Long Trip immediately after pickup - Go ahead or avoid?

[Krugerrand]

Go big or go home.
Drive it like you stole it.
Live on the edge.
Eat cake.

 

[Krugerrand]

For a new car (any car, not just Tesla) I'd make sure to drive at least for a few hours before going on a long trip to see if there are any issues. In the worst case you may end up stranded in the middle of nowhere far from the next service center.

The number for Tesla roadside assistance is right there on the screen.

Pack your nitro, a power bar, a bottle of water and nudie magazine of choice; you’ll be hoping it stops working.

 

[opencar]

I am picking up M3 on Thursday evening, and planning a long trip (300 miles one-way) on Friday morning?

Does it make sense to not do this big trip immediately in the new car? I am not even going to use AP and specifically Auto-Steer and will be very careful.

Would like to hear some feedback from the community here...!!

Did the exact same thing as you are planning, but 1,000 round trip with 1 night of ownership to prep. checked that the charger worked, app wasn't available (took 24 hrs to transfer data), so take your key card & try to stop at the superchargers w/ the most stalls. Best road trip I ever took!

 

[TVision]

There is a MAJOR problem with the model 3 so be careful.........I’ll clue you in though.........it’s awesomely addictive to drive!

 

[ryanakata]

I flew to California and drove a car back to Louisiana. I had zero worries .

 

[evp]

I live in Denver. I launched for the East Coast 2 days after delivery. 3-1/2 years ago, there was only one way to get there: I-90 across South Dakota, past Chicago, Pennsylvania Turnpike. I learned real quick:

• how much range degrades when driving through heavy rain. Against a headwind. Uphill. In the dark.
• found out that TACC cuts out as soon as it starts hydroplaning
• discovered that the "ideal range" setting was a lying bitch
• determined that navigation sometimes gets a little confused
• figured out that the easiest way to find the supercharger is to zoom the map in ALL the way and turn on satellite mode: the pin is within a couple of meters of the actual charger
• decided I didn't need to have a heart attack if the predicted range drifted down to 20 miles above the actual range, but slowing down might be a good idea
• trained my fingers to distinguish between the cruise control stalk and the turn signal (these were unaccountably swapped between when I did my test drives and when my car was delivered)

I got back to Denver a couple of weeks later with some 7,000 miles on the car, 31 SuperChargers, and knowing the contents of the manual pretty much cover to cover. That's mu only suggestion: download the manual, print up a paper copy and have it bound at Kinkos. You and your co-driver (if you have one) can take turns reading it to each other and experimenting with the controls. Or if you're solo, go through it during SuperCharger stops.

 

[firelegend]

It's a throwback from the 80's but I'm superstitious and still do it with new cars lol. Because dealers told me to (Honda's). http://forums.redflagdeals.com/break-period-new-car-long-road-trip-1148393/

 

[troyhouse]

Thank you once again for the all comments and feedback. I have decided to go with the trip.

But, there is a wrinkle, Delivery Co-ordinator called and said my car will be at the SC tomorrow morning and they are not sure whether it will be ready by my pickup time of 5pm. Its going to to be touch and go.

 

[arcus]

But, there is a wrinkle, Delivery Co-ordinator called and said my car will be at the SC tomorrow morning and they are not sure whether it will be ready by my pickup time of 5pm. Its going to to be touch and go.

Hope you get it on time!

 

[Xenius]

If you actually take delivery, you'll be fine. I did a ~300 mile one way trip the day after taking delivery of our S back in 2016.

 

[WileyTheMan]

I picked mine up last weekend and I plan on going on at least two trips in the next few months with it. To be honest, perusing these forums can put the fear of god in you about quality. Constantly hearing of all the issues people are having makes you not trust it, especially if you don't have the car already.

Bottom line is you might have major issues with your car, but chances are you won't. I like how one poster put it "drive it like you stole it". It's a car. Drive it like one.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

We took delivery of a new Model 3 in March and it was immediately (well, ~2 hours later) taken on a 1250 mile roadtrip without any problems.

 

[freefaller1985]

Picked my 3 up in Nashville on Monday and drove it 220 miles back to Memphis. I say go for it.

 

[VIKING26]

Picked up Saturday in Minneapolis. Drove 240 miles to get home. No issues. Autopilot worked great on the interstate. Didn't need to, but stopped at a supercharger just to try it out. I love this freaking car.

Also currently own a LEAF. Drove that for the first time today since picking up the M3. We like our LEAF, but there is no comparison. I guess there really shouldn't be for the difference in price. Things like the rearview camera look like a pinhole compared to the M3. I can't iterate it enough - I love this freaking car.

Go for the drive.

 

[McHoffa]

only drove my Model 3 three times before taking it on a trip from NC to FL for a week a couple weeks ago... no issues whatsoever. I was nervous though, and luckily my frunk issue from today didn't happen while we were on the road!

 

[oripaamoni]

Picked up my 3 in Fremont and drove it directly home 430 miles. No issues other than a truck releasing a clump of rocks scratching my hood, chipping the front bumper and leaving 2 nicks in the windshield.... Never been hit by so many rocks at once, don't know how the windshield didn't crack. Happened 40 miles into my drive. Super irritating.

 

[troyhouse]

Update:

Thanks for all the suggestions and encouragement with the trip. I actually went ahead with it and loved it. Did almost 800 miles on it and it was great driving experience.

1. Car drives and feels great, luxurious inside and out.
2. Everywhere I stopped for coffee, superchargers, red-lights; I got asked "is this new tesla", its head turner for sure.
3. Aero wheels surprisingly looks great on Black color. I have the aero kit but going to keep aero wheels for now.
4. iPhone X key worked just fine, no issues at all. It still takes time to get used to not having physical keys as such and I used to check again and again in the app to make sure the car is locked.
5. Superchargers are great, it really does the great job with charging, no more range anxiety.
6. Destination chargers are great, my hotel next to my hotel had it, and they allowed me to use without any issues. But, got ICE'ed multiple times and the spot was taken by ICE car for longer duration.
7. EAP is great, but still very cautious and worried on using it. Guess, I lost confidence with the recent 2/3 cases with Model X, Fire-Engine Crash and the China crash.
8.Added some pictures, but more interested in knowing the feedback on the picture with the efficiency of KW/h and Wh/mi. I am not too good at that and would like to hear some feedback/opinions on the battery performance.

 

[evp]

8.Added some pictures, but more interested in knowing the feedback on the picture with the efficiency of KW/h and Wh/mi. I am not too good at that and would like to hear some feedback/opinions on the battery performance.

Wow, 238 Wh/mi is really good compared to a Model S (my lifetime average is 322).

 

[jamnmon66]

Thanks for the update. I was wondering if it worked out. Glad you had a good time.

 

[bmah]

Just stumbled across this thread and had to read it all the way through, to find out what you ended up doing. Glad you had a good trip and congrats on the new ride!

Bruce.

PS. A few months ago, a few of us did a Tesla meet-up at the Kettleman City, CA Supercharger. We encountered some people who had just picked up a Model 3 from the factory the night before, and they were driving it back home...to Alabama!