Let’s take a look at the hidden features for traveling with your Tesla car.
Parking Brake
We are often told that our cars do not have a parking brake, but Kim from the YouTube channel tells us something else in her video: “The Hidden Features Tesla Will NOT Tell You About!” To place the car in the park, press the end of the gear stick. If you want to turn on the parking brake, you hold down on the same button, but for 2 seconds, and you will see an icon display on the touchscreen display. I am relieved to find out now when I park steeply!
HVAC
One of the easiest ways to turn it on is to simply tap on the temperature. If you tap on it a second time, you will get a pop-up that gives you the ability to adjust to the desired temperature by tapping on the little arrows that are always displayed next to the temperature.
The quickest way to turn off the air conditioner is to tap and hold the blade icon for about 2 seconds.
Activating Autopilot While Not Moving
At first glance, it may not seem obvious, but there is a way to activate Autopilot while you are not moving. If you are stopped at a red light, you can put your foot on the brake, turn on hill hold and then lower the gear stick twice to activate Autopilot.
Reset Cruise Control Speed
While driving with cruise control or Autopilot on, you can simply reset the speed to the standard offset by tapping the small speed limit sign below your battery indicator. I have found that this option is helpful in many situations! You will now be reset to your preferred speed while driving.
Quick App Opening
If you want to reopen a screen or app, such as the backup camera for example in the YouTube video to which I am referring, you can simply swipe up on the main icon (arrow up icon) at the bottom of the screen and the last app you opened will appear again! The same applies to other options such as the energy consumption screen.
If you swipe down on the navigate button, you will automatically be redirected back to where you set your home location.
How to Safety Eject Your USB Drive
Press and hold the dashcam icon at the top of the screen for 2 seconds to signal to the computer that you want to safely eject your USB drive. If the red light turns gray, this shows that it is now safe to remove your drive.
Want to hide your SentryMode SSD or memory card? Check out my review of the JEDA USB Hub.
Disable Explicit Lyrics in Slacker
Press the icon for the three vertical lines to enter the settings for Slacker.
Press “Options” and from here, slide the button to the left to disable Explicit Content. It option will not be grayed out and you will not hear bad language while driving.
Optimize Supercharging
Kim has an important tip for when you’re charging your car at a Tesla Supercharger. Make sure you leave space between your car and the next car. Most chargers at this point are labeled with either A or B (1A, 1B, 2A, 2B etc…). If you park in the stall right next to another person and it’s the same number but a different letter, you are sharing the same circuit and both experience slower charging during your session until one of you is done charging.
The Supercharger in Mauston, Wisconsin, located behind Culvers, differs from other chargers in that they positioned the stalls of different circuits together so that you can actually park right next to each other. It’s best to just pick the A | B and choose one that is not currently shared with another car so you can move on during your journey.
Tesla Avatar
If one of your headlights were to burn out, your car would appear on the screen with no lights on that side of the car. It also works with your taillights as well. Pretty neat!
You can see the turn signals on the virtual car or when regenerative breaking.
Tesla has also designed the small steering wheel on the display to respond to turning the actual steering wheel.
Referral Code
If you could kindly use my referral link on your buy of a Tesla Model S, 3, X or Y. I will use my extra Supercharging miles to photograph our beautiful country. See below:
⚡⚡⚡Use my referral link to receive 1,000 free Supercharger miles (1609.34 km) with the purchase and delivery of a new Tesla car, or earn a $100 award after system is activated by purchasing or subscribing to solar panels: Model S, Model 3, Model X [tesla.com] or Solar Panel [tesla.com].
Learn More
The dashcam and Enhanced Navigation was included in Software Version 9.0. More information about this update can be found on their website: Discover Software Version 9.0