Forward - Reverse

[culverwood]

As a new S owner does anyone else fine the forward and reverse positions on the stick counter intuitive. No doubt i will get used to it in time but I keep choosing the wrong one at the moment.

 

[WannabeOwner]

does anyone else fine the forward and reverse positions on the stick counter intuitive

Definitely. I park facing a wall and always have to carefully think twice before setting off

That said, when manoeuvring I find it helpful that below about 5MPH (might be a bit more) I can flick it between the two and use accelerator to "reverse" the motor and change direction.

 

[gidso]

D = Down... D = Drive...

 

[Haxster]

Yes!

Counter intuitive on the Yankee version too.

 

[BerTX]

Back Up

Go Down

 

[Skotty]

Seems consistent with all prior shift-on-the-column automatic cars I have driven before. Anyone ever seen it the other way on a car before?

 

[WannabeOwner]

Seems consistent with all prior shift-on-the-column automatic cars I have driven before.

Its the same as I remember from all the cars I've hired on trips to USA ... but coming from Stick Shift it seems the wrong way round to me.

 

[David29]

Well, I have not had trouble with it, but I see what the OP means. In the case of shift levers with PRNDL, one is normally shifting from P to start out, so all the gears (including R) are downward. So maybe pressing down for D should be intuitive for everyone, but possibly not R -- at least not from Park. But yes, once you are in D, then it is up for R, and from R it is down to D, so in that sense the Tesla/Mercedes arrangement is consistent.

 

[cheshire cat]

YUP

 

[Sound]

I have no problem with the forward-reverse thing but it does require a 'stop and think' moment in tight spaces. A far worse problem for me is the use of the right stalk button as the 'park' brake. Coming from a Landrover Discovery, this where I would instinctively go for the screen wash! Not good! I've managed to avoid making this mistake so far but what would happen if I pressed the park brake while travelling at speed?

 

[WannabeOwner]

I would instinctively go for the screen wash! Not good! I've managed to avoid making this mistake so far but what would happen if I pressed the park brake while travelling at speed?

Pretty sure the PARK option is benign at speed (I think, if you do want to slow down by that means, its a push-and-hold operation)

I seem to have stopped doing it now, but I was in NEUTRAL a lot when it was raining when Ii first got the vehicle!

 

[David29]

Of course, this sort of "control confusion" is not unique to Tesla. Instead, it occurs whenever a driver switches from one vehicle to another, if those two vehicles have different control set-ups. So I would not criticize Tesla any more than Toyota or Land Rover or any other arbitrarily chosen company.
In my own case, I rather like the Tesla set-up. But I am biased because I came from driving Mercedes Benzes, and Tesla uses the same set-up. The only change for me was the three-position "gear shift" lever on the steering column in place of my last car's PRNDL on the console.

 

[culverwood]

I am glad to see I am not alone.

Short story: the second day I had the car I was reversing at home and the camera looks down; now I have a tree with an overhanging branch, which I did not see on the screen or mirror, and hit at a very slow speed, My damage was then increased as I reacted by putting the car into reverse again instead of forward and hitting it harder. Surface ripples but on a day old car

 

[stigmeister]

Not quite the same, but on my previous car the right hand 'stick' was for wipers and a swipe down did a quick wipe of the screen, the same as pressing the end of the left 'stick/stalk' on the Tesla.

Suffice to say I've been driving a few times, had some slight drizzle and put myself into Neutral... quick reactions have saved the day now a few times. Just takes time to adjust, I've done it less and less over the month I've had the car...