Model S Software/Firmware wishlist

[strider]

We've had ours for a week (delivered w/ 4.0) and not a single bug/issue (well, we did set the rear hatch to not go all the way up for fear of hitting our garage door and I whacked my head on it this evening loading the dog but that's not Tesla's fault :redface. We've never rebooted the screen, maps work all the time, voice control is outstanding, etc. I like to think when the SDK comes out then we'll be able to port or build apps to do the things you all want to do.

 

[AnOutsider]

I've got a thumb drive in... No reboots and speed seems fine.

 

[steve841]

Wow, hard to believe we're all driving the same car. I'm getting reboots. Are you guys using a USB thumbdrive? Oh, and I'd hardly consider the speed and responsiveness "very good". Maybe being a computer programmer for a living I'm jaded, but it seems sluggish to me.

No issues with speed/responsiveness here .... maybe that 75% off Office Depot no name drive wasnt worth it! LOL j/k

 

[strider]

Wow, hard to believe we're all driving the same car. I'm getting reboots. Are you guys using a USB thumbdrive? Oh, and I'd hardly consider the speed and responsiveness "very good". Maybe being a computer programmer for a living I'm jaded, but it seems sluggish to me.

We're not using a thumb drive. We do stream from my wife's iPhone 3GS via bluetooth (which we just found out tonight will stream the audio from video content over the bluetooth - super cool!). Google maps is sluggish when scrolling and pinch-zooming in and out but that is slow on every platform I've ever tried it on so I chalk it up to the way things are w/ that application. Also voice takes awhile but Siri also takes awhile - again just figure that's an artifact of having all the processing in the "cloud".

 

[brianman]

I've had a 64GB USB key (Fry's ~$40) plugged in since about day 4. I've been playing Slacker more lately, though, while it's "free" (included).

 

[Robert.Boston]

Some more "wish list" items, based on a weekend of driving:

• There should be a big red button on the Phone App that dials Tesla Roadside Assistance number, and another that dials 911.
• Dashboard function should be "pushed" and "popped." Currently, once you complete navigation, the left-hand side of the dashboard goes blank. It should return to the prior function, e.g. Media, unless that function has already been mapped to the right-hand side of the dash.
• Reiterate: right scroll wheel should be able to zoom the map
• Increase contrast between secondary roads and background on night-time navigation screen. It's nearly impossible to see side roads in the night maps.
• Remove or reduce regen scaling factor. Currently, if regen is limited (cold battery), it appears that the regen is scaled down. Example: you're driving along at 25 mph and lift your foot from the accelerator. Normally, regen would be ~15kWh, but if you're regen capped, you get (much) less than 15kWh. I would rather take full advantage of what regen I have available.
• The "instant/average" setting in the Energy app is not preserved when the car is shut down, but always defaults to "instant." Preserve this setting.
• Include an "adaptive" zoom level in the map, as an option. At higher speeds, the map is shown at lower magnification (i.e. from "higher up"); the zoom level increases as speed is reduced.

 

[goaliemanshark]

The steering wheel buttons on the left hand side should cycle through your FM radio favorites rather than tuning. UG.

 

[Doug_G]

• There should be a big red button on the Phone App that dials Tesla Roadside Assistance number, and another that dials 911.

Maybe. Wouldn't want to hit 911 by accident. They get enough pocket dials as it is.

 

[jerry33]

The steering wheel buttons on the left hand side should cycle through your FM radio favorites rather than tuning. UG.

Should be configurable. Haven't listed to FM since late 1970s. It would be a waste of a button for me.

 

[KenEE]

Should be configurable. Haven't listed to FM since late 1970s. It would be a waste of a button for me.

Should be simply "Favorite Stations". My Volt and CTS both seemlessly mix FM and Sirius/XM stations.

 

[dsm363]

You can save favorites already but not sure if it shows up on the thumbwheel though. If you click the heart icon on the media app, you'll see all your radio/internet and USB drive favorites.

 

[Lyon]

Should be simply "Favorite Stations". My Volt and CTS both seemlessly mix FM and Sirius/XM stations.

Yeah, this is a cool thing. My Suburban does it. I'm guessing it's probably similar across the GM lineup.

 

[DaveVa]

Quick bug - Phone book only picks up the first 10 digits of a phone number - I have some numbers that include a pause and confrence code - these are not being transfered to the Model S.

 

[badgerlake]

Not sure if others are having this issue (particularly the northwest owners with our nice weather during this season), but the front windows and windshield fog up pretty easily and i find myself hitting the front defrost button frequently. This puts the fan on full blast and heat to max (as of last 4.x update), so i end up manually toggling it on and off. Wonder if they could just program the thing to keep a slight bit of heat going towards the front windows and windshield (a front defrost-lite?).

 

[Lloyd]

Not sure if others are having this issue (particularly the northwest owners with our nice weather during this season), but the front windows and windshield fog up pretty easily and i find myself hitting the front defrost button frequently. This puts the fan on full blast and heat to max (as of last 4.x update), so i end up manually toggling it on and off. Wonder if they could just program the thing to keep a slight bit of heat going towards the front windows and windshield (a front defrost-lite?).

+1, Needs better programming here

 

[Stig]

I’ll keep my list simple:

• Un-sync temperature when passenger setting is changed
• With 4.0 – music no longer continues with the station I left it on when I leave the car (I think it has something to do with the car going into sleep mode) – I have to choose what I want to listen to every time
• SOC in conjunction with range (on dash) – I think that’s more important because your actual range can vary significantly compared to “Rated” or “Ideal” range
• Access to hard disk - so I don’t have to mess with slow USB
• Adjustable time intervals for the car to “lock” once you leave the vicinity (currently set to 60 seconds – which I think is too long – maybe half that or even 10 sec.)

Something fancy for the phone app is to allow you to unlock the charge port remotely – so somebody else can use the charger (if you have the J1772 adapter on, the adapter is already locked in and somebody can just remove the plug) – but if you’re using a Model S charger – this could prove useful/helpful for others (of course you don't want to do that if you have an adapter to a Roadster HPC though)

 

[Stig]

Nothing fancy for my list:

• Allow for mirror tilting in reverse (no longer works with 4.x update)
• Allow for the last music station/device to continue playing when you come back to the car (no longer works either with 4.x update – probably has something to do with the sleep mode)
• Automatically disengage “Sync Temp” when the passenger temperature is changed
• State of Charge (SOC) percentage in or inline with the “range” gauge on the dash
• Memory of A/C settings after turning on/off front defrost (it automatically turns everything to “Auto” again).
• Maybe automatically assign a steering wheel scroll wheel/button automatically when calls come in - so I can hang up calls without having to cycle into the “phone” app (when you don’t have the app up) in order to end call
• Access to HD so I don’t have to mess with a USB drive (for those with Sound Package)

I’ve got a whole laundry list of other things – but I would think those would be nice just to get started with the more practical and more used functions (I think).

Something fancy that would be nice would be the upcoming phone app (hopefully soon) to allow you to unlock the charger remotely – so when you’re done charging, you can remotely release the charger - This would be practical when you’ve got a Model S specific charger plugged in (If you’re using a J1772, that stays locked in anyways and somebody can just remove the charger - hopefully not removing it WHILE it’s still charging and being a douche! And if you’re using your own Roadster adapter – that stays locked in too and they can remove the other end of the adapter)

 

[MikeK]

Nothing fancy for my list:

• Allow for mirror tilting in reverse (no longer works with 4.x update)

Works for me in 4.0

• Maybe automatically assign a steering wheel scroll wheel/button automatically when calls come in - so I can hang up calls without having to cycle into the “phone” app (when you don’t have the app up) in order to end call

I may not be understanding you properly, but when I'm on a call, pressing the top right button (the one you press and hold for voice command) brings up the phone menu with "End Call" selected, and you can just press the right scroll wheel to hang up. There are other options there like "hold" and so forth. If you get an incoming call while on another call, it automatically brings up options to allow you to hold your existing call and answer, end the existing call and answer, and so forth. Works much better than my Alpine/Parrot Bluetooth in my RAV4 with regards to the call waiting scenarios.

I agree with the rest of your list!

 

[Zythryn]

Not sure if others are having this issue (particularly the northwest owners with our nice weather during this season), but the front windows and windshield fog up pretty easily and i find myself hitting the front defrost button frequently. This puts the fan on full blast and heat to max (as of last 4.x update), so i end up manually toggling it on and off. Wonder if they could just program the thing to keep a slight bit of heat going towards the front windows and windshield (a front defrost-lite?).

As I recall, if you have it in 'range' mode it does exactly that.
I will double check on mine tonight.

 

[strider]

• Allow for mirror tilting in reverse (no longer works with 4.x update)

Try setting it back up - put car in Reverse, set mirrors, save profile. I recall some saying it lost this setting on the upgrade. It works fine in my car but it was delivered w/ 4.0.