A few last minute questions before I fully commit

[plisken]

I have a few of questions relating to the Model 3 and was hoping for some feedback before I fully commit.

In no particular order;

1. What is in place in terms of warranty for the more serious of issues, that perhaps can't wait several weeks for a service visit. A breakdown for example. Should I be looking at vehicle collection or recovery and a hire car or???
2. On both occasions when I test drove the model 3, it was quite a warm day and I naturally had the climate on cool but noticed some fogging on the inside of both front door windows, is this common?
3. Are we seeing much in the way of alarms going off, as in false alarms?
4. Apart from range and performance, have you seen some real world benefits from the LR as opposed to the SR, do the front wheels receive torque under normal circumstances or only during slippage?
5. For those with iPhones, are you able to use Siri through the car's bluetooth?
6. Ground clearance, this is a bit of a concern for me, especially coming from larger 4wd cars over the past number of years and the thought of going over speed bumps terrifies me. How much of a problem is it?
7. At night, is there any other illumination inside the car, apart from the screen? for example, cup holders, door pockets, switches (I know there aren't really many).
8. The single reversing light, doe this cause any issues while reversing (from a car with two)? I'd imagine it would effect the opposite or unlit side somewhat.
9. Not really a question, more an observation really. The bonnet or frunk (cringe every time I see this), I see there is no secondary latch, as it when the button is pressed to open it, it is simply open and can be lifted up. I actually thought it was some sort of requirement in the UK to have a secondary latch to prevent it from lifting up towards the windscreen, should it accidentally open when driving at speed (had this happen to me back in my Capri days and of course the secondary latch was all that was between me and, well who knows).

thanks in advance for any and all comments...

 

[Billbrown1982]

I can only give you my experience here but....

1. A warranty breakdown that you can't drive would include Tesla recovering the vehicle and, at least in my experience, a courtesy car replacement.

2. I've never had that fogging in my model 3. If they had just cleaned the car before a test drive then its probably down to that.

3. Mine had one night where it went off 3 times.....was really weird. But thats the only false alarms I've had in little over 6 months. Assume there was a bug or something I couldn't find inside.

4. Only got the LR but from previous cars having the 4wd vs 2wd has been dramatically different so i'd assume the dual motor system on the LR would be similar. I have hit the gas full belt off the line and thrown it around roundabouts at a lot faster speed than perhaps I should, and still havn't had a single bit of wheel spin or sideways action as yet. The car is very well balanced imo.

5. Don't have an iphone...can't help ya there.

6. Its nowhere near as low as some other cars of this style. I have some really nasty speed bumps and even nastier speed cushions in my area, the only part of the car that has ever contacted the ground are the extra mud flaps I put on at the front.

7. On the LR the door pockets are lit up, as well as ambient light in the front footwells. Steering wheel buttons have a backlight that you can switch on/off in the settings. I'm actually not sure if the window switches do too? Honestly never noticed. On the SR I believe its only the steering wheel that you have.

8. Never noticed a difference myself but then I don't really understand how a lot of people complain about not being able to see in the dark etc.

9. I used to hate calling it a frunk but honestly in the EV world...its just what you get used to. Even over here. I have never heard of a rule like that, but the gas rams will only allow it to open to a certain height so, although you won't be able to see bugger all, at least it won't smash back into the windscreen. Small comforts I guess!

Hope that helps.

 

[davidmc]

1. Tesla do a 50mile from SC pickup but worth getting AA, RAC or similar.
2. Yep(ish) - and its usually on the outside front screen, so use windscreen wipers to clear.
3. Nope - unless you get a spider/fly in your car. (Can of insect spray helps if you do get false alarms)
4. SR here - the computer does the driving of the rear wheels. If you floor it on a slippery road you will notice a drop in power to the rear (Traction control).
5. Get an Andoid phone!
6. Speed bumps are fine. Just dont do The Dukes of Hazzard over them.
7. SR nope apart from the overhead lights inside, LR/Perf have additional lighting (not sure what its called) Mood lighting?
8. True is a pain in dark places, use/tap the break lights to light up the areas.
9. Not able too open when driving at speed. Screen message pops up. There is believe there is a secondary safety latch thats prevents it from flinging open if you drive off with the frunk unlocked but also the car goes berserk at you and beeps loads inc messages on the screen. Also its not a Capri

 

[Andy_T_73]

1 - you get a rental car or loaner
2 - never noticed that
3 - happened once to me in 2 years
4 - if I were replacing my LR with another I'd save myself a pile of case and get an SR+
5 - never tried
6 - not on speed bumps but I have caught the edge bumping up a kerb
7 - yes, submarine lights in the roof, door pockets and I think the central storage bin too
8 - not found it a problem, the camera works well at night
9 - dunno if you can open it when in D.

 

[Tinca]

1. No experience personally, but aware of loaners being used regularly
2. Never happened to me
3. One false alarm in 4 months. Not sure what caused it, but put it down to a fly inside the car
4. Only driven the LR. Traction control is fantastic. No slip even in wet weather under full acceleration
5. Firmly an Android kinda guy!
6. I've caught a few speed bumps with the front mudflaps (the original ones, not the ones that come with the car to be fitted separately - they went on and came off the same day as they caught when going round corners). The worst one is at the entrance to Tesla Park Royal! Take it sideways now. I find the car lower than most. Just go slowly over the larger bumps.
7. Floors, storage bins, door pockets, steering wheel buttons on LR. 'Ambient' is overselling it a bit. Fairly harsh white light but better than not having it on.
8. Not an issue when reversing at night with no other lighting around
9. Not happened yet! Not really considered it as an issue.

Whatever way you choose to go, enjoy!

 

[Alistairuk]

5 - on Siri front providing you have “hey Siri” enabled then yes - as soon as you shout / say hey Siri the car audio switches to your phone… so things like phone calls etc all work. It’s easier to do it that way I’ve found than try and get the Tesla to understand you when trying to make a phone call (Scottish problems)

 

[Dilly]

I have an iPhone. When the phone is on the charging mat, Siri can hear me with ease. I’ve not tried the in-car mic but I doubt that Bluetooth is a two way thing.
speed bumps no issue
frunk won’t open while in gear.
no misting issues
the LR behaves just like any other 4WD. Sticks to the road like glue!
hope that helps

 

[Plagued]

1. I got a diesel merc for 2 weeks
2. not had this, or noticed it ...
3. I had this a lot about 2 years ago, but none since then after multiple firmware updates.
4. It's got better speakers, but ultimately if I bought again I'd maybe consider the LR over the SR just for the range and performance.
5. pass
6. It's not low, but it is quite long. I couldn't get down my very steep drive as it beached itself at the top until I got the drive resurfaced to remove the angle a bit about 2m down
7. as others have said, a bit but not a lot. The boot light is dreadful.
8. Not really had an issue. The reversing camera is better than others in low light.
9. It does have a secondary catch. you can sometimes hit this if it doesn't close or open properly, but you cannot manually release it, has to be done through the car.

 

[pdk42]

1. What is in place in terms of warranty for the more serious of issues, that perhaps can't wait several weeks for a service visit. A breakdown for example. Should I be looking at vehicle collection or recovery and a hire car or???
   Honestly, it's not an issue.
2. On both occasions when I test drove the model 3, it was quite a warm day and I naturally had the climate on cool but noticed some fogging on the inside of both front door windows, is this common?
   Not an issue on mine.
3. Are we seeing much in the way of alarms going off, as in false alarms?
   I've only had false alarms on a handful of occasions in the two years I've owned mine.
4. Apart from range and performance, have you seen some real world benefits from the LR as opposed to the SR, do the front wheels receive torque under normal circumstances or only during slippage?
   Never driven an SR+, but the extra range and the upgraded sound system alone are worth it. The AWD has been useful to me moving a trailer on wet ground.
5. For those with iPhones, are you able to use Siri through the car's bluetooth?
   Yes.
6. Ground clearance, this is a bit of a concern for me, especially coming from larger 4wd cars over the past number of years and the thought of going over speed bumps terrifies me. How much of a problem is it?
   It's not a big problem. I had one slight scrape exiting a car park, but other than that, no issue.
7. At night, is there any other illumination inside the car, apart from the screen? for example, cup holders, door pockets, switches (I know there aren't really many).
   On the LR, you get lighting in the footwells and the door bins. The wheels on the steering wheel are also illuminiated.
8. The single reversing light, doe this cause any issues while reversing (from a car with two)? I'd imagine it would effect the opposite or unlit side somewhat.
   It's a bit dim, but it's just about acceptable.
9. Not really a question, more an observation really. The bonnet or frunk (cringe every time I see this), I see there is no secondary latch, as it when the button is pressed to open it, it is simply open and can be lifted up. I actually thought it was some sort of requirement in the UK to have a secondary latch to prevent it from lifting up towards the windscreen, should it accidentally open when driving at speed (had this happen to me back in my Capri days and of course the secondary latch was all that was between me and, well who knows).
   There's no secondary latch. Thankfully I've not had an issue with it.

 

[exlatccatsa]

Pretty much ditto to all the above especially the aftermarket mudflaps on the high dropped kerbs on our street that the council won't do anything about.
Just to add, because I saw you're from Scotland, in snow with a decent set of boots on she still sticks to the road like glue.. a slight slip from the front wheels and the front motor kicks in and she's on rails again..I've driven through drifts and snow about 3 to 4 cm higher than the front lip with no problems And of course she hasn't beached herself so far because if the weight.

 

[MrT3]

There's no secondary latch. Thankfully I've not had an issue with it.

There is a secondary latch. You don't normally experience it because when the bonnet pops up and clears it. But if you press down gentle you will feel the secondary latch come in with the bonnet about 1cm from being fully closed, at which point you cannot pull it back open.

It's fine for both latches to open when you issue an unlock command as the vehicle won't allow it to be opened accidentally/when unsafe.

If you were driving along and there was a mechanical failure of the primary lock, the secondary one will stop the bonnet from opening.

 

[Mr H]

There's no secondary latch. Thankfully I've not had an issue with it.

There is a secondary latch. When you tell the car you want to open the bonnet then a second actuator holds the latch back, this doesn’t happen if it releases by itself for some reason. I’ve fitted enough power kits to know how the mechanism works. All legal requirements are met

 

[Adopado]

For those with iPhones, are you able to use Siri through the car's bluetooth?

Yes, I use Siri for dialing a contact from the car (the car does it too via it's own voice control feature but Siri is more reliable for that purpose).

 

[Adopado]

Not really a question, more an observation really. The bonnet or frunk (cringe every time I see this), I see there is no secondary latch, as it when the button is pressed to open it, it is simply open and can be lifted up. I actually thought it was some sort of requirement in the UK to have a secondary latch to prevent it from lifting up towards the windscreen, should it accidentally open when driving at speed (had this happen to me back in my Capri days and of course the secondary latch was all that was between me and, well who knows).

There's a latch. I've been following this forum for well over 2 years (i.e. ever since the Model 3 was available in this country) and haven't read any instance of a bonnet flying open. Believe me if this was a "thing" it would be all over this forum and front page news in the ... err ... Daily Mail et al

 

[Tobster]

There's a latch. I've been following this forum for well over 2 years (i.e. ever since the Model 3 was available in this country) and haven't read any instance of a bonnet flying open. Believe me if this was a "thing" it would be all over this forum and front page news in the ... err ... Daily Mail et al

Resurrecting this a bit, having ordered an M3 LR and thinking about daily stuff...

I note there's an illuminated electrical escape button in the frunk. I presume this is inhibited while driving, and freak excursions of items in shopping bags won't result in anything happening?

Maybe someone's enlisted the help of a small person to test this?!

 

[plisken]

I presume this is inhibited while driving

Also reassuring to know that if I "pick up" a small person and decide to keep them in the frunk for a while that they wont be able to escape so long as I am driving.

 

[Traguar]

I'll just leave this here.....