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Regenerative braking on icy roads
- Thread starter Hahne
- Start date
Yup. I worry about Tesla's built with LG chem batteries. Poor quality assurance is the culprit. Now a minor defect in a small number of battery cells is a multi billion dollar problem.
Keith
Schulz1983
Model Y LR AWD: Matte PPF, Vossen HF-1
Hopefully it is something the model Y will not be affected by. Maybe that is why Tesla is so cautious with the software.
The most interesting part of this to me is how Tesla had people try to spread a bunch of battery fire FUD a few years back, and the response was a logical break down of how many battery fires there were compared to fires in ICE cars, along with some mitigation attempts by NERFing the battery packs on high mileage Model S's and also NERFing the battery packs on Model S's that had done a boat load of Supercharging.
If Chevy had said "yeah, a lot less Bolts burn up than Gasoline powered cars" they would be throwing their gasoline powered models under the bus... so they can't do that. The other option would be what they are doing as an interim measure. I am currently only supposed to use around 60% of my Bolts battery pack, never charging more than 90% and not letting it go under 30%. If they changed that to 20% and 90% (keeping it to less lose of range than covered by the warranty) and hard coded it via a mandatory software update on cars after they reach a certain mileage, or a certain number of kWh charged via DC fast charging they would be handling the situation the same way Tesla did. The problem is, they can't do it via over the air updates against the car owners will like Tesla can, and many people ignore recall notices and / or would actively choose to not have their battery pack NERFed. As MY owners we don't have a choice, the NERFing is automatic and built in... it isn't even triggered by a software update, it just automatically happens after you hit the Supercharging threshold. I think I will cross post this to the Bolt forum I frequent and see what reactions it garners.
Keith
jf64k
Member
I've personally driven in an ice storm on the stock 20" Goodyear's. In addition to them being horrible in all ways, the regen braking was harrowing to say the least. It takes a lot of getting used to. It also makes your right leg extremely fatigued in my experience. It was absolutely no fun. Tesla needs a proper "snow mode" whereas the regen braking is turned down or off. I can't see that as any bit difficult for them to do. I can't understand why they won't.
I absolutely agree that the driver should have this option. Predictability is very important on snow and ice. If regen is on sometimes and off or reduced at other times, this does not make handling predictable.
Here, here. While I LOVE regenerative braking, there are times when it can be a dangerous liability. Last winter, there was an unexpected snowfall as I was driving on a highway. A two wheel drive BMW 100 ft in ahead of me in the left lane started to brake, and when I let up on the accelerator to slow down, my Y started to slide. I expected the four wheel drive Y to have better traction, but it slid. I steered the car as it slid and managed to go between the BMW and the guard rail, avoiding an accident.
Tesla engineers ought to use some of the characteristics of the car (like the two motors, the ability to adjust the torque between motors, the mechanical brakes) to create an super safe “snow mode”.
Johnny Vector
Member
Wait, you steered the car successfully while sliding? Ye canna change th' laws o' physics, captain. Unless you have someone out in front with a curling broom, you can't really do that. If you were steering, I'm quite sure that means your ABS system was working as designed. It takes longer to stop, but you maintain steering control. If you're actually sliding, there's no lateral force to change the car's direction.
Also, it's "Hear, hear".
I did! It was pretty awesome. I was heading toward the guard rail but when I stopped, I was between the BMW and the guard rail.
I can confirm, this car is dangerous until they do something about the regen on slippery roads. I started sliding in the middle of a turn, the car went over to the opposite lane. Just pure luck no other car came in the other direction. Using Conti VC7 winter tires on Gemini wheels.
I have reached out to Canada auto defects and Tesla. I almost died with this issue. I am scared to drive the Y now.
AWD helps you go in the snow. It doesn't help you stop.
Okay now I understand the issue better. I thikn the point is that regen braking makes the car worse than a normal car because it is only braking with the rear wheels, yes?
boulder.dude
Member
Schulz1983
Model Y LR AWD: Matte PPF, Vossen HF-1
True regen does brake with the rear wheels, however your input on the accelerator determines the amount of regen. If your careful and use the accelerator as a brake (meaning don’t fully disengage the accelerator) then it brakes fine. I’ve found if needed I have my right foot on the accelerator and use my left foot to engage the brake. While this will disengage the drive motors while both are pressed it allows the time needed for the front brakes to kick in without being on full regen. Tesla should add a snow mode but driving in snow is manageable. The stock Goodyear’s were the worst. If anyone is driving those in snow trying to stop, I feel bad for them.
Does this disable regen entirely while both pedals are pressed? I played around with this one day a few months ago but I can't remember if regen kicked on or not.
Ok, just went for a short drive. When you press both pedals at the same time, any power is cut but regen remains unaffected. So, you could use that to apply the brakes without regen in case you need to slow down and are worried about the rear end cutting loose. Just keep the right foot at the zero power point (or apply slight power) and then use the brake pedal with the left foot.
I have had more than one close call with this issue. It is literally criminal that there is no way to disable regenerative (read: uncontrollable) braking when conditions demand it. Hopefully it won't take a class action lawsuit for Tesla to move this to problem to the front burner.
When you let off the accelerator in slippery conditions and the immediate braking initiates a slide/hydroplane all you can do is pray.
When you let off the accelerator in slippery conditions and the immediate braking initiates a slide/hydroplane all you can do is pray.
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