Will the vehicle automatically make the land changes or do I need to do the lane changes. This far I have made them as I did not want to miss the exit.

3. Is there anywhere to see a chart which tells you expected reductions in miles based upon accessories and weather conditions?

4.Got home from a drive today. I exited the car and I heard the car shut off, mirrors closed and such. I went out to the front and I heard what sounded like a fan blowing air. Could th AC still be on or is this some type of engine colling

5. Is there a list of most voice commands this can handle

7. The supercharger nearest to us is about 30 miles away. So far I kind of enjoy going there (so far had other things to do in the area) and watching a Netflix show while it charges. Also met some other owners and chatted a little. Of course had a few truck drivers asked how long to charge and how far they go. Any way the question is is adding a 240 in house a necessity to most of you or a conviece.

8. I have the charging kit which was included at purchase. Can I use a 120 to 240 plug converter and use. it with 240?

9. If #8 is a no, what are some good 240 style chargers with long cords. If I go 240 I am thinking of getting a 240 outlet splitter where one would be the dryer and the other would be. plugin charger cord. Need about a 20foot or longer cord.

10. If I used the brake, does it do any regenerative energy?

11. So far my favorite things are: comfort, handling, speed, tech, pure joy of the torque at stand still

 

[Tam]

5. Is there a list of most voice commands this can handle

V11 Tesla Voice Commands

Commands List Tesla Voice Commands - V11 and Beyond,Suggest additions that you have found to work by using this form: <a href="https://forms.gle/eBugENRjD7vPiyqh7"> https://forms.gle/eBugENRjD7vPiyqh</a>7 Updated 6:18 PM CDT, 11/5/2023 - 196 recognized commands (and many alternatives!) Updates a...

docs.google.com

 

[Tam]

1. I normally do not drive with the AC on and prefer just to have airflow through the vents. I cannot seem to see away to do this in the Tesla Model 3.

If you are looking at the full menu of the AC, it shows the lit-up AC icon, you can click it to turn off the automatic AC and switch to a manual fan speed.

2. When using Autopilot and FSD, it will tell me to take the next exit. Will the vehicle automatically make the land changes or do I need to do the lane changes. This far I have made them as I did not want to miss the exit.

If you set up the Navigation on Autopilot, it should.

3. Is there anywhere to see a chart which tells you expected reductions in miles based upon accessories and weather conditions?

Not seen yet.

4.Got home from a drive today. I exited the car and I heard the car shut off, mirrors closed and such. I went out to the front and I heard what sounded like a fan blowing air. Could th AC still be on or is this some type of engine colling

Yes. Tesla cars make all kinds of noise even when it's at rest. I just ignore it after a while. Most likely it's the HVAC.

...is adding a 240 in house a necessity to most of you or a conviece.

It's a necessity if your 120V outlet is too slow to recharge your car overnight for work in the morning.

It's convenient if you don't need a 240V charge because overnight 120V can recharge enough miles for you.

8. I have the charging kit which was included at purchase. Can I use a 120 to 240 plug converter and use. it with 240?

It does not have a 240V adapter which is an extra cost.

9. If #8 is a no, what are some good 240 style chargers with long cords. If I go 240 I am thinking of getting a 240 outlet splitter where one would be the dryer and the other would be. plugin charger cord. Need about a 20foot or longer cord.

Tesla does not recommend an extension cord. If you must, make sure the wire is of a thick gauge enough to prevent overheating and fire.

10. If I used the brake, does it do any regenerative energy?

Edit: Please see the answer from @jrweiss98020 below.

11. So far my favorite things are: comfort, handling, speed, tech, pure joy of the torque at stand still

Congratulations!

 

[jrweiss98020]

10. Regenerative energy is always active. When you use the brake pedal, wheel brakes are used in addition.

 

[jjrandorin]

First, thanks for all the responses to my first post in regards to a used Tesla. I did indeed purchase it, but after several inspections over a few visits.

Love the car!

I have several questions have perhaps 300 miles driven:

1. I normally do not drive with the AC on and prefer just to have airflow through the vents. I cannot seem to see away to do this in the Tesla Model 3.

2. When using Autopilot and FSD, it will tell me to take the next exit. Will the vehicle automatically make the land changes or do I need to do the lane changes. This far I have made them as I did not want to miss the exit.

3. Is there anywhere to see a chart which tells you expected reductions in miles based upon accessories and weather conditions?

4.Got home from a drive today. I exited the car and I heard the car shut off, mirrors closed and such. I went out to the front and I heard what sounded like a fan blowing air. Could th AC still be on or is this some type of engine colling

5. Is there a list of most voice commands this can handle

7. The supercharger nearest to us is about 30 miles away. So far I kind of enjoy going there (so far had other things to do in the area) and watching a Netflix show while it charges. Also met some other owners and chatted a little. Of course had a few truck drivers asked how long to charge and how far they go. Any way the question is is adding a 240 in house a necessity to most of you or a conviece.

8. I have the charging kit which was included at purchase. Can I use a 120 to 240 plug converter and use. it with 240?

9. If #8 is a no, what are some good 240 style chargers with long cords. If I go 240 I am thinking of getting a 240 outlet splitter where one would be the dryer and the other would be. plugin charger cord. Need about a 20foot or longer cord.

10. If I used the brake, does it do any regenerative energy?

11. So far my favorite things are: comfort, handling, speed, tech, pure joy of the torque at stand still

1. Answered by @Tam

2. If your car has either the enhanced autopilot or full self driving option and you turned it on, it should, however I would highly advise you to get used to driving the car first, before you start expecting it to do stuff like that. You need to ensure that your reactions in the car to issues are "quick and automatic" and it takes a bit to get to that point in a new car.

I would recommend not using Nav on Autopilot until you have a lot more seat time in, since it will work perfectly well like 97% of the time, but those other 3% (made up numbers), will need you to take action, NOW and you need to ensure its something you do instinctively.

3. Not that I am aware of (certainly not from tesla). You will get a feel for this based on how you drive. Shorter drives will have a higher wh/mile usage average than longer ones.

4. Yes thats normal, teslas will run fans and all sorts of other things when you park.

5. Answered by @Tam . I just try saying stuff like you would say to to an iPhone or an android phone (hey siri / hey google). Most (but not all) things tend to work at this point.

6. (you skipped this one)

7. In my mind it is, if its possible for you to charge at home, you should. If you have a way to add charging to your home (some form of 240V charging) you should. Driving to the supercharger is not something you will want to do all the time, and hunting down public charging will get old fast. I personally would not own one of these cars (any EV) without the ability to charge it at home.

Your car will lose energy just sitting there. How much depends on whether you use sentry mode at home, etc. At a minimum you could plug into a 120v outlet, which might get you by, but like I said "I" would not own one of these cars without home charging, but home charging is one of the biggest benefits to owning an EV to me. Doesnt have to be 60amp, etc, whatever reasonably fits in the existing panel.

8. Since you bought it used, we dont know what "the included kit" is. The charger the car comes with works with 120 and 240v, but we dont know if you have that (the tesla mobile connector).

9. any "splitter" device needs to ensure that only one can be operated at a time (automatically, or by manually shutting one off). Do not plan on piggy backing on that circuit without setting up something that will only let one of those devices charge at a time without you depending on "oh I will only do this at XXX time". People normalize electricity but also forget that you can burn your home down if you do over stress stuff and safety mechanisms like breakers fail (which they can, and do).

10. If you pressed the brake pedal, no. Regen braking in a tesla is from letting off the accelerator.

11. Those are generally the things that many people fall in love with. What people tend to hate when they figure it out is the range is not what the EPA range is, and many of the cars are not built like cars that cost as much as these do.

 

[PushinT]

10. Regenerative energy is always active. When you use the brake pedal, wheel brakes are used in addition.

Does the brake light come on with regenerative breaking?

 

[danarcha]

Does the brake light come on with regenerative breaking?

Yes, they do. The lights come on when a certain amount of deceleration occurs. You can see the brake lights illuminate on the car visualization on the left side of the display screen.

 

[D.E.]

First, thanks for all the responses to my first post in regards to a used Tesla. I did indeed purchase it, but after several inspections over a few visits.

Love the car!

I have several questions have perhaps 300 miles driven:

1. I normally do not drive with the AC on and prefer just to have airflow through the vents. I cannot seem to see away to do this in the Tesla Model 3.

2. When using Autopilot and FSD, it will tell me to take the next exit. Will the vehicle automatically make the land changes or do I need to do the lane changes. This far I have made them as I did not want to miss the exit.

3. Is there anywhere to see a chart which tells you expected reductions in miles based upon accessories and weather conditions?

4.Got home from a drive today. I exited the car and I heard the car shut off, mirrors closed and such. I went out to the front and I heard what sounded like a fan blowing air. Could th AC still be on or is this some type of engine colling

5. Is there a list of most voice commands this can handle

7. The supercharger nearest to us is about 30 miles away. So far I kind of enjoy going there (so far had other things to do in the area) and watching a Netflix show while it charges. Also met some other owners and chatted a little. Of course had a few truck drivers asked how long to charge and how far they go. Any way the question is is adding a 240 in house a necessity to most of you or a conviece.

8. I have the charging kit which was included at purchase. Can I use a 120 to 240 plug converter and use. it with 240?

9. If #8 is a no, what are some good 240 style chargers with long cords. If I go 240 I am thinking of getting a 240 outlet splitter where one would be the dryer and the other would be. plugin charger cord. Need about a 20foot or longer cord.

10. If I used the brake, does it do any regenerative energy?

11. So far my favorite things are: comfort, handling, speed, tech, pure joy of the torque at stand still

First AC, it isn’t worthwhile for you to be uncomfortable in the heat not using the AC. I went to the eclipse a few years ago, summer, hot, parked on asphalt in the sun, ran the AC continuously for my daughter so she could go into a cool 72 degree car to feed her baby. My S used about 8 miles of range for each hour of AC use. When you drive you’ll use the majority of the power pushing air out of the way at highway speeds. The AC isn’t going to make that much of a difference. It’s more efficient to use the AC with the windows up than it is to open a window. An open window adds drag. Drag is the enemy.

Your car will make noises, it will cool and warm the battery as needed. Also there’s a setting that will keep the car below about 100F. I thought it was so it was impossible to kill a child accidentally left in the car in the summer heat. I now think it is to cool the car for the car’s sake. I don’t know if that’s still a function. That automatic cooling doesn’t go on indefinitely, there’s a period of time then it discontinues, to preserve battery charge. Anyway, you’ll hear powerful fan noises at times when you are not in the car. Sometimes you’ll wonder if it’s haunted.

You can use 120V to charge but it adds 3 miles of range per hour of charge for my S. There’s a certain amount of overhead so it is more efficient to charge at 240V if you can. I have a very heavy extension cord and a number of adapters so I can charge from 240V dryer connections. That extension cord is a 30 foot 50 amp cord, it’s thick like a garden hose and it is very heavy. I could probably weight down a body with it. Anyway, you’re still using power from the breaker set up for the dryer so you need to limit the car’s charge rate to about 15 miles of range per hour of charge. I would not use a splitter, if you do, you need to make sure no one runs the dryer while your car is charging or you’ll flip the breaker. If you don‘t limit the charge rate, you’ll likely flip the breaker. Anyway it is practical to charge from 240V dryer outlets but you’ll need an adapter as well as you extension cord. There are documents on line that describe different connectors/adapters you may want.

The brake itself does not regenerate but when you remove your foot from the accelerator, the car will slow and you’ll regenerate some power. When you brake you’ll slow the car but the additional slowing from using the brake will simply convert kinetic energy to heat. Regenerating isn’t horribly efficient but it is a help. There are times when your car will not regenerate as you slow. If the battery is 100% full and you take your foot off the throttle, it won’t slow through regeneration, it’ll coast like any other car. If the battery is very cold, freezing temperatures type cold, then the car won’t regenerate power slowing.

As far as fun goes, that battery is heavy and it is close to the ground so the car has a very low center of gravity, it’s almost go cart like. It feels very light and responsive. But if you ever do an emergency maneuver in it, it’ll act like the heavy car it is. A truck changed lanes once which caused me to have to suddenly swerve. It swerved like an old Lincoln, plowed forward, tire noises, etc. Love the car but keep in mind that the light responsiveness is a function of gobs of electric power, instant torque, and low center of gravity. But deep down it’s a heavy car and there are occasionally times when it will act like a ‘65 Lincoln instead of a go cart.

A lot of this comes from memory. I’m old so verify everything. I’m never wrong, but I am forgetful so you must consider that perhaps I function in a happy geezer cloud and just forget about all those times I’m wrong.

Best,
David

 

[Theone8181]

First AC, it isn’t worthwhile for you to be uncomfortable in the heat not using the AC. I went to the eclipse a few years ago, summer, hot, parked on asphalt in the sun, ran the AC continuously for my daughter so she could go into a cool 72 degree car to feed her baby. My S used about 8 miles of range for each hour of AC use. When you drive you’ll use the majority of the power pushing air out of the way at highway speeds. The AC isn’t going to make that much of a difference. It’s more efficient to use the AC with the windows up than it is to open a window. An open window adds drag. Drag is the enemy.

Your car will make noises, it will cool and warm the battery as needed. Also there’s a setting that will keep the car below about 100F. I thought it was so it was impossible to kill a child accidentally left in the car in the summer heat. I now think it is to cool the car for the car’s sake. I don’t know if that’s still a function. That automatic cooling doesn’t go on indefinitely, there’s a period of time then it discontinues, to preserve battery charge. Anyway, you’ll hear powerful fan noises at times when you are not in the car. Sometimes you’ll wonder if it’s haunted.

You can use 120V to charge but it adds 3 miles of range per hour of charge for my S. There’s a certain amount of overhead so it is more efficient to charge at 240V if you can. I have a very heavy extension cord and a number of adapters so I can charge from 240V dryer connections. That extension cord is a 30 foot 50 amp cord, it’s thick like a garden hose and it is very heavy. I could probably weight down a body with it. Anyway, you’re still using power from the breaker set up for the dryer so you need to limit the car’s charge rate to about 15 miles of range per hour of charge. I would not use a splitter, if you do, you need to make sure no one runs the dryer while your car is charging or you’ll flip the breaker. If you don‘t limit the charge rate, you’ll likely flip the breaker. Anyway it is practical to charge from 240V dryer outlets but you’ll need an adapter as well as you extension cord. There are documents on line that describe different connectors/adapters you may want.

The brake itself does not regenerate but when you remove your foot from the accelerator, the car will slow and you’ll regenerate some power. When you brake you’ll slow the car but the additional slowing from using the brake will simply convert kinetic energy to heat. Regenerating isn’t horribly efficient but it is a help. There are times when your car will not regenerate as you slow. If the battery is 100% full and you take your foot off the throttle, it won’t slow through regeneration, it’ll coast like any other car. If the battery is very cold, freezing temperatures type cold, then the car won’t regenerate power slowing.

As far as fun goes, that battery is heavy and it is close to the ground so the car has a very low center of gravity, it’s almost go cart like. It feels very light and responsive. But if you ever do an emergency maneuver in it, it’ll act like the heavy car it is. A truck changed lanes once which caused me to have to suddenly swerve. It swerved like an old Lincoln, plowed forward, tire noises, etc. Love the car but keep in mind that the light responsiveness is a function of gobs of electric power, instant torque, and low center of gravity. But deep down it’s a heavy car and there are occasionally times when it will act like a ‘65 Lincoln instead of a go cart.

A lot of this comes from memory. I’m old so verify everything. I’m never wrong, but I am forgetful so you must consider that perhaps I function in a happy geezer cloud and just forget about all those times I’m wrong.

Best,
David

Are you thinking of the cabin overheat protection switch?

 

[D.E.]

Are you thinking of the cabin overheat protection switch?

Yup.

 

[GregD60]

8. I have the charging kit which was included at purchase. Can I use a 120 to 240 plug converter and use. it with 240?

The Model 3 comes standard with a Gen 2 Mobile Connector with a 20' cord. You can use it with almost any regular outlet there is by getting the correct NEMA adapter. They're pretty reasonably priced.

Gen 2 NEMA Adapters

Use a variety of household outlets to charge your Tesla with a Gen 2 NEMA Adapter. Simply attach the appropriate adapter to your Mobile Connector, plug into the corresponding outlet and begin charging. Adapter Max Distance Gained Per Hour of Charge Model S Model 3 Model X Model Y 5-15 3...

shop.tesla.com

Here's a link to the Gen 2 Mobile Connector which you hopefully have.

Gen 2 Mobile Connector Bundle

The Gen 2 Mobile Connector Bundle allows you to plug into any standard 110v household outlet to begin charging. Features: Max power output of 1.3kW Charging speeds between 2-3 miles of range per hour Includes: 1x Mobile Connector - 20’ cable 1x NEMA 5-15 Adapter 1x storage bag

shop.tesla.com

 

[GregD60]

Here's a chart showing charging speeds with different 240v outlets.

Wall Connector | Tesla Support

Wall Connector is the most convenient charging solution for homes, hospitality properties and workplaces. View the charging speed based on your model and find out how to install a Wall Connector.

www.tesla.com

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Wall Connector Technical details	Charge Speed Max miles of range per hour of charge
Circuit breaker (amps)	Maximum output (amps)	Power at 240 volts (kilowatt)	Model S (mph)	Model 3* (mph)	Model X (mph)	Model Y (mph)
60	48	11.5 kW	34	44	30	42
50	40	9.6 kW	29	37	25	36
40	32	7.7 kW	23	30	20	29
30	24	5.7 kW	17	22	14	21
20	16	3.8 kW	11	15	8	14
15	12	2.8 kW	7	11	5	10

*Maximum charge rate for Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive is 32A (7.7kW) - up to 30 miles of range per hour.