Traded in my 2018 LR RWD for AWD: Observations

[bijan]

Huh ? Can you elaborate or send link to the wireless charging option sold in Tesla store? Is this some sort of retrofit kit that goes nicely where the old charging cables would have poked out in the center console?

Model 3 Wireless Phone Charger

There are similar but cheaper third party ones available too.

 

[derkan]

Just as another option for you, I went with this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F6DNMQ

I liked the two bump system, felt more reassuring to me.

I tried these and they eventually came loose off the garage floor. Went with this instead (different website and price though).

 

[derkan]

Actually, not true since the front motor is only used under heavy acceleration or in low traction scenarios. Otherwise, it is just along for the ride. The only thing that the AWD has going for it is a little more front weight bias.

Well then why does my AWD have the UFO noise constantly? How can I tell if the front motor is doing anything or not?

 

[DopeGhoti]

Constantly, or only in reverse?

 

[Ctyler]

Ya know... I am not convinced that's a bad thing. I have HomeLink with my M3 but it only works on arrival. On departure it works maybe MAYBE 20% of the time, likely closer to 10%. I've fiddled with the distance to no avail. There was another owner on here that expressed the exact same phenomenon, leaving the garage it generally won't close the garage door even though it is solid on opening the door. So, one either has to stop and reach over to hit the little green icon then the door icon or have their garage door opener readily available. In the later case HomeLink is irrelevant. Maybe it works better in a gated community opening and closing the gate.

I learned from a post awhile ago that as long as I don’t respot my car when I drive into my garage ( a known bug) - when I leave the home link will work.
Having said that - I notice it will still fail in any of the following situations - after a software update, if I sit in the car too long before backing out and if my husband decides to come in through the garage door opening after I’m already in the car. I’d say it works as expected about 80% of the time.

 

[Ctyler]

Is it true that the RWD gets slightly better mileage then the AWD?

Max range on LR RWD is 325 on LR AWD is 310

 

[wcorey]

Is it true that the RWD gets slightly better mileage then the AWD?

Tesla Range Table - Teslike.com

It's hard to make a firm conclusion here. The two are very close and that difference can easily be dwarfed by driving style. As many have said RWD allows drifting around corners, spinning out, etc. AWD is more 'sure-footedness". The Teslike table is kept pretty much up to date. I have a LR AWD and when charging to 80% I see ~250 miles anticipated. 250 is 80% of 312. The other thing about living dangerously is running out of gas in an ICE car means a call to AAA or local gas station. In a Tesla it means a tow on a flatbed to the nearest Supercharger or your home, whichever is closest.As I recall Tesla, at least used to, warned not to drive the car with under 20 miles left as range. Also do not routinely charge it beyond 80%. The other point is the model is different than ICE, rather than figuring you'll fill the tank once/week or once/two weeks, keep the Telsa charged to 80% and leave the house every day with a 'full tank'. If you follow that you'll generally never run out of charge.

 

[MountainRatMat]

Wow. I’ve got 23k on my RWD and still have plenty of tread. I don’t beat the car to death, but I also don’t baby it. Is your alignment off (toe)? I’ve seen people on here who have shredded their tires due to a toe problem.

I got 20k out of the MXM 4 on my AWD, I just put on the Michelin Primacy Tour A/S and so far I'm getting better efficiency, no noticeable difference in noise, and the warranty is 55,000 miles so if I burn through them quickly I'll get new tires at a prorated rate.