Below is a suggestion I made to the good people at Tesla. They requested I post it it to the teslamotorsclub forum because they're interested in seeing how much support there is from other people.
I like to drive well. One of the things I was taught when I was learning to drive is that if you're in control of your vehicle then you should be able to bring it to a smooth stop without any perceptible lurch, by gently letting off the brake pressure as the vehicle slows down to a smooth stop. In a manual transmission car if you depress the clutch pedal and brake properly you can do this.
For design reasons I won't speculate about, the Tesla Roadster was designed to emulate an automatic transmission. With no pedals pressed, if it is in drive, it will slowly creep forward, presumably to remind the driver that it is still in drive. However skillful you are on the brake pedal, if the car's motor is trying to make it go, it becomes impossible to bring it to a smooth stop without a small lurch.
I have read discussions about disabling this "automatic creep", but I'm realistic enough to realize there are probably good reasons Tesla wouldn't want to do that. (I have also read discussions about hacking firmware to disable the "automatic creep", but I don't want to do that.)
This led me to wonder if there could be a way that car could let the driver stop smoothly without having to disable the "automatic creep" and a compromise occurred to me: If my foot is on the brake pedal, and the brake lights are illuminated, then the car's electronics know that I'm trying to bring the car to a stop, so why are the car's electronics fighting me and trying to make it go? Would it be possible to make the car's electronics disable the "automatic creep" as long as the brake pedal is depressed? That would allow the driver to bring it to a smooth stop. If the brake pedal is then released then the "automatic creep" would resume, to remind the driver that it is still in drive.
Does that sound like a sensible compromise, to allow good drivers to drive well, while still retaining the safety requirements of "automatic creep" so that driver's can't forget that the car is still in drive?
I like to drive well. One of the things I was taught when I was learning to drive is that if you're in control of your vehicle then you should be able to bring it to a smooth stop without any perceptible lurch, by gently letting off the brake pressure as the vehicle slows down to a smooth stop. In a manual transmission car if you depress the clutch pedal and brake properly you can do this.
For design reasons I won't speculate about, the Tesla Roadster was designed to emulate an automatic transmission. With no pedals pressed, if it is in drive, it will slowly creep forward, presumably to remind the driver that it is still in drive. However skillful you are on the brake pedal, if the car's motor is trying to make it go, it becomes impossible to bring it to a smooth stop without a small lurch.
I have read discussions about disabling this "automatic creep", but I'm realistic enough to realize there are probably good reasons Tesla wouldn't want to do that. (I have also read discussions about hacking firmware to disable the "automatic creep", but I don't want to do that.)
This led me to wonder if there could be a way that car could let the driver stop smoothly without having to disable the "automatic creep" and a compromise occurred to me: If my foot is on the brake pedal, and the brake lights are illuminated, then the car's electronics know that I'm trying to bring the car to a stop, so why are the car's electronics fighting me and trying to make it go? Would it be possible to make the car's electronics disable the "automatic creep" as long as the brake pedal is depressed? That would allow the driver to bring it to a smooth stop. If the brake pedal is then released then the "automatic creep" would resume, to remind the driver that it is still in drive.
Does that sound like a sensible compromise, to allow good drivers to drive well, while still retaining the safety requirements of "automatic creep" so that driver's can't forget that the car is still in drive?