France road-trip success with speed bumps

[TooEager]

I've recently come back from one of the biggest drives done so far in our model 3 SR+. I drove from Bishops Stortford in Hertfordshire to southern France (Bordeaux way). There were a few things I noticed on the way which I wanted to share.

• Autopilot almost caused a crash: On the approach to Folkstone the road markings aren't very clear and some old markings are still somewhat visible (they're black like they've been blowtorched off). Using autopilot on this section of road was not a great idea as it caused the car (after a few minutes of driving in the correct lane) to suddenly swerve into the other lane. The person behind was almost hit and we were a bit shaken. Lesson learned.
• Autopilot almost took our heads off: Heading into tunnels in both the UK and France sometimes confused autopilot and had it slam the breaks on. I tended to start putting my foot on the accelerator before going into tunnels to prevent it.
• Autopilot otherwise: made the drive much nicer.
• Supercharger details in France: Some of the superchargers required codes to open the gate. These codes were supposed to be on the in-car map but are not shown on mine. A French person had them on his along with other details like wifi and food which I don't see on mine. I'm on the latest version and paying for premium so not sure why I wouldn't see this?
• Window gaps are not a given: I've put it with some pretty bad wind noise on the driver's side as I thought it was just how they were built. However, after driving as a passenger for a while I noticed that the passenger side is almost silent by comparison (the driver side sounds like its almost open slightly). Going to try and get this fixed next week.
• Supercharger speeds: I only seemed to get 120Kw, at least in France. Should I be expecting more?
• Superchargers: I'm not buying any other EV until their charging networks are sorted. The supercharges made the entire trip possible.
• Glass roof: Really comes into it's own on a long trip. It made the car feel larger and was great for spotting birds etc.
• Luggage space: There's a lot more space that there appears to be in the model 3. We had plenty of room for a family of 4.

There were some other minor things that I can't remember right now but feel free to ask

 

[NorfolkMustard]

There seems to be a cap, in Europe at least, limiting V2 superchargers to 120kW. Even those marked as 150kW

 

[TooEager]

Sorry for all the typo's - I was in a bit of a rush.

> There seems to be a cap, in Europe at least, limiting V2 superchargers to 120kW. Even those marked as 150kW

I thought I saw this in the UK too but didn't keep a record, unfortunately.

 

[Godsense]

Sorry for all the typo's - I was in a bit of a rush.

> There seems to be a cap, in Europe at least, limiting V2 superchargers to 120kW. Even those marked as 150kW

I thought I saw this in the UK too but didn't keep a record, unfortunately.

This was apparently the case but has now been reported by several users as being back to normal.

Really interesting post OP, in terms of the codes for the gates, sounds this would be an issue if there is no local around?

 

[Glan gluaisne]

I had some bad door glass misalignment, and lots of wind noise from the driver's door window. I put up with it, thinking it was just "within normal Tesla tolerance" until it started letting in water when driving in heavy rain. Had it fixed on one of my SC trips, where they agreed that the door glass adjustment was out of spec. It's apparently an easy fix, around 15 minutes or so.

I found the best visual indicator was to compare the vertical gap between the door glass and the B pillar glass (where the cameras are). On the left side of my car this gap was a fairly consistent 6mm. On the drivers side the gap varied from 12mm at the top to 10mm at the bottom, which is apparently well outside the spec.

 

[TheManofMead]

If I recall correctly, the entrance code for certain sites (eg, Bordeaux Merignac - where it happened to me this year) is shown on the site location details BEFORE you set it as a destination.

I didn't notice this as at the time you call up Supercharger locations you tend to be more interested in setting it as a destination rather than reading the small print below that tells you there is a barrier and the code needed to access!

 

[john19951]

Thanks for useful post. When you mention locked gates, was this for destination charges and Tesla Superchargers or only with destination chargers.

Did you try any non-Tesla chargers in France, and if so, any feedback. I have checked all the chargers near me in Vaucluse (eastern edge of Provence in the south) and found a local network (Vauclus'Elec) that would accept a debit/credit card. Awaiting delivery of (UK) M3, so not used any of the these chargers yet.

 

[TooEager]

This was apparently the case but has now been reported by several users as being back to normal.

Really interesting post OP, in terms of the codes for the gates, sounds this would be an issue if there is no local around?

I saw those posts put apparently was no longer the case for others, plus I thought I got this in the UK and wondered if it's something specific about my setup.

R.e. the gate I just pushed it up

 

[TooEager]

Thanks for useful post. When you mention locked gates, was this for destination charges and Tesla Superchargers or only with destination chargers.

Did you try any non-Tesla chargers in France, and if so, any feedback. I have checked all the chargers near me in Vaucluse (eastern edge of Provence in the south) and found a local network (Vauclus'Elec) that would accept a debit/credit card. Awaiting delivery of (UK) M3, so not used any of the these chargers yet.

Supercharger. The French person I met had the code so something odd about my map. Do others see things like wifi and food details when tapping on a charger?

I didn't try anything else. My experience of the non super charger networks has been nothing but terrible. Our hotel had a free charger - looked excellent - it was powered off and nobody could get it on.

One other thing I remembered was the car thinking a supercharger was out of service (it wasn't on the website and was ok on arrival, although abrp also thought it was out of service).

 

[TooEager]

If I recall correctly, the entrance code for certain sites (eg, Bordeaux Merignac - where it happened to me this year) is shown on the site location details BEFORE you set it as a destination.

I didn't notice this as at the time you call up Supercharger locations you tend to be more interested in setting it as a destination rather than reading the small print below that tells you there is a barrier and the code needed to access!

That's what the other owner could see. Personally - I had no other details at the same stage (prior to setting it as a destination).

 

[Sparkeur]

I have a French M3 but presume the nav pages are the same - except handed the other way. Clicking on the supercharger 'Pin' on the map gives the details



I have just completed a 2500km+ trip from north of Bordeaux down to Malaga, up to Valencia and back over the top of the Pyrenees. I didn't need any chargers other than Tesla. My take on autopilot/FSD from the trip is that it is quick to take negative actions - violently braking if a vehicle in the inside lane drifts slightly towards you, or if there is a cyclist in a cycle lane or a car crosses the road way in front of you etc, and slow to take positive actions like accelerating after the car in front has moved back to the inside lane or you indicate to do the same after overtaking. The negative actions are annoying and can appear like you are brake testing people behind. The positive ones are irritating because they make you seem like a dawdler.
However, for simple cruising, once you crack holding the wheel comfortably to get rid of the 'nag', it's not too bad as a work in progress.

 

[TheManofMead]

That's what the other owner could see. Personally - I had no other details at the same stage (prior to setting it as a destination).

You should have. Just checked on our M3P, and you can see it there...but very easily missed as you can see. Go to yours and call up the Superchargers and check again...

 

[TooEager]

View attachment 587414
You should have. Just checked on our M3P, and you can see it there...but very easily missed as you can see. Go to yours and call up the Superchargers and check again...

I did that with the French driver (he thought I was nuts for just lifting the bar) and it wasn't there. I've never see any of that extra location detail either... will check again tomorrow and share an image.

 

[TooEager]

And now it's there. Oops.