Is Creep=OFF better?!

[Discoducky]

I think that "hill hold" might be very bad for the engine as it will be alway the same engine area that will "hold" the car and may overheat which could damage the engine. Holding the car with the brake (left foot) is much more safe for the engine.

I'm anticipating the hill hold feature will be delivered in a future update and will utilize the parking brake, not the motor, to hold the car in place until the throttle is engaged.

 

[mknox]

It would be interesting to see this as a poll. As much as I like creep, I would have rather done without it and had, for instance, a charge timer so I can take advantage of TOU electricity rates. Something must have compelled Tesla to give this priority over other features.

 

[kinddog]

Never had it on. I'm a long time manual transmission driver and I find no creep plus heavy regen (aka "engine braking") to best emulate what I'm used to from a manual. .

this.

 

[Sparrow]

I've been running creep ON for 4 months now, I had other EVS without creep and I didn't feel the throttle controll was good enough for slow speed maneuvering. Have always meant to try driving the S with creep OFF so starting today I have turned it off. I have to admit that the throttle response at low speed on the S is very good with the creep off. I did come up short a few times when coming to a stop because I was used to the creep continuing me a bit further. This was especially true when I pulled into my garage and the car stopped a foot or so too soon, but it was very smooth and controlled to inch that extra foot into my desired parking spot. I will continue to drive with the creep OFF for a while to see if I run into any circumstances in which I wished it was ON.

 

[dsm363]

I was one of the people asking for creep after driving the Roadster for 2 years and liking it. When the Model S was delivered without creep initially I grew to like and and think I prefer it that way now. The speed control at low speeds is great so not an issue really.

 

[JRP3]

I
I think that "hill hold" might be very bad for the engine as it will be alway the same engine area that will "hold" the car and may overheat which could damage the engine. Holding the car with the brake (left foot) is much more safe for the engine.

To be accurate it's a "motor" not an engine, and I'm not sure what you mean by the same "area" that holds the car, the rotor will most likely end up in a different position each time you are stopped, and there is nothing to wear out in any case. As I mentioned earlier it will be inefficient and could draw substantial current so using the brakes for hill hold would make more sense.

 

[ckessel]

There was a thread on this once before as I recall. I've always driven a manual, so I figured I'd want creep off. I've found I prefer it on though. With creep off in very slow speed situations, I had to flip back and forth between the pedals where as with it on I'm just on the brake (everywhere else, speed is controlled purely with accelerator and regen). It also helps a bit as a hill hold as there are lots of slightly angled streets in hilly Portland, OR. I also found the car was so powerful that the pedal felt twitchy at very low speeds. Maybe that's better with more recent software updates.

To be honest, I'd be good either way, it's a minor preference. Preferring creep is not what I expected I'd like after driving manuals all my life.

 

[montgom626]

I've only had my car for 5 days, but have had the creep feature on. I like it. I don't think it wastes energy because when the brake pedal is pressed, the motor is cut out (i.e. you're not straining against a torque converter). I will try it off and see how that goes after I'm a bit more used to the car.

I like creep, but when my MS P85 arrives I will try creep off.

 

[GeekGirls]

I've only had my car for 5 days, but have had the creep feature on. I like it. I don't think it wastes energy because when the brake pedal is pressed, the motor is cut out

I found that keeping creep off made a measurable difference in efficiency in stop-and-go situations. With creep off regen stays engaged longer when gliding to a stop. I had originally thought I might find creep useful for holding hills, but in practice it's not strong enough to do the trick on anything steep enough to be a concern in the first place. YMMV (or should that be YWh/MiMV?)

 

[nrcooled]

Another lifetime manual driver here and I love having creep off. It is the best way to simulate the driving envorinment and experience that I prefer. Creep is one of the things that I HATE about automatics. I feel that with creep that I spend too much effort to prevent the car from doing what it wants to do and not spending that time making the car do what I want it to do.

 

[rcc]

Yet another lifetime manual driver. I've been creep off since day 1. Love it. I've only done a little SF hill driving but it wasn't bad. Just switch pedals fast enough or use two feet. It just takes a little lean into the accelerator to hold on the hill and start moving up.

 

[jkirkebo]

To be accurate it's a "motor" not an engine, and I'm not sure what you mean by the same "area" that holds the car, the rotor will most likely end up in a different position each time you are stopped, and there is nothing to wear out in any case. As I mentioned earlier it will be inefficient and could draw substantial current so using the brakes for hill hold would make more sense.

He's probably thinking of old brushed DC-motors, where you'd wear out the commutator if the motor wasn't allowed to turn when applying power.

Thankfully, brushes and commutators aren't used in EVs anymore.

 

[steve841]

Creep off since day 1. I like being able to slowroll at 1mph.

+1..... Never used creep, never will.

That said, I did realize one time that I needed to pay attention a tad more when stopped. One event where I backed into a spot that happened to be at a slight slope (didn't realize it) ...let off the brake to jot a note and rolled into the car stop (which I stay at least a foot or two away from)... Glad it was there, next "stop" was the car parked behind me.

 

[derekt75]

To be accurate it's a "motor" not an engine, and I'm not sure what you mean by the same "area" that holds the car, the rotor will most likely end up in a different position each time you are stopped, and there is nothing to wear out in any case. As I mentioned earlier it will be inefficient and could draw substantial current so using the brakes for hill hold would make more sense.

Try holding the car with the go pedal on a hill at a traffic light; it uses very little power, so it's not that inefficient. Unfortunately, the car doesn't make it easy to do this well. The accelerator pedal is rather sensitive, and there's a bit of a glitch when the car goes from rolling backwards in "D" to rolling forwards in "D".
In a manual, after backing out of a parking spot, you can shift into first, and let the clutch out slowly to smoothly transition from traveling backwards to traveling forward. You can almost do this in Model S, too, but there's this little hiccup at 0 mph. It's not a big deal, and if Tesla never "fix"es the "problem", I won't think anything less of the company, but I do notice it.

Anyway, yes, I suspect that Tesla will use the parking brake for a hill hold. I just hope the brake releases quickly. It takes a large fraction of a second for it to engage after pressing the "P", so I hope it disengages faster than it engages.

Back on topic, I've tried creep and no creep, and I've driven manuals and automatics. I have a slight preference for no_creep, but I think they both have some advantages. In general, I think it's easier to smoothly come to a stop at a stop light without creep. With creep, it's really an art to let off the correct amount of pressure from the brake at the right time to avoid any sudden change from deceleration to no deceleration. I guess most people don't care much about this, and they're okay with that little jerk when the car reaches 0 mph, but I like to minimize jerk when I'm driving.

On the other hand, entering my garage is slightly uphill. With creep, it's easy to control the brake pressure to maintain a constant 1 mph. Without creep, I struggle to find the perfect accelerator pressure for 1 mph, and the d(acceleration)/dt is not as low.

 

[joefee]

I keep creep off (after trying “on” for awhile) … I feel “off" is a much better driving experience (unless your on a hill):scared:

 

[bob_p]

Turned creep off and reset one of the trip counters - and will see if this has any impact on energy usage.

 

[gsxrex]

Another lifelong manual driver here, so creep mode has been off from the beginning. I'm just too used to having to apply input to get something to move.

 

[Puyallup Bill]

I vacillate. The LEAF has creep, no choice. When I got the S, turned creep off, but then back on.
Now creep is off, and I think it will stay off.
Hill hold? Just shift the left foot to the brake pedal.

 

[brianman]

yeah, I was wondering if someone was going to point out the hill hold thing. Is there any word on this being fixed with a software update?

I wouldn't call it a fix, since I don't consider there to be a bug here. And, no, I haven't heard anything recently about the requested hill hold feature.

 

[Arnold Panz]

I never drove manual and had creep on for the first few months. Based on feedback on this forum, I tried creep off and now prefer it that way, so we've had the same experience gg. Although it makes driving rental cars that much harder and more annoying because its so different than the MS.