How to use the turn signals well?

[DopeGhoti]

When I first started driving I was completely frustrated with the half vs full blinker mode. I tried to cancel the blinker by pushing the other direction and it started blinking the other way. I could not turn the blasted things off.

Months later this is still infuriating at times because it takes me going back and forth sometimes 4 times to get the blinker to stop. People behind me prob think I'm insane.

You're pushing too hard. If the blinker is on and staying on, push the stalk up to but not past the first detent in either direction. This will cancel the blinker.

If the right signal is on, and you press all the way, what happens is that you get to the half way point, thereby turning off the signal, and then shoot right past it to turn it on again.

I don't like the half mode where they flash 3 times automatically. shouIt's Is always too short or too long for me. I think it should flash only while held halfway and off once released.

That is exactly how the car behaves. Unless you push past the detent, in which case the full blinker is turned on rather than the momentary one.

 

[MrFusion]

This thread cracks me up. The turn signals work exactly as expected as far as I'm concerned. The only "change" to get used to is that you can just tap it in the same direction to cancel it, which took me about 2 seconds to adapt to. Other than that... push halfway for lane change, push all the way for turn, and it will cancel after you turn.... nothing new to see here.

 

[CMoZ]

The stalk position thing is a difference between the old mechanical switch systems and electronic ones. I've had this style (Model 3) switch on everything else I've driven for at least the past decade if not more I didn't even think they put the old style switches where the stalk stays up or down on anything anymore.

I'm pretty obsessive about signalling and the way I do it is manual cancels. I never use the half click thing. Full signal for a lane change then it's just muscle memory to manually cancel at this point. It's much like anything you get the feel of it after a while and then it's just as intuitive as whatever you were used to before.

But I wouldn't say their implementation is good or bad but it's pretty standard nowadays

 

[hugh_jassol]

I don't like how the car is just "on" - I mean, how am I to know when the car is ON or OFF without a physical KEY?!?!??

 

[WilliamG]

Yeah, that's what I thought (don't care about the "other cars" if they had that triple blink feature), but so how do deal with this style? I'm used to the physical feed back of center == off.

The fact that it is dumb is a separate issue. Probably they are doing this for auto-pilot sake. Its also "cheap" to make.

See, and I think they're amazing. No wondering which direction the blinker is on because I can turn it off by half-pressing in either direction. No "CLACK" sound as they re-center, or the sound when you turn through them (clicking, straining sound). Plus the benefits of them being able to engage themselves on Smart Summon on NoA.

 

[user212_nr]

See, and I think they're amazing. No wondering which direction the blinker is on because I can turn it off by half-pressing in either direction. No "CLACK" sound as they re-center, or the sound when you turn through them (clicking, straining sound). Plus the benefits of them being able to engage themselves on Smart Summon on NoA.

Well I see now that most people think its a feature due to the "three blinks on the highway" thing. I'll have to try it, but seems to me that three blinks is too few. In the case where I make a quick lane change, I actually don't signal. Reason is that some greedy person will think that's their invitation to undertake/overtake (to be fair, a lot of drivers take a long time to make their turns, so it is a good time).

 

[Kiwiadventure]

So the turn signals on the Model 3 make no sense. You have a half stroke for a 2 second blink (what for?) and full stroke for on (but no auto-off after turning).

Then to turn off it is another half stroke, but often I end up flipping the signal to the other direction, or in another case turning it back on, leaving it on, etc.

I want to rip the stalk off the car, but I realize that would not solve this problem. What is the solution to this, to be able to turn on/off without diverting all attention to the turn signal process? In my last car(s) the stalk stayed up and would pull back to neutral for off.

Are you for real you don't have the ability to work out how to use the turn signals in a couple of days. You should be looking at your inability to remember not Tesla.

 

[user212_nr]

Are you for real you don't have the ability to work out how to use the turn signals in a couple of days. You should be looking at your inability to remember not Tesla.

Smart guy from Australia, knows some stuff.

 

[KenC]

Smart guy from Australia, knows some stuff.

Hahaha, comedy gold! Auckland is ....well, don't want to ruin it.

 

[Kiwiadventure]

Smart guy from Australia, knows some stuff.

At least get the country correct

 

[cwerdna]

The Model 3 turn signals operate the same as BMW ones for the last 10-12 years or so, so anyone who is used to those should be right at home. I didnt like the BMW ones when I first started using them about 14-15 years ago, but got used to them and now prefer them. Of course, thats because before my model 3P I was pretty darn loyal to BMW.

You are right that BMW for ages has put on a turn signal lever that springs back to the center when you let go instead of clicking into position.

However, I was surprised to test drive some BMWs at one of their events in 2018 which did NOT have it. They actually went back to the more traditional type that click into position and only spring back at that point if you turn the steering wheel far enough. I believe I posted about that either here or another forum.

 

[jjrandorin]

You are right that BMW for ages has put on a turn signal lever that springs back to the center when you let go instead of clicking into position.

However, I was surprised to test drive some BMWs at one of their events in 2018 which did NOT have it. They actually went back to the more traditional type that click into position and only spring back at that point if you turn the steering wheel far enough. I believe I posted about that either here or another forum.

Yeah they did, starting in 2018. My wifes X3 has the "new" style that stays up (or down) when you engage it, and I actually hate that now, after getting used to the BMW ones for so long. I have zero problem with the tesla ones as I mentioned, because they work like BMWs do / did. Teslas work so much like BMWs did that I believe they pulled the operation right out of a BMW, complete with the "3 flashes for half pull" and half pull / push vs full pull / push".

 

[beachmiles]

You're pushing too hard. If the blinker is on and staying on, push the stalk up to but not past the first detent in either direction. This will cancel the blinker.[\QUOTE]

If the right signal is on, and you press all the way, what happens is that you get to the half way point, thereby turning off the signal, and then shoot right past it to turn it on again.

I don't get what you are saying in either of these paragraphs. I have read the manual and many forums which has helped but my half presses to cancel sometimes don't register so I sometimes try another half press and/or push to far. I've read these stalks sometimes are just bad which I think is what i have.

A half press gives 3 automatic flashes that for me is very hard to stop. I would prefer a half press to be a press and hold and only blink while being held. The instant you release the instant the blinker turns off.

 

[beachmiles]

Ah, the old "I don't like it, so everyone that does like it must be stupid" argument.

Never said anyone was stupid, I just don't personally like the function of my turn signals. I may just have a defective stalk.

 

[DopeGhoti]

A half press gives 3 automatic flashes that for me is very hard to stop. I would prefer a half press to be a press and hold and only blink while being held. The instant you release the instant the blinker turns off.

If you hold the stalk at the first detent, it will blink until you let go, just as a "traditional" one does. If you do not hold it, you get the three blinks. If you hold it for less than three blinks, it finishes the three blinks and stops.

 

[Myrddin]

My 1 year old Model 3 was delivered with screwy turn signal behavior. The recommenced light short push against the detent to achieve 3 blinks sometimes gave me 3 blinks and sometimes gave me continuous. when the signal continuously blinked, it very often wouldn't turn off after the 90deg turn was finished. A light push sometimes turned it off and sometimes didn't. Sometimes pushing the stalk halfway to the detent would turn it off and sometimes it wouldn't. Sometimes I had to push it through the detent, but often that wouldn't work. Waaaay too often I drove down the road with first a left turn signal light on and then the right--for miles:-(

I'm a violin maker and a very good multi instrumentalist with decades of carefully developed finesse in my fingers. That finesse was totally useless! My 1st trip to Tesla service for this issue got me a lecture on light touches for 3 blinks and harder touches for continuous. I drove home and redoubled my efforts to learn correct activation, with little success.

My second trip to service, with me being cooly polite but _very_strongly_aggressive _ in insisting that the problem get fixed and they agreed to replace the steering column's turn signal controller.

Success! The turn signals now work perfectly, and have for months.

 

[AquaMan]

'll have to try it, but seems to me that three blinks is too few.

It is in my opinion. I can tell you that it's an error on a California drive test to cancel a signal before a lane change is complete, meaning all four tires have crossed the line. And 3 blinks would be a very abrupt lane change which would be a drive test error in itself. I don't have FSD, but I can't imagine the Model 3 would ever blink only 3 times to make its own lane change.

We have disabled this feature in every car we have ever used for driving instruction. (Sometimes with wiring, sometimes mechanically, sometimes through settings or through a dealership.) With new drivers, it does create confusion because they tend to take their hand off the wheel to cancel a singal, (they shouldn't but they do) which results in mistakenly signaling in the opposite direction because the wrist isn't anchored. Then they try to cancel again, mistakenly going too far the other way, then the other way, then the other.

So for me, disabling it is highly desirable. To my knowledge there's no easy way to disable it in the Model 3, but if I discover a way to do so, I'll post. (Not that it will be worthwhile for most people.)

I believe this feature first came into existence to help sell cars. ("Effortless" signal cancels for lane changes... Cool! Because my left ring finger gets sooo tired!)

Some cars have it, some don't, some come with the ability to disable it built-in to its on-screen settings or through the dealership, and others come with the ability to change the number of blinks. Toyota Corollas can change the number of blinks through the dealership, but the number of blinks must be 1 to 7, never zero. So for that car we had to splice some wires and use a couple diodes to disable it. "Full click" signals still work normally.

Personally, I like the way my motorcycle signal auto-cancels... There's no easy way to do it mechanically because the handlebars barely turn. So, I can cancel manually or it will cancel automatically after the bike travels 300 to 600 feet, depending on speed. I wish all cars would do that... At least by the time they've driven a mile fer cryin' out loud.

 

[user212_nr]

It is in my opinion. I can tell you that it's an error on a California drive test to cancel a signal before a lane change is complete, meaning all four tires have crossed the line. And 3 blinks would be a very abrupt lane change which would be a drive test error in itself. I don't have FSD, but I can't imagine the Model 3 would ever blink only 3 times to make its own lane change.

Yeah, very few times 3 blinks would be enough. I've determined that my issue comes from accidentally enabling the 3 blink rather than the regular signal is the cause of the issues - I go to turn it off and it gets re-enabled. At least I can limit the damage to 3 extra blinks.

 

[camalaio]

@user212_elijah, there is a very common issue with the signal stalk. @Myrddin outlined it fairly well above.

If you are finding that you seem to sometimes be triggering the "permanent signal" when you mean to engage the halfway "3-blink signal", and/or the halfway detent does not disengage the signal, you have a known common issue with the signal stalk.

The stalk is easy to replace and is done under warranty. If mobile service is in your area, it can be done by mobile service. Mine is being replaced in 2 days. It drove me crazy for 3 months before I could properly explain how it was misbehaving, I just knew it was wrong somehow.

 

[justsomeguy]

It is in my opinion. I can tell you that it's an error on a California drive test to cancel a signal before a lane change is complete, meaning all four tires have crossed the line. And 3 blinks would be a very abrupt lane change which would be a drive test error in itself. I don't have FSD, but I can't imagine the Model 3 would ever blink only 3 times to make its own lane change.

We have disabled this feature in every car we have ever used for driving instruction. (Sometimes with wiring, sometimes mechanically, sometimes through settings or through a dealership.) With new drivers, it does create confusion because they tend to take their hand off the wheel to cancel a singal, (they shouldn't but they do) which results in mistakenly signaling in the opposite direction because the wrist isn't anchored. Then they try to cancel again, mistakenly going too far the other way, then the other way, then the other.

So for me, disabling it is highly desirable. To my knowledge there's no easy way to disable it in the Model 3, but if I discover a way to do so, I'll post. (Not that it will be worthwhile for most people.)

I believe this feature first came into existence to help sell cars. ("Effortless" signal cancels for lane changes... Cool! Because my left ring finger gets sooo tired!)

Some cars have it, some don't, some come with the ability to disable it built-in to its on-screen settings or through the dealership, and others come with the ability to change the number of blinks. Toyota Corollas can change the number of blinks through the dealership, but the number of blinks must be 1 to 7, never zero. So for that car we had to splice some wires and use a couple diodes to disable it. "Full click" signals still work normally.

Personally, I like the way my motorcycle signal auto-cancels... There's no easy way to do it mechanically because the handlebars barely turn. So, I can cancel manually or it will cancel automatically after the bike travels 300 to 600 feet, depending on speed. I wish all cars would do that... At least by the time they've driven a mile fer cryin' out loud.

Couldn't have said it better myself. 3 blinks makes absolutely no sense unless you start and change lanes immediately, and very quickly.

Auto lane change in Model 3 takes more than 3 blinks even in absolutely perfect conditions (Great visibility, no other vehicles, high rate of speed). When there's traffic around it won't even start adjusting speed to find a gap within 3 blinks.