Luckily Tesla don't agree with you! Not having to deal with a creeping transmission is one of the best things about an EV!
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Luckily Tesla don't agree with you! Not having to deal with a creeping transmission is one of the best things about an EV!
Which is fine until someone's foot slips off the brake and they rear end you. Happens all the time. Creep is not something we need or a safety aid, it's just a physical feature of automatics. If you like creep or think it's safer for YOU, then the option is there. But I would be very pissed if I was forced to use it!
JeffK
Well-Known Member
But it wouldn't accelerate on its own and D is right there on the center screen.
On many ICEs with creep you can slightly press the accelerator and there's no change in speed (you might even think you are slightly pressing the brake) likewise you can slightly press the brake with no change in creep.
With creep mode off, this confusion is not even possible.
Evthusiast
Member
I have had a Model S since 2013 and hate creep. The first week of ownership I experimented with both settings. I actually hated it when creep was on. Creep to me is an old school thing for gas cars.
With a gas car that has creep... "What happens if I pass out at a red light and my car creeps forward into cross traffic"?
Your logic works both ways....You can worry about everything or relax, enjoy and stop worrying.
When I re read your sentence below, I realize we both think very differently. Your sentence below to me is glass half empty type thinking.
Should I say... "What happens if the guy in the back seat hits me with a baseball bat" "What happens if I hit a patch of ice and there is a lunar eclipse at the same time" "What happens if a cat walks behind my rear wheels and falls to sleep and then I go in reverse real fast not knowing that the cat was there"?
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I do not understand your.... "You are in the driver's seat of your Tesla and suddenly become disoriented (doze off, pass out, seizure, brain fart moment). When you come to, you realize the Tesla is not moving but your vision is blurry and you don't or can't look at the screens. Which gear could your Tesla be in?"
But I am an optimist
With a gas car that has creep... "What happens if I pass out at a red light and my car creeps forward into cross traffic"?
Your logic works both ways....You can worry about everything or relax, enjoy and stop worrying.
When I re read your sentence below, I realize we both think very differently. Your sentence below to me is glass half empty type thinking.
Should I say... "What happens if the guy in the back seat hits me with a baseball bat" "What happens if I hit a patch of ice and there is a lunar eclipse at the same time" "What happens if a cat walks behind my rear wheels and falls to sleep and then I go in reverse real fast not knowing that the cat was there"?
.I do not understand your.... "You are in the driver's seat of your Tesla and suddenly become disoriented (doze off, pass out, seizure, brain fart moment). When you come to, you realize the Tesla is not moving but your vision is blurry and you don't or can't look at the screens. Which gear could your Tesla be in?"
But I am an optimist
JeffK
Well-Known Member
One thing I'm really looking forward to in a Tesla is the ability to drive slowly and evenly in stop and go traffic. With a typical ICE, you have to let off the brake, if creep is too slow you hit the gas until the vehicle lurches forward then you have the hit the brake again. If you don't hold the brake then creep will cause you to hit the car in front of you... arrrgh!!
I used to have a Smart Car. It was a clutchless manual. It operated much like a Tesla with creep off. It didn't move until you pressed the accelerator. When you lifted your foot off it slowed down. Not once in the over 8 years I owned it did I mix up the brake and accelerator, or have an unexpected acceleration event.
As well, I have personally twice witnessed the aftermath of cars which have accelerated into store fronts. Neither one of them was a Tesla.
So, if non-Tesla can crash into store fronts, and not make the news, then there's something else happening.
It's like car fires. Non-Teslas catch on fire all the time. Only Teslas make the international news.
It's the fact that it's a Tesla that makes it into the news, not anything inherently Tesla related.
As well, I have personally twice witnessed the aftermath of cars which have accelerated into store fronts. Neither one of them was a Tesla.
So, if non-Tesla can crash into store fronts, and not make the news, then there's something else happening.
It's like car fires. Non-Teslas catch on fire all the time. Only Teslas make the international news.
It's the fact that it's a Tesla that makes it into the news, not anything inherently Tesla related.
Luckily most the Tesla unintended acceleration incidents don't make it into the news (except for the most spectacular ones). Most (the "My Tesla accelerated into a wall in the parking lot on its own") just appear here on the forums and on reddit or facebook where the poster is typically roasted medieval-style. And then someone will invariably reply “This is why I leave creep on” and start a back and forth debate reiterating all the same excellent points as in this thread. Let’s face it, the pro-creep and anti-creep camps will just have to agree to disagree.
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Didn’t read 8 pages but obviously creep mode on if you have ANY ice cars in your family.
There’s a benefit to keep things consistent.
Last thing is I went 25 years without slamming into something in my garage.
Creep off wouldn’t have been worth it when either myself or 1000x more likely my wife hits something at year 47.
There’s a benefit to keep things consistent.
Last thing is I went 25 years without slamming into something in my garage.
Creep off wouldn’t have been worth it when either myself or 1000x more likely my wife hits something at year 47.
The problem is the instant and rapid acceleration in a Tesla. If someone panics the car goes a lot further than a typical ICE would. You also don’t have the same sound cue to let you know you pressing on the ‘gas’.
These things will keep happening.
Reminds me of people on a motorcycle who accelerate too fast which causes them to further twist the throttle.
These things will keep happening.
Reminds me of people on a motorcycle who accelerate too fast which causes them to further twist the throttle.
roblab
Active Member
What happens when your brakes have brake hold (as mine does) and it's in creep mode, and you remove your foot from the brake? I would assume it will stay in brake hold until the accelerator pedal is pushed.
I guess that makes sense if your ICE cars are all autos, which I realise they nearly all are in the US. We still have a lot of manual cars in the UK and so creep is irrelevant for those. We've had both autos and manual cars in the family for years and I can swap between them without any issues. Tesla have rightly given the option of creep or no creep. I'm not buying into any of the "safety" arguments for creep, but the familiarity argument is fine for those who don't want to change their driving style. A bit like the option to reduce regeneration braking. I expect in another decade or two when EVs become more mainstream, creep will become less popular and eventually forgotten!
This is a weird, artificially constructed corner-case, in my opinion.
Cars creeping forward is an artifact of the way transmissions work when in gear, really. Both manuals and autos have differing characteristics, but will creep forward when in gear and idling.
In my opinion, if it wasn't mechanically necessary, it probably wouldn't have been purposely added. I'm of the opinion that "no input = no motion" is a better model. I'd rather a car not take action unless I deliberately initiate or enable it.
I understand folks are used to it and therefore prefer it, but I think claiming it's a safety enhancement is a stretch.
Cars creeping forward is an artifact of the way transmissions work when in gear, really. Both manuals and autos have differing characteristics, but will creep forward when in gear and idling.
In my opinion, if it wasn't mechanically necessary, it probably wouldn't have been purposely added. I'm of the opinion that "no input = no motion" is a better model. I'd rather a car not take action unless I deliberately initiate or enable it.
I understand folks are used to it and therefore prefer it, but I think claiming it's a safety enhancement is a stretch.
This is the same reason I turned creep back on. I couldn't work out the finesse necessary to manoever at low speed without using creep.
Additionally, as the OP says, if you let go of the brake pedal you quickly have an indication of which 'gear' the car is.
I find it easier to control the car at very slow speeds with Creep OFF. When I bought my first Tesla in 2013 I turned Creep OFF within a few days of taking delivery and have never used it since.
As for stop-and-go driving in heavy traffic, TACC is fantastic in that scenario. I can go for miles without touching the pedals.
I don’t see any logical reason creep ON would be safer than OFF. There are many scenarios where creep ON could contribute to an accident, for example the driver’s foot slips off the brake, the driver moves his or her foot off the brake not realizing car is in drive or reverse, the driver is distracted by phone or kids and takes foot off the brake, etc. Once the foot is off the brake the car can hit a person, car or object in front of it, or the startled driver (who also may be distracted) can hit the accelerator by accident.
Also, there is zero evidence I have seen that Tesla cars with or without creep have more cases of unintended acceleration than ICE cars. My ex-mother-in-law drove her ICE car through the front window of the same 7-11 not once but twice. Happens all the time with ICE cars but nobody cares. Anything bad that happens with a Tesla gets attention from the press or the forums, but anecdotes are not data.
Not having to hold a foot on the brake at every stop is very relaxing, comfortable and feels very natural. I much prefer creep OFF — it’s a nice perk of driving an EV.
Also, there is zero evidence I have seen that Tesla cars with or without creep have more cases of unintended acceleration than ICE cars. My ex-mother-in-law drove her ICE car through the front window of the same 7-11 not once but twice. Happens all the time with ICE cars but nobody cares. Anything bad that happens with a Tesla gets attention from the press or the forums, but anecdotes are not data.
Not having to hold a foot on the brake at every stop is very relaxing, comfortable and feels very natural. I much prefer creep OFF — it’s a nice perk of driving an EV.
Or you can just look at the dash display rather than guess which direction the car is going to move in when you take your foot off the brake!
A handful of people have posted here that they dinged their bumpers while trying to maneuver into their garages because they moved more quickly than expected when the accelerator was touched. Creep would have helped with that.
