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Glad to hear you and your wife are both enjoying your Teslas, Rick. I enjoy reading your comparisons and insights coming from the LS 600hL. Neither of us received the Cheetah Mode power boost with 2020.12.5 that the Performance Raven S received, but I was more excited about the Dashcam Viewer anyways. It is nice not having to remove the SSD and plug it into my phone to view videos. The ability to stop at traffic lights is supposedly coming in the next update for Full Self Driving-enabled cars. The OTA updates are truly amazing and addictive as you become conditioned to expect new features every few weeks. It was only a few months ago that they added the fourth camera to Sentry Mode and now we can easily view it all on the big screen.
Have you put together a roadside kit in case you get a flat? I have a bottle of slime, air compressor, and tire plug set. I have read that the latest runflats are much better than before and don't sacrifice ride quality as badly as before. I may consider runflats when I'm due for tires. I just don't like the idea of waiting around for roadside assistance.
Thanks FatherTo1! I don't really take my Tesla on trips, so I'm not too worried about a flat tire. I have the stock Goodrich Eagle Touring tires on my Tesla, and I'm okay with them so far. I'm sure I'll switch to Pirelli P7 Plus tires when I wear these out eventually, but for now they seem okay. I did spend some time cleaning up my Model S today, and put a good coat of wax on her, so I had to snap a photo when I got done. I recently added a clear bra to the bumper and leading edge of the hood to keep the rock chips down... So far, I'm happy with my transition from the LS600 to the Tesla Model S... It's definitely a bit sportier than the Lexus, but a lot less luxurious in many ways.
So far, I'm happy with my transition from the LS600 to the Tesla Model S... It's definitely a bit sportier than the Lexus, but a lot less luxurious in many ways.
I also made the change from a 2016 Lexus GS350 to a 2020 Tesla Model S Long Range Plus, almost to the day the OP got his. After 2 months of ownership, I have nearly identical impressions. The dealership experience and general luxuriousness of the car fall short of that of Lexus, but the technology and performance are impressive. But why oh why are there no door storage pockets? Certainly there is room for them.
The range is sufficient even here in the wide open southwest; and coupled with our home rooftop solar, means my vehicle is fusion powered ;-)
The bleeding edge features such as automatic stoplight and stop sign detection (and stopping at those controls) are definitely beta quality at best; I describe the semi-autonomous features similar in capability of that of a 15 year old student driver. Needs a LOT of supervision, and not trustable in any situation. But same as that student driver, the technology has promise in the future.
A cool aspect is Tesla’s ability to add and refine features via software update. So I have no doubt that the car’s behavior at stop lights and signs will improve, new features will be delivered, but I have no illusion that this specific model and year will magically attain fully autonomous driving capability.
One of my neighbors had friends over for the weekend (not much for self isolation). They were outside talking so I walked over (6') to say hi. The friends drove from Florida to here in Tennessee. I asked him about stopping to recharge. Said he gets roughly 300 miles per charge. He knows all the charging spots. They stop every 2 to 3 hours and it takes anywhere from 20-30 minutes each time. Doesn't that make for a very long trip? He said he's good with it.
One of my neighbors had friends over for the weekend (not much for self isolation). They were outside talking so I walked over (6') to say hi. The friends drove from Florida to here in Tennessee. I asked him about stopping to recharge. Said he gets roughly 300 miles per charge. He knows all the charging spots. They stop every 2 to 3 hours and it takes anywhere from 20-30 minutes each time. Doesn't that make for a very long trip? He said he's good with it.
It definitely adds some time to a long trip compared to stopping for gas every 350 miles or so. And it takes a bit more planning to ensure there are Supercharger locations along the way. On the plus side, I have free Supercharging for life, so any cross-country trips I do take, albeit a bit slower, will be at zero cost for the travel. I will likely not be taking it on long trips much (but I rarely go on driving trips anyway). My car has 370 miles of range, which is WAY more than I could ever use day-to-day.
I also made the change from a 2016 Lexus GS350 to a 2020 Tesla Model S Long Range Plus, almost to the day the OP got his. After 2 months of ownership, I have nearly identical impressions. The dealership experience and general luxuriousness of the car fall short of that of Lexus, but the technology and performance are impressive. But why oh why are there no door storage pockets? Certainly there is room for them.
The range is sufficient even here in the wide open southwest; and coupled with our home rooftop solar, means my vehicle is fusion powered ;-)
The bleeding edge features such as automatic stoplight and stop sign detection (and stopping at those controls) are definitely beta quality at best; I describe the semi-autonomous features similar in capability of that of a 15 year old student driver. Needs a LOT of supervision, and not trustable in any situation. But same as that student driver, the technology has promise in the future.
A cool aspect is Tesla’s ability to add and refine features via software update. So I have no doubt that the car’s behavior at stop lights and signs will improve, new features will be delivered, but I have no illusion that this specific model and year will magically attain fully autonomous driving capability.
I find that I do use my Auto-Pilot features nearly every day, and they definitely reduce the workload when driving (although as Steve points out, the car is not fully autonomous yet). I sprung for the Full Self Driving package, which gives me a few extra perks now (automatic lane changes via turn signal, Navigate on Auto-pilot, stop sign/signal recognition/stopping, advanced Summon, etc.).
I do really enjoy having my car improve every time I get pushed a new update. And I think the way Tesla uses data provided by owners' real-life driving to constantly refine their auto-pilot functions via a learning Neural Network/AI interface is pretty cool, and will just make the user experience better and better as time passes. I get excited every time a new update gets pushed, which is something I've never experienced before with any other car!
Yes I have FSD (“full self driving”) too. Although a long way from fully autonomous, gives me a front row seat on development of the feature. And participating in the project, via generating real world data to a Tesla, is fun, too.
I am quite impressed at how well the car auto stops at stop signs and stop lights (using a combination of map data and cameras). It is a little annoying that the car wants to slow down even for green lights and the braking could be a tad smoother, but the ability to stop on its own works pretty well out of the gate. The feature will surely continue to improve.
Last week I was using Navigate on Autopilot and the car was changing lanes to take the next off ramp. There was unexpected construction immediately exiting the freeway and the car detected the orange cones and reacted superbly, braking with plenty of margin. I was ready to take over, of course, but was impressed that I didn't need to.
The car even slows down for a green light? Hope it doesnt do like me and stop at one !
Yes, it indicates that it will be coming up to an intersection and will plan to slow down in 600 feet or so. It uses a combination of map data, as well as the cameras. Sometimes, the camera can't see the light color yet but you can. In which case, you tap the pedal or pull on a stalk and it will cancel the slowdown. It is a slight nuisance but understandable to take these baby steps towards the ultimate goal.
congrats, no more oil, oil filter, transmission fluid, differential fluid, thermostat, fuel pump seals, water pump, engine coolant, pcv valve, O2 sensors ( LS 460 has 4), spark plugs, engine air filters and catalytic converter replacement (if you keep the car long enough like over 230k miles), radiator replacement (mine just failed at 161K).
no more MAF sensor, throttle body cleaning.
not to mention no more filling up gas and getting a smog check.
congrats, no more oil, oil filter, transmission fluid, differential fluid, thermostat, fuel pump seals, water pump, engine coolant, pcv valve, O2 sensors ( LS 460 has 4), spark plugs, engine air filters and catalytic converter replacement (if you keep the car long enough like over 230k miles), radiator replacement (mine just failed at 161K).
no more MAF sensor, throttle body cleaning.
not to mention no more filling up gas and getting a smog check.
even brakes are like new after 100K miles in EV.
A big plus is it is zero emission.
I am glad you did your homework! Considering that Tesla and majority of electric vehicles use diff oil and coolant.
Just a $14k used battery replacement you will need to deal with along with laggy screens, delaminating drivers screen, buggy doors, trim issues, suspension problems, etc.....don't forget heat pump issues if yours has one as well.
Plus you can't fix any of it yourself unless you have approved scan tools and software that costs over $5k plus 1k per year
I am glad you did your homework! Considering that Tesla and majority of electric vehicles use diff oil and coolant.
ok, I was not aware of differential oil. Must be for rwd, awd.
I am aware a tesla needs coolant but engine coolant? Even then, the coolant is not an annual maintenance item.
I forgot some more items, no more alternator, serpentine belt, valve cover gasket, spark tube seals.
My car didn't have timing belt but no more belt, chain and tensioner replacement.
No transmission rebuild either given transmission is very simple. That unfortunately happened to me when my camry transmission failed right after warranty at 85k miles.
anything else I missed? ok, there's an oil filter in Model 3 but something to worry after about 200K miles.
