I'm amazed at what owners don't know

[CharleyBC]

And think of all the people you know who only use their smart phones to make phone calls. Maybe text too.

 

[Kleenerth3]

Recently, I was topping-off at a Supercharger so I was sitting in the car. There were several available plugs, but a guy parked right next to me to charge. He obviously wasn't aware of the pairing thing. I was tempted to say something, but my wife was with me and I felt funny so I let it go. The guy walked away and when he came-back about 5 minutes later, he had me roll-down my window and asked me if there was any way to speed-up charging. I then proceeded to hop-up on my soap box and gave him a lesson.

Tesla should send an email once per week to new owners with tips. Most people can't absorb all of these features in one sitting but if you give them one a week, they can try it out, absorb it and then be ready for the next one. Maybe have it come from their delivery specialist's email address so it is a little more personal. I think that would go a long way to helping owners enjoy their cars more. These cars can do so many things, it's a shame to let those go to waste.

The nice thing is people like you that will actually stop and help out, soapbox or not.
On a trip to Phoenix, I stopped at the Quartzite SC and left a few open spots from the S that I saw there. I plugged in and almost immediately the owner of the S stopped me and told me that I was on 1B charger and a 3 I didn't pay attention to on the end was on 1A. ???? Not all SC stations are set up the same and I had been reading about this very thing in these threads.
I bet it's just our nature, most of us will help out an apparent noob. Tesla owners are a pretty cool breed.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

And think of all the people you know who only use their smart phones to make phone calls. Maybe text too.

a phone call? huh, they can do that? I didn't have a phone(again) until a couple of years ago. had my S for 4 years without a cell

I still teach people about pairing regularly. very sad that it needs to be done but it sucks when someone parks on your pair at an otherwise empty SC. + I see people confused why they have such a low charge rate sometimes.
6 years of charge lessons ...at least the urban SC's don't need this consideration

 

[Kdblondie]

A significant number of drivers never read their car's owner manuals.

I'm surprised, but I'm not amazed.

I'm reading it online and I just ordered my M3 yesterday! lol

 

[Burrito]

"forum people" are the very small minority of owners who care and know about their cars. the overwhelming majority of owners want a tesla because its cool or status and have no F'in idea of features the car has. all anyone here needs to do is join the model 3 owners group on facebook..... some of the ridiculous questions there will make you think how the F did this person gather enough pennies to buy this car without having the basic knowledge of how the car even moves

 

[MrMassTransit]

This!
I see Tesla suffering through typical growth issues - they don't have the manpower in place to service the growing customer base. I've seen it happen to many companies. Hopefully this is just growing pains and not the sign of impending doom.

I think it is beyond just growing pains, but they will get it figured out. They actually let a number of service center coordinators go earlier this year in favor of moving to online-only scheduling. That seemed to make a bad problem worse from what I have read on here (I personally haven't had to go back to a service center since I took delivery in March). It is not a matter of Tesla not being able to hire fast enough, it is that they are not attempting to increase staffing at their service centers at all at the moment. However, that may be changing with Musk's renewed emphasis on service - we will see.

While I think Musk's vision of service not being a profit center is laudable, I'd rather they build in a reasonable rate of return so there is an incentive to improve the service experience and build out more service centers since it would make business sense. Plus, that would help generate some additional revenue that could be reinvested in the service operation.

 

[PoitNarf]

Tesla owners on here or the other forums are a small subset of their total ownership base. This doesn't surprise me at all that another owner wouldn't be aware of Sentry Mode or several other features that we constantly talk about here on TMC.

As long as they know not to stop at a gas station to try and fill up that's good enough for now:

 

[CharleyBC]

Tesla owners on here or the other forums are a small subset of their total ownership base. This doesn't surprise me at all that another owner wouldn't be aware of Sentry Mode or several other features that we constantly talk about here on TMC.

As long as they know not to stop at a gas station to try and fill up that's good enough for now:

I've thought about staging that exact scenario. Pulling up at a gas station in a "borrowed" Tesla, wanting to return it to the owner with a full tank. While someone shoots hidden video...

 

[sceptic]

Okay I don't think anything can beat that video

 

[Kappelan]

That's common for regular EV owners as well.

I remember helping about 5 people or so (with Leafs, i3, Ioniq) at ChargePoint stations, explaining them about the apps, letting them start charging with my account and other minor things.

When I bought our first Volt at the Chevy dealership they explained nothing to me.

But for a second Volt, they provided much more info, even about PlugShare and ChargePoint. And I got a call from Chevy, they were asking If I was provided with all needed info.

 

[BluestarE3]

I've thought about staging that exact scenario. Pulling up at a gas station in a "borrowed" Tesla, wanting to return it to the owner with a full tank. While someone shoots hidden video...

Exactly! While amusing, that video has all the hallmarks of having been staged.

 

[SMAlset]

OP, I bet Tesla and every other car and product manufacturer wished they could get owners to read their manuals. TeslaCam and Sentry are in there. Just have to read and comprehend.

While we’ve been owners for a while now (and I have read the manual and updates and refer to it on occasion), I still find trying to keep up with threads here is worth my time, expands my knowledge and keeps me up to date on the latest. Like the comradery as well and knowing when meets will happen, about mods to the car and helpful products.

 

[TomT]

When I picked up my car at the end of March this year at the Alpharetta, GA SC, the gal who delivered it spent the better part of an hour going over everything with me. She was very good and had actually been flown out from Fremont to help out...

 

[cpa]

Happened to park next to an identical Model 3 (well at least outwardly -she had ap I don't) at Costco. We started talking about the car - she had hers over a year, me 3 months.
She had no idea about this forum (which I referred her to)
She didn't know what sentry mode was (or that she could record an accident or.....) , etc.
The stuff that we know and discuss on here is not wide spread knowledge or apparently important to many drivers, but maybe Tesla could be a little more forthcoming about educating people about the car (at least the ones that don't inhabit youtube)
Later in the day I parked near a police car in a lot known for break ins. I asked him if it was still as bad, he said yes and asked if I had Sentry mode on. I said yes (but told him video is only available if the usb works and mine has been stopping intermittently for no reason). He didn't know that it isn't recorded automatically (but there is no reason he should - I was impressed that he knew about sentry and wanted to make sure I used it).

Why are you amazed? This information is important to you for a number of reasons. I applaud your commitment.

But to many others, including myself, it is not as important. And to yet others like my wife, it is unimportant.

As others have pointed out, it is a car. It is a car with a lot of tech. There are those of us who just don't care much about tech. Tech is a dynamic field, and changes occur with great frequency. Many features are moved, changed, or eliminated with software updates. Other features are so seldom used that we forget how to access and implement them, which is exacerbated if a software update alters the means of access. For example, I was driving home through Wyoming several months ago and encountered a freak snowstorm on the highway. Traffic was backed up. Coincidentally, the day before I had read an item on here about changing from standard regenerative braking to low regenerative braking when driving through snow and slush on the road. I groped about the touchscreen until I found the hot key and changed from standard to low. This was my first time driving in snow with our five-year-old S, and if I had not read that story, it never would have occurred to me to change the regen. Moreover, I had forgotten that we had two levels of regenerative braking.

The person who suggested that Tesla send out periodic tips and reminders on how to use the car and the touchscreen should be hired at once by Tesla and implement this idea. It is excellent!

I should be amazed that there are a lot of people who go through their lives with blinders on; those who have no idea how other people choose to invest their time and energy in whatever pastimes or vocations their lives take them. But I am not. But at least I have empathy, something that is lacking with some of the opinions that appear throughout this entire forum.

 

[Kappelan]

The person who suggested that Tesla send out periodic tips and reminders on how to use the car and the touchscreen should be hired at once by Tesla and implement this idea. It is excellent!

Tips like Apple does on iPhones.

 

[BluestarE3]

When I picked up my car at the end of March this year at the Alpharetta, GA SC, the gal who delivered it spent the better part of an hour going over everything with me. She was very good and had actually been flown out from Fremont to help out...

I think there's a lot of variation depending on the individual and the volume of cars moving through a particular delivery center at the time. When I picked up my Model 3 in Fremont last November, I was not rushed by the rep when we did the visual inspection of the car and she took a photo of the nick on the wood dash after I'd pointed it out. However, as far my orientation with the operation of the car, it was basically: "Step on the brake to start the car; push the stalk up for Reverse; pull it down for Drive; here's your paperwork; enjoy your car."

In contrast, when I went on a test drive several months earlier at my local showroom, the guy who accompanied me spent time going over the user interface and answering my questions. He also showed me how to switch to Low Regen when he noticed I seemed startled by the sudden deceleration of the car when I lifted my foot off the accelerator.

 

[Kappelan]

When I was picking up our M3 here in Toronto the guy was very enthusiastic and was ready to cover a lot of things. Most of them I knew already so I saved him and us some time but it was very nice.

 

[dendenyc]

I learn new stuff about this car from reading here, some of them are so nuanced that I wouldn't expect the average driver who doesn't sit on TMC all day like we do to know this stuff. There is a thread here that collected all types of little tips and I was amazed about how much I didn't know...like did you know you can look up an address on your phone in google or apple maps then click on "share" with Tesla and send that address directly to the cars nav? I use that sh*t daily but didn't know about it for many months after ownership.

 

[Kappelan]

There is a thread here that collected all types of little tips and I was amazed about how much I didn't know.

Link please )

 

[Manitoba Keith]

Tesla should send an email once per week to new owners with tips. Most people can't absorb all of these features in one sitting but if you give them one a week, they can try it out, absorb it and then be ready for the next one. Maybe have it come from their delivery specialist's email address so it is a little more personal. I think that would go a long way to helping owners enjoy their cars more. These cars can do so many things, it's a shame to let those go to waste.

Terrific idea. I have read the manual at least 3 times and still refer to it. I like that it is searchable.
I too would like the link to the tips.