What's the most surprising thing you've found once you got your Tesla?

[SMAlset]

This is more of an irritation, but after all the miles I've driven, I still don't seem to be able to cancel the right turn signal without turning on the left signal ... there's gotta be some sweet spot I'm failing to find.

Huh? Just tap it quickly up again.

 

[SMAlset]

The Tesla hate surprised me a bit. There aren't so many, but they are obsessed with hating Tesla. It's like a religious thing with them.

More like a making money off spreading negative stories.

 

[SMAlset]

What surprised me?

How fun the cars are to drive. Never been so into any car I’ve owned before.

How amazingly effortless it was to drive up and down the Cuesta grade going from SF bay to central coast Calif. (7% grade I think). With other cars we had, it was on the gas going up hill and feeling it and down shifting to a lower gear and then watching the braking, etc. Our Teslas just handle the up and down grade like it was on flat roadway, smooth as silk while watching some other cars struggling to maintain speed. The control on the road is amazing too around the curves. I use to hate driving this portion of the drive before but no longer.

How great it feels not having to pump gasoline or smell it or have it on your hands. Just days away from a year on my car and longer on my husbands. And sure don’t miss the $40+ gasoline stops with my Toyota Avalon. Plugging in at home is so easy.

How I never knew how pleasurable it is to accelerate from a stop.

Did I mention how fun it is to drive and how I look forward to going out in it every day?!

 

[camalaio]

Huh? Just tap it quickly up again.

I have the opposite side problem. My left signal seems "sticky". The momentary press sometimes locks it in. Right signal works great and as expected. I can cancel the right signal with the lightest bump down, but canceling the left requires going up almost to momentary position. I'm embarrassed to file a service request for it because I can't quite explain what's wrong with it, but 13,000km later both the wife and I just know it ain't right somehow.

 

[WoodworkerII]

No AM radio. Must pay $300 to have HomeLink garage remote feature (& hardware) added.

 

[Scott Hovercar]

Surprised and pleased that every time I leave my driveway in my Model 3 I have the sensation of floating down the road in my "hover car".

 

[dfwatt]

When you coated your windshield did you prop up the windshield wipers somehow? I’m going to coat mine but even when you put the wipers in service mode you’re unable to prop them so they aren’t against the glass. It sure if you can just coat under them then put them down in between coats or not.

yes we just coated underneath the wipers and then put them back down on top of it. I'm sure that leaves a very thin layer of material on the wipers but that's okay. As far as I've been able to tell it makes no difference. One car is a year old and another car is just about to turn 1 year old and the wipers on both cars are in very good shape

 

[Beprimeau]

Most surprising thing for me is how I have become a "car lover." I never was a "car guy." I rarely took my car to the car wash, never waxed my car, vacuumed it out about once a year. But I have fallen in love with my Model 3. I got a Tesla personalized license plate, wash it weekly, vacuum it regularly, wipe the bugs off after a long drive, apply finish protectant, etc., like a doting parent. And I read Tesla Motor Club and facebook Tesla groups obsessively!

 

[SMAlset]

I have the opposite side problem. My left signal seems "sticky". The momentary press sometimes locks it in. Right signal works great and as expected. I can cancel the right signal with the lightest bump down, but canceling the left requires going up almost to momentary position. I'm embarrassed to file a service request for it because I can't quite explain what's wrong with it, but 13,000km later both the wife and I just know it ain't right somehow.

That doesn't sound right and not what I experience. Send in the request saying the left turn signal sticks on and can't cancel sometimes. Let them figure it out. Sounds like a known issue with some of the stalk parts that got installed in the cars. Get it fixed. You wouldn't want someone around you to think you were doing some manuever when you had no intention to do so.

 

[David W Virtue]

When people see Fart Mode, they just say 'Coool'

When people see Fart Mode, they just say 'Coool'

Hear! Hear!

 

[DopeGhoti]

No AM radio.

Next time you're lamenting this, turn on your AM radio at home, and then fire up a power drill. Understanding will come upon you with alacrity.

 

[xxxholic]

Well for the 10 days I got to enjoy the car, I was surprised by how effortless the car is to drive. It's just goes and its a thrilling, fun and engaging ride.

I am also surprised that people think that all Tesla vehicles are expensive. When I tell people I bought a Tesla - I get the "oh wow you must be rich look", lol ( spoiler alert - I am not where close to being rich).

Lastly - I am surprised and disappointed by the abysmal supply chain of Telsa. My car has been in the shop since 8/27 - waiting for parts. Something as simple as tires/wheels are hard to come by. Being on the other end of horrendous Tesla repair experience was not something I thought I would endure this early in ownership.

 

[Kleenerth3]

yes we just coated underneath the wipers and then put them back down on top of it. I'm sure that leaves a very thin layer of material on the wipers but that's okay. As far as I've been able to tell it makes no difference. One car is a year old and another car is just about to turn 1 year old and the wipers on both cars are in very good shape

I did the same thing, df. No prob with mine either. I used Adam's glass sealant and now the wipers glide silently and smooth as silk. Did not even notice it on the wiper blades.

 

[Kleenerth3]

Without the noise of an ICE roaring at my feet, I now love to roll both windows down before I romp on the accelerator. It's the coolest sound to hear all four tires grabbing at the road and spitting asphalt.
I had to get used to calling it the accelerator and not the "gas"!

 

[camalaio]

Most surprising thing for me is how I have become a "car lover." I never was a "car guy." I rarely took my car to the car wash, never waxed my car, vacuumed it out about once a year. But I have fallen in love with my Model 3. I got a Tesla personalized license plate, wash it weekly, vacuum it regularly, wipe the bugs off after a long drive, apply finish protectant, etc., like a doting parent. And I read Tesla Motor Club and facebook Tesla groups obsessively!

Hah, yeah. We saved all this time going to gas stations, and now spend all this time protecting and cleaning the car

That doesn't sound right and not what I experience. Send in the request saying the left turn signal sticks on and can't cancel sometimes. Let them figure it out. Sounds like a known issue with some of the stalk parts that got installed in the cars. Get it fixed. You wouldn't want someone around you to think you were doing some manuever when you had no intention to do so.

Ohhh, ok. I didn't realise there was a known issue. I'll mention it at the mobile service appointment I finally have tomorrow. Thanks!

 

[Perry]

Thank you for pointing this out. I'm in the software industry (and surrounded by those who are as well), and this is something we know is inevitable with frequent updates, especially on the scale that Tesla needs to do it at.

I am a software engineer too and yes this is the result of frequent updates but usually even in this setting older bugs eventually get fixed but not with Tesla. They keep accumulating mainly because there is no proper way to report bugs and no proper review system for them to do so and be accountable for them with public tracking. They are running their software dev like amateurs.

 

[smithg13]

Best way to do this is the old David Letterman 10 best countdown: 10 Most Surprising Great Things about the Tesla Model 3

10) It's shocking how easy it is to use the Tesla navigation System and the brilliant integration of the operating system via the touchscreen.
9) It's equally shocking how much money you can spend tweaking the car (esp. fantastic MPP Sports Coilovers and Vorsteiner wheels)! But how it all seems like money well spent! (Cautionary note – wife has threatened to commit me if I buy any more wheels and tires!) Bummer!
8) How you never knew you hated going to gas stations until all of a sudden you didn't have to!
7) How the model 3 has the best front seat I've ever sat in!
6) How autopilot makes long distance driving so much less stressful, and more than compensates for the little bit of extra time in charging.
5) How utterly addicting instant and totally proportional acceleration is – and how you can never go back to ICE performance. Just drove the turbocharged Porsche Cayman GTS – great car, but it's a slug by comparison!
4) How fantastic the sound system is – especially with a very modest, inexpensive tweak of replacing the four-inch drivers w/ infinity 4022.
3) How nice it feels to be approaching carbon neutral when you will just plug your Tesla into your new Tesla solar system – coming in one month!
2) How much you love regenerative braking not just because it's saving money and energy but because it makes the car so much easier to drive – and that's maybe the second biggest surprise of all that this is the easiest car to drive we've ever owned.

And the biggest #1 surprise of all – my technophobic wife who hates cars or at least just regards them as a necessary evil to get from point A to point B, she just loves her Tesla Model 3 Performance to pieces. Her review of the car: "OMG - it's the bomb!"

Tell me more about #4! Was it easy to swap out the drivers? Are they just in the doors?

 

[dfwatt]

Tell me more about #4! Was it easy to swap out the drivers? Are they just in the doors?

Wasn't actually that hard. At least in terms of the three 4 inch drivers in the dash. The two in the rear doors were a b**** and I probably wouldn't recommend trying to do that with the infinity 4022. Magnet structure is too large.

 

[dfwatt]

Tell me more about #4! Was it easy to swap out the drivers? Are they just in the doors?

There is long thread on this here - the 3 front dash speakers are the proverbial low hanging fruit in terms of sound system upgrade and bang for the buck. The middle one is a biatch, and you will need a special screwdriver tool to get the machine screws loose - all this is discussed in the thread. But for $75 bucks, and leaving you with one spare driver to hold onto, this is the easiest, cheapest and best stereo upgrade around, and I've tried about 15-20 of them.

 

[smithg13]

There is long thread on this here - the 3 front dash speakers are the proverbial low hanging fruit in terms of sound system upgrade and bang for the buck. The middle one is a biatch, and you will need a special screwdriver tool to get the machine screws loose - all this is discussed in the thread. But for $75 bucks, and leaving you with one spare driver to hold onto, this is the easiest, cheapest and best stereo upgrade around, and I've tried about 15-20 of them.

Ok thanks! This looks like a worthy winter project I found a video on how to remove the dashboard grill which doesn't look too hard.