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Tesla removes regenerative braking strength option
- Thread starter DS8819
- Start date
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
Maybe done to increase EPA range ratings. That seems to be a hot button for shoppers of EVs.
With it defaulted to aggressive it was never an issue with EPA ratings. Getting rid of low did nothing to affect ratings.
My guess is low was primarily their for ice and snow conditions not so much user preference and they automated the adjustment based on conditions (which it can detect). My guess is a lot of users didn't put it on low when they should have.
Sales told me they removed it a "month or so ago". Makes no sense to me. Suppose I always want to use it to even out the transition back and forth to the way an ICE vehicle works. At the same time I find out that there's no "low", I also find out that regenerative braking doesn't get you much charging anyway. I'm supposed to worry about a couple extra miles of range when I'm faced with a potentially more serious issue.
I think it's been gone for a while. 99% of owners love one pedal driving.
Simple solution, don't buy it. There will be way more things for you to hyper focus on so I suggest you stick with old school boring ICE.
Nicho, Thank you for your response. I'm in the mid-south so winter driving would not be my concern. I also don't care about the charging impact of regen. I would plan to drive between 20% and 80% as recommended. And again, I'm sure I will get used to whatever Tesla dishes out to me. It's when I switch to my wife's ICE SUV that I would like to be able to even out, between the ICE and Tesla, the way the car responds when my foot comes off the accelerator. Maybe I will be able to make the adjustment between the two later on, as others have said on this forum. But no one has been able to explain why the low feature can no longer be present on the Tesla. They've attacked me for being a troll or for being not bright enough to understand that vehicles are different. I'm simply hoping that someone at Tesla can explain this situation so that I am reassured without merely asserting that 99% of Tesla owners like it this way.
Anyone else out there care to chime in with something helpful?
I go back and forth between vehicles and it’s not an issue for me. 90% of my driving is with a TM3 with regen on high. When I get back into my wife’s truck (with low compression so hardly any engine braking), sometimes I do not start the braking early enough if the person in front of me slows down as I’m expecting the TM3 slow down quicker. Heck, my high compression motorcycles engine-brake at about the same rate as the Tesla at high revs so it’s the same thing. It takes just a few miles and is nothing to worry about. Definitely not a safety issue. If the person panic stops in front of you...no matter what car you are in, Tesla or not, instinct will take over as you sh!t your pants and jam on the brakes in exactly the same reaction time in both.
I think your over thinking. Really, don’t sweat it.
I think your over thinking. Really, don’t sweat it.
Nobody knows exactly why they removed it. There are many threads on it. It appears to be related to a hardware change. Only cars made after a certain date had the option removed.
Like I said one major reason for the low option was ice conditions. Especially on RWD Tesla's. I believe they have new hardware/sensor to better sense conditions of when to automatically back it off. So rather than add Low, Standard and Auto. They removed it and basically put it in Auto.
Also when they had Low and Standard early on, they didn't have Auto Hold (they had Creep or Roll). That was a bigger thing to get used than Standard vs Low Regen. Now with Hold I think most people like that better than Creep or Roll. Basically they made it the best of both. Likewise I think they feel they made improvements in Regen that would be the best of Low and Standard. So they removed it.
That's my guess.
Also they could be working on other things that will make everyone happy. You have decide if you trust Tesla or not. They know people drive mixed. They don't want to cause accidents. Are they perfect, no. Are they more forward thinking than any other car company, yes.
Get over it. It's NOT hard to adjust to. Even for an old fart.
One more thing. While you may not get much sympathy on this forum, muscle memory is a thing. Some manufacturers actually build the regen into the pedal (the first few centimeters is regen until you press enough and then the friction brakes assist). I think this more to ease to EV transition than anything else. I agree with you, it’s just software and Tesla should have left it in there. They have all our data and they know exactly how many of us were using it and for how many miles driven. My guess it was a pretty low utilized feature and as said above, they got points, credits, or something for removing the feature so they did. Fear not though, you won’t miss it. I don’t concur with you it’s a safety issue.
Right, when I first got my Model 3 Performance. I drove it for like 4 weeks straight. When I went back to my old ICE SUV one day, the biggest shock wasn't the rolling. It was handling. Like how the hell can I safely drive this thing on the highway. It felt so bad, I dumped the ICE SUV and bought a Model X.
Thank you, jmaddr. Your two responses have been helpful and reassuring. My hope was always that there would be someone like you to respond. I was beginning to get discouraged that the inhabitants of the forum represented most Tesla owners and that maybe I should be worried that Tesla owners are so fanatical about their decision to buy that they either can't or are unwilling to focus on a potential problem when it's presented, and instead are happy just to be snarky and solicit laughs. Again, Thank you.. from a newbie. You are a gentleman and a scholar. ;-)
I dont know when they started removing it, but its still there on my 2018 Model 3 Performance. I dont know why they removed it, but you could always look into a used tesla if you are ok with used vehicles.
I dont drive in the snow, so cant provide any feedback on that, but it really isnt that hard to transition back and forth (as someone who has a model 3 performance, whose wife has a BMW X3 M40). It takes me like 20-30 seconds for my body to remember what to do in her car when I drive it.
The biggest difference is, a lot of people "pulse" the accelerator and dont know it. "puuushhhh......release fully and coast......puuuushhh.....release fully and coast". My wife drives this way (always has, and we have been together 34 years now). It always drove me crazy, but thats just how she drives (rather than slight constant pressure on the accelerator).
Well, in a tesla (or any vehicle) with regen braking, you can tell easily when someone is doing that, and they get a bit confused at first.... because when they puuusshhhh..... the car goes forward slightly faster than they are used to (no gears), and when they "release pedal fully" the car starts slowing down. Its not "unsafe" because they will absolutely notice it and start to modulate the pedal "regularly" because they wont like feeling like "speed up... slow down...speed up... slow down", since there is no coasting in a tesla without pushing on the pedal.
Anyway, I did use the low regen setting to help my wife transition to getting used to my model 3, and I also set it to chill mode for her because she said its "way too fast" (and remember this is someone who drives a BMW X3 M40, which is no slouch as far as engine power etc). It did not take her very long.
All those words to say, however, I dont know why they took it out, I agree it makes no sense, but I dont think its a safety issue, and anyone who knows how to drive will get used to it in a day or two, tops.
I dont drive in the snow, so cant provide any feedback on that, but it really isnt that hard to transition back and forth (as someone who has a model 3 performance, whose wife has a BMW X3 M40). It takes me like 20-30 seconds for my body to remember what to do in her car when I drive it.
The biggest difference is, a lot of people "pulse" the accelerator and dont know it. "puuushhhh......release fully and coast......puuuushhh.....release fully and coast". My wife drives this way (always has, and we have been together 34 years now). It always drove me crazy, but thats just how she drives (rather than slight constant pressure on the accelerator).
Well, in a tesla (or any vehicle) with regen braking, you can tell easily when someone is doing that, and they get a bit confused at first.... because when they puuusshhhh..... the car goes forward slightly faster than they are used to (no gears), and when they "release pedal fully" the car starts slowing down. Its not "unsafe" because they will absolutely notice it and start to modulate the pedal "regularly" because they wont like feeling like "speed up... slow down...speed up... slow down", since there is no coasting in a tesla without pushing on the pedal.
Anyway, I did use the low regen setting to help my wife transition to getting used to my model 3, and I also set it to chill mode for her because she said its "way too fast" (and remember this is someone who drives a BMW X3 M40, which is no slouch as far as engine power etc). It did not take her very long.
All those words to say, however, I dont know why they took it out, I agree it makes no sense, but I dont think its a safety issue, and anyone who knows how to drive will get used to it in a day or two, tops.
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Does this only apply to 2021+ Model 3s? My 2019 SR+ with latest software have the option for both...
It started on vehicles with a June 2020 build date or later. You have old hardware
There is an 8 page thread on the topic here
Tesla removes regenerative braking strength option
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
It started on vehicles with a June 2020 build date or later. You have old hardware
There is an 8 page thread on the topic here
Tesla removes regenerative braking strength option
Thank you for informing me! Ahhh for once it's beneficial to have "old-tech". haha same goes for the external speakers that make noises under 20mph and in reverse.
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