Delivery process - diary and opinions

[markwj]

Can't imagine if my kid thrown up in my car after having ice-cream............

Does wonders for that new car smell...

 

[lx3h]

I've finally managed to drive my MS last week (Husband was only too wiling to go back to his Roadster). While the MS is really fun and amazing to drive, I've found that it is not what I think of as an ideal family car.

I have three kids - 10, 7 and 5. The 7yr old finds the doors quite challenging to open, so school drop offs have been a bit stressful (school insists that children be able to exit cars unassisted). I so hate being the one in the queue that's holding everyone else up. In a way, I'm glad HK did not get approved for the rear facing child seats in the trunk. This would make my school drop off even more of a production.

The real problem is with my 5 year old who still has to use a car booster/safety seat. It's a Group 2 and 3 car seat which means it comes with an adjustable headrest. Trying to get the car seat through the door was harder than I thought it would be. Leave yourself plenty of space to manoeuvre - and I do mean, having enough space to open the door completely. But even then, the door space is actually quite narrow!

The buckles for the rear seat belts are flush with the seat - this can be quite tricky for even the average size adults! With a car seat, buckling in becomes quite a problem. Our car seat, because of its bulk, does sit on top the buckle. I've had to push the car seat (with my son sitting on it) out of the way in order to get the belt latched, then push the car seat (and my son) back into position. My son hates this bit and so do I. Once, my 7yr old helped me insert the belt into the buckle. I drove off and a minute later the rear seat belt alarm went off. My daughter had inserted it into the wrong buckle. I found this very surprising as such a thing will never happen on my Nissan - each seat belt can only latch with the designated buckle. I stopped the car while she made the correction. Now, why didn't the indicator go off almost immediately? As in, the second the car was in motion. I haven't decided if it's worth the expense of getting a seat belt extender. For now, I solve this problem and hassle by using my Nissan Presage instead! A note of caution - I don't recommend using the car booster seat without the head rest (the ones with the bottom seat only) in the MS because, as we discovered, the belt strap will go over the child's throat.

If you do have children in your MS, please find out if any or all of them are in any way susceptible to car sickness or getting sick and vomiting when they've had too much ice-cream. Please learn from our mistake. ALWAYS keep a "Vomit Kit" in the car at all times ie. large ziplock bags or even a bucket (I wish we had one at the time!). If such unfortunate incident should happen at night (as it did for us), please be aware that the lighting in the car is horribly inadequate for the cleaning task. You will need someone to shine a powerful torch for you. I would like to emphasise "powerful" because yes, vomit in your Model S will make you cleaning-frantic on a level you never thought possible. Have plenty, PLENTY of wet wipes on hand!

The "new car stink" bothers me a lot. I'm quiet sensitive to smell and being in the MS has given me headaches every time. I found some charcoal odour absorber in the supermarket and bought one 500g bag and two 250g ones. The 500g is in the trunk and the two smaller one go in the front in various places. The improvement is significant so I highly recommend them! You can find them in most supermarkets (with the dehumidifier packets in the household section) or any household stores.

I also want to get a carseat for my baby girl, may I know which one you would recommend? Could you please post a photo of how yours look like inside the car?

As for getting the carseat into the car problem, maybe it is better to get it in from the trunk while the rear seats are down and parcel shelf out of the way.

I always wonder if those charcoal absorbers actually work because it is hard to confirm if they really have activated carbon in them.

 

[markwj]

I always wonder if those charcoal absorbers actually work because it is hard to confirm if they really have activated carbon in them.

Oh, they definitely work. I can attest to that. The new car smell is much better, and more importantly the infant-puke smell has pretty much gone :biggrin:

 

[lx3h]

Oh, they definitely work. I can attest to that. The new car smell is much better, and more importantly the infant-puke smell has pretty much gone :biggrin:

Could you share a brand name?

 

[jasminewj]

I also want to get a carseat for my baby girl, may I know which one you would recommend? Could you please post a photo of how yours look like inside the car?

I think infant safety car seats would not be such a hassle to put in and install in the MS as they are much smaller than a car booster seat that's meant for bigger kids. My youngest is 5 yrs old so I wouldn't know which car seats to recommend for your baby girl. The best thing to do is to read the section for car seat safety in the MS manual. Note that there two types of infant car seats you need to consider when deciding which is for you - 1. latch with a seat belt - the seat belt goes around the back of the car seat and you latch it to the buckle as normal. 2. latch retained - seats are attached to anchor bars built into the rear car seats. This would be the ISO fix system. Having experienced n not being too happy with flush buckle, I would imagine using an ISO fix would be more convenient. But pls - do can contact Tesla and ask for their advice. Hope this helps!

 

[lx3h]

I think infant safety car seats would not be such a hassle to put in and install in the MS as they are much smaller than a car booster seat that's meant for bigger kids. My youngest is 5 yrs old so I wouldn't know which car seats to recommend for your baby girl. The best thing to do is to read the section for car seat safety in the MS manual. Note that there two types of infant car seats you need to consider when deciding which is for you - 1. latch with a seat belt - the seat belt goes around the back of the car seat and you latch it to the buckle as normal. 2. latch retained - seats are attached to anchor bars built into the rear car seats. This would be the ISO fix system. Having experienced n not being too happy with flush buckle, I would imagine using an ISO fix would be more convenient. But pls - do can contact Tesla and ask for their advice. Hope this helps!

I'm looking for something from 9 months to 12 years old, so Recaro Monza Nova is my first choice http://int.recaro-cs.com/child-seats-details/recaro-monza-nova-is.html.

 

[jasminewj]

Looks good!

 

[jasminewj]

This is the charcoal odour absorber I use in my Model S. Got mine from Taste supermarket.

 

[markwj]

D+14

Came to the car to find this. Scary. The touch screen was not responding to any presses. I rebooted the screen a few times (hold down both steering wheel scroll buttons), but no improvement. Talking to Tesla, they were very helpful and wanted to organize a tow, but after checking some more I found that everything works except for the touch screen. The clock updates, backup camera switches and shows, the car drives just fine, and even media plays. I can use steering wheel controls to perform all the necessary functions.

Everyone talks about how everything in the car is controlled by that giant touchscreen, but I was surprised with how much could be controlled without it.

So, this morning bright and early I dropped the car off at the Tesla service centre.

Picked it up this afternoon, with a new computer + screen module. All working fine, so far. They even killed the mouse in my windscreen wipers.

So, the car is 2 weeks old and already suffered this. What do I think? **** happens... Stuff breaks... My roadster spent a good portion of the first year of its life getting things fixed. It is concerning, but not the end of the world. From experience in the IT field, I know that the majority of things break either in the first three months or after three years.

The thing is, if you take it for granted that things will break, what really matters is how hard it is to get it fixed. With Tesla, it is a breeze. They bend over backwards to help and try to ensure you are inconvenienced as little as possible. This, as with almost all my dealings with Tesla, was painless.

P.S. They've got free coffee and cookies in the service waiting area. Always a good thing.

 

[jasminewj]

Car selfie!!!!!

 

[bollar]

Re: car sickness. As I was learning to drive with brake regen set to "standard," some of my passengers would get nauseous. When they were in the car, I found that setting "regenerative braking" to "low" was very helpful.

 

[lx3h]

View attachment 57698 This is the charcoal odour absorber I use in my Model S. Got mine from Taste supermarket.

Great! Many thanks! Seems like simple bamboo charcoal.

 

[waidy]

Sorry to hijack this group as I am unable to find a "service/maintenance" discussion thread. I am not able to open the charge port via the button on the wall connector plug. The only way to open the charge port is from the control panel on the 17" screen inside the Model S. I only find this out last night since last night was my first time to plug-in. I guess the chauffeur who usually do the charging does not know about this feature.

The Tesla service team was very responsive. WilliamC said he will drive a Model S here to test to see whether it is the remote on the wall connector or the remote at the charge port. Since my wall connector was installed long ago and was tested by Tesla Charging Team, I told them the failure is most likely at the car's charge port. I told WilliamC if he were to drive a Model S here for testing, it would be great if he leaves the company's Model S here as a loaner for us. He said OK, but will confirm later.

Just got a call from WilliamC, he said the insurance on loaner MS has not yet established and therefore he cannot leave his Model S here as a loaner car :-(
At least I know there will be a loaner program in Hong Kong when you take your MS for service.

 

[Captain_Kong]

Sorry to hijack this group as I am unable to find a "service/maintenance" discussion thread. I am not able to open the charge port via the button on the wall connector plug. The only way to open the charge port is from the control panel on the 17" screen inside the Model S. I only find this out last night since last night was my first time to plug-in. I guess the chauffeur who usually do the charging does not know about this feature.

The Tesla service team was very responsive. WilliamC said he will drive a Model S here to test to see whether it is the remote on the wall connector or the remote at the charge port. Since my wall connector was installed long ago and was tested by Tesla Charging Team, I told them the failure is most likely at the car's charge port. I told WilliamC if he were to drive a Model S here for testing, it would be great if he leaves the company's Model S here as a loaner for us. He said OK, but will confirm later.

Just got a call from WilliamC, he said the insurance on loaner MS has not yet established and therefore he cannot leave his Model S here as a loaner car :-(
At least I know there will be a loaner program in Hong Kong when you take your MS for service.

A quick check with those who have taken delivery of their MS on the followings:

- Voice command: has anyone tried to use voice command to search for songs / music online? The car’s OS recognizes my voice search command just fine, and it loads a search page, but it can’t locate anything even after a looong while (?) For example, it recognized when I said “Rolling Stones Paint It Black” perfectly and loads the search page, but the page “searches” for a long time without tracking down any “Paint It Black” by Rolling Stones. Am I missing anything? Is there a list of voice command available with the current OS? I’m aware of music search (“Play”) and phone dialing functions (“Call”), any other commands?
- Music storage on USB: is there a shuffle function for the music stored on a USB device?
- Windscreen wiper arms: apart from relatively less effective windscreen wiper blade during heavy rain, I noticed the wiper arms are kind of flimsy. They’re made from stamped metal but the busy stamp marks / uneven finishing of the wiper arms seem to suggest they’re make in a garage workshop rather than from a real car company. Any one has the same view?
- Battery consumption: on a 80% charged, I get around 350km of range, but this lasts only around 200km and averaged around 280-300wh/km. I drive up and down the Peak / relatively hilly South Side during day-to-day driving, and enjoyed occasional red light drag… am curious what the other drivers’ consumption patterns are?

Apart from these minor things, one month into my ownership and 700km later, it’s an awesome car with a fantastic user experience! Everything just works like a second nature even this is a brand new car and company.

PS. I’ve a lot of sympathy for those with the delayed delivery, after waiting for almost 3 years myself and 1 month since taking delivery, a little bit more of patience is well worth the car!

 

[Vmax]

@Captain_Kong: whenever I get impatient, will read the last sentence of your post

 

[markwj]

Almost two months into ownership, and I broke down and purchased this:

Ok. I know I said I wouldn't. But, I miss those privileged parking spots. Financially it doesn't make sense. But, hey, neither does a car in HK (for most).

The mobile charger itself is pretty standard Mennekes. Cost is HK$3,700, which is a hell of a deal considering what Mennekes themselves were asking for a direct sale. It has thermal protection, and is limited to 10A.

It doesn't have a Tesla Charge Port opening button, but I do have this:

 

[Vmax]

@markwj, what is "this" and where can we buy it?

 

[markwj]

@markwj, what is "this" and where can we buy it?

It is a European style charge port opener. Uses RF transmission, operating at same frequency, with same codes, as the button on the Tesla wall connectors.

Open ChargePort

The original version used a PIC (as do all such good hacky things), and latest uses a Si4010.

DIY at the moment - you have to build your own.

 

[Vmax]

Worry it might exceed my DIY capability. Therefore I found this: Model S Chargeport Opener - Stegen Electronics
Unfortunately out of stock at the moment.

 

[lx3h]

Or DIY
Open ChargePort