Things you may not have discovered about your Model S?!

[aviators99]

I feel that things that are in the manual (or elsewhere on the forum) but not super-obvious should still be included here. I read the manual but had still missed or forgotten some of these.

I'm not that militant about it and am fine with leaving this stuff, but seriously, the manual is like 10 pages...

 

[stevezzzz]

In a sudden stop using the emergency brake reduces stopping distance?

Sorry, I have to call this a gross misstatement.

Yes, when you are coasting the emergency brake can slow the car but it is absolutely not true that in a sudden stop maneuver using the e-brake will reduce stopping distance.

The reason being that the primary friction brakes already provide more stopping power than the tires can transmit to the pavement: that's why ABS is such an important safety feature. Besides, when the car is in motion there is a delay after pressing the shift stalk Park button before the emergency brake engages, so it's really only useful if the primary brakes fail.

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Most may know this, but not all that obvious - Tap the Tesla logo in the top center of the main display to see the battery size (85/60/40) and software version.

...and to see how the brake lights respond during regen braking.

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If your iPhone is paired to your Model S, you can talk to SIRI through your handsfree microphone and speaker. You can then use SIRI to place calls for you, send text messages, get weather, or whatever you might use SIRI for.

Is there a way to get Siri's attention using the car's controls, or do you have to do it with the iPhone's Home button?

 

[KenEE]

-...
-When programming homelink, it's easier if you hold the remote inside the frunk.

-if your front passenger door is difficult to close, remove the drain plug on the bottom side of the passenger door.

-The little detent in the sunroof opening slider is the quietest position (least aerodynamic buffeting).

-If you press on the rubber seal where the pano roof is seated while it's closing, it will stop.

-If you experience a very low frequency pressure fluctuation on certain roads (like you're inside a bass drum being thwacked), adjust the two set screws with bumpers on them inside the rear liftgate. This will stop the hatch from oscillating under certain road conditions.

I'd like to thank Todd in particular and JoshG in general for this thread! I changed the battery in my second garage door remote and it still wouldn't register with the S. But holding in the frunk did the trick!

I'm going to try your other tips I left up as well. (can you elaborate on the "set screws with bumpers"? or will it be obvious when I look?
Thanks Again!

 

[jhs_7645]

... and to read the latest firmware release notes.
... and to remind you of the exterior color of your car. :biggrin:

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Print??? why print? how about just a page that looks good and can be bookmarked from our in-car browser? (Maybe a link from one of the emerging Tesla dash portal efforts!)

But I guess since I'm the OP, I'll volunteer to organize them into some categories and create a fresh post that's reasonably well formatted. There are already some really good ones here. Keep 'em coming!

--josh

This is a great post Josh, I really think it should be moved to the Wiki section of TMC. Doug is going to be upgrading the wiki soon, so it will be feature packed, but for now, it is quite usable. I think it would make it a much more useful resource if it was maintained by the community, and (eventually) turned into the all important, much sought after 'Wiki Manual' that folks have been asking for.

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Ask and ye shall receive:

INSTRUCT - TESLAMODS

I organized them in categories and reformatted some of the wording. Sadly, our site Teslamods.com (Desai and Walla2) doesn't look that great yet, but it is still a work in progress.

And the fracturing begins. I really think we should try to keep things here on TMC.

 

[rlowenth]

I push the button on the phone. Still, it's nice she'll talk to me over Bluetooth.

 

[GeekGirls]

Here's a tip for those who, like me, back into their garage. You can't unplug the charge cable until the car has been unlocked, and I was getting tired of walking to the driver's door and back again before unplugging in the morning. The easiest way to unlock the car when approaching from behind is to briefly press the latch used to open the hatch. The car will wake up and unlock but the hatch won't open. You can then use the button on the mobile charger to release the charge cable.

 

[DaveVa]

Setting for charging amperage is GPS aware. If you lower the current limit in one location it remembers between charges, but will default to full speed at an alternate location.

 

[Bound466]

Here's a tip for those who, like me, back into their garage. You can't unplug the charge cable until the car has been unlocked, and I was getting tired of walking to the driver's door and back again before unplugging in the morning. The easiest way to unlock the car when approaching from behind is to briefly press the latch used to open the hatch. The car will wake up and unlock but the hatch won't open. You can then use the button on the mobile charger to release the charge cable.

Setting for charging amperage is GPS aware. If you lower the current limit in one location it remembers between charges, but will default to full speed at an alternate location.

This car is getting better by the minute. Thanks to Josh, GeekGirl, DaveVa, and everyone else for all the great tips and tricks. This is one of the best threads yet. I get my baby delivered tomorrow @ 10am, so I will have fun trying to find some new hidden tricks to report myself.

 

[DavidWexler]

Tip

You can enter a new driver profile called EXIT with the steering wheel all the way forward and the drivers seat all the way back for easy exits and entering (as some cars do automatically)

 

[brianman]

I'm not that militant about it and am fine with leaving this stuff, but seriously, the manual is like 10 pages...

Back in September, it was 33 pages.

 

[aviators99]

Back in September, it was 33 pages.

Right. That's what I said! ;-)

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Here's a tip for those who, like me, back into their garage. You can't unplug the charge cable until the car has been unlocked, and I was getting tired of walking to the driver's door and back again before unplugging in the morning. The easiest way to unlock the car when approaching from behind is to briefly press the latch used to open the hatch. The car will wake up and unlock but the hatch won't open. You can then use the button on the mobile charger to release the charge cable.

This is awesome. Thank you! Used it this morning.

 

[ClearwaterBchSteve]

Excellent tips! This is becoming one of the most useful threads. Thanks to the contributors. :smile:

 

[mlascano]

This is in the manual but I overlooked it and "discovered" it when I had some ice build up last week: the side mirrors (driver and passanger side) defog/defrost is linked to the rear glass defrost/defog control (no separate control for the side mirrors). Once turned on, these heaters stay on for 15 mins and then shut off.

 

[neroden]

I'd rather know the true SOC of the battery. The Roadster displays only 80% full when fully charged in Standard mode. I prefer being able to glance at the battery icon and know the SOC, rather than have to factor in which mode I'm observing. Personal preference.

While we're on this topic, I'm clearly not the only one who would prefer to see a kWh battery life estimate rather than only "miles" estimates. (It's still an estimate because of the "vanishing voltage" in cold weather.) Personal preference, of course.

 

[Mike_Schlechter]

This car is getting better by the minute. Thanks to Josh, GeekGirl, DaveVa, and everyone else for all the great tips and tricks. This is one of the best threads yet. I get my baby delivered tomorrow @ 10am, so I will have fun trying to find some new hidden tricks to report myself.

Does this make it an automatic exit position, or something you have to manually select each time? If it is automatic I'll me thrilled!

 

[blc1017]

I'd like to thank Todd in particular and JoshG in general for this thread! I changed the battery in my second garage door remote and it still wouldn't register with the S. But holding in the frunk did the trick!

I'm going to try your other tips I left up as well. (can you elaborate on the "set screws with bumpers"? or will it be obvious when I look?
Thanks Again!

+1 All of you early early adopters are making it so much easier for the rest of us!

 

[JoshG]

The easiest way to unlock the car when approaching from behind is to briefly press the latch used to open the hatch. The car will wake up and unlock but the hatch won't open. You can then use the button on the mobile charger to release the charge cable.

Definitely didn't know that. but wouldn't a double-click on the roof button (doors) do the same thing... it unlocks all doors, wakes car, and releases charge handle. I guess one-click on trunk button is slightly easier, but I just tend to do the "open the doors" button if I want to wake the car faster than the normal "approach". (tech package)

 

[Beavis]

I tried it but all that happened is that the hatch opened. I'm not on the latest software though.

 

[JoshG]

Does this make it an automatic exit position, or something you have to manually select each time? If it is automatic I'll me thrilled!

(you "quoted" the wrong post I believe, but it seems you're talking about the "exit" seat memory tip above.) Alas, this is not automatic... you'd have to click the driver profile pull-down, and pick your "exit" profile. It's a work-around on this function that Tesla hasn't (yet?) implemented.

 

[aviators99]

Definitely didn't know that. but wouldn't a double-click on the roof button (doors) do the same thing... it unlocks all doors, wakes car, and releases charge handle. I guess one-click on trunk button is slightly easier, but I just tend to do the "open the doors" button if I want to wake the car faster than the normal "approach". (tech package)

I don't usually need to touch the fob, so that's why I liked this tip.

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I tried it but all that happened is that the hatch opened. I'm not on the latest software though.

It may be that you only press the trunk latch "part way", to the first detente.