Car Wash Mode: The Requirement to Apply Brake to Access Free Roll/Drive is Dangerous

[Ostrichsak]

When in Car Wash Mode, we should be able to put the car back into drive from neutral/free roll without applying the brakes first at the end.

For automatic car washes where you're on a conveyor belt with a car staged directly behind you, the last thing you want to do is engage the brakes at any point. The only problem is that the car requires you to press the brake first by default.

Easy solution: Tesla needs to add to the list of items Car Wash mode does: "Allows you to put the car into drive/free roll w/o pressing the brake"

This means you would enable car wash mode as normal and, at the very end of the wash, could put the car back into drive by simply pressing the gear stalk down. This would allow you to gently accelerate forward when the conveyor belt spits you at the end w/o the need to stop the car first. Stopping the car first can be dangerous since the car behind you is still coming forward no matter what and you have zero control over that.

You should be able to access the "Free Roll" option while in car was w/o pressing the brake as well to start the carwash for the same reasons. For this style of car wash these two related issues an cause for some pretty embarrassing moments and is difficult to get the timing right. It shouldn't be so stressful/anxiety inducing.

 

[Grabthar]

I'm pretty sure that is a required feature per NHTSA (or one of those agencies).

 

[MP3Mike]

For this style of car wash these two related issues an cause for some pretty embarrassing moments and is difficult to get the timing right.

Maybe the problem is your car wash. The ones in my area have you pull up to the correct spot and put the car in Neutrual, or car wash free roll mode, while they apply the pre-wash and use the pressure washer on areas that need it. (There is plenty of time to get into the proper mode before the conveyor system tries to move the car.)

Then on the other end, the conveyor system has ejected the car before it lights up the go light. The only problem you could have from apply the brakes is the same as if you didn't move, and the car behind you was pushed into you. (Though I would assume they have sensors that would shut down the conveyor and prevent that.)

This is all the same at multiple brands of washes in the area. (One of them even confirms with you that the car is in neutral and ready before they press the button to have the conveyor "attach" to your car.)

 

[mongo]

I'm pretty sure that is a required feature per NHTSA (or one of those agencies).

FMVSS 114 requires service brake application to transition out of Park, but not from Neutral to Drive nor Drive to Neutral.

 

[ewoodrick]

When in Car Wash Mode, we should be able to put the car back into drive from neutral/free roll without applying the brakes first at the end.

For automatic car washes where you're on a conveyor belt with a car staged directly behind you, the last thing you want to do is engage the brakes at any point. The only problem is that the car requires you to press the brake first by default.

Easy solution: Tesla needs to add to the list of items Car Wash mode does: "Allows you to put the car into drive/free roll w/o pressing the brake"

This means you would enable car wash mode as normal and, at the very end of the wash, could put the car back into drive by simply pressing the gear stalk down. This would allow you to gently accelerate forward when the conveyor belt spits you at the end w/o the need to stop the car first. Stopping the car first can be dangerous since the car behind you is still coming forward no matter what and you have zero control over that.

You should be able to access the "Free Roll" option while in car was w/o pressing the brake as well to start the carwash for the same reasons. For this style of car wash these two related issues an cause for some pretty embarrassing moments and is difficult to get the timing right. It shouldn't be so stressful/anxiety inducing.

Do you really think that a car wash would allow a car coming off a line to run into the car in front of it? How many time do you think someone has gone through the car wash while on the phone and ignored the fact that they are at the end.

I dare say that there are a number of sensors to stop the cars behind you.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Maybe the problem is your car wash. The ones in my area have you pull up to the correct spot and put the car in Neutrual, or car wash free roll mode, while they apply the pre-wash and use the pressure washer on areas that need it. (There is plenty of time to get into the proper mode before the conveyor system tries to move the car.)

Then on the other end, the conveyor system has ejected the car before it lights up the go light. The only problem you could have from apply the brakes is the same as if you didn't move, and the car behind you was pushed into you. (Though I would assume they have sensors that would shut down the conveyor and prevent that.)

This is all the same at multiple brands of washes in the area. (One of them even confirms with you that the car is in neutral and ready before they press the button to have the conveyor "attach" to your car.)

Nope. Our car washes around here stage you on a continuously moving conveyor belt. There is no stopping and not "plenty of time to get into the proper mode" as you stated.

Not in all of our car washes does it fully eject the car upon completion. The one closest to our house used to but for months now basically just sits you at the very end. You can feel a small bump you have to drive over so I'm not sure if there was some settlement issue that broke this but I'm not a car wash engineer so the repair (if there even is one available) isn't of my concern. Being able to properly control my vehicle is.

Do you really think that a car wash would allow a car coming off a line to run into the car in front of it? How many time do you think someone has gone through the car wash while on the phone and ignored the fact that they are at the end.

I dare say that there are a number of sensors to stop the cars behind you.

I'm a little bit confused, is adding additional functionality to an existing feature to help others who have a different situation than yours somehow hurting your experience?

 

[ewoodrick]

I'm a little bit confused, is adding additional functionality to an existing feature to help others who have a different situation than yours somehow hurting your experience?

Do you know for a fact that's the way the car wash works? Conveyor belt car washes WILL stop, ESPECIALLY if there are customers driving the cars.

Ask the car wash operator next time that you are there.

Do you not realize that EVERY car requires you to press the brake before putting into gear? This prevents inadvertent accelerations.

 

[mongo]

Do you know for a fact that's the way the car wash works? Conveyor belt car washes WILL stop, ESPECIALLY if there are customers driving the cars.

Ask the car wash operator next time that you are there.

Do you not realize that EVERY car requires you to press the brake before putting into gear? This prevents inadvertent accelerations.

For a normal automatic, if the car is in neutral and the car wash is pushing it along, there is no need to push the brake to go into drive.

 

[electrikcuban]

My previous car, 2019 Jetta GLI would not let you shift into drive unless you pressed the brake pedal, so it's not only Teslas.

 

[Tom_JS]

While I won’t go as far as to call it “Dangerous”, it is damn annoying I must say.

 

[D.E.]

The brake isn’t all or none. You can depress the brake pedal lightly enough to flash the brake lights without the brake pads touching the rotors.

 

[Ostrichsak]

My previous car, 2019 Jetta GLI would not let you shift into drive unless you pressed the brake pedal, so it's not only Teslas.

What your Jetta did has very little bearing on a Tesla.

While I won’t go as far as to call it “Dangerous”, it is damn annoying I must say.

It is when there's cars stacked up with a foot or two behind you. Having to hit the break at the end of the automatic carwash just to get it back into drive when there's a car literally right behind you still going is less than ideal. It's also wholly unnecessary if Tesla would just allow you to put it back into gear at low speeds w/o the use of the brake like every Tesla before 2023.

The brake isn’t all or none. You can depress the brake pedal lightly enough to flash the brake lights without the brake pads touching the rotors.

I realize. It's not that simple though in practice. As I said, it should be required at all to put it back into drive especially from carwash mode.

 

[terranx]

I’ve never actually owned an automatic car before my Tesla. Is it not typical behavior to require brakes to go from neutral to drive?

 

[Ostrichsak]

I’ve never actually owned an automatic car before my Tesla. Is it not typical behavior to require brakes to go from neutral to drive?

In a car with an automatic transmission, yes. These cars don't have an automatic transmission. They're direct drive. In all of my other Teslas (7 total before this one) you didn't even have to touch the brake to go from R to D which makes maneuvering in parking lots or doing u-turns incredibly easy compared to traditional cars.

 

[MP3Mike]

I’ve never actually owned an automatic car before my Tesla. Is it not typical behavior to require brakes to go from neutral to drive?

No. The brake is only required to shift out of park.

 

[MP3Mike]

In all of my other Teslas (7 total before this one) you didn't even have to touch the brake to go from R to D which makes maneuvering in parking lots or doing u-turns incredibly easy compared to traditional cars.

You still don't have to use the brake to go between reverse and drive on current Teslas at low speed. But car wash mode adds that, probably as a safety to prevent accidental shifts while in the car wash. (Say someone was cleaning things and bumped the shifter.)