Tesla Model 3 in Australia

[AussieOwner]

If you press the steering wheel in and ask the car to search it defaults to Spotify. I want to default to Tidal or something else . Is this possible?

 

[TesBanjo]

Perhaps I was being a bit generous earlier. My Model 3 SR+ (Fremont, blue with black interior) is at almost 106k by now. Here's a few experiences with it:

Twice now I've had to replace the solid felt undertray liners, the ones that shield and insulate the battery pack. The rear undertray was $273 last November after it broke hitting a deep puddle at 60km/h. Took all of one minute for Zac at Beard to swap them out. The car hoist took longer than that just to raise and lower the car! The front and rear undertrays in a few weeks will be $500ish after a small existing roadkill at 110km/h last weekend.

When the undertray breaks, you may get a very noticeable rattle when driving into a mild headwind at 100km/h or above. Just get it replaced.

And when either undertray breaks you'll have a scrape, possibly an intermittent scrape, where a section of the undertray drags along the road. Just give the loose piece a good rip, and it'll be fine until your local service centre has a replacement part.

I'm replacing the wiper blades in a few weeks at the same time as the undertrays. Will be another $40 each. I could probably get away with sharpening them again, but I'm keen to see if new blades will do better. I'm tired of the smear when I use the wipers. And 16 months / 106k is a good life for wiper blades anyway.

The lip under the car's nose, where it transitions to the front undertray, is scratched to buggery. But it's plastic, so it won't degrade. And it's very hard for anyone to see. I'll consider sanding and painting it someday soon. I have some canary yellow car spray paint somewhere. Pretend it's for safety. It might contrast well with the Tesla Blue. Though if it looks too weird I'll pretend it was an undercoat, and cover it in black. I can't find Tesla Blue touch-up paint anywhere, and this needs more than touch up paint anyway. More like plasti-dip.

My preference for wearing jeans means the annoying metal press stubs around the pockets can contact the bottom centre of the steering wheel repeatedly. Around 95k I got a nick in the steering wheel's pleather, right at the bottom, in a really noticeable spot while turning. Some googling, two medical alcohol wipes (around and inside the nick), a needle, and some ordinary superglue from the head of the needle underneath and around the nick, and firm pressure from the centre of the needle up and down the area til it dries, and then some very fine sandpaper to bring it back down to flush, and you'll forget it ever happened.

Try not to squash bugs on your sun visor or other upholstery. I tried a few times to get rid of the black smudge on the visor. Not going away, I don't think.

The pretend carbon fibre contact plastic I bought for the piano black centre console fingerprint magnet, is showing signs of wear on the edges (cup holder edge and around the storage bin edge). Not enough to be concerned about, but I'll consider buying one or two spare sets someday. I suspect they'll be hard to come by, as they're no longer in the current model. Though contact plastic and a lot of patience will probably suffice.

I haven't had frunk or trunk liners, and I have no regrets. I wouldn't want to lose the storage space anyway.

Vacuuming under the front seat gets way easier when you remember you can move the seats quite some way forward. Doubly so for the driver's seat with a separate on-screen driver profile.

I had a glancing sideswipe blow from a wayward fawn last night. Didn't even scratch the paint. (Pity about its leg. It really needed to be put down. WIRES called me back and said they didn't care as it's not native animal. The police station took down the GPS coordinates and said they'd come and have a look for it, but they ended the call a bit too abruptly to think they meant it.)

No issues with glass, panels, window or door controls etc. The cameras are constantly blinded but usually only when they're looking at a cliff face on Macquarie Pass at night. The frunk sometimes won't open on the first go, but that's largely because the sleeping bag and blanket inside can press upwards, not because it's worn out. One time the frunk kept popping open while driving (!!!) but that's because the J1772 adapter was rattling around too close to the frunk's emergency release button.

Steering, handling, acceleration, braking, cornering etc is just as powerful as on day one.

You can use screen cleaning wipes with impunity if you stick on a screen protector first.

The pleather upholstery is doing really well with occasional wipe downs with Aldi baby wipes. Just use the dark blue packets, not the light blue, as the latter will leave cloth fibres over everything.

Any questions?

Thanks for this, amazing. Try these, much better and easier to adhere than the carbon fibre vinyl and the black looks stock (matte). I like that they're plastic shells too, not a sticker, so better durability, but don't put alcohol on them or they'll tarnish (ask me how I know).

 

[PC__LoadLetter]

Thanks for this, amazing. Try these, much better and easier to adhere than the carbon fibre vinyl and the black looks stock (matte). I like that they're plastic shells too, not a sticker, so better durability, but don't put alcohol on them or they'll tarnish (ask me how I know).

Thanks, but I bought the fake timber ones that Tesla Tom was shilling sometime last year. A tad pricey, but they match the dash timber, complementing each other really well.

Center Console

Made from real wood, the Hills Center Console Cover Gen. 1 is designed to accentuate the minimalist Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y interior. Shop Now.

hillsmade.com

 

[MOWDEL3]

I picked up my M3 SR on friday and was installing aftermarket performance pedals when I got home. I noticed the accelerator pedal did not have a rubber cover. Is this normal? No biggie since I’ve already put the new ones on

 

[Candleflame]

I picked up my M3 SR on friday and was installing aftermarket performance pedals when I got home. I noticed the accelerator pedal did not have a rubber cover. Is this normal? No biggie since I’ve already put the new ones on

yes this is normal

 

[tyrotex]

I picked up my M3 SR on friday and was installing aftermarket performance pedals when I got home. I noticed the accelerator pedal did not have a rubber cover. Is this normal? No biggie since I’ve already put the new ones on

My accelerator pedal is ridged (and rigid) plastic (not rubber) fixed to the pedal arm.

 

[Candleflame]

My accelerator pedal is ridged (and rigid) plastic (not rubber) fixed to the pedal arm.

picture?

 

[Erasmuz]

If you get a 15A extension make sure that it is at least 2.5 square mm cables! Most domestic cables are 1.5 mm!

Where do you find 15A extension cables with 2.5mm cores? There are a two at Bunnings that specifically state they are 2.5mm thick but they are 40m and 50m long. I'm thinking 10m would be plenty given the UMC is already 6m long.

 

[Candleflame]

Where do you find 15A extension cables with 2.5mm cores? There are a two at Bunnings that specifically state they are 2.5mm thick but they are 40m and 50m long. I'm thinking 10m would be plenty given the UMC is already 6m long.

standard is 1.6mm for 15A which should be enough for 10m extension chord too. I.e. european Schuko 16a (Standard eu plug) is 0.75mm on usual cable lenghts of a meter or so but with 10m extension chords they use 1.5mm.

Australia 10A 10m extension chords are usually 1mm and while that easily supports up to 20A for short bursts with an EV you drain very high currents all the time so id definetly go a bit thicker. I reckon 1.6mm or 2mm will do completely fine for 10m. For 20m+ id go much thicker just to prevent voltage loss.

If I draw 14-16A with a 10m 10A extension chord (1mm) I lose around 20V so thats almost 300 watts of heat being wasted....

 

[Erasmuz]

So something like this would be A-OK?:

HPM 15A 3 Core 1.5mm² Extra Heavy Duty Caravan Extension Lead 10m

https://www.bunnings.com.au/hpm-15a-3-core-1-5mm-extra-heavy-duty-caravan-extension-lead-10m_p4430367

I might also consider the 15m, though I'd like to see how bulky they are in person first.

 

[RichardV]

Where do you find 15A extension cables with 2.5mm cores? There are a two at Bunnings that specifically state they are 2.5mm thick but they are 40m and 50m long. I'm thinking 10m would be plenty given the UMC is already 6m long.

Generally speaking a store that sells to tradies or other specialist electrical applications, take for example this welding supplier

10 Metre Minesafe 240V 15A Braided Welding Extension Lead With 3X2.5Mm^2 Conductors

Tradesman / Contractor Mine Spec Minesafe braided extension lead in a 20 metre length This robust extension cable can handle 10 amps capacity as it has 2 5mm^2 copper conductors and is terminated with IP66 15 amp plug and socket Don t settle for other brand look a likes that only have 1 5mm^2...

weldingstore.tokentools.com.au

 

[WoodWombat]

Where do you find 15A extension cables with 2.5mm cores? There are a two at Bunnings that specifically state they are 2.5mm thick but they are 40m and 50m long. I'm thinking 10m would be plenty given the UMC is already 6m long.

I got mine (20m long) from EEC and actually bought a 15A extension cable and a 10-15A caravan adapter made by Amphibian. This means that I can confidently use it anywhere and for any purpose and never worry about voltage drop. They use high quality cable with industrial insulation and protection, as well as genuine Clipsal plugs and sockets.

I have been thinking about getting a 3 phase Red CEE 5 pin to Red CEE 5 pin with 6mm cable made up to use as a universal extension for my charging setup which uses Red CEE plugs and sockets as adapters for the various tails. I have never needed an extension though when charging on 3 phase so the money has not been justifiable.

 

[Vostok]

Where do you find 15A extension cables with 2.5mm cores? There are a two at Bunnings that specifically state they are 2.5mm thick but they are 40m and 50m long. I'm thinking 10m would be plenty given the UMC is already 6m long.

I purchased this one - 10A, 10m, 1.5mm core. It’s very solid, certainly bulkier that your usual extension lead, in a very reassuring way. I’ve used it a number of times on trips for overnight charging with the UMC and no warmth from the cable or plugs whatsoever. Which is what you need.

https://www.bunnings.com.au/hpm-10m-1-5mm-10a-3-core-extra-heavy-duty-tradesman-extension-lead_p4420227

I’ve not yet encountered a situation where 10m has not been long enough.

 

[Candleflame]

I purchased this one - 10A, 10m, 1.5mm core. It’s very solid, certainly bulkier that your usual extension lead, in a very reassuring way. I’ve used it a number of times on trips for overnight charging with the UMC and no warmth from the cable or plugs whatsoever. Which is what you need.

https://www.bunnings.com.au/hpm-10m-1-5mm-10a-3-core-extra-heavy-duty-tradesman-extension-lead_p4420227

I’ve not yet encountered a situation where 10m has not been long enough.

i actually welded one of these last weekend camping together together with the 10A plug going to the umc.
The wire conenctors on the extension lead were black - couldnt look at the actual contacts coz fused together with the 10A plug (wires going into that one looked fine - transparent plug) going to my 3 phase adapter on the umc.... Was drawing 13 amps. Reason for extension lead was that I have a heavy duty 10A plug which I couldnt put into the 15A outlet as it was too bulky. It was actually charging fine though ironically when doing a touch test (to ensure nothing getting too hot) the plug felt kinda warm which is unusual as when its too sunny the whole cable feels a bit warm and usually only when drawing 15 or 16A.

I checked the extension lead and UMC beforehand to make sure that they make proper contact/no arcing etc.

 

[jyavenard]

Where do you find 15A extension cables with 2.5mm cores? There are a two at Bunnings that specifically state they are 2.5mm thick but they are 40m and 50m long. I'm thinking 10m would be plenty given the UMC is already 6m long.

The difference between 1.5mm2 and 2.5mm2 over 10m is 5.2V vs 2.86V drop.
A 36W loss difference ; over one hour charge you would have lost 36Wh, assuming 24c/kWh that’s 0.9c per hour: basically bugger all.

Heavy duty doesn’t describe the wiring; it describes the insulation around it. It’s basically thicker and more resistant to tearing.

For EV charging; that may not be the best thing: thicker insulation causes the cable to derate quicker as it will heat more.

 

[WoodWombat]

Heavy duty doesn’t describe the wiring; it describes the insulation around it. It’s basically thicker and more resistant to tearing.

True, although it also will limit damage when you run the cable over.

Another thing to consider is where the resistance in the cable is concentrated. Poor terminals or termination of the wire leads to the cable melting into a heap as shown by @Candleflame above!

 

[MThreeLR]

Does anyone know anyone who has tried a cheap alternative mobile charger from AliExpress such as https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003651941213.html

 

[crainger]

Having had my car for a few days, I decided to check what was in the bag in the boot. It's a mobile charger. I thought these weren't included anymore. Happy it's there. About to head to my parents' place for a long weekend, and this is perfect.

Ordered in December last year, so maybe I made the cut-off, but the sales guy did tell me it wasn't included.

 

[Candleflame]

Does anyone know anyone who has tried a cheap alternative mobile charger from AliExpress such as https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003651941213.html

those are usually quite good but you need to be able to wire your own plug. Id chop the 16A schuko off and then use a high quality 10A plug so you can charge on 10A and 15A outlets. Unless they are happy to wire an australian plug - the only issue is that in that case they may skim on the wires and user thinner ones for the 10A plug which you obviously dont want.

 

[gm12]

So something like this would be A-OK?:

HPM 15A 3 Core 1.5mm² Extra Heavy Duty Caravan Extension Lead 10m

https://www.bunnings.com.au/hpm-15a-3-core-1-5mm-extra-heavy-duty-caravan-extension-lead-10m_p4430367

I might also consider the 15m, though I'd like to see how bulky they are in person first.

Yes. Although you'll find 10m is more than enough.