Comments after 1000 miles of driving

[dlittle]

I’m a few months and 1000+ miles in and wanted to write a post on some things I’ve noticed.

- driving estimates are way off and don’t adjust. Over my long road trip I got 327 Wh/mi and because of that I had to be mindful that my estimated distances were always ~15-20% off

- Abrupt Phantom movement of lateral vehicles on front screen. It really freaks you out at first as you’re driving as sometimes it looks like they are coming into your lane. Hopefully this gets fixed in future firmware updates

- Autopilot struggled when there was a merge lane incoming on the right. It consistently would abruptly slow down. Otherwise AP was excellent for road trips

- The Tesla windshields are pretty damn tough. I was NAILED by two large rocks on my trip to Florida and did not get a crack on the windshield. Pretty impressed but I am still looking into options for windshield protection

- Tesla supercharger seem to share a junction box every two stations. My rates would go from 500+ miles/hr to ~200 miles/hr when someone plugged in next to me. Something to keep in mind when pulling in and picking your spot

- Supercharger locations are hit or miss (in Texas anyway). Sometimes there’s some good restaurants nearby and sometimes nothing close. Plan ahead

- Sentry records way too often, I wish there was a way to differentiate all the videos I get. Ideally Tesla could use use an algorithm and high grade clips where people get within a few inches of the car

Hopefully these comments help someone out. Overall I love the vehicle, best one I’ve ever owned for sure.

 

[DerbyDave]

The old 150KW Version 2 Superchargers are generally wired in pairs and will split the current if someone plugs in next to you. Best to keep the numbers' A and B pairs with single hookups unless they are singly all full. If someone pulls in next to you and there are available spots, I tell them that we will only get about 1/2 current, and they usually move, since it helps both of us. Most don't know what you discovered. However, as they upgrade the older Superchargers, and the new 250KW Version 3 Superchargers (all being installed now) have full power for each charging station. Older Superchargers will be upgraded over time to not share.

 

[dlittle]

The old 150KW Version 2 Superchargers are generally wired in pairs and will split the current if someone plugs in next to you. Best to keep the numbers' A and B pairs with single hookups unless they are singly all full. If someone pulls in next to you and there are available spots, I tell them that we will only get about 1/2 current, and they usually move, since it helps both of us. Most don't know what you discovered. However, as they upgrade the older Superchargers, and the new 250KW Version 3 Superchargers (all being installed now) have full power for each charging station. Older Superchargers will be upgraded over time to not share.

That’s really good feedback! Thanks

 

[LoudMusic]

I’m a few months and 1000+ miles in and wanted to write a post on some things I’ve noticed.

- driving estimates are way off and don’t adjust. Over my long road trip I got 327 Wh/mi and because of that I had to be mindful that my estimated distances were always ~15-20% off

Please elaborate. What estimated distance are you talking about? The one next to the battery icon is nearly useless and most people change it to show percentage. The % at arrival that is displayed in navigation and in the energy consumption chart are usually pretty good so long as you are driving consistently. If you drive inconsistently then it doesn't have much chance of being accurate.

- Abrupt Phantom movement of lateral vehicles on front screen. It really freaks you out at first as you’re driving as sometimes it looks like they are coming into your lane. Hopefully this gets fixed in future firmware updates

That 3D rendering is pretty useless and frankly annoying. There are many people who wish it could all just be disabled.

- Autopilot struggled when there was a merge lane incoming on the right. It consistently would abruptly slow down. Otherwise AP was excellent for road trips

Yep that's pretty common. It's also a real joy when a single lane splits into two lanes without markings and the car decides at the last minute which lane to use. WEEEEEE!

- The Tesla windshields are pretty damn tough. I was NAILED by two large rocks on my trip to Florida and did not get a crack on the windshield. Pretty impressed but I am still looking into options for windshield protection

Don't go to Florida. It's bad for you.

- Tesla supercharger seem to share a junction box every two stations. My rates would go from 500+ miles/hr to ~200 miles/hr when someone plugged in next to me. Something to keep in mind when pulling in and picking your spot

Yes, what DerbyDave said. Also this information is now included when navigating to Superchargers. If you have an option always navigate to the V3 Superchargers. It's in the location's description under "Charging" and is denoted as 150kW or 250kW. There are also 72kW "urban" superchargers but those are almost entirely in large parking garages in large urban areas where people park for an hour or more at a time.

- Supercharger locations are hit or miss (in Texas anyway). Sometimes there’s some good restaurants nearby and sometimes nothing close. Plan ahead

There are recommendations on the Supercharger information on the map and on the Tesla supercharger website. Huntsville, for example.

Find Us | Tesla

Use the interactive Find Us map to locate Tesla charging stations, service centers, galleries and stores on the go.

www.tesla.com

- Sentry records way too often, I wish there was a way to differentiate all the videos I get. Ideally Tesla could use use an algorithm and high grade clips where people get within a few inches of the car

That would be a lot more processing and a lot more battery drain. Most people only review Sentry if they notice something wrong with the car.

Hopefully these comments help someone out. Overall I love the vehicle, best one I’ve ever owned for sure.

It's good that you're adding to the long existing conversations about all these topics.

 

[Nosken]

Always use navigation to the Supercharger so the car will preheat the battery for faster charging if needed.
For long road trips, even though we can finally do waypoints in the car nav, get to know ABRP Either on a computer or using the App-very useful.

 

[2101Guy]

Great writeup. Also, there is not current good solution to protect windshields. Browse the forum, many have tried the PPF type film for the windshield, only to get it removed fairly soon due to distortion.

 

[DerbyDave]

The Tesla front end is very low and rock chips from following trucks in particular are very common. Following trucks is the easiest way to get a cracked windshield and increase the chip marks on the front end and frunk. Stay way back unless you are passing, and get around quickly when passing. Having another car between you and the truck helps avoid damage.

 

[AustinP]

- Supercharger locations are hit or miss (in Texas anyway). Sometimes there’s some good restaurants nearby and sometimes nothing close. Plan ahead

Did you know: when selecting a SuC on your map, it will show the type of amenities available (toilets, hotels, restaurants... pictograms highlighted in blue below)... you can actually "touch" each pictogram and the nav will list you all the amenity you chose around the Suc by distance to the SuC.

So touching coffee

pictogram will indeed list all coffee shops. This will show as if you made a search. Order is by distance to the SuC.

Another tip: on the result list, do not click on the name of the place (which indeed starts navigation), but instead, click on the icon at the right side of the name (the POI icon, highlighted in red below): this will open the "card" of that business on the map. Great to see quickly if they are open, and -if they have one- open their web page, start nav, call them...

Love it to check restaurants & call to book a table.

PS: In case you are wondering, I'm not close to my car, so took some snapshots of pics found on internet, so they are not 100% similar to the look of the latest UI updates. But good enough