New MYP Owner: Learning Curve Tips Thread

[Newbie2023]

New 23 MYP owner here - took delivery last week - love this site! Any tips for this newbie (and others) to cut down the learning curve? Charging tips (have Tesla Charger), no FSD (worth it), maintenance suggestions, aftermarket recommendations, other stuff a newbie can benefit from?? What did you wish you knew earlier about first-time ownership of your new Tesla? Hopefully your insights will lead me to pursue details in other threads…thanks in advance!

 

[240vPlug]

Welcome to the Tesla family! There are a lot of tips here. One can search on topics.

As far as FSD probably not worth it to purchase now unless you plan to drive the car for 10 years or more. I purchased FSD when it was 12k and my reasoning was that I planned to keep the car at least 5 years and the payback was 5 years and it protected me from an increase in the subscription cost. If you plan to use it mostly on the highway then EAP may be a better option for $6,000.

As far as charging tips don't worry too much. Always keep the car plugged in when not in use of possible. Try to avoid charging more than 90% and discharging below 20%. Doing so on road trips is fine. I set my charge limit to 80-85% and fine that is enough for the driving I do.

There are a ton of aftermarket parts. I will tell you the paint on Tesla is fairly thin and soft. Many folks install PPF on the full front of the car. Others choose to just touch up any blemishes.

I have smaller 19" wheels on mine with OE continental tires. I have the quick bandit front license plate mount. All weather floor mats.

I say browse or do a search in the different sub forums here and ask any questions as needed. A ton of very useful info on these forums.

 

[Newbie2023]

Welcome to the Tesla family! There are a lot of tips here. One can search on topics.

As far as FSD probably not worth it to purchase now unless you plan to drive the car for 10 years or more. I purchased FSD when it was 12k and my reasoning was that I planned to keep the car at least 5 years and the payback was 5 years and it protected me from an increase in the subscription cost. If you plan to use it mostly on the highway then EAP may be a better option for $6,000.

As far as charging tips don't worry too much. Always keep the car plugged in when not in use of possible. Try to avoid charging more than 90% and discharging below 20%. Doing so on road trips is fine. I set my charge limit to 80-85% and fine that is enough for the driving I do.

There are a ton of aftermarket parts. I will tell you the paint on Tesla is fairly thin and soft. Many folks install PPF on the full front of the car. Others choose to just touch up any blemishes.

I have smaller 19" wheels on mine with OE continental tires. I have the quick bandit front license plate mount. All weather floor mats.

I say browse or do a search in the different sub forums here and ask any questions as needed. A ton of very useful info on these forums.

Thank you, great advice 240!!

 

[SkyDog]

Here's an important lesson I learned with "Park" vs "Hold":

Hold vs Park - caution for new owners

I'm embarrassed to admit this stupid thing that I did, but I'll share it as a caution for new Tesla owners. I've had my MY for 2 months and it's been great so far. Absolutely love it, but I'm still getting used to it. Yesterday I came home, parked near by garage where I recharge, and then...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[gx9901]

Congrats on your new ride! I think the number one tip for new Tesla owners is to read as many threads on the MY forum as possible so you can prepare yourself for possible situation and also learn about cool features and aftermarket products.

If there was one thing I wish I did differently was to learn about Tuxmats earlier. I kind of quickly researched all-season floor mats and bought a set of Taptes before my car arrived. After several months I learned about Tuxmats and knew that was what I really wanted, so I bought a set and now have an extra set of floor mats sitting around.

Another thing I would recommend checking out are S3XY buttons. These not only give you shortcuts to a lot of features, they also unlock some stuff (such as regen adjustments) that would otherwise be unavailable to us.

 

[Newbie2023]

Congrats on your new ride! I think the number one tip for new Tesla owners is to read as many threads on the MY forum as possible so you can prepare yourself for possible situation and also learn about cool features and aftermarket products.

If there was one thing I wish I did differently was to learn about Tuxmats earlier. I kind of quickly researched all-season floor mats and bought a set of Taptes before my car arrived. After several months I learned about Tuxmats and knew that was what I really wanted, so I bought a set and now have an extra set of floor mats sitting around.

Another thing I would recommend checking out are S3XY buttons. These not only give you shortcuts to a lot of features, they also unlock some stuff (such as regen adjustments) that would otherwise be unavailable to us.

Thank you,

 

[Newbie2023]

Thank you, Dawg and Gx - great suggestions. The regen suggestion made me think: I don’t really ever use the break, as I drive it like a golf cart. Should I be using?

 

[gx9901]

Thank you, Dawg and Gx - great suggestions. The regen suggestion made me think: I don’t really ever use the break, as I drive it like a golf cart. Should I be using?

For many people not being able to adjust regen is no problem. I drive with one pedal all the time and typically don't use the brake much. But some people wish to be able to dial down regen in winter slippery conditions.

 

[Newbie2023]

For many people not being able to adjust regen is no problem. I drive with one pedal all the time and typically don't use the brake much. But some people wish to be able to dial down regen in winter slippery conditions.

Thank you - is it better for overall maintenance costs to use one pedal, or would using the brake provide a substantial benefit that offsets wear and tear?

 

[gx9901]

Thank you - is it better for overall maintenance costs to use one pedal, or would using the brake provide a substantial benefit that offsets wear and tear?

I think using one pedal should prolong the life of the brakes by a lot and I don't think there's any wear and tear effects with using regen braking. At least none that I have read about.

In colder months, regen is usually reduced so you do exercise the brakes either by pressing it yourself or turn on the blended braking function to simulate full regen.

 

[Newbie2023]

Ahhhh, thank you gx!!

 

[RedTesY]

Welcome! "Once you go electric, you'll never go back." "EV grin"
My most important suggestion is "Read the manual!" You will learn a lot that you didn't know you didn't know.

 

[bobbyjae]

Adjust your hatch height before going into any parking garage. Some of the ceilings are quite low.

Also, be careful when you close your frunk. Gently close until you hear it click, then use the two palm method.

 

[240vPlug]

One pedal driving will not only make the brakes last longer but it puts energy back into the battery. When you let off the electric motor turns into a generator feeding that energy back to your battery thus decreasing energy consumption.

 

[Newbie2023]

Oh, I understand now. I was thinking like a hybrid owner where pressing the brake was the regen. But, with Tesla it looks like taking the foot off the accelerator is the regen…I love it. Thanks again, 240

 

[DayTrippin]

The MYP wheels are curb rash magnets. Get a touch kit and be extra careful. They weigh a ton too and do nothing for the handling dynamics of the car.

Tesla screwed you by removing the ultrasonic parking sensors (most likely the case for you if you just took delivery of it). Think about a front camera so you don't beat the nose up.

Tesla paint is soft. I do regret buying PPF for my Y, but of all my Teslas, the Y likely needed it the most. Not work it to spend 5-7k for full PPF which translates to roughly 10% or more, of the purchase price of the car. You can respray the entire front bumper for less than a grand if needed. So even just front PPF is of questionable value from a purely economic perspective. IF OCD, then you'll love PPF and want to do the entire car.

Not to be negative, but my model Y was one of the more boring cars I've owned recently other than its acceleration.

 

[pinolero]

The MYP wheels are curb rash magnets. Get a touch kit and be extra careful. They weigh a ton too and do nothing for the handling dynamics of the car.

Tesla screwed you by removing the ultrasonic parking sensors (most likely the case for you if you just took delivery of it). Think about a front camera so you don't beat the nose up.

Tesla paint is soft. I do regret buying PPF for my Y, but of all my Teslas, the Y likely needed it the most. Not work it to spend 5-7k for full PPF which translates to roughly 10% or more, of the purchase price of the car. You can respray the entire front bumper for less than a grand if needed. So even just front PPF is of questionable value from a purely economic perspective. IF OCD, then you'll love PPF and want to do the entire car.

Not to be negative, but my model Y was one of the more boring cars I've owned recently other than its acceleration.

As a recent MYP owner, I'm not parking as close as I used to with my MDX. I'm not trying to deal with the rash. Just try using the cameras. Pro Tip, when you are about to curb park, put it in reverse so the side mirrors go down so you can see better for parking near curbs.

 

[MacO512]

FSD is totally not worth it. Best part was summons and that doesn't work any more with our non USS cars. FSD drives like an erratic teenager first time driver. Sometimes it's so slow it annoys you. Other times it leaves so little distance it scares you. It's jerky and not smooth. I usually keep mine off and prefer autopilot.

 

[MacO512]

What I've learned that has provided the most enjoyment is doing long road trips, including a few around 2k miles. I love them, much more fun than gas cars. The charging stops are great with a Tesla.

I've also learned to arrive at 5% to the charger, maximizes your time at a high rate on the charging curve, allows you to leave for the next leg much sooner than Tesla navigation suggests. Takes some practice to predict when you'll make it. If you ever get in trouble which would be very rare just slow way down, can go about twice as far at 50mph vs 80mph. Cuts hours off long trips and makes it more of a fun game.

If there's a lot of supercharger close together you can arrive a 5% and leave at 35% which makes your stops very fast like around 5 minutes.

Aim for v3 250kw superchargers

 

[DayTrippin]

What I've learned that has provided the most enjoyment is doing long road trips, including a few around 2k miles. I love them, much more fun than gas cars. The charging stops are great with a Tesla.

I've also learned to arrive at 5% to the charger, maximizes your time at a high rate on the charging curve, allows you to leave for the next leg much sooner than Tesla navigation suggests. Takes some practice to predict when you'll make it. If you ever get in trouble which would be very rare just slow way down, can go about twice as far at 50mph vs 80mph. Cuts hours off long trips and makes it more of a fun game.

If there's a lot of supercharger close together you can arrive a 5% and leave at 35% which makes your stops very fast like around 5 minutes.

Aim for v3 250kw superchargers

That is the general strategy I use but going that low for your SoC (state of charge) will accelerate the battery wear. I normally never go below 15-20% and out at about 50-60% depending on the leg.