I agree that stalkless raises the bar for people new to electric.
On the flip side, Tesla has put a wiper button on the steering wheel. That is a fantastic change. No one should have to take their eyes off the road to activate windshield wipers.
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Reuters: "Tesla readies revamped Model 3 with project 'Highland' -sources" [projected 3rd quarter 2023]
- Thread starter 3sr+buyer
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On the flip side, Tesla has put a wiper button on the steering wheel. That is a fantastic change. No one should have to take their eyes off the road to activate windshield wipers.
The new steering wheel allows you to add controls to the wheel, right? Like it has little pictograms and touch-zones for easy things?
How much difference did the fog lamps make in foggy conditions?
Seems that most drivers use the fog lamps as "hey, my car looks cool with fog lamps on" rather than turning them on only in foggy conditions. It becomes annoying to other drivers when they turn on the rear fog lamps in non-foggy conditions.
I can't lie, the few times I ever remembered to use my fogs when I was "supposed to", I never noticed a change.
smogne41
Active Member
Stalkless has absolutely nothing to do with being new to electric. It just makes Tesla's less desirable (to some). Or completely unacceptable (to me).
I believe that EVERYTHING about the refresh saves Tesla money in production.
We have heard it from Elon time and time again that "The best part is no part".
A stalk is a part
A fog light is a part
A split tail light is 4 parts ( now only 2 ).
There is a lot less that can fail on the highland.
We have heard it from Elon time and time again that "The best part is no part".
A stalk is a part
A fog light is a part
A split tail light is 4 parts ( now only 2 ).
There is a lot less that can fail on the highland.
smogne41
Active Member
Right, but he is cutting hard into things that many people actually want to have and expect to have as basic things on a car. Highland also adds many parts of far less utility (rear screen, LED ambient lighting, etc) than when is being taken away, so I don't fully buy the cost-cutting argument really. The stalks are gone because Elon does not like them. No other reason.
By my count, using a 2018 Model 3 with Basic Autopilot as a basis, there are 9 functions performed by the turn signal stalk. What's the user interface for performing these 9 functions on a Model 3 Highland?
Turn signal functions:
A. Brief pre-detent flashes turn signal 3 times (when they weren't already flashing).
B. Prolonged pre-detent flashes until released (when they weren't already flashing).
C. Full detent flashes until steering wheel turns the other way or
D. Pre-detent stops the flashing started by C.
Headlight functions:
1. Pulling from low-beam position flashes high beams and brings up the small light control panel on the touchscreen for a short time.
2. Pulling from high-beam position changes to low-beam.
3. Pushing from low-beam position changes to high-beam.
Wiper functions:
a. Brief button press runs wipers once and brings up the small wiper control panel on the touchscreen for a short time.
b. Held button press runs windshield washer and wipers for a few cycles and brings up the small wiper control panel on the touchscreen for a short time.
There may be other functions performed if you have EAP or FSD (e.g. lane changes), and I'd be curious what the Highland user interface is for those functions, too.
Turn signal functions:
A. Brief pre-detent flashes turn signal 3 times (when they weren't already flashing).
B. Prolonged pre-detent flashes until released (when they weren't already flashing).
C. Full detent flashes until steering wheel turns the other way or
D. Pre-detent stops the flashing started by C.
Headlight functions:
1. Pulling from low-beam position flashes high beams and brings up the small light control panel on the touchscreen for a short time.
2. Pulling from high-beam position changes to low-beam.
3. Pushing from low-beam position changes to high-beam.
Wiper functions:
a. Brief button press runs wipers once and brings up the small wiper control panel on the touchscreen for a short time.
b. Held button press runs windshield washer and wipers for a few cycles and brings up the small wiper control panel on the touchscreen for a short time.
There may be other functions performed if you have EAP or FSD (e.g. lane changes), and I'd be curious what the Highland user interface is for those functions, too.
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However, putting the brake lamps and turn signals on the trunk lid requires auxiliary brake lamps and turn signals to be activated if the trunk is open. This adds parts that were not needed on the previous Model 3.
The simplest would have been to move all of the rear lighting to the fixed body panel outside of the trunk lid, eliminating the part on the trunk lid and not adding auxiliary lighting.
I'm not following you.
Activate the brake and turn lamps when the trunk is open? Why?
The only detriment to the highland design is that you can't put an overly large object in the trunk and ride with it open. No one can see the brake or turn signal.
TXDZD
Member
In some countries (US included) it is mandatory to have repeater lights when the tail lights are not visible if the hatch or trunk lid is open. So a secondary version of the lights (tail, brake, turn signal) are there as they must always be visible.
I just checked. I can't see my repeater lights from behind the car. Especially the one on the right side.
My repeater lights don't come on when braking.
He said repeater lights but means the tail lights.
Cars have tail lights visible with the trunk open for safety reasons. If you are stuck on the side of the road at night with your trunk open changing a tire you will understand.
How is that going to work on the Highland?
All of the rear lights on the Highland are on the trunk lid.
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ucmndd
Well-Known Member
I’m gonna respectfully disagree on this one. Calling any Tesla accent lighting a “fog light” is a big joke. They are 99% accent lights to make things pretty. That’s it.
pdx_m3s
Active Member
There’s an additional set of brake lights and flashers in the rear bumper.
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
Although it's not clear they are mounted high enough for legal requirements, there are now lights on the rear bumper where there used to only be reflectors.
Apparently, the extra lighting that is activated when the trunk is open is in the bumper, where the pre-Highland Model 3 just had reflectors.
Other cars with brake lamps on the trunk or hatch lid also have provision for visible brake lamps when the trunk or hatch is open.
In the above examples, the Lucid Air has brake lamps inside the trunk that are exposed when the trunk lid (where the usual brake lamps are mounted) is open. The 2017-2021 Chevrolet Bolt uses the brake lamps on the hatch, but has an additional set in the bumper that are used if the hatch is open (some Audi SUVs have a similar design).
Some cars are regulation compliant in this respect, but with somewhat questionable designs with false brake lamps on the hatch lid that may deceive following drivers (only the bumper brake lamps are used, even when the hatch lid is closed). Example below (and the 2022-2023 Chevrolet Bolt has a similar design).
TXDZD
Member
Here's a pic of the new Model 3 Highland with the tail light or brake lights on and trunk closed. Notice the reflectors on the bottom are just reflectors.
Now here's a pic with the trunk open. The lights are now "repeated" below.
If you look closely at both the main lighting units (on the trunk lid) and on the repeaters below, you will see both brake lights and turn signals are on.
Now here's a pic with the trunk open. The lights are now "repeated" below.
If you look closely at both the main lighting units (on the trunk lid) and on the repeaters below, you will see both brake lights and turn signals are on.
