Do you also mount your phone near the dashboard? If so, why?

[stevem]

sorry this might be scope creep, please direct me to a better thread if needed but those of you that do mount your phone, where and with what? I want to as well but I don't want it to be an eyesore...

I'm the same way. I used one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T7AVAK8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's magnetic. And it clips to the vent to the left of the center screen and above the gear selector. I don't have a photo on hand. But the best thing about this is that it's easy to put on and take off if I need to. But I just leave it on. There is no branding on it so it's super stealth. And I stick a metal plate under my phone case. so you can't even see it on my phone. And it holds an iPhone great.

 

[MDMGSO47]

@derekmw

Wrong side of the screen, too low and inaccessible for me. Try under the air vent left side of the screen 0r under the air vent, left side of the steering wheel

 

[kort677]

I use the proclip as well, it's unobtrusive and functions as advertised. mine is mounted just like this one.

 

[derekmw]

@derekmw

Wrong side of the screen, too low and inaccessible for me. Try under the air vent left side of the screen 0r under the air vent, left side of the steering wheel

yeah, like I said, no spot on that small section works for me. Either too close to steering wheel, blocks vent, or blocks accessibility to that left top portion of the screen. This was the only spot I was able to get that worked without obstructing any existing items around/on the dash.

 

[T3SLA90D]

I use this magnetic vent mount on the left side of the center screen. Phone is partially hidden by steering wheel but not too bad.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0109JIQ0W/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apip_xDOJWVw6ocayR

 

[derekmw]

I use this magnetic vent mount on the left side of the center screen. Phone is partially hidden by steering wheel but not too bad.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0109JIQ0W/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apip_xDOJWVw6ocayR

I wanted to get something like that but in the MS, with already limited vents (in my opinion), blocking a vent (even if partially) was not an option, and on top of that, to either block the view of the phone by steering wheel, or blocking the view of the main screen (or being able to easily touch the left top corner -- like to unlock/lock the doors) was not an option.

 

[Cyclone]

Like others, I use a magnetic mount on the passenger side of my 17" screen, tilted so the phone is facing towards the driver (rather than straight back). I typically keep the rear camera in the top half of the 17", media player in the bottom half, media player on the left side of the instrument cluster, trip meter on the right side of the instrument cluster, and Waze on my phone. Occasionally, I use Pandora or other media apps to stream to my car over Bluetooth.

The Tesla Nav for me is good on road trips, but for city-driving, I find Waze much easier to use. Part of this might also be the way the 17" loads the maps. Knowing I'm driving at 55 mph North, the 17" does NOT preload the next few tiles. Instead, I regularly see the gray checkerboxes briefly as a section of the map comes into view and the Nav downloads the tile. This is most especially annoying when you reach the speed trigger for the Nav to zoom in (driving slow) or out (driving fast). It changes first, then downloads the new tiles.

 

[kev1n]

i do mount my phone, i dont like keeping it in my pocket while i drive.

like some others have mentioned, using waze or google maps is just easier from the phone then to type it into the big screen. (i wish they will integrate this easier somehow, send a location from your phone to the Tesla GPS)

also very useful to have it within eyesight for notifications

best would be if they just adopted apple carplay and android auto...

 

[Sawyer8888]

Waze. I think the built in nav is fine. On long trips I use it for supercharge and energy usage, but will usually leave waze on for traffic, hazards, construction and police alerts.

I mount my phone for the same reason. Waze is superior to the Google/Garmin combo on the big screen. Routing in particular works better on Waze in my location. There is a method of accessing a no-frills version of Waze through the Tesla browser, however that is too much trouble IMO. Like stevem said, I too generally only use Tesla's navigation on long road trips for locating superchargers and keeping track of the car's energy level.​

under the air vent, left side of the steering wheel

Under the air vent, left of the steering wheel is the best location for the phone IMO. It is out of the way, but still visible. My mount is a suction cup with a rigid flexible arm and a clip on the end. This looks a bit archaic, but it stays in place.



BTW, mounting in the middle of your windshield creates a giant blind spot and is illegal in most, if not all states.
​

I wish the big screen was more capable. While riding in my friend's new Buick Enclave, the car's infotainment system read the text message they received. As far as I know, my Tesla can't do this yet.

 

[Max*]

I'd be afraid of that thing reaching out and grabbing me while I'm driving.

 

[stevem]

I wanted to get something like that but in the MS, with already limited vents (in my opinion), blocking a vent (even if partially) was not an option, and on top of that, to either block the view of the phone by steering wheel, or blocking the view of the main screen (or being able to easily touch the left top corner -- like to unlock/lock the doors) was not an option.

I had the same concerns. And for the $7 for the magnetic mount, I decided to give it a try and turns out it's not an issue for me. I used to be very picky about blocking vents (even partially). My thoughts were the same as yours maybe even more stubborn (or OCD ish like doing any of that is so wrong I won't do it). But it turns out after using it for a couple days, my concerns disappeared. I've been using it with the magnetic mount for almost 2 years trouble free.

 

[stevo1100]

I wanted to get something like that but in the MS, with already limited vents (in my opinion), blocking a vent (even if partially) was not an option, and on top of that, to either block the view of the phone by steering wheel, or blocking the view of the main screen (or being able to easily touch the left top corner -- like to unlock/lock the doors) was not an option.

I will say putting it front of the vent will probably prevent the phone from ever overheating...especially in the texas sun. Always enjoy having to wait until the phone cools down enough to work..

 

[bharned3]

I mount mine also to use Waze. Wish it would be incorporated.

 

[Dameon]

My mounts are Qi inductive chargers. Wouldn't consider anything but.

I would be more interested in Android screen sharing on the Tesla console. Maybe one day.

 

[T3SLA90D]

I wanted to get something like that but in the MS, with already limited vents (in my opinion), blocking a vent (even if partially) was not an option, and on top of that, to either block the view of the phone by steering wheel, or blocking the view of the main screen (or being able to easily touch the left top corner -- like to unlock/lock the doors) was not an option.

I did not notice any problem cooling the car with blocking one vent. Heating is not an issue either as heat typically comes from the feet vents.

 

[azmodls]

I certainly mount on mine for many reasons:

2. In car NAV is a just plain sad (missing roads, wrong directions, etc..) only good to navigate to supercharger once near it

The Tesla car nav can't even navigate correctly to some superchargers! I run google or waze navigation on my phone on road trips.

 

[sdorn]

I did not notice any problem cooling the car with blocking one vent. Heating is not an issue either as heat typically comes from the feet vents.

Agreed, here in Georgia the temps get up around 100 regularly in the summer and I haven't had any issues with my phone being mounted over the vent. It blocks the air from blowing directly into my face, but it doesn't stop it from getting out of the vent. There is plenty of space for it to get out, and it keeps the phone cool which is important sitting in the hot sun. Proclip usually has a couple of mounting options, one of which is usually over a vent, and I've used that option in my last 3 cars and been very happy with it.

 

[Tangible]

Tesla needs Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. They would be great on that big beautiful screen, and would stop us having to kludge up the dashboard.

 

[MDMGSO47]

yeah, like I said, no spot on that small section works for me. Either too close to steering wheel, blocks vent, or blocks accessibility to that left top portion of the screen. This was the only spot I was able to get that worked without obstructing any existing items around/on the dash.

Low on the left side of the dash is not "too close to steering wheel, blocks vent, or blocks accessibility to that left top portion of the screen".

Check out pictures posted by Sawyer8888 above for location (although I have a very different and smaller mount.

 

[bobcaptord]

17" screen displays Google Maps, driver display and routing is from Garmin.

wow, Garmin. And I use Garmin when I pilot my Turboprop. Better change that service if it mirrors the routing I'm using on my S!