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Tesla in-car navigation and efficency.

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I have been relying on my navigation in the M3 for most of my journeys (Unless i know my way around without a map)

Last week i was looking at my Google maps on my laptop (same on Android phone) and when you input your directions from A to B, the maps on the laptop gives you some selectable route options based on a few things:

1. Quickest
2. Alternative route to the quickest
3. Avoiding Tolls/Motorway/Ferries (These are tick box options)

The M3 (And other Tesla models) only gives you the one route option (plus 2 tickable options) - The Easiest. Its not (Sometimes) quicker, shorter or more efficient. Just Easier.

My M3 tells me to drive from Home to work the same way every time/work day. 50.5 miles on the map directions, door to door. Leave home to motorway, 3.5miles. Down the motorway, 30miles. Along a dual carriage way, 15miles. And into work 2 miles. Return is just that in reverse.

My typical journey (provided by the Tesla Maps navigation) uses 27-35% (Typical Warm and Cold weather usage) all at motorway/road speeds - also i keep to the Speed limits!!

This journey also takes me approx 1hr and 10min leaving between 5pm - 5.30pm (Work to home) (Not including any traffic jams etch on motorway/roads)

My Google maps on the other hand gives me 4 options (as listed above)

1. Quickest - 1hr 10min - Using directions similar to M3 but slightly different route but still using Motorways (50.5 miles)
2. Shortest - 1hr 14min - 45miles (I ticked "Avoid" motorways option)
3. Alternative shortest route - same time and distance - just different route
4. Normal route - 1hr 10mins - Dual carriage way and motorway (50.5 miles)

So i have been driving the shortest route (Option 2) this week and the difference is large. I can do the 45miles with only 20-25% of my battery. I drive slower as the roads are 50-60mph and i use less milage. Also getting home in the 1hr 14mins makes no different to the motorway route.

M3 navigation route - 50.5miles, 1hr 10min approx, 27-35% battery usage
Google maps route - 45miles, 1hr 14mins, 20-25% battery usage

I belive the 70mph on motorways hits the battery harder than the 50-60mph country lanes (luckily these roads are mainly in a stright line)

So to close this off - Tesla need to allow selectable options for different routes - shortest distance, most efficent (would be nice), time related.

I tried to use "waypoints" to plan this route but was a real pain to use and setup and didnt work in the end - ended up using my google maps to tell me the way (Once i know the route i will not use the maps)

Also - less stressfull and nice scenery along the way through the countryside


Pic 1 is my shortest route by using Google maps on my phone and use the option "Avoid Motorways" This gives me 3 options but i chose the shortest of the 3. (Had a journey week ago at 20% used for this route - thought i saw one at 19%)

1.JPG



Pic 2 below is the route Tesla provides me in the car. Slightly Quicker yes but the M1 as most UK people know is horrendous during rush hours. (27% used seems to be the lowest i got on this route, sticking to speed limits)

2.JPG


One more attached of going from work to home (Tesla Maps route) to match that of the alternative shorter route in previous message!

The journey time is longer due to rush hour traffic

3.JPG
 
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Do you not know where the school and your work is ? Or can't navigate to one and then navigate to the other ? All seems like unnecessary faff to me.
Strangely, yes, but if you don't set them as destinations then it's not going to route you around any bad traffic.

I find it more convenient to set the whole journey whilst you're waiting for people to get into the car, then it's done.
 
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I have been relying on my navigation in the M3 for most of my journeys (Unless i know my way around without a map)

Last week i was looking at my Google maps on my laptop (same on Android phone) and when you input your directions from A to B, the maps on the laptop gives you some selectable route options based on a few things:

1. Quickest
2. Alternative route to the quickest
3. Avoiding Tolls/Motorway/Ferries (These are tick box options)

The M3 (And other Tesla models) only gives you the one route option (plus 2 tickable options) - The Easiest. Its not (Sometimes) quicker, shorter or more efficient. Just Easier.

My M3 tells me to drive from Home to work the same way every time/work day. 50.5 miles on the map directions, door to door. Leave home to motorway, 3.5miles. Down the motorway, 30miles. Along a dual carriage way, 15miles. And into work 2 miles. Return is just that in reverse.

My typical journey (provided by the Tesla Maps navigation) uses 27-35% (Typical Warm and Cold weather usage) all at motorway/road speeds - also i keep to the Speed limits!!

This journey also takes me approx 1hr and 10min leaving between 5pm - 5.30pm (Work to home) (Not including any traffic jams etch on motorway/roads)

My Google maps on the other hand gives me 4 options (as listed above)

1. Quickest - 1hr 10min - Using directions similar to M3 but slightly different route but still using Motorways (50.5 miles)
2. Shortest - 1hr 14min - 45miles (I ticked "Avoid" motorways option)
3. Alternative shortest route - same time and distance - just different route
4. Normal route - 1hr 10mins - Dual carriage way and motorway (50.5 miles)

So i have been driving the shortest route (Option 2) this week and the difference is large. I can do the 45miles with only 20-25% of my battery. I drive slower as the roads are 50-60mph and i use less milage. Also getting home in the 1hr 14mins makes no different to the motorway route.

M3 navigation route - 50.5miles, 1hr 10min approx, 27-35% battery usage
Google maps route - 45miles, 1hr 14mins, 20-25% battery usage

I belive the 70mph on motorways hits the battery harder than the 50-60mph country lanes (luckily these roads are mainly in a stright line)

So to close this off - Tesla need to allow selectable options for different routes - shortest distance, most efficent (would be nice), time related.

I tried to use "waypoints" to plan this route but was a real pain to use and setup and didnt work in the end - ended up using my google maps to tell me the way (Once i know the route i will not use the maps)

Also - less stressfull and nice scenery along the way through the countryside

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View attachment 807987
View attachment 807986
I noticed this as well. Now a days I compare the routes and I share the route I picked on google maps with Tesla via the phone app. This way it picks the same route as google map suggested.
 
I noticed this as well. Now a days I compare the routes and I share the route I picked on google maps with Tesla via the phone app. This way it picks the same route as google map suggested.
Every time I've tried this it's only ever sent the address/destination to the car, not the route - and often it plans a completely different route based on what it thinks is the best way.
 
Every time I've tried this it's only ever sent the address/destination to the car, not the route - and often it plans a completely different route based on what it thinks is the best way.
That’s mostly because Tesla makes sure there is a super charger that it can get to if needed and google doesn’t care a damn 😜 . But for short trips and especially if I have more that enough charge I always had Tesla pick the same route as what I shared from google maps . May be I got lucky all the dozen times I have done
 
Every time I've tried this it's only ever sent the address/destination to the car, not the route - and often it plans a completely different route based on what it thinks is the best way.
That’s mostly because Tesla makes sure there is a super charger that it can get to if needed and google doesn’t care a damn 😜 . But for short trips and especially if I have more that enough charge I always had Tesla pick the same route as what I shared from google maps . May be I got lucky all the dozen times have done
 
Mercedes navigation has offered 4 options for at least 5 years, possibly longer. It also proposes alternatives along the route if there is a delay of 5 mins or more. Tesla's navigation isn't very special, like the cruise control. But then, in many ways the M3 is the budget priced long range performance EV.
Don't get me wrong, it is a great car and I'll be keeping it, but some aspects of its abilities have been overhyped and are not as great as many Tesla fans would like us all to believe.
 
AbetterRoutePlanner shows route alternatives for some trips and if you click through them it shows distance, time, and charging cost (if a stop is needed). The cost can be used as a measure of efficiency, otherwise you can use average consumption and distance. It's not really practical for quick, live planning like Waze but I find it helpful for advance journey planning and exploring options.

I've found it better than the Tesla Nav for estimating charge stop durations (although that was before I got a MCU upgrade, so I might benefit from more recent software updates now).
 
"Tesla needs to..." Tesla doesn't give a s*** about drivers. The only thing that Tesla carries about is $$$. So, suck it up and drive on Google maps. I basically know all the possible routes to my work, and I Tesla only helps me to see major traffic issues to select which way to go. In navigation customization Tesla just sucks, and it is unlikely to change anytime soon. It took them how many years to add bloody waypoints?
 
I think this is a question of User Experience, adding a choice of routes to the Tesla navigation would need some solution to allow people to choose, particularly if using voice control. It is certainly solvable but fiddly.

I wonder how many people use waypoints that were much requested, I know I have never had cause to use them.
Except Tesla has no compunction about forcing users to fiddle excessively with the screen for other tasks.

I agree with @davidmc - Apple Maps does something similar and gives you a few choices. I use the waypoints option on a regular basis. Another nice option would be the ability to chose your route. For example - when driving to our cabin, there's one route that's often slower but a much more enjoyable and scenic drive. If I want to drive that route I currently have to enter a town close to the route as a 'waypoint' then delete it as we get close to trick the car into taking the other route.
 
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Except Tesla has no compunction about forcing users to fiddle excessively with the screen for other tasks.

I agree with @davidmc - Apple Maps does something similar and gives you a few choices. I use the waypoints option on a regular basis. Another nice option would be the ability to chose your route. For example - when driving to our cabin, there's one route that's often slower but a much more enjoyable and scenic drive. If I want to drive that route I currently have to enter a town close to the route as a 'waypoint' then delete it as we get close to trick the car into taking the other route.
Yes, it would be nice if we could drag and manipulate the line of direction so we can change routes, avoid places etc
 
I use Waze even for short journeys (if Tesla SatNav was as good I'd use that). A once-in-a-while road accident that has blocked the road is an annoyance, and might be road works with lights that have been installed "today"
I am awaiting delivery of my new MY. In my ICE car I use Waze all the time. So, have I understood correctly; we can Bluetooth the phone to the car and the Waze mapping will show on the car's screen? Or am I asking too much and it is either sound only or phone view if in a suitable holder?
 
I am awaiting delivery of my new MY. In my ICE car I use Waze all the time. So, have I understood correctly; we can Bluetooth the phone to the car and the Waze mapping will show on the car's screen? Or am I asking too much and it is either sound only or phone view if in a suitable holder?
Bluetooth would just bring the sound, not screen, Tesla doesn't have CarPlay or Android Auto.

for short journeys in a busy location Waze is great, but if you were doing a longer journey where you will need to charge the Tesla navigation will be better as it understands your battery and charging locations. Personally I don't rate the Waze map for clarity, prefer the Google satellite view on Tesla, but Waze has better opinions to avoid traffic.
 
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Bluetooth would just bring the sound, not screen, Tesla doesn't have CarPlay or Android Auto.

for short journeys in a busy location Waze is great, but if you were doing a longer journey where you will need to charge the Tesla navigation will be better as it understands your battery and charging locations. Personally I don't rate the Waze map for clarity, prefer the Google satellite view on Tesla, but Waze has better opinions to avoid traffic.
Thank you for that. My latent anorak has come up with a possible solution for long trips: use Tesla to plan the route and SC stops then set those locations as waypoints in Waze.

Now then... let's set about introducing SWMBO to this new multi source navigation concept which will be an ideal match for her much vaunted multi tasking gifts.....and No! Why would we ditch the paper map?
 
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we can Bluetooth the phone to the car and the Waze mapping will show on the car's screen?

No built-in screen-mirroring, but I believe there are 3rd party solutions that mimic Apple Car Play

Personally I don't rate the Waze map for clarity, prefer the Google satellite view on Tesla, but Waze has better opinions to avoid traffic.

Me too. I have car SatNav on mute. Most of the time they match for route, but when they don't I fiddle, or if only a short distance of variation I just go with Waze. Can be a bit of a palaver though ...

... I've had Car route from M11 round M25 over the QEII bridge to get to "Kent" ... and Waze decide the bridge is chocker-block and quicker to go round the long way anti-clockwise. That's a LOT more miles / kWh !!

Set off for London the other day ... don't do that very often, blindly followed Waze voice instructions as I pulled out of the drive ... after a bit I went "Why the heck are we going THIS way" ... subsequently discovered that the route I would normal take was closed for 4 hours for an accident ... would have been a nightmare. Good Job Waze :)

use Tesla to plan the route and SC stops then set those locations as waypoints in Waze.

Yes, I do that on long trips. I have all the SC I've been to in Favourites - set using the actual exact location when I was parked in a stall ... some of them are a bit hidden away, for example in France there is one that I visited which is on the exit slip back to the Autoroute. Absolutely no way back from that point ... so blind-faith required. First time I went there I didn't believe the location, parked up, and walked-the-course ... Tesla SatNav SC placement is normally spot-on (but sometimes not when first rolled out), but I know that any that I have in my Waze Favourites **I** put there and I can rely on them (or if not then on my head be it ...)

There may be other options - route in e.g. ABetterRoutePlanner and then "transfer" that to Tesla. Dunno if those sorts of tricks are also available to "transfer to Waze" also ...
 
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No built-in screen-mirroring, but I believe there are 3rd party solutions that mimic Apple Car Play



Me too. I have car SatNav on mute. Most of the time they match for route, but when they don't I fiddle, or if only a short distance of variation I just go with Waze. Can be a bit of a palaver though ...
Excellent. Thank you for that.

I find it interesting that whilst some owners are concerned about the additional power consumption due to longer traffic avoiding Waze routes, these concerns rarely bother us in our fuel-expensive ICE cars. Is it just charge range anxiety or do we become a bit anoraky about shaving costs to prove the cars' benefits and maybe justify the initial costs - particularly in the case of S and X models;)?
 
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