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What would you tell a new Roadster owner?

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jaanton

Roadster NA #1026
Jun 25, 2010
337
14
Oakland, CA
So my Roadster 2.5 is due this week or next. I've read lots of the forum stuff. There is a lot of material. I have charging lined up.

What I wonder is... Existing owners... What would you tell a new Roadster owner? Hints? Most valued resource? Advice?

Jeff waiting for #1026
 
Adjust your charging preferences such that the car starts charging at some time in the morning rather than on plug in. In my case that's about 5am to provide a full charge by 8am. This should improve the battery lifetime.

Horn is on the right/left side of the drivers airbag. You will need to use it occasionally to let people in big SUV's know you are there.

Drive defensively on the freeway; there will be people who won't see the car and try to merge into you ... pay attention.

Avoid using drive-thru ATM's. Pull very close to the window at drive-thru restaurants. you can drive *underneath* most cross-bars at parking garages.

Always smile! you will have *many* people take cellphone shots of you/your car while driving. Don't let it get to your head; unless you're a celebrity-owner, they're taking a pix of the car, not you :(
 
Did you see these?
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/2920-So-You-ve-Got-A-New-Roadster?highlight=roadster
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/3579-Living-with-a-Tesla-Roadster?highlight=roadster
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...ster-Sport-owner-questions?highlight=roadster
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/4136-One-year-with-a-Roadster?highlight=roadster
Also,
Don't put the stickers on your car if you don't want to. There are options listed on this site to ruining your beautiful car with DMV ugliness.
Don't let Tesla drill the front plate holes in your car. Get a Steve Castner bracket if you have to have a plate. Most lovers of the car take the fix it ticket risk and go natural
 
Congrats on the new car!

Drive as if other drivers can't see you (because some of them really can't) and as if cyclists and pedestrians can't hear you. Take it easy on twisty roads until you understand the limits of the car and the effect of the regenerative braking. I was a bit too enthusiastic when I first got my roadster and stuffed it in a ditch within two weeks of taking delivery. It took four months to fix. Seriously, four months. If you break some carbon fiber, be ready for a long wait to get the parts replaced.
Don't worry about looking silly while getting in and out: your body will soon learn the smoothest way to do it!

Most important: have fun!

Greetings,
David
 
- Learn the exact location of the keyhole on the drivers door in good weather; you do not want to have to search for it in bad weather when the battery in the remote gives out.
- If your doors will not lock, check that both latches on the trunk are latched. My doors would not lock with one of the latches unlatched.
- learn how low the front of the car is so that you do not hit curbs or concrete parking "logs."
- Learn the details of where the car can be jacked and stress the information to anyone working on the car. All 4 wheels cannot be lifted off of the ground at the same time without special equipment.
- If you bought performance tires, start shopping for replacements. Some have worn out in as little as 3700 miles.
- Decide if you want to continue with the locking wheel lug bolts. Replacement "keys" are available from Tesla. Standard bolts can be purchased from Lotus dealers.
 
You might enjoy getting a copy of the manual for your radio/nav system off of the internet and studying it while you wait for the car. Tesla is probably using a different model now but the number I have for the JVC used in 2008 models was LTV1627-001A. Before you print out a copy look at the number of pages. The English section of the JVC manual is about 120 pages.

You might also want to order a traffic light finder. The top of the windshield is very low making it hard to see traffic lights without a traffic light finder. They were popular during the 1950s and are still popular with some hot rodders. Check EBay or Google for a source.
 
For Canadian Roadster owners only -- replace the key fob battery annually. The car won't start unless you press the unlock/disarm button, even if the car is unlocked.

Is this different in the Canadian and US versions? My (US) Roadster can be started without the key fob, but you need to enter the security PIN. You also need it for Valet mode, but pretty much nothing else. So, my advice would be to set the PIN and remember it.

I'm pretty sure that replacing the key fob battery is part of the scheduled maintanence, so you shouldn't need to do it yourself.
 
You might enjoy getting a copy of the manual for your radio/nav system off of the internet and studying it while you wait for the car. Tesla is probably using a different model now but the number I have for the JVC used in 2008 models was LTV1627-001A.

I noticed that Tesla does not have a manual for the radio/nav on their website. I did a search for the JVC unit you listed, and I can't find it. What would be convenient is if anyone who has accepted a recent delivery would post a link to their radio/nav head unit manual. Perhaps we could make it a new thread, as this would be a great reference for users of this forum.

The manual that would pertain to mine (#1076) would be the upgraded electronics in roadster 2.5. Anyone know the model number? or a link to the pdf?
 
You might also want to order a traffic light finder.

Simpler solution: remove the driver's side sun visor. When I first got the car I couldn't see the traffic lights because of the fool thing, even when "retracted". Getting rid of it eliminated the problem.

To remove, twist back and forth while sliding it towards the center of the car. It will slide right off the pivot. The Tesla swag box doubles as a handy storage container for extra bits of car that you aren't using.

In the unlikely event that the sun is ever low enough to require a sun visor, you can just sit up a little in the seat. (In reality this never happens!)
 
Is this different in the Canadian and US versions? My (US) Roadster can be started without the key fob, but you need to enter the security PIN. You also need it for Valet mode, but pretty much nothing else. So, my advice would be to set the PIN and remember it.

Yes, they are different. Apparently there is some new Canadian regulation that requires an ignition interlock. First I'd heard of it was the day my car was delivered. As far as I can tell, my car does not have the security PIN lock feature, except for Valet mode.
 
What would be convenient is if anyone who has accepted a recent delivery would post a link to their radio/nav head unit manual. Perhaps we could make it a new thread, as this would be a great reference for users of this forum.

The manual that would pertain to mine (#1076) would be the upgraded electronics in roadster 2.5. Anyone know the model number? or a link to the pdf?

I believe that the double-DIN unit used in the 2.5 Roadster is the Alpine INA-W900BT. Here is a link to the manual:

http://support.alpine-usa.com/products/documents/OM_INA-W900BT_EN.pdf
 
- Learn the details of where the car can be jacked and stress the information to anyone working on the car. All 4 wheels cannot be lifted off of the ground at the same time without special equipment.

What sort of equipment is necessary to lift the whole thing? An ordinary repair shop will be able to lift it, I hope?

(I've been getting a little more interested in Roadsters lately - used cars are slowly becoming somewhat more affordable... just dreaming, I suppose)
 
What sort of equipment is necessary to lift the whole thing? An ordinary repair shop will be able to lift it, I hope?

No; special equipment/adapter is needed to lift entire car into the air safely. 2/3 of the weight is in the back. For tire changes shop can lift one side, or both sides in rear ONLY for 2x rear wheels NASCAR style with a floor jack. (Naturally this would also apply for brake jobs.)

The following is NOT a Tesla ... but it could be what would happen to a Tesla (due to weight distribution) if you tried to do it improperly. See here.
 
I noticed that Tesla does not have a manual for the radio/nav on their website. I did a search for the JVC unit you listed, and I can't find it. What would be convenient is if anyone who has accepted a recent delivery would post a link to their radio/nav head unit manual. Perhaps we could make it a new thread, as this would be a great reference for users of this forum.

For what it is worth, here is a link to the English portion of the JVC manual:
http://www.fixya.com/support/p514968-jvc_kd_nx5000_car_video_player/manual-22032
 
The following is NOT a Tesla ... but it could be what would happen to a Tesla (due to weight distribution) if you tried to do it improperly. See here.

Yikes.

The most common type of lift around here is the kind where you drive up a ramp onto the lift, then off the lift again with the front wheels down a second ramp. When they start lifting, the car sits on rubber pads on the lift along its sides. Looks a bit like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tpFqyYE8yo, except the lift is shorter (the wheels are in the air), the posts are closer to the middle, and there are ramps on both ends. It can't possibly fall off, but would such a lift damage it?
 
Yikes.

The most common type of lift around here is the kind where you drive up a ramp onto the lift, then off the lift again with the front wheels down a second ramp. When they start lifting, the car sits on rubber pads on the lift along its sides. Looks a bit like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tpFqyYE8yo, except the lift is shorter (the wheels are in the air), the posts are closer to the middle, and there are ramps on both ends. It can't possibly fall off, but would such a lift damage it?

The lifts like the one pictured in the link should be fine, but most shops which install tires or do brake work have lifts that lift the car by the body or frame rather than by the tires because they want to remove the wheels.

An entire side of the Tesla can be raised by jacking at the rear jacking point on that side. In addition, one can use the front jacking point to raise only a front wheel. Apparently, one could use two jacks at the same time at the two front jacking points to lift both front wheels at the same time.

Discussion of jacking is in the 2008 Owners Manual at pages 10-11 and 10-12. Page 10-12 has a picture of the adapters that have to be used to raise all four wheels at the same time.