Electric Cars -- anyone own one?

[dellet]

I'd like more data on this one because I'm struggling to connect the dots.

Was he relying on his phone/app to start the car, rather than the key card? If so, there are a lot of stories of the cars failing to wake up when using the app.

This is more of a user problem than car problem, but it can be an issue.

Electric cars and specifically the Tesla is “cutting edge technology”. That is a blessing and curse. There are many APPs that you can use to basically run or use certain functions. Run your car by your phone.

Tesla envisioned this as an emergency use or secondary way to unlock and start the car. People are using it as the primary and find out the hard way when there is no data signal available. Happened to one of my customers.

Another issue was about a year ago, the Tesla servers went down, left people stranded for about half a day that did not have their key with them.

This could happen to any vehicle using this type of phone app, such as remote starting. Not much different than the battery in your fob going dead and not having a traditional key available to open the door.

I am guessing this also is part of the driving force of Starlink.

If Electric vehicles become mainstream, it will be largely due to Elon Musk. The support structure Tesla has is what keeps many people from being stranded.

 

[rijndael]

What I'm getting at is, but didn't state, is that the app uses bluetooth to talk to the car. This shouldn't have been related to a lack of wifi or 4G/5G connectivity, otherwise these cars wouldn't be usable at all for 'flyover America'.

App reliability is a different issue.

Sometimes I leave my wallet at home and rely in Apple Pay for gas and food. Sometimes I get screwed. It's my fault.

 

[dellet]

What I'm getting at is, but didn't state, is that the app uses bluetooth to talk to the car. This shouldn't have been related to a lack of wifi or 4G/5G connectivity, otherwise these cars wouldn't be usable at all for 'flyover America'.

App reliability is a different issue.

Sometimes I leave my wallet at home and rely in Apple Pay for gas and food. Sometimes I get screwed. It's my fault.

All I can tell you is that, no internet service may means no start or unlocking using the app. Not all are Bluetooth enabled. User error for certain.

Tesla App Outage Is Wake-Up Call for Automakers

A server connection outage locked some Tesla owners out of their cars, but there is a greater issue looming.

www.autoweek.com

This past week an app outage had caused some Tesla owners, who had been using their phones to access their cars, to be locked out of their vehicles, with the outage spanning several continents. The outage appeared to have started on Friday afternoon, and affected Tesla owners in North America, Europe, and Asia, with a number of owners taking to social media to complain. Owners reported seeing a "500 server error" message when trying to access the app.

 

[CarlGeorge]

Using the phone as the car's key (to unlock the doors and be the authorization that allows driving) does not require the Tesla app, from what I understand. When the phone is authorized as a key some sort of Bluetooth token is created in the phone and the car looks for that token to be nearby.

The app can also be used to unlock the doors, but that's not the authorization to allow driving. The app can be used to do lots of things to the car (like start heat or AC remotely) and sometimes that connection is troublesome.

All car functions can be used while charging. (Haven't actually used AC while charging, but have had heating and seat heaters on.)

 

[KMart]

I was curious if when charging in the hot summertime can a person sit in the car with the air conditioner on?

A very relevant and important question. One wouldn't want to get heat stroke sitting in the sunshine at 100+ degrees.

 

[rijndael]

A very relevant and important question. One wouldn't want to get heat stroke sitting in the sunshine at 100+ degrees.

Apparently, it works fine.

AC on while charging

Apologies if this has already been answered - I tried to search and found nothing. I am curious. The last part of supercharging, before balancing but during the taper - if you have the AC on, does it increase the time until full? Another way of asking - does the car request adequate...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[muleman69]

The OP asked opinions from owners or first hand experience. I can't believe how this thread derailed into a conspiracy theory, political, disaster. Some valid concerns and things to consider, but Really? Sorry Muleman, and good luck with your decision.

No problem,I have been enjoying the stories and input

 

[muleman69]

This is more of a user problem than car problem, but it can be an issue.

Electric cars and specifically the Tesla is “cutting edge technology”. That is a blessing and curse. There are many APPs that you can use to basically run or use certain functions. Run your car by your phone.

Tesla envisioned this as an emergency use or secondary way to unlock and start the car. People are using it as the primary and find out the hard way when there is no data signal available. Happened to one of my customers.

Another issue was about a year ago, the Tesla servers went down, left people stranded for about half a day that did not have their key with them.

This could happen to any vehicle using this type of phone app, such as remote starting. Not much different than the battery in your fob going dead and not having a traditional key available to open the door.

I am guessing this also is part of the driving force of Starlink.

If Electric vehicles become mainstream, it will be largely due to Elon Musk. The support structure Tesla has is what keeps many people from being stranded.

Can't they link it up to GPS or satellite ?

 

[wedgy]

Tesla has a pet safe mode also so you don't cook your dog;
Tesla dog mode is a climate control feature that allows drivers to keep their pets safe in a climate-controlled cabin of a Tesla vehicle. This climate control feature allows the driver to adjust the temperature and keep their pets warm or cool depending on the climate conditions

 

[rijndael]

Pet mode also prints something on the large display so it's obvious to people on the outside the pet is safe. It shows the inside temp.

 

[300_whisper]

Pet mode also prints something on the large display so it's obvious to people on the outside the pet is safe. It shows the inside temp.

View attachment 1326575

Ok that’s really cool.

 

[bsekf]

Couple of questions.
Can you operate an EV if you don't have a smart phone?
What is going to happen after an EV is driven in the north where they use salt/calcium chloride to keep roads free of ice. Ten years is about the life of a northern vehicle.

 

[CarlGeorge]

Couple of questions.
Can you operate an EV if you don't have a smart phone?
What is going to happen after an EV is driven in the north where they use salt/calcium chloride to keep roads free of ice. Ten years is about the life of a northern vehicle.

I haven't read anything about the salt/calcium chloride situation. No personal experience.

Whether a phone is required or not to operate the car, it seems to me, will be dependent on the EV implementation. In the case of Tesla a phone is not required. They give you a physical key (looks exactly like a credit card) that they "strongly suggest" you keep in your wallet....in case your phone battery totally dies. On two occasions my phone has deleted the Bluetooth key authorization token so my phone wouldn't authorize me as the car's owner. I pulled the real key out of my wallet and the car worked just fine. (The phone deleting the Bluetooth token was the phone's problem. I changed a setting and it has worked ever since.)

 

[Joe Salt]

I have a 2021 Toyota Hybrid Highlander with all the bells and whistles and it doesn't get driven in the winter, in fact it's in a heated garage and when I went to move it the battery to start it was dead. This thing doesn't have a regular battery like most cars so I had to look in the book to find out what to do. It was a whole lot different from what I'm use to. Got it started put it outside, it ran for a while then went to the battery and did what it had to do. I've got to take it to the dealers sometime next month and find out what makes these thing tick. All it does is confuse the hell out of me.

Joe Salt

 

[DangerRanger]

OK : Fair enough, so Just last week as she called My Wife Sat. afternoon .
MY SiL and husband just bought an Audi electric car ,North of $80 K . They reside in Sacramento . They own a place in Crescent City , CA. . Couldn't make it on a full charge ,actually had to stop and deviate their route twice for #2 Charges in order to make the trip . Trip is less than #400 miles but actually had to go an additional 90-120 miles out of their way in order to get their tree huger car charged Twice .
Are electric cars practical ,Yes IF you live and commute within 60-100 miles ,otherwise NO !.

Is that more to your liking ?.

Your SIL bought an electric car with a range of less than the distance he needed to drive and is upset he had to charge it to get there?

Yes that’s pretty relevant. Op, if you need to drive 400 miles regularly don’t buy a car with a 220 mile range.

 

[gilream]

Been reading up on these and not sure what to believe ? I would rather hear it from an owner. Two sides to every story

Ex girlfriend owed a Tesla. Fastest car I have ever ridden in. That's where the fascination ended for me. The body is aluminum and will dent if a hummingbird runs into it. She spent major bucks on a home charging devise that took 8 hours to charge the thing and the Tesla Super Charging stations take 35 5o 40 minutes to charge so be prepared to add lots of time to any trip...also if the station is full you will have to wait. Be ready for battery anxiety if you own one.

 

[300_whisper]

It takes 15 mins to get 200 miles at a Tesla charging station. It takes 40 mins to get 270 miles which is 80% of battery capacity. It takes 8-10 hours at home with the Tesla adapter.

 

[rijndael]

Tesla Super Charging stations take 35 5o 40 minutes to charge so be prepared to add lots of time to any trip...

Also, if your using charger 2A and someone is using charger 2B, even if it's supercharging, it will take a lot longer. There's some power input sharing among charger station units.

 

[AckleymanII]

Side collisions on an EV will not be pretty, kinda like those Chevy and GM pick ups of the 80's with the side tanks were outside of the frame.

Battery disposal for EV's is going to be a real problem, not to mention that the Rare Earth metals to make the batteries come from China, Russia, and in the future, Afghanistan

All of the EV benefit China, not to mention all of the Electric tools.

 

[rijndael]

All of the EV benefits China

And Russia. They're a huge nickel producer.

Nickel's price surge could threaten automakers' ambitious electric-vehicle plans

Nickel is a key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries. Its price surge could make EVs less competitive, hampering automakers' aggressive EV sales hopes.

www.cnbc.com