Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

How to avoid a runaway condition

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
My sons has a Tesla S and I ask him if something happened that the car took a mind of its own went to accelerating and wouldn't stop, how do you shut it off to avoid a collision? He wasn't sure. We worked together and found one thing he could do is put it in neutral. There is no way to our knowledge to shut it off while driving. If there is other alternatives please reply. Every owner should be prepared for an emergency such as this. Randy
You can simply press the brake pedal. The brakes are far more powerful than the motors.
After the runaway Toyota "problem" there was a study done. Turns out any car can be easily brought to a stop simply by braking.
 
But what if your brakes are in badly deteriorated condition because you rarely use the brakes in your Tesla? Those brakes could break at a critical braking point?! What then?


Hmmm, but the title says "How to avoid a runaway condition." Maybe that yearly service Tesla offers might be worth it?
 
But what if your brakes are in badly deteriorated condition because you rarely use the brakes in your Tesla? Those brakes could break at a critical braking point?! What then?


Hmmm, but the title says "How to avoid a runaway condition." Maybe that yearly service Tesla offers might be worth it?
what happens if the sky falls while trying to brake?
 
I have no insight into the Tesla design, but would imagine there's a watchdog or two to prevent the OP's concern (concerns?). If not, I'd suggest this:

images
 
what happens if the sky falls while trying to brake?
In the "sky is falling scenario" what happens if we get a solar storm of the kind that hit in 1859? It might fry the grid and brick all modern cars and other devices that use electronics and micoprocessors. (I think it might be bad news for folks on airliners.) I tend to worry more about a severe solar flare that ends up pointed at the Earth (or, perhaps, a man-made EMP event) than the OP's runaway car scenario.
 
In the "sky is falling scenario" what happens if we get a solar storm of the kind that hit in 1859? It might fry the grid and brick all modern cars and other devices that use electronics and micoprocessors. (I think it might be bad news for folks on airliners.) I tend to worry more about a severe solar flare that ends up pointed at the Earth (or, perhaps, a man-made EMP event) than the OP's runaway car scenario.

Of course, in such a situation, it's going to be the other cars that get you. If your Tesla gets hit by an EMP kind of event, it'll just shut down and slow down until it eventually stops. But every other car is going to be hit by the same event and panic is going to cause a lot of crashes.
 
In the "sky is falling scenario" what happens if we get a solar storm of the kind that hit in 1859? It might fry the grid and brick all modern cars and other devices that use electronics and micoprocessors. (I think it might be bad news for folks on airliners.) I tend to worry more about a severe solar flare that ends up pointed at the Earth (or, perhaps, a man-made EMP event) than the OP's runaway car scenario.
which leads to a good question, how would one defend the car in the event of an emp attack?
 
which leads to a good question, how would one defend the car in the event of an emp attack?
Put it in a bunker with lots of steel reinforcing to shed charge? I suspect that if my car were unplugged in my concrete and steel house it might survive an EMP attack or solar flare. However, with the grid down for months how would I charge it? (Rebuilding the grid would be very difficult since destroyed components, such as transformers, are in short supply and the factories that make them would be shut down also. Only the "survivalists" would survive, I guess.)
 
Put it in a bunker with lots of steel reinforcing to shed charge? I suspect that if my car were unplugged in my concrete and steel house it might survive an EMP attack or solar flare. However, with the grid down for months how would I charge it? (Rebuilding the grid would be very difficult since destroyed components, such as transformers, are in short supply and the factories that make them would be shut down also. Only the "survivalists" would survive, I guess.)

Keep a bunch of solar panels, transformers and wiring in said bunker and set them up outside after the EMP.
 
My sons has a Tesla S and I ask him if something happened that the car took a mind of its own went to accelerating and wouldn't stop, how do you shut it off to avoid a collision? He wasn't sure. We worked together and found one thing he could do is put it in neutral. There is no way to our knowledge to shut it off while driving. If there is other alternatives please reply. Every owner should be prepared for an emergency such as this. Randy

To clarify what you're asking, I'm assuming you're referring to there being no ON/OFF pushbutton switch on the S and X models.

I think what you're asking is "How do you turn off a car that has no OFF button?"

It's actually a good question, especially in light of the Toyota floor mat/stuck accelerator accidents, especially the accident where an experienced CHP officer died due to a stuck floor mat on a Lexus. Pressing on the brakes did not help him.

Toyota's runaway-car worries may not stop at floor mats

I believe you are correct, there is no way to turn off a Tesla while you're in it. The best one could do is put it in neutral. Like the CHP officer who died in the Lexus, this action may not come readily during a panic situation.
 
Last edited:
  • Disagree
Reactions: WarpedOne
To clarify what you're asking, I'm assuming you're referring to there being no ON/OFF pushbutton switch on the S and X models.

I think what you're asking is "How do you turn off a car that has no OFF button?"

It's actually a good question, especially in light of the Toyota floor mat/stuck accelerator accidents, especially the accident where an experienced CHP officer died due to a stuck floor mat on a Lexus. Pressing on the brakes did not help him.

Toyota's runaway-car worries may not stop at floor mats

I believe you are correct, there is no way to turn off a Tesla while you're in it. The best one could do is put it in neutral. Like the CHP officer who died in the Lexus, this action may not come readily during a panic situation.
It turns out he was actually not pressing the brakes.
Testing showed there is no production car, no matter how powerful, that can't be easily brought to a complete stop by pressing the brakes.
Revisionist History Episode 08
 
  • Informative
  • Disagree
Reactions: WarpedOne and MS16
I was thinking about this thread today, and there actually is one redeeming point to it, and that's if you suffer a medical emergency while driving. As a driver you should ensure that your passenger knows they can press and hold the park button to stop the car. In most ICE cars, the passenger can pull the e-brake or move the gear shift to neutral in an emergency. But I expect that a passenger )that isn't a regular Tesla driver) would not know how to stop the car. So I told my daughter today. Thanks to the OP for making me think of this.
 
It turns out he was actually not pressing the brakes.

The official investigation of that accident concluded that "brake rotor damage indicated there was endured braking", meaning the Lexus driver was pressing the brakes.

Testing showed there is no production car, no matter how powerful, that can't be easily brought to a complete stop by pressing the brakes.

Consumer Reports testing shows otherwise. They show specifically what happened in the accident that killed the CHP officer. Their testing shows the force required and the extended braking distances involved. They also show how braking was impacted if the driver lifted his foot, even just one time to pump the brake or to reach for the floor mat. It then becomes "almost impossible to stop the vehicle" according to Consumer Reports.


Since this accident, several safeguards have been mandated.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TS14PCC