Proper use of the Park button?

[TR5642]

I'm a bit confused by how the Park button on the end of the stalk is SUPPOSED to work. Here is what I've overved

1. Press and release or press and hold for a while: "Gear" indicator shifts to P. Red parking brake indicator does NOT light
2. Press longer or press again and hold longer: Red parking brake indicator lights
3. While in P, tap briefly presents handles. But sometimes, it doesn't work

Questions:

1. What state is it in in case #1? It feels like some brake is activated but neither P-Brake light nor H-Brake light is illuminated. Is it safe or will it roll eventually?
2. Is there a purpose to the longer hold being needed for P-Brake activation?
3. Is there some mode state needed for #3 to work consistently?

 

[DDotJ]

1) When the vehicle is held by the brake and it is not moving, pushing the button on the end of the stalk will put the vehicle in park by engaging the electronic parking brake. The Red ((P)) button on the instrument cluster will not light up, it will just show that the vehicle is in park on the bottom right, as it will show PRND. The vehicle is secured and it will not roll. If you press the accelerator, it will not let you and it will prompt you to select a gear first. You're all set to step out of the car.

The gray ((H)) light is different, that is for the vehicle hold function. If you're at an intersection waiting for your light, quickly depress the brake pedal and the gray ((H)) should appear. Then if you let go of the pedal, it should hold your brakes for you. It is deactivated once you press the brake pedal or the accelerator pedal. It's also how "Hill Hold" works, but if you're on an incline you get an additional dialog on the bottom of the instrument cluster stating that the "Hill Hold" feature is active. It's one of my favorite features!

2) This is while the vehicle is in motion, if you press the button for a second it won't do anything. If you press and hold, you'll hear an error chime for about a second and the vehicle will activate the emergency brakes. This is in case your main brakes fail and you (or a passenger) need to stop the car. They removed this button in the control panel on the touchscreen in v8.0, but the same effect is achieved by pressing and holding the button. I've accidentally done it before, it's quite abrupt (but I can happily report that it does function as intended )

3) The vehicle needs to be in park and the handles need to be retracted. If you push the end of the stalk, it will extend the handles. Make sure you fully push the button on the end of the stalk (and don't hold the button, just a quick push). It should be working consistently or you may have an issue.

 

[mmccord]

The button is really unnecessary. Just stop, hit the brake hard enough for hill-hold (H) to come on, and get out. The car takes care of the rest.

 

[WannabeOwner]

get out. The car takes care of the rest

Mine gets annoyed if passengers get out first, and I'm not in Park. Don't think I've tried Hill-Hold in that situation though ... does that cure the beeping warning?

 

[supratachophobia]

I'm a bit confused by how the Park button on the end of the stalk is SUPPOSED to work. Here is what I've overved

1. Press and release or press and hold for a while: "Gear" indicator shifts to P. Red parking brake indicator does NOT light
2. Press longer or press again and hold longer: Red parking brake indicator lights
3. While in P, tap briefly presents handles. But sometimes, it doesn't work

Questions:

1. What state is it in in case #1? It feels like some brake is activated but neither P-Brake light nor H-Brake light is illuminated. Is it safe or will it roll eventually?
2. Is there a purpose to the longer hold being needed for P-Brake activation?
3. Is there some mode state needed for #3 to work consistently?

I use the park button instead of the brakes. Simply press the button down as you approach a stop light. Your regular brakes will last forever!

 

[DDotJ]

Mine gets annoyed if passengers get out first, and I'm not in Park. Don't think I've tried Hill-Hold in that situation though ... does that cure the beeping warning?

No he's kidding

It will still beep at you if you are not in park and you open a door. He's referring to the safety failsafe where Model S will put itself in park if it detects no weight on the driver's seat. It's not a recommended practice to do this to shift your car to park . It's so that the car will not roll away if the driver leaves the gear on Drive, forgets, and leaves the car.

 

[scottm]

I use the Park button to put car in park. That is all.

If it does other things, I don't use it for those things.

I didn't know they took away the brake function on the center console with version 8. I always thought it was a bit goofy thinking you'd have to navigate in an emergency to find a brake button on the UI. I wonder in the history of Model S if anybody ever had to do that?

Also, older cars like mine don't have hill holder the same as newer cars... mine only holds for 2 seconds. Nowadays they hold indefinitely. I find 2 seconds enough to get my foot off the brake over to the clutch in time to press the gas with the other foot and go without stalling or rolling back.... oops different car. Nevermind.