Model S Plaid - 6 Months Later

So, six months ago tonight, I was lucky enough to pick up one of the first Model S Plaid to be delivered to customers. I thought folks might be interested in how things are going.

This is my post from the night I picked up the car: Wiki - Model S Delivery Update

Some statistics:

• 5,191 miles
• Running 2021.36.8.9 and FSD Beta 10.6
• Quickest I've gone 0-60: 2.1 sec (1 ft rollout)
• 1/4 mile: 9.6 sec @ 150 mph (at drag strip)
• Fastest I've gone: 156 mph (at drag strip)
• Lifetime efficiency: 335 Wh/mi
• Name: "HellPony" - named through a thread here on TMC

Service issues:

• Wind noise from passenger a-pillar area
  • Triangular glass loose in its bracket
  • Replaced by mobile service
• Rattle from rear of car during turns
  • Play in latches for rear seats
  • Temporarily fixed by Service using tape--waiting on permanent fix from Engineering
• Side mirrors do not properly return to auto-tilt set position
  • Service validated issue and replaced both mirrors but did not resolve the issue

Exterior:

• Car was great at pickup in terms of pant quality, fit and finish, and panel gaps and that has held up--in fact car looks great (car is OptiCoated and I hand wash)
• There was some concerns around stone chips on the rear quarter panels, but I have not encountered that so far
• Widow tint is highly recommended

Interior:

• Having lived with the new interior for a while, I more appreciate the time and effort someone took son picking materials, textures, etc
• White seats are still while--easy to clean, no creasing, puckers, etc
• The wood trim nicks easily--ended up getting some touch-up
• Still impressed by the low noise floor--the double-paned glass and all the soft surfaces help.
• Like the fixed glass roof--opens up the interior and does a good job blocking heat. I do, however miss the open air driving of the pano roof
• Coming from a 2013, there is an embarrassing amount of storage--the center console is nice in that it is has little cubbies to help keep things organized

Driving experience:

• Acceleration never gets old, but beyond 0-60, the rollin acceleration is great for merging on freeway, passing, etc
• The new suspension is superb--the car is poised in every situation I have thrown at it from curvy river roads to flat-out acceleration runs
• Vision-only AP worked well. The only thing it seemed to struggle with for me is keeping proper distance with a lead car

The Yoke!:

• I love mine, I would not trade it for a round wheel, even if Elon himself offered to come swap mine out
• It took a while to get used to it--some of you have seen the video of my travails as I got acclimated
• My best advice it to approach the yoke as a different control interface--treating it like a wheel will lead to more challenges
• For the actual yoke, I am pretty much driving like I my old wheel--one handed, palming, etc
• The stalkless piece took a bit longer -- what I really like is having key controls under my thumbs--the ergonomics are like an Xbox or Playstation controller. It is compact and efficient--going back to my wife's X seems awkward now
• The force touch controls are a work in progress--they have made tweaks to both the control and the haptic feedback that have improved the experience, but there is still opportunity to improve

Wish list:

• Big thing is I wish they were further along with the software:
  • There are still a number of features from the launch that are still outstanding like games (Witcher, etc), ANC, IIRC torque vectoring
  • The Bluetooth implementation, in relation to the rear seat audio appears unfinished
  • V11 - the current UI seems cobbled together and unfinished

Bottom line, this car has been a blast for the last 6 months and expect that to continue. I've included everything that I thought folks would find interesting--let me know if folks have other questions.

 

[omarsultan]

Okay thanks, if you happen to know - did they replace the entire assembly including the glass or just the gasket or something else? Sorry for more questions but just want to have as much detail as possible so I can communicate to my SA. I took the car in for this issue previously and the SA reported that his own diagnosis could not duplicate the issue which is complete BS. Thanks again.

It is a complete assembly that includes the glass, the bracket that holds it and the weatherstripping:

Here are the part numbers:

 

[r3nd3r]

Ugh. I'm bringing mine in to have the passenger door closing force issue addressed. They are going to replace the seals. Hopefully they don't introduce wind noise in the process. Tesla needs to ditch the stupid frameless windows. I was looking at a Chrysler minivan and jealous of the precision of the door trim pieces on their regular windows....

be careful with that. and please communicate/emphasize to your SC that you want to make sure there will be NO introduction of wind noise. I learned the hard way and they messed up my seals. Who knows if they will be able to fix this. I would 1000x rather have a passenger door that needs more force than wind noise coming into my once quiet cabin at 50MPH. Totally absurd!

 

[WilliamG]

be careful with that. and please communicate/emphasize to your SC that you want to make sure there will be NO introduction of wind noise. I learned the hard way and they messed up my seals. Who knows if they will be able to fix this. I would 1000x rather have a passenger door that needs more force than wind noise coming into my once quiet cabin at 50MPH. Totally absurd!

Yeah there's no point bringing the car in for the passenger door. That works its way into being easier to close over time in most/if not all cases. It's just the gasket around the top where it meets the roof that needs compression over time. I wouldn't have Tesla touch that...

 

[wally5788]

It is a complete assembly that includes the glass, the bracket that holds it and the weatherstripping:

View attachment 754618

Here are the part numbers:

View attachment 754620

Got it thank you - well this will lead me to go back to the tint vendor too to re-do the triangle...hopefully this solves the wind issue though. I also have rattling under the front dashboard as well when I go over bumps/decelerate so need to fix that too. Aside from the technology upgrades in the refresh, I am kind of missing my 2021 Raven. Audio system sounded better and I am 90% sure it was more efficient. I don't know how the refresh is rated for 405 miles...I am lucky to get 320 even in optimal weather conditions.

 

[SucreTease]

I still wonder what was the thought process of eliminating the ability to blow the horn from the airbag?

How about possible loss of hand if you are pressing the horn (i.e. airbag) during a collision—a very possible scenario. Anything too close to an airbag when it goes off has a real chance of serious injury, including degloving and amputation.

 

[WilliamG]

How about possible loss of hand if you are pressing the horn (i.e. airbag) during a collision. Anything too close to an airbag when it goes off has a real chance of serious injury, including degloving and amputation.

Yup, - common to have sprained wrists, fingers etc upon airbag deployment.

 

[TankCa]

One hour, 30-mile initial review, took delivery of MS Plaid this afternoon.

* Yoke - will get used to it quick I think, no big issues although I grabbed air a couple of times.
* Turn signals - kept reaching for the stalk but think I will get the hang of it fairly quick also.
* Center display console - have not figured it out yet, a bit distracting to try and do anything while driving. Time will tell.
* Tires - sticky, grabs small rocks, can hear them hit the underside. My other car does that too, comes with performance tires.
* Performance - "rocket ship", it moves. Scolded by the wife, said it was like being on a roller coaster and she felt lightheaded (and I didn't really get into it).

I've had a few hot rods and did a little drag racing in my younger days, so I know acceleration. In fact, I currently have a 1956 Chevy Bel Air resto mod with a 650hp supercharged LSA w/6 speed that gets up and goes. BA hot rod vs. rocket ship, no comparison.

Looking forward to really testing it out over the coming days/weeks.

 

[westernvine]

• Vision-only AP worked well. The only thing it seemed to struggle with for me is keeping proper distance with a lead car

I could have sworn the MX/MS still ship with radar in the US... hmm.

 

[omarsultan]

I could have sworn the MX/MS still ship with radar in the US... hmm.

I believe mine has a radar, but based on how it behaved, it did not use it--really struggled with appropriate following distance. Now on the FSD beta, so definitely not using the radar.

 

[muzhik]

After 300+ miles on mine... one issue so far, when going 5-10mph and turning (right/left), rattling/crackling sounds coming from dash, can't pinpoint where exactly it's coming from.

Other than that, this car is totally awesome and love driving it. I guess time will tell how things will go.

 

[Sbaimo]

After 6 and 1/2 months, my LR is close to perfect. I do not like the following distance when on autopilot. It works ok but when the highway is a little clogged, the car
Slows down as it should, but it is too slow to get back to the set speed. Generally it works fine. I do not have the 10,000 dollar upgrade. Just the highway cruise and steer.
I also love the yoke but do miss having a blinker stalk. The buttons work great since they upgraded the way they work, through one of the software updates. But I would prefer a stalk for turn signals.
I love this car more than any car I have owned over the past 30 years. And I have owned some really great cars.

 

[cwanja]

It works ok but when the highway is a little clogged, the car
Slows down as it should, but it is too slow to get back to the set speed

You can press the accelerator to give it some oomph to get going.

 

[Sbaimo]

You can press the accelerator to give it some oomph to get going.

True dat. But you should not need to IMO

 

[Zcd1]

True dat. But you should not need to IMO

Is that (acceleration/speed matching) adjustable in the cruise control screen?

 

[Solarwind]

Ordered my Plaid Dec 1 and picked it up Dec 23.. Came from a 2014 P85D which I though was fast but this thing makes it look weak especially above 80 mph. I am getting use to the yoke and like it now but still hit buttons accidentally when maneuvering, great on open road. I was not impressed with fit and finish, gaps are not even, charge door doesn't close flush. Other things older car had and are missing, there is no energy meter, no odometer on dash screen. Energy monitor is a joke, can't see it and has no reference numbers. AP no longer changes lanes, this was a big lose that you can get back for $12k. No AM radio. And with just 2000 miles I am seeing a lot of chips on rear wheel flairs above the protection film. The older car seems to go closer to the rated miles. Old with 230 showing, go about 190. New 390 showing =255miles same conditions.

I hope this doesn't sound like I don't like the car, I do. Just when you upgrade I like to think I am getting more not less for the money. A big plus for the new is charge time. Both cars side by side at charger the new charged from 30 to 396 (full) in the time the old car charged from 125 to 230 and still had 15 minutes to go.

 

[2101Guy]

You can press the accelerator to give it some oomph to get going.

"all user intervention is error".

 

[2101Guy]

Ordered my Plaid Dec 1 and picked it up Dec 23.. Came from a 2014 P85D which I though was fast but this thing makes it look weak especially above 80 mph. I am getting use to the yoke and like it now but still hit buttons accidentally when maneuvering, great on open road. I was not impressed with fit and finish, gaps are not even, charge door doesn't close flush. Other things older car had and are missing, there is no energy meter, no odometer on dash screen. Energy monitor is a joke, can't see it and has no reference numbers. AP no longer changes lanes, this was a big lose that you can get back for $12k. No AM radio. And with just 2000 miles I am seeing a lot of chips on rear wheel flairs above the protection film. The older car seems to go closer to the rated miles. Old with 230 showing, go about 190. New 390 showing =255miles same conditions.

I hope this doesn't sound like I don't like the car, I do. Just when you upgrade I like to think I am getting more not less for the money. A big plus for the new is charge time. Both cars side by side at charger the new charged from 30 to 396 (full) in the time the old car charged from 125 to 230 and still had 15 minutes to go.

Adding these to the fronts may help that somewhat.

For Accessories Tesla Model S Mud Flaps Front Rear Splash Guards Fender 2014-21 | eBay

Specially designed for tesla model S suitable size, practical and beautiful. No Need To Drill Holes. Fit all Tesla Model S Vehicles. Great accessories for your Tesla Model S, 4pcs of Set (2pcs Front L/R and 2pcs Rear L/R).

www.ebay.com

 

[Proppilot]

Adding these to the fronts may help that somewhat.

For Accessories Tesla Model S Mud Flaps Front Rear Splash Guards Fender 2014-21 | eBay

Specially designed for tesla model S suitable size, practical and beautiful. No Need To Drill Holes. Fit all Tesla Model S Vehicles. Great accessories for your Tesla Model S, 4pcs of Set (2pcs Front L/R and 2pcs Rear L/R).

www.ebay.com

The are for the pre-refresh 2021. There are custom solutions on the Forums and Tesla just released front flaps. The mounting holes will not line up.

 

[Sbaimo]

Is that (acceleration/speed matching) adjustable in the cruise control screen?

Nope.

Even 25 years ago driving an ice car, if you were using cruise control and hit the brake to slow for traffic, all you needed to do is hit the resume button and it brought You back up to set speed rather quickly.

 

[cwanja]

Nope.

Even 25 years ago driving an ice car, if you were using cruise control and hit the brake to slow for traffic, all you needed to do is hit the resume button and it brought You back up to set speed rather quickly.

It is worth asking - what is your acceleration profile set to?