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Thoughts on Yoke from Plaid owner

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While I am cool with people who might actually like the yoke, I have to ask them this:

What particular feature of driving was improved by adding the yoke?

The tight turn situation is demonstrably worse.
The capacitive button is demonstrably worse.

Then, why wonder about the level of dislike?

Yoke is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. Yes, you might say it improves the visibility of the road ahead. But visibility is not a problem, and never was. Otherwise all the round wheels would have been replaced long while back in the evolution of the automobiles.

So, I think the yoke’s primary purpose is to just look ‘cool’.

But it’s design is insipid and functionality not well thought out at all. Zero attention to ergonomics.

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Not entirely sure why it is unsafe for your hands to be on the upper portion of the steering wheel.
The problem is if the airbag goes off and your hands are in the upper part of the round steering wheel your wrists will be broken and it may even blind you as your hands are blasted into your face. Strongly not recommended to put your hands above the 9/3 O'clock positions. The Yoke eliminates the risk, but of course, you could just keep your hands at 9/3 positions or below on a standard wheel. Some people just don't understand it, so the yoke makes it safer for everyone.

Not sure what the problem is with turning the wheel beyond 100 degrees. In a parking lot, I often turn the steering a full lock-to-lock or at least 360 degrees. When moving, it returns to the center position when you let go, just like every other steering wheel. I agree it was a bit odd at first, but after 2 months, I find it as easy if not easier than the old round wheel.

I'm not trying to convince you it's great or terrible, but if you don't like it, nothing wrong with that. Some don't like the paint color or want leather. If your Tesla isn't what you want, get rid of it. You might even be surprised at how much you can get for it today. There are a lot of other choices. Personally, I don't think they are as good as the Tesla, but if your #1 feature is a round steering wheel, and you don't want to modify your car, that seems like the best direction to take. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
 
The problem is if the airbag goes off and your hands are in the upper part of the round steering wheel your wrists will be broken and it may even blind you as your hands are blasted into your face. Strongly not recommended to put your hands above the 9/3 O'clock positions. The Yoke eliminates the risk, but of course, you could just keep your hands at 9/3 positions or below on a standard wheel. Some people just don't understand it, so the yoke makes it safer for everyone.

Not sure what the problem is with turning the wheel beyond 100 degrees. In a parking lot, I often turn the steering a full lock-to-lock or at least 360 degrees. When moving, it returns to the center position when you let go, just like every other steering wheel. I agree it was a bit odd at first, but after 2 months, I find it as easy if not easier than the old round wheel.

I'm not trying to convince you it's great or terrible, but if you don't like it, nothing wrong with that. Some don't like the paint color or want leather. If your Tesla isn't what you want, get rid of it. You might even be surprised at how much you can get for it today. There are a lot of other choices. Personally, I don't think they are as good as the Tesla, but if your #1 feature is a round steering wheel, and you don't want to modify your car, that seems like the best direction to take. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Hey Teslatap!

I still use your black screen on my browser sometimes in my 3. Just for nostalgia’s sake. 🙂
 
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If I didn’t like the yoke, I’d probably go for this…

But he doesn’t want to spend $1600 and keep the car he otherwise loves. He’d rather “spend” $40K and step down to a cheaper Model 3.

Model 3 is way more fatiguing BTW.
Much firmer ride and louder cabin.

I think it’s odd how he thinks of AutoPilot.
If I want a more relaxing / less fatiguing drive I take the Tesla and have AutoPilot enabled on the highway 99% of the time. Been using it 3.5 years.

Only time I might shut it off is around construction zones or accidents. It’s quite good and safe at lane keeping. And yes, it occasionally screws up.

Even though many folks know it’s wrong to put your hands above 9 and 3 o’clock he’s right a lot of people do it and I have done it. But since owning Tesla’s I’ve moved to the side with one hand to keep AutoPilot happy.

If I want to engage more, I never would sit back with my hand on top of the wheel. That is “cruise control” driving. It makes no sense to drive in that “less engaged” mode but not switch to AutoPilot. That’s the conflict here. If someone wants to engage with driving you typically put both hands on the wheel.

He is Certainly entitled to his minority opinion on it. And has a right to also choose to not “fix” the one issue he had on a $150K car out of principle and take a $40K hit. All the wheel options are reversible (unless you send back your “core”).

I bet more than half of the Refresh owners researched Round wheel options just in case the Yoke didn’t pan out. I did. And for most, the Yoke has been fine. A few switched out their wheel. A couple sold it too, I’m sure.

But there has to be more to this because it makes little sense.
 
I find the yoke easy to drive and fun. It is a quasi-unique design element in a production car and fits in with the futuristic aesthetic. Like one-pedal driving, it takes a short time to get used to.

Some people might have rotator cuff issues or degenerative/inflammatory issues in the joints that might make the yoke less comfortable. In such cases a different wheel or different car would be a solution.

As for me, I like it.
 
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I find the yoke easy to drive and fun. It is a quasi-unique design element in a production car and fits in with the futuristic aesthetic. Like one-pedal driving, it takes a short time to get used to.

Some people might have rotator cuff issues or degenerative/inflammatory issues in the joints that might make the yoke less comfortable. In such cases a different wheel or different car would be a solution.

As for me, I like it.
I drive 30,000 miles per year, and have been in Tesla Model S's for 200,000 miles. After 1,500 miles, I now love the Yoke. parking lots had a bit of a learning curve. Driving with Autopilot, I find it much easier to placate the "nag" since Imy hand can rest on the top knob or the bottom right angle. It is easier, on AP to rest my hand on my thigh, while creating the appropriate turning pressure for no "Nag".
 
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Thank you. I've never read in any of the operating manuals in any of the cars that I've owned that is unsafe to have your hands above the ten and 2:00 position. It seems like if this was every dangerous position there would be warnings in the manuals telling people not to grip was steering wheel above those positions and frankly I've never seen them. Besides, the yoke doesn't even allow for a 10 and two position.
 
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While I am cool with people who might actually like the yoke, I have to ask them this:

What particular feature of driving was improved by adding the yoke?

The tight turn situation is demonstrably worse.
The capacitive button is demonstrably worse.

Then, why wonder about the level of dislike?

Yoke is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. Yes, you might say it improves the visibility of the road ahead. But visibility is not a problem, and never was. Otherwise all the round wheels would have been replaced long while back in the evolution of the automobiles.

Here’s is the thing: I’m sitting in my 3 and looking at the road ahead as I sit in a parking lot waiting to pick up someone. The round wheels top is about an inch below the windshield’s bottom. Why? You are supposed to have the wheel lower so the airbag is aimed at your chest as much as possible for safety. Thus there is no issue with visibility at all.

There goes the one argument that can be made for the yoke to exist.

I think the yoke’s primary purpose is to just look ‘cool’.

But it’s design is insipid and functionality not well thought out at all. Zero attention to ergonomics.
 
While I am cool with people who might actually like the yoke, I have to ask them this:

What particular feature of driving was improved by adding the yoke?

The tight turn situation is demonstrably worse.
The capacitive button is demonstrably worse.

Then, why wonder about the level of dislike?

Yoke is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. Yes, you might say it improves the visibility of the road ahead. But visibility is not a problem, and never was. Otherwise all the round wheels would have been replaced long while back in the evolution of the automobiles.

Here’s is the thing: I’m sitting in my 3 and looking at the road ahead as I sit in a parking lot waiting to pick up someone. The round wheels top is about an inch below the windshield’s bottom. Why? You are supposed to have the wheel lower so the airbag is aimed at your chest as much as possible for safety. Thus there is no issue with visibility at all.

There goes the one argument that can be made for the yoke to exist.

I think the yoke’s primary purpose is to just look ‘cool’.

But it’s design is insipid and functionality not well thought out at all. Zero attention to ergonomics.
Yes I agree, ergonomically unsound for human being, especially while operating over long periods of time. Does not allow driver to shift positions either to allow blood flow to different areas of the body. The yoke mandates that the driver sits back in the seat sort of like a robot never moving position whereas a steering wheel allows for many different positions and grip points as fatigue sets in.
 
But he doesn’t want to spend $1600 and keep the car he otherwise loves. He’d rather “spend” $40K and step down to a cheaper Model 3.

Model 3 is way more fatiguing BTW.
Much firmer ride and louder cabin.

I think it’s odd how he thinks of AutoPilot.
If I want a more relaxing / less fatiguing drive I take the Tesla and have AutoPilot enabled on the highway 99% of the time. Been using it 3.5 years.

Only time I might shut it off is around construction zones or accidents. It’s quite good and safe at lane keeping. And yes, it occasionally screws up.

Even though many folks know it’s wrong to put your hands above 9 and 3 o’clock he’s right a lot of people do it and I have done it. But since owning Tesla’s I’ve moved to the side with one hand to keep AutoPilot happy.

If I want to engage more, I never would sit back with my hand on top of the wheel. That is “cruise control” driving. It makes no sense to drive in that “less engaged” mode but not switch to AutoPilot. That’s the conflict here. If someone wants to engage with driving you typically put both hands on the wheel.

He is Certainly entitled to his minority opinion on it. And has a right to also choose to not “fix” the one issue he had on a $150K car out of principle and take a $40K hit. All the wheel options are reversible (unless you send back your “core”).

I bet more than half of the Refresh owners researched Round wheel options just in case the Yoke didn’t pan out. I did. And for most, the Yoke has been fine. A few switched out their wheel. A couple sold it too, I’m sure.

But there has to be more to this because it makes little sense.
I say the most unengaged driving possible is using autopilot 99% of the time, which is what I have to do because of the yoke is so ergonomically unsound. I'd much rather have my hand near the top of the steering wheel I guarantee you my reaction time would be 100 times faster than yanking it off autopilot once you realize you're too close to a semi you're passing by or whatever it might be. I like autopilot I'd like to use it a lot but I don't want to be using it because it's highly fatiguing to be manually driving my yoke. It's sort of like when I was flying autopilot's great but you better spend a decent amount of time hand flying the airplane are you going to lose touch and your skills will deteriorate over time. I don't want to Mickey mouse my 150,000 car with an aftermarket steering wheel but still has no turn signals stocks. I'd rather get out now and reassess if Tesla ever decides to go with a wheel. I'm also losing a bit more money cuz I'm just selling it to a dealer rather than trying to get everything I can out of it private party just for convenience sake
But he doesn’t want to spend $1600 and keep the car he otherwise loves. He’d rather “spend” $40K and step down to a cheaper Model 3.

Model 3 is way more fatiguing BTW.
Much firmer ride and louder cabin.

I think it’s odd how he thinks of AutoPilot.
If I want a more relaxing / less fatiguing drive I take the Tesla and have AutoPilot enabled on the highway 99% of the time. Been using it 3.5 years.

Only time I might shut it off is around construction zones or accidents. It’s quite good and safe at lane keeping. And yes, it occasionally screws up.

Even though many folks know it’s wrong to put your hands above 9 and 3 o’clock he’s right a lot of people do it and I have done it. But since owning Tesla’s I’ve moved to the side with one hand to keep AutoPilot happy.

If I want to engage more, I never would sit back with my hand on top of the wheel. That is “cruise control” driving. It makes no sense to drive in that “less engaged” mode but not switch to AutoPilot. That’s the conflict here. If someone wants to engage with driving you typically put both hands on the wheel.

He is Certainly entitled to his minority opinion on it. And has a right to also choose to not “fix” the one issue he had on a $150K car out of principle and take a $40K hit. All the wheel options are reversible (unless you send back your “core”).

I bet more than half of the Refresh owners researched Round wheel options just in case the Yoke didn’t pan out. I did. And for most, the Yoke has been fine. A few switched out their wheel. A couple sold it too, I’m sure.

But there has to be more to this because it makes little sense.
Actually another reason to not go with an aftermarket steering wheel is that essentially the blinkers and the horn are going to be undiscoverable while you're driving. At least with the yoke you can sort of feel out where the blinkers and horn should be most of the time but with the steering wheel you're going to have to look down to use blinkers or horn and that is simply absurd
 
Including the capacitive buttons that you can’t hit by touch or muscle memory? You must have super senses, sir.
Must have been a challenge for you to learn where the brake pedal was. Do you look at your feet while you drive?

You do realize it doesn’t take super senses to build up the muscle memory for the controls.

I have muscle memory for the previous / next song buttons from my pre refresh X ;)

Blinker is easy, but does take some time. There is a bump between the left and right blinker buttons. For the exact reason of helping build muscle memory without looking down. Some folks complain you can’t feel the bump with gloves on.

You Keep that bump in the middle of the pad of your thumb. Trick is to use the tip of your thumb for right to turn and joint in your thumb for left. It’s tempting to look down and use the tip of your thumb for left and right. Once you do that it’s fine. You can of course build muscle memory to use the tip of the thumb for left and right too.

And believe it or not I bet even you could build up muscle memory using the tip of your thumb with gloves on. But you might have to keep looking for that brake pedal to guide your foot. ;)

You do actually need to own and drive one to build up the muscle memory. Not just look at YouTube complaints.

Now the horn is a problem. There is no texture, it’s a long ways over and you don’t use it that often. Some people added a little sticky bump so they can feel it. I might do that.

Supposed to enable airbag horn but I don’t know what the deal is with that.
 
Including the capacitive buttons that you can’t hit by touch or muscle memory? You must have super senses, sir.
Everyone agrees the horn button on the yoke is very poor engineering. Fortunately the hardware is in place for press on the center airbag, not sure why software rollout of this is delayed.

Turn signal buttons not ideal IMO although I have gotten used to them.

But that is a different issue from the “chronic fatigue” claims from driving caused by the physical layout of the yoke made by a brand new user who sought out this forum for the sole purpose of posting his message.

Personally, I do not seek out enthusiast forums and create new accounts to ruminate about my disappointment with the product. I fail to see an innocent motivation that a reasonable person would have to take their time to do such a thing, particularly over such an obviously subjective thing such as steering wheel shape preference.
 
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HA-HA...What's another Yoke. I have been using one for the last 30,000 hours and 30 years. It has buttons all over it that do different things. Makes me right at home. Honestly- I really like it. I live in California, so I don't think I've used the horn in 25 years.:cool:🤣🤣🤣



Steve Gd Cockpit.JPG
 
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