Summon proofing the garage

[P85Dave]

Our garage is super narrow and I can barely get out on one side when I park the car. I've always wanted to use summon as our garage is a great example of a use-case for summon but I've never used summon after seeing a few videos where summon sometimes abrupt cuts the steering and hits something or comes very close to hitting something.

My concern is summon might hit something before I have time to react but then I have been thinking that maybe I can "summon proof" my garage. Could I apply a some type of rubber padding on the wall right around the garage so that even if the car makes contact, there would not be any damage because the rubber would just squish and offer resistance.

Is there a type of rubber padding that I can buy but with high ultra sonic reflection properties so that the car's sensors will have the best chance of detecting the wall? I have the AP1 ultrasonic sensors.

 

[viper2ko]

Our garage is super narrow and I can barely get out on one side when I park the car. I've always wanted to use summon as our garage is a great example of a use-case for summon but I've never used summon after seeing a few videos where summon sometimes abrupt cuts the steering and hits something or comes very close to hitting something.

My concern is summon might hit something before I have time to react but then I have been thinking that maybe I can "summon proof" my garage. Could I apply a some type of rubber padding on the wall right around the garage so that even if the car makes contact, there would not be any damage because the rubber would just squish and offer resistance.

Is there a type of rubber padding that I can buy but with high ultra sonic reflection properties so that the car's sensors will have the best chance of detecting the wall? I have the AP1 ultrasonic sensors.

I have a 2 car garage with 2 separate doors. Summon always sucks trying to get in. It often stops at the rise in floor level. Ive found the best way is to reverse the car in. It usually goes straight for me and doesnt hit the side of the doors. Pulling in straight the the car always tries to turn into the door.

 

[AWDtsla]

There's no material you could use that would stop the car before doing thousands of dollars of damage.

You know summon is just a sales gimmick, right? Well maybe not...

 

[P85Dave]

I just don;t undertand

There's no material you could use that would stop the car before doing thousands of dollars of damage.

You know summon is just a sales gimmick, right? Well maybe not...

When my I've tried summon, I can make the car stop stop with very little force so I figures if I add some type of rubber padding all around the walls of the garage it would be an extra layer of security in case summon decides to steer into a wall...

Does anyone know if rubber padding will register with the ultrasonic sensors?

Some of the summon videos I've seen where the car would mistakenly steer into something is pretty unnerving as the ultrasonics clearly sometime don't detect objects that are there so this is why I've yet to try summon in my garage where I could really use.

Are the ultrasonic sensors in !P 2 or 2.5 any better with summon on the newer AP cars?

 

[Joe F]

Summon moves at glacial speeds. Watching the car with your finger on the fob can stop it instantly if you see it doing anything wonky. I use it all the time, and have only had it do something weird a few times so it's not perfect, at least in my case. I also have a very narrow garage. IMHO, there's no way you can hit anything if you watch it while it moves. Make sure your fob battery it not getting old, and always have them on hand long before you need to change it. Far from being a gimmick, and beats trying to manually park offset to one side just to open a door...

This also assumes your sensors are clean and working properly, and there's no object (read junk) in the garage to cause odd reflections, like the one time I had a metal snow shovel hanging on the front wall.

 

[P85Dave]

My issue is that with the garage being so narrow and the tolerances being so low, it is tough to keep an eye everywhere and know that I can react quickly.

I can still do my best but as a last resort of additional safety, I figured there has to be a way to add rubber padding all around the garage so that even if the car makes contact, the rubber will at least offer some level of protection.

I would have thought someone by now would have started selling "Tesla Summon Protection Kits" for garages

I just don't want to pick a material that will make the ultrasonic sensors detection even worse hence this thread to try and find a soft and rubbery material to line the garage with high ultrasonic reflective properties.

So no one has any idea for something that will fit the bill?

 

[Joe F]

My issue is that with the garage being so narrow and the tolerances being so low, it is tough to keep an eye everywhere and know that I can react quickly.

Really only need to watch one side, more importantly the front wheels. If they turn sharply, you know it's going to hit the side wall and can stop it instantly via the fob. As long as the spacing from the side you're watching is good, the other side is as well.

I would not put anything on the walls thinking it is going to save your car from damage. Being alert and stopping it from being damaged in the first place is what will save your car from being damaged.

Try using summon in the driveway and practice how hitting the fob stops the car a few times. You could have someone step in from the side towards the front bumper as the car is moving via summon and see the car will turn away from them, and hit the fob to stop it instantly. That would kind of simulate what you fear will happen within the garage, and should convince you that you are in control and can stop motion before anything bad can happen.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope it works out well for you.

 

[GWord]

Our garage is super narrow and I can barely get out on one side when I park the car. I've always wanted to use summon as our garage is a great example of a use-case for summon but I've never used summon after seeing a few videos where summon sometimes abrupt cuts the steering and hits something or comes very close to hitting something.

My concern is summon might hit something before I have time to react but then I have been thinking that maybe I can "summon proof" my garage. Could I apply a some type of rubber padding on the wall right around the garage so that even if the car makes contact, there would not be any damage because the rubber would just squish and offer resistance.

Is there a type of rubber padding that I can buy but with high ultra sonic reflection properties so that the car's sensors will have the best chance of detecting the wall? I have the AP1 ultrasonic sensors.

I suspect the only way to really mitigate against damage is to have some sort of channel that the tires ride in, al-la a moving car wash. I agree with AWDtsla that contact with the side of the garage is probably going to do damage, even with padding. Even some thin boards like 1x2s, solidly fixed to the ground, could probably provide enough resistance to keep the car from going somewhere you don't want it to. The 1" lip on my garage defeats summon, typically.

 

[P85Dave]

I suspect the only way to really mitigate against damage is to have some sort of channel that the tires ride in, al-la a moving car wash. I agree with AWDtsla that contact with the side of the garage is probably going to do damage, even with padding. Even some thin boards like 1x2s, solidly fixed to the ground, could probably provide enough resistance to keep the car from going somewhere you don't want it to. The 1" lip on my garage defeats summon, typically.

Thanks! I think this is really the best solution. I should look into installing a summon channel tire track on the garage floor that is the entire length of the garage so that the car can;t leave the tire track. I just need to then drive in and line up the car with the tire track...

Anyone know where I can find one?

 

[GWord]

Trip hazard would be my biggest concern. Maybe some sort of hard rubber 1x2 that you just glue down? You could get some wood 1x2s from Home Depot to experiment with. Put them in a parking lot at a slight angle or something and see if they force Summon into a particular direction.

 

[CaliMS]

I used to live drive into NYC, but since I still liked my car - I bought "Bumper guards" - The ones I got are thick 2" foam about 12" high and 6-7 feet long (enough to go around the bumper from wheel to wheel. I have two of them (something like this: Front and Rear Bumper Protectors Provide Maximum Car Bumper Protection When Parking. )

I have put them along the garage wall to avoid door dings with kids, they could be lowered to prevent car/wall dings??

 

[jlewisthe3rd]

I use sound proofing foam on the entire wall of my garage...just so it doesnt look odd to have just 1 or 2 pieces but its thick and soft so if it does graze it it wont damage the paint. Also here is a good video on using the "Autopark Summon" to do a good job of parking in the garage. I am not a fan of holding onto the fob so I saw this and have been using it like a charm ever since to allow my car to park in the garage without fear.

 

[P100DHG.]

I use sound proofing foam on the entire wall of my garage...just so it doesnt look odd to have just 1 or 2 pieces but its thick and soft so if it does graze it it wont damage the paint. Also here is a good video on using the "Autopark Summon" to do a good job of parking in the garage. I am not a fan of holding onto the fob so I saw this and have been using it like a charm ever since to allow my car to park in the garage without fear.

Am I mistaken or is this the same thing? The video is showing just one more way to access summon. I believe the guy the in video is just making up his own terminology. I have never heard of “summon autopark”. Correct me if I’m wrong please.

 

[jlewisthe3rd]

Am I mistaken or is this the same thing? The video is showing just one more way to access summon. I believe the guy the in video is just making up his own terminology. I have never heard of “summon autopark”. Correct me if I’m wrong please.

He very well could be making his own terms up, but thats fine...this is another way to access summon for sure and more practical than from the fob IMO. Looking at the menu I can see how he used that term:

Here is another video using the same name though:

 

[P85Dave]

I'm still looking for some tracks I can lay down on the garage floor for the cars tires to travel on a bit like a rail road. I'd prefer some type of a heavy foam or rubber material. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. Manually pulling int to our tiny garage is such a pain.

I figured this would be the best way to avoid damage and keep the car on track...

 

[David.85D]

I would take the opposite approach - think about how you could get the strongest, cleanest, reflection to help the ultrasonic sensors lock on. And high contrast marking to help more recent cars that may start using cameras.

Two inches of foam could be absorbing 90+% of the ultrasound signal. That can’t be good.

1 layer of carpet, about half.

Wood panel, drywall, glass window , etc., all less than 10% absorbed.

Maybe Heavy Duty aluminum foil or aluminum flashing? Most metals reflect well.

 

[P85Dave]

Is there an ultrasonic reflecting paint I can use?

 

[David.85D]

Not aware of anything for use in air. There’s a product called sonocoat used in medical imaging. It is a polymer filled with air bubbles. That gives good contrast compared to all the water, but would be pretty useless for this. Metallic paint (with real metal, not metal colored crapite) would probably be the best.

Where’s myth busters? We need them to test this out!

 

[P85Dave]

I guess there is always aluminum foil but that's going to scratch the paint...

 

[David.85D]

My idea would be to help the car see obstacles, rather than protect it from touching unseen obstacles. Hanging foam or carpet on the walls will definitely make the car work harder to identify obstacles.