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A coworker told me a story where they drove a Tesla to Tahoe Lake and it started snowing. The Tesla sensors did not pick up the snow so the windshield wipers ne

A coworker told me a story where they drove a Tesla to Tahoe Lake and it started snowing. The Tesla sensors did not pick up the snow so the windshield wipers never came on. After nearly crashing the car because they couldn’t see, they pulled over and it took them a long time to find out how to turn on the wipers through the touch UI. I hate hate hate non-analog controls in cars.

m463 2y ago
I rented a model 3 from hertz a while back. First time in a model 3, and I couldn't figure out how to lock the car. I finally figured out how to lock it on the touchscreen, but then I would open the door and get out and it would unlock again. I finally figured out two ways to lock the car, but it took a bunch of web searches to get it.
- offices 2y ago
  On one hand I've always been irritated by car reviewers complaining that a car has 'weird' controls, failing to take into account that most of us aren't driving a new car every week and will just adjust to what we use. On the other hand, some cars are destined for fleets, and all may need to be operated by a stranger in an emergency. There should be a common configuration for features related to safety and velocity.
jdminhbg 2y ago
I press the button on the turn signal stalk to turn on the wipers on my Tesla.
- m463 2y ago
  as of 2024 the stalks are gone.
  - CrimsonRain 2y ago
    Now it has a dedicated button for wiper. And you can use scroll wheel to adjust speed. So..?
    - 71bw 2y ago
      Is it physical?
      - maguay 2y ago
        Yes, an actual clicky button on the right side of the steering wheel: https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_us/GUID-A5C33F3D-E41D-4671-ADE5-C2FB73203323.html https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_us/GUID-A5C33F3.... Works well enough though ... you wouldn't have to press it that often if auto-wipers just worked. Unfortunately, that may be the worst Tesla feature right now since their autowipers love activating for no reason on a dry day, or over-activating in rain.
- greenmartian 2y ago
  I believe they removed the stalk in last year's model.
nilkn 2y ago
At the risk of sounding snarkier than I actually intend, this is great example of why so much Tesla criticism online should be ignored or at least taken with a huge grain of salt. I could criticize your coworker for driving a vehicle off into nature and dangerous weather conditions without taking a few moments to learn how to operate its most basic functions. But I don’t need to, because all I really need to point out is that they could’ve just clicked the button on the turn stalk to turn on the wipers. No touchscreen needed. In all seriousness, though, they need to be a more careful driver. Driving a vehicle without knowing how to drive it is the fault of the driver and puts other people in danger.
- __turbobrew__ 2y ago
  Turn stalk controls have been standardized over the past 60+ years. Why change something which works for everyone already? Maybe telsa should switch the brake pedal and the accelerator next. Maybe cocacola should switch which way you twist the bottle cap to get it off? Surely it is the user’s fault if they cannot open the bottle.
  - nilkn 2y ago
    1. Operating a heavy, dangerous piece of machinery in the field without learning how to operate it first is most certainly the operator’s fault. That’s careless, irresponsible, and endangers others. If they had hurt or killed someone, they would’ve been prosecuted and would possibly be in jail right now. 2. Taking a few moments to learn to click a button in a car you bought is far from unreasonable, especially when everyone knows going in that a Tesla is not a completely standardized vehicle. The risk posed by this change is orders of magnitude less than the risk imposed by swapping the brake and accelerator pedals, so that is far from a fair or reasonable comparison. 3. You may not appreciate the benefits of the changes that Tesla made, as these things are ultimately subjective, but those changes contributed to the Model Y becoming the best selling vehicle on the planet. Now, if your coworker had rented a car and unexpectedly received a Tesla, I could sympathize more. A car rental company should not rent out non-standard vehicles unexpectedly. However, it’s always the responsibility of the driver to learn to operate the vehicle first before getting on the road and endangering others.
newZWhoDis 2y ago
Funny, because teslas (even without stalks) have physical buttons for the wipers (either on the wheel, or the left stalk push button). Even outside of that, one of the most basic things any driver in a new car should do is familiarize themselves with standard controls (wipers, defrost, backup camera, turn signals, etc) before shifting into drive. Sounds like your friends were danger to themselves and others on the road.
dm319 2y ago
On my commute to work, I often run into a very sudden traffic slow-down. It's general practice round here to slow down carefully, checking rear mirrors and to put your hazard lights on as you're doing so. My hazards on my ID3 are not a proper button (it is a 'touchbutton'). It is awful, I can't find it by feel, but I want to keep my eyes on the road in these kind of situations.

m463 2y ago

I rented a model 3 from hertz a while back. First time in a model 3, and I couldn't figure out how to lock the car. I finally figured out how to lock it on the touchscreen, but then I would open the door and get out and it would unlock again. I finally figured out two ways to lock the car, but it took a bunch of web searches to get it.

offices 2y ago
On one hand I've always been irritated by car reviewers complaining that a car has 'weird' controls, failing to take into account that most of us aren't driving a new car every week and will just adjust to what we use. On the other hand, some cars are destined for fleets, and all may need to be operated by a stranger in an emergency. There should be a common configuration for features related to safety and velocity.

jdminhbg 2y ago

I press the button on the turn signal stalk to turn on the wipers on my Tesla.

m463 2y ago
as of 2024 the stalks are gone.
- CrimsonRain 2y ago
  Now it has a dedicated button for wiper. And you can use scroll wheel to adjust speed. So..?
  - 71bw 2y ago
    Is it physical?
    - maguay 2y ago
      Yes, an actual clicky button on the right side of the steering wheel: https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_us/GUID-A5C33F3D-E41D-4671-ADE5-C2FB73203323.html https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_us/GUID-A5C33F3.... Works well enough though ... you wouldn't have to press it that often if auto-wipers just worked. Unfortunately, that may be the worst Tesla feature right now since their autowipers love activating for no reason on a dry day, or over-activating in rain.
greenmartian 2y ago
I believe they removed the stalk in last year's model.

nilkn 2y ago

At the risk of sounding snarkier than I actually intend, this is great example of why so much Tesla criticism online should be ignored or at least taken with a huge grain of salt. I could criticize your coworker for driving a vehicle off into nature and dangerous weather conditions without taking a few moments to learn how to operate its most basic functions. But I don’t need to, because all I really need to point out is that they could’ve just clicked the button on the turn stalk to turn on the wipers. No touchscreen needed. In all seriousness, though, they need to be a more careful driver. Driving a vehicle without knowing how to drive it is the fault of the driver and puts other people in danger.

__turbobrew__ 2y ago
Turn stalk controls have been standardized over the past 60+ years. Why change something which works for everyone already? Maybe telsa should switch the brake pedal and the accelerator next. Maybe cocacola should switch which way you twist the bottle cap to get it off? Surely it is the user’s fault if they cannot open the bottle.
- nilkn 2y ago
  1. Operating a heavy, dangerous piece of machinery in the field without learning how to operate it first is most certainly the operator’s fault. That’s careless, irresponsible, and endangers others. If they had hurt or killed someone, they would’ve been prosecuted and would possibly be in jail right now. 2. Taking a few moments to learn to click a button in a car you bought is far from unreasonable, especially when everyone knows going in that a Tesla is not a completely standardized vehicle. The risk posed by this change is orders of magnitude less than the risk imposed by swapping the brake and accelerator pedals, so that is far from a fair or reasonable comparison. 3. You may not appreciate the benefits of the changes that Tesla made, as these things are ultimately subjective, but those changes contributed to the Model Y becoming the best selling vehicle on the planet. Now, if your coworker had rented a car and unexpectedly received a Tesla, I could sympathize more. A car rental company should not rent out non-standard vehicles unexpectedly. However, it’s always the responsibility of the driver to learn to operate the vehicle first before getting on the road and endangering others.

newZWhoDis 2y ago

Funny, because teslas (even without stalks) have physical buttons for the wipers (either on the wheel, or the left stalk push button). Even outside of that, one of the most basic things any driver in a new car should do is familiarize themselves with standard controls (wipers, defrost, backup camera, turn signals, etc) before shifting into drive. Sounds like your friends were danger to themselves and others on the road.

dm319 2y ago

On my commute to work, I often run into a very sudden traffic slow-down. It's general practice round here to slow down carefully, checking rear mirrors and to put your hazard lights on as you're doing so. My hazards on my ID3 are not a proper button (it is a 'touchbutton'). It is awful, I can't find it by feel, but I want to keep my eyes on the road in these kind of situations.