How long did it take you to get used to one-pedal driving?

[TommyBoy]

I had two test drives but they were six weeks ago. I can't recall a darn thing about one-pedal driving other than at one point the Tesla guy turned off creep to show me.

How long did it take any of you to get used to it? I've heard one day a lot of times but I've also heard instantly and never!

I fully expect to turn creep off from Day One for both my wife and myself but was curious as to some owners' take on the matter.

I'm two weeks away from my P85.

 

[stevezzzz]

The first time I lifted my right foot in the Roadster, I was shocked at the amount of regen. The second time, I was ready for it. The third time, I fell in love...

Oh, and I've got Creep turned off in my S.

 

[strider]

I don't find creep and one-pedal driving to be related. I liken one-pedal driving to a game like chess. You can get the basics and be competent in 15 minutes but it will take awhile to truly master. And by Master I mean you will never "stop short" and have to press on the accelerator to cover that last 15 feet to the stop sign or you will never have to stab the brakes at the last second before you roll over the line. At the end of the day it has become a game to me as I try to use the brakes as little as possible.

As for creep I like it on for 2 reasons. 1) Parallel parking. I like to be able to just drag my foot on the brake while the car creeps backwards into a space. Without creep you have to dance your foot back and forth between pedals. and 2) Hill starts. I like the resistance to rolling backwards if I take off from a hill. If Tesla creates a hill-hold function using the parking brake that will obviate #2 of course.

Also, be very careful about turning creep off for your wife if she's used to driving an automatic. I did that to my wife and the first time she had to stop on a hill I got a very nasty phone call because the car "kept rolling back like a manual transmission but there was no hand brake or clutch to slip." Make sure you warn her and try both methods on flat ground and then let her choose.

 

[jerry33]

Took about two days commuting. I've actually never turned creep on as there seems to be no need for it. Agree with Strider about creep being a good idea if someone else is driving.

 

[Beavis]

10-15 minutes. It takes a few stops at varying speeds to get used to the pull of the regen.

 

[Keystone S]

I have had my car since December and the one pedal operation might be the SINGLE, most enjoyable part of my driving the Model S. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to but once mastered, you will rarely use the brake. One-pedal operation is less fatiguing to drive than the normal 2-pedal operation. The trick is to keep your foot in touch with the accelerator, easing off a bit as necessary but rarely removing your foot completely off the pedal. It's awesome!

 

[LASpark]

Sounds like creep mode should be in the driver profile.

 

[efusco]

Adapting takes just a few minutes. Mastering, IMO, takes quite a bit longer, it's difficult to learn just how to feather the go-pedal, particularly when coming off of cruise control or anticipating exactly how much regen to use so you coast nicely to a stop just where you want. As a contrarian, I'd still prefer regen on the brake pedal if it could be as aggressive/effective, but it's really not a major issue and I've adjusted fairly well.

 

[Btrflyl8e]

Agree with the others here, comfortable within minutes, but takes quite a bit longer to truly master. I have had creep off since day one, and like Keystone S think it may just be the most enjoyable thing about my car. It's definitely the thing I miss most when I drive my ICE (which I've done only once since I got my MS).

 

[EarlyAdopter]

1 day to get used to it. 3 days to master landing it at a light with only applying the brake at the very end. Now whenever I drive a gas car I'm shocked nothing happens when I lift off the accelerator and _that_ takes a few times to get used to.

 

[brianstorms]

The novelty/surprise of experiencing regen was already over by the end of the test drive months ago. So when I got the car I knew what to expect, and after maybe 30min of driving, I was completely used to it.

Now, I live to "greenline."

Having just returned from a 1200-mi drive from San Diego to Marin County and back, I've been through all sorts of regen experiences.

Strangest experience: driving downhill on a very narrow 1-lane street in a steep, hilly, curvy neighborhood, at about 10 mph. Regen kicked in immediately so I didn't need to even touch the accelerator or brake. But what was weird was I just got a tiny bit of green on the dial, but the actual regen braking force was very strong, really strong, it was as if I had the brakes on and it was a battle of gravity vs brakes. I'd expected to greenline doing down that little road but didn't get the opportunity to. I suppose full greenlining only happens if you are at high speed (nothing like teleporting from 65mph to 90 to 65 in about 3 seconds when you're in a situation involving troublesome drivers, including slow cars and unpredictable trucks, on a 2-lane freeway, and you decide the best thing to do is instantaneously "get beyond" the situation by stomping on the accelerator then letting go. Voom, the situation is now in the rear view mirror).

 

[shark]

HATED the regen during the test drive. HATED it and mentioned to the DS while driving around on delivery day. Took a few days for it to become comfortable to the point that I don't even think about it.

 

[Ven Rala]

Love the Regen, I just wish our Toyota Highlander Hybrid had this sort of regen.

 

[stevezzzz]

Strangest experience: driving downhill on a very narrow 1-lane street in a steep, hilly, curvy neighborhood, at about 10 mph. Regen kicked in immediately so I didn't need to even touch the accelerator or brake. But what was weird was I just got a tiny bit of green on the dial, but the actual regen braking force was very strong, really strong, it was as if I had the brakes on and it was a battle of gravity vs brakes.

Well, the rate at which you return energy to the battery pack is proportional to the rpm of the rotor, everything else being equal. High drag force at very low rpm generates relatively little power.

 

[SFOTurtle]

HATED the regen during the test drive. HATED it and mentioned to the DS while driving around on delivery day. Took a few days for it to become comfortable to the point that I don't even think about it.

Wow, I couldn't have felt more differently when I first got behind the wheel. I thought it was cool then and never stopped enjoying it. Hard to even conceive how someone could feel strongly against it. Now it is so second nature that as most everyone else on this thread has mentioned, stepping into an ICE car I have to remind myself to use the brake pedal. As others have reported, a couple hours to get used to it, a few days or a week to really use it to maximum advantage and comfort.

 

[SteveW25561]

I've also found a nice side effect to efficient use of regen and not braking: much less brake dust to clean up from my beautiful 21" wheels. And yes, the anticipated longevity of the actual brake pedals is nice too.

 

[paulkva]

I love seeing the green appear on the energy use "dial" display on the center of the dashboard. I'm driving and charging at the same time! When I demo the car to friends the regen is invariably one of the "wow" moments, especially when I can stop (or nearly so) without touching the brake pedal.

I've had the car for 3-4 days and I feel like I'm a somewhat competent one-pedal driver (i.e. "used to it"), but I have room for improvement. Barring emergency stops (e.g. getting cut off) and the final 1-2 mph before a "normal" stop, I'm challenging myself and viewing it as a failure if I have to use the brake. What I still really don't know, however, is when my brake lights come on during regen. I know there are several threads that have explored the topic extensively, but I think it would be really helpful to have a "brake light indicator" somewhere on the dashboard display.

 

[Puyallup Bill]

What I still really don't know, however, is when my brake lights come on during regen. I know there are several threads that have explored the topic extensively, but I think it would be really helpful to have a "brake light indicator" somewhere on the dashboard display.

Tap the Tesla symbol top center of your screen, and that brings up a depiction of your car, and it shows when the brake lights come on. After a few views, you should be comfortable knowing that they do come on at appropriate times.

 

[JohnQ]

It took a few days to eliminate my habit of completely lifting off the accelerator when brake lights come on in close highway traffic. Had to build muscle memory to lift only partially so as to not engage regen unless necessary.

 

[mknox]

12,000 miles / 6 months and still getting used to it. I have resisted the urge to turn it down to low. My problem is that I drive at least 75% on the freeway and most of the time it's moving fast, but with heavy traffic, brake lights do come on. When that happens I still instinctively drop the accelerator pedal and move my foot over to cover the brake in case I have to stop fast (usually don't). This, of course, causes the car to essentially "brake" instead of coast. I'm a little worried about what will happen next winter when the roads are slippery.

I find the re-gen quite agreeable on surface streets and non-freeway highways where there's lots of time to modulate the pedal as you drive. That's a lot different than driving 70 - 75 MPH in heavy freeway traffic and having a line of brakes come on ahead of you.

I wish Tesla would implement a speed-sensitive setting for re-gen (and for the steering effort too, for that matter).