What is neutral for?

[Jughead135]

OK, you guys have been pretty gentle on the noob questions, so here's my biggie:

What's NEUTRAL for?

The manual makes it pretty clear that it's important to use Tow Mode for any towing, and equally important to get all four wheels off the ground (even tow dollies are considered "last resort" if and only if a flatbed is not available). It mentions the front motor generating power whenever the wheels are spinning as a reason. The limits of 30' and 3mph to rolling in Tow Mode appear (barely) adequate to getting the car up on a flatbed, but I don't see any such restriction mentioned with regard to NEUTRAL. The only difference I can find otherwise is the car staying in NEUTRAL (not automatically shifting to PARK) when in Tow Mode. Is that it?

Can the car be safely rolled in NEUTRAL? When/how/why would it be appropriate to do so? What's the difference between NEUTRAL and Tow Mode? How about setting the Stopping Mode to "Roll" ("When close to, or at, a complete stop, Model S becomes free rolling like a vehicle in Neutral.")? Is this bad for the front motor? Why the differences between three different versions of "free rolling"?

Related question: What's the difference between (a) "PARK," achieved by pressing the Park button and/or simply getting out of the driver seat (which gets you a "P" on the panel after a brief transition through the "((H))" of Vehicle Hold, but does not illuminate the red "((P))" for the parking brake); (b) setting the parking brake via long-hold of the Park button (which gets you both "P" for PARK and the "((P))" for parking brake); and (c) setting the parking brake via the touchscreen, which gets you "N" for NEUTRAL and the "((P))" for parking brake). The manual explicitly states, "The parking brake automatically engages when you shift Model S into Park, and releases when you shift into any other gear." That's consistent with my observation of how it behaves--but I have no clue what the difference is between these three modes.

Is PARK analogous to an ICE transmission in the sense that it somehow locks the wheels from turning by keeping them engaged to the (de-energized) motors; and the parking brake is a supplement to that? I'd had the impression that the parking brake did all the work of keeping the car stopped when in PARK--but, with three different versions, I figure I must be missing something....

Help!!

 

[Ken7]

I use neutral for the car wash I go to. It works fine as the car is pulled along.

 

[SSedan]

Park engages dedicated second calipers on the back rotors, literally a parking brake.

Neutral I can see questioning what is the point but maybe it is just if someone wants to coast for some reason???????? Or maybe there is a regulatory reason it has to be there??

Hit the park button, getting out of the seat to set it deliberately I would call reckless, I know it puts itself in park but don't rely on that.

 

[ddawson]

Car wash.

 

[mongo]

Tow mode has limits because the car is off and there is no one in the driver's seat. Neutral requires the driver to be there and the car to be on, so it can be in that mode indefinitely. Neutral is not bad for the motors.

 

[Jughead135]

Park engages dedicated second calipers on the back rotors, literally a parking brake.

Neutral I can see questioning what is the point but maybe it is just if someone wants to coast for some reason???????? Or maybe there is a regulatory reason it has to be there??

Hit the park button, getting out of the seat to set it deliberately I would call reckless, I know it puts itself in park but don't rely on that.

Are you suggesting that when the manual states, "The parking brake automatically engages when you shift Model S into Park, and releases when you shift into any other gear," that it's referring to different brakes (perhaps the normal wheel brakes?) than when directly setting the parking brake?

I actually wondered about the regulatory reason--I certainly don't know. And, no, other than testing the functionality, I do not deliberately get out of the car with it in gear to set the brake. I'm asking only to try to understand the distinction--or, if there even IS a distinction....

 

[Jughead135]

Car wash.

Tow mode has limits because the car is off and there is no one in the driver's seat. Neutral requires the driver to be there and the car to be on, so it can be in that mode indefinitely. Neutral is not bad for the motors.

Well, I hope that's true--and, I guess I "get" what Tow Mode does ref the car being off (but not in PARK). However, the manual cites the forward motor as the reason for the 30' / 3mph limit. If you're rolling through a car wash or coasting down the street in NEUTRAL, you're certainly going to exceed one or both of those limits.

How do you know NEUTRAL isn't bad for the motors? I certainly want to believe that's true--but, I've got a manual section that certainly suggests that it IS bad (at least in certain circumstances, i.e., Tow Mode), with no corresponding section telling me otherwise vis-a-vis NEUTRAL....

 

[StarLog]

For when you go thru an automated car wash, and they say "put it in nuetral"

 

[Ostrichsak]

I never use neutral. For car washes I simply come to a stop & let it run us through. It's VERY important that you 1) leave your seatbelt on and 2) not shift around in your seat. Doing either one could cause the car to throw itself in park.

I know that doesn't answer the OP's question but it addresses what a few others are discussing.

 

[mongo]

How do you know NEUTRAL isn't bad for the motors? I certainly want to believe that's true--but, I've got a manual section that certainly suggests that it IS bad (at least in certain circumstances, i.e., Tow Mode), with no corresponding section telling me otherwise vis-a-vis NEUTRAL....

In tow mode, the normal electronics and systems are nonfunctional so the vehicle can't react to the voltage produced by spinning the front motor.
If Neutral were bad, the car couldn't coast in drive (and there would be a warning in the manual).

Note: the Raven S is different from the preRaven in terms of the impact of flat towing.

Are you suggesting that when the manual states, "The parking brake automatically engages when you shift Model S into Park, and releases when you shift into any other gear," that it's referring to different brakes (perhaps the normal wheel brakes?) than when directly setting the parking brake?

Current cars use separate electrical actuators integratedin the calipers to engage the same brake pads at the normal brakes. Older models had two different sets of pads and mechanisms for parking and service brakes.

 

[Seth2020]

Related question: What's the difference between (a) "PARK," achieved by pressing the Park button and/or simply getting out of the driver seat (which gets you a "P" on the panel after a brief transition through the "((H))" of Vehicle Hold, but does not illuminate the red "((P))" for the parking brake); (b) setting the parking brake via long-hold of the Park button (which gets you both "P" for PARK and the "((P))" for parking brake); and (c) setting the parking brake via the touchscreen, which gets you "N" for NEUTRAL and the "((P))" for parking brake).

Your helpful guide to the Tesla Model 3 parking brake

 

[Seth2020]

I never use neutral. For car washes I simply come to a stop & let it run us through. It's VERY important that you 1) leave your seatbelt on and 2) not shift around in your seat. Doing either one could cause the car to throw itself in park.

I know that doesn't answer the OP's question but it addresses what a few others are discussing.

Sounds dangerous. It seems Neutral exists so you do not need to flirt with such danger

 

[duriopatrick]

I would like to see an easy screen selection to leave the car in "Neutral", even when someone is not in the car. That way, at a Car Wash, a worker would not need to sit inside my Tesla as it goes through the wash.

 

[Locash]

I use it for the car wash as well, as a bonus, the auto wipers don't come on either.

 

[airborne spoon]

I use it for the car wash as well, as a bonus, the auto wipers don't come on either.

I use it for the car wash as well but you can just turn the knob and disengage the auto wipers. I keep mine off all the time anyway because they would go off for one sweep every couple of months for no reason when it is dry outside. and if i want wipers its too easy to rotate the knob one spot to back on again.

 

[cityhpper]

Neutral is a good way to condition the brakes from time to time, e.g. when going down hills. This will also remind you on how heavy the car actually is...

 

[Wol747]

FWIW last week I got a warning "select fwd or rev" (or similar) as I was driving at about 20mph. It transpired that I had inadvertently used the gear stalk to indicate a turn (just having used wife's car which has the stalk on the opposite side) and it had gone into neutral. Didn't seem to cause any problem, just coasted.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Sounds dangerous. It seems Neutral exists so you do not need to flirt with such danger

Flirt w/danger? Whenever we first started driving them I messed with trying to get it into neutral which was more effort and if you take off your seat belt or shift in your seat it could shift itself to park for safety anyway. Any of the "danger" you mention is also still present even in neutral.

I've been doing this for years now and I assure you that it's actually the safest and easiest way to just leave it in drive. You shouldn't have your seat belt off anyway so how is that dangerous? In the years I've owned these cars now I've never actually used neutral. No reason to. Maybe someday I'll find a use but it ain't the automatic car wash, that's for sure.

 

[Brass Guy]

Mechanically there is no difference between neutral and tow mode. The motors are always connected to the wheels, unlike an ICE car with a transmission; so neutral just means no power will be delivered to the motor(s) when you press the accelerator, nor will the car regenerate to slow down. Coasting in neutral is pretty much the same as driving in D and feathering the accelerator so as not to speed up nor slow down.
Park and parking brake/N are also mechanically the same; the brake is applied to keep the car from rolling.
The only difference between all these modes are electronic/computer programming; how the car will behave when you exit for example, or what indicators are displayed.

By the way, unless the software has changed since I last tested it, the car will apply Park from Drive or Reverse as well as Neutral if the driver's seatbelt is unbuckled and the weight is lifted from the seat.

 

[Brass Guy]

Going through the car wash in D is fine, also (almost) the same as N unless you use use accelerator or turn on creep mode.