Safety issue with tail lights

[pdxrunr]

Does anyone else find it odd that at night, with the headlights on, you can put the car in park, get out of the car, but not fully close the door and the headlights will remain on but the tail lights go completely off? Not the break lights, but the normal tail lights that are on while driving. This is a big safety concern at night. I don’t recall any other car doing this.

 

[dhrivnak]

I do not see why this is a safety issue at all. I think the only reason the headlights are on is because the are on a timer for like 45 seconds to give you time to get inside.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

Ya, if you're parked, then all the lights should and will eventually turn off.

If you're parked in a situation where your car is a hazard to other vehicles, like stopped on the shoulder, side of the road, or in a moving traffic lane, then use the hazard warning flashers.

 

[ChrisH]

I think my headlights actually even turn off when I exit the vehicle (auto setting). I was only able to see what the tail lights look like by manually turning them on the screen with the door open after I exited the car.

 

[boiler81]

Agree it's a safety issue. A couple nights ago, I stop my car to on my neighborhood private street to inspect what was obscuring my headlights. Turned out the previous light snow on the car had stuck on the headlights and was obstructing them.

When I checked the taillights, I was surprise and disappointed to see them off, even though the headlights and touchscreen remained active/awake.
In my opinion this is a safety hazard, and no other car I know of shuts off the taillight, when the headlights are on.
Sure, I can turn on the flashers, but I still want the taillights on with the headlights. Sure I can turn on the headlights/taillights manually, but why should I need to do that on a highly automated luxury car.

Hopefully this can get fixed in a software update, and the headlights/taillights ON timer can be user set, rather than fixed.

 

[Roentgen]

I dunno. I think it's kind of a non issue myself.

If it's dark enough that you worry someone can't see you, they'll certainly be able to see that your headlights are on and illuminating something (and the 3 headlights are bright!). Not sure that your taillights would make a significant difference in that situation. And I would agree that anytime you stop your car in the middle or side of the road at night, where you'd be concerned about another driver seeing you, it seems it would be prudent to turn on your hazards anyway.

 

[Big Earl]

If you're parking on the side of the road and need to be visible, you should turn on the parking lights after you've gotten out of the car (or lifted your butt off the seat). If you're stopped on the shoulder of a highway or busy street, you should have your parking lights and flashers on.

The "headlighs on after exit" setting does just that ... leaves the headlights on after you exit. Most cars also leave the tail lights on when this setting is active, but not all. It's meant to be a convenience feature so that you can make your way from your car to your home, not a safety feature. That said, I would prefer the tail lights to be on with the headlights after exit function.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

@pdxrunr @boiler81

What software version are you on? I have not noticed this behavior on my two 3's.

 

[drj3]

There are also red reflectors on the back that oncoming traffic should see even if all the lights are off.

 

[JeffK]

It's not a safety issue at all. As other have mentioned the lights only stay on to illuminate the area. The feature is literally called "Headlights on after exit"

If you wish for all the lights to stay on then in the menu hit Lights -> and change them from "Auto" to "Parking".

If you don't turn your parking lights on in a situation where you need them to be on, then I'd argue you are causing the safety issue. Otherwise, the car thinks you're just parking and going inside the house. It's trying to save energy.

 

[boiler81]

It's trying to save energy.

Yeah, everyone knows those LED taillights draw a lot of power

 

[boiler81]

The "headlighs on after exit" setting does just that ... leaves the headlights on after you exit.

I'm not aware of any other car that has headlights on without taillights under any circumstances...please educated me as to why not having taillights on should be considered normal operation.

 

[JeffK]

Yeah, everyone knows those LED taillights draw a lot of power

LED Headlights too but none the less you're greeted with:

I'm not aware of any other car that has headlights on without taillights under any circumstances...please educated me as to why not having taillights on should be considered normal operation.

You are mixing up normal parking lights with "headlights on after exit" which is just the headlights... since it's in the name.

In an average car when you turn off the car and exit all the lights will turn off. Now, if the car had a special feature allowing you to turn just the headlights on after exiting the car and you had that feature enabled, then I'd expect just the headlights to stay on after I exit the car.
https://www.tesla.com/content/dam/tesla/Ownership/Own/Model 3 Owners Manual.pdf#page=50

That said... you could probably petition Tesla to keep the tail lights on as well.

 

[Big Earl]

I'm not aware of any other car that has headlights on without taillights under any circumstances...please educated me as to why not having taillights on should be considered normal operation.

It's normal because that's how they designed it to work, as opposed to abnormal, which would be the system operating in an unintended manner. The headlights and taillights operate together when parking lights are all lights are turned on, or when the light sensor determines that it's dark and the lights are in automatic mode.

As for other vehicles, our family has had Chryslers in the past that only ran the headlights after exit.

Sorry, that's all I have. As I said, I'd prefer for all lights to run after exit. I don't think it's abnormal and I don't think it's a safety issue.

 

[boiler81]

As for other vehicles, our family has had Chryslers in the past that only ran the headlights after exit.

I guess I'm just spoiled by luxury sedans like the Mercedes C-class which keeps the headlights, tail lights, and interior lights on for the exit delay, then dims the LED Interior and headlights to off.

Don't get me started on how the Model 3 is a "black hole" at night. Even if you remotely unlock it, all you get is the DRL's, no tail lights, no interior lights, no door handle illumination, and no puddle lights.
I guess that's why my smart phone has a flashlight.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Model 3... just tired of making excuses why it's not as feature rich as older, less costly luxury cars.