Consumer Reports New Cars

I found a copy of Consumer Report's New Cars guide and they have an article on electric vehicles. The article reviews six models and makes recommendations:

• Tesla Model S (78/97)
• Hyundai Kona Electric (78/76)
• Chevrolet Bolt (71/76)
• Tesla Model 3 (65/82)
• Nissan Leaf (64/62)
• Jaguar I-Pace (58//76)

Out of the six cars, the Model S was rated the highest with an overall score of 78 and a "road-test" score of 97. However, CR did not recommend either of the two Tesla models: the check-mark went to the Kona and the Bolt. Huh...

In the vital stats section for the Model S, CR listed the following as a "Reasons to Skip":\

• Interior fit and finish doesn’t match the price
• Below-average reliability
• Distracting controls
• Autopilot may give drivers a false sense of confidence

Huh... points #1 and #3 are matters of opinion (I agree with the fit/finish but I'm fine with the car's controls). I can also see point #2 though my 2016 w/AP2 has been great. I totally disagree with point #4. Autopilot has been the most awesome feature of the Tesla and for me, the best "Reason to Buy" the car. I have a long daily commute to work and Autopilot is on for >95% of the time. It helps make the 2.5 to 3 hours in the car much more bearable. The system is not perfect nor even complete but it's light years ahead of competitors.

You know how you read articles and investment analysis on companies? It all seems legit until you have more information they the authors. This happened all the time at my previous (Fortune 300) company: the "expert" comments were typically full of nonsense. One has to assume that all their analysis is likewise crap. Same goes for the rest of CR's car guide. They have reviews for 248 car models but after reading their comments about the Model S, I'm not sure if I trust anything they write.

P.S. They do recommend my previous car, Nissan Maxima, though it only rated an overall scored 80 and a road-test score of 81. I don't understand their criteria.

P.P.S. I found the Q1 2017 version of the same guide. In it, CR gave the Model S an overall score of 88 and a road-test score of 100. It was also recommended. I feel Tesla has made a lot of improvements on their cars since 2016, especially the driving computer and software. I really don't understand how the newer models can be rated lower by 10 points. The older review also says"

The 85-kWh P85D that we tested had a 220-mile range and can be fully charged in about 5 hours on a dedicated Tesla connector.

Again, huh? What charger are they talking about? A Supercharger will charge up much faster then 5 hours and a leve-2 charger will take much longer. I don't know if this 5 hour charging option. 

Red California HOV Access Sticker

I received new carpool stickers for my car this week. I was a nit worried since the current stickers (white for EV's) expire at the end of this year, and only cars from 2017 are allowed to renew. I took delivery of my Tesla Model S on 12/17/2016 so I thought I missed by two weeks. Fortunately, DMV was looking at when the original stickers were issued and I didn't get mine until end of January 2017. For awhile i thought I had to sell my car and buy a new EV to get updated stickers.

The new stickers are bright red and there are now four of them instead of three. They want us to stick one on the front bumper of the car. Newer Teslas don't really have a front bumper so I need to figure out where to stick it. Also, I bought a white cars so the ugly white carpool stickers would blend in (they do a bit); the red ones stick out badly on my white car. :(

Auto Insurance Renewal

I've had AAA auto insurance for the past 30+ years but they finally screwed me. The renewal quote I got from them for 2 cars (my Tesla Model S and a really old Toyota 4Runner) was over $4000. I've checked online from a few other insurance companies and they are all ~$2000. This actually came up during one of Tesla's shareholder meeting/earnings call, and Elon basically told all Tesla owners to drop AAA as their insurance provider. Will do!

Tesla Model S - Main Battery Upgrade

Tesla discontinued the 60 kWh option this weekend and lower the price on the 75 kWh models. Likewise, they also dropped the price on battery software upgrades. Originally it cost $9000 to go from 60 to 75. The price was lowered to $7000, and now it's only $2000. I haven't taken any long road trips yet but decided to go ahead and get the upgrade in case I wanted to drive to San Diego or Las Vegas. The car upgraded in under 60 seconds after I clicked "BUY" on the Tesla website. Now all I need to do is to get a new badge put on the car from the Service Center.

Tesla Model S - 12V Battery Failure

Almost 4 months after delivery, I had to call the Service Center about a warning message on my Tesla. I was out of town for 5 days and when I got home, there was a warning message saying that the 12V battery needs replacement. The main battery pack (380V) still showed 63% full and it is supposed to charge the 12V battery. I took the car out for a drive around the block and everything seems to work ok except for summon/auto-park.

I called the Costa Mesa Service Center, where I picked up the car, and there was no answer. I left a message but ended up calling the Buena Park Service Center about an hour later. They picked up and arranged a Ranger to come out tomorrow to look at the battery issue. I read online that many people had issues with the 12V battery and needed replacement after one year. I guess I have to drive my 18 year old 4Runner to work tomorrow. :(

Tesla Model S - Hangul

Just installed 7th software update in the Model S (v8.0 17.9.3). This increases maximum autopilot speed up to 55 mph on freeways and something about ventilation fan speeds. However, the most important (undocumented) update is the media player can display Korean text! Up to now, all Hangul shows up as crossed out boxes. Even though I can't understand Korean, I can read enough Hangul to know what song is playing. It was strange that previously the medial player could display Chinese and Japanese text but not Korean.

I read online that this update also increases max TACC (cruise control) speed to 85 mph (up from 80). Sometimes when I drive in the carpool lane on the I-5 in the morning, I have cars tailgating me at 80 mph so an additional 5 mph is welcome. Usually it's a BMW or Toyota Prius.

Tesla Model S - Second Thoughts?

It's been 2 months since I picked up my Tesla Model S. Even though I bought the cheapest model (+white paint and +enhanced autopilot), it was still $72k before taxes and almost $80k out the door. It's been cool not having to fill up the car and all but while driving around, it's hard not to compared what else I could have got for ~$72k.

Examples:
- Maserati Ghibli ($71,600)
- AMG E43 ($72,400)
- BMW M3 ($66,900)
- Audi S6 ($70,900)
- Lexus LS460 ($72,520)
- Jaguar XJ ($74,400)

Those are all very nice cars, with better fit and finish than the Tesla. I don't even have a power liftgate and lighted vanity mirrors. I guess what I'm paying for is the electric drive-train and the Nvidia supercomputer that will eventually drive the car by itself.

Tesla Model S - Another Pending Software Update

I read online that there was another Tesla software update pending which allows autosteer to be used on regular roads up to 35 mph. Meanwhile, autosteer speeds was increased to 50 mph during the last update for divided highways. My commute has been pretty bad this week (~2 hours in the morning) so I've used autosteer a lot lately. If the weather is good, it's stable most of the time. I think the system still has issues with overhead signs/overpasses and freaks out when the lane lines disappear/veer-off for an exit. I don't think there is any predictive feature on lanes at all. Not sure how that will play out on local roads with intersections and stuff.

It's been about 2 months and I have ~3,300 miles on the car and used almost 900 kWh of energy. I'm mostly satisfied with the car though still a bit disappointed in the slow progress on software updates. The 50 mph limit on autosteer is workable but often I find myself the slowest car on the freeway as traffic flow has increased >50 mph but my car is still cruising at the lower speed. Also, my garage is a tight fit with my parents' Honda CR-V so autopark/summon was a feature I was looking forward to but still not available. Finally, the reason I went for a HW2 car was the promise of full-self drive. I think that is probably not feasible with the current AP2 cars, despite Elon's tweets about availability this year.

I finally received my white carpool sticker from the DMV. I'm still debating whether to stick them on directly (semi-permanent and ugly) or wait for the vinyl sticker I ordered as a middle layer so I can peel them off when the program expires in 2019. I'm hoping CA DMV will cut-off access for plug-in hybrids (green stickers); if they are driving in the carpool lane on a freeway, chances are they've already depleted the battery and burning gasoline anyway.

Tesla Model S - Third Software Update

This Thursday, I received another software update for the Model S. The build number was 2.50.201 which is weird since I see at least 3 other "newer" builds for cars with different configurations. Anyway, after installing the update Thursday night, I took the car out in the rain to the local SuperCharger and back to see if the camera will finally calibrate. It did.

Friday morning, on the way to work, both TACC (traffic-aware cruise control) and auto-steer was working, though auto-steer had a 35 mph limit. I think the car is still calibrating since the auto-steer did not seem very stable; the car seems to weave from side to side in the lane.

TACC is pretty cool. I use cruise control a lot when I drive so I was disappointed that it was disabled while the car was calibrating cameras. Now, the car will slow down and speed up (even stop) with traffic. It helps with enduring the long daily commute. There are also some minor strange behavior issues but hopefully they will be worked out in later releases.

Tesla Model S - Another Software Update

Frustrating.

Elon promised Autopilot software for new cars with AP 2.0 hardware and so I got a software update notice for the car last night at ~10pm. Supposedly I'm one of ~1000 people that got the update. Of course I ran to the garage to install it. The release notes said that frontal collision warning, traffic-aware cruise control (TACC), and low-speed auto-steering was added. How exciting!

After the install, I went out for a test drive at ~3:30am. I drove for about 15 minutes and nothing worked. I kept getting a warning message that the cameras were calibrating. This morning, I drove to church and back... and still nothing. Cameras are still calibrating. Of course there is no explanation of the calibration process and any indication of progress. Worse, since TACC function supersedes the original manual cruise control, that doesn't work either. So, my car is less functional than before the software update. What?

I complain about Apple's updates all the time since about 1/3 of the time, the update resets my iOS device and I have to restore from backup. Now I'm wondering about Tesla's QA process. Did they push out unfinished/untested software to 1000 cars so they can recognize $5M of revenue (1000 cars x $5000 for enhanced auto-pilot) for Q4? The cars and technology is cool, but Tesla's communications is terrible.

Solar City

I guess if you buy an electric vehicle, the next logical step is getting solar panels installed at home. While I was waiting for the Model S to be delivered, I contacted Solar City and purchased a 3.65 kW system. None of that 20-year lease nonsense for me. They are coming to install the system this Friday, before the end of the year, so I should be able to claim the 30% tax credit for this year's taxes as well.

The process was pretty straightforward, though the sales guy was a bit pushy. On every phone call, he asks me for referrals. The system hasn't been installed yet. How can I recommend either way? Also, I found out that SoCal Edison won't allow the installed solar system to generate more than your prior year's usage. I don't understand this rule. Are solar installers putting much larger systems than necessary? Wouldn't they (utilities and government) want all available roof real estate used up? What this means for me is that I can only get a system to cover my prior usage, even though if I charge the car at home all the time, my usage will increase by 50%.

Stupid.

Tesla Model S - Software Update Update

That was quick. I got a update notice about an hour ago and had the car go ahead and install it. The warning message said the car would be offline (can't drive it) for about 1 hour and 40 minutes but it took only 10 minutes. The software build is now 2.50.180.

As expected, the headlight controls are different. There's now an "auto" selection, and the headlight "switch" in the corner of the touchscreen is now a lock/unlock switch for the doors. The EQ for the sound system now has 5 bands instead of just 3. I also noticed a driver assist submenu with a speed warning options. This wasn't in the release notes and I'm not sure what it does so I guess it's Google time.

Tesla Model S - Software Updates

The Model S is basically a huge smartphone on wheels. The hardware is fixed but the software that runs the car is updated constantly. I picked up my car on Monday and I'm already 4 builds behind. The major release right now is 8.0 but there are multiple builds, each with different features. My car has 2.48.109; later builds include 2.48.204, 2.50.15, 2.50.114, and 2.50.178. I read that Tesla added keyfob personalization, better audio EQ, and some minor stuff. All the new cars are waiting for version 8.1 which will include Original AutoPilot features for AP 2.0 equipped cars.

It's a bit frustrating. I'm not complaining about the 8.1 update since I know about that already. However, I would like to be updated to the latest minor build since somewhere in those 4 updates Tesla added auto-on headlights for AP 2.0 cars. Right now I have to turn the headlights on and off manually since the auto setting does not exist on my current software build. Of course, it's not a hard switch but a small icon on the touchscreen. Not really a huge deal but it's been raining in LA recently and turning on the headlights will flip the center console to night mode (black background). Again, not expecting too much but a car that costs 3x my Nissan Maxima should at least have auto lights and DRL (daytime running lights).


Charging at sister's house with NEMA 14-50 plug. Previous house owned had a Model S. Momo was able to charge at 28 mi/hr.

Tesla Model S - Home Charging

One of the parties that picked up their car at the same time as me said that it cost him $800 to put in a NEMA 14-50 plug: $600 for parts and labor, and $200 for a permit. That sounds about right since Solar City said a permit to install solar panels at my house cost $250. Anyway, since I found an unused dryer plug at my house (my dryer runs on natural gas), I'm going to use that for now.

To charge the car with the NEMA 10-30 dryer plug, I had to buy the following:


NEMA 10-30 to NEMA 14-50 adapter


15' 50 amp extension cable

Since all the NEMA connectors are the newer 50A type, I had to get a cable that converted my 30A NEMA 10-30 plug to the NEMA 14-50 plug. Also, my dryer plug is inside the house so I bought an extension cable to get the receptacle to the garage.

To this, I used the following that came with the car:


Mobile Connector Bundle


NEMA 14-50 adapter for the mobile connector

The only problem with this setup is that I have to remember to set the charging current to a maximum of 24A. The dryer line is protected with a 30A breaker and everyone recommends charging at 80% of the circuit max. The car will try to pull 40A (80% of 50A) since I'm using Tesla's 14-50 plug, which will trigger the circuit breaker. At least the car is smart enough to associate the charging setup with GPS and set the charge rate at 24A in the future. This setup gets me about 18 miles/hour of charge. Not great but 6x faster than using a regular 110V/15A plug. 18 miles/hour charge rate means about 12 hours for full charge from a fully depleted battery.

Tesla Model S - Day 2

Day 2 with new Tesla Model S. I drove for our carpool today since they all wanted to ride in the new car. The regenerative braking is still weird. I found the braking force is not linear: the car slows down a lot at low to middle speeds but won't come to a complete stop by itself. With Monday's drive home and no charging, when I arrived at work this morning, the battery was down to 52% and tool about 3.5 hours to fully charge. BTW, the mobile app is working on my iPhone so I can monitor charging and do a few other things with the car remotely.

Last night, I figured out what was wrong with the USB drive (not formatted as FAT32) and loaded some music. I originally thought that all Asian fonts were messed up but it turns out the car and display Chinese and Japanese but NOT Korean. Strange... too bad most of my Asian-pop is in Korean. It's still hard to use the touchscreen accurately while driving.

On the way home tonight, I stopped to check out the new Superchargers in Santa Ana, next to Santa Ana Main Place Mall.


Car charging at Santa Ana Supercharger


Charging info on mobile app: I think the Supercharger is rated at 350V @200A

It took me several tries to get the charger to start charging my car. Once it started, it was pretty quick. I think it took only ~15 minutes to fully charge the battery from ~70%. Out of the 12 spots, I think only 4-5 were being used.

Tesla Model S - Delivery

Wow, Tesla must want to move cars for quarter end. After no news for weeks, things started happening quick and I ended up picking up my car this morning (December 19). So from order confirmation to delivery took 36 days, which seems pretty average.

This morning, I showed up to the Tesla Sales/Delivery Center in Costa Mesa at 10am. I ended up being one of 4 groups picking up their cars: 2 Model S's and 2 Model X's. They brought us to the back of the building (inside) and each car was assigned a person to walk us though basics, answer questions, and sign paperwork. I had already paid via ACH so it was signing some DMV paperwork. Next they showed us some videos that were also available online. You can tell Tesla was working hard to move cars out the door; all the videos were still showing the old version of Model S. Most disappointing was that the AutoPilot features were not activated yet. I knew this already but most other people picking up cars did not. Without AutoPilot, the car is about as smart as the Nissan Maxima I traded in. Hopefully we will get a software update by the end of the year, per Elon's tweets.

Since I traded in my old car ($8000), the first Tesla drive was to work. I had test drive the car several times but the regenerative braking still takes getting used to. Power is smooth and the ride is very similar to my Maxima. Due to the batteries, the Tesla is a heavy car, but the weight is low so the car is very stable. I used up about 22% of the battery getting to work but was able to find a reserved spot in the parking lot with a Tesla charger. The mobile app is not connected yet so I can't check the charge from my desk. Hopefully it charged; otherwise I will be really low tomorrow. I bought some adapters to use with the included mobile charger so I'll try that tonight: charging the car using my 240V dryer hookup.

Tesla Model S - In Production

Got an email from Tesla today that my car is in production. Looking through all the paperwork they sent me, I found my order confirmation and it had an estimated delivery date of December 25th. Seeing how the delivery center is not open on Sunday (probably not open on Christmas Day normally), I'm not sure when the car will arrive. The website still says December to early January 2017.

Also got a few insurance quotes... expensive. :(

Tesla Model S - Order Confirmed

My order was confirmed on November 13th. I ended up changing the order to a 60 kWh battery and dropped the self-driving option. The battery in the new 60 model is actually a software limited 75 kWh battery. I read that you typically don't charge the battery to 100% since that will shorten the life of a lithium-ion battery. Also, when you charge at a Tesla Supercharger, it fast charges to 80% and slows down for the remaining 20%. With a software limited 60 kWh battery, you can charge up to 100% since it's not really "full" and it will charge to "100%" at full speed on a Supercharger. For me, I think the 60 will be enough since I can charge it daily at work.

As for the actual order, after it was confirmed, I did not hear from Tesla for three weeks. On Reddit, people were saying it took months to get their car. I finally called my delivery contact and he said car will be ready in two weeks! Hopefully that is true since my current car registration expires in early January and I need to take delivery this year to file for the $7500 federal tax credit.

Tesla Model S

I ordered a Tesla Model S this past Sunday. I've been thinking about it for several years and even put down a deposit for a Model 3. It's a pretty cool car, especially the Auto-Pilot feature but the car is pretty expensive. I configured a 75kWh RWD model and the price before tax rebates is $84,000. I've since went back online and dropped the self-driving feature and applied a discount code from a friend, but that's still $80k before destination charges and sales tax, not to mention huge increases in CA registration fees and auto insurance premiums.

I have until this Saturday to decide whether to keep the order or lose my $2500 deposit.