V8 - I'm very happy, how do you feel about it?

[AustinP]

So, we've had our Tesla (85, July 2015, AP) for more than a year, with about 30k miles/45k km.
This means I had it with v6.2, then v7.x, and now v8.0

I'm in IT infrastructure, where when thinks are broken, hell brakes lose, while when all is running smoothly, no one cares

I've been quite surprised on TMC how much passionate reactions occurred at v7, and ever more at v8. I guess this also means there are more drivers and members in TMC, which is great.

That being said, I did not see much posts thanking Tesla and their team for their continuous efforts to improve the car and the interface.

I know some of the Tesla guys look at TMC, so I thought it might be nice for them to have a post to thank them.

But probably it is even better if I'm not the only one.

So here is a simple poll about v8 and how you feel about it: do you want to say thanks or are you still angry about it ?

Disclaimer: I'm not working for Tesla, just as most of you very enthusiast about their mission.

 

[Doug4650]

So far I like it. I'm not one to load up lots of USB music, so the new music interface works for me. Part of that is, Tunein has now started working. I was like a number of others that couldn't get to their web tunein account (favorites would not sync).

I was one of those people that always liked the map on the top half, so that works well for me.

As for autopilot, I like that i can see the second car in front. The lane following accuracy seems about the same. I do notice that the "keep your hands on the wheel" is more frequent. But I like the border warning flash and i usually have my hand near/on the wheel so the quick jiggle back and forth is not a bother. I was surprised that the radar recognition of front cars wasn't better. I expected cars "not-dead-center" to be better recognized. It doesn't seem worse, just not noticeably better.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

I'm fairly happy with it. I've had many software versions, starting with 6.2, and I feel this one is quite good.

Positives:

• TACC smoothness, especially in traffic
• Radar sees 2 cars ahead
• Autosteer slowly/incrementally improving with each release
• Map auto-zoom works very well for me
• Web Browser is quicker
• Trip planner is improved (still needs some work)
• Navigation routing list makes a lot more sense now.

Needs work/improvement:

• Many bugs still exist in media player -- source changes sometimes on its own after exit/reenter, interface is clunky to use, no direct entry of XM/AM/FM stations, Slacker search doesn't work well
• Voice command recognition is terrible -- I frequently have to repeat the command 4-6 times to get it to recognize something correctly. As a result, I rarely use it.
• Auto-hide of application icons is annoying sometimes. Needs to be a switchable option. Better solution would be to simply reduce the size of the icons so that you can get more screen real estate, but they can stay up there the entire time. Or make them transparent like some of the other controls.
• Web browser has gone from terrible to several grades worse than terrible. I constantly have to reload and refresh pages after exit/reentry to get them to display properly. No way to clear cache without full reboot. And even though the speed is better than in v7, it's still slow as molasses.
• Traffic-based routing is still many times inferior to Waze. We really need Waze integration in the main navigation app.

I just wish Tesla's quality control would address more of these usability and functionality issues rather than have a singular focus on new features. At this rate, we'll never have a nearly bug-free, stable version.

 

[Max*]

I like it overall.

One more negative:
-Previously I click on calendar, it pops up on the top pane (yes I realize I could hold it to get to the bottom pane now), then I click on an event in my calendar, and it navigates there, "auto hiding" the calendar. I realize it didn't auto hide it, it just replaced it with the map.
This made sense.
Now I click on calendar, it goes to the bottom pane, I click on the event in it to navigate there, and the map stays on top and starts navigating. But it doesn't "auto-hide" the calendar, and bring whatever I had on the bottom pane.

I understand the want for having map and/or camera default to being on top, but I think the calendar should be added to default on top too. Since one click and it'll bring the map back up.

 

[Veggen]

I'm OK with it, despite some of the niggles.
Better than v7 but not quite as good as v6 yet.

 

[bob_p]

The latest update fixes some of the problems.

It still requires extra screen touches to switch media sources.

The media player still forgets what it was playing when re-entering the car - switching sources or losing track of what song is being played from USB.

And the google satellite maps seem to have blank spaces and lose real-time traffic data more often (which may be an AT&T/server problem - and not specific to 8.0).

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Happier now that the annoying streaming problem where it skipped the last 30 seconds of a song has been fixed.

But, I still see it as a bit half baked where it's waiting for the rest of itself to drop In December.

 

[JPP]

UI terrible...see many other theads/posts on this....

 

[Dhuddart]

Prior to version 8 I could use my steering wheel controls to manage my media now I have to take my hands off the wheel look down at the big screen to change channels in addition sometimes when I leave the car the channel will change autonomously or the steering wheel controls simply don't work at all to mute it

 

[scottm]

I started a "like about v8" thread... over here:

Things I like about V8 software

One thing I'll add to that ... is I'm getting updates about 1 per two weeks which means they're onto fixing v8 bugs pretty aggressively, moreso than v7 fixes, it seems.

Which is nice to see when intended features are working closer to as-intended, or working better, in increments.. Not just introduction of more new features. I don't need new features or switches ...

ANY release that comes with no new Release Notes.. and is just fine by me, it's a quality release....GLADLY taken.

PLEASE keep up the efforts Tesla programmers... Not everything is about making AP2 software use the new hardware.. (contrary to what Elon says, trust your loyal followers and legacy owners!) PLease keep making renegade "easy fixes" and getting them onto the "next OTA" train.... and THANKS!

 

[2krazykats]

Had really high hopes for the auto-dial feature using voice commands. The first few times I used it, it kept calling my boss even though I spoke someone else's name! Very embarrassing to have to explain to her the problem. Recently, it seems to be much improved and I'm liking it because it is much safer to to make a call w/o having to take your eyes off the road to touch the contact to make a call with the previous UI.

With each incremental release, I feel like different quirks come with it. The latest one causes the next favorite item to play when you start the car. It doesn't happen all the time but I've noticed that it happens more and more often. I'm not sure what causes it because it doesn't happen all the time. Is anyone else seeing this too? I searched the forum but didn't see anything similar based on my search words.

 

[number12]

15 Tesla kool aid drinkers so far..

 

[Snerruc]

No problems for me and no updates since install.

 

[SDRick]

I appreciate the AP improvements and others mentioned above.

There are still some very basic shortcomings and too many button presses for simple activity in the audio and climate section. Something as simple as turning on the dome light requires multiple presses.

Certain basic information is also lacking. There is no indication on whether the air conditioner compressor is on or off and no way to toggle it one step. Same for the heater. A simple memorized driver exit seat position would also be nice. As also mentioned above, the disappearing icons are little goofy at least warranting an option.

 

[harry]

I hate it. As owners of 2 non AP cars, each new version has further compromised our use of the interface and by extension, the cars themselves. Functions have been removed or obscured with each up(down)grade. The interface is increasingly un-ergonomic in a dozen ways, and as a bonus, presents an appearance that is crude, childish and butt ugly.

 

[roblab]

15 Tesla kool aid drinkers so far..

Right. If I don't happen to care about how the UI works, don't do audio in my car, am able to learn how to find where a button is and use it (at age 72), it makes me a Kool Aid user.

And If I don't bitch and moan about the interface and buttons and voice control, what does that mean? It means you are different than me.

I don't see how that makes me either for or against Tesla. It only means it's just not important, to ME. What are YOU drinking?

 

[number12]

Right. If I don't happen to care about how the UI works, don't do audio in my car, am able to learn how to find where a button is and use it (at age 72), it makes me a Kool Aid user.

And If I don't bitch and moan about the interface and buttons and voice control, what does that mean? It means you are different than me.

I don't see how that makes me either for or against Tesla. It only means it's just not important, to ME. What are YOU drinking?

So is it the increased AP nags you enjoy?
Or for some the decrease in AP functionality?

 

[calisnow]

...I did not see much posts thanking Tesla and their team for their continuous efforts to improve the car and the interface.

That's because you have a bunch of self-absorbed whining over-entitled nerds on this board.

 

[UberEV1]

I am happy with UI, but unhappy with media player performance. This Thanksgiving weekend was our first roadtrip since v8 and it was by far the worst media player performance in 3+ years of owning our Model S. Podcasts don't play consistently (reported in other threads), phone will disconnect on first use of left thumb wheel (also reported by others), Slacker worked only half the time (despite 3 to 5 bars on 3G connection), radio streams keep cutting out, frequent "Loading errors" with all content types. Ironically, my wife suggested taking our ICE car this time, but I convinced her otherwise to have better entertainment options for the long drive. Ooops!

 

[Mark Bloomston]

I am happy with UI, but unhappy with media player performance. This Thanksgiving weekend was our first roadtrip since v8 and it was by far the worst media player performance in 3+ years of owning our Model S. Podcasts don't play consistently (reported in other threads), phone will disconnect on first use of left thumb wheel (also reported by others), Slacker worked only half the time (despite 3 to 5 bars on 3G connection), radio streams keep cutting out, frequent "Loading errors" with all content types. Ironically, my wife suggested taking our ICE car this time, but I convinced her otherwise to have better entertainment options for the long drive. Ooops!

Same experience here. Slacker really lives up to its name. Maps are way slower now too and sometimes all the road names are upside down.