When are brake lights on?

[JSBinPNW]

I've owned my '22 M3 Long Range now for 11 months and 17K miles. I've read the owners manual, searched on line, and been thru this forum. Can someone please show me an example of the screen showing that the brake lights are on? I'm on the current 2022.25.14 software. I set my driving lights to be on all the time and headlights on automatic. I set regen to max. I understand my car avatar is supposed to show when the brake lights are on but have never seen it.

Any help is appreciated. Perhaps I'm a bit OCD about this but I also ride motorcycles which makes me to be very cognizant of rear vehicle closing speeds and in 5 decades of driving I've only had 1 accident....getting rear ended with absolutely no way to avoid it.

Thank you

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

United Nations Regulation 13-H part 5.2.22.4 requires most vehicles to activate the brake lights between 0.7 m/s^2 and 1.3 m/s^2. They must be off below that range, and must be on above that range. The main screen car icon does display the brake lights but they are very hard to see.

For reference, standard regen usually maxes out at ~2 m/s^2 and full panic stop with ABS triggered on all 4 wheels is ~10 m/s^2.

 

[3sr+buyer]

I understand my car avatar is supposed to show when the brake lights are on but have never seen it.

It (sometimes?) does, but for some reason does not always show the center brake lamp, and the car avatar's side brake lamps are quite small, so it is hard to tell at a glance when they are on.

At night, it is easier to notice at a glance when the brake lamps are on by the center brake lamp's reflection in the rear window as seen through the rear view mirror than on the car avatar.

 

[jjrandorin]

I've owned my '22 M3 Long Range now for 11 months and 17K miles. I've read the owners manual, searched on line, and been thru this forum. Can someone please show me an example of the screen showing that the brake lights are on? I'm on the current 2022.25.14 software. I set my driving lights to be on all the time and headlights on automatic. I set regen to max. I understand my car avatar is supposed to show when the brake lights are on but have never seen it.

Any help is appreciated. Perhaps I'm a bit OCD about this but I also ride motorcycles which makes me to be very cognizant of rear vehicle closing speeds and in 5 decades of driving I've only had 1 accident....getting rear ended with absolutely no way to avoid it.

Thank you

Have someone ride with you, with their smartphone, and have them film your screen while you drive for a few miles. You will see the brake lights on the car avatar come on. As mentioned they are small, but they do come on when the car is braking.

Or, have someone drive your car while you follow in another car. What you will likely notice, is "brake lights coming on" is actually not the issue. They come on a LOT more than most people recognize. In fact, I suspect that so many people are regen braking in Teslas, with their brake lights flickering off, on, off, on, every time they jackrabbit start, and then regen brake, that people following Teslas start to tune out brake lights on them.

That last part is just my feeling, but if you follow another Tesla, especially one with new plates where its fairly obvious its a new tesla owner, the brake lights come on ALL ... THE...TIME.

 

[Ciaopec]

Have someone ride with you, with their smartphone, and have them film your screen while you drive for a few miles. You will see the brake lights on the car avatar come on. As mentioned they are small, but they do come on when the car is braking.

Or, have someone drive your car while you follow in another car. What you will likely notice, is "brake lights coming on" is actually not the issue. They come on a LOT more than most people recognize. In fact, I suspect that so many people are regen braking in Teslas, with their brake lights flickering off, on, off, on, every time they jackrabbit start, and then regen brake, that people following Teslas start to tune out brake lights on them.

That last part is just my feeling, but if you follow another Tesla, especially one with new plates where its fairly obvious its a new tesla owner, the brake lights come on ALL ... THE...TIME.

While I agree overall with your assessment, I wonder if your feeling in the last statement might reflect another reality with new owners? New cars, new plates are also frequently accompanied by front wheel (especially) brake dust build up. I have often thought new owners may be carrying over habits from ICE vehicles and applying the brakes immediately to slow down rather than letting moderate regen work its magic. I see the brake lights all the time in ICE vehicles when they need to slow. The first action is use the brakes. JMHO.

I agree with OP that avatar lights on the MY/3 are nearly impossible to see in most situations unlike the light on the MS avatar.

 

[JSBinPNW]

It (sometimes?) does, but for some reason does not always show the center brake lamp, and the car avatar's side brake lamps are quite small, so it is hard to tell at a glance when they are on.

At night, it is easier to notice at a glance when the brake lamps are on by the center brake lamp's reflection in the rear window as seen through the rear view mirror than on the car avatar.

Thanks! Good suggestion. John

 

[JSBinPNW]

Have someone ride with you, with their smartphone, and have them film your screen while you drive for a few miles. You will see the brake lights on the car avatar come on. As mentioned they are small, but they do come on when the car is braking.

Or, have someone drive your car while you follow in another car. What you will likely notice, is "brake lights coming on" is actually not the issue. They come on a LOT more than most people recognize. In fact, I suspect that so many people are regen braking in Teslas, with their brake lights flickering off, on, off, on, every time they jackrabbit start, and then regen brake, that people following Teslas start to tune out brake lights on them.

That last part is just my feeling, but if you follow another Tesla, especially one with new plates where its fairly obvious its a new tesla owner, the brake lights come on ALL ... THE...TIME.

Good suggestion....will try that. John

 

[JSBinPNW]

While I agree overall with your assessment, I wonder if your feeling in the last statement might reflect another reality with new owners? New cars, new plates are also frequently accompanied by front wheel (especially) brake dust build up. I have often thought new owners may be carrying over habits from ICE vehicles and applying the brakes immediately to slow down rather than letting moderate regen work its magic. I see the brake lights all the time in ICE vehicles when they need to slow. The first action is use the brakes. JMHO.

I agree with OP that avatar lights on the MY/3 are nearly impossible to see in most situations unlike the light on the MS avatar.

Thank you. Good to know. John

 

[Silicon Desert]

I set my driving lights to be on all the time and headlights on automatic.

Not sure if you know this has nothing to do with the activation of your brake lights.
While on this subject. I wish my MX center display would show a brighter indication of when the brake lights are activated. As one person said, it's hard to notice in the daytime. While I know the brake lights come on as needed, it would be nice if Tesla would update the display to show a bit brighter indication.

 

[Deaf Paul]

Wanted to chime in that I also wish I could more clearly see when the brake lights up on the avatar. I figured out how much I could regenerate without the lights coming on by watching my power meter and outside lights on my i3. Then I knew going forward. Wonder if there’s a similar trick with the Tesla somewhere in the settings?

 

[fholbert]

I figured out how much I could regenerate without the lights coming on by watching my power meter and outside lights on my i3. Then I knew going forward.

Does a Tesla regen going backwards?

 

[phxazcraig]

If you drive at night, all the lights are ridiculously bright. Turn signals light up overhead signs 1000 feet away. Brake lights are also so bright you can't miss them in your rearview at night. Just try backing up. They should light up when regen occurs.

 

[MdlS3xy]

This was the only good thing the mini display did. I probably should have kept for the front camera. Anyway it did an excellent job of showing regenerative braking. I would never have known the brake light turned on when letting go of the electric pedal.