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New Owner Questions

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Probably stupid and obvious questions to most!

Picked up my car yesterday and there are a few questions I have;

  • I thought UK cars had to make sound below 12mph. I don't hear anything at low speed - is that normal or something you turn on in the settings?
  • Where is the hazard light switch?
  • Interior lights don't turn on when I open the door. If i press the light to turn on then it does not turn off when I get out and shut the door.
  • If the kids want to stay in the car and play games while I go into a shop etc, how do they keep the car switched on if I take my phone with me? The only way they found so far is to leave the door open else everything turns off. Should I leave them with a key card?
  • How do I schedule the car to warm up the cabin for when I leave for work at 7am. I have TeslaFi account now so not sure if this is set up in TeslaFi, but cant see the setting for this.
  • I used a referral code from a friend to buy my car but don't see my free charge miles anywhere. They are not in the loot box just a link to send to others. Also I thought charging was free the first day but I charged up at T5 after Heathrow pick up and I think the car showed this cost me £7. Where do you see a summary of charging history and costs? Is that in the car, on the app or on the website?
  • And finally any recommendation for some cheap footwell/frunk mats. I live in the country and there are often muddy feet. SR+ doesn't have mats so I need something quick and cheap to tide me over until I buy something more long term.
  • EDIT: one more. How do you set times for sentry mode to be on. I dont need it on at home but would like it on when parked in work car park. Can I automate this?
Thanks for any direction on the above.

Ed

PS I was worried when I purchased the SR+ that I would be disappointed with the acceleration. All I can say is the 0-30 round town off the lights is fantastic and I am not disappointed at all! I can imagine you will get wiplash with the rate of acceleration on a P - amazing!
 
Some of the answers here are in the manual, and I’d highly recommend just sitting in your new car for a bit and having a good look around and a play with all the settings, but I’ll help where I can...

1. No idea about this
2. Sit in the car and look up
3. They should turn off when you lock the car
4. Try dog mode or camp mode I believe
5. You can only do this manually via the Tesla app, dunno about TeslaFi as I don’t have it
6. Call the SC where you bought the car from re referral miles after checking app again just in case. Not sure if first day charging is an urban myth but not something I was ever offered or told of
7. I bought these mats as cheapest I could find:
Printers Jack RHD Tesla Model 3 Floor Mats Right Hand Drive All Weather Backing Custom Fit Heavy Duty All Season Eco Friendly Accessories 2019 2020 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07XQYS53L/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_Fx2yEb15HVJ9H
For trunk and trunk I bought a £6.99 rubber mat from Aldi and cut to shape
8. Sentry can be automatically turned off at home, have a play in the settings

This is just off the top of my head, so hope it helps!
 
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You cant schedule sentry by time but you can do it via location. You can exclude things like home.,work,and other satnav saved places while having it on the rest of the time. It's is a very big battery hog though so be careful with it
 
If the kids want to stay in the car and play games while I go into a shop etc, how do they keep the car switched on if I take my phone with me? The only way they found so far is to leave the door open else everything turns off. Should I leave them with a key card?

I think there is potential legal/safety issues around that. If the car is potentially drivable, then they are in charge. Doesn't take many trips for passengers learn the pin to drive. So you need to be absolutely certain that when you walk away, the car can not be driven - its like leaving the kids in the car with keys in the ignition and with pin entered to clear the nag, the engine running too.
 
For warming the car up in the mornings you can use TeslaFi Schedules (under the "Controls" item). You can also use TeslaFi to turn Sentry on (amongst other things) when at certain tagged locations.

If you've already ordered a bunch of Amazon goodies for your car you may have meters of the tough paper sheets they are wrapped in? Makes for ideal temporary mats and boot liners that can be recycled afterwards...
 
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Thanks everyone. Great advice and I think you covered it all. Matts now ordered and Teslafi scheduled.

Good point about the kids. They are 11 and 13 so fairly sensible, they know not to touch the car controls, I will try camp mode out though as I see what you mean about the risk of them causing the car to move!

I never thought to look up for the hazard lights!! I am now itching to press the SOS button to see what happens - its like being told don't press the red button! Yes I could look this up in the manual but it is more exciting to think that an emergency rescue helicopter will swoop in within 5 minutes of the button press to help.......;)
 
If the kids want to stay in the car and play games while I go into a shop etc, how do they keep the car switched on if I take my phone with me?

Dunno about M3, but on MS if driver gets out and leaves passenger in the car, the screen goes blank. Touching the screen (i.e. from passenger seat) brings it to life.

Dunno if passenger can then drive away! Something to try when I have a mo. (I do know I can use my phone to a) unlock the car and b) allow the car to be driven - e.g. if driver has dropped the key down a drain and is phoning spouse in a panic!)
 
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I was looking forward to ensuring no pedestrians missed the car by having a sound like this as I pass


There could then be a button on the dash to play a light-sabre clash sound if I think they haven't noticed me.

I will just have to play my own sounds and open the windows!
 
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- Hazard lights are on top of the car between the lights.
- interior lights can be set in the settings under lights
- when the driver gets out of the car and closes the door the screen automatically turns off. However, if the passenger taps the screen as soon as the screen turns off it will turn back on and resume functions.
- for preheating you can set it in the car functions in the charging section, click schedule departure.
- check your account settings for referrals on Tesla.com
 
Interior lights don't turn on when I open the door. If i press the light to turn on then it does not turn off when I get out and shut the door.

I seem to be having a problem with mine... when I set it to auto it resets to off after the car is locked/unlocked!
I've rebooted the car and the screen but it doesn't make any difference. Anyone else experiencing this (its bloody annoying getting in a black car with a black interior in the dark and having no lights) and/or have a solution to make sure the setting is 'sticky'?

I've also noticed that the screen, more often than not, autoloads the YouTube app when I get in the car from locked - is there a setting for this anywhere?
 
I seem to be having a problem with mine... when I set it to auto it resets to off after the car is locked/unlocked!
I've rebooted the car and the screen but it doesn't make any difference. Anyone else experiencing this (its bloody annoying getting in a black car with a black interior in the dark and having no lights) and/or have a solution to make sure the setting is 'sticky'?

I've also noticed that the screen, more often than not, autoloads the YouTube app when I get in the car from locked - is there a setting for this anywhere?
It saves everything to a profile, make sure you’re saving it to both the easy entry and your regular driving profiles
 
Longshot: press and hold both scroll buttons to reboot the screen, then repeat your process (including, good idea, changing something else after the Dome Lights to force a Save via that route)

maybe foot on brake, and then press and hold both scroll buttons, and then keep everything pressed until Logo appears on screen. I've never know if this "full reboot" is urban myth, or not, but won't hurt :) and plenty of reports of "more noises" using the full reboot method.

maybe create another profile (it will start with "current settings"), and see if that is OK - if so then perhaps delete original profile.

If you can face it maybe a Factory Reset would help ...