Country Questions. [owning a tesla in a rural place with slow internet]

[PerfectNumber]

Down to a few weeks before I take delivery on my LR AWD M3. I live in farm/ranch country and have a few questions if anyone can answer.

1. I live two miles down a county dirt road (my driveway is paved). I've lived here over 20 years and as soon as I moved here the futility of keeping the exterior of my car clean has caused me to never wash my car....EVER. Well when I've gotten my car serviced at the dealer they've given the car a wash but I never wash my car. Why? It will just be dirty immediately when I drive or leave home. I haven't run into any problems with just letting mother nature wash my car, do you think I will run into a problem with the Tesla? I'm also concerned about flat tires and the crushed stone county road. I currently drive an Acura TLX and have never had a flat but my tire pressure is never above 32lbs. With the Tesla tires(high inflation level)and the gravel road I'm worried I might see some flats, don't think I'll get rand assistance where I live, hell I'm hours away from the nearest supercharger and service center.

2. I don't get any cell reception at my house. By the time I get to work (also in the country) I get one bar if I'm lucky. Though I do carry a very old flip phone (can't get the Tesla app on the phone) for emergencies and when I drive to the big city, I don't plan on buying some expensive smart phone just to unlock my doors if I can't get cell reception at my house and at my work. I do get wifi (in the building not outside) at work, will that help?

3. At home I have dial-up internet. I had Hughesnet sat internet for a few years but the cost was outrageous for the bandwidth. I'm hoping Starlink comes out of Beta soon, the rates look good. Will I run into a problem with my crappy internet (56kps at best) and I only have internet when I dial it up. The idea of getting over-the-air updates with my internet speeds sounds daunting. Can you do an update with a thumb drive?

Thanks in advance!

 

[sroy]

1. I recommend ppf and mudflaps to protect the paint. If you use ceramic coating, you should be able to help nature with at least a water wash regularly. For the record, I never washed a car much either but do plan on washing the tesla more frequently.

2. As long as yoy use the card keys and have decent wifi regularly you should be fine. Although you might miss on some features.

3. you can’t update on a thumb drive i think. 56kps is like fax speed. Hard to believe you can’t get better at reasonable price? In my situation, I don’t have wifi nor cell network in the garage but I can park near my appartement for wifi connection. As long as you can regularly get access to reasonable internet speed, you should be ok.

 

[jjrandorin]

2. you can just use the keycard to open the doors, no smartphone needed. You can also buy a keyfob if you prefer that.

3. no, there is no updating the car software via a thumb drive (not now, and likely not ever in the future either). You can wait for the car to tell you when it is ready to do a firmware update, and then use the wifi at work ( you likely are not going to be able to complete a firmware update over dial up internet either).

@sroy 56kbs is the dial up model speed that people used when they first got online with their AOL Online discs when they installed it on their computer.

@PerfectNumber I find it interesting that you have settled on a tesla as your next vehicle, with your remote location, and with the fact that you also do not value connectivity very highly. I say "not value connectivity very highly" because you are willing to tolerate dial up internet because "satellite is too expensive".

Everyone has something they are willing to spend money on and things they are not, and that statement tells me that internet / connectivity is pretty far down on the "list of things @PerfectNumber wants to spend money on". Nothing wrong with that, at all. I am not saying there is. I am just surprised that you have settled on a "connected" car, when it does not appear you value connectivity.

"A problem letting mother nature wash your car"? This is a personal thing, so since it does not appear you place a high value on what your vehicle looks like it shouldnt be any more of a problem than it was on any of your other cars. The tesla might end up looking a bit more "worn" since the paint is a bit thinner than some other vehicles, but I dont think this will be a problem for you since its not something you put a bunch of stock on already.

 

[chrstna4]

There’s a YouTube channel called “Dirty Tesla” and the man lives down a long dirt road. Some of his early videos talk about that (he’s more focused on updates and FSD now). Here’s one where he cleaned dirt road from under his car:

 

[mark2k]

You have it worse than me (hard to believe), if the dirt road is maintained without much wear (pot holes) you will be fine. If you end up purchasing let us know your thoughts and good luck.

 

[BrianBigNFun]

From my experience, to get the updates regularly you need at least 3 WiFi bars. Hopefully while you’re parked at work you get to that level and if you do, you’ll be fine with updates

 

[Sophias_dad]

If I recall correctly, navigation updates require wifi connectivity. Would you be able to connect to wifi at work?

 

[mrau]

Get the key fob. They work great when you don't have a smartphone. Just keep it in your pocket, has proximity sensor so you never have to pull it out to open or start the car.

The tires on dirt roads should just be fine. You will want to keep all seven of your exterior camera fairly clean so the car can see.

Try to park the car where there is some WiFi to get occasional updates (grocery store, work, library).

Once Starlink is available for your home you will be all set.

Hopefully you have some 240 volt electricity at your home to charge at Level 2.

 

[RayK]

re: fob

There's currently two generations of the fob. The first one that was released does NOT have the proximity feature ("passive entry") @mrau describes. You have to push the button on the top of the fob once to lock and twice to unlock. The fob currently offered by the factory is the passive entry type. Just a heads-up in case you buy a fob off eBay / somewhere else besides Tesla.

How to tell the difference:

Does my Key Fob have Passive Entry?
Key fobs with the TESLA logo printed on the flat side have the passive locking and unlocking functionality. Key fobs with the MODEL 3 logo printed on the flat side cannot passively lock and unlock your vehicle.

ref: Model 3 Key Fob

 

[KenC]

Down to a few weeks before I take delivery on my LR AWD M3. I live in farm/ranch country and have a few questions if anyone can answer.

1. I live two miles down a county dirt road (my driveway is paved). I've lived here over 20 years and as soon as I moved here the futility of keeping the exterior of my car clean has caused me to never wash my car....EVER. Well when I've gotten my car serviced at the dealer they've given the car a wash but I never wash my car. Why? It will just be dirty immediately when I drive or leave home. I haven't run into any problems with just letting mother nature wash my car, do you think I will run into a problem with the Tesla? I'm also concerned about flat tires and the crushed stone county road. I currently drive an Acura TLX and have never had a flat but my tire pressure is never above 32lbs. With the Tesla tires(high inflation level)and the gravel road I'm worried I might see some flats, don't think I'll get rand assistance where I live, hell I'm hours away from the nearest supercharger and service center.

2. I don't get any cell reception at my house. By the time I get to work (also in the country) I get one bar if I'm lucky. Though I do carry a very old flip phone (can't get the Tesla app on the phone) for emergencies and when I drive to the big city, I don't plan on buying some expensive smart phone just to unlock my doors if I can't get cell reception at my house and at my work. I do get wifi (in the building not outside) at work, will that help?

3. At home I have dial-up internet. I had Hughesnet sat internet for a few years but the cost was outrageous for the bandwidth. I'm hoping Starlink comes out of Beta soon, the rates look good. Will I run into a problem with my crappy internet (56kps at best) and I only have internet when I dial it up. The idea of getting over-the-air updates with my internet speeds sounds daunting. Can you do an update with a thumb drive?

Thanks in advance!

I live down a ¼ mile dirt road. I go slow, 15mph or less. I'm not sure high pressure or low pressure will make a difference in whether crushed gravel cuts a tire. I park on crushed gravel and have had no issues.

Dirt, I'd consider a light colored car, not black. Put PPF on your rockers and get mudflaps to prevent damaging the bottom part of your car.

Flats, get yourself a compact spare and tire plug kit, jack, etc.

Phone, just use the keycard.

If you need an update, you can get one at a service center.

 

[sroy]

@jjr

I live down a ¼ mile dirt road. I go slow, 15mph or less. I'm not sure high pressure or low pressure will make a difference in whether crushed gravel cuts a tire. I park on crushed gravel and have had no issues.

Dirt, I'd consider a light colored car, not black. Put PPF on your rockers and get mudflaps to prevent damaging the bottom part of your car.

Flats, get yourself a compact spare and tire plug kit, jack, etc.

Phone, just use the keycard.

If you need an update, you can get one at a service center.

yeah if service center is near enough for updates that’s a great idea. Can you update at wifi enabled superchargers?

 

[RayK]

If you need an update, you can get one at a service center.

@jjr

yeah if service center is near enough for updates that’s a great idea. Can you update at wifi enabled superchargers?

I believe it's been established that:

...hell I'm hours away from the nearest supercharger and service center.

 

[PerfectNumber]

Wow, great answers to all my questions. Thanks for all the help.

 

[73zdriver]

Teslas don't mind the dirt.

 

[Snoopie123]

If there are grocery stores, star bucks. McDonald’s, etc. in the areas that guy frequently travel through you can check if their free wifi reaches the parking lot near their building.

I came across forums posts in und past were Tesla owners got their updates that way.

This article proves some ideas.

Need Free Wi-Fi? Here's Where To Find It

One of the top questions you ask MHOTC is "Where do I find free Wi-fi?" Now that many of us are working from home and find our usual haunts such as libraries and coffee shops

www.milehighonthecheap.com

 

[PerfectNumber]

Teslas don't mind the dirt.
View attachment 660525

Yep, that's what my current car typically looks like (as do all the cars where I live).