Having used the handles for the first time I was amazed. 1) Place a finger on the handle and remove (sort of touchscreen style) 2) Handle will silently come out of door 3) Place your hand inside the opening to touch the inside of handle i.e.: touchscreen style 4) Door will silently and automatically open 5) Now pull on handle to fully open door.
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Having used the handles for the first time I was amazed. 1) Place a finger on the handle and remove (sort of touchscreen style) 2) Handle will silently come out of door 3) Place your hand inside the opening to touch the inside of handle i.e.: touchscreen style 4) Door will silently and automatically open 5) Now pull on handle to fully open door.
NigelM
Recovering Member
Here's hoping that everything important works on day one! Just as a BTW though, it's worth remembering that Tesla are showing us cars and prototypes in a way that no other car company has ever done. Usually a car is launched at a show and then it's on the lot; mere consumers don't normally get anywhere near the mainstream company prototypes so we also don't know what is reasonable or unreasonable on beta model cars.
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
At the Palo Alto event today, tested the handles on the catalina white on static display; the product specialist there (thanks, Mike S, for the interesting chat!) also confirmed this. As of now, the handles work as follows (this is without using the key fob):
1) Press (touch gently really) to have them come out.
2) Unlike back in March at the Santana Row event, putting a hand in there does NOT unlatch and open the door slightly anymore. One'll have to open it like a regular car door now.
3) Handles retract 3-4 seconds after the door's closed.
Tesla's apparently taking the conservative approach here (atleast for now) and decided to do 2) instead of the sensor-driven unlatching.
Also, the handles appear to be very robust; there's no additional give or rattling around when operating them.
1) Press (touch gently really) to have them come out.
2) Unlike back in March at the Santana Row event, putting a hand in there does NOT unlatch and open the door slightly anymore. One'll have to open it like a regular car door now.
3) Handles retract 3-4 seconds after the door's closed.
Tesla's apparently taking the conservative approach here (atleast for now) and decided to do 2) instead of the sensor-driven unlatching.
Also, the handles appear to be very robust; there's no additional give or rattling around when operating them.
I accidentally added an additional test. I opened the door, then closed it, then went to open it again. However, apparently the handles retract after you close the door, so I got to test the "Will the handle amputate my fingers?" question. Answer: no. 
It's actually pretty gentle and it's very easy to just pull your fingers out.
Personally I'm a bit bummed that it doesn't do the sensor unlock, which I tried at the Santana Row event and liked a lot. At the very least, I think it should use the sensors to keep from closing the handle on your fingers.
It's actually pretty gentle and it's very easy to just pull your fingers out.Personally I'm a bit bummed that it doesn't do the sensor unlock, which I tried at the Santana Row event and liked a lot. At the very least, I think it should use the sensors to keep from closing the handle on your fingers.
The car I drove at the LA test drives had the sensor opening, not a pull-the-door-handle-to-open-it. I had a great deal of difficulty operating it. Intuitively my instinct was to pull the handle after it popped out but in grabbing it to pull the sensor did not respond to my hand so I could not open the door. The rep had to show me how to gently touch the inside of the handle to get the sensor to unlatch the door and pop it open a bit after which I could pull on the handle to open the door. Based on my personal experience it makes a great deal of sense to me to have the door open by pulling on the handle after it pops out instead of responding to a sensor. Admittedly pulling the handle to open isn't as cool as a sensor open but it may be more intuitive.
Interesting... when I test drove in Seattle, they still had it operating with the sensors. I grabbed the handle and tried to jerk on it and the Tesla guide showed me that you just place fingers against it and it clicked/released. Guess that very recently changed.
Maybe the sensors are off for the test drives? With so many people in and out, perhaps they just wanted to simplify things.
Maybe I am misunderstanding this, but I can't see how this can work. Once the handles extend out, somehow the door must unlatch. If it's not electronically done via the sensor on the inside, then additional mechanical movement would be required. But if the handle is fully out it can't come out further. Calling bogus on this one.
Mycroft
Life happens
Same thing happened to me in Seattle. I yanked on the handle to open the door and nothing happened. Then I pulled again and it opened. A little frustrating. The Tesla rep said that he had to get used to it, but once you were used to it, it was fine. If this is the final "solution", it's not going to be on the positive side of first impressions.
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
Maybe I am misunderstanding this, but I can't see how this can work. Once the handles extend out, somehow the door must unlatch. If it's not electronically done via the sensor on the inside, then additional mechanical movement would be required. But if the handle is fully out it can't come out further. Calling bogus on this one.
There's just that wee bit of movement when you hold on to the handle - that's fully out - to open the door. It's very subtle. Worked well for me this way. Neither I nor my son will have the patience for the sensor unlock
Maybe, the sensor is still involved somehow. They've just done away with the two steps involved in opening the door.
smorgasbord
Active Member
There's unlock and then there's unlatch. I think the doors have to remain latched when the handles are extended. The door has to unlatch before you can swing it open.
Just watching Tesla employees open the doors for test drive participants, I could see the delay between them tugging and the door actually swinging. Maybe they had different settings, or maybe the handles weren't working right, but the delay was clearly there.
Roadster has a bit of delay, too. But there's a button you're depressing to unlatch the door, so you can get pretty smooth by using your fingers to depress the button, then a split second later using your hand to swing the door open. I haven't used Model S's handles enough to know if there's a way to make opening the door smooth or not, but every time I watch someone open the door I wince a bit. And, it's also possible that Tesla could figure out how to reduce the unlatch delay.
Just watching Tesla employees open the doors for test drive participants, I could see the delay between them tugging and the door actually swinging. Maybe they had different settings, or maybe the handles weren't working right, but the delay was clearly there.
Roadster has a bit of delay, too. But there's a button you're depressing to unlatch the door, so you can get pretty smooth by using your fingers to depress the button, then a split second later using your hand to swing the door open. I haven't used Model S's handles enough to know if there's a way to make opening the door smooth or not, but every time I watch someone open the door I wince a bit. And, it's also possible that Tesla could figure out how to reduce the unlatch delay.
There's just that wee bit of movement when you hold on to the handle - that's fully out - to open the door. It's very subtle. Worked well for me this way. Neither I nor my son will have the patience for the sensor unlock
Maybe, the sensor is still involved somehow. They've just done away with the two steps involved in opening the door.
Right you are. The video I posted up-thread of my son trying to yank the door open demos this. It's from the Santana Row event.
My understanding is that with the new setting you would yank the door open (and my son would have been successful). I'm in favor of this, what you lose in cool-factor is made up by the functionality (and that every passenger you ever drive is not trying to pull off the door handles).
I may be remembering wrong, but I thought that my experience at Santana Row was that the door would open if you yanked on the handle (i.e. there was a mechanical connection), but it would also unlatch and swing freely if you touched the handle in the right way for the sensor.
Anyway, I thought the way the door worked in Palo Alto over the weekend (apparently mechanical) was fine, except that I would have preferred for the car to not retract the handle right away after closing the door, in case somebody (as I did) realizes that they want to re-open it.
Anyway, I thought the way the door worked in Palo Alto over the weekend (apparently mechanical) was fine, except that I would have preferred for the car to not retract the handle right away after closing the door, in case somebody (as I did) realizes that they want to re-open it.
smorgasbord
Active Member
I would have thought the open/close thing would be pretty straightforward, so maybe I'm missing something:
A) If the door is locked, the handle is retracted. This needs to be always true.
B) If a stationary car's door is unlocked, its handle is extended. (For instance, if only the driver's door is unlocked, only the driver's door handle extends).
C) If a car goes from stationary to moving, the door handles are retracted when the car hits 5 mph (or some other reasonable speed). Many cars lock the doors in this situation - Model S could, too, but it doesn't have to.
D) When a moving car stops, the handles are not extended, even if the doors are not locked. Think stopping at a light or in traffic on the freeway.
E) When the car is put into Park, if the doors are unlocked the handles are extended. This means that if the doors are locked when the car is put into Park , the handles are not extended.
F) When a locked door is unlocked, its handle is extended if the car is stationary.
Unless I'm missing something, I think this covers everything. When you approach the car with the key fob and the doors unlock, the handles extend (see B). If after parking the car you walk away and the car auto-locks, the handles retract (see A). When you pull up to the curb to get out, the handles extend when the door unlocks (see E). That lets the valet open the door for you, or lets someone else open the door to join you. When you stop in traffic, the door handles do not extend so you won't get car jacked (see D).
Note that with this behavior, you should not ever need to push on the handle to make it extend. An unlocked door on a stationary car has its handle extended (see B and E).
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
smorg, to simplify (I was putting together pseudo-code in my head ), the handles are retracted ONLY when the doors are locked or the car is in drive.
Would be intuitive this way for most folks given that it'd then pretty much mimic a regular car. OTOH, we could all get used to the Model S way!
), the handles are retracted ONLY when the doors are locked or the car is in drive. Would be intuitive this way for most folks given that it'd then pretty much mimic a regular car. OTOH, we could all get used to the Model S way!
smorgasbord
Active Member
smorg, to simplify (I was putting together pseudo-code in my head
Instead of "In Drive" I think we have to say "Not In Park." We have Reverse and Neutral to deal with.
That wouldn't mimic a regular car, though, since you can't just pull up to curb and unlock the doors to let someone else in. With your algorithm you'd have to put the car in Park to make the handles extend for them to open the unlocked door. Maybe that's a good safety feature, though.
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
strider
Active Member
I drove the Black/Pano Performance yesterday in PA and I would swear it had sensor opening. However it worked I had no trouble w/ it. I walked up to the car, touched the handle, handle extended, inserted my hand, opened the door. I was pretty excited to drive so I didn't really focus on when I heard the door unlatch but when I pulled on the handle the door opened - there was no delay to unlatch after I started pulling. What harm can there be w/ the sensors? Why not do both? Sensor and pull so if the sensor misses your hand entering it'll feel you pull and then unlatch?
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