First Time Driving a Tesla- Just got my MY

[Nic&Tess]

I drove my Model 3 a year before I realized how to turn off the blinker when changing lanes on the highway. I struggled clicking it back without pushing it too far the wrong way. No, just push it a second time the same direction. Of course, this is for those of us manually changing lanes in the first place. Never thought I'd own a car that can change lanes on it's own and turn off the blinker.

 

[SEndicott]

Re: #2 Turning off. Watch out when you drive a non-Tesla. More than once after I got my first Tesla I was driving my wife's Camry Hybrid and neglected to turn it off after parking. That fact that it was a hybrid and the engine wasn't running makes it easy to do.

Similarly, my son reports when he drives his Fiance's ICE car, he sometimes forgets that her car does not have regren braking. He has "almost" come close to rear ending someone because he was so used to regren/one pedal driving.

 

[Seth2020]

1. Standard Regen is REALLY slowing. So I'm sure like me you know when you get off the gas the car regenerates power- and people have said you can drive "with one foot."

I too felt this way after enabling Standard Regen for the first time. However VERY QUICKLY I got used to, and now I feel it does not slow down enough. It works fine for one-pedal driving most of the time, but if it had a little more braking to it, I would get even better utility out of it

 

[Isakura]

So nice to see a joyous post about their MY - congrats!!!

Glad to see I'm not the only one going through the 'growing pains' of being a Tesla owner! To say I love the car and it's modern techie functionalities is an understatement: I LOVE THIS CAR. It took me about 35-40 min to finally get comfy with the accelerator and regen breaking, and I miss it when I'm in an ICE car (which I am now driving my soon-to-expire lease vehicle while my MY gets a spa treatment).

I also thought the infoscreen and lack of dials would freak me out - I have to say, after the few minutes it took to get used to it leaving from the Tesla center, I prefer it now. The simplistic dash and lack of bells, buttons, whistles, lights, and doo-dads makes driving a much more Zen experience and when you toss in autopilot, it's even better.

Needless to say, this was a no-regrets purchase that I look forward to for years to come.

Oh, and of course the obvious lol-gas - no more smelly gas pumps and polluting exhaust. Yes please!

 

[paulinpaloalto]

Great post! Congratulations on your new MY and your courage to take that leap without so much as a test drive! You'll love it!

You definitely made the right decision by leaving the Regen set to "max" and just getting used to it. For my money, that is the most surprising and unadvertised advantage of BEVs over ICE cars. Once you get used to it, it is genuinely annoying to have to drive a car that doesn't have it. Oh, man, you mean I have to actually lift my foot and move it over 6 inches to slow down!?!?!? And the advantages are even more stellar in the mountains: it completely removes the worry about cooking your brakes coming down a mountain road. It becomes trivially easy to modulate your speed and you're actually charging your battery instead of just generating waste heat and spraying asbestos particles all over the place. It is epic! We have a 2018 Model S and drive from the SF Bay area to Tahoe frequently in all seasons. The Tesla is incredible in the mountains: effortless power going up the hill and then regen coming back down. If I'm careful I can actually get negative wh/mi consumption figures for the last 15 miles at a couple of points on I-80 coming back down the hill. BEVs FTW!

The other point to make is that the Nav system is smart enough to take into account the cost of lifting a 5000 lb car over Donner Pass (7500 ft elevation). Work = mgh, as we remember from Physics 1. On the way up the hill, we charge usually in Roseville or Rocklin and you can believe what the Nav system tells you about how much charge you need to get up and over to the superchargers on the other side in Truckee.

 

[Isakura]

The other point to make is that the Nav system is smart enough to take into account the cost of lifting a 5000 lb car over Donner Pass (7500 ft elevation). Work = mgh, as we remember from Physics 1. On the way up the hill, we charge usually in Roseville or Rocklin and you can believe what the Nav system tells you about how much charge you need to get up and over to the superchargers on the other side in Truckee.

Good to know - hoping to move to Colorado in the future and was curious how the MY would handle the mountain passes.

 

[Bandmom]

Reading your post made me smile and think of my first month with my Model 3. One of my biggest challenges now when driving other cars if remembering that I need a key to start the car, and then remember to take the key with me when I get out of it!!!

 

[bicar]

So I just got my Tesla MY AWD LR yesterday and drove it home. It was the ultimate in leap of faith because I haven't ever driven ANY Tesla before- not even test drive or rental. So I wanted to write something for those who were like me and ordered the car and didn't know what to expect when first driving it out of the lot.


Here are my top 5 Wow/What? as a very first time Tesla driver:

1. Standard Regen is REALLY slowing. So I'm sure like me you know when you get off the gas the car regenerates power- and people have said you can drive "with one foot." I had no idea what that meant till yesterday. I wrote in a different thread that it was like learning stick shift. I would step on the gas and the car would lunge forward in power, so I would get completely off the gas and the standard regen would act like firmly (not emergency) applying the brake- and my passengers would whiplash forward. So like learning a stick everyone in the car is swaying forward and backward as I step on the gas and off the gas (it was hysterical actually). I would say it similar to driving a bumper car. And if you stick it out for a few miles, you'll get the hang of how to finesse the gas pedal so it slows gently and accelerates gently. You can also reduce the regen to "mild" I think- you still feel it but it isn't as powerful. I will tell you I decided to go full regen and get used to it- and by the time I got home I love it- and I think I used the brake twice in 50 miles (not an exaggeration).
2. How do I turn it off? So I know your supposed to just walk away and it turns off. But really? The A/C is still on, screen still blaring the "P" - just walk away? YES- take your phone and walk away, then go visit the car without your phone and you'll see it has gone dark. Its funny, the idea of getting into the car and having it ready seemed completely natural, but just walking away? I've been driving cars for nearly 35 years- it will take some time to learn not to worry about "turning it off."
3. Autopilot. So after about 10 miles my car's cameras were calibrated so Autopilot said it could be used. So then I stopped at a rest stop and turned on the features- then is was off to the highway to try it out. On the highway it did well- it saw a car swerving into my lane (clearly texting while driving) and it slowed down appropriately. I will say it was on "mild" aggressiveness for lane changing- and if you're from NY that will just drive you crazy, you have to at least go to standard otherwise your autopilot won't want to change lanes unless you're like 10 below the speed limit. BUT the weirdest thing was driving Autopilot on a state, curvy road. IMO autopilot likes to turn the wheel about a half second after I would have turned the wheel- so I'm constantly like "should I take over" and then the car moves the wheel and takes care of the turn... that half second I'm sure I'll get used to, but it will take learning. Overall though I can see myself using this a lot.
4. The car is big- but not minivan big. So I got this car so my family of four could go on vacation and travel to see the grandparents, etc all comfortably. And both my kids have less school in front of them than behind them, so my wife and I see this car as our future "empty nest" car. For that I think this car is perfect. Now I will say, I've watched WAY too many videos reviewing the MY- and every camera angle shows the trunk as HUGE. Its big, its like a large hatchback- I do love it, but its not minivan big. I guess when I lifted the hatchback for the first time I was expecting a cavern like I've seen on YouTube- no cavern but a nicely sized hatchback. So I'm thrilled- it is perfect for what I want it to do, but if you're coming from a big SUV or Minivan, go look at one first. They are showing up in Tesla dealerships and you can at least snag a glimpse at one.
5. The Doors are Heavy- so opening and closing the doors require some serious pull/push. I mean not like weightlifter effort, but coming from a Toyota Camry and Sienna, yeah, more. Plus you have to get used to pushing the button to get out (maybe BMWs, etc have this already, but if you're coming from a simple Camry this is all new). These door are solid. I certainly feel safe, but watch your screen because its not unusual so far for one of the kids doors to be registering as open when they think its closed (besides the screen, the giveaway is also the window isn't up).

Those are my top 5 things as a first time Tesla Driver. Now let me just note a few things I was worried about but it was no big deal:

• Do I need a HUD or speedometer in front of me? Nope, I was really worried about this but it took all of 1 min to learn to glance right. I really couldn't believe how non-important this was to me until I drove the car.
• Night Driving- so we took the car out last night when it got dark to see what its like. Its weird because there is no light in front of you when you're driving. I knew this but it is different to experience it yourself. I'm not saying its bad, actually I felt like it was easier to see everything in front of me without the dim lights of the dashboard-but its different.
• Everything in the "iPad" in the middle. Ok, I haven't driven in the rain yet so I'm not sure about the windshield wipers, but honestly- it was way easier than I thought. I put this in the no big deal category.
• Everyone comments on your speed- because the speedometer is so big and centered and now everyone is a critic- and its incredibly easy to speed in this car, which is why I see me using Autopilot so much.

Hope some new Tesla people find this useful... And its fun to have joined the Tesla Family.

Also picked up our AWD LR Saturday in Tampa. I've never been in a Tesla and our MY was the first one I've seen. Getting used to it while driving in a city was interesting. Hit a couple brief thunderstorms on the way south to Fort Myers and the wipers and lights were great. We don't have FSD and I'm not sure how much Autopilot will do. I agree with all your comments. This is a great car.

 

[jacaseyusa1]

So I just got my Tesla MY AWD LR yesterday and drove it home. It was the ultimate in leap of faith because I haven't ever driven ANY Tesla before- not even test drive or rental. So I wanted to write something for those who were like me and ordered the car and didn't know what to expect when first driving it out of the lot.


Here are my top 5 Wow/What? as a very first time Tesla driver:

1. Standard Regen is REALLY slowing. So I'm sure like me you know when you get off the gas the car regenerates power- and people have said you can drive "with one foot." I had no idea what that meant till yesterday. I wrote in a different thread that it was like learning stick shift. I would step on the gas and the car would lunge forward in power, so I would get completely off the gas and the standard regen would act like firmly (not emergency) applying the brake- and my passengers would whiplash forward. So like learning a stick everyone in the car is swaying forward and backward as I step on the gas and off the gas (it was hysterical actually). I would say it similar to driving a bumper car. And if you stick it out for a few miles, you'll get the hang of how to finesse the gas pedal so it slows gently and accelerates gently. You can also reduce the regen to "mild" I think- you still feel it but it isn't as powerful. I will tell you I decided to go full regen and get used to it- and by the time I got home I love it- and I think I used the brake twice in 50 miles (not an exaggeration).
2. How do I turn it off? So I know your supposed to just walk away and it turns off. But really? The A/C is still on, screen still blaring the "P" - just walk away? YES- take your phone and walk away, then go visit the car without your phone and you'll see it has gone dark. Its funny, the idea of getting into the car and having it ready seemed completely natural, but just walking away? I've been driving cars for nearly 35 years- it will take some time to learn not to worry about "turning it off."
3. Autopilot. So after about 10 miles my car's cameras were calibrated so Autopilot said it could be used. So then I stopped at a rest stop and turned on the features- then is was off to the highway to try it out. On the highway it did well- it saw a car swerving into my lane (clearly texting while driving) and it slowed down appropriately. I will say it was on "mild" aggressiveness for lane changing- and if you're from NY that will just drive you crazy, you have to at least go to standard otherwise your autopilot won't want to change lanes unless you're like 10 below the speed limit. BUT the weirdest thing was driving Autopilot on a state, curvy road. IMO autopilot likes to turn the wheel about a half second after I would have turned the wheel- so I'm constantly like "should I take over" and then the car moves the wheel and takes care of the turn... that half second I'm sure I'll get used to, but it will take learning. Overall though I can see myself using this a lot.
4. The car is big- but not minivan big. So I got this car so my family of four could go on vacation and travel to see the grandparents, etc all comfortably. And both my kids have less school in front of them than behind them, so my wife and I see this car as our future "empty nest" car. For that I think this car is perfect. Now I will say, I've watched WAY too many videos reviewing the MY- and every camera angle shows the trunk as HUGE. Its big, its like a large hatchback- I do love it, but its not minivan big. I guess when I lifted the hatchback for the first time I was expecting a cavern like I've seen on YouTube- no cavern but a nicely sized hatchback. So I'm thrilled- it is perfect for what I want it to do, but if you're coming from a big SUV or Minivan, go look at one first. They are showing up in Tesla dealerships and you can at least snag a glimpse at one.
5. The Doors are Heavy- so opening and closing the doors require some serious pull/push. I mean not like weightlifter effort, but coming from a Toyota Camry and Sienna, yeah, more. Plus you have to get used to pushing the button to get out (maybe BMWs, etc have this already, but if you're coming from a simple Camry this is all new). These door are solid. I certainly feel safe, but watch your screen because its not unusual so far for one of the kids doors to be registering as open when they think its closed (besides the screen, the giveaway is also the window isn't up).

Those are my top 5 things as a first time Tesla Driver. Now let me just note a few things I was worried about but it was no big deal:

• Do I need a HUD or speedometer in front of me? Nope, I was really worried about this but it took all of 1 min to learn to glance right. I really couldn't believe how non-important this was to me until I drove the car.
• Night Driving- so we took the car out last night when it got dark to see what its like. Its weird because there is no light in front of you when you're driving. I knew this but it is different to experience it yourself. I'm not saying its bad, actually I felt like it was easier to see everything in front of me without the dim lights of the dashboard-but its different.
• Everything in the "iPad" in the middle. Ok, I haven't driven in the rain yet so I'm not sure about the windshield wipers, but honestly- it was way easier than I thought. I put this in the no big deal category.
• Everyone comments on your speed- because the speedometer is so big and centered and now everyone is a critic- and its incredibly easy to speed in this car, which is why I see me using Autopilot so much.

Hope some new Tesla people find this useful... And its fun to have joined the Tesla Family.

 

[ecospider5]

Now that you have had the car for a bit. Here are 3 things to know that will stop you from getting stuck.

If the charger gets stuck and just won’t release there is a pull cord inside behind a plastic cover that will release the lock.

if a feature stops working or the screen stays black. hold both scroll wheels to reboot the computer. Technically I have done this when driving and the autopilot did not disconnect but probably safer to do it when stopped.

if the 12v battery dies you can get to it in the frunk. You can release the frunk by popping the 2 inch round dot in the bumper and add voltage to the wires you can pull out there. The wires only opens the frunk it does not charge the battery so you still have to remove the upper plastic to get to be able to jump start the 12v system so you can get the computer to turn on and start running things from the high voltage battery. Be aware this means the frunk it not technically fully locked so don’t put expensive things in there. Also the 2 inch dot has always cracked when I tried to remove it. But they are easy to replace.

finally something you will never need. If your hydraulic breaks fail press the parking brake button and hold. It will engage the rear mechanical breaks. Supposedly this works even on the freeway but I have never tried that.

congratulations on your Tesla.

 

[DDrawer]

Be aware this means the frunk it not technically fully locked so don’t put expensive things in there.

No worries about this one anymore. They fixed that a few updates ago. The frunk will only open now when the 12v battery is actually dead. If it still has power and you pop the recovery toe hook circle off and add voltage to the wires, nothing will happen.

 

[Silicon Desert]

nice write-up. I guess the surprising thing to me is that you bought the car without ever test driving one first. Did I understand that right?

 

[StanT]

nice write-up. I guess the surprising thing to me is that you bought the car without ever test driving one first. Did I understand that right?

You did. Figured I'm allowed to return it in the first few days. It was the most expensive leap of faith my wife and I have ever done... But I watched a lot of YouTube and felt like this was going to work.

I will tell you that as the delivery specialist said goodbye and walked away, I rolled up the window, turned to my kids and said:
"May fortune favor the foolish..." and off I went! And I do love this car so far! I will tell you watching Sandy Munro take the Y apart on YouTube really made me feel more confident this was the right move.

I'm going to take the first 100 mile trip this weekend to see the grandparents.

 

[ecospider5]

No worries about this one anymore. They fixed that a few updates ago. The frunk will only open now when the 12v battery is actually dead. If it still has power and you pop the recovery toe hook circle off and add voltage to the wires, nothing will happen.

Good to know. Thanks.

 

[Bad Dolphin]

So I just got my Tesla MY AWD LR yesterday and drove it home. It was the ultimate in leap of faith because I haven't ever driven ANY Tesla before- not even test drive or rental. So I wanted to write something for those who were like me and ordered the car and didn't know what to expect when first driving it out of the lot.


Here are my top 5 Wow/What? as a very first time Tesla driver:

1. Standard Regen is REALLY slowing. So I'm sure like me you know when you get off the gas the car regenerates power- and people have said you can drive "with one foot." I had no idea what that meant till yesterday. I wrote in a different thread that it was like learning stick shift. I would step on the gas and the car would lunge forward in power, so I would get completely off the gas and the standard regen would act like firmly (not emergency) applying the brake- and my passengers would whiplash forward. So like learning a stick everyone in the car is swaying forward and backward as I step on the gas and off the gas (it was hysterical actually). I would say it similar to driving a bumper car. And if you stick it out for a few miles, you'll get the hang of how to finesse the gas pedal so it slows gently and accelerates gently. You can also reduce the regen to "mild" I think- you still feel it but it isn't as powerful. I will tell you I decided to go full regen and get used to it- and by the time I got home I love it- and I think I used the brake twice in 50 miles (not an exaggeration).
2. How do I turn it off? So I know your supposed to just walk away and it turns off. But really? The A/C is still on, screen still blaring the "P" - just walk away? YES- take your phone and walk away, then go visit the car without your phone and you'll see it has gone dark. Its funny, the idea of getting into the car and having it ready seemed completely natural, but just walking away? I've been driving cars for nearly 35 years- it will take some time to learn not to worry about "turning it off."
3. Autopilot. So after about 10 miles my car's cameras were calibrated so Autopilot said it could be used. So then I stopped at a rest stop and turned on the features- then is was off to the highway to try it out. On the highway it did well- it saw a car swerving into my lane (clearly texting while driving) and it slowed down appropriately. I will say it was on "mild" aggressiveness for lane changing- and if you're from NY that will just drive you crazy, you have to at least go to standard otherwise your autopilot won't want to change lanes unless you're like 10 below the speed limit. BUT the weirdest thing was driving Autopilot on a state, curvy road. IMO autopilot likes to turn the wheel about a half second after I would have turned the wheel- so I'm constantly like "should I take over" and then the car moves the wheel and takes care of the turn... that half second I'm sure I'll get used to, but it will take learning. Overall though I can see myself using this a lot.
4. The car is big- but not minivan big. So I got this car so my family of four could go on vacation and travel to see the grandparents, etc all comfortably. And both my kids have less school in front of them than behind them, so my wife and I see this car as our future "empty nest" car. For that I think this car is perfect. Now I will say, I've watched WAY too many videos reviewing the MY- and every camera angle shows the trunk as HUGE. Its big, its like a large hatchback- I do love it, but its not minivan big. I guess when I lifted the hatchback for the first time I was expecting a cavern like I've seen on YouTube- no cavern but a nicely sized hatchback. So I'm thrilled- it is perfect for what I want it to do, but if you're coming from a big SUV or Minivan, go look at one first. They are showing up in Tesla dealerships and you can at least snag a glimpse at one.
5. The Doors are Heavy- so opening and closing the doors require some serious pull/push. I mean not like weightlifter effort, but coming from a Toyota Camry and Sienna, yeah, more. Plus you have to get used to pushing the button to get out (maybe BMWs, etc have this already, but if you're coming from a simple Camry this is all new). These door are solid. I certainly feel safe, but watch your screen because its not unusual so far for one of the kids doors to be registering as open when they think its closed (besides the screen, the giveaway is also the window isn't up).

Those are my top 5 things as a first time Tesla Driver. Now let me just note a few things I was worried about but it was no big deal:

• Do I need a HUD or speedometer in front of me? Nope, I was really worried about this but it took all of 1 min to learn to glance right. I really couldn't believe how non-important this was to me until I drove the car.
• Night Driving- so we took the car out last night when it got dark to see what its like. Its weird because there is no light in front of you when you're driving. I knew this but it is different to experience it yourself. I'm not saying its bad, actually I felt like it was easier to see everything in front of me without the dim lights of the dashboard-but its different.
• Everything in the "iPad" in the middle. Ok, I haven't driven in the rain yet so I'm not sure about the windshield wipers, but honestly- it was way easier than I thought. I put this in the no big deal category.
• Everyone comments on your speed- because the speedometer is so big and centered and now everyone is a critic- and its incredibly easy to speed in this car, which is why I see me using Autopilot so much.

Hope some new Tesla people find this useful... And its fun to have joined the Tesla Family.

Nice write up—had me laughing out loud!

For all you first time Tesla drivers, one very important thing—Autopilot is a toy, and a dangerous one at that. We are all being used to beta test it, but unlike other computer programs, it’s happening in the real world with potentially dangerous and serious consequences. Please be MORE attentive when using it than when driving normally.

 

[FRE0]

Nice, and congrats!

One thing you need to train yourself to do, and I know it is hard (I drove gas cars for 28 years before getting my Model S in 2014), is change how you refer to the pedal that makes the car go. It's "the accelerator" not "the gas".

Actually one steps on the watts.

 

[FRE0]

Nice write up—had me laughing out loud!

For all you first time Tesla drivers, one very important thing—Autopilot is a toy, and a dangerous one at that. We are all being used to beta test it, but unlike other computer programs, it’s happening in the real world with potentially dangerous and serious consequences. Please be MORE attentive when using it than when driving normally.

I twice briefly tried autopilot and chose not to use it. It seems to want to stay too far to the left which made me feel unsafe especially with a big truck to my left. As for the cruise control, it is useful under some conditions but it tends to accelerate much faster than necessary or desirable and slows down too abruptly when approaching a car ahead. I can drive much more smoothly than it can. I see the need to slow down way before it does and by slowing down sooner I can often avoid slowing down as much.

 

[MY-Y]

Nice, and congrats!

One thing you need to train yourself to do, and I know it is hard (I drove gas cars for 28 years before getting my Model S in 2014), is change how you refer to the pedal that makes the car go. It's "the accelerator" not "the gas".

I suppose it may be useful to post this again...

I see this come up a lot with Tesla owners. Tesla cars do indeed have a gas pedal.

Definition of GAS PEDAL

Gas pedal: "a pedal in a vehicle that is pressed down to make the vehicle go faster : accelerator"

My diesel truck has a gas pedal too.

 

[MikeInTX]

Regarding the jerking of acceleration and braking, I strongly recommend using "Chill Mode". You can access it via
Controls > Driving > Acceleration. Chill limits acceleration for a slightly smoother and gentler ride. It makes the accelerator pedal travel further to get the same amount of acceleration, and this makes it much easier to modulate the pedal to accelerate gently and smoothly. I have used Chill mode since early on, and when I recently decided to give standard mode acceleration a try again, it was as bad as I remember it was. I quickly went back to Chill mode.

 

[dandrewk]

Changing stop mode to “roll” also helps.