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A couple of Throttle questions?

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Hi-

1: Notice a couple of times when pulling away slowly that the very initial split-second acceleration/traction has a bit more bite than normal, sometimes when I’ve been leaving a parking situation. Like letting your clutch out too quickly on a ICE car and getting a bit of an unexpected jerk (but not as harsh). But makes you jump a little.

I’m either not concentrating and being a bit heavy-footed with the first contact on the pedal, or wondering do the motors and drivetrain sometimes have a tiny bit of slack in them that gives that slight jerk feeling when you add power?

2: speaking of the throttle - (note related to the above) do you very occasionally when on gas feel like the pedal has movement, like a very slight actuator movement? Like how the brake pedal feels when you add the parking brake or hold, but much more subtle.

Again, maybe me being sensitive and feeling general vibrations and bumps in the road, but thought I'd ask.

I have a new M3P and not mechanically minded so TIA for the help! (Sorry if dumb questions!).
 
Since you say you have a new model 3 Performance, and are not technically minded, do you know if your car came with summer tires or all season tires? In the past, Tesla only included summer tires on model 3 performance vehicles, and those tires absolutely should not be driven anywhere it gets cold enough to snow.

If your car has summer tires on it, and your location is NJ like it says under your name, you need to look into getting either all season tires or winter tires. Summer tire lack of traction could explain the strangeness you feel in the pedal / acceleration.
 
Nothing wrong with calling it "throttle". It's the term Tesla use when labelling the data captured in Track Mode, for instance. It's a universal term in data logging to refer to how far the driver is pressing the pedal down.

Anyway, the pedal shouldn't really have any 'play' and initial acceleration should be consistent, assuming the same state of charge in the battery, temperature, road conditions etc.
 
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Nothing wrong with calling it "throttle". It's the term Tesla use when labelling the data captured in Track Mode, for instance. It's a universal term in data logging to refer to how far the driver is pressing the pedal down.
Technically, "throttle" would be only for gasoline engines, where the accelerator controls a valve that throttles the air intake, which is not what the accelerator does in an electric or diesel vehicle. But "throttle" has largely become synonymous with "accelerator" when referring to driver controls or pedals in common automotive terminology these days (similar to how some trademarks for brands of tissue paper and photocopy machines have fallen into generic use).
 
I would suggest your tires need to be swapped to all season tires. I noticed within the last week or so once the temperature got below 40 I was losing just a bit of grip with the stock summer rubber. I just swapped out my winter set up of all seasons and 19" rims and all good again.
 
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A little gearmotor pushes on the brake pedal to hold the car in place whenever you're stopped. Pressing on the Gauss pedal then triggers a little dance between the brakes being released and the motor starting to propel the car. It's a pretty well-tuned exchange but almost impossible to get perfect for every combination of pedal application, brake pad condition, and roadway slope. If the jolt is anything more than faintly mild you should have service check it out.
 
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And stop calling it a "gas" pedal. Even throttle is questionable. There is a whole thread on the subject.:cool:
Where is this all-important thread that deals with the proper nomenclature for something everyone understands, no matter what it’s called? I’m sure it’s just riveting! Really, I’d like to read it before my head explodes with curiosity.
 
Hi-

1: Notice a couple of times when pulling away slowly that the very initial split-second acceleration/traction has a bit more bite than normal, sometimes when I’ve been leaving a parking situation. Like letting your clutch out too quickly on a ICE car and getting a bit of an unexpected jerk (but not as harsh). But makes you jump a little.

I’m either not concentrating and being a bit heavy-footed with the first contact on the pedal, or wondering do the motors and drivetrain sometimes have a tiny bit of slack in them that gives that slight jerk feeling when you add power?

2: speaking of the throttle - (note related to the above) do you very occasionally when on gas feel like the pedal has movement, like a very slight actuator movement? Like how the brake pedal feels when you add the parking brake or hold, but much more subtle.

Again, maybe me being sensitive and feeling general vibrations and bumps in the road, but thought I'd ask.

I have a new M3P and not mechanically minded so TIA for the help! (Sorry if dumb questions!).
There are no dumb questions.

Honestly, I have not noticed either situation you describe. In fact, those are the feelings I'd get with my old ICE vehicles, never in the Tesla. The pedal is extremely smooth and linear with no lag. If you think you have a little play in the pedal, perhaps you should have it looked at, since that seems abnormal to me.
 
Congrats on your new Model 3! I hope you love it every bit as much as I love mine.

Given that you’re located here in NJ, I hope you don’t mind a quick mention of our local Tesla Owners’ Club (Delaware Valley (NJ-DE-PA)). We’re located at Delaware Valley Tesla Owners Club - Home - come take a look. Membership is $10 annually (and is the. Eat $10 you’ll spend.)

The main reason I mention this is because we’ve got an upcoming webinar on winter ownership of your Tesla …. It’s full of useful information for new owners - especially how to handle the car in these winter months. Everything from charging to tires to door handles - we cover a bit of it all.

You can register for the webinar here: Delaware Valley Tesla Owners Club - Winter Knowledge Nuggets

(Free event for members of any Tesla Owners Club, or $5 for non-members but that $5 can be applied towards membership.)

Apologies for the mini ad, but given that you’re new to the Model 3, and we’re headed into winter, thought I’d offer up all the best winter tips in one spot.
 
A little gearmotor pushes on the brake pedal to hold the car in place whenever you're stopped. Pressing on the Gauss pedal then triggers a little dance between the brakes being released and the motor starting to propel the car. It's a pretty well-tuned exchange but almost impossible to get perfect for every combination of pedal application, brake pad condition, and roadway slope. If the jolt is anything more than faintly mild you should have service check it out.
This... I notice what you're describing on my Model S and as well and think part of it is due to the CV axles (or maybe something elsewhere in the powertrain) having a small amount of backlash that gets seated to one side during regen, then when you take off reseats itself to the other side. Feels very similar to that point with a manual transmission where it goes from slipping to grabbing as you take off in 1st, just to a lesser degree. I notice it as well when I'm backing out out of my driveway, put it into drive and hit the gas.
 
I don’t believe this will happen if you use CREEP mode as long as the brake pedal is not pushed hard enough to engage the (H) after it comes to a full stop. Granted, true one-pedal driving is sacrificed. Personally I like CREEP, as it mimics ICE AT behavior better than HOLD or ROLL. I like to switch between ICE and EV vehicles without having to think about how each car needs to be driven and how it will respond. Just my $.02
 
Nothing wrong with calling it "throttle". It's the term Tesla use when labelling the data captured in Track Mode, for instance. It's a universal term in data logging to refer to how far the driver is pressing the pedal down.

Anyway, the pedal shouldn't really have any 'play' and initial acceleration should be consistent, assuming the same state of charge in the battery, temperature, road conditions etc.
I finally got the definitive answer recently. In F1 they call it the "torque demand" pedal. I'll guess in Formula E the same.