CR full test of Model 3 - falls short on recommendation

[smartypnz]

Haven't noticed anything unusual with mine - but rarely hard brake.

Anyway good to see that EM will fix - whether via software or equipment replacement at no cost to customers.

As always - a class act.

 

[SteveG3]

Looking like quite a turnaround...

"Looks like this can be fixed with a firmware update. Will be rolling that out in a few days. With further refinement, we can improve braking distance beyond initial specs. Tesla won’t stop until Model 3 has better braking than any remotely comparable car."

"Also, Consumer Reports has an early production car. Model 3 now has improved ride comfort, lower wind noise & many other small improvements. Will request that they test current production."

"ABS calibration algorithm"

"To be clear, all Model 3 cars, incl early production will have same great braking ability. Nature of any product, however, is that if you care about perfection, you make constant small refinements. Today’s Model S is far more refined than initial production."

Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on Twitter

... may even persuade CR to accept their request and take a fresh look at ride quality and wind noise Tesla says is improved with current production vehicles.

 

[0ptions]

Motor Trend has the 2018 F-150 Lariat stopping in just 119ft while the base XL was 129ft. November 7, 2017 article. That's a 5,265lb truck. Serious braking on the F-150.

2018 Ford F-150 Lariat and XL First Test: Excellence in All Forms - Motor Trend

Well yeah, those trucks are meant to tow. You have to have bigger brakes than normally needed so you can stop with a load too... No surprise that a truck has outstanding stopping distance when it isn't towing a full load.

 

[0ptions]

Slammed on the brakes from 60 every day when driving on the Santa Ana Freeway in California. Need this resolved and fixed ASAP.

Stop tailgating.

 

[sitter_k]

Looking like quite a turnaround...

"Looks like this can be fixed with a firmware update. Will be rolling that out in a few days. With further refinement, we can improve braking distance beyond initial specs. Tesla won’t stop until Model 3 has better braking than any remotely comparable car."

"Also, Consumer Reports has an early production car. Model 3 now has improved ride comfort, lower wind noise & many other small improvements. Will request that they test current production."

"ABS calibration algorithm"

"To be clear, all Model 3 cars, incl early production will have same great braking ability. Nature of any product, however, is that if you care about perfection, you make constant small refinements. Today’s Model S is far more refined than initial production."

Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on Twitter

... may even persuade CR to accept their request and take a fresh look at ride quality and wind noise Tesla says is improved with current production vehicles.

This is the great response I was looking for. Not bashing CR rather than admit there's an issue like....

 

[Driver Dave]

CR sucks.

Tesla's are 1000% better than other cars. No dealer skimming money. No gas pumping every week. Much much better performance. No complicated gas engine to maintain.

CR should start there.

 

[sitter_k]

CR sucks.

Tesla's are 1000% better than other cars. No dealer skimming money. No gas pumping every week. Much much better performance. No complicated gas engine to maintain.

CR should start there.

Yeah... Exactly what I was talking about...

 

[Trevor B]

All that will matter for zilch if you can't stop in a hurry

Now that Elon has admitted there's a problem, CR looks even more vindicated. Kudos to them.

CR sucks.

Tesla's are 1000% better than other cars. No dealer skimming money. No gas pumping every week. Much much better performance. No complicated gas engine to maintain.

CR should start there.

 

[sitter_k]

All that will matter for zilch if you can't stop in a hurry

Now that Elon has admitted there's a problem, CR looks even more vindicated. Kudos to them.

Bang on. I'm not too sure Tesla should be held to a different standard because theyre EVs or because of their retail model when it comes to breaking, a safety standard.

I'm glad Elon is admitting the issue, fixing it so critics can't tag them with it again and challenging CR to reevaluate. PR win.

 

[bro1999]

CR sucks.

Tesla's are 1000% better than other cars. No dealer skimming money. No gas pumping every week. Much much better performance. No complicated gas engine to maintain.

CR should start there.

Thank you for your entirely neutral contribution.

 

[DR61]

How about the range that CR got in their tests - I think it was reported as 350 miles with the base MXM4 18" tires, correct?

 

[dethman]

props to musk for acknowledging and vowing to investigate and fix.

 

[mtndrew1]

Seems as though there were four bullet point complaints that kept the Model 3 from earning a CR recommendation. In order of severity:

1) Weird repeated panic braking performance. Looks likely that this is ABS programming which will be resolved within a week or two via OTA updates. Probably solved immediately, definitively solved soon.

2) Harsh ride. Already solved on production from about January on, and available as a free retrofit at service centers.

3) Center screen usability issues. This is inherent to this car’s design but seems to affect reviews from organizations where people are constantly changing settings between many drivers. For me all my stuff was saved to my driver profile within a day or so and I’m done with it. Aside from vent adjustments I’m not tinkering with steering wheel or mirror positions any more. If a valet or friend goofs them up it’s one click to put everything back where I want it. Not a real issue for actual customers as far as I can tell. Other issues resolvable via software updates (font size, screen layout, etc).

4) Rear seat comfort. We know there’s a new rear seat design shipping now but I think the knees-in-your-face thing is inherent to the car’s design. I’m pretty sure most people stash kids or briefcases back there and this is a relatively minor issue.

I hope that CR takes their car in for the early suspension retrofit and re-tests the braking when the new firmware rolls out. It seems as though the car is on the verge of getting a “recommended” rating when these improvements take place.

 

[ohmman]

mod note: moved 16 posts to Functionality of air vent controls.

edit: 18 posts.

 

[Driver Dave]

Thank you for your entirely neutral contribution.

Just pointing out that CR needs to understand things better.

They review Teslas like an old guy rating a computer from the understanding of a calculator.

 

[Trevor B]

That wasn't the initial response or tone from Tesla ... but kudos to CR for uncovering this.

props to musk for acknowledging and vowing to investigate and fix.

Not really. You can thank CR for making your ride a lot safer (once the fixes are rolled out).

Just pointing out that CR needs to understand things better.

They review Teslas like an old guy rating a computer from the understanding of a calculator.

 

[insaneoctane]

Love that Tesla has acknowledged there might be an issue and will look in to and fix it if required:
"Even if a physical upgrade is needed to existing fleet, we will make sure all Model 3’s having amazing braking ability at no expense to customers"

Love how quickly they've got a lead and their dedication:
"Looks like this can be fixed with a firmware update. Will be rolling that out in a few days. With further refinement, we can improve braking distance beyond initial specs. Tesla won’t stop until Model 3 has better braking than any remotely comparable car."

Love having Elon at the helm to offer quick information and transparency for these things.

I seriously *love* owning a Tesla. They aren't perfect, but the company rocks and continues to impress.

 

[Driver Dave]

All that will matter for zilch if you can't stop in a hurry

Now that Elon has admitted there's a problem, CR looks even more vindicated. Kudos to them.

Not sure Elon really confirmed there is a problem, only that if isn't as good as they would like, it is no big deal to update. Which is correct.

And it does matter zilch compared to the bigger picture because even at the highest distance they have, cars still stop fine.

The problem is CR missed all the other things that are much more meaningful.

They focused the article on click bait and missed the bigger picture all the while sounding like an old guy saying "my old newspaper has a bigger screen than that iPad you have there!"

CR really has no understanding at all what it is to own and drive one these.

 

[ohmman]

CR really has no understanding at all what it is to own and drive one these.

Except that they do own and drive one.

I own and drive two of them, and since Tesla touts our cars as being the safest on the road, I think fixing the braking situation is a necessity. Maybe CR's other complaints are just adaptation to new technology, but it seems as if the main reason they didn't recommend was the braking safety. It'll be fixed, and it should. And CR wasn't wrong for their current conclusion.

 

[Driver Dave]

That wasn't the initial response or tone from Tesla ... but kudos to CR for uncovering this. Not really. You can thank CR for making your ride a lot safer (once the fixes are rolled out).

CR found nothing except possibly a strangeness in early vehicles, but then pumped up the story in order to get clicks and then burying all the other aspects about the model 3 that blow the doors off of gas cars.

They did their readers a disservice by reviewing the cars like an old man who just doesn't get it but really helped the auto dealers and oil companies as they continue to try to kill Tesla to protect their horrible business selling crappy gas engine cars.

They've done this before to Tesla.

I've cancelled my subscription after being a long time subscriber.

I just don't trust that they really understand anything, and am not sure they are just going for the click bait headlines when dealing with Tesla.

Something is up over there...