Tag: Tesla

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

One of the more interesting things about Tesla cars is that they have a computer system that essentially helps you run the car. There aren’t gauges or separate places to check things, as everything is in a large screen in the center of the car.

Recently the UI and software updated with a major new release. I’ve had a couple updates since I got the car in September, but in late December, a major change occurred with a new UI. Since I work in software, I wanted to talk about a few of the things.

I have a video of this post, which helps describe what I talk about, but I wanted to note a few things that I think improved, and some that didn’t.

Cleaner and Slightly Customized

The old UI was fine,  but I do think the latest version is an improvement in many ways. There are less buttons on the main screen, and some of the visible buttons can be customized. There are also some popups that appear when needed.

An example. The old UI had a button for wipers at the bottom of the screen. Now, there is no button, but if you click the wiper button, a pop-up in the lower left lets you change settings. There are also settings in the main control menu, which appears if you click the “car” icon.

There were also buttons for music, cameras, and other items, which have been replaced by a set of 4 buttons that you can customize with what you want. The same number of items is in a menu, but you can drag one down to the bar if you want it to be always visible.

There also is a “recent” button that changes to whatever you last opened, if it’s not one of your custom buttons. I think this is very handy as I often find myself closing something and then opening it again because I forgot to do something.

Blind Spots

One of the features I really like, which I show in the video but forget to talk about,is the blind spot camera. If I enable a turn signal, I get a camera view on the left side of the display, below the animated car, that shows me the side camera on that side.

Other cars do this, but Tesla didn’t build this in and enabled it through a software update. I couldn’t do this in Sept-Nov, but I can now. It’s very useful.

Music Controls

I listen to music often, actually we all do in my family, and we might move between Spotify, our phones, the radio, or the Tesla streaming. As we do this, picking an item means it becomes full screen. I used to swipe down to shrink it, or remove it, but now I can keep clicking the icon and I’ll get these views in rotation:

• full screen
• minimized at the bottom of the screen
• hidden

This is really nice as I can shrink or grow this easily with minimal distraction from my driving focus.

They also added a menu button in each of the music item that gives me a drop down of all other music sources. Arguably, this should have been done before, but I’ve found design decisions in every car that I think are mistakes. In most cars this means you are stuck with what is there, but Tesla has adapted.

Changes I Don’t Like

I had first titled this as something like poor changes, but really the UI/UX isn’t a yes/no thing, but seen differently by different people. A few things here are items I think are problematic.

First, I liked being able to swipe on the screen and get trip information. I now need to go into a menu and then click another menu. Not a great experience for me. Same for tire pressure as I’m slightly paranoid after my flat tire.

I miss having the driver profile and LTE status on the screen. As someone that shares the car with others, I miss this. I also live in an area where connectivity isn’t always great, so when something doesn’t work, it’s nice to see if I’ve lost service.

The swipe to raise/lower volume is worse now. I really need to click and the click/swipe the control. Not a huge issue as this isn’t used when I’m driving and I rarely mess with it when I’m the passenger.

I do, however, change temperature often. The speed at which a swipe adjustment changes things is too rapid. I find myself wanting to increase the heat by 2-3 degrees and ending up changing it by 10. Then I have to fix it. I can tap tap tap, but all of this distracts me when driving. A poor change.

Opportunities to Do Better

There were things I’d like to see, and still hope I will. I think Tesla missed a chance to clean up a few things.

First, if you allow customization, make sure it’s customized per driver profile. That should be easy.

Second, I have issues with the USB drive losing connection sometime. Having some status or easy way to refresh the port would be nice. Or even a status item. Instead, I have to unplug/replug and wait. Or reboot the car.

Third, an odometer or trip tracker should be visible on screen (or optional). Often I am following some directions or looking for something in xx miles. I’d like to know when I’ve gone xx miles.

I find two sensors, the auto window up/down and the rain sensor for wipers to be far too aggressive. I’d like to see a way to change this slightly. Not sure if this is possible without hardware changes, but if it is, I’d like an option.

Maybe the biggest annoyance is the response on the charging screen to changing the charge limit. It’s slow to respond, and when it does, I can’t get a digital readout of what it’s set to. I can in the mobile app, but I can’t in the car. I drag it around and usually end up at 83% or 91% instead of 80 or 85 or 90. Little thing, but silly to now show this. Or give me a +- set of buttons.

Lastly, fonts. I am getting older and at times some of the fonts are too small to easily see. I could wear readers/bifocals, but shouldn’t I be able to increase the font for important info, like the speed or an info message? I think so.

Summary

Overall, I do think this is a cleaner and easier to visualize UI. There are a few annoying things, but only a few. For the most part I like the changes.

The updates have been smooth and easy, and worked well. They run overnight and I see them in the morning. For the most part they changes from one version to the next are minor, and rarely is there something I really need while driving that I can’t find.

I hope that all manufacturers figure out the software side of things and make it easy to work with the system while driving, at least for those important functions like lights and wipers.

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.