What I Learned from My First Road Trip

[jerry33]

Because I haven't pressed the finalize button yet--torn between silver/grey which is the colour I like, red/tan which gives me the delivery time I want, and sliver/black* which gives me the fabric seats, delivery time, and colour I want but at the new pricing--I sent an email to the buildmymodels address asking for some reassurance. It will be interesting to see what I get back as a response.

* not keen about black seats though

 

[bonnie]

Thanks Bonnie, I just realized that we will be close to the San Diego Tesla store at lunch time, perhaps we will stop there for a charge.

You'll end up talking to prospective Model S customers . Pick up some brochures to keep in the frunk - as several Roadster owners have attested in other threads, it's a great way to end a conversation without being rude. (Sorry, I've got to go - but would you like a brochure?)

It's a good call to plan a little time in for charging, until you get comfortable with your car's range/your driving style. Then you don't have to worry about it. See what range your have left and plan accordingly on your next trip.

And have fun!

 

[ggr]

We picked up our model S on Saturday. On Thursday we are planning on a trip to San Diego from Orange County that will be 220 miles roundtrip. The route is flat, we will make a couple of stops, and the weather probably will be in the 60s. There may be heavy traffic for some of the trip. Should we plan on charging somewhere for a while, or will we have enough range?

I've made this trip (in reverse) a zillion times in my Roadster. I have done San Diego to LAX and back, in the Model S. Cruise control at 70 or so will be just fine; traffic will only increase your range, so long as you accelerate gently rather than chopping and changing lanes. There are also many people (including me) and public chargers should you want to top off in San Diego anyway, not to mention the Tesla store at the UTC mall, between the 5 and 805 off La Jolla Village Drive.

 

[heems]

I enjoyed reading this write up. Thank you for sharing your experience in such detail. I inevitably learned a lot about my future car. Lots of posts seem to immediately focus on the S shortcomings (teething problems really), however, I have to say I am also very impressed by how the S can be like a regular car. You took your entire family on a winter road trip through mountain passes. No one on the planet emitting zero emissions could have said that up to 3 months ago. I am continued to be amazed by how Tesla hit it out of the ballpark on their first swing.

 

[kevincwelch]

Oh, you are concerned again!

Why, yes...:scared:

 

[Norbert]

BTW, what happened to the 'wiper-gets-frozen-on-windshield-because-it-cant-be-lifted-when-parking' problem? It's winter and I don't seem to see it reported anywhere.

 

[mknox]

Makes me concerned that this rush to get cars out by December 31st is resulting in quality control issues.

I think they've had some issues with things like defective 12v batteries and early software releases with some bugs. Both of these examples are easily dealt with. I do worry that some issues are more design-related. For example, wipers that can't be lifted from the glass in winter due to interference with the hood, inadequate front de-fogging that may be due to duct and vent design, door handles that either don't work or allow the doors to pop open unintentionally etc.

 

[Doug_G]

BTW, what happened to the 'wiper-gets-frozen-on-windshield-because-it-cant-be-lifted-when-parking' problem? It's winter and I don't seem to see it reported anywhere.

Hasn't happened... have to wait and see...

 

[EchoDelta]

Excellent write-up, thanks for the pictures and effort. It is especially relevant to me as I'm also in the Seattle area.
4 miles left getting home with that last couple of miles being uphill must have been interesting

Your trip-plan on the wiki made me wonder if folks have tried any of the ev trip-planning apps out there.
Building an app that draws out of openchargemap database which allowed you to make a storyline of chargers, locations, custom notes & links and lodgings and could compute altitude profiles (I imagine a little yellow waring sign "range alert: this segment is mostly uphill" ) could be done in a jiffy; and be more accessible to the public than a wiki page, even doable as an add-on from the current nav itinerary. Little things like "Show me the charging stations in range" could make it a no brainer.

 

[mknox]

BTW, what happened to the 'wiper-gets-frozen-on-windshield-because-it-cant-be-lifted-when-parking' problem? It's winter and I don't seem to see it reported anywhere.

Over the years, I've had less problems with the blades actually freezing, and more problems with them simply getting jammed up with snow that fills in the pocket where they sit when parked. My practice is to stand the wipers up and scoop out the snow/slush with a gloved hand. If you don't do that first, it will damage the motor/mechanism if you turn them on and they can't move. Even if you immediately turn them off, the system expects to complete one wipe, then park, so the motor will continue to strain. To further exacerbate the problem on Model S, it seems that if you leave the wipers on "auto", they will try and make a wipe as soon as you unlock the car (or has this been fixed in newer software?).

 

[Norbert]

4 miles left getting home with that last couple of miles being uphill must have been interesting

May I already express the hope that you guys won't start a competition of who can come as close as possible to an empty battery, just for the thrill of it? Because the reports of that failing don't read well...actually it doesn't read that well in the first place.

 

[MikeK]

is that [heated windshield] a possible retrofit for people in cold weather climates?

I would imagine that it would be a difficult retrofit unless Tesla has planned ahead for one. On the RAV4, the windshield wiring was a high-voltage system, not standard 12V. I don't know what the voltage was -- it was not the full traction pack voltage, but it was more than 12V.

 

[anticitizen13.7]

Thanks for the writeup, Francis. Great detail.

Fogging: as Lloyd notes, A/C is critical to defrost. When the window fogs, I typically hit the "front defrost" button and it usually goes away almost right away. When it doesn't, I look at the climate settings, and the A/C is not on - which I find curious, isn't that typically an important part of a defrost setting? I have not checked to see if A/C is on when the defroster works; but I do know it's never on when the defroster fails. So I turn A/C on, and the fog goes away. I see patpeterson has had trouble even with A/C on; but to anybody else having trouble, make sure you try A/C - it makes a huge difference in my car.

A/C is definitely an important part of the defrost setting, because automotive A/C is also a de-humidifier. If the air inside the Model S becomes humid, and the temperature of the glass is low relative to the inside air temperature, the air near the glass will cool and condensation will form as water vapor turns to liquid. Therefore, to remove condensation effectively, the windshield must be slightly heated, to keep or turn the water there to gaseous state, AND the water in gaseous state must be removed from the cabin.

Three steps to effective defrosting of any car glass:
(1) Air Conditioner turn ON
(2) Blower fans directed to Windshield/Side Windows
(3) Crank the Heat

A,B,C hopefully easy to remember. I came up with this years ago when I first started driving and had a scary incident with fogging windows.

On a cold day, it is always best to do the A, B, C procedure immediately after buckling up and turning on the vehicle.

I'll bet the interior blower motor is on the passenger side, and the way they're routed the ducts, the passenger side gets more blower power than the driver's side (longer duct run). If so, it's probably not an easy fix short of new HVAC duct-work.

The grill along the edge of the windshield looks more like speaker grill, and from casual observation, it doesn't look like it would direct the airflow to the windshield that well.

A re-worked grill with fins to direct the air flow onto the windshield might be more effective. I agree that a new HVAC duct design might be necessary to direct more air to the Driver's side windshield and side window.

For emergencies - clean terry towel, microfiber cloth, or worn out t-shirt will quickly remove condensation and plastic film from off-gassing of interior plastics.

 

[EchoDelta]

May I already express the hope that you guys won't start a competition of who can come as close as possible to an empty battery, just for the thrill of it?.

Amen!

 

[4sevens.com]

Sorry if it's been mentioned before but what battery pack did you have?

 

[JakeLight]

Sorry if it's been mentioned before but what battery pack did you have?

85kw - this is the only size which has been delivered so far.

Nice writeup - love to see the future of automotive travel unfold before me!

 

[Jgdixon]

Thank you for that excellent summary Francis.

For quite a while, potential fogging / ventilation / climate control / defrosting issues (including the windshield wipers) have been my main concern about buying an (otherwise amazing) vehicle designed in California for use in areas with real winters... Even vehicles by established automakers often struggle with one or more of them. This concern is now unfortunately being proven accurate.

As well, this inadequate airflow to the main cabin does nothing to reassure me about the eventual comfort of my two kids sitting in the trunk with their heads relatively close to a glass surface.

As noted above, this has to be fixed ASAP, fogged up or frozen windows can have major safety implications, even in relatively clement weather.

I had all the same issues tonight on a drive home through snow and unplowed roads, plus the wipers are brutal in winter conditions.
We tried a/c off and on for defrost and found it best to have the heat set to high for both sides and the defrosters on without a/c.
It was still hard to regulate. If I didn't have my son experimenting while I drove it would have been treacherous. There should be specific side window defrosters like most cars have today. Plus, what am I missing, how do you warm up and defrost the car while you are outside trying to clear off snow and scrape the windows?

 

[kendallpb]

I reread my post and can see how it is confusing, here is a rewrite:

Don't forget to turn off your AC system when parked and have your doors and trunk opened. We were hanging out around the car drinking hot chocolate at the sledding hill with doors and trunk opened and I did not realize that the climate system was blaring away until I got back in the driver's seat. It a waste of precious energy.

I updated my post, thanks!

AH! Thanks, that makes much more sense! ;-)

 

[mknox]

Three steps to effective defrosting of any car glass:
(1) Air Conditioner turn ON
(2) Blower fans directed to Windshield/Side Windows
(3) Crank the Heat

Most, if not all modern cars automatically engage the a/c compressor when defrost is selected, however, a/c systems are also typically disabled when the ambient temperature fall below a certain point (freezing?) to prevent damage. I don't see why Model S would be any different.

 

[anticitizen13.7]

I just checked the owner's manual on my car and you are correct! The manual says that when "defrost" or "defrost/feet vents" mode is selected, circulation goes to "fresh air" and the A/C automatically engages, but the LED on the A/C button will not be lit.

I don't remember if this was the case on my first car from the mid-1980's, but I've always hit AC, Blower, and Heat since then. Old habits die hard I guess. Well, that simplifies things. A,B,C becomes B,C :smile: