Model X user interface is rather inverted IMHO...

[Videographer]

Recently drove my MX 100 from Wisconsin to Vermont and Maine in the middle of the polar vortex. As you can imagine, the heater was an important part of that journey (it was -26f when we left.) And it occurred to me that the controls on the bottom of the display - heater, heated seats etc - are some of the *most used controls* on the car, yet to fiddle with them requires you take your attention almost entirely off the road. And the things on the top, like the "T" logo, charger menu etc - are some of the least used items. Wouldn't it make sense to flip their position? Most used on top, lesser used on the bottom?

And yes, I get that some of the heater functions can be controlled by the steering wheel controls, but you can't select what vents are in use, recirculation etc. This became an issue when just outside of Chicago the entire windshield iced over *on the inside* in less than 30 sec. Apparently the car decided to go into recirculation mode. I have no idea why.

Opinions?

 

[bob_p]

In earlier software versions, the menu bar was on the top - providing top access to most of the functions.

But the climate controls and speaker volume (also controlled from the steering wheel) have always been on the bottom.

Musk promised years ago that we would have more options for configuring the displays - and we're still waiting to see that. Instead, Tesla periodically rearranges the displays, forcing all owners to use the same style of interface, with only minor adaptations (like the height of the media player window).

While the UI layout could use improvements, it's a relatively minor annoyance.

I'd place a higher priority on fixing the long standing media player bugs - like correctly saving the current media source, current song and current position - something that has been broken since 2012, and still prevents owners from listening to audiobooks from USB...

 

[idoco]

Opinions?

Agree. I wish everything on the climate control bottom bar was on the top.

The workaround would be to allow more than one climate control on the steering wheel at the same time. I tend to use the right scroll for fan speed. To change temps from the wheel I have to first change the wheel function.

 

[mikevbf]

If I could only change only one thing about the interface, it would be a way to turn the steering wheel heat off without having to peck through multiple bottom of the screen menus. I find it so dangerous to take my eyes off the road that long, I always ask the front seat passenger to turn it off for me if I have one. Is there a way to turn off the steering wheel heat from the steering wheel?

 

[jboy210]

Recently drove my MX 100 from Wisconsin to Vermont and Maine in the middle of the polar vortex. As you can imagine, the heater was an important part of that journey (it was -26f when we left.) And it occurred to me that the controls on the bottom of the display - heater, heated seats etc - are some of the *most used controls* on the car, yet to fiddle with them requires you take your attention almost entirely off the road. And the things on the top, like the "T" logo, charger menu etc - are some of the least used items. Wouldn't it make sense to flip their position? Most used on top, lesser used on the bottom?

And yes, I get that some of the heater functions can be controlled by the steering wheel controls, but you can't select what vents are in use, recirculation etc. This became an issue when just outside of Chicago the entire windshield iced over *on the inside* in less than 30 sec. Apparently the car decided to go into recirculation mode. I have no idea why.

Opinions?

Depends. In my car the heater/AC controls are the most "unused" controls. I can only think of 2 times where I even used the defroster. My wife uses seat heat a lot, but that shuts off automatically when it is warm out. I am 10 miles from the Fremont factory so I can can understand their bias.

I guess it would be nice to give the user the option of where to put the climate/ventilation controls.

 

[TJtv]

If I could only change only one thing about the interface, it would be a way to turn the steering wheel heat off without having to peck through multiple bottom of the screen menus. I find it so dangerous to take my eyes off the road that long, I always ask the front seat passenger to turn it off for me if I have one. Is there a way to turn off the steering wheel heat from the steering wheel?

I 100% agree. I think in v9 it actually takes more screen presses(three) than it took in v8(two) to activate the heated steering wheel. Whoever made that decision must live in California.

 

[rush6410]

I 100% agree. I think in v9 it actually takes more screen presses(three) than it took in v8(two) to activate the heated steering wheel. Whoever made that decision must live in California.

What I recall it was three buttons to turn the steering wheel heater on pre version 9. Controls/cold weather/steering wheel. Same number of button presses.

 

[aesculus]

Apparently the car decided to go into recirculation mode. I have no idea why.

This appears to be a NEW "feature" in the 48 release. It auto recirculates and auto turns off the A/C at lower outside temperatures now and this instantly causes the fogging. And if the outside temperature/glass is cold enough, ice like in your case.

I have sent a note on it to customer service.

 

[aesculus]

I am 10 miles from the Fremont factory so I can can understand their bias.

Take a trip to Lake Tahoe on a cold, humid, winter day.

 

[jboy210]

Take a trip to Lake Tahoe on a cold, humid, winter day.

I have. Defrost worked fine. As I said earlier I only use defrost sparingly because I don't like hot air blowing in my face. So I have no issue with turn it off and on manually. And adapted to its position easily. I understand some people want the buttons higher.

 

[gnuarm]

I have. Defrost worked fine. As I said earlier I only use defrost sparingly because I don't like hot air blowing in my face. So I have no issue with turn it off and on manually. And adapted to its position easily. I understand some people want the buttons higher.

I use the defrost sparingly because it usurps the other heater settings. When I turn the defroster off, it returns to the previous settings, but while on it takes control of your vertical and your horizontal... lol

 

[mikevbf]

I just figured out how to turn off my steering wheel heat using siri. There is an ios app that allows you to create custom siri shortcuts to control the car. You just have to create your normal seat heat and temperature configured with the steering wheel heat off attached to a siri command. In the app it's easier than I make it sound. You can do other useful things too like preconditioning your battery in cold weather by setting up the last 5% of the battery charging/heating to take place just before you get in for your commute. Here is the link:
‎Stats: For Tesla Model S/X/3

 

[sorev]

I have been writing to Tesla Support for nearly two years requesting allowing the heat & ac functions to be voice controlled or at least allow me the option to move it to the top of the screen, but no response. Our S originally allowed me to switch the map and camera at will (not now). The current system is not safe. I liked our S and we love our X but Tesla needs to make this a priority instead of cute things like passwords. Perhaps if we mount a unified campaign and all email the same request on the same day we could get someone's attention.

 

[mikevbf]

I have been writing to Tesla Support for nearly two years requesting allowing the heat & ac functions to be voice controlled or at least allow me the option to move it to the top of the screen, but no response. Our S originally allowed me to switch the map and camera at will (not now). The current system is not safe. I liked our S and we love our X but Tesla needs to make this a priority instead of cute things like passwords. Perhaps if we mount a unified campaign and all email the same request on the same day we could get someone's attention.

Look at my post above yours. If you have an iphone, the app I link to allows you to gain some control over the car's havac through voice.

 

[TJtv]

What I recall it was three buttons to turn the steering wheel heater on pre version 9. Controls/cold weather/steering wheel. Same number of button presses.

Only the first time you did it. All subsequent times - if the last thing you had clicked on in the controls menu was the cold weather tab it would already open up directly to that. 3 clicks and 2 slow screen transitions is a lot worse than 2 clicks and one screen transition.

 

[gnuarm]

Only the first time you did it. All subsequent times - if the last thing you had clicked on in the controls menu was the cold weather tab it would already open up directly to that. 3 clicks and 2 slow screen transitions is a lot worse than 2 clicks and one screen transition.

Without worrying about the details of this version vs that version, I think the Tesla UI is overly screen oriented. Using the display screen in any context while driving is dangerous. There is not a lot of need for the heater controls to be in a screen like this.

When you have tactile controls like buttons and sliders, you can adjust controls without looking at them. Sometimes tactile controls are just better.

 

[mikevbf]

Without worrying about the details of this version vs that version, I think the Tesla UI is overly screen oriented. Using the display screen in any context while driving is dangerous. There is not a lot of need for the heater controls to be in a screen like this.

When you have tactile controls like buttons and sliders, you can adjust controls without looking at them. Sometimes tactile controls are just better.

Soon after revealing the spartan M3 interior, Musk defended it by saying something like we soon will not need to drive so actively and comparing it to being (I think) something like a passenger in a cab. This is a situation where Musk's optimism
(particularly around self driving) and related poor ability to predict accurate timelines led to an interior design too far ahead of its time. Tesla could have corrected the mistake by doing what Elon promised by quickly creating a fully featured audio interface. In the meantime my experience using the screen so much is the same as many. It is dangerous and has been made even more dangerous by bringing so much of its usability to the bottom of the screen.