Tag: car update

This is part of a series that covers my experience with a Tesla Model Y.

I saw a couple videos of the Model Y in the snow (one with stock tires, one with all season Tesla tires) last year, but I hadn’t had the chance to experience it in Colorado yet.

That is until earlier this week. We returned home from Las Vegas to freezing temperatures. The BMW showed –5 on the drive home from the airport. I was glad we hadn’t left the Tesla there. I don’t know what the drain would be, but I wasn’t interested in coming home to a low battery after a week.

I got snow tires a couple weeks ago and wrote about the experience. When we had a light snow, really a half inch of sleet, the car slipped a few times taking turns in the neighborhood on pavement. It had me a bit worried as I’ve been in snow with summer tires and things don’t go well.

In this case, we got about 2-3 inches of snow and I needed to run to town. It wasn’t a great test, as lots of the pavement was clear, but the driveway wasn’t. Ruts from a few trucks and the X5, but still snow. The kind of snow that the Prius could have navigated, but it would be slightly tricky and slip.

Actually, there’s a chance the Prius would get stuck, but not a big chance.

In any case, the new snow tires (Michelin X-Ice Snow) worked great. I felt confident and no slippage.

We’ll see how it goes when we get real snow or drive to the mountains.

Update Jan 6, 2022: We got about 2-3″ of snow late yesterday. We left the house around 6:15 for volleyball practice and there was very little snow. However, but the time I got to the gym, the roads were covered with a light 1/2″ or so. The tires seems to grip well and handle light acceleration and braking, which is how I’d drive other cars in the snow.

When I came of practice, there was a good 2″ of snow on roads (and the car). We actually stopped by a store for a few things, and I grabbed a new long handled scraper/brush, as the Model Y seems to accumulate snow on the rear window (no wiper) and across the front.

Driving went well. A little slippage when accelerating into turns, but about what I’d get from other cars. I felt safe, and I’m ready to take this to the mountains, but I was aware of the weight of the car. A few times turning while slowing and going down a hill, I could see it slipping. Definitely need to be careful coming down hills and braking, leaving more room and slowing earlier.

A video of this post is available.

This is part of a series that covers my experience with a Tesla Model Y.

I’ve been looking for winter tires for about 6 weeks, checking the local inventory and the online places. It’s been hard to find tires, or at least any that are rated well. I found 3 of a few brands, but no sets of 4. My plan had been to get 4 tires and swap them on the same wheels for 4 winter tires. I’d do the same thing again in the spring and use these tires.

I haven’t been in too much of a hurry, mostly because it’s been 50s and 60s in Denver, and it doesn’t seem like snow is coming. However, we got a surprise sleet storm the other day as I was leaving for the gym. Not too bad, but definitely moisture coming down. I could see a white surface on the paved roads as I drove through the neighborhood.

Turning onto the main road was tricky. No cars coming, which was good, because I need to accelerate from a hill, and the car slipped. Not a lot, but enough that I know these tires aren’t going to be good.

Brands

I’d been looking for a few different brands. The Continental Extreme Contact DWS, the Pirelli WINTER SOTTOZERO 3, and the Michelin X-Ice 3 tires were on my list. A few local people recommended some others as well, but those were the main ones I was searching for from places.

The Tesla uses a strange size, 255-45-R19, which is not good for a time where supply chains are messed up. Even looking at Nokian and Bridgestone, I wasn’t finding much.

After my incident, I searched a bit more and saw that there might be some at Big O Tires, so after the gym I swung by the store.

Big O Tires

They didn’t have them, but the salesguy and I had a good talk. He told me the inventory system online doesn’t always track well with what is in the stores. He also had a Suburban he was restoring and needed tires that were hard to find, and I mentioned I owned one as well. He showed some pictures of his and became a bit more invested. He said they had swapped tires a few times for Tesla owners and always struggled to get tires in, but he’d look around more.

I got a call to come back later and we talked a bit more. He noted that he had found some 245-45-r19 tires, so slightly narrower, but they’d fit on the same wheels. These were the Michelin X-Ice 3 ones, so I just bought them.

I paid for the tires and made an appointment to drop the car off the next day. I got a ride with my son and we left the car there about 945. I went home and then headed back out to a doctor’s appointment. At 11:15, I got a call the car was ready.

They had bagged up the old tires and left them in the back of the Model Y. I’d lowered the seats and 4 tires fit in there fine. Without the wheels, they also weren’t too heavy, and I put them in the shed with the BMW summer tires when I got home.

Performance and Noise

I have no idea about snow performance as its still 50F and dry in Denver. Even the day we went out for a long drive (about 90m) in 10F weather, it was dry.

However, the car seems to drive the same, and my wife didn’t notice any noise difference. I hadn’t told her I had swapped tires, so I was curious if she’d see a difference. We got up to 90mph on the highway at one point and no real noise difference.

We’ll see how they perform in snow, hopefully, but I’m confident as quite a few people run these tires.

Total cost was about $1500 for the tires, mounting, and a warranty. After the issue with the nail, I think $150 for a tire shop warranty makes sense.

Now, hoping we get some snow so I can test the tires.

A video of this post is available.

This is part of a series that covers my experience with a Tesla Model Y.

The car is amazing, but like most cars I’ve purchased, I wanted to add a few things to it. This post looks at the things I purchased.

License Plate

I wanted to be legal in Colorado. I don’t need the hassle or reasons to get stopped, especially being a brown man in a very rural county. I ordered the Slipstream Bracket for 2022-2020 Tesla Model Y by ThatGrin LLC. It clips onto the front air dam bracket, and then has screws that prevent it from coming loose. I think it’s quite a neat design, made of metal, and seems very secure.

I made a specific installation video for this one.

Sunglasses

I usually want sunglasses around in the strong Colorado sun, and I like to keep a spare pair or two in the car. In my X5, I had no good place to keep them, but did buy a cheap visor clip that worked OK. Actually, it didn’t and broke. I think I bought 4 or 5 of them across the last 8 years.

For the Model Y, I went on Etsy and tried a couple of clips. I don’t know exactly who I got them from, but they are like this one, a 3D printed item. I used a trim tool to get them above the visor, and I ordered 3. I keep two pairs of my glasses in here and then an open holder for the passenger.

So far they work great, though only for sunglasses with thick arms.

Organization

Inside the car are some big spaces for things. Two large console buckets. The front one also has the USB-C plugs, so I did two things here.

First, a USB adapter that plugs into the 2 “C” plugs and gives me two Cs and two A (3.0) plugs. It works well, and so far it’s just holding a short A->microB cord for my headphones to charge. Once in awhile, like two times in three months, I get a notice on the car to unplug and replug it back in. Not sure why, but it hasn’t been a big issue.

I also got a console organizer for the front space. It slides on brackets and is hidden most of the time, but I have the registration, some change, and a few pens in there. It’s handy, and nice to have.

I got cupholder inserts as well. I often have water, soda, or coffee, and these are easier to clean than anything else. They work OK, but larger cups slip them out, so I have to remember to twist and pull out the cup. I had a couple coffee leaks, so I’m glad I have these. I should have something like this for the BMW.

I got a trunk organizer, which is something I’ve needed in other cars for years. Works great and keeps groceries from falling into the deep rear wells.

Interior Protection

I got a large sunshade, barely used. Too cool in the fall in CO, but it fits nice and folds up. So far, no complaints. The front window is huge, so you need a large screen.

I got some floor mats that are supposedly cut for the Model Y. I think this is a generic process now, and these were a lot less expensive than WeatherTechs. It shows. They work fine, they’ve protected from some water spills, but they don’t fit great, at least not on the driver’s side. Wouldn’t recommend.

I did get a Spigen screen protector for the display. It’s matte, and it definitely darkens things. It works fine with my sunglasses, and not sure it’s worse in direct sun. Might be better. Really, in bright sun, nothing works well.

I also got the lifting pads, though the Tesla service guy said these weren’t needed for most mechanics. I likely want them if I change tires or need to lift the car.

I also got the Basenor Mud Flaps. Two months in, they work great.

We got a pet cover for the backseat, since we like our dogs with us. It’s ok. Covers the seat, keeps dog hair off things. We somewhat wish we had the hammock style, but not sure as we use it more and 3 of us are in the car.

That’s about it. Right now we’re still thrilled with the car, nothing I’d worry about adding, so no purchases coming anytime soon.

A video of the accessories if you want to see what the items look like.

This is part of a series that covers my experience with a Tesla Model Y.

I had to bring my car into the service center to get the tire fixed. While I was there, doing a little work, I had the chance to interact with service personnel, but more fascinating was watching others do the same thing.

I saw some older people that were happy with the cars, but struggling to use the technology. Maybe some of the car reviewers have a point here with the paradigm change.

One older gentleman was struggling to get his new phone to sync as a key. He struggled with getting email logged in, a general problem with older people. He couldn’t figure out his email, and I mentally applauded the rep that was trying to help him get logged into email on his phone so that he could authorize it as a key.

Another lady had come in for service, which she’d called to schedule. When the tech asked her to check her mobile app for instructions and approvals, she said she never looked at the app. In fact, she wasn’t carrying her phone in her purse. They worked with her to look up her account and get her car in for service.

What was more interesting to me was that this was an integrated system, with one rep handling the walk-ins for both service and car pickup. I saw 6 people processed in the first 30 minutes by one person. At other dealerships, I’d see 10 or more people wandering around, with about the same level of inefficiency.

My Service Experience

When I realized my tire was leaking air slowly, I knew I’d need to do something. I reached out to the roadside service group, but they only offered a tow to the service center or a tire shop. Since I’d paid for a repair, I was looking for some credit. A tow to the repair center is less useful to me than just driving over and waiting.

The roadside people were too busy to schedule anything in the next few days, so I decided to try the service center. I tried to schedule through the app, but I couldn’t find appointments this week in Denver. I could have driven to the Colorado Springs location, and I was tempted, but I decided to call the Denver location first. I talked with a tech who told me to come in early one day and they’d fit me in.

I arrived and since I didn’t have an appointment, was told to call them. The only person outside at opening time was busy with a customer. I called and was told a tech would be outside in a few minutes. About 3-4 minutes later a  rep walked outside and grabbed me. I explained the issue and he checked for tires. He told me if the patch didn’t work they wouldn’t re-patch it. I needed a new tire, but he said he’d credit the patch cost.

He scheduled me and said it would likely be about an hour as they slipped me into the schedule. I sat down with my laptop, worked about 40 minutes, and my car was done. I approved the charge in the app and paid and was on my way.

All in all, a good service experience, and in general, faster than I’ve had in the past if I just show up.