Tried to turn on winshield wipers while driving; instead put the car in Park

[xav-]

I live in a very rainy area called SoCal...

So.. I was driving the other day and it was raining (it rains a lot in LA).. of course the “auto” winshield wipers were not working (which I think we can all agree on is the worst feature of the car but that’s another subject) and I tried to turn them on manually..

... except that I pressed the button on the right side as opposed to the left side, in other words: I put the car into park

What I thought would happen was: being in motion, the car would NOT go into Park.

Here’s what actually happened: the car went to a sudden stop (I tried to cancel it by repressing the button but it didn’t work, if anything it made it worse). I was on my driveway doing 10 mph and nobody was behind me so nothing happened. But I could easily have been rear ended if this happened at a stop light.

What would happen if I did this at speed? Would it still go into park?

 

[IM_1406]

FYI - I have accidentally hit the Park button while on the highway......it gave me the "naughty" sound audible but did NOT put it in park. It did nothing.....kept on going in drive. Wondering if speed is a factor for actually engaging Park.

 

[OPRCE]

Sounds like yes, it would be the equivalent of hauling on the handbrake, only probably with a lot more stopping power and ABS intervention, for emergency use only (e.g. carpet or water bottle jammed under brake pedal), but I could be wrong, having never tried it myself.

Looked in the manual but find no mention of this or any limit speed over which it won't engage.

Anybody else?

 

[NHK X]

I think it provides a buffer at highway speed to prevent accidental presses and sudden stops. But I think I read somewhere if you hold it down for a couple seconds it will initiate the “e brake.”

 

[OPRCE]

I think it provides a buffer at highway speed to prevent accidental presses and sudden stops. But I think I read somewhere if you hold it down for a couple seconds it will initiate the “e brake.”

@MorrisonHiker seemed to think it would be enough to stop a MX accelerating at 100% from stopped, so maybe he can chime in with some 1st hand experience?
Help - has this happened to any other Model X owner?

 

[thelastdeadmouse]

As others said if you press it at speed it gives you a "You've been naughty" beep. If you hold it down it will engage the emergency brake and will rapidly slow the car to a stop.

 

[2012MS85]

Let's have Bjorn do a video on this and try it for all to see

 

[Thomas Edison]

I live in a very rainy area called SoCal...

So.. I was driving the other day and it was raining (it rains a lot in LA).. of course the “auto” winshield wipers were not working (which I think we can all agree on is the worst feature of the car but that’s another subject) and I tried to turn them on manually..

... except that I pressed the button on the right side as opposed to the left side, in other words: I put the car into park

What I thought would happen was: being in motion, the car would NOT go into Park.

Here’s what actually happened: the car went to a sudden stop (I tried to cancel it by repressing the button but it didn’t work, if anything it made it worse). I was on my driveway doing 10 mph and nobody was behind me so nothing happened. But I could easily have been rear ended if this happened at a stop light.

What would happen if I did this at speed? Would it still go into park?

I’ve hit the park button on accident at least 6-7 times when the rain all of the sudden goes to monsoon-like levels and I don’t have time to think. It’s always been above 30mph and every time all that’s happened is that I get the alert sound.

 

[OPRCE]

As others said if you press it at speed it gives you a "You've been naughty" beep. If you hold it down it will engage the emergency brake and will rapidly slow the car to a stop.

Nearest relevant thing I can find in the latest Model S manual is this:
"Note: The parking brake operates on the rear wheels only, and is independent of the pedal- operated brake system."

Searches for "emergency brake", "e-brake" and "e brake" return nothing.

 

[S'toon]

I live in a very rainy area called SoCal...

So.. I was driving the other day and it was raining (it rains a lot in LA)

I call BS. Everyone knows this is how people react to rain in LA:

 

[ngogas]

Well that was dumb to do. Don’t do that again lol.

 

[Camera-Cruiser]

Press the button to wash your windows and that will shortcut to the wiper controls. Saw that somewhere here. Game changer (I can't believe I just used "game changer"), but it's pretty close.

and, I'm surprised that it stopped car going 10mph. I can see 2-3mph? I've had the bad boy tone a couple of times, but, I deserved it.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

1. Your Tesla does NOT have a normal transmission, per se, just a single-speed reduction gear box.

2. The "Park" function simply applies the brakes so as to prevent the rear wheels from turning when the car is parked. It is also the "Emergency Brake." They are one and the same.

3. Engaging the "Park" function at speed applies a limited amount of braking to the rear wheels, and is the equivalent of an "Emergency Brake." You may test this by pressing AND HOLDING the button on the end of the shift lever. NOTE: I do not believe the brake lights come on when you do this; exercise due caution for following traffic.

 

[silentcorp]

i1Tesla did a "What If" video on this subject. Car wouldn't go in park even at lower speeds from what I remember.

 

[Garlan Garner]

I live in a very rainy area called SoCal...

So.. I was driving the other day and it was raining (it rains a lot in LA).. of course the “auto” winshield wipers were not working (which I think we can all agree on is the worst feature of the car but that’s another subject) and I tried to turn them on manually..

... except that I pressed the button on the right side as opposed to the left side, in other words: I put the car into park

What I thought would happen was: being in motion, the car would NOT go into Park.

Here’s what actually happened: the car went to a sudden stop (I tried to cancel it by repressing the button but it didn’t work, if anything it made it worse). I was on my driveway doing 10 mph and nobody was behind me so nothing happened. But I could easily have been rear ended if this happened at a stop light.

What would happen if I did this at speed? Would it still go into park?

It will NOT go into park.

 

[Big Dog]

the “auto” winshield wipers were not working (which I think we can all agree on is the worst feature of the car

fwiw: the wipers on my two M3's work fine.

 

[Jdee2wheels]

I’ve hit the parking button a few times when I’ve meant to hit the wiper. All my other cars have had wiper controls on the right, and the fact that both stalks feel the same doesn’t help. Anyway, I’ve got the warning at higher speeds, but definitely had the car slam on the brakes when I was in bumper to bumper going about 5mph which was pretty alarming. Maybe I held it down too long and it engaged the e-brake?

And yes, my auto wipers are also worthless, so I’ll always hitting the wiper button in a panic trying to bring up the on screen controls and adjust things.

 

[Garlan Garner]

fwiw: the wipers on my two M3's work fine.

My auto-wipers work fine also....below 40mph.

Above 40mph...the wind blows the rain from in front of the cameras....as the wind hits the top of my windshield first and clears it off. From the first 4 or 5 inches at the top...my windshield is clear...below that its rain everywhere. That clear top section keeps my wipers from coming on.

 

[OPRCE]

Nearest relevant thing I can find in the latest Model S manual is this:
"Note: The parking brake operates on the rear wheels only, and is independent of the pedal- operated brake system."

Searches for "emergency brake", "e-brake" and "e brake" return nothing.

From info in the link below it is a motor-actuated screw-type handbrake working through depressing small pads on the rear callipers (or smaller dedicated parking callipers on older MS) but separate from the hydraulic braking circuit, which can be activated at any speed in an emergency to bring the car to a stop. [It has the same effect as using the on-screen Park-Brake button under menu >Security, though on mine that only activates/deactivates when main brake pedal is pressed.]

Tried hard-pressing stalk Park button at 20kph this morning on packed snow ... after a quick beep the rear wheels only locked up into a skid, which held while the button remained depressed.

On clear road @60kmh also worked, even while accelerating, but braking effect is comparatively weak given the greater momentum, normal tire grip and small pads. There is nothing like locking wheels or ABS-effect.

Back in 2016 someone tried it out in an older MS @50mph, which sounds about identical:
"At 50mph I pressed and held the button, it started to slow and a warning message appeared on the screen "Emergency Brake Applied". It slowed quicker than full regen braking, but far from locking the wheels. Releasing the button released the brakes. If I kept it pressed it slowed the car fully, and below 5mph it stopped abruptly. The car switched from drive into neutral (rather than park), which I thought was a little unusual."

Emergency use of the parking brake

 

[Mod3forMe]

fwiw: the wipers on my two M3's work fine.

Not for me. Way too much water has to accumulate for the wipers to turn on, then once they do they don't wipe often enough to keep the windshield clear.

I always have to go manual.