Right now it's totally manual...but I submit it would be a great addition to a future software update to include a configurable, automatic Park profile for seat, steering wheel and suspension settings.
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Possible air suspension height settings issue
- Thread starter stevezzzz
- Start date
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- Driving Dynamics Model S
Well, it happened again. After monitoring the suspension settings over the last week or two I was confident that when I set the suspension to Very High manually, before parking, the setting won't change when the car is parked.
So today I eyeballed a parking space with a relatively low parking bumper, set the suspension to VH, watched and waited until the height adjustment completed, then pulled in with the nose of the car overlapping the concrete bumper. The nose of the car did not touch the concrete. Then I put the car in Park, climbed out, walked to the front to see how far I'd overlapped the nose over the bumper...and was chagrined to find the nose of the car had already been lowered onto the concrete.
Climbed back into the car and verified the suspension setting was still Very High. The height didn't seem to be moving any more, and I didn't want to lower the car any farther, so all I could do was back out and listen as the front air dam scraped off the concrete. As happened the first time, the nose of the car actually dropped noticeably as it came off the bumper.
So there you have it: until further notice it is not advisable to park the nose of a Sig Model S over a parking bumper. Period.
So today I eyeballed a parking space with a relatively low parking bumper, set the suspension to VH, watched and waited until the height adjustment completed, then pulled in with the nose of the car overlapping the concrete bumper. The nose of the car did not touch the concrete. Then I put the car in Park, climbed out, walked to the front to see how far I'd overlapped the nose over the bumper...and was chagrined to find the nose of the car had already been lowered onto the concrete.
Climbed back into the car and verified the suspension setting was still Very High. The height didn't seem to be moving any more, and I didn't want to lower the car any farther, so all I could do was back out and listen as the front air dam scraped off the concrete. As happened the first time, the nose of the car actually dropped noticeably as it came off the bumper.
So there you have it: until further notice it is not advisable to park the nose of a Sig Model S over a parking bumper. Period.
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
Stevezzzz, sorry about your travails (and the scars under your Model S) but, we are all grateful for the heads up!
contaygious
Active Member
Cottonwood
Roadster#433, Model S#S37
Could it be that the S thought it was tipped a little backward, and the auto-level feature tipped it forward onto the concrete bumper?
I'm so sorry for your travails, but thanks so much for sharing the warnings.
strider
Active Member
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
I did report both incidents to Tesla. The ownership team hasn't gotten back to me with an official response from the engineers, but shortly after reporting the second incident I got a call from my local service center manager, who while commiserating with me over the scrapes essentially said that all cars with air suspension are susceptible to 'settling' while parked, and the 'good news' in my case is that I didn't catch the plastic air dam on a sharp edge and rip the nose off the car. He claimed that in his prior experience with other luxury brands he's seen that happen time and again.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. On the one hand, the part in question is well designed to avoid catching its aft lip on a curb or parking bumper, so I've avoided ripping the nose off. On the other hand, I've never owned a car that will clear an obstacle while nosing in and then settle onto said obstacle afterward. In the second incident the settling happened within seconds, all while the suspension remained in Very High. In both cases the parking lot was dead level.
As for the suggestion to lower the suspension height when the car is already sitting on a curb, in the hopes that reselecting Very High will then raise it off the curb before backing the car out: I don't favor that idea, for two reasons. First, it would put more weight on the plastics (as one responder has already pointed out) as it's lowered. Second, a quirk in the software dictates that when Very High is selected the back end rises first, which (temporarily) lowers the nose even further.
I have two suggestions, assuming that there is something inherent in the design of the air suspension that precludes an engineering solution to the settling problem. First, it's a training issue: at delivery there should be a warning issued to the new owner by the delivery specialist about this behavior, as well as more prominent mention made in the owner's manual. Second, the vehicle software should be updated to lift the nose of the car first when raising suspension height, because there's less ground clearance at the nose than the tail even when the car is level.
Finally, as an interesting aside to this whole discussion, there is apparently something in the geometry of the suspension that changes the wheelbase distance slightly when the suspension height changes. I happened to have my foot on the brake when I was playing with suspension heights in the garage the other day; after changing height from Normal the Very High I lifted my foot from the brake and the car lurched slightly. The transmission was in Park the whole time. This is repeatable.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. On the one hand, the part in question is well designed to avoid catching its aft lip on a curb or parking bumper, so I've avoided ripping the nose off. On the other hand, I've never owned a car that will clear an obstacle while nosing in and then settle onto said obstacle afterward. In the second incident the settling happened within seconds, all while the suspension remained in Very High. In both cases the parking lot was dead level.
As for the suggestion to lower the suspension height when the car is already sitting on a curb, in the hopes that reselecting Very High will then raise it off the curb before backing the car out: I don't favor that idea, for two reasons. First, it would put more weight on the plastics (as one responder has already pointed out) as it's lowered. Second, a quirk in the software dictates that when Very High is selected the back end rises first, which (temporarily) lowers the nose even further.
I have two suggestions, assuming that there is something inherent in the design of the air suspension that precludes an engineering solution to the settling problem. First, it's a training issue: at delivery there should be a warning issued to the new owner by the delivery specialist about this behavior, as well as more prominent mention made in the owner's manual. Second, the vehicle software should be updated to lift the nose of the car first when raising suspension height, because there's less ground clearance at the nose than the tail even when the car is level.
Finally, as an interesting aside to this whole discussion, there is apparently something in the geometry of the suspension that changes the wheelbase distance slightly when the suspension height changes. I happened to have my foot on the brake when I was playing with suspension heights in the garage the other day; after changing height from Normal the Very High I lifted my foot from the brake and the car lurched slightly. The transmission was in Park the whole time. This is repeatable.
Not only does it happen with luxury brands, it also happens with Citröens with the hydraulic suspension. But that rises automatically when you start the car again. I think Tesla should program the car to rise to the prevoius setting (front first?) when it is "turned on".
As I recall, the Citroën always raises the rear first. Because you should always back into a parking space, that's the correct order. Parking nose first increases the likelihood of having an accident when you back out. I don't really ever having a curb problem with the DS-21 and it settled to within about 10 cm of the ground.
I agree that the suspension should go back to the previous setting when turned on. Thinking about it, it should really raise to the very high position when the driver's door is opened to allow ease of entry. Of course, it should also raise to the very high position when the power is shut off for ease of exit.
> If not in the same position as you arrived, then default should be HIGH, instead of LOW. [ohh]
> This is why they have a TOW MODE that disables the air suspension. [DrComputer]
> why worry about auto leveling when the car is "off"? Seems like it causes more problems than it solves. [mknox]
> it's a lot easier getting in and out if the suspension is raised to the Very High setting. [stevezzzz]
> I think Tesla should program the car to rise to the prevoius setting (front first?) when it is "turned on". [jkirkebo]
Quotes just to condense stevezzzz's ouch factor.
> I'm surprised you didn't back into the parking space. [jerry33]
My rule is: Which end of the car to you want to be nicked/crunched/totalled?? And I have usually chosen the REAR since it seems more resilient & easier to repair. But with the S you can probably bounce the rear tires off any barrier strip, plus use the camera to hit it just right. Thus the nose will be exposed but at least it will be as far back as possible. So +1 jerry33.
TOW MODE - Shouldn't this allow you to pump up air susp to HIGH and keep it there?? So car can be pulled out of a ditch or winched up onto a flatbed??
Automation seems to be intruding into areas better left to manual control. Like the door handles: you should just have to push on either end which levers out the handle (no motor necessary) so you can grab it & pull the door open. STOP RIGHT THERE, you have reached ergonomic perfection!!
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> This is why they have a TOW MODE that disables the air suspension. [DrComputer]
> why worry about auto leveling when the car is "off"? Seems like it causes more problems than it solves. [mknox]
> it's a lot easier getting in and out if the suspension is raised to the Very High setting. [stevezzzz]
> I think Tesla should program the car to rise to the prevoius setting (front first?) when it is "turned on". [jkirkebo]
Quotes just to condense stevezzzz's ouch factor.
> I'm surprised you didn't back into the parking space. [jerry33]
My rule is: Which end of the car to you want to be nicked/crunched/totalled?? And I have usually chosen the REAR since it seems more resilient & easier to repair. But with the S you can probably bounce the rear tires off any barrier strip, plus use the camera to hit it just right. Thus the nose will be exposed but at least it will be as far back as possible. So +1 jerry33.
TOW MODE - Shouldn't this allow you to pump up air susp to HIGH and keep it there?? So car can be pulled out of a ditch or winched up onto a flatbed??
Automation seems to be intruding into areas better left to manual control. Like the door handles: you should just have to push on either end which levers out the handle (no motor necessary) so you can grab it & pull the door open. STOP RIGHT THERE, you have reached ergonomic perfection!!
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My Roadster's nose is lower than every curb I've ever parked in front of. I keep well away from curbs. I will likely retain that habit with the Model S!
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
Only problem with that, Doug, is the size of the Model S as I made a point about earlier. In a more densely-packed parking lot, one may not have a choice but to have to put some part of the car over the curbs. Otherwise, the car may be sticking its butt well out given how long it is. Backing in sounds like the better bet.
That's my instinct as well, but with the S being such a long car it'll be tempting to pull into spaces as far as possible.
contaygious
Active Member
So what is the very high settled height of the s? Does it not clear a 4 inch parking stop? I thought the regular clearance of the s is 6 inches?
contaygious
Active Member
Right but if you set it on very high it should be 6 inches so it would have to settle down more than 2 inches to hit a parking stop which seems unlikely or very broken. If this is the case then the benefits of air suspension are not all they were cracked up to be.
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