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strider
Active Member
The pano roof has worked in both of the Betas I have sat in (Factory tour and at Menlo a few months ago). Only the door handles have been disabled.
spatterso911
P100DL - Raven
Agreed. My hope is that the display cars have all features enabled so that they can be properly demonstrated.
The problem as described to me at Fashion Island is that if the key is in/near the car (which would cause the door handles to pop out), and the driver's seat belt is done up, the car starts! Just too much chance of bad things happening.
I'm not easily convinced that their software engineers couldn't set up a demo mode with complete granular control of exactly what would / would not be possible to do at any given time. If the door handles are disabled, it's because they don't want people to use the door handles, not because they can't enable them.
spatterso911
P100DL - Raven
I kinda figured that, given that they can be pushed in order to extend them, then the door can be opened. I figured that for some reason, they did not want to have the public using them...Why? is anyone's guess.
I haven't read the latest on the Santana Row thread, but related to this is that two of the four Model S (the two newest ones, #43 and #44 I believe) did have the door handles enabled. One of the store reps referred to it as a "stress test" for the door handles - no kidding, if they last a whole weekend of people yanking on them, they should be good to go...
And they worked suprisingly well, once you got the hang of it. A push and out it comes, fairly swiftly. Then all you have to do is put your fingers in there - you don't actually have to touch the handle - and the door unlatches. Then you pull to open.
But it takes a few minutes to get used to it. To stifle the instinct to just pull on it is hard, and if you do pull it, it tends not to work... The feeling of a simple touch to open the door goes against your instincts, but it's kind of nice once you get the hang of it.
My rational adult self is going "fine, whatever" about the door handles, while my inner geek is kind of excited. :smile:
And they worked suprisingly well, once you got the hang of it. A push and out it comes, fairly swiftly. Then all you have to do is put your fingers in there - you don't actually have to touch the handle - and the door unlatches. Then you pull to open.
But it takes a few minutes to get used to it. To stifle the instinct to just pull on it is hard, and if you do pull it, it tends not to work... The feeling of a simple touch to open the door goes against your instincts, but it's kind of nice once you get the hang of it.
My rational adult self is going "fine, whatever" about the door handles, while my inner geek is kind of excited. :smile:
Bound466
Member
Whoo-hoo, me too :biggrin:
Sounds like they will work really well - very cool.
I can't wait to get mine :love:
engle
Member
Sig Red Beta Door Handle in operation (opening when touched and door already unlocked -- no key fob), Final steering wheel, New touchscreen software in operation (much faster):
http://youtu.be/9PSygTIPqho?hd=1
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
Saw it working well in person today. Very slick when it opens the door once you put your hand in there. One of the Tesla reps (who works at the Santana Row store apparently) standing by the white beta somehow managed to get the tip of her glove (not her finger) get caught in the handle as it closed though!
smorgasbord
Active Member
I believe those were Aston Martin door handles. I still prefer those to the pop out Tesla handles. Seems simpler approach for same wind resistance gain. They were mechanical - no delay or electronics involved.
Probably much too late in the process, but I agree. Aston Martin is not a shabby benchmark either...
I have to say after using the door handles last weekend at Santana Row, I'm very impressed with how the design has evolved. The handle felt very solid in the hand and had a good ergonomic feel to it. Instead of a contact switch, it seems to be using an IR optical sensor on the inside of the handle (on the body side). The mechanism works as soon as you put your fingers in the handle so that by the time you pull on it, the door has already unlatched. The operation seemed robust and reliable (based on the three times I tried it. Good job!
I almost agree, except I brought my five-year old along who provided a different level of impatient stress testing. When he tried them by simply yanking on the handle the door would get stuck. Apparently it takes the calmness of an adult to first put your fingers in there, let the door unlock, then pull. (Yes, we're talking fractions of a second, but in real life it made a difference.) It didn't do well with a simple grab-and-tug.
This makes me wonder if the door handles have a mechanical fall-back function, as in if both the battery pack and the 12V auxiliary would fail?
EDIT: Watching my own video from him trying to open the door, I'm actually wondering if his fingers were just to small to be detected by the handle? (Which is also a bug, but of a different sort...)
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This slight delay was added by Tesla's Zen master to ensure that the driver is in an appropriately peaceful frame of mind before driving.
And this was added by the product safety team to prevent underage driving.
:wink:
Jokes aside, I'm a bit worried that if his fingers are not detected, it could cause the handle to retract and get his fingers caught. This actually almost happened at one point when the handle retracted, but I can't be sure if he had them in there or was just about to put them in. Anyway, definitely something for TM to look into before RC time...
The site still mentions buckling in. Let's see if they update that going forward:
...waiting for a simple tap to present itself.
Was there a change? I thought the handles were supposed to pop out automatically as you approached.
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