Firmware 5.9

[ACDriveMotor]

YMMV when it comes to lowering. I guess you would have to call it subtle because not everyone noticed when it was taken away. I felt like I noticed it more when cornering at highway speeds - but I can't prove it. Maybe if you have the stiffer + suspension it was not noticeable. Will see if I can feel the change when I get 5.9 (waiting!). With the new features it should be easier to turn it on/off and do to A/B testing.

 

[SFOTurtle]

... First thing I did after installing was check the settings and a reboot. I only did one. I also attempted to do the center screen reboot method when the car was slow posting up (I don't have the method to reboot everything memorized, just the center screen one). I don't know if that helped anything as the center screen was off anyway, but it as shortly after doing it that the car started to fully wake up, starting with the center screen.

This sounds just like what I'm experiencing on 5.8.8 now and then. On some mornings, pretty random, the car has been taking several minutes to wake up, and often I have to do a manual reboot to get the touchscreen to come on. I mentioned it to the service center who thought it could be a result of having range mode setting on, but issue has persisted even after I turned range mode off. I thought I would just wait until the next software version was released before reporting again. I'm still waiting on 5.9 but given issues I'm having with 5.8.8, I'm not going to wait longer to ask for it.

- - - Updated - - -

That's what it takes to make it down I5. The extra 8k dollars are worth the little wait now and then I guess

Hey, I'm right there with you, I drove I-5 this past weekend. But I really didn't notice the taper too much until it hit 170 or so rated miles, and by then I didn't need too much more to get to the next SC (better efficiency driving a 60). Even driving over the Grapevine didn't consume as much energy as I thought it might.

 

[iffatall]

I leave my foot is on the break whenever I'm at a stop, whether on a hill or flat ground. That's partly from driving automatics my whole life, but it just sort of makes sense. Why do you want to take your foot off the brake?

Because keeping something pressed with your foot takes more effort than not :tongue:. It's not something I am demanding... just an idea that struck me when I read the release notes.

 

[dirkhh]

Hey, I'm right there with you, I drove I-5 this past weekend. But I really didn't notice the taper too much until it hit 170 or so rated miles, and by then I didn't need too much more to get to the next SC (better efficiency driving a 60). Even driving over the Grapevine didn't consume as much energy as I thought it might.

Odd. It's down to 30kW at 150 miles of range.

As for range, maybe the wind and the rain impacted me. I usually drive speed limit our maybe +3...
Turns out I arrived in Grants Pass with 7 miles left after a 90% charge in Eugene and actually slowed down to 5-10 mph below speed limit for the last 20 or so miles... So I could have done my usual thing with a range charge. So I range charged in GP and had under 15 miles when I reached Mt Shasta.
Same thing for Corning to Vacaville.

 

[ken830]

I have not received the update yet, and have never experienced auto lowering of the car because 5.8 was already on mine when I took delivery. So, I was wondering - once I have 5.9 and auto-lowering enabled, will I actually notice it while driving on the highway? I am afraid it might be too subtle to notice. Any comments from experienced owners?

It's not really noticeable at all when it lowers at highway speeds, but it -is- pretty noticeable when you get off the highway and the car raises back up to "Standard" height.

 

[Cottonwood]

It's not really noticeable at all when it lowers at highway speeds, but it -is- pretty noticeable when you get off the highway and the car raises back up to "Standard" height.

Unless you have wheel wells filled with ice, and studded snow tires. When the road opened up from a winter storm drive and I sped up, the MS lowered. It was such an awful noise the first time I went through a little dip in the highway, I pulled over to see what horrible thing had happened to my Tesla. Luckily, I figured out that it was studs on wheel well ice that made the noise and drove on. As the studs ground down the ice, the noise got less and less... :wink:

 

[strider]

a few notes. The fear expressed earlier about how hill hold would reduce the manual like feel isn't necessary. The hill hold only comes on if you press the brake. It then stays on for a second. If you use just the excellent or, it won't kick in. It just maintains the brake contact with the wheel for a second after releasing the brake, thus it is like you released your foot one second later. All it does is give you that second to switch pedals. I'm assuming it releases instantly if the accelerator is pressed. It definitely works on up or down hill. Much better than my fears.

Do we know for a fact that it's using the brakes? They could just be using the motor. In fact, that would explain the short duration as an Async-AC motor will generate heat fast when holding position. If they were using the brakes there would be no need to limit the time.

But my wife will LOVE this feature. Need to check for it when she gets home tonight.

 

[JST]

Do we know for a fact that it's using the brakes? They could just be using the motor. In fact, that would explain the short duration as an Async-AC motor will generate heat fast when holding position. If they were using the brakes there would be no need to limit the time.

But my wife will LOVE this feature. Need to check for it when she gets home tonight.

The other cars that do this (and many new manual transmission cars do) use the brakes. I would be very surprised if the Tesla did otherwise; I would think that programming the brakes with a slow release would be a lot easier than programming the motor to add just enough (but not too much!) power to hold on a hill, particularly since the amount of power needed would vary depending on vehicle weight and hill grade. You'd need some pretty advanced feedback to make that work.

Moreover, the brake thing would "fail safe." If the brake hold didn't work, the car would move slowly in a very predictable way.

If the motor hold got it wrong, the car could lunge forward, which would obviously be less than ideal.

 

[studiojon]

The other cars that do this (and many new manual transmission cars do) use the brakes. I would be very surprised if the Tesla did otherwise; I would think that programming the brakes with a slow release would be a lot easier than programming the motor to add just enough (but not too much!) power to hold on a hill, particularly since the amount of power needed would vary depending on vehicle weight and hill grade. You'd need some pretty advanced feedback to make that work.

Moreover, the brake thing would "fail safe." If the brake hold didn't work, the car would move slowly in a very predictable way.

If the motor hold got it wrong, the car could lunge forward, which would obviously be less than ideal.

Actually because of the dynamics of electric motors its much easier to do this with the motor and no brakes. I'm almost certain this is what's going on.

My car is having annual today and they told me 5.9 is officially released as of today and my car will come back with it.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Actually because of the dynamics of electric motors its much easier to do this with the motor and no brakes. I'm almost certain this is what's going on.

Not necessarily. When you apply the brake and come to a complete stop, your brake is fully engaged. To do as you suggest, when you lift your foot off the brake pedal would require the brake to disengage and the motor to compensate for lack of braking. This transition would be easily and quickly noticeable in the car, which is not the case. The fact that it holds for 1 second makes sense, as the brake simply disengages 1 second after you let go of the brake pedal. That is the simplest and easiest implementation. Relying on the motor would make the feature implementation unnecessarily complicated, introduce far more potential for bugs and the possibility of unintended acceleration events, and would result in increased power consumption and lower range.

That's my 2¢.

 

[brianstorms]

Yes, it is definitely improved. Still not fast but actually usable now. They also have added the ability for the browser to pass on the cars location, works well with the new plugshare site.

Is this by default or optional? It's a privacy issue if by default the Tesla browser blabs the car's location to whatever website it happens to be on at the moment, without user permission.

 

[Gizmotoy]

Is this by default or optional? It's a privacy issue if by default the Tesla browser blabs the car's location to whatever website it happens to be on at the moment, without user permission.

I was wondering that myself. I see definite usefulness, but it needs to be handled safely.

When we saw the updated browser broadcasting its capabilities a month or so back we saw both geolocation and audio support in there. Anyone try going to a site that plays audio (without using flash/plugins)?

 

[cinergi]

Do we know for a fact that it's using the brakes? They could just be using the motor. In fact, that would explain the short duration as an Async-AC motor will generate heat fast when holding position. If they were using the brakes there would be no need to limit the time.

But my wife will LOVE this feature. Need to check for it when she gets home tonight.

Yes it's the brakes. You can tell both from the power usage (or lack thereof) and the noise it makes if you let it release without stepping on the accelerator (imagine the creaking you'd hear if you were on a hill and let up on the brake just enough for the car to barely start moving).

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

Do you have an A or B pack? Can't remember. I need to know if this is true for "B" packs ASAP.

...new(refurb?) B pack.


..I thought the hill hold used the E-brake
not the brakes....but this is wrong since you can hear the e-brake (+ it is slow as has been said here below)

 

[scaesare]

Not necessarily. When you apply the brake and come to a complete stop, your brake is fully engaged. To do as you suggest, when you lift your foot off the brake pedal would require the brake to disengage and the motor to compensate for lack of braking. This transition would be easily and quickly noticeable in the car, which is not the case. The fact that it holds for 1 second makes sense, as the brake simply disengages 1 second after you let go of the brake pedal. That is the simplest and easiest implementation. Relying on the motor would make the feature implementation unnecessarily complicated, introduce far more potential for bugs and the possibility of unintended acceleration events, and would result in increased power consumption and lower range.

That's my 2¢.

If it's using the brakes rather than the motor, I suspect it is engaging the parking brake to do so... as I doubt the car has the ability to electronically engage the main brake calipers.

My experience is that there is some delay and/or audible engagement noise when the parking brake is activated/deactivated from the dash... is any of this noticeable with the "hill-brake" functionality?

 

[Doug_G]

If it's using the brakes rather than the motor, I suspect it is engaging the parking brake to do so... as I doubt the car has the ability to electronically engage the main brake calipers.

The e-brakes are very audible in my car. There's this whirring electric motor sound that lasts about a second. Surely you'd hear them if they were activated.

 

[alexeiw123]

Using the motor to hold on a hill would be technically easy, but I can't imagine they'd choose that method as it would draw current to simply stand still. My bet is that it's a simple delayed release of the brakes.

I don't know the brake technology in the car, is it a direct mechanical connection or a brake-by-wire type setup?

 

[Canuck]

Is there a way to force an update or do we just have to sit and wait our turn?

 

[Doug_G]

Sit and wait. Or find an excuse to get Tesla service to work on your car.

 

[scaesare]

I don't know the brake technology in the car, is it a direct mechanical connection or a brake-by-wire type setup?

I believe it's a mechanical setup with electric-motor driven power assist. That would make it unlikely to be able to have the car actually engage the main brakes.

I'm gonna bet this is motor hold.