Give all Tesla cars CHILL mode

[BigNick]

Winter is coming.

And with that winter comes the need for less aggressive driving.

Version 2018.39.6 gave my 2014 pre-Autopilot S 85 a selectable CHILL mode. Upon testing, it did nothing but put a CHILL icon in the instrument cluster. It was removed in 2018.39.7.

From reading the forums, I know that CHILL mode is basically just a PIN-less VALET mode without the top-speed limit, while still allowing access to the glove box and frunk.

All Tesla cars have the ability to restrict top speed, acceleration, and aggressiveness of the throttle response as evidenced with VALET and SPEED LIMIT modes.

So why not give us all the CHILL mode for safer winter driving? The RWD cars are the ones that would benefit most, but many of these RWD cars are pre-Autopilot and don't have it available.

Maybe it will take a high-profile winter wreck (icy roads, Tesla drives into a school bus, coverage all over the national news) before Tesla takes action?

 

[migselv]

+1

I already sent this as a feature request to Tesla twice; first, back when Chill Mode was introduced and then again last week with a reference to the brief, non-working inclusion in v9.0.

 

[Mediocrates]

Winter is coming.

And with that winter comes the need for less aggressive driving.

Do you have problems controlling the acceleration and velocity of your vehicle during other times of the year? Are you unable to park your vehicle without hitting other cars or objects?

 

[Chaserr]

Ridicule doesn't add or remove features from anyone's car, nor should the fact that someone had the audacity to like something you don't like ruin your life.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

Chill mode isn’t available in all vehicles? That is actually strange.

 

[ghostrunner]

yeah that is strange its a great feature for Alberta winters

 

[BigNick]

Do you have problems controlling the acceleration and velocity of your vehicle during other times of the year? Are you unable to park your vehicle without hitting other cars or objects?

Sometimes it can happen in the late autumn or early spring here, too.

For our friends in the Great White North it can happen any month that isn’t July or August. I think playing hockey might be the cause of it.

 

[Mediocrates]

I don't think people understood my commentary, as it was neither comical nor ridicule.

If the concern is a lack of vehicle control (for anyone) during cold-weather circumstances, my question is: why is this not a problem during the rest of driving situations? If the fine control of vehicle acceleration/velocity required to park is possible on a regular basis, why would this ability disappear in non-parking situations during icy/snowy/otherwise-inclement weather?

 

[Twiglett]

Meh
I know how to modulate my right foot.
The same way I don’t need an ECO mode to help me drive conservatively.

 

[ghostrunner]

Trust me chill mode is awesome in the winter, here in Alberta we have temps at or below -15C (5F) with snow or ice on the roads for 5 - 6 months of the year, I don't care how good you are at modulating your foot , icy roads and intersections are much easier to manage in chill mode.Come on up to the great white north and give it a try, Ill supply the hot chocolate.

 

[BIG ACH]

Its only fair then too also add sports mode to every Tesla then too

 

[Mediocrates]

Trust me chill mode is awesome in the winter, here in Alberta we have temps at or below -15C (5F) with snow or ice on the roads for 5 - 6 months of the year, I don't care how good you are at modulating your foot , icy roads and intersections are much easier to manage in chill mode.Come on up to the great white north and give it a try, Ill supply the hot chocolate.

Why is it easier? What does Chill mode do in terms of managing acceleration and velocity that you struggle with otherwise? What about such conditions requires a greater granularity/precision of control than when parking?

 

[Chaserr]

It's a convenience feature that reduces available instant torque and maintains traction in slippery conditions, exactly like the practice of driving a manual transmission car in snow one gear higher than you would normally. Reduced torque sensitivity has been a normal winter practice on manual transmission cars for more than a century, and automatic transmission cars often have a Winter or Low Traction mode that mimics this behavior in the transmission computer. Tesla has already created the same winter mode but withheld it from the majority of their RWD cars that could use it most.

You're in San Diego so you wouldn't know what we're talking about but perhaps we could make this about something you might understand: Do you have problems controlling the steering wheel and velocity of your vehicle? Are you unable to drive your vehicle without hitting other cars or objects? What does Autopilot do in terms of managing acceleration and steering that you struggle with otherwise? If the concern is a lack of vehicle control (for anyone), your question is: why is this not a problem during the rest of driving situations? If the fine control of vehicle acceleration/steering required to drive is possible on a regular basis, why would this ability disappear in autopilot situations?

Here's a small non-Tesla Non-Electric explanation of the Chill function explained very simply: What Does the Winter Mode Indicator Light Mean?

 

[Don TLR]

I heard here it was also useful for letting young drivers use a Tesla, lock them out of the super fast acceleration..

 

[Mediocrates]

It's a convenience feature that reduces available instant torque and maintains traction in slippery conditions, exactly like the practice of driving a manual transmission car in snow one gear higher than you would normally. Reduced torque sensitivity has been a normal winter practice on manual transmission cars for more than a century, and automatic transmission cars often have a Winter or Low Traction mode that mimics this behavior in the transmission computer. Tesla has already created the same winter mode but withheld it from the majority of their RWD cars that could use it most.

I didn't ask what it is. I was quite clear about my wording and emphasis. (See: Non-sequitur)

Also, Chill Mode does not affect traction control in a Tesla. It only reduces maximum torque output from the motor(s).

You're in San Diego so you wouldn't know what we're talking about but perhaps we could make this about something you might understand:

Tell us more about what you know of my driving experiences. (See: Hasty Generalization and Ad Hominem)

Do you have problems controlling the steering wheel and velocity of your vehicle?

No.

Are you unable to drive your vehicle without hitting other cars or objects?

No.

What does Autopilot do in terms of managing acceleration and steering that you struggle with otherwise?

Nothing. You may be starting to see some of the mistakes in attempting this false analogy.

If the concern is a lack of vehicle control (for anyone), your question is: why is this not a problem during the rest of driving situations? If the fine control of vehicle acceleration/steering required to drive is possible on a regular basis, why would this ability disappear in autopilot situations?

I absolutely agree: Autopilot performs nothing beyond what a competent driver can do.

Now consider what conclusion your substitution necessarily creates.

 

[ghostrunner]

Why is it easier? What does Chill mode do in terms of managing acceleration and velocity that you struggle with otherwise? What about such conditions requires a greater granularity/precision of control than when parking?

OK , so clearly you haven't driven on an icy covered road before in which any amount of wheel spin will put you straight into the ditch or into the crash barrier, which by the way is just some steel posts with 3 steel cables running between them. You hit this and kiss your car goodbye as it gets ripped apart. I don't struggle at all driving my car so please don't assume that, what chill mode does is slows the car down by reducing the amount of torque to the wheels as you accelerate. Once again come up to the great white north and drive on a road that has just received 4" of wet snow that is now frozen and in which you can't see the lines at all and the only indication of a ditch is a sudden drop off the roadside. Chill mode should be available on all tesla cars in my opinion and if you don't what it just shut it off

 

[Ofarlig]

OK , so clearly you haven't driven on an icy covered road before in which any amount of wheel spin will put you straight into the ditch or into the crash barrier, which by the way is just some steel posts with 3 steel cables running between them. You hit this and kiss your car goodbye as it gets ripped apart. I don't struggle at all driving my car so please don't assume that, what chill mode does is slows the car down by reducing the amount of torque to the wheels as you accelerate. Once again come up to the great white north and drive on a road that has just received 4" of wet snow that is now frozen and in which you can't see the lines at all and the only indication of a ditch is a sudden drop off the roadside. Chill mode should be available on all tesla cars in my opinion and if you don't what it just shut it off

How would the heavy texture of frozen wet snow be a problem for the car? Especially in a Tesla with good traction control? That is not the texture you slip on at all. If anything the unfrozen wet snow would pose a bigger problem, especially if this is late in the season and there's a sheet of packed snow and ice underneath that is more or less polished by now. But even then you wont be spinning off as soon as you touch the throttle.

And no, any amount of wheel spin will not put you straight into a ditch. It will not even make you spin unless you are really forcing the acceleration in a sharp turn. And even then for most of the time the traction control will only cut the power and nothing happens.

I am assuming above that you are on proper winter tyres (studded for areas with much "black ice") since we are talking about "the great white north". Winter driving is mostly about using your head properly and secondly about good winter tyres.

 

[Chaserr]

Nothing. You may be starting to see some of the mistakes in attempting this false analogy.



I absolutely agree: Autopilot performs nothing beyond what a competent driver can do.

Now consider what conclusion your substitution necessarily creates.

You're arguing against yourself here, the false analogy is yours and I intentionally used only your own words to show you this. Everything you are arguing against is of your own twisted thinking. You seek to ridicule what you don't understand and use your own reasoning to justify why you are wrong.

Inexperience has led you to arrogantly assume what you don't know must not exist. This is why I supplied that link that explains what Chill Mode is and why it is useful from a completely neutral, non-Tesla, Non-EV, Pre-you-were-born perspective.

Physics have never changed, reduction in torque has always been a safety and convenience factor of driving in extremely low friction weather. "Chill" is just the name Tesla gave an old feature, which is why I linked to Volvo's Winter Mode naming convention. They have far less torque, much slower power delivery, superb traction control, and yet the Swedish company somehow still seems to think torque reduction is necessary. So do most other manufacturers. It's surprising you didn't know about this if Tesla wasn't your first car, but not a problem because you would have never needed to use it. It's disappointing that learning this upsets you so much, you seemto have taken an honest attempt at education and tried to turn it into an atttack - and this only underscores that you were dishonest when you claimed your goal was not ridicule. You know better, you know this is an industry wide feature used in winter climates for the purpose of safety, and you argue against your own words when your ridicule is turned back against you.

What is your goal in this conversation? It's not to learn, because your questions are answered and the answer seems to have upset you. You claim it's not to ridicule, but I see no evidence that is true.

Reread that link again, perhaps you did not. It will help you understand, I promise. If the link is blocked for you, here is a short snippet that explains much in few words:

"Winter modes may vary slightly between different manufacturers, but generally they will all skip first gear when you are starting from a stop. In the normal first gear, you have a lot of torque which can cause your tires to spin in the snow and ice. With winter mode activated, your car will start moving in second or even third gear so that your tires don’t spin and slip."

Teslas only have one gear and accelerate faster than any other car on the planet with that gear, so using a higher gear is not possible, but torque reduction in software accomplishes the same thing.

 

[ghostrunner]

How would the heavy texture of frozen wet snow be a problem for the car? Especially in a Tesla with good traction control? That is not the texture you slip on at all. If anything the unfrozen wet snow would pose a bigger problem, especially if this is late in the season and there's a sheet of packed snow and ice underneath that is more or less polished by now. But even then you wont be spinning off as soon as you touch the throttle.

And no, any amount of wheel spin will not put you straight into a ditch. It will not even make you spin unless you are really forcing the acceleration in a sharp turn. And even then for most of the time the traction control will only cut the power and nothing happens.

I am assuming above that you are on proper winter tyres (studded for areas with much "black ice") since we are talking about "the great white north". Winter driving is mostly about using your head properly and secondly about good winter tyres.

I agree with you that fresh powered snow doesn't have to much effect on traction with good tires , however wet snow that freezes, as per my post, has a completely different effect on traction. What you end up with is a layer of snow on top of glass smooth ice and that combination is crazy slippery. I have been driving on the prairies all my life and I have seen a lot of cars and trucks loss control on a perfectly straight road because they have over accelerated trying to pass or get ahead of someone. I use chill mode all the time in the winter and it helps out alot. Its just another tool , along with proper winter tires, that helps keep the driver safe , so why not add it to all cars with the option to turn it on or off.

 

[Mod3forMe]

Not sure what all the fuss is about. Seems like there is next to zero downside to having chill mode. Not sure why someone would argue against having this option.