Horn is hard to honk in times of danger

[Lanette C.]

TL;DR: A hard sustained press to the center of the steering wheel should honk the horn.

I have a 2016 Model S 70D and last week there was heavy rain in Seattle where I almost got in to 2 accidents. The first one, a driver just decided to hop across lanes of traffic while I was stopped at a light, almost hitting me and a few other cars. The second time, the rain was so heavy that autopilot got the lanes on 99 South wrong and tried to leap over to the left where the lanes used to be many years ago. I took over but autopilot never warned me of a problem nor did it detect the large silver SUV I almost hit. I tried to honk in both situations, but the steering wheel does nothing if you press the center or anywhere other than a very targeted press with fingers on the horn icons. I can't imagine in a situation where you actually need the horn being able to look down to make that precise of a motion while still trying to avoid a collision. By the time I got the horn to honk, the danger was over and I was laughing about how hard it is to honk the horn. So hard to honk consistently that I thought it wasn't possible or that my hardware was broken. Accident was avoided in both cases, the second time because the other driver swerved and honked at me.

The entire reason I bought a Tesla was for safety. I love many aspects of it, but why is the horn so small? Is there some option where I can customize this?

 

[Todd Burch]

Here are my thoughts on a horn.

I find a horn useful for alerting a pedestrian or someone backing out of a parking space if they are going to hit me or someone/something else.

But I have personally never been able to use the horn when a serious danger requiring immediate action comes up. In a situation like that, I find that I'm expending all my mental and physical resources to avoid an accident. Honking the horn has always seemed to me a waste of time when you could be using it to avoid the accident.

For example, if I find a car is starting to change lanes into me, my first reaction is to immediately brake/accelerate/swerve to safely avoid the collision. I never seem to have the time to honk the horn. By the time I'm ready to honk, I'm already out of danger.

Maybe it's just me.

 

[steve841]

FWIW .. go some place and literally honk the horn from all different areas and determine what spot works best for you.

 

[Muhammad]

This begs the question; Will self driving Teslas be programmed to honk their horns in similar circumstances?

 

[Lanette C.]

Here are my thoughts on a horn.

I find a horn useful for alerting a pedestrian or someone backing out of a parking space if they are going to hit me or someone/something else.

But I have personally never been able to use the horn when a serious danger requiring immediate action comes up. In a situation like that, I find that I'm expending all my mental and physical resources to avoid an accident. Honking the horn has always seemed to me a waste of time when you could be using it to avoid the accident.

For example, if I find a car is starting to change lanes into me, my first reaction is to immediately brake/accelerate/swerve to safely avoid the collision. I never seem to have the time to honk the horn. By the time I'm ready to honk, I'm already out of danger.

Maybe it's just me.

FWIW .. go some place and literally honk the horn from all different areas and determine what spot works best for you.

Is there an area that consistently works for someone without looking? I think it would help if I had a hint. I've practiced a few times while parked, but I can't get my horn to work without looking just yet. I hope I can adapt so that if I really need it, I know how.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Have you turned on auto horn alert, it started with VIN #P4567989 ... wink wink.

I'm with Burch, if you have to resort to a horn to drive you have already failed as an operator. Use your steering wheel and move away from the incapacitated or distracted driver - you never know what drugs someone is one on today when driving and a horn isn't going to solve anything, in fact it may further distract the driver who may over react into your vehicle.
When I drive I pretend I'm on my motorcycle and everyone is a threat that I have to constantly watch, especially with these idiots who drive while texting - the police should have the ability to immediately incarcerate you for driving while texting. Darwin will get them eventually, but they might take a couple of people with them and I have an issue with that.

 

[Buddy]

TL;DR: A hard sustained press to the center of the steering wheel should honk the horn.

I have a 2016 Model S 70D and last week there was heavy rain in Seattle where I almost got in to 2 accidents. The first one, a driver just decided to hop across lanes of traffic while I was stopped at a light, almost hitting me and a few other cars. The second time, the rain was so heavy that autopilot got the lanes on 99 South wrong and tried to leap over to the left where the lanes used to be many years ago. I took over but autopilot never warned me of a problem nor did it detect the large silver SUV I almost hit. I tried to honk in both situations, but the steering wheel does nothing if you press the center or anywhere other than a very targeted press with fingers on the horn icons. I can't imagine in a situation where you actually need the horn being able to look down to make that precise of a motion while still trying to avoid a collision. By the time I got the horn to honk, the danger was over and I was laughing about how hard it is to honk the horn. So hard to honk consistently that I thought it wasn't possible or that my hardware was broken. Accident was avoided in both cases, the second time because the other driver swerved and honked at me.

The entire reason I bought a Tesla was for safety. I love many aspects of it, but why is the horn so small? Is there some option where I can customize this?

I just wanted to let you know you aren't alone. I was very surprised the first time I pressed the steering wheel to honk the horn. It simply did not work until I pressed about 2x the normal press I had to on the many cars ive owned in the past.
It seems the best place to press is at the top. Try it out.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Another option is try daily exercise. Start with ten horn blows the first day, two sets of ten horn blows the second day, three sets.... etc... after a couple of months your triceps and your horn will be ready for the task... again wink wink..

 

[democappy]

Interesting. I have honked my horn twice at drivers moving over to my lane and both times I had no problem doing it. I just do it without thinking about it when the time comes so don't remember exactly how I press it. I am pretty sure I just aim for the middle and push hard.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Honk if you know why you're honking.

 

[Lanette C.]

Here are my thoughts on a horn.

I find a horn useful for alerting a pedestrian or someone backing out of a parking space if they are going to hit me or someone/something else.

But I have personally never been able to use the horn when a serious danger requiring immediate action comes up. In a situation like that, I find that I'm expending all my mental and physical resources to avoid an accident. Honking the horn has always seemed to me a waste of time when you could be using it to avoid the accident.

For example, if I find a car is starting to change lanes into me, my first reaction is to immediately brake/accelerate/swerve to safely avoid the collision. I never seem to have the time to honk the horn. By the time I'm ready to honk, I'm already out of danger.

Maybe it's just me.

Good point. I agree that during the moment, avoiding the wreck is more important. When I was stopped at the light and could not evade, it would have helped to have a horn I can honk without looking at though. I'm hoping someone has a tip for me on how to learn to honk it by feel.

 

[Lanette C.]

Interesting. I have honked my horn twice at drivers moving over to my lane and both times I had no problem doing it. I just do it without thinking about it when the time comes so don't remember exactly how I press it. I am pretty sure I just aim for the middle and push hard.

Oh! Is it possible I was tapping too timidly? Interesting idea. Ok--I'm going to give this a try this weekend. Hopefully I won't upset my neighbors. I'm really not trying to drive around honking like a New York Taxi driver.

 

[Buddy]

Good point. I agree that during the moment, avoiding the wreck is more important. When I was stopped at the light and could not evade, it would have helped to have a horn I can honk without looking at though. I'm hoping someone has a tip for me on how to learn to honk it by feel.

Try pressing more towards the top, slightly pressing down as you press in. That's what works for me. May our cars are slightly faulted. Ive owned many cars in the past and this one is noticeably harder to press.

 

[Pollux]

Hi, @Lanette C.,

You can see how useful this forum can be... at least for non-answers.

Now that I think about it, the horn *does* seem difficult to find when you are operating on reflex alone. I haven't had to honk my horn in an emergency more than a few times in three years, but each time I've had to fumble a little bit to get the horn going.

Prompted by your question, I'm going to try to remember to do some horn honking this weekend. If I figure out anything useful, I'll certainly let you know.

Alan

 

[Xenoilphobe]

I'll try mine tonight - the only time it has ever been blown was when I was reaching in the car and my chest hit the steering wheel and the horn "spooked" me.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Same here as the OP. My horn is *very* hard to honk... in critical situations (when, say, you can't just move out of the way), I get the horn to honk about 1 in 10 times I try. A horn is very useful to alert people "hey, you're about to hit me", even when parked and you can't move the car. There are lots of reasons out of the drivers' control where a horn is necessary.

Luckily I haven't had anyone hit me, but lots of times I'd like to alert other drivers, and can't without significant and unnecessary force.

 

[theslimshadyist]

Down South we don't have "horns" so we simply roll down the window and yell, "Hey, get the hell out the way"!

 

[bmah]

I guess I have this problem too, but I compensate for it (overcompensate really). Some times I've taken to pressing the horn really really hard, which gives me a honk, but also somehow manages to activate one or more of the steering wheel buttons.

Bruce.

 

[HankLloydRight]

I guess I have this problem too, but I compensate for it (overcompensate really). Some times I've taken to pressing the horn really really hard, which gives me a honk, but also somehow manages to activate one or more of the steering wheel buttons.

My problem is also that whenever I honk the horn, it sets off my Beltronics STiR Laser detector/jammer, so not only does my horn honk, I get the instant alerts inside the cabin as if there's a LEO right behind me. Very annoying. (no, this is not a Tesla defect like the horn itself).

 

[Paul Carter]

Mine used to mute the volume ever time I honked. After applying the standard emergency fix protocol (a few really good smacks) it stopped doing that.