A Fart Toy. Seriously?

[Beta V]

You, sir, should feel honored. DeLorean had a stable of cars and every time he took out the Jag, it didn't come back under its own power. After 7 tries he got rid of it. Your model X is in good company.



"Failed to start"??? Did you have the key in the right way? Try jiggling the steering wheel.

Hilarious. Yes, it failed to start. I got in the car and the dash showed a message to the effect of "Please wait until this message disappears before pressing the brake." The main screen was blank. I waited several minutes and finally had to reboot the car. It came up (partially). It did not support any of the autodrive and several other features and did not until the car was restarted again.

Making fun of others is not "cool" or mature. I'm a paying customer who, frankly is unimpressed with the fit-and-finish, the lack of design forethought, and mostly, the lack of customer support when I needed it. I waited for over 45 minutes (twice) to get my car started and diagnosed. They have yet to offer any reason for this (these) random failures other than (basically) "*sugar* happens"--and you make fun of me?

 

[Beta V]

The fart app is definitely silly, and I don't expect to use it. It does seem to be well executed, however, and clearly there are folks who enjoy that sort of thing.

In the mean time, Tesla made some big helpful changes that get lost in the fart discussion. The new firmware, when attached to the new phone app, now gives real time status on the four closest superchargers on you phone and list the four closest destination chargers as well. navigation to one is a single click away - click on it in the phone and it'll load into the car's navigation, even if you aren't in the car at the time.

PIN to drive just got more secure - it shows up in different places on the screen, so they can't narrow the number down by looking at fingerprints.

I was also told by release notes that heated seats will be individually settable as part of preheating from the phone, but I don't appear to have that yet (another phone app update needed?)

So yes, the fart thing is silly - but they haven't stopped making real improvements. And as another poster noted, the fart thing may well be about winning mindshare - getting the name out there to sell cars (Tesla/Elon doesn't believe in advertising, but you better believe they have clever marketing plans...)

I agree. I think the fact the car can be updated is a spectacular feature. My Lexus could not fix even the most minor flaw in the user interface that never worked correctly with my iPhone. Of course, neither does the Tesla. Having the ability to repair problems in real time, to be able to monitor the status of each car, to add entirely new features, all of this is great. But as was said, every change has the potential to affect other established features. I worked in the computer industry for too many years not to realize that. My original point stands. Why spend intellectual time and talent on silly stuff when there are so many other serious issues to address?

 

[gnuarm]

Hilarious. Yes, it failed to start. I got in the car and the dash showed a message to the effect of "Please wait until this message disappears before pressing the brake." The main screen was blank. I waited several minutes and finally had to reboot the car. It came up (partially). It did not support any of the autodrive and several other features and did not until the car was restarted again.

Making fun of others is not "cool" or mature. I'm a paying customer who, frankly is unimpressed with the fit-and-finish, the lack of design forethought, and mostly, the lack of customer support when I needed it. I waited for over 45 minutes (twice) to get my car started and diagnosed. They have yet to offer any reason for this (these) random failures other than (basically) "*sugar* happens"--and you make fun of me?

Sorry, I wasn't trying to make fun of you. I was just making light of the difference between the Tesla and ICE cars.

Unfortunately Tesla really is a company on the verge of collapse at various times. No way to confirm it but I have no doubts they cut way back on the expansions they knew were needed to support the large model 3 expansion, affecting all Tesla owners and new buyers. While they seem to be staffing up support and customer service now so the problems with being stuck without even being able to reach help may be nearing an end.

I'm fairly bothered by the many times I've had to reboot my display. That alone would never happen on even a Chevy Volt or Bolt I am pretty confident. But I'm willing to cut them a bit of slack as they are a company that grew from nothing a decade ago and have a very steep hill in front of them.

I will mention that I had my car in for repairs once and there was a new problem I mentioned as I was getting ready to leave which they couldn't fix that day. They have sent me several emails asking me when I'd like to have it fixed. I think one was an offer to come to my house to do the repair. I think they are doing better.

 

[Super_Popular]

Fart mode is awesome but mine didn't work that well.

 

[Electric700]

...When I park in a confined space, I expect my mirrors to automatically retract when I put the vehicle in park. Automatically. All my previous vehicles (from Fords, to Acuras, to Lexus) did so. The mirrors did not extend as I approached the car--only when I was in the driver's seat. This prevented the (rather large) mirrors from assaulting me or my passengers as they approached.

You can reach out to [email protected] about this. I agree with you, and doing this software improvement would also reduce the wear and tear on the mirrors since they'd only extend when I'm in the driver's seat.

 

[Beta V]

My local service center (Bellevue, WA) is stellar. They know me by name (by now) as I've had to return there for a litany of reasons:

• The detachable towing ball would not attach. (They replaced the entire tow bar receptacle assembly)
• The key fob failed for no apparent reason. (That took a trip to the (below standard) facility in Seattle) and another trip back to Bellevue when the Seattle tech could not program it correctly.
• The vehicle would not let me create or delete my profile. (They worked on it for over an hour to totally reset the car).
• The horn failed (at least one of them). The car sounded like a wounded goose. (Replaced a defective horn)
• The power receptacle would not accept a SuperCharge power cord. (They filed out the port and eventually replaced it.)
• The car failed to start on two separate occasions. They have yet to resolve that issue.
• The vehicle overcharged itself. They have yet to resolve that issue.
• Many of the body panels do not align so the gaps are uneven. I have not bothered to address this.
• Touchup paint is very hard to find. The sources on the Tesla site do not include my color.
• There was no way to attach the (required) front license plate without drilling into the front bumper. That's a first for me. Even my Model A had a place to mount the plate.
• When I approach the car, its mirrors extend making it hard to get past it in my tight garage or in tight parking places. The mirrors extend ever time I walk down the hall near the garage.
• When I approach the car, the BlueTooth kidnaps my iPhone.
• When I needed help, I had to wait over 45 minutes (twice) to get someone to talk to me.

Don't get me wrong. I like the car. It's responsive, comfortable to drive, and turns heads. As when driving my Model A back in the '60s, (where I kept a gallon of oil and a complete toolkit in the back), it's an adventure. The auto wipers work about as well as on the Model A (it had vacuum wipers), the autodrive is often scary and unpredictable, and every so often some other surprise raises my heart rate. But you can see why I think the car needs more work. Thankfully, most of these issues can be addressed with software updates. I would not keep the car if it was not for the hope that they will be. Telling people (and I hope Tesla) about these issues helps them get addressed.

 

[Brian's ReX]

My local service center (Bellevue, WA) is stellar.

Had to chime in here and and ditto this!! The more I read about others' issues at their respective SC's (including Seattle), the more I realize I am very lucky to have such a responsive team! I only wish Ashley was still there! But, the rest of the team have really stepped up!

Sorry... off-topic from the OP! Ok, back to the fart-bashing! (while I play with the whoopie cushon until I pass out with laughter!)

 

[malcolm]

Fart mode is awesome but mine didn't work that well.

Er...were you trying to pitch for harmony or unison?

 

[Brian's ReX]

Er...were you trying to pitch for harmony or unison?

Or, maybe expected some 'essence' to augment the aural experience?

 

[bxr140]

As someone who has never appreciated toilet humor and has a 30+ inch waist, I honestly don't see how an electable Easter Egg could cause so much consternation.

As someone significantly more immature than you, I couldn't help but notice your error. It's actually constipation. Seems like your keystrokes got a little backed up.

Also, for folks out there fabricating ridiculous what-abouts, consider that perhaps the dev team had a 'make a dumb Easter egg' team-building competition. As, ahem, someone concerned with the safety of everyone who travels in my car, the last thing I want is a bunch of overloaded coders stressing out to submit the latest autopilot (or whatever) update; if their idea of blowing off steam is to take an afternoon of company time to make a fart app, all the safer for the rest of us.

Loud pipes save lives, as it were.

 

[Eevee]

I get that some kids like this and I think mine might think it's funny the first time he hears it. BUT...
I just told him about it and asked if he wanted to check it out. He said, 'No.'
I think it's just kind of LATE to the party. Alexa and Siri already fart on command and he's laughed his head off with them. So YEARS later when Tesla does it... it's just not funny anymore.

 

[TeeEmCee]

So how do you guys know the fart app is the priority? Are you at the Tesla meetings?

Because it got released while meaningful things didn't?

 

[Tic-tac-toe]

I get that some kids like this and I think mine might think it's funny the first time he hears it. BUT...
I just told him about it and asked if he wanted to check it out. He said, 'No.'
I think it's just kind of LATE to the party. Alexa and Siri already fart on command and he's laughed his head off with them. So YEARS later when Tesla does it... it's just not funny anymore.

How do you make Siri fart? I just asked and she said,”I cannot.”

Apple also has no references to Spaceballs or any other movies. Face it, Tesla reflects Elon and there are no other companies like this other than Elon’s companies. Who else shoots a car into space playing Bowie?

 

[TeeEmCee]

How do you make Siri fart? I just asked and she said,”I cannot.”

Siri is limited to brain farts.

 

[Tic-tac-toe]

Siri is limited to brain farts.

Siri is too stupid for words. If she could fart on command, it would be an improvement.

The farting Tesla is funny. But looking at the state of AI, FSD is not happening for years. Don’t care. I love driving my Tesla.

 

[Eevee]

Here is a detailed description of how to make Siri fart: Hey, Siri: Play a fart sound | Cult of Mac

FWIW, Alexa is much easier.

 

[bob_p]

Since there are weight sensors for each seat - should be a "whoopie cushion" setting that would fart when someone sits down...

Though would prefer they spend the software resources on fixing real problems - like the USB/media player bugs that have been around for several major software releases...

 

[jjgunn]

Tesla is struggling with an image problem. Releasing a fart app only adds to the impression that it's run by eleven-year-old kids with no idea about how to run a company and respond to real customer issues.

Some of us are heavier, wider and taller than the 5'5'', 30" waist kids making the decisions.

 

[Tic-tac-toe]

Here is a detailed description of how to make Siri fart: Hey, Siri: Play a fart sound | Cult of Mac

FWIW, Alexa is much easier.

I’ll try this as soon as my barely a month old iPhone XS Max is fixed. Right now it is stuck on a screen with a receipt notice on the upper half of the screen which won’t go away so I can’t do a reset.

Fortunately, the iPhone on wheels, my car, is working without issues so I can drive to an Apple Store.

I enjoy the 11 yr old humor as does my 11 yr old. I was impressed during my test drive that when you want the car on ludicrous plus the car asks “do you want your mommy” to cancel. Thesla’s that kind of company and I love it. I guess if you don’t like that kind of humor, get a Mercedes or whatever.

 

[BluestarE3]

I'm appalled that Toyota and Lexus devote money and resources to design ever bigger grilles each year on their automobiles. These out-sized baleens provide no functional purpose. They could have devoted these resources toward fixing the glaring and long-standing issue of not offering BEVs in their product lines and falling behind the competition in this regard.