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Model 3 Feature Requests for Refreshed model 3

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I put the words "NO NEW NEWS on the M3 Update" in the title, because I'm tired of viewing videos and news reports about "M3 Highland secrets revealed," based on vapor. Lets be real. Nobody really knows much of anything on the internet based on reality. All these YouTube Tesla "experts" show the same black "secret" new M3 spy pictures with different headlights, and the rest of the vehicle is covered with a car tarp. All these pundit wannabe's imply that they are breaking a hot news story about the updated M3, when they really don't know diddly, and are trying to justify their existence.

I own a 2023 M3, and quite frankly, it is relatively perfect except for a few glaring deficits.

(1) Simply put, a car of this caliber should have a set of basic gauges in front of the driver. I assume that Tesla was trying to same money, by not having an instrument panel in front of the driver, like every other vehicle (land, sea, air, and outer space) in existence. I notice that the more expensive Tesla vehicles have gauges, and I doubt if deleting them saves that much money. You can added various aftermarket instrument gauge packages for between $200 to $600, which means it really costs $50-$100 in parts. The other reason not to include dash-mounted gauges, as I recall, was that Tesla engineers thought no one would be driving their own cars anymore due to the perfection of Full-Self-Driving software. How's that working out? I pay for the FSD software, but it is far from perfected. To me it doesn't make driving simpler; I find that it requires more attention, because the FSD software keeps making stupid mistakes at non-standard intersections. In my own M3LR I have installed the Hansshow 10.25" Instrument Display with front camera and the Sixth Element Knight Rider Dry Carbon Steering Wheel with the open upper aspect of the wheel, and the view is spectacular.

(2) There should have been a front camera originally installed in all the vehicles, because people like to know when they are running into those parking lot concrete curbs, staked into the asphalt with exposed rusty rebar rods. Not all of us drive monster trucks with 2 feet of clearance (or 0.61 meters for metric countries). I have added front and rear cameras to older cars, so I am familiar with the prices of the necessary parts, and I know it is not expensive. As I recall, there was a US motor vehicle regulation passed a while back that mandated OEM back-up cameras in all vehicles starting in 2014, to prevent blindly backing up and injurying little children. All the car manufacturers cried that they couldn't include back-up cameras, because no one would be able to afford to purchase new cars anymore. Let's face it, they just didn't feel like doing anything tp prevent injuries until they were forced.

(3) You really need a 360 degree camera set-up, whether you called it a surround camera or bird's eye view. Parking spaces are tighter and tighter every year. If you want the try to decrease the number of door dents from other cars, you need to park in the center of the parking space, even if the other person is not as considerate as yourself. And speaking of cameras, the Tesla vehicles have an almost great rear view camera except that it gives profound fish-eye distortion. Some aftermarket cameras electronically straighten the image so the distortion is minimized in wide-angle cameras. Pioneer has marketed such a camera for many years (approx. $200). I hope I haven't offended any fish reading this comment. I believe that Mercedes has a motorized rear camera which rotates to lessen the distortion, but I would imagine that it's a rather expensive option.

(4) Tesla should have just left the perimeter (U/S and Radar) sensors in the cars. Tesla states that their data shows most people didn't use them, so they were removed. REALLY????? What date backs this up? After six months they finally modified the software somewhat to partially duplicate the sensors functions, but it is really not the same. Everyone knows it, But Tesla refuses to admit it. I'm not sure it was a great place to save money.

So, I realize I carry no weight in the automotive industry, but common sense is common sense. My suggestions for an updated M3 would be as follows:

(1) Put in a set of gauges in front of the driver (slam dunk)
(2) Put in a 360 surround camera system (slam dunk -- seems to be possibly planned)
(3) Put in a front camera, close to ground level (slam dunk -- seems to be planned)
(4) Fix the rear wide-angle camera distortion
(5) Stop wasting time on dancing lights with music as well as fart noises.
(6) Do you really need another version of red paint? This would be the fourth version throughout the years. I have an Acura RDX in Phantom Violet Pearl. It was a nightmare to fix a scratch.

There was an old descriptive abbreviation used at Hewlett Packard (Hp) referred to as "NIH." Some of you might think this refers to the National Institutes of Health, but at Hp it meant "NOT INVENTED HERE." So that if we didn't invent it here, it can't be of any good. Sometimes you just have to listen to other people (in addition to Sandy Munro).
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Thank you for your input. Everyone who has seen my driver-side instrument panel addition has given only positive comments. The screen resolution and color rendition match the OEM center display quite closely. Not one negative comment.

that may be, but without collapsable AP view and perhaps replacement with the media player and scrollable song list it just doesnt add much. I can understand that some people who have driven the model 3 for 0-2 months may feel like they want a speedometer between the steering wheel but after driving on for >6 months you dont notice it at all. if anything you get confused going into a car without a center speedometer.
 
Thanks for your comment, and you may be correct about driving the vehicle for >6 months. Though it is nice to have not only the driver-centric speedometer but also to have the continuous tire pressure monitoring system (in direct view) in a car without a spare tire and no run-flat tires. I immediately purchased the "Modern Spare Tire Kit" for the Tesla M3.

PS: I just noticed that even a new Toyota Prius has a 360 degree surround camera that not only sees the area around the car but also underneath the car, in case you parked over a soda car or a dead skunk.
 
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well ive been thinking for ages about getting a gauge cluster so i can have highway radar/waze in front of me rather than having to look down at the phone in the charging cradle. but i eventually decided to get a phone holder i mount next to the speedo.... and that way it all stays with the centre screen.

The 360 degree camera is imho no issue at all to program for a skilled engineer even if the cameras are in shitty positions. I think its just a patent issue.
 
PS: I just noticed that even a new Toyota Prius has a 360 degree surround camera that not only sees the area around the car but also underneath the car, in case you parked over a soda car or a dead skunk.

My first car with surround view cameras was a decade ago and cost under $30k. There is NO excuse for Tesla to refuse to offer a feature that is available on a trim level of nearly every vehicle currently being produced from $25k >. Same goes for ventilated seats AND A SHUFFLE OPTION FOR TIDAL! (my personal beef 😉)
 
A couple software things I'd like:

1.) If you're paying for premium connectivity, you should have the option of downloading software updates over the cellular connection.
2.) If your wifi connection is weak, car should automatically switch to cellular connection if it's faster.
3.) Add (HBO)Max and Amazon Prime Video to theater.
4.) Ability to make web browser full screen when parked.
 
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Point #1: Very interesting. I guess there were other vehicles such as the BMW Z8 without a driver-centric instrument panel. So, if you compare the sales of 2022 worldwide Tesla Vehicles (primarily Models 3 and Y, with central instrument display) against the sales of other cars with a driver-side instrument panel, the figures appears to be as follows:

2022 Tesla Vehicles with no driver-centric instruments: approx -- 1.235 million

And what car is #1 in sales right now? Does it happen to be a car without the steering wheel console. Wow, yes it is, The Model Y.

NOT having the steering wheel console is one of the reasons that I bought the car. I'm 6ft and there's something about my sitting position that make is nearly impossible to see the speedometer. I've been driving different rental cars weekly for most of the last 20 years and in very few of them could I see the speedometer or other gauges. I got to the point that I'd mount a Garmin GPS on the center of the dash just to see my speed.

Why does the Model S and X have the steering wheel console? That's because Tesla hadn't decided to remove it yet and was basically playing an experiment with the center display. It's an experiment that worked quite well. It is so much easier to see it there than behind a wheel.

Honestly, whose stupid idea was it to put a steering wheel in front of the important gauges?
 
And what car is #1 in sales right now? Does it happen to be a car without the steering wheel console. Wow, yes it is, The Model Y.

That's not true. The #1 selling vehicle in 2022 was the Ford F series. Oh, you said "car." Well, the Model Y isn't a car, but the #1 selling car in 2022 was the Toyota Camry. Oh, you meant SUVs? The #1 selling SUV in 2022 was the Toyota RAV4. Oh, you meant electric SUV? Well ya got him there! 😂

Honestly, whose stupid idea was it to put a steering wheel in front of the important gauges?

Sarcasm, right? Hard to tell.
 
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A couple software things I'd like:

1.) If you're paying for premium connectivity, you should have the option of downloading software updates over the cellular connection.
2.) If your wifi connection is weak, car should automatically switch to cellular connection if it's faster.
3.) Add (HBO)Max and Amazon Prime Video to theater.
4.) Ability to make web browser full screen when parked.
Great idea. I’m tired of going into the parking garage and using my phone as a hot spot to download the latest update.
 
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That's not true. The #1 selling vehicle in 2022 was the Ford F series. Oh, you said "car." Well, the Model Y isn't a car, but the #1 selling car in 2022 was the Toyota Camry. Oh, you meant SUVs? The #1 selling SUV in 2022 was the Toyota RAV4. Oh, you meant electric SUV? Well ya got him there! 😂



Sarcasm, right? Hard to tell.
Read my lips "car right now" not last year, not trucks.


And just a little reference...
 
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ewoodrick said:
Honestly, whose stupid idea was it to put a steering wheel in front of the important gauges?


Sarcasm, right? Hard to tell.

Heck no. I mean really? Putting an object in front of your most important gauges in most cars?

Tesla got it right, move the gauges from behind the steering wheel.

Have you never had to crunch down, stretch up, move left, or move right to read something on the steering wheel cluster?
 
Heck no. I mean really? Putting an object in front of your most important gauges in most cars?

Tesla got it right, move the gauges from behind the steering wheel.

Have you never had to crunch down, stretch up, move left, or move right to read something on the steering wheel cluster?

No, the cars I've driven have had adjustable seats and steering wheels. The steering wheel in my Tesla does cover the left part of the screen though...🤔
 
In that case you shouldn't provide data from January-March. That's no more "right now" than Jan-Dec 2022 is. Not only are you cherry-picking specific periods to back your claims, you're also erroneously referring to 6 months ago as "right now." (Your quotation marks) 🤦🏾‍♂️
All you are doing is derailing the conversation. I was using the claim (as presented by many publications in the last couple of weeks) to assist in saying that not having a steering wheel instrument cluster is a niche market.

I guess I could have made it clearer that the Model Y is the highest selling car in the last reported sales period, worldwide.
 
No, the cars I've driven have had adjustable seats and steering wheels. The steering wheel in my Tesla does cover the left part of the screen though...🤔
And I adjust the seats and steering wheel so that I can drive comfortably.
If I position it so that I can see through it, then my hands are too high in the air.

My Model Y and Model 3 are just right from this aspect.
 
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My Model Y and Model 3 are just right from this aspect.

That varies from person to person. I have to lean a bit to the right to see the entire screen. It's not a noticeable inconvenience. But it's also not a noticeable inconvenience to slightly turn your head to see which signal indicator is flashing on a gauge cluster behind the steering wheel. And you realize this but it doesn't support your point so you want to make it seem like a big deal. It isn't.
 
That varies from person to person. I have to lean a bit to the right to see the entire screen. It's not a noticeable inconvenience. But it's also not a noticeable inconvenience to slightly turn your head to see which signal indicator is flashing on a gauge cluster behind the steering wheel. And you realize this but it doesn't support your point so you want to make it seem like a big deal. It isn't.
As I finished typing my message, I did get the feeling that I might be doing the same as you.

But it is nowhere near as bad as some cars where it feels that I've got to become a contortionist to see my speed, let alone the other indicators
 
I appreciate your comment, but perhaps you might explain why every other car on the planet including the Model S and X have a gauge package right in front of the driver? Could 7.89 billion people be wrong? Please compare the attached pictures with the average Model 3.

NIH
NIH
NIH

Maybe you would be able to explain why there is no 360 degree surround view camera system. There are a multitude of posted comments that want this feature, too. The parts are inexpensive, so cost can't be a factor. Also, virtually every new EV competitor has this option.

NIH
NIH
NIH (Not Inverted Here)



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View attachment 942697View attachment 942698
WUT IN THE ALIEXPRESS IS THIS
 
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Thank you for your input. Everyone who has seen my driver-side instrument panel addition has given only positive comments. The screen resolution and color rendition match the OEM center display quite closely. Not one negative comment.
Yea I just wish they left the port on the MCU and let people install one if they want and have the OS see a display and ajust accordingly
 
It wasn't very hard for myself or my mother to adapt to having the speed limit and important stuff a little to the right of the steering wheel. I'm even hoping that the new electric GMC Denali is going to have the thing that shows where the lines are in comparison to the car because that is VERY IMPORTANT where we live. A couple roads don't have much of a shoulder if any and if you get even one inch of a tire off you either mess up the tire or in worse trouble.