Functionality of air vent controls

[slipnslider]

The whole design of the car is a system and involves a series of trade-offs though. I'm not sure that the vent design that they went with would be able to be controlled manually. Maybe it could.. who knows, but lets assume it needs to be controlled electronically. The thin profile vent design helps them to have the really low dashboard and excellent visibility. All the reviews I have read or seen seem to rave about the forward visibility. I think it looks great as well.
You have to take it all together. I'd like to think that I'd be willing to put with some minor annoyance in adjusting the vents for the overall benefit of the design. Assuming it even is an annoyance, I haven't taken delivery yet, so I don't know. I'm also in the rarely adjusts vents camp, so I have that going for me.

The stated goal of tesla is to accelerate the transition to EV transport, so anything which hampers that goal is a bad idea. Putting all the controls on the screen and putting the key in your phone are choices which SHRINK the potential customers base from most people, down to just techie people.
You have to take it all together because tesla put it all together. But nothing FORCED tesla to put it all together. They could have made a fast, sexy, long distance EV without all the techie toys. They chose ergonomically inferior designs to be different, not to save the world from climate change. Form over function. Those are unforced errors on their part.

 

[ohmman]

Putting all the controls on the screen and putting the key in your phone are choices which SHRINK the potential customers base from most people, down to just techie people.

You’re going to have to provide some believable source for this. I have seen no evidence that this is indeed the case. I’m quite doubtful of the claim as well.

 

[ForeverFree]

They need to add temperature adjustment to the right scroll wheel yesterday.

I wonder how many owners stomped on the brakes yesterday to test them out. I know I did.

Good point re scroll wheel and temp. Use that all the time on our S. Miss it on the 3.

Nice to have scroll wheel ability to adjust AP speed, but find that I adjust temp far more often.

Only way to do both would be to have in-out movement on right stalk (as on left stalk) and then have AP work exactly as on Models S/X (just on opposite side). Flap right stalk out once/twice for TACC/AP, flick up/down to increase/decrease set speed, up/down full to adjust in 5 mph/kph increments, push in to cancel. Won't happen, though. Suggested it months ago.

 

[ForeverFree]

Most people I know do adjust their vents frequently. I don't think its that rare. Either way - it is a valid point from CR that it is more cumbersome to do via touch screen vs physical controls. If you never adjust your vents you can ignore those points, but if I am reading the review and I know I adjust the vents every drive, I am going to put more weight into that metric. It is useful for CR to report on it and note it.

I'm torn. Like the Model 3 vents for their ability to direct air where you want it, including face-on. Don't like time/attention diversion to adjust them ... and I've been using them since December ... and am an enthusiastic techie.

On balance, a close call between S/X and 3.

 

[BustinJeebs]

I live in a very warm climate and find that I am adjusting the vents a lot more than usual, especially if I am messing with the fan speed. It seems as though the vents are not in the same position when you increase the fan speed. I find myself needing to point the vents lower and lower toward my face as I increase the fan speed which is not ideal when you are in 110 degree weather.

 

[steven415]

700 miles now...The vent thing is a non issue. Trust me. I show people how cool it is and they play with it and I leave mine where I want it to blow and adjust it once in a while to make sure it works..lol. You can adjust them while stopped or while EAP is working.

 

[EV-lutioin]

Personally, I think the Model 3 vents are the best invention since sliced bread. I can finally have the air blow exactly where I want it... directly in my face! This video shows the amazing engineering behind the vent design. Disclaimer: I'm shamefully promoting my son's video here

 

[kaffine]

So far I am happy with the vents on the 3. I think we only hit 100 once or twice since I got the car though so a bit early to tell will see how it works when we get over 110ºF. I love the ability to turn the AC on from a distance. Still trying to get used to pulling my phone out and turning the AC on when the check comes at a restaurant but should have that down before July. I also found that if I'm in the backseat and am too cold I can adjust the temp using my phone. I've only rode in the back seat once.

Not impressed with the auto setting but I haven't been in any car that I like it in. I seem to prefer the blower to run faster than most. I don't use speed setting below 7 much on the 3. In my old car it was normally set to 3 out of 4 it would be put on 4 until it cooled off, I really wanted a 3.5 as 4 was a bit too loud and 3 was too weak. The auto temp seems to work ok it is just the fan speed I have issues with.

The vent control isn't that difficult to use to change the vent. It isn't as easy as just reaching for a vent and adjusting it some while driving however the range of adjustment is great. Adjusting the temp is as easy as any other car I have had. It is located on the touch screen in the same spot so it doesn't take long to develop muscle memory to know where to reach. Granted I can't just feel the control and know what the temp is set at like I could with a rotary dial but not much different than some of the auto functions that have a readout of the temp instead of a dial or slider. I was one that adjusted vents frequently in my old car, I haven't done it much on the Tesla I change the fan speed frequently but not the direction. Although again we are still fairly cool see how much I adjust it when it gets hot.

I do hope they add an oscillating function in a future update that would be nice I think, I could see it being great or horrible. I really wished they had AC seats though. Even with precooling the car after driving for a few minutes the seats can get a bit warm again.

 

[SDKoala]

Your repeated argument seems to be: If everyone did things like ME, no one would have a problem. People change airflow settings often. During a trip. Maybe NOT YOU, but OTHER PEOPLE DO. And a touchscreen is a less safe and less ergonomic way to do this than physical controls. End of story.

I agree. There's way too much sentiment like this in the various threads (especially the phone key ones). It doesn't bother me, so how could it possibly bother you? Oh it bothers you? Well that's your problem, not mine--the car is designed fine because it doesn't bother me and you're the one that needs to adapt.

To the subject at hand, I'm not sure if this is something that affects others, but I have to change the airflow positions all the time because the direction the air blows is inconsistent from drive to drive. It's worse when the stream is split than focused. The dots can be aimed at the same place on the screen, but the air doesn't blow at the same physical space every time. I can have it pointed at face level on one drive and the next time the blower turns on, it will hit me on the neck or chest, all while the dots haven't been adjusted. It hasn't been either hot or cold enough to have the HVAC on very often and figure out if there's a pattern, but I expect as summer approaches it will get more obvious.

(I'm well aware the response to this is going to be that something is wrong with my HVAC and I should take my car to get serviced. It's not reliably reproducible, however, and the last thing I want to do is deal with the overwhelmed San Diego service center again. I can already picture them keeping my car for a few days only to put on the report that they couldn't reproduce the problem.)

 

[AZRyan]

I live in Scottsdale, AZ and adjust my vents a couple times a year. But, that’s just me.

I love the touchscreen controls on my Model 3 and find it far far easier than physical controls. In my opinion, moving one finger over a clearly illustrated diagram is vastly superior to physically adjusting multiple different vents. It’s quicker and easier.

 

[0ptions]

Your repeated argument seems to be: If everyone did things like ME, no one would have a problem. People change airflow settings often. During a trip. Maybe NOT YOU, but OTHER PEOPLE DO. And a touchscreen is a less safe and less ergonomic way to do this than physical controls. End of story.

No, I feel that I am vouching for the MAJORITY. Not just me.

 

[nvx1977]

I do not perceive changing flow directions @SDKoala, fwiw. But you're also not the only person in the thread to mention that issue.

In my field of work, (product design and user experience), I'm always surprised at all the different use cases out there. It's really hard to design something that works for everyone. And when you change something, you inevitably make it worse for some subset of users. So everything is always an exercise in prioritization and tradeoffs.

xkcd: Workflow

 

[North75]

You’re going to have to provide some believable source for this. I have seen no evidence that this is indeed the case. I’m quite doubtful of the claim as well.

I was going to say something similar. So far it doesn't seem to be a problem with sales. For all we know, high tech features like this attract more potential customers than they scare away. There is a reason lots of people want the latest and greatest phone every year. I guess will find out in a couple of years.
I have a suspicion that we will see a trend of putting more and more controls on touch screens in all cars. Its more flexible and I suspect cheaper.

 

[slipnslider]

No, I feel that I am vouching for the MAJORITY. Not just me.

And what do you data do you base that belief on?

 

[slipnslider]

You’re going to have to provide some believable source for this. I have seen no evidence that this is indeed the case. I’m quite doubtful of the claim as well.

Are you saying there are no consumers who avoid over complicated high tech devices in favor of more traditional controls? You realize plenty of people still buy non-smartphones don't you?
The fact is by focusing on appealing to the bleeding-edge techie people, you drive away some of the non-techies. Whereas if you put a little LESS tech in the cars (more knobs and buttons, normal key fob) the techie types would STILL buy it, PLUS more non-technie people would too = more overall sales = more teslas on the road = less C02 in the air, which is tesla's stated goal.

Every time a buddy sees you fumbling with your malfunctioning phone key, trying to unlock your expensive new tesla, that's one more person who's turned off by the excessive tech and less likely to become a future buyer.

 

[Moderatefan]

Totally a non-issue. All you have to do is say: "Ok Tesla vents, blow in my face". Yes, it doesn't work yet, but you've waited 2 years, you know the drill.
This is a super ergonomic solution, including non-techies. That's what makes Tesla a superior car.

 

[mrkymarc]

I still doubt the "with physical controls I can operate most, if not all, controls of my car without taking my eyes off the road" claim. I'd like people making that claim to actually check their habits while driving. I know I momentarily take my eyes off the road to adjust most things in the car, even radio volume, and definitely vents. Essentially anything that isn't on the steering column and I guess windows. If I'm in an area of traffic where I feel the need to keep my eyes glued to the road then I'm not taking my hands off the wheel to adjust the vents anyway. Sure, a touchscreen probably slightly increases the time your eyes are off the road, but I doubt most people are 100% eyes on road while adjusting most controls.

Oh, and steering wheel controls on most new cars are ridiculous. When there are 10 buttons on the wheel there is no way people have anything other than the most commonly 2 or 3 button locations memorized.

 

[nvx1977]

Since someone brought up smart vs dumb phone adoption, here's the data:

Mobile Fact Sheet

95% of Americans have a cell phone. 77% is smartphones, 18% are dumbphones.

Of the dumbphone owners, 53% of them are 65+ years old. 50-65 demographic at 28%.

81% of people not on smartphones are over 50.

There's likely a similar correlation with age regarding preference for Model 3 touchscreen.

 

[ohmman]

Are you saying there are no consumers who avoid over complicated high tech devices in favor of more traditional controls? You realize plenty of people still buy non-smartphones don't you?

I'm not saying that. I'm saying that you don't know the balance between people who buy it because of the tech and those who don't buy it because of the tech. It's quite possible, as mentioned above, that there are more people buying it because of the screen and the technology than there are people turned off. I can give you two examples, which are worthless as a form of data, of course. I won't buy an ICE again, and I won't buy an EV that has knobs and buttons. I get in cars with them and it's an instant turn off. I have a close friend who is buying a Model 3, and he's buying it solely because he loves the idea of having everything on a screen that gets software updates. He's not sure he's that into EVs, but likes that aspect.

What I'm trying to point out is that you're doing exactly what you admonished @0ptions for, which is assuming your preferences apply to the population at large. You don't have data to support your conclusion, so you cannot make it. Instead, just say that it's a turn-off to you so you won't be buying one. Or, if you're still buying it in spite of the tech, admit that.

@novox77 makes an interesting point above. One can definitely agree that appealing to a younger generation has a bigger long term CO2 impact than appealing to an older generation. Convert them young, like they did with candy cigarettes back in my day. Except this time it's for something much healthier..

 

[slipnslider]

I'm not saying that. I'm saying that you don't know the balance between people who buy it because of the tech and those who don't buy it because of the tech. It's quite possible, as mentioned above, that there are more people buying it because of the screen and the technology than there are people turned off. I can give you two examples, which are worthless as a form of data, of course. I won't buy an ICE again, and I won't buy an EV that has knobs and buttons. I get in cars with them and it's an instant turn off. I have a close friend who is buying a Model 3, and he's buying it solely because he loves the idea of having everything on a screen that gets software updates. He's not sure he's that into EVs, but likes that aspect.

What I'm trying to point out is that you're doing exactly what you admonished @0ptions for, which is assuming your preferences apply to the population at large. You don't have data to support your conclusion, so you cannot make it. Instead, just say that it's a turn-off to you so you won't be buying one. Or, if you're still buying it in spite of the tech, admit that.

@novox77 makes an interesting point above. One can definitely agree that appealing to a younger generation has a bigger long term CO2 impact than appealing to an older generation. Convert them young, like they did with candy cigarettes back in my day. Except this time it's for something much healthier..

You're saying that if the model 3 had a volume and temperature knob, and a fob key, YOU WOULD REFUSE TO BUY IT?
I call BS.
Tech lovers would still buy teslas even if they omitted some of the bad "revolutionary" tech design choices which drive away less techie customers.