What features do you wish the Model Y came with (Dec 2022/Jan 2023) Wishlist

[macheboston]

Love my Model Y, but there's always room for improvement...What features would you like to see Tesla make for Model Y or Model 3?

Let's classify this as either A) software updates or B) hardware upgrades (for new cars and possibly retrofitting to existing cars).

I'll start...

A) Software Updates

1. Please enable the matrix headlights.
2. CarPlay and Android Auto (which may or may not require HW changes)
3. Navigate to 3rd party DCFC
4. Error/warning messages need text-to-speech. The text is tiny and I shouldn't need to look at the screen to see that autosteer is disabled or some other critical alert.
5. Voice recognition for changing radio stations (I thought every car had this — my Ford and my Toyota did)
6. Without EAP or FSD, lane changing should be more seamless and less beepy. In my last car (Mach E), you'd signal, it would let you change lanes without lane keeping, and it would detect when you're in the new lane and re-engage lane centering.
7. Add ability to adjust wiper sensitivity
8. I've had 3-4 times in my 3 months with the car where the car would not update its status in the app. It was in persistent disconnected status (in a well covered cell area that I go all the time). In a couple cases it was broken for 3-6 hours. I had to two-button restart. Please fix this.

B) hardware upgrades (and please offer upgrades to current owners)

1. Heads up display (that seems like the perfect minimalist match for Tesla)
2. Cameras support for Birds Eye surround view (downward facing cameras under the side mirrors, etc)
3. Infrared eye illuminator and camera tracking for detection driver attention instead of hands on the steering wheel (like Chevy Supercruise and Ford BlueCruise)
4. 80A level 2 charging (19.2kW). I know early Model S cars had an option. But more and more businesses are installing 80A chargers. Blink and SemaConnect have sold 80A commercial chargers for a while. Chargepoint released a 80A commercial charger a couple months ago. If you can get almost double the charge (vs a 48A charger) during a shopping trip or a movie, or move almost twice as many cars through a charger at a workplace, that would be great.
5. Vehicle to load and vehicle to house. We've all seen what the Hyndaid/Kia can do with a built-in plug and a J1772 adapter. And the Ford Lightning's ability to power your house. Come on Tesla, we want this too!

"File:2020 Tesla Model Y, rear 8.1.20.jpg" by Kevauto is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Admin note: Added as thumbnail for blog.

 

[WhiteOnWhiteMY]

Sirius must have their head in the sand
The model Y nimber vehicle in 2023 and they are not soliciting Tesla to add their app to the Tesla UI
I’m actually a big fan of Sirius XM content

You can retrofit it

 

[Yelobird]

You're right. This is not essential. But I like to know what my car is signaling to other cars. Exactly when do the brake lights go on when I use regen? Seeing it on the display tells me and I can probably calibrate to know by feel when the brake lights will go on. Wanting this feature seems like a total no-brainer to me but, of course, your Wh/mile may vary.

Concern over what I'm signaling to others is why I think having to engage a turn indicator to know whether someone is in my blind spot is rather silly and possibly dangerous. Except for the case of merging from an on-ramp, it's only useful if it probably panics the driver of a car in my bind spot possibly causing an accident.

Another example: if there are cars around me, I try to manually center my car in the lane before engaging autosteer. It rapidly veers into the center of the lane when engaged which can frighten the driver of a car next to me. IMO it would be safer if the car moved to the center of the lane more gently when autosteer is first engaged.

Why do I have to manually center? When I have a clear shoulder to my right and cars in the lane to my left, I think it's safer to be in the right side of my lane. Not every time I drive but a few times a month a person in the lane next to mine will veer very close to or into my lane. More frequently I'll see cars with drivers who seem to be struggling to stay in their lane. I stay away from those cars.

I looked for this several times very closely as the car was regen braking on autopilot and I could not see it. I don't claim it doesn't exist but if it does exist it's so hard to see it's not useful to me.

For starters you Certainly spend a lot of your drive concerned about how other drivers feel and what is on their mind? Unusual to me as I see driving as an independent process and as long as others obey the traffic laws I can survive. Regarding the signal later view, I tend to disagree. The entire purpose of the turn signal is to let others Know your intention. Either speed up or slow down but my Intension is to change lanes. Very helpful for those knuckleheads getting ready to put down that oh so important call and get back to driving. A big flashing light Can snap them to attention vs ”it looks clear he Must know I’m coming!” It’s a fairly simple process while driving or at a stop sign; signal, check all paths, proceed when clear. The whole purpose of the blind stop warning is to let you know “You Missed Something!!”.

 

[sleepydoc]

For starters you Certainly spend a lot of your drive concerned about how other drivers feel and what is on their mind? Unusual to me as I see driving as an independent process and as long as others obey the traffic laws I can survive. Regarding the signal later view, I tend to disagree. The entire purpose of the turn signal is to let others Know your intention. Either speed up or slow down but my Intension is to change lanes. Very helpful for those knuckleheads getting ready to put down that oh so important call and get back to driving. A big flashing light Can snap them to attention vs ”it looks clear he Must know I’m coming!” It’s a fairly simple process while driving or at a stop sign; signal, check all paths, proceed when clear. The whole purpose of the blind stop warning is to let you know “You Missed Something!!”.

you may be a solitary driver, but you’re sharing the road with others so having an awareness of how your driving may affect the other drivers on the road is a good thing.
Re: blind spot warnings, note how every other car on the market has the light turn on independent of the turn signal. They could easily leave it off until you activate the turn signal but they don‘t. Why? Because it’s actually useful information for the driver to have. I’m constantly scanning my mirrors while driving so I know what’s around me. The blind spot monitor helps complete that mental picture.

 

[BitJam]

Make headlights revert to "auto" if manually set to "on" and you get out of the car (they do it when you set it to "off"...). Not as much a problem now that lights with wipers is working, but still...

This was high on my list but S3XY buttons fixed it. If I use a S3XY button to turn on my headlights then the lights revert to auto when I get out of the car so I don't get that silly warning telling me to turn off the headlights. This feature is why I finally got the S3XY buttons but they do a whole lot more.

 

[BitJam]

For starters you Certainly spend a lot of your drive concerned about how other drivers feel and what is on their mind?

It is part of a well known system called defensive driving which I was taught at a young age.

Defensive driving describes the practice of anticipating dangerous situations, despite adverse conditions or the mistakes of others when operating a motor vehicle. [...] It is a form of training for drivers that goes beyond road rules and the basic mechanics of drive techniques. Defensive driving reduces the risk of collisions and improves road safety.​

The entire purpose of the turn signal is to let others Know your intention.

I agree! Therefore it shouldn't be used for other purposes such as enabling a blind spot detection and warning system.

When used to indicate a lane change, turning on the signal means: I've looked, I think the lane is clear, and I'm about to move over. If you are in someone's blind spot and they indicate they are going to merge into you then you should take evasive action and honk your horn. This is why it's silly and dangerous to require the Tesla driver to turn on their signal in order to discover if someone is in their blind spot.

One thing Dirty Tesla has complained about is that FSD slows down for a turn before signaling thus not giving drivers behind him any warning he is going to slow down to make the turn which again defeats the purpose of the signal.

Why do Tesla engineers seem to have disdain for defensive driving and in particular for the reactions of other drivers to what the Tesla signals and does? I don't think it's to provide fodder for jokes that compare Teslas to porcupines.

My guess the company policy is to assume FSD will be fully operational real soon now. Therefore playing nice with human drivers is not a top priority. This may also be why many requests here are for more manual control and why there are 3rd parties such as S3XY buttons that thrive by providing more manual control. Improving the manual driving experience is also not a top priority.

 

[kpanda17]

Model Y magnetic tow hitch cover.
I just bought from Amazon but it should be standard via Tesla built in.

 

[Occhis]

Another example: if there are cars around me, I try to manually center my car in the lane before engaging autosteer. It rapidly veers into the center of the lane when engaged which can frighten the driver of a car next to me. IMO it would be safer if the car moved to the center of the lane more gently when autosteer is first engaged.

This also startles passengers when it jerks the car to the center of the lane. Definitely needs to be a smoother adjustment.

I looked for this several times very closely as the car was regen braking on autopilot and I could not see it. I don't claim it doesn't exist but if it does exist it's so hard to see it's not useful to me.

Never paid attention to brake lights while in autopilot, but being in that mode usually slows the vehicle at a slower rate than manually lifting off the pedal. Deceleration rate likely not enough to engage brake lights until you get closer to a full stop. I am assuming that is the reason you’re not seeing it while in autopilot. What about when manual driving?

 

[BitJam]

Never paid attention to brake lights while in autopilot, but being in that mode usually slows the vehicle at a slower rate than manually lifting off the pedal. Deceleration rate likely not enough to engage brake lights until you get closer to a full stop. I am assuming that is the reason you’re not seeing it while in autopilot. What about when manual driving?

Good point but with the S3XY dash I can clearly see that the brake lights come on when there is any significant slowing. For me when AP is coming up behind some stopped cars it switches from tootling along to significant slowing almost instantly. There is no gentle slowing or coasting because it looks like we will need to stop up ahead unless the traffic gets moving. I will often use the scroll wheel to lower the max speed in that situation so I can keep my momentum if the traffic moves.

PSA: the brake lights come on when you would expect them to come on. No one behind you is going to be surprised or confused because your car is slowing but the brake lights aren't on.

 

[Occhis]

Good point but with the S3XY dash I can clearly see that the brake lights come on when there is any significant slowing. For me when AP is coming up behind some stopped cars it switches from tootling along to significant slowing almost instantly. There is no gentle slowing or coasting because it looks like we will need to stop up ahead unless the traffic gets moving. I will often use the scroll wheel to lower the max speed in that situation so I can keep my momentum if the traffic moves.

PSA: the brake lights come on when you would expect them to come on. No one behind you is going to be surprised or confused because your car is slowing but the brake lights aren't on.

That’s true when approaching stopped cars, but it behaves well when in moving traffic, except it lags when it needs to accelerate to keep up with traffic. I often have to goose the go pedal so I don’t get honked at.

 

[YBosy]

Feature request:

Took delivery of my first EV right b4 New Years. If I'm mistaken here, I'd love to know as I'm definitely a newbie and want to learn asap. So here's my feature request:

Software: I want to walk up to the trunk and have only the trunk unlock.

So when I'm finished putting stuff in the trunk I can then go to the driver's door and only then will that door unlock.

As I understand it currently, to open the trunk I have to unlock all doors.

 

[Yelobird]

Feature request:

Took delivery of my first EV right b4 New Years. If I'm mistaken here, I'd love to know as I'm definitely a newbie and want to learn asap. So here's my feature request:

Software: I want to walk up to the trunk and have only the trunk unlock.

So when I'm finished putting stuff in the trunk I can then go to the driver's door and only then will that door unlock.

As I understand it currently, to open the trunk I have to unlock all doors.

Walking up to the car with your phone unlocks all locks automatically. If you walk away they all lock automatically.

 

[kpanda17]

I never needed any custom auto lock and unlock
The approaching and walking away unlock and lock has never been and issue.

 

[s_zigmond]

Feature request:

Took delivery of my first EV right b4 New Years. If I'm mistaken here, I'd love to know as I'm definitely a newbie and want to learn asap. So here's my feature request:

Software: I want to walk up to the trunk and have only the trunk unlock.

So when I'm finished putting stuff in the trunk I can then go to the driver's door and only then will that door unlock.

As I understand it currently, to open the trunk I have to unlock all doors.

Do you use your phone to unlock or your key card. The only way I can think to do this is use the key card to unlock, but your app to open the boot. To be honest it isn't something I've ever thought of, but is a good point, there is nothing to stop someone jumping in and driving off while you put stuff in the boot. Not sure if it would realise your phone wasn't actually in the car.