Questions from a potential P3D owner

[SOAR]

Hey everyone, I'm in the market for a new performance sedan to be picked up this summer. I've test driven pretty much everything in the segment - S3, S4, C43, XE-S, 340i, G70, ATS-V, P3D. After all that, the Tesla is in my top 3, primarily for its impressive performance. My current cars have no tech whatsoever, so all of these options are a significant advance in that regard. Anyway, I have several questions that I either forgot to ask about, or haven't been mentioned in the reviews I've read or watched. Day to day life stuff. Sorry if it's a bit long, but I really want to understand what I'm getting myself into here.

1. How much does the home charger weigh? This sounds like the most 'first world problem' type issue, but with the geometry of my garage/driveway, the car on the left pretty much has to back in to its spot, and the one on the right pulls in forward. Either way, this puts the driver's side of the car toward the center of the garage, away from whatever side wall a charger would be plugged in to. So I was thinking if I got the Tesla I might have it mounted on the ceiling to drop down in the middle. Is this feasible? There is no charge port on the passenger side, right? The front and back wall of the garage have shelving with nowhere to plug a charger into.

2. I've read you can program it to open/close your garage door based on GPS location. How reliable is this and what is the threshold? And how many doors can be programmed into it? My house has an electric gate and 2 separate garage doors. Is it also something I can open/close from the screen or once I set it, is it always automatic?

3. I've also seen that you can set it to unlock / lock with your phone every time to walk up to / away from the car. Is there a setting to disable this when it knows it's at home? The convenience of not having to pull out a phone/key/card to lock and unlock it while out and about is nice, but I don't want it to be locked any time it's in my garage.

4. I guess along the lines of #3, will it only be fully 'off' or able to go into sleep mode or whatever if it's locked? I don't want it to be just sitting burning electrons all the time, but like I said, when my car is in my garage I want it unlocked at all times.

5. From what I've read, it looks like I can expect about 1% / 3mi loss per day when not in use. I'm trying to figure out how this will factor in when I go on vacation. The airport is about 180 miles from my house. Assuming 220ish highway miles out of a full charge (that's about what I can expect, right?), I'd get to the airport with ~40 miles remaining. Sitting for 14 days losing 3 miles a day... well that means I come home to a completely dead battery. Adding extra time to go to a supercharger isn't particularly convenient. On the way there or on the way back, but there's no real way around it I guess.

6. Looking around the forum, it seems like my $111 / month insurance quote is about on par with what others are seeing, right?

7. Much fuss has been made about QC issues. Am I right to assume this is continually improving and new cars being delivered keep getting better fit / finish wise? I am 3 hours from a service center, so having to go get issues fixed is quite an imposition. I'm hoping that in another few months when I'm ready to order all those initial production issues will be a thing of the past.

8. Other than if you choose to use a supercharger, are there any monthly or yearly recurring fees that are required?

9. Talk to me about autopilot. All I see are options for 'Autopilot' and 'Full Self Driving.' But I see everyone talk about 'Enhanced Autopilot.' What's the difference? And what's the point? So many people talk about how cool it is. But whenever someone posts about it doing something stupid, they're slammed with 'you should still be paying attention! keep your hands on the wheel!' So... which is it? I kinda feel like any middle ground between 'you are driving the car' and 'the machine is driving' is pointless. So help me understand... how do you use it in your daily life? Do you engage it, keep holding the wheel, maintaining awareness, and let it turn the wheel in your hands as it follows the road? Or what? I'm thinking I shouldn't spend the money on this option but I want to understand it better before making that decision.

10. I've read they're talking about adding a leasing option for the Model 3. I had originally planned to buy whatever car I get, but after talking to all the other dealers of all the other options, it seems like almost everyone leases. Do you think this will be a good option?


Thanks for your insight. I know it was a fairly long post but like I said, I want to understand what I'm getting myself into.

 

[DanH]

What you’re getting into?
Think carefully of getting an EV, especially a Tesla. The chance that you’ll go back to a regular car is slim to none. I’ll let others respond to your questions as I’m on a phone.

Good luck with your future 3.

 

[kayleia]

Hey everyone, I'm in the market for a new performance sedan to be picked up this summer. I've test driven pretty much everything in the segment - S3, S4, C43, XE-S, 340i, G70, ATS-V, P3D. After all that, the Tesla is in my top 3, primarily for its impressive performance. My current cars have no tech whatsoever, so all of these options are a significant advance in that regard. Anyway, I have several questions that I either forgot to ask about, or haven't been mentioned in the reviews I've read or watched. Day to day life stuff. Sorry if it's a bit long, but I really want to understand what I'm getting myself into here.

1. How much does the home charger weigh? This sounds like the most 'first world problem' type issue, but with the geometry of my garage/driveway, the car on the left pretty much has to back in to its spot, and the one on the right pulls in forward. Either way, this puts the driver's side of the car toward the center of the garage, away from whatever side wall a charger would be plugged in to. So I was thinking if I got the Tesla I might have it mounted on the ceiling to drop down in the middle. Is this feasible? There is no charge port on the passenger side, right? The front and back wall of the garage have shelving with nowhere to plug a charger into.

The charge port is only on the driver's side. The charger isn't very heavy. The shipping weight (box / cables / insulation) was 29 pounds, and I got the extra long cable too, the actual charger itself is probably 10 pounds if that (but sorry, mine is already mounted and I can't weigh it).

2. I've read you can program it to open/close your garage door based on GPS location. How reliable is this and what is the threshold? And how many doors can be programmed into it? My house has an electric gate and 2 separate garage doors. Is it also something I can open/close from the screen or once I set it, is it always automatic?

Mine is very reliable on opening (I have it set to 50 feet, but it can be further out) but closing is not reliable, at least I can't trust it. You can have multiple doors programmed, though I don't know what the upper limit is. (I do recommend that you only set one of them to be auto-open.) You can open / close it from the screen manually too instead of using the automatic. When you pull up to your garage, it'll detect when you'er near and tell you it's going to automatically open in X feet and you can cancel it up until it activates.

3. I've also seen that you can set it to unlock / lock with your phone every time to walk up to / away from the car. Is there a setting to disable this when it knows it's at home? The convenience of not having to pull out a phone/key/card to lock and unlock it while out and about is nice, but I don't want it to be locked any time it's in my garage.

While you can disable auto walkaway lock, it's not location based, and I think you can only do it from the car, not the app. So, if you want it to autolock while you're out of the house but not when you're in the house and know the difference, I don't think it can handle it (yet).

4. I guess along the lines of #3, will it only be fully 'off' or able to go into sleep mode or whatever if it's locked? I don't want it to be just sitting burning electrons all the time, but like I said, when my car is in my garage I want it unlocked at all times.

I'll let someone else answer that because mine is always locked when I walk away.

5. From what I've read, it looks like I can expect about 1% / 3mi loss per day when not in use. I'm trying to figure out how this will factor in when I go on vacation. The airport is about 180 miles from my house. Assuming 220ish highway miles out of a full charge (that's about what I can expect, right?), I'd get to the airport with ~40 miles remaining. Sitting for 14 days losing 3 miles a day... well that means I come home to a completely dead battery. Adding extra time to go to a supercharger isn't particularly convenient. On the way there or on the way back, but there's no real way around it I guess.

Yes, prepare for 3mi loss a day when not in use ... and frequently a lot more than that. (Software bugs can prevent car from sleeping properly, too.) So if you're gone for awhile and can't be plugged in, make sure you're charged enough for it, or you'll have to find alternate means of transportation.

6. Looking around the forum, it seems like my $111 / month insurance quote is about on par with what others are seeing, right?

I pay about $1000 a year to insure this car with a clean record, so your insurance cost seems along the same lines.

7. Much fuss has been made about QC issues. Am I right to assume this is continually improving and new cars being delivered keep getting better fit / finish wise? I am 3 hours from a service center, so having to go get issues fixed is quite an imposition. I'm hoping that in another few months when I'm ready to order all those initial production issues will be a thing of the past.

My car (a P3D) was produced in summer of 2018, and I haven't seen any quality issues with it at all, no huge panel gaps, no misalignment, but I'm also not that picky. If it doesn't rattle, I'm happy.

8. Other than if you choose to use a supercharger, are there any monthly or yearly recurring fees that are required?

If you get the P3D, it comes with 20" summer performance tires. If you live in an area with snow or ice, prepare at least for an biannual tire swap.

9. Talk to me about autopilot. All I see are options for 'Autopilot' and 'Full Self Driving.' But I see everyone talk about 'Enhanced Autopilot.' What's the difference? And what's the point? So many people talk about how cool it is. But whenever someone posts about it doing something stupid, they're slammed with 'you should still be paying attention! keep your hands on the wheel!' So... which is it? I kinda feel like any middle ground between 'you are driving the car' and 'the machine is driving' is pointless. So help me understand... how do you use it in your daily life? Do you engage it, keep holding the wheel, maintaining awareness, and let it turn the wheel in your hands as it follows the road? Or what? I'm thinking I shouldn't spend the money on this option but I want to understand it better before making that decision.

Enhanced Autopilot is what I have, and it's no longer available. In the past, Tesla had all the features in Enhanced Autopilot, and FSD was vaporware for future features that were never released. Now, Tesla repackaged things so some features are in regular Autopilot and some are in FSD, so the FSD you get today is no longer vaporware but contains features as *well* as future features. Autopilot today comes with traffic aware cruise control and auto-steer (lane keep) and that's it. If you buy FSD, you also get navigate on autopilot (takes highway interchanges for you and does lane changes), autopark, and summon, and you'll get new stuff in the future.

I use Autopilot every single day, it's my favorite feature. I usually engage it, and I do take my hands off it but I'm definitely still paying attention and am ready to wrench the wheel at a second's notice, like if I think it's getting too close on a curve or it's about to go right over a pothole. I find Autopilot a lifesaver, and even if I still need to pay full attention, a 6 hour drive w/ autopilot on most of the time is so much more relaxing than a 6 hr drive w/o. So whether or not you think it's worth it depends on how much you drive freeways. (I use it on non-freeways too, but I have to pay even more attention then since it's not designed for it.) For me ... worth every penny and more.

10. I've read they're talking about adding a leasing option for the Model 3. I had originally planned to buy whatever car I get, but after talking to all the other dealers of all the other options, it seems like almost everyone leases. Do you think this will be a good option?

I wanted to own this car outright so I wouldn't lease it even if there was the option, but that's just me.

 

[mainecoon]

Just say YES.

 

[KG M3]

Hey everyone, I'm in the market for a new performance sedan to be picked up this summer. I've test driven pretty much everything in the segment - S3, S4, C43, XE-S, 340i, G70, ATS-V, P3D. After all that, the Tesla is in my top 3, primarily for its impressive performance. My current cars have no tech whatsoever, so all of these options are a significant advance in that regard. Anyway, I have several questions that I either forgot to ask about, or haven't been mentioned in the reviews I've read or watched. Day to day life stuff. Sorry if it's a bit long, but I really want to understand what I'm getting myself into here.

1. How much does the home charger weigh? This sounds like the most 'first world problem' type issue, but with the geometry of my garage/driveway, the car on the left pretty much has to back in to its spot, and the one on the right pulls in forward. Either way, this puts the driver's side of the car toward the center of the garage, away from whatever side wall a charger would be plugged in to. So I was thinking if I got the Tesla I might have it mounted on the ceiling to drop down in the middle. Is this feasible? There is no charge port on the passenger side, right? The front and back wall of the garage have shelving with nowhere to plug a charger into.

2. I've read you can program it to open/close your garage door based on GPS location. How reliable is this and what is the threshold? And how many doors can be programmed into it? My house has an electric gate and 2 separate garage doors. Is it also something I can open/close from the screen or once I set it, is it always automatic?

3. I've also seen that you can set it to unlock / lock with your phone every time to walk up to / away from the car. Is there a setting to disable this when it knows it's at home? The convenience of not having to pull out a phone/key/card to lock and unlock it while out and about is nice, but I don't want it to be locked any time it's in my garage.

4. I guess along the lines of #3, will it only be fully 'off' or able to go into sleep mode or whatever if it's locked? I don't want it to be just sitting burning electrons all the time, but like I said, when my car is in my garage I want it unlocked at all times.

5. From what I've read, it looks like I can expect about 1% / 3mi loss per day when not in use. I'm trying to figure out how this will factor in when I go on vacation. The airport is about 180 miles from my house. Assuming 220ish highway miles out of a full charge (that's about what I can expect, right?), I'd get to the airport with ~40 miles remaining. Sitting for 14 days losing 3 miles a day... well that means I come home to a completely dead battery. Adding extra time to go to a supercharger isn't particularly convenient. On the way there or on the way back, but there's no real way around it I guess.

6. Looking around the forum, it seems like my $111 / month insurance quote is about on par with what others are seeing, right?

7. Much fuss has been made about QC issues. Am I right to assume this is continually improving and new cars being delivered keep getting better fit / finish wise? I am 3 hours from a service center, so having to go get issues fixed is quite an imposition. I'm hoping that in another few months when I'm ready to order all those initial production issues will be a thing of the past.

8. Other than if you choose to use a supercharger, are there any monthly or yearly recurring fees that are required?

9. Talk to me about autopilot. All I see are options for 'Autopilot' and 'Full Self Driving.' But I see everyone talk about 'Enhanced Autopilot.' What's the difference? And what's the point? So many people talk about how cool it is. But whenever someone posts about it doing something stupid, they're slammed with 'you should still be paying attention! keep your hands on the wheel!' So... which is it? I kinda feel like any middle ground between 'you are driving the car' and 'the machine is driving' is pointless. So help me understand... how do you use it in your daily life? Do you engage it, keep holding the wheel, maintaining awareness, and let it turn the wheel in your hands as it follows the road? Or what? I'm thinking I shouldn't spend the money on this option but I want to understand it better before making that decision.

10. I've read they're talking about adding a leasing option for the Model 3. I had originally planned to buy whatever car I get, but after talking to all the other dealers of all the other options, it seems like almost everyone leases. Do you think this will be a good option?


Thanks for your insight. I know it was a fairly long post but like I said, I want to understand what I'm getting myself into.

1. I've got a two car garage. The charger is mounted on the right side wall near the back. Now I park the Tesla on the left with the charge port on the left side. The 24' charger cable reaches it easily. Not a direct answer to your question, but I find this preferable to suspending it overhead.

2. Multiple openers can be programmed (I think 3) and they are geofenced so that you could have your electric gate on one channel (set to auto-open upon approach if you desire) and one of the two garage doors could also be programmed to auto-open as you approach the door(if you desire). There is also a "skip" option as you approach each geo-fenced location. Works reasonably well for my garage door.

3. Auto lock upon leaving car is a global option with no geofencing (currently). This is (understandably) commonly requested and I only hope it becomes a feature in the future. No commitment from Tesla. That means you either remember to lock it each time you park away from home, or unlock it after walking away at home.

4. Vampire drain has been lower with recent releases.

5. My car has less than 1 mile/day drain. Others report higher.

6. Too many variables in driving record and location to to comment.

7. Just read the forums! Every Tesla ever built will either fall apart or go up in flames within 30 days of purchase. TX is tough right now with the dealers going all out to prevent Tesla competition (since it can eat their lunch). Mobile rangers can do many of the tasks you need. Get more details from other TX owners

8. Just the ones the state imposes on registration. You may also want to opt for premium connectivity on the LR model ($100/yr)

9. Older cars had enhanced autopilot which inclues Navigate on Autopilot and Summon (among others). Now those features have been moved to full self driving package. I strong recommend the basic autopilot (Traffic aware cruise control and autosteer within the current lane) as a huge stress reducer both in long trips and in stop and go traffic. What is called Full Self Driving is not promised as level 5 automony (despite the whiners on other threads) and has some features, but if it is worth the $5k is up to you.

10. We tend to keep cars for a long time, and I don't ever want to part with the Model 3. Leasing was not a good option for us, and if you plan to keep cars a while (as you seem to be doing now) purchasing makes more sense.

 

[Tam]

...
4. I guess along the lines of #3, will it only be fully 'off' or able to go into sleep mode or whatever if it's locked? I don't want it to be just sitting burning electrons all the time, but like I said, when my car is in my garage I want it unlocked at all times...

It will go to automatically go to sleep when it's undisturbed and it doesn't matter it's locked or unlocked.

It never goes to fully off because it still has to wake up and communicates to Tesla Headquarter from time to time, it still has to wake up and automatically heat or cool your battery to prevent damage, it has to be ready to unlock your car when you want at any time even when it's comatose...

If it is left undisturbed for a long time, it'll go into a deep sleep which takes longer for the display to wake up and longer to allow you to start driving.

 

[SOAR]

Thanks all for the detailed responses!

Mine is very reliable on opening (I have it set to 50 feet, but it can be further out) but closing is not reliable, at least I can't trust it. You can have multiple doors programmed, though I don't know what the upper limit is. (I do recommend that you only set one of them to be auto-open.) You can open / close it from the screen manually too instead of using the automatic.

If you get the P3D, it comes with 20" summer performance tires. If you live in an area with snow or ice, prepare at least for an biannual tire swap.

When you say closing isn't reliable, you just have to go into the screen and manually tell it to close if it doesn't do it automatically?
Texas desert here, it gets below 40 degrees like 3 or 4 weeks a year.

1. I've got a two car garage. The charger is mounted on the right side wall near the back. Now I park the Tesla on the left with the charge port on the left side. The 24' charger cable reaches it easily. Not a direct answer to your question, but I find this preferable to suspending it overhead.

2. Multiple openers can be programmed (I think 3) and they are geofenced so that you could have your electric gate on one channel (set to auto-open upon approach if you desire) and one of the two garage doors could also be programmed to auto-open as you approach the door(if you desire). There is also a "skip" option as you approach each geo-fenced location. Works reasonably well for my garage door.

7. Just read the forums! Every Tesla ever built will either fall apart or go up in flames within 30 days of purchase. TX is tough right now with the dealers going all out to prevent Tesla competition (since it can eat their lunch). Mobile rangers can do many of the tasks you need. Get more details from other TX owners

8. Just the ones the state imposes on registration. You may also want to opt for premium connectivity on the LR model ($100/yr)

Ok I didn't realize the cable was that long. If I can rout it in a way where it's not in the way to get tripped/driven over then that's fine. I don't usually close the electric gate every day, just when we're going to be gone overnight. Just wanted to be sure I'll have the ability to open/close it as necessary along with the other garage doors. I'll always use the same one so that's all that needs to be auto, but again need to have the option for others. And yeah, reading stuff on the internet is pretty bipolar - it's either 'holy crap look at all of these major issues, Telsa is garbage!' or 'mine has been perfect idk what you're talking about, Tesla is amazing!' with little room in between. It seems like they're getting better though, so I'm feeling like the longer I wait the better chance I'll have to get a good one. Dallas is the closest major city to me (3 hours away) and they have a couple service centers that as far as I know aren't in danger of being closed. But 3 hours is still a pretty long way. Will the mobile techs go that far?

It will go to automatically go to sleep when it's undisturbed and it doesn't matter it's locked or unlocked.

Cool, thanks.

For those of you that switched from other performance sedans like those I listed in my first post, how would you compare highway road noise? During my test drive I didn't get any highway driving. I plan to rectify that next time I'm near a showroom, but for now...

 

[kayleia]

Thanks all for the detailed responses!



When you say closing isn't reliable, you just have to go into the screen and manually tell it to close if it doesn't do it automatically?
Texas desert here, it gets below 40 degrees like 3 or 4 weeks a year.

I mean that the one time I tested it, I set it on auto-close and drove away, then around the neighborhood, then went back ... and my husband told me it didn't close. I don't know if it's a fluke or not, but if it didn't work one time, I'd always wonder did it close? did it not close? so to me, it's just easier to only have auto-open, not auto-close, and close it manually.

If you plan to drive the P3D hard (and why wouldn't you?) you definitely have to budget some tire wear cost, plus this thing is a pothole magnet and the low profile doesn't help. I've had my car for a few months only and already I had a bent rim.

 

[SOAR]

Ok gotcha. So some experimentation required.

And yeah I want the P3D for the.. performance. So I get the tire costs and stuff. I was thinking more about what KG M3 mentioned - the connectivity stuff that's a recurring charge. I remember the person on my test drive mentioning something being $99 a year but couldn't remember what it was. I think he said it was just for internet radio and stuff. So not required? Do maps and updates and things like that still work without it? I'll have all my music on a USB device so I don't need to pay for streaming.

 

[Tam]

...
When you say closing isn't reliable, you just have to go into the screen and manually tell it to close if it doesn't do it automatically?...

Before this Tesla feature, my manual Homelink was not that 100% reliable either. Sometimes, I had to click twice or thrice but because it's so reflexive so I falsely perceive that manual Homelink was 100% reliable.

I've had Tesla automatic garage opening and closing with my former 2012 Model S and currently with 2017 Model X and 2018 Model 3.

This feature has not been reliably 100% but quite close.

If it doesn't automatically close or open, I just reach to the display screen and manually click on the Homelink icon.

The maximum that Homelink allows to setup has been 3 for years. In this modern day, I don't see why the limitation.

I heard Homelink may not work with some community/neighborhood gates.

 

[kayleia]

Ok gotcha. So some experimentation required.

And yeah I want the P3D for the.. performance. So I get the tire costs and stuff. I was thinking more about what KG M3 mentioned - the connectivity stuff that's a recurring charge. I remember the person on my test drive mentioning something being $99 a year but couldn't remember what it was. I think he said it was just for internet radio and stuff. So not required? Do maps and updates and things like that still work without it? I'll have all my music on a USB device so I don't need to pay for streaming.

My sales rep told me $100 a year ... when they get it up and running. (But Tesla is sort of disorganized and changes their mind a lot, as you will notice. So who knows.) You'll still get maps and updates w/o it, you just won't get live traffic and the native music streaming.

I hope you end up going for the P3D, it is an amazing car, and I used to hate driving, now I try to drive it every chance I get. Every frustration I have with the company and minor issues (like the fact that I still don't have my spoiler) disappears when I get behind the wheels.

 

[SOAR]

The maximum that Homelink allows to setup has been 3 for years. In this modern day, I don't see why the limitation.

I heard Homelink may not work with some community/neighborhood gates.

3 is perfect for me. The gate is mine and currently functions off my standard 3 button garage door opener - the actual gizmos you stash in your car somewhere. My current cars don't have homelink. It just learns whatever signal it needs to send from your existing system right? Doesn't require any special opener made within the past XX years or anything?

My sales rep told me $100 a year ... when they get it up and running. (But Tesla is sort of disorganized and changes their mind a lot, as you will notice. So who knows.) You'll still get maps and updates w/o it, you just won't get live traffic and the native music streaming.

I hope you end up going for the P3D, it is an amazing car, and I used to hate driving, now I try to drive it every chance I get. Every frustration I have with the company and minor issues (like the fact that I still don't have my spoiler) disappears when I get behind the wheels.

Oh so it's not actually even a thing yet? Will it likely be something that you have to actively opt-in to? Or something you'll get billed for automatically unless you opt out?

The Tesla is definitely high on the list. I've test driven 9 cars (trying to find an M2 and RS3 as well but they're hard to come by) and so far the P3D, Audi S4, and Genesis G70 are my favorites. I like the looks of the others more, inside and out. But man does the instant response of the P3D make a compelling argument! I'm a car guy and the Tesla is definitely different. I don't think it's the answer for everything but as a fun efficient daily driver it's hard to overlook. I'll be holding on to my old cars too so I can still get my fix shifting gears or revving up a big V8. But the idea is that this will be a nice, modern vehicle to go about my day to day life and enjoy doing it.

 

[Tam]

...My current cars don't have homelink...

Tesla uses HomeLink brand system. It should work with most garages. If not, because it's too old, you could look up HomeLink webpage to get a signal adapter for it. In rare cases, if nothing works, you might just have to replace yours with a new garage door opener.

Tesla does require your remote control to set it up the first time. If you lost your remote, I guess you just have to buy a working replacement.

 

[jerry33]

Tesla uses HomeLink brand system. It should work with most garages. If not, because it's too old, you could look up HomeLink webpage to get a signal adapter for it. In rare cases, if nothing works, you might just have to replace yours with a new garage door opener.

Tesla does require your remote control to set it up the first time. If you lost your remote, I guess you just have to buy a working replacement.

They would have to be really old though. Over twenty years in most cases.

 

[drj3]

Dallas is the closest major city to me (3 hours away) and they have a couple service centers that as far as I know aren't in danger of being closed. But 3 hours is still a pretty long way. Will the mobile techs go that far?

I live 3 hours away from the nearest service center, and the nearest mobile service tech is based 2 hours away. I had a minor issue (TPM not set up right) when the car was delivered. I had to wait about a week for him to be in the area, but they came out to my house and fixed it. Best service experience ever. I'd rather wait a week and have the service come to me than sit around at the dealership 20 minutes away for service.

 

[kayleia]

3 is perfect for me. The gate is mine and currently functions off my standard 3 button garage door opener - the actual gizmos you stash in your car somewhere. My current cars don't have homelink. It just learns whatever signal it needs to send from your existing system right? Doesn't require any special opener made within the past XX years or anything?



Oh so it's not actually even a thing yet? Will it likely be something that you have to actively opt-in to? Or something you'll get billed for automatically unless you opt out?

They haven't set anything up yet as far as I know, because June of this year would mark the 1 year period of when the 1st group of people without lifetime premium connectivity would run out of their 1 year free period. (But they've been so busy changing this and that, that I won't be surprised if they keep pushing the date and keep letting us have it for free for longer.) But if/when they get around to it, I'm guessing it will not automatically charge you $100, it will give you an option to purchase it either on the touchscreen or on your Tesla account page.

 

[SOAR]

Awesome, thanks again for the quick and helpful responses.

Is there anything else you thought was weird, different, or annoying coming from a 'normal' car? Anything that took some getting used to? Anything you wish it did differently? I know the performance is great, I know most of the technology is pretty far ahead of other brands, and all the big highlights and selling points. As you can tell from this and most of my other questions, I'm looking more for the little day to day stuff that isn't talked about in most reviews where they have the car for a day or week or whatever. The stuff you learn after living with it daily for months.

And I guess on the other side of that, any seldom mentioned feature/thing it does that you find especially cool, helpful, or unique?

 

[woodguyatl]

I mean that the one time I tested it, I set it on auto-close and drove away, then around the neighborhood, then went back ... and my husband told me it didn't close. I don't know if it's a fluke or not, but if it didn't work one time, I'd always wonder did it close? did it not close? so to me, it's just easier to only have auto-open, not auto-close, and close it manually.

If you plan to drive the P3D hard (and why wouldn't you?) you definitely have to budget some tire wear cost, plus this thing is a pothole magnet and the low profile doesn't help. I've had my car for a few months only and already I had a bent rim.

I set my car to begin the closing process when have backed out of the garage about 20 feet. That way I get visual confirmation that it is closing. If the door open reliably, it should close reliably.

 

[jerry33]

Awesome, thanks again for the quick and helpful responses.

Is there anything else you thought was weird, different, or annoying coming from a 'normal' car? Anything that took some getting used to?

Not really. It takes you about fifteen minutes of city driving to get used to the almost one pedal driving. The shock will come after you drive it for a month and then go back to whatever else you were driving. You'll think that the other car is broken.

 

[SOAR]

I set my car to begin the closing process when have backed out of the garage about 20 feet. That way I get visual confirmation that it is closing. If the door open reliably, it should close reliably.

I just read a thread in another section where a user mentioned that their auto open worked fine, and auto close usually worked, but not if the car was put in reverse to make a minor correction in the garage. I back in to my garage space... does this mean it'll break the auto open/close logic?