-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Model S order "confirmed"
- Thread starter Ulmo
- Start date
-
- Tags
- Introductions
We know Tesla hasn't fleshed out its luxury yet, so no surprises, but I'm going to post my nitpicks of missing and other not so good luxury items. It may include some modern standard things that used to be rare, too. Starts today at 3pm 
Kind of meant as a useful "to-do" list (not complaints).
Kind of meant as a useful "to-do" list (not complaints).
I'm wondering if I get the new update. Hitting Headlights button every time the headlight needs change is rather annoying.
I took delivery of my white Model S December 15, 2016, during a very very very rare rain storm (here's a hint to new buyers: don't take delivery at Fremont -- it's where they test out their new employees). Interestingly, the car was built entirely during another rare rain storm. I named it Mithrandir. (Although the car is not magical (it's just a 60D and can't open its own doors), it fits my internal naming theme. If it had been a blue X, I could have considered ceding it my Ulmo name, but no such luck). I immediately regret not getting a Blue Model X with automatic doors (open and close), towing, less confined sitting position. At the time, I calculated that as a $20,000 difference in price, and I thought I couldn't afford it, but if I had bought it then, it would have been the same amount of money after all to me. It would probably also have been only an AP1 hardware car, though. I'm thinking in 3 years I could trade in to that kind of car (if nothing better is available), or something of the sort.
Right now, price of X and S have gone up: such an X is $102,750, and an S is $83,700. But at the time, I calculated that X to be around $96,700 and my S was $76,700 (with referral discount). The price of both have gone up $6,000 (plus no free SuperCharging, but honestly, I ought to pay for my use anyway, if I use it as much as I plan to). If I was paying attention to the NVIDIA pre-Q3 release market numbers better and bought some call options I had my eye on instead of a nasty breakup I was going through, I could have probably changed my order to the X I wanted, and gotten all of that. Or, if I had bought it before I lost $20K in the stock market, I could have been driving it this whole year, but not gotten AP2 hardware, and maybe have to go to the service center a lot for early model issues. In the end, I think any step I can afford is a good one.
The alternative was eschewing electric cars, and going with a used highly optioned Mercedes S550 or Cadillac Escalade, and saving a bundle of money in the meanwhile, and basically been driving a more luxuriously refined car with more sitting room (and in the case of the Escalade, 8,100 pounds of towing and a huge cargo area with many luxury fold down seats), smoother ride, quieter (by far -- I rented both during my wait for my current Model S, and my S is very noisy inside, lots of engine noises from ICE cars nearby, tire noise, etc. -- none of which I experienced in the Mercedes or Cadillac). But, I really don't want another dirty fossil fuel car (I refer to it as recycled fuel, since we recycle it from mines). As long as other manufacturers are releasing electric cars that look like insects or feel like eating salad, I'm stuck with a short list of models to choose from. Yes, I could have been putting another 200,000 miles on an ICE car, and been out of pocket less, but I just don't feel comfortable with that, plus, in the end, I might break even on price, although I can't have my money working for me in the choice I took.
I'm trying to decide if I should get a fleet of self-driving cars that I put into the taxi network ("Tesla Network"). I could start by getting a Model 3 when they come out as soon as the Tesla Network is operational anywhere (no reason I can't station the car in, say, Nevada or Oregon, and occasionally go check up on it, if they allow self driving first before California). Then, about when it has almost paid for itself, I can go ahead and order my next Model 3 (I have two reservations), and around then, California ought to have approved self driving, and I can have them both come home and self-drive around here. I'll decide which of my 3 cars I want to drive the most, and have the other 2 self-drive. Perhaps I'll let out my white Model S car and drive a Model 3 to work so I don't stick out like a sore thumb there. I'm not sure when Tesla Network will get going around here: probably by 2018.
I have been setting up all the configurations. There's quite a bit:
Right now, price of X and S have gone up: such an X is $102,750, and an S is $83,700. But at the time, I calculated that X to be around $96,700 and my S was $76,700 (with referral discount). The price of both have gone up $6,000 (plus no free SuperCharging, but honestly, I ought to pay for my use anyway, if I use it as much as I plan to). If I was paying attention to the NVIDIA pre-Q3 release market numbers better and bought some call options I had my eye on instead of a nasty breakup I was going through, I could have probably changed my order to the X I wanted, and gotten all of that. Or, if I had bought it before I lost $20K in the stock market, I could have been driving it this whole year, but not gotten AP2 hardware, and maybe have to go to the service center a lot for early model issues. In the end, I think any step I can afford is a good one.
The alternative was eschewing electric cars, and going with a used highly optioned Mercedes S550 or Cadillac Escalade, and saving a bundle of money in the meanwhile, and basically been driving a more luxuriously refined car with more sitting room (and in the case of the Escalade, 8,100 pounds of towing and a huge cargo area with many luxury fold down seats), smoother ride, quieter (by far -- I rented both during my wait for my current Model S, and my S is very noisy inside, lots of engine noises from ICE cars nearby, tire noise, etc. -- none of which I experienced in the Mercedes or Cadillac). But, I really don't want another dirty fossil fuel car (I refer to it as recycled fuel, since we recycle it from mines). As long as other manufacturers are releasing electric cars that look like insects or feel like eating salad, I'm stuck with a short list of models to choose from. Yes, I could have been putting another 200,000 miles on an ICE car, and been out of pocket less, but I just don't feel comfortable with that, plus, in the end, I might break even on price, although I can't have my money working for me in the choice I took.
I'm trying to decide if I should get a fleet of self-driving cars that I put into the taxi network ("Tesla Network"). I could start by getting a Model 3 when they come out as soon as the Tesla Network is operational anywhere (no reason I can't station the car in, say, Nevada or Oregon, and occasionally go check up on it, if they allow self driving first before California). Then, about when it has almost paid for itself, I can go ahead and order my next Model 3 (I have two reservations), and around then, California ought to have approved self driving, and I can have them both come home and self-drive around here. I'll decide which of my 3 cars I want to drive the most, and have the other 2 self-drive. Perhaps I'll let out my white Model S car and drive a Model 3 to work so I don't stick out like a sore thumb there. I'm not sure when Tesla Network will get going around here: probably by 2018.
I have been setting up all the configurations. There's quite a bit:
- + High Power Wall Connector, full 80 amps available, installed.
- + TeslaFi.com, installed.
- + Tesla app, installed.
- + Remote S app, installed.
- + Wifi access point, configured.
- I had trouble configuring my Wifi access point. I wanted to use Enterprise login, which literally every device I have supports, except the Tesla, so I had to configure a new Wifi network just for the Tesla to participate in.
- - USB stick for music: bought, not configured. Chore for today.
- - Move my dozen or so charging connectors and cables into my car.
- - Apply for MBAG rebate.
- - Apply for California rebate (even though funds depleted).
- - Apply for HOV stickers.
- - Get my personalized plate from DMV for my car (I've been there twice, but each time, they say I don't have enough paperwork: right now, I have to drive around without plates for how ever long it takes for DMV to send me my registration piece of paper (and plus also maybe their plates), then I have to swap them in for mine, which in California might take longer than the 90 days they quote). The DMV physically has my personalized plates in their office, but they will not hand it over to me, because some stupid paperwork thing. There is literally no excuse for that. Meanwhile, I get to drive like a bat out of hell, and no one will know who I am. Great idea, Government. Remember: this is true for every newly registered car in California. Ugh! Government sucks.
- + Insurance was gotten long ago.
- - Coatings (this would have been an additional cost consideration for any Blue color, but I'm thinking of just letting the basic white go)
- - Cleaning tools (thinking of the waterless options from some Los Angeles area specialists; Bjorn had a video about that)
- + My first service appointments to fix early issues. The first appointment has been scheduled.
Last edited:
The list is too long. I'm not going to post it. It would not help. I'm going to basically only use the forums for my problems when I think the forums can be useful. So far, the forums have been very useful to me in this capacity. But, just posting a complaint list seems pointless, if the list is so long that it would do more harm than good. I came from a Mercedes E500, and also rented a number of luxury cars (my favorite being the Cadillac Escalade), so to me this feels like a downgrade, in order to get electric. I wish I knew Elon Musk thought his cars should always look stunning (something they revealed during the factory tour and delivery), since not knowing that meant I got a non-stunning White rather than a stunning Blue, because there's not much else about the car that I find remarkable. I also wish I had not test driven a Model X last and made my decision on which car to get afterwards: I failed to realize how much better the X is than the S, forgetting the real feeling of the S.We know Tesla hasn't fleshed out its luxury yet, so no surprises, but I'm going to post my nitpicks of missing and other not so good luxury items. It may include some modern standard things that used to be rare, too. Starts today at 3pm
Kind of meant as a useful "to-do" list (not complaints).
Last edited:
Ormond
Endless Peacock
I'm going to start posting pictures of my Tesla adventures here. Moderators let me know if there's a better forum.
Destination Charger, DoubleTree By Hilton Fresno, one of two Tesla HPWC's @8kW (40A*194V) + a Level 2 J1772, hotel patrons only.
2233 Ventura Street, Fresno, CA 93721. Use HHonors.Com to use your rewards account to reserve hotel if you like.
If the hotel food is closed in deep night, then the only option seems to be a 24 hr restaurant 4 blocks away at Club One Casino, 1033 Van Ness Ave, Fresno, CA. Use L Street to get there and back, since it is only stop signs, and the stop lights take forever due to construction. Call ahead to order for take out, and place and pick up take out orders at the Gift Shop (door on right, go in and turn left, gift shop on left). I was not impressed by the food, but it was the best available on New Year's Eve at half an hour before the new year. It had a nice festive ambiance with lots of partiers at that time, some looking good, and many looking nice.
Last edited:
Going from Gustine (Santa Nella Village) SuperCharger to Fresno SuperCharger for me was 71.81 miles, and I used 166.2 rated miles, with average 573 Wh/Mile, and battery usage 41.13 kWh (75%). Average temperature was 39.4F.
I made pretty good time considering the size battery I had available. I was not certain at the time that the Destination Chargers were working, so I opted to do some minor chores in my car while stopping for a sip of SuperCharger (in the same city as the destination) right before arriving at the hotel, but now that I know that there are 3 destination chargers at the hotel (which I will test 1 by 1 tomorrow morning), I will skip the Fresno SuperCharger and just go straight to the hotel. That is sure to make for a comfortable drive.
If I had used 100% Self Driving Mode (not yet available), the car could have gotten me all the way from my start point at home (with 100% charge) to the hotel without a single stop, with range to spare, and I could have plugged in to the destination charger and ignored any charging stops. Of course, Self Driving Mode is not yet available, so I self-drove, and had to drive in a manner that keeps me fully awake. This was successful, and required at least one SuperCharger stop. I easily filled up to 100% at Gustine SuperCharger in far less than an hour. During a warm day, I could charge up less and be fine.
When I arrived at the hotel, I was somewhat upset that I had no companion electric vehicles charging with me, however, it did make availability of the 3 chargers high, which was a relief, since I planned on being able to charge there. I also had no one with me at the Fresno SuperCharger, and arrived at the Gustine SuperCharger where I was initially alone, and while I was still charging there, a Model S and Model X arrived to charge.
One of those annoying electric highway signs emblazoned the message that the Grapevine was closed. I hope no one got stuck with some sort of problem taking I5 into or out of LA tonight. I5 was very quiet, as were most of the other highways, freeways, and roads I took. I passed a car carrier going south on I5; I couldn't ascertain the types of vehicles loaded on it in the time allotted.
I made pretty good time considering the size battery I had available. I was not certain at the time that the Destination Chargers were working, so I opted to do some minor chores in my car while stopping for a sip of SuperCharger (in the same city as the destination) right before arriving at the hotel, but now that I know that there are 3 destination chargers at the hotel (which I will test 1 by 1 tomorrow morning), I will skip the Fresno SuperCharger and just go straight to the hotel. That is sure to make for a comfortable drive.
If I had used 100% Self Driving Mode (not yet available), the car could have gotten me all the way from my start point at home (with 100% charge) to the hotel without a single stop, with range to spare, and I could have plugged in to the destination charger and ignored any charging stops. Of course, Self Driving Mode is not yet available, so I self-drove, and had to drive in a manner that keeps me fully awake. This was successful, and required at least one SuperCharger stop. I easily filled up to 100% at Gustine SuperCharger in far less than an hour. During a warm day, I could charge up less and be fine.
When I arrived at the hotel, I was somewhat upset that I had no companion electric vehicles charging with me, however, it did make availability of the 3 chargers high, which was a relief, since I planned on being able to charge there. I also had no one with me at the Fresno SuperCharger, and arrived at the Gustine SuperCharger where I was initially alone, and while I was still charging there, a Model S and Model X arrived to charge.
One of those annoying electric highway signs emblazoned the message that the Grapevine was closed. I hope no one got stuck with some sort of problem taking I5 into or out of LA tonight. I5 was very quiet, as were most of the other highways, freeways, and roads I took. I passed a car carrier going south on I5; I couldn't ascertain the types of vehicles loaded on it in the time allotted.
Last edited:
This was the first time I realized that the high beam headlights on my Tesla don't shine as far as on my 2005 Mercedes E500. This became a problem tonight.
I also noticed that the upper end wasn't as powerful on the 60D as my E500. That's to be expected, since it is not >=P nor >=85. Sustained and cruise were definitely at lower marks. I was comfortable, however, and rarely was turned off by the lagardness. It made it the distance without fuss. It's sufficient. I did not run into problems due to this. Furthermore, it drove better, probably because it's newer. It didn't have that serene made-for-this-speed feel of the Mercedes, but it had a more quiet wistfulness about itself. I wonder if air suspension on a Tesla would have made them feel more similar. Definitely the wind tunnel on the Mercedes was the accolades for its attitude. The Tesla, on the other hand, was passive and compliant, not asserting its own serenity (like the MB) but instead imparting the quiet nature of the landscape to its interior.
I also noticed that the upper end wasn't as powerful on the 60D as my E500. That's to be expected, since it is not >=P nor >=85. Sustained and cruise were definitely at lower marks. I was comfortable, however, and rarely was turned off by the lagardness. It made it the distance without fuss. It's sufficient. I did not run into problems due to this. Furthermore, it drove better, probably because it's newer. It didn't have that serene made-for-this-speed feel of the Mercedes, but it had a more quiet wistfulness about itself. I wonder if air suspension on a Tesla would have made them feel more similar. Definitely the wind tunnel on the Mercedes was the accolades for its attitude. The Tesla, on the other hand, was passive and compliant, not asserting its own serenity (like the MB) but instead imparting the quiet nature of the landscape to its interior.
Last edited:
I'm putting this here for my records, in case I have problems with my computer file at a later date (I might need these notes for record keeping under the various lemon law procedures):
---
I took my car in for service first chance I got (I made the appointment less than 24 hours after I took delivery of it at the factory (it was such a dark and stormy day that I could not inspect the vehicle properly, and my delivery specialist did not speak English, so all I did was take the car at that point)), because when I got it, I had these problems:
It had a water leak. Definitely this was a problem with the car and not the way I used it.
The stereo, which I paid an EXTRA $2,500 for in order to get their better audio system (“Ultra High Fidelity Sound”) in addition to the high price of the car that already comes with a stereo, sounded like crap.
The heater blew cold air out at me when I had it on a set temperature, even in auto mode.
In addition, I had the following issues:
The right mirror didn’t move to the point where I could see cars behind me.
The windshield wipers didn’t wipe all the way over to the left of the windshield.
The suspension felt bouncier and rougher than the same kind of suspension I tested in a test drive earlier in 2016.
The service appointment was January 4, 2017. They informed me that the car was done on January 5, 2017. To their credit, they did look into all the above issues. Here is what they said, regarding all of them (I did not witness any of this, so I have no way to prove what they did):
They did a water test with pressure water. They did not find any water coming into the car. They pulled up the carpet and did not find any moistness. They did not find any water damage. They did find a body plug was not seated all the way, and proceeded to seat it all the way. They showed me the body plug, and I saw that it was in the driver side door jamb, what they called the A pillar. It is very small.
They checked to make certain the stereo had the same speakers as what I was supposed to get, and they were. They checked to make certain they all worked, and they all worked. They compared my stereo system to that of another car that is supposed to have the same system, using the same streaming files, and they sounded the same to them.
They said the heater was working according to specifications.
They said the mirror was working according to specifications.
They said they adjusted the windshield wipers.
They said the suspension was working according to specifications.
During this time, I had a loaner car, an old facia 85 without autopilot. It has VIN 5YJSA1H15EFP34019, and software version 8.0 (2.50.114). In comparison:
There was no water leak in the footwell of the driver.
The stereo, which was not an Ultra High Fidelity Sound system, sounded like a normal car stereo, which is much better than mine sounds. In fact, I was able to enjoy the normal stereo system in that car, unlike mine. I found a particular piece of music that I enjoyed from my USB stick that I would compare to mine when I got it back.
The heater worked fine. I could set the temperature, and it would keep me comfortable. That car was on version
The right mirror was similar to mine, in that it did not adjust to see the cars behind me, only to see the cars in the lane to my right behind me.
The windshield wipers also did not go all the way over.
The suspension was a air suspension, unlike my coil spring suspension. Like my test drives, the air suspension was better with some holes but jabbier with many other holes, which at the time of my test drive, was worse than their spring suspension.
In addition, that car has discontinued seats that I found more comfortable than mine or any other current Model S seat I tested drove in.
When I got the car back, this is what I found (mine is VIN 5YJSA1E25GF166XXX, software version 8.0 (2.50.180)):
There is no rain right now, so I have no way to test the water leak. It is supposed to rain a lot this weekend, so I can test it then. This is something they will have to fix, or else I can definitely lemon law it, so eventually, this can be resolved.
The stereo still sounds like crap. I tested the particular piece that I enjoyed in the loaner in mine, and I could not find a setting in which I liked it at all in mine. The stereo is not OK. However, I can go aftermarket for the stereo, so eventually this can be resolved.
The heater still blows cold air at my feet. I will have to find out if it continues to blow cold air at me during driving. Hopefully, the very small body plug they tightened was actually letting lots of cold air in, however, I doubt it. Since I don’t know if they have a way to fix this problem, this may be something that causes me to sell the car back to them or to someone else. I wonder if there is a way to put a heating mat under my feet in the car itself. I will look into this.
I can get a bug eye for my mirror which should help, and also get used to the blind spots and ways to look around in my vehicle.
The windshield wipers still do not go all the way over. Hopefully I can find a way to handle this.
I have not test driven it enough. However, one thing I already found out in the 3 weeks I’ve had it is that two sand bags, one in front and one in back, are enough to make it tolerable.
The only possible unresolvable item that I am not sure lemon law would be able to resolve because of difficulty to measure according to a standard is the heater. Right now, my feet are very cold when I am parked and have the heater set to 77º. I did not have this problem in the loaner, or any other car I owned. The stereo I can replace, and the rain problem is lemon-lawable in case they don’t fix it. #4-#6 are items I can resolve on my own and/or get used to.
One remedy I might seek is selling the car. I asked for a quote for it under trade-in, which is applicable if I buy another Tesla, but they will not buy it from me without it being a trade-in, so I would have to go private party for that if I could not find another Tesla I wanted. Since the loaner was acceptable to me, I hold out possibility that a trade-in could work.
---
I took my car in for service first chance I got (I made the appointment less than 24 hours after I took delivery of it at the factory (it was such a dark and stormy day that I could not inspect the vehicle properly, and my delivery specialist did not speak English, so all I did was take the car at that point)), because when I got it, I had these problems:
It had a water leak. Definitely this was a problem with the car and not the way I used it.
The stereo, which I paid an EXTRA $2,500 for in order to get their better audio system (“Ultra High Fidelity Sound”) in addition to the high price of the car that already comes with a stereo, sounded like crap.
The heater blew cold air out at me when I had it on a set temperature, even in auto mode.
In addition, I had the following issues:
The right mirror didn’t move to the point where I could see cars behind me.
The windshield wipers didn’t wipe all the way over to the left of the windshield.
The suspension felt bouncier and rougher than the same kind of suspension I tested in a test drive earlier in 2016.
The service appointment was January 4, 2017. They informed me that the car was done on January 5, 2017. To their credit, they did look into all the above issues. Here is what they said, regarding all of them (I did not witness any of this, so I have no way to prove what they did):
They did a water test with pressure water. They did not find any water coming into the car. They pulled up the carpet and did not find any moistness. They did not find any water damage. They did find a body plug was not seated all the way, and proceeded to seat it all the way. They showed me the body plug, and I saw that it was in the driver side door jamb, what they called the A pillar. It is very small.
They checked to make certain the stereo had the same speakers as what I was supposed to get, and they were. They checked to make certain they all worked, and they all worked. They compared my stereo system to that of another car that is supposed to have the same system, using the same streaming files, and they sounded the same to them.
They said the heater was working according to specifications.
They said the mirror was working according to specifications.
They said they adjusted the windshield wipers.
They said the suspension was working according to specifications.
During this time, I had a loaner car, an old facia 85 without autopilot. It has VIN 5YJSA1H15EFP34019, and software version 8.0 (2.50.114). In comparison:
There was no water leak in the footwell of the driver.
The stereo, which was not an Ultra High Fidelity Sound system, sounded like a normal car stereo, which is much better than mine sounds. In fact, I was able to enjoy the normal stereo system in that car, unlike mine. I found a particular piece of music that I enjoyed from my USB stick that I would compare to mine when I got it back.
The heater worked fine. I could set the temperature, and it would keep me comfortable. That car was on version
The right mirror was similar to mine, in that it did not adjust to see the cars behind me, only to see the cars in the lane to my right behind me.
The windshield wipers also did not go all the way over.
The suspension was a air suspension, unlike my coil spring suspension. Like my test drives, the air suspension was better with some holes but jabbier with many other holes, which at the time of my test drive, was worse than their spring suspension.
In addition, that car has discontinued seats that I found more comfortable than mine or any other current Model S seat I tested drove in.
When I got the car back, this is what I found (mine is VIN 5YJSA1E25GF166XXX, software version 8.0 (2.50.180)):
There is no rain right now, so I have no way to test the water leak. It is supposed to rain a lot this weekend, so I can test it then. This is something they will have to fix, or else I can definitely lemon law it, so eventually, this can be resolved.
The stereo still sounds like crap. I tested the particular piece that I enjoyed in the loaner in mine, and I could not find a setting in which I liked it at all in mine. The stereo is not OK. However, I can go aftermarket for the stereo, so eventually this can be resolved.
The heater still blows cold air at my feet. I will have to find out if it continues to blow cold air at me during driving. Hopefully, the very small body plug they tightened was actually letting lots of cold air in, however, I doubt it. Since I don’t know if they have a way to fix this problem, this may be something that causes me to sell the car back to them or to someone else. I wonder if there is a way to put a heating mat under my feet in the car itself. I will look into this.
I can get a bug eye for my mirror which should help, and also get used to the blind spots and ways to look around in my vehicle.
The windshield wipers still do not go all the way over. Hopefully I can find a way to handle this.
I have not test driven it enough. However, one thing I already found out in the 3 weeks I’ve had it is that two sand bags, one in front and one in back, are enough to make it tolerable.
The only possible unresolvable item that I am not sure lemon law would be able to resolve because of difficulty to measure according to a standard is the heater. Right now, my feet are very cold when I am parked and have the heater set to 77º. I did not have this problem in the loaner, or any other car I owned. The stereo I can replace, and the rain problem is lemon-lawable in case they don’t fix it. #4-#6 are items I can resolve on my own and/or get used to.
One remedy I might seek is selling the car. I asked for a quote for it under trade-in, which is applicable if I buy another Tesla, but they will not buy it from me without it being a trade-in, so I would have to go private party for that if I could not find another Tesla I wanted. Since the loaner was acceptable to me, I hold out possibility that a trade-in could work.
Although I didn't thoroughly test this in the loaner, it had different headlamps that seemed to shine the regular further amount I was used to.
I just fell down 4 times into my car trying to grab stuff out of it. Definitely an awkward shape the Model S.
I find the car very noisy and cold. This is compared to my own sensibilities and to my prior Mercedes E500 (W211). Both of these things make me want to do an @artsci teardown and insulating chore. I'd want to plug up manufacturing gaps and then put in sound and air insulation. I wonder if Rock Wool is a good choice? It is kind of heavy (if I fully insulate it would add a few hundred pounds maybe), and it might settle in movement, and since it is hard, it could work into the body. I like its resistance to fire.
With respect to your observation, specially with another car with combustion engine, is there any possibility of experience 'noisy' as Model S has no engine noise to compete to enter ear? Normally in quite environment, lower noise could feel too loud ...
Correlation is not causation, but the entire time I had software 2.52.120, I was warm, and now with 17.3.2, my feet are so cold I nearly had an accident.
One problem I found is that when the air is set to go to footwell only, it still blasts out at my face from the dash vents and the windshield vents, despite those being off on the settings app, and almost none coming out the footwell vents. I'll schedule a service appointment to fix this. For now, I turned the dash vents sideways to "mostly closed" and put a towel over them and a towel over the windshield vents, to help a little.
One problem I found is that when the air is set to go to footwell only, it still blasts out at my face from the dash vents and the windshield vents, despite those being off on the settings app, and almost none coming out the footwell vents. I'll schedule a service appointment to fix this. For now, I turned the dash vents sideways to "mostly closed" and put a towel over them and a towel over the windshield vents, to help a little.
Everything same this morning; too busy to schedule service appointment for now, although I could squeeze it in once I get a breather.
Meanwhile, I'm realizing my initial problem of the seat belt taking away my ability to breath a 100% breath of full air has made me wonder if that's why the man who died in Los Gatos with his seat belt off was experiencing this and took his seat belt off because he was having difficulty breathing when the seat belt closed his lounges like it does mine (partial suffocation, suffocation risk). I'll have to go through the entire accident description again, but it from memory, it seems unlikely that he was distracted by his seat belt on a route he always takes, but it's possible; it could have been a contributing cause, as well as the construction changes that possibly disoriented him. That's why little issues like a seat belt suffocating the driver should be fixed. I never had this problem in my Mercedes E500, but I have had difficulty breathing with my Model S seat belt at least 50 times. I brought it up with my initial service appointment, and they said everything is fine with the seat belt, and it is working as designed. Is this a characteristic of cheaper car seat belts and I'm just not used to it because I wasn't using a cheaper car for so long?
I got tired of the mudslide clearing traffic on my usual commute (multiple routes), so decided to go off into the wilderness. There was another mudslide in the way, but I managed to detour through it through some roads that claimed to be private but were on top of the world: in my eyesight at the same time, to my left was Silicon Valley, and to my right, Monterey Bay. (Very smoggy Monterey Bay, by the way.) I eventually made it back onto roads that pretended once again to be government roads, and came in through Corralitos to home. It added 1.5 hours to a standard undelayed commute, but then last week this same commute on one of the regular routes took 5 hours and the next day 3 hours, so I was ripe for an alternative today.
I guess tomorrow it's back to the slog past the mud clearing with half the capacity.
What should I really do? Well, find a new career that doesn't have me commuting so far. Here's to that day coming, someday, in my dreams.
I guess tomorrow it's back to the slog past the mud clearing with half the capacity.
What should I really do? Well, find a new career that doesn't have me commuting so far. Here's to that day coming, someday, in my dreams.
I'm here again today, at Nob Hill EVGO Chademo at 1320 S Main St, Salinas, CA 93901:
Getting here had a lot of roads with puddles. Many roads were closed, blocked, or stopped full of traffic.
The skies are beautiful:
The temperature is hot (66ºF):
(Sorry for Vince Nicholas's humor from the Armstrong and Getty Show; he never matured.)
It's shorts weather here, despite it pouring one to two inches of rain when I set out just a little bit over earlier in the Monterey Bay, and with all the marsh areas full of puddles everywhere.
I'm going to go shopping. While writing this message, it dropped from 50 minutes remaining to 40 minutes remaining, and already added 6kWh (10%). 32kW is definitely a lot faster than the next two chargers I can stop at, 6kW J1772 Level 2 stations, in Soledad and King City.
Edit update:
The Chademo charger, after 34 minutes of 32kW charging, was blowing warm air and smelling of slight burnt electronics. I switched to the other Chademo there to give my first one a chance to cool down.
The DC1 charger is also stronger: 40kW, rather than 32kW.
Getting here had a lot of roads with puddles. Many roads were closed, blocked, or stopped full of traffic.
The skies are beautiful:
The temperature is hot (66ºF):
(Sorry for Vince Nicholas's humor from the Armstrong and Getty Show; he never matured.)
It's shorts weather here, despite it pouring one to two inches of rain when I set out just a little bit over earlier in the Monterey Bay, and with all the marsh areas full of puddles everywhere.
I'm going to go shopping. While writing this message, it dropped from 50 minutes remaining to 40 minutes remaining, and already added 6kWh (10%). 32kW is definitely a lot faster than the next two chargers I can stop at, 6kW J1772 Level 2 stations, in Soledad and King City.
Edit update:
The Chademo charger, after 34 minutes of 32kW charging, was blowing warm air and smelling of slight burnt electronics. I switched to the other Chademo there to give my first one a chance to cool down.
The DC1 charger is also stronger: 40kW, rather than 32kW.
Last edited:
My cold feet problem should get some followup. After reading on TMC a lot:
Why are my feet cold?
Cold feet?
My feet are freezing!
Ok, I can't find the cold feet thread I saw on TMC that discussed getting an electric blanket, but I went ahead and bought one for cars inexpensively on Amazon, and it indeed works.
I did not see the solution mentioned in My feet are freezing! until now; that looks like it will actually work. I want to try that.
I also read the general cold driving tips at Cold Weather Driving.
Why are my feet cold?
Cold feet?
My feet are freezing!
Ok, I can't find the cold feet thread I saw on TMC that discussed getting an electric blanket, but I went ahead and bought one for cars inexpensively on Amazon, and it indeed works.
I did not see the solution mentioned in My feet are freezing! until now; that looks like it will actually work. I want to try that.
I also read the general cold driving tips at Cold Weather Driving.
