Why did Tesla eliminate the low setting for regenerative braking in the new models? Standard regen braking in the 2021 Models 3 is very aggressive. I understand you have to get used to it and you'll like it and all that. NOT the point! If, like most families, there are two cars, one of which is an ICE SUV, the person who more routinely drives the Tesla will be in trouble when he's driving the kids to soccer in the SUV, expecting the thing to slow down sharply when someone stops suddenly in front of him and he releases the gas pedal. I'm guessing he will lose a full second of braking while he figures out he's not in the Tesla anymore. Meanwhile, he plows into the back of that SUV full of kids in front of him. What am I not seeing? Is this not a safety issue? I was about to pull the trigger and plunk down my order money when I realized they had eliminated the low setting. Deal breaker. Is there some harm in leaving the "low" software setting in the system? After all, you don't have to use it.
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Regenerative Braking - Safety issue
- Thread starter tlm4200
- Start date
tstolze
Member
Simple solution if you're this concerned, use the brakes in the Tesla.
Creating two threads on the same topic isn't gonna help your cause.
I never touched my setting in 2 years and I do drive in the snow. Making a big deal about nothing and we have an ICE too.
The car can "suddenly" lose regen any time. Drive into super charger with full regen, charge to 100% and you will leave with NO regen (not just low, but NONE). You'll adjust to it just fine. If you can't then don't buy one.
It's muscle memory. When the car doesn't slow enough you put your foot on the brake.
Not so simple. You don't have the option of using the brakes alone in the Tesla, unless you're saying you can turn off regenerative braking altogether.
If you routinely drive the Tesla rather than the ICE SUV, you get used to braking by simply releasing the "gas" pedal. When you have to drive the ICE SUV, releasing the "gas" won't brake the SUV like releasing the "gas" does in the Tesla
If you routinely drive the Tesla rather than the ICE SUV, you get used to braking by simply releasing the "gas" pedal. When you have to drive the ICE SUV, releasing the "gas" won't brake the SUV like releasing the "gas" does in the Tesla
Your response addresses only when you are driving the Tesla, not what happens when you drive the SUV after routinely driving the Tesla.
Apologize for the two threads. new to this and not aware that posts went across the forum.
Sorry your just being a troll. I just told you, you can lose regen suddenly within the same CAR. Charging to 100%, which folks occasionally do, will lose 100% regen. You better be prepared for it. Do you hear folks bitching about that? No, because it's not a big deal.
You have to be prepared to use the brakes ANY TIME !!! You might have limited regen because of cold. The car might detect slippery conditions and back it off, you might charge to 100%. You might have to suddenly slow down faster than regen does.
And it would be dumb to set it low all the time to be compatible with an ICE. The car is dramatically different in so many other ways.
For decades one car of ours was automatic and the other a stick. Did we crash and burn when we swapped cars, no. You have a brain and it will adjust.
To be honest, the hardest thing to adjust for me these days is for my other car not doing AutoPilot. I'm all over the road on the highway.
Oh and adjusting to most controls being on the screen is probably a bigger "adjustment" between cars than the difference in how fast the car slows down. That was an issue for my wife.
It is NOT a safety issue.
Not so interested in getting in a pissing match with you about whether I'm a troll. You are still focusing on how the Tesla drives, not what happens when you change to the SUV after routinely driving the Tesla . I guess it's hard for me to understand why I shouldn't be able to control how I want to use the Tesla so I can avoid the problem I'm talking about. You may be a young buck with great reflexes; I am older and my reflexes not as good. I don't really see why they can't leave the "low" feature in and keep "standard" as a default that, as someone here suggested, automatically adjusts. It would be like leaving the "L" setting available in an ICE transmission, even though D will downshift the car when necessary
...UGH...
Obviously you need to initiate a class action lawsuit against all other automobile manufacturers to copy Tesla's braking. It's a safety issue for old people that don't understand that different vehicles are actually different!
Obviously you need to initiate a class action lawsuit against all other automobile manufacturers to copy Tesla's braking. It's a safety issue for old people that don't understand that different vehicles are actually different!
I have a problem in my ferrari that when I hit the gas pedal it is faster than my Tesla and very dangerous.
/
Mark, Thank you for your response. Yes vehicles are different, and I understand that. But your response doesn't really address the problem. You only assert that it's not a problem for you. Fine. I understand that. But Tesla could have left the low feature in so that Luddites like me could be more comfortable, could they not? Maybe they only want to sell to young bucks who like crotch rockets.
I note that there is this critical difference in the Tesla from ICE cars that means more than, say, having to deal with a new and different mirror set-up, or radio controls, in a rental car. If you screw it up when you drive the wife's SUV, the stakes are just a wee bit higher. Can you explain to me why Tesla felt they had to take it out?
...UGH...
Obviously you need to initiate a class action lawsuit against all other automobile manufacturers to copy Tesla's braking. It's a safety issue for old people that don't understand that different vehicles are actually different!
Mark, Thank you for your response. Yes vehicles are different, and I understand that. But your response doesn't really address the problem. You only assert that it's not a problem for you. Fine. I understand that. But Tesla could have left the low feature in so that Luddites like me could be more comfortable, could they not? Maybe they only want to sell to young bucks who like crotch rockets.
I note that there is this critical difference in the Tesla from ICE cars that means more than, say, having to deal with a new and different mirror set-up, or radio controls, in a rental car. If you screw it up when you drive the wife's SUV, the stakes are just a wee bit higher. Can you explain to me why Tesla felt they had to take it out?
Ha ha. It's becoming apparent to me that this forum is of limited use, being really only a place where folks can be snarky instead of helpful.
maximus96
Member
stop it, you are making sense and not adding to this argument.
Ask Tesla. I don't work for Tesla and don't know.
Literally every Tesla owner is experiencing their car behave differently in winter ("regen power reduced"). This happens every year so you need to adapt.
I used engine braking in my old gasser all the time so Tesla's regen braking was natural for me. I've only used standard mode and have never even tried the low mode, but I figure it's similar to when my car gives me the regen power reduced warning.
Literally every Tesla owner is experiencing their car behave differently in winter ("regen power reduced"). This happens every year so you need to adapt.
I used engine braking in my old gasser all the time so Tesla's regen braking was natural for me. I've only used standard mode and have never even tried the low mode, but I figure it's similar to when my car gives me the regen power reduced warning.
![angus[Y]oung](/tmc/data/avatars/l/141/141264.jpg?1620160343){kind=avatar}
angus[Y]oung
Active Member
@tlm4200 what the sales guy told me was that people not in the "standard" regen setting (the most aggressive) were complaining that they were not getting good enough range (vs. advertised range) and so Tesla decided to force standard mode with no way to reduce ("low" setting that was available before) or disable (I believe there was an "off" setting in 2020 models?) regen.
While I think regen and one-pedal driving is worth trying and getting used to, I do also disagree with the option being removed.
LevelHeaded
Member
It should be the case that when your vehicle is not slowing down at the rate it needs to be, you apply the brake. This is true whether you expected it to slow down faster due to an incline, being in a heavier car, or not having regen. It’s simply how cars work. Want to slow down faster than with no feet applied to either pedal? Apply pressure to brake pedal.
Regen or not, if the person in front makes an abrupt stop and your first instinct is not to immediately shift your right foot over the brake pedal, then you have no business driving any car on a public road!
Having learned to drive in the NE on a vehicle with a manual transmission when driving on snow covered roads I would depress the clutch pedal and pump the brakes (no ABS) to safely slow the vehicle. When driving on snow and ice you need to drive slowly, well under the posted speed limit and leave extra distance between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead. If you have to use the brakes even if the vehicle slides hopefully you left enough distance in front of your vehicle to stop safely
The biggest challenge in a vehicle such as a Tesla with regenerative braking is when descending a hill. If you need to brake to reduce your speed you must remove your foot from the accelerator pedal. Then the drive wheels (front, rear or both) may lock up due to the braking effect of the regenerative braking. Once the wheels lock up you lose the ability to control the direction of the vehicles as the wheels will slide.
The way the Tesla Model Y currently behaves under these conditions is that the rear end may start to fishtail due to regenerative braking (even if reduced due to the no longer available Low regenerative braking setting or due to the battery being cold.) Then the Tesla's Stability Control activates to stop the fishtailing. On a narrow residential street vehicle control may not be restored until it is too late and the Tesla slides into a parked vehicle or off the road. What would work better in this situation is a Snow Mode where regenerative braking was reduced to minimum or disabled entirely. Then you could safely apply the brakes and let the ABS activate as needed to slow the vehicle.
The biggest challenge in a vehicle such as a Tesla with regenerative braking is when descending a hill. If you need to brake to reduce your speed you must remove your foot from the accelerator pedal. Then the drive wheels (front, rear or both) may lock up due to the braking effect of the regenerative braking. Once the wheels lock up you lose the ability to control the direction of the vehicles as the wheels will slide.
The way the Tesla Model Y currently behaves under these conditions is that the rear end may start to fishtail due to regenerative braking (even if reduced due to the no longer available Low regenerative braking setting or due to the battery being cold.) Then the Tesla's Stability Control activates to stop the fishtailing. On a narrow residential street vehicle control may not be restored until it is too late and the Tesla slides into a parked vehicle or off the road. What would work better in this situation is a Snow Mode where regenerative braking was reduced to minimum or disabled entirely. Then you could safely apply the brakes and let the ABS activate as needed to slow the vehicle.
When you drive with a very cold battery, you don't have regen braking (or very little), so you have to use the brakes until the battery warms up. We have an ICE car too, and have no problem going back and forth. My wife and I adapted very easily.
Laguna M3
Member
What if one of your cars has automatic transmission and the other is manual? Don't you adjust how you drive each car? Sorry, your complaint is just ridiculous. Also, stop tailgating.
