Unbiased 2-month review of 2022 Model Y

Geech72 · Dec 19, 2022

J_nobear21 said:
No disrespect. The stock is still up 1000% over the last 10 years and all asset class has been hit pretty hard in 2022. But let’s keep blaming Elon.

No offense taken, it's down more than 50% YTD and hit its 52 week low on Friday. Elon continues to sell shares to fund his twitter vanity project and one after another negative news stories continue to roll out about Tesla failing to meet its CEOs tech promises. Maybe a well run company with, I don't know a PR department, could have managed these events in a more beneficial way for its shareholders.

AsharpV · Dec 19, 2022

aipaa said:
Disclaimer: I'll admit I was pretty naïve and uninformed about most things Tesla when I took delivery of my Y in October, 2022. I did minimal research about the Y beforehand so I ended up learning most things on the go and am definitely still figuring some stuff out.

As a non-biased first time Tesla owner I wanted to give a simple summary of some pros and cons that I've personally identified in the first two months since I took delivery.

Major PROS:
- No more ICE! It is quite liberating to drive past gas stations and know that I'll never have to stop ever again.
- Performance (duh!). I test drove the Y once, back in February, 2022 so I only had minor exposure to the performance and handling beforehand. The Y is a very fun vehicle to drive. Passing on non-divided highways is a breeze compared to my previous 1/2 ton truck.
- Overall, the tech is pretty impressive and makes the user experience quite enjoyable.
- Comfort: Long road trips in the Y are much more comfortable than I have experienced with any other vehicle in the past and I travel quite a bit.
- Superchargers: charging time is impressive and they are generally located in convenient areas for one or more of: meals, bathroom breaks, snacks, shopping, etc.
- 3500lbs towing capacity is impressive in comparison to other vehicles of a similar class.

Minor PROS:
- I love the sound system, it can feel like you are at a live concert and contributes to a fun ride.
- The regen braking is impressive and delivers noticeable range + when applied regularly. It should also contribute to a very long brake pad life as you can easily drive all around town without applying the brake pedal even once.
- The look: Unlike the X and 3 (IMO), the Model Y has a great sporty look and really catches the eye. I also like the S. That's just my opinion though.
- The range: It's mostly reasonable... in comparison to other current EVs anyways.
- Cargo capacity is significant considering the overall size of the vehicle.
- Sentry mode is a nice feature when you are leaving the vehicle in a "sketchier" area.
- Winter handling is pretty good overall.
- Battery pre-conditioning when navigating to Tesla Superchargers. This is handy (though, when activated it does speed up the rate of battery loss for obvious reasons).
- There are many other minor pros but they aren't necessarily game-changers.

Minor CONS:
- The effective highway range is quite low in anything but the most favorable conditions. I've been on several road trips with the Y and the best effective range I have achieved is about 400km (240 miles) - this is with favorable temperature and wind conditions and travelling closer to 65mph. In extreme cold and a good headwind the range is basically shredded in 1/2. My effective highway range in -15 C and a good 40 km/h headwind was slashed to about 200km (120 miles). Freeway speeds (120km/h + - 75 mph+) also reduce the effective range quite a bit (generally about 300km - 185 miles). This is all vs. the advertised range of 531 km (330 miles).
- Supercharging costs in Canada (where I live) are quite high -> the $ saved (vs. gasoline) compared to extra time spent charging is marginal when on road trips and relying on superchargers.
- Quality of he build is definitely suspect. One of the clips on the passenger sun visor mirror was broken when I took delivery. It was a piece of cheap plastic and clearly wasn't quality control tested before delivery (or someone didn't care). Other finishes are disappointing, like the rubber on the window-edges not being uniform or flush in the corners, etc.
- The tech can be glitchy - Bluetooth will randomly tweak out, navigation will glitch out, etc. Most of these issues are resolved by a screen reset but this can be of annoyance if they occur when you are driving.
- The headlights are great - if you need to see into the future. Otherwise, they aren't designed super well if you are considering oncoming drivers. They are too bright; I regularly get flashed by oncoming vehicles at night when I do not have the brights engaged.
- The vehicle clearance is pretty low - don't plan on driving in deep snow, uneven terrain, or up/down steep driveways.
- The battery doesn't precondition when travelling to non-Tesla fast chargers. Seems like something easy that could be updated.

Major CONS:
- As it stands, the Autopilot function is a COMPLETE JOKE. It is essentially like owning an $80,000 vehicle that doesn't have a functional cruise control - in 2022! I went on a long road trip last weekend and dealt with over 30 phantom braking events. These ranged from minor application of the brakes all the way to significant slowdowns that violently threw myself and my wife forward in our seats. No - there was never any hazards that required braking. Some of these were seemingly random with no obvious explanation as to what could be confusing the sensors. The most common culprit, however, is cresting a slight rolling rise - for some reason right as the vehicle crest the roll the sensors get confused and slam on the brakes. Shadows, dark asphalt patches, trees, buildings, etc. are other causes of sudden, unnecessary phantom braking. This issue alone has soured my attitude quite a bit towards my new Model Y. For the love of all that's holy Tesla, fix the issue or allow me to fully disengage anything other than a conventional cruise control!
- Controlling climate on the touch pad is a nightmare - especially when driving alone. I am 6 ft tall with a good reach and can still barely manage to reach and drag (omg so sensitive!) the tiny dot when I want to adjust the fan speed. Who thought this was a good idea? No - I don't want to rely on the voice activation to do this, especially when there is a passenger. It is clunky and awkward to interrupt the music every time I want to change the fan speed by 1 tick. I knew I would hate the climate control functions before I took delivery and those fears were confirmed.
- Supporting a company that EM "owns". Yes, that man is a complete tool.

I am fully expecting responses that undermine some of my complaints - like I said, I am still trying to figure out some of the features, etc.

View attachment 886717

I have an M3 RWD and don't share the same "range loss" concerns in NJ. Perhaps because I'm lower to the ground it helps.
Also totally agree on the fan speed control. It's such a pain and appears to be addressed in the Holiday update.
Phantom braking has improved of late.
Thanks for the review

ElectricCanuck · Dec 19, 2022

Geech72 said:
As a Tesla STOCK owner my brokerage account has been triggered lately by his antics. I wish I woulda sold the stock months ago; then I wouldn't give two sheets about who makes the vehicle I enjoy driving.

I bailed mid-2020. I took a healthy profit, but his take on the COVID-19 epidemic was just stupid and he was starting to wander into more of those blunders than I wanted to follow. Remember the pedo guy comments about the guy who helped organize the Thai Soccer Team rescue?

I wish he'd just STFU, delete twitter and start doing some engineering stuff.

Nighthawk26 · Dec 19, 2022

aipaa said:
Disclaimer: I'll admit I was pretty naïve and uninformed about most things Tesla when I took delivery of my Y in October, 2022. I did minimal research about the Y beforehand so I ended up learning most things on the go and am definitely still figuring some stuff out.

As a non-biased first time Tesla owner I wanted to give a simple summary of some pros and cons that I've personally identified in the first two months since I took delivery.

Major PROS:
- No more ICE! It is quite liberating to drive past gas stations and know that I'll never have to stop ever again.
- Performance (duh!). I test drove the Y once, back in February, 2022 so I only had minor exposure to the performance and handling beforehand. The Y is a very fun vehicle to drive. Passing on non-divided highways is a breeze compared to my previous 1/2 ton truck.
- Overall, the tech is pretty impressive and makes the user experience quite enjoyable.
- Comfort: Long road trips in the Y are much more comfortable than I have experienced with any other vehicle in the past and I travel quite a bit.
- Superchargers: charging time is impressive and they are generally located in convenient areas for one or more of: meals, bathroom breaks, snacks, shopping, etc.
- 3500lbs towing capacity is impressive in comparison to other vehicles of a similar class.

Minor PROS:
- I love the sound system, it can feel like you are at a live concert and contributes to a fun ride.
- The regen braking is impressive and delivers noticeable range + when applied regularly. It should also contribute to a very long brake pad life as you can easily drive all around town without applying the brake pedal even once.
- The look: Unlike the X and 3 (IMO), the Model Y has a great sporty look and really catches the eye. I also like the S. That's just my opinion though.
- The range: It's mostly reasonable... in comparison to other current EVs anyways.
- Cargo capacity is significant considering the overall size of the vehicle.
- Sentry mode is a nice feature when you are leaving the vehicle in a "sketchier" area.
- Winter handling is pretty good overall.
- Battery pre-conditioning when navigating to Tesla Superchargers. This is handy (though, when activated it does speed up the rate of battery loss for obvious reasons).
- There are many other minor pros but they aren't necessarily game-changers.

Minor CONS:
- The effective highway range is quite low in anything but the most favorable conditions. I've been on several road trips with the Y and the best effective range I have achieved is about 400km (240 miles) - this is with favorable temperature and wind conditions and travelling closer to 65mph. In extreme cold and a good headwind the range is basically shredded in 1/2. My effective highway range in -15 C and a good 40 km/h headwind was slashed to about 200km (120 miles). Freeway speeds (120km/h + - 75 mph+) also reduce the effective range quite a bit (generally about 300km - 185 miles). This is all vs. the advertised range of 531 km (330 miles).
- Supercharging costs in Canada (where I live) are quite high -> the $ saved (vs. gasoline) compared to extra time spent charging is marginal when on road trips and relying on superchargers.
- Quality of he build is definitely suspect. One of the clips on the passenger sun visor mirror was broken when I took delivery. It was a piece of cheap plastic and clearly wasn't quality control tested before delivery (or someone didn't care). Other finishes are disappointing, like the rubber on the window-edges not being uniform or flush in the corners, etc.
- The tech can be glitchy - Bluetooth will randomly tweak out, navigation will glitch out, etc. Most of these issues are resolved by a screen reset but this can be of annoyance if they occur when you are driving.
- The headlights are great - if you need to see into the future. Otherwise, they aren't designed super well if you are considering oncoming drivers. They are too bright; I regularly get flashed by oncoming vehicles at night when I do not have the brights engaged.
- The vehicle clearance is pretty low - don't plan on driving in deep snow, uneven terrain, or up/down steep driveways.
- The battery doesn't precondition when travelling to non-Tesla fast chargers. Seems like something easy that could be updated.

Major CONS:
- As it stands, the Autopilot function is a COMPLETE JOKE. It is essentially like owning an $80,000 vehicle that doesn't have a functional cruise control - in 2022! I went on a long road trip last weekend and dealt with over 30 phantom braking events. These ranged from minor application of the brakes all the way to significant slowdowns that violently threw myself and my wife forward in our seats. No - there was never any hazards that required braking. Some of these were seemingly random with no obvious explanation as to what could be confusing the sensors. The most common culprit, however, is cresting a slight rolling rise - for some reason right as the vehicle crest the roll the sensors get confused and slam on the brakes. Shadows, dark asphalt patches, trees, buildings, etc. are other causes of sudden, unnecessary phantom braking. This issue alone has soured my attitude quite a bit towards my new Model Y. For the love of all that's holy Tesla, fix the issue or allow me to fully disengage anything other than a conventional cruise control!
- Controlling climate on the touch pad is a nightmare - especially when driving alone. I am 6 ft tall with a good reach and can still barely manage to reach and drag (omg so sensitive!) the tiny dot when I want to adjust the fan speed. Who thought this was a good idea? No - I don't want to rely on the voice activation to do this, especially when there is a passenger. It is clunky and awkward to interrupt the music every time I want to change the fan speed by 1 tick. I knew I would hate the climate control functions before I took delivery and those fears were confirmed.
- Supporting a company that EM "owns". Yes, that man is a complete tool.

I am fully expecting responses that undermine some of my complaints - like I said, I am still trying to figure out some of the features, etc.

View attachment 886717

Hi Aipaa,

Please try doing a Camera Calibration in the Service menu. I had this same issue when I first got my Y and the Mobile Service Tech explained that after a software update the long range camera needs to be fine-tuned with a Camera Calibration.

The AP computer will think oncoming vehicles are over the center-line and slam on the brakes until the oncoming vehicle gets closer or think that garbage cans in the distance are pedestrians until you get closer.

He said the general rule of thumb is recalibrate the cameras if you notice the vehicle phantom braking after a software update. It doesn’t happen for me after every software update but recalibrating has resolved it every time for me and all my family members & neighbors with a Tesla. Hope this helps!

DrChaos · Dec 19, 2022

ETuesta said:
I have to agree, the autopilot is a complete joke!!!!.. worst $10K I've ever spent.
The climate is a pain but I wouldn't put it as a major con.
Elon is indeed kind of toolish.

I don't completely understand the wide variety of experiences with AP, though it does seems that 'country driving' performs worse than 'city driving'. That might reflect the balance of training data.

At a minimum, it seems to perform better when there are other cars ahead which it can track, but even still in my SoCal freeway driving, even when there isn't that much ahead like late at night, it has performed very well for the last few months. I have never had any significant phantom braking incident. I do occasionally get some 'red hands' takeover messages where the AP is confused about what to do, but those are usually in conditions off a main highway, such as an unusual exit ramp to a curved boulevard with a yield sign.

I do make sure to keep the glass over the camera clean.

The performance over the elevation rises does seem to be poor, as that's when it decides that it can't continue seeing the road far enough ahead---maybe it thinks there is a sudden bank of fog? Maybe highway FSD unified stack will perform better with more object permanence?

Anyway, the HVAC performance for me is better than any other car I've ever had for sure. The latest update changed the fan speed slider to a three way low-medium-high switch.

navguy12 · Dec 19, 2022

Nighthawk26 said:
Hi Aipaa,

Please try doing a Camera Calibration in the Service menu. I had this same issue when I first got my Y and the Mobile Service Tech explained that after a software update the long range camera needs to be fine-tuned with a Camera Calibration.

The AP computer will think oncoming vehicles are over the center-line and slam on the brakes until the oncoming vehicle gets closer or think that garbage cans in the distance are pedestrians until you get closer.

He said the general rule of thumb is recalibrate the cameras if you notice the vehicle phantom braking after a software update. It doesn’t happen for me after every software update but recalibrating has resolved it every time for me and all my family members & neighbors with a Tesla. Hope this helps!

Also note that the calibration of those cameras only gives you a coarse calibration. The system then requires about 500 km aggregate of straight highway driving to fine-tune the calibration. So every time you reset the camera calibration, you are eliminating a lot of system fine tuning.

ss—— · Dec 19, 2022

Dennisis said:
Was better before updates, has sucked for me recently too so hoping for software fixes soon...

Was it better before the radar got disabled or was it better even after the radar was disabled but recently got worse?

ss—— · Dec 19, 2022

DrChaos said:
At a minimum, it seems to perform better when there are other cars ahead which it can track, but even still in my SoCal freeway driving, even when there isn't that much ahead like late at night, it has performed very well for the last few months. I have never had any significant phantom braking incident. I do occasionally get some 'red hands' takeover messages where the AP is confused about what to do, but those are usually in conditions off a main highway, such as an unusual exit ramp to a curved boulevard with a yield sign.

Anything that resembles a lake or a dropoff even on a flat rode e.g. a mirage, a stark difference in the color of the road e.g. with new asphalt sections right next to old ones, cresting a hill... anything that makes the cameras go holy *sugar* the earth ends soon!!

All that seems to trip up the tesla AI. I have had this happen to me in those situations, many times.
For all the technical and AI chops, tesla cannot seem to solve this problem with training data or without. This is where some logic overrides, or difference sensors that can help correct this (Radar) in conjunction with a trained ML model can help. Tesla seems to cheap out on all that or be overconfident in their AI a bit (read a lot) too much.

djjimgreen · Dec 19, 2022

In regards to the AP, I have the same experience, but find just resting my foot on the gas pedal keeps it from trying to brake. I'm paying enough attention that I can let it brake if it needs to. I'm mostly using AP to not have to steer to stay in my lane anyways.

aipaa · Dec 19, 2022

djjimgreen said:
In regards to the AP, I have the same experience, but find just resting my foot on the gas pedal keeps it from trying to brake. I'm paying enough attention that I can let it brake if it needs to. I'm mostly using AP to not have to steer to stay in my lane anyways.

I understand that works but it is unreasonable on a 10 hour highway drive to sit there on the edge of your seat with your foot hanging midair on the pedal the entire time ready to take over from a faulty AP. I just keep coming back to the same thought: why can't I just disable the AP if I want and use a standard cruise control like any other regular vehicle... I would much prefer that honestly.

navguy12 · Dec 19, 2022

aipaa said:
I understand that works but it is unreasonable on a 10 hour highway drive to sit there on the edge of your seat with your foot hanging midair on the pedal the entire time ready to take over from a faulty AP. I just keep coming back to the same thought: why can't I just disable the AP if I want and use a standard cruise control like any other regular vehicle... I would much prefer that honestly.

This is the thing I’ve asked for since my second day of ownership of my TM3 (June 2018): plain old dumb cruise control…because by day two of my ownership experience it was patently obvious that the current “smart” cruise control was too twitchy.

I had the opportunity to drive my friends 2017 Bolt yesterday for a 90 minute trip, using the “dumb” cruise control for the trip (on two lane highways).

I realized just how relaxing it was because I wasn’t always having to anticipate a phantom braking episode.

DrChaos · Dec 19, 2022

ss—— said:
Anything that resembles a lake or a dropoff even on a flat rode e.g. a mirage, a stark difference in the color of the road e.g. with new asphalt sections right next to old ones, cresting a hill... anything that makes the cameras go holy *sugar* the earth ends soon!! All that seems to trip up the tesla AI. I have had this happen to me in those situations, many times.
For all the technical and AI chops, tesla cannot seem to solve this problem with training data or without. This is where some logic overrides, or difference sensors that can help correct this (Radar) in conjunction with a trained ML model can help. Tesla seems to cheap out on all that or be overconfident in their AI a bit (read a lot) too much.

The solution to this, and numerous other routing problems, is better use of high quality maps. Good enough maps with elevation could give hints about road continuing normally. Knowledge of a hill on a divided highway should be much safer to continue over the invisible crest than a single lane road. Humans implicitly use maps, they are more confident on routes they've seen before. Even if they couldn't articulate verbally the details the image and muscle memory is there.

Unfortunately there seems to be an ideology from top management to never do this for driving policy other than existing low quality maps for coarse routing.

I think another valuable feature would be Autosteer without TACC. There is no dangerous phantom swerving, only a few occasional annoyances. One way to simulate this is to set to a low speed and then manually accelerate and maintain a higher speed with the foot.

ItsNotAboutTheMoney · Dec 19, 2022

navguy12 said:
This is the thing I’ve asked for since my second day of ownership of my TM3 (June 2018): plain old dumb cruise control…because by day two of my ownership experience it was patently obvious that the current “smart” cruise control was too twitchy.

I had the opportunity to drive my friends 2017 Bolt yesterday for a 90 minute trip, using the “dumb” cruise control for the trip (on two lane highways).

I realized just how relaxing it was because I wasn’t always having to anticipate a phantom braking episode.

And electric dumb cruise control is _excellent_ because it can incorporate regen for holding speed on downslopes.
I don't have ACC on either of my PEVs, but I drive in dumb cruise a lot. Of course, I live in an location with low traffic density where adaptive cruise control isn't especially valuable.

Dennisis · Dec 19, 2022

ss—— said:
Was it better before the radar got disabled or was it better even after the radar was disabled but recently got worse?

Better before it was disabled for sure. A year ago I had issues with braking when I was passing a semi or traffic merging from an onramp - typical stuff and easily understood. Now it's the opposite; wide open freeway w/ no clouds, traffic, overpasses, etc.. in sight. The one thing I haven't done is recalibrate my cameras as someone suggested. I'll give that a go soon before I hit the freeway hope for the best. Or if my FSD update comes through first I'll see what impact that has before going the re-cal route.

djjimgreen · Dec 19, 2022

aipaa said:
I understand that works but it is unreasonable on a 10 hour highway drive to sit there on the edge of your seat with your foot hanging midair on the pedal the entire time ready to take over from a faulty AP. I just keep coming back to the same thought: why can't I just disable the AP if I want and use a standard cruise control like any other regular vehicle... I would much prefer that honestly.

How are ya'll driving? My foot isn't hanging in midair. It's just resting on the gas pedal. Do you have your feet out the window? Where else do your feet go besides right there when on AP? lol

aipaa · Dec 19, 2022

djjimgreen said:
How are ya'll driving? My foot isn't hanging in midair. It's just resting on the gas pedal. Do you have your feet out the window? Where else do your feet go besides right there when on AP? lol

My foot goes flat on the floor slightly in front of the pedal when cruise control is activated. Not sure why people want to struggle through and defend a clearly weak system just for the sake of defending Tesla. If you have your foot "resting on the pedal" for a long road trip it will certainly cramp up; I know from experience.

cusetownusa · Dec 19, 2022

aipaa said:
My foot goes flat on the floor slightly in front of the pedal when cruise control is activated. Not sure why people want to struggle through and defend a clearly weak system just for the sake of defending Tesla. If you have your foot "resting on the pedal" for a long road trip it will certainly cramp up; I know from experience.

I agree. I wouldn’t want to rest my foot on the peddle either. Although, I have never had an issue with AP and I use it on all road trips, so maybe that’s why?

djjimgreen · Dec 19, 2022

lol, I'm not defending anything. You're all just acting like you've never driven a vehicle prior to a car with auto pilot. But alright, may your poor feet not cramp up on those long drives, having to have your feet on pedals etc etc.

aipaa · Dec 19, 2022

djjimgreen said:
lol, I'm not defending anything. You're all just acting like you've never driven a vehicle prior to a car with auto pilot. But alright, may your poor feet not cramp up on those long drives, having to have your feet on pedals etc etc.

Lol fair enough. My point is: regular cruise control has been around successfully for several decades... I would rather use that for peace of mind and ease of drive than an unreliable "Autopilot". I don't want to be anxiously anticipating the next PB situation for my entire highway driving experience...

djjimgreen · Dec 19, 2022

aipaa said:
Lol fair enough. My point is: regular cruise control has been around successfully for several decades... I would rather use that for peace of mind and ease of drive than an unreliable "Autopilot". I don't want to be anxiously anticipating the next PB situation for my entire highway driving experience...

Oh I agree entirely. Don't get me wrong. I'm with you on the autopilot being useless front. I went on a few hour drive yesterday and it kept doing these little pump brakes every time I passed by these little road reflectors on the side of the road. It's like it had no idea what it was doing. That's when I just gave up and put my foot down on it. haha

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