Tesla Owner

Long Term Battery Use?

Tesla Owner — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:27:11 +0000

I found this idea on Treehugger.com of eventually using my old Tesla battery on the grid intriguing.

Would be really nice if someday when by battery capacity got low, I could hook it up to my solar panels. The battery could serve as a backup storage during peak usage periods when electricity costs more, or during a power outage.

I would love to at least be able to send my battery to a “reuse station” somewhere on the public grid instead of in some sort of recycle station or trash heap.

Trunk Space Solution

Tesla Owner — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:39:01 +0000

The clever European owner I have mentioned on this blog before has also successfully used his Roadster to haul a large piece of lumber.

When There is Not Enough Room in the Trunk

Second Pair of Rear Tires

Tesla Owner — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:19:16 +0000

At 23,000 miles I bought the third pair of rear tires. A little early but it was already in the shop to check on the Fatal Software Error. I have been traveling regularly on a curvy windy and dangerous highway at reasonably high speeds and didn’t want to have marginal tires.

Beautiful Bumper

Tesla Owner — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:43:51 +0000

Since the Tesla is such a small car, I found myself in a parking lot watching someone back into me through the rear view window. I saw them backing into me and honked. Fortunately they hit my bumper at only 1 or 2 mph. With the fabulous bumper technology today, neither car had any damage at all – not even a tiny scratch. The biggest lesson is how invisible the Tesla can be to other drivers.

The Offender

The Roadster was a bit dirty but not even the tiniest scratch.

Not Even the Smallest Scratch

Hybrid Battery

Tesla Owner — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:14:33 +0000

Turns out not just my electric car needs to be plugged in, but at times my Hybrid does too. They hybrid battery drains faster than a conventional gas powered car when not driven. Over the Highlander’s six years, I have arrived home from a trip to find my battery dead. Both times, I needed to replace the battery. Since then, I bought a little gizmo that just keeps the battery running when not in use.

Cold Weather Range

Tesla Owner — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 16:54:44 +0000

I have been noticing in the past couple of months while the weather has been cold here, my range has been dropping. Nothing dramatic but significant enough to notice.

I just discovered a similar blog like mine from a Chevrolet Volt owner. He recently posted a graph showing the range drop in the Volt depending upon the weather. Patrick lives in the San Francisco Bay Area as I do, so his experiences are very similar to mine. It does not get particularly cold here, but enough to slightly limit the range.

Fatal Software Error

Tesla Owner — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:26:36 +0000

One morning, I went to my car and it would not start. The screen said “Fatal Software Error”. Since I was in a rush, I went along my way in my other vehicle, a “conventional” hybrid SUV. When I returned, the car started just fine without the error. I called the great service department and they said it was probably nothing but they would like to look the car just in case. The Tesla folks did service it, gave me some new firmware, and found nothing serious in the computer.

Since the car is always powered on, I wonder if a simple “reset button” would be useful.

Dirt Solution #2

Tesla Owner — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:40:03 +0000

The same clever European owner who devised one solution for dirt accumulation has devised a second one for the rear wheel arches. Here is a photo of his roadster’s rear wheel arch before the modification.

Rear Wheel Arch

This area of the car accumulates a lot of dirt as air is passing by to the cooling fans, but is not necessary as there is plenty of other airflow. The modification is a simple aluminum box.

Rear Wheel Arch with Dirtbox

Tesla Upgrades

Tesla Owner — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 17:59:55 +0000

I am always amazed how car companies manage to find little add ons for a car to earn more money. Tesla is no different than the other manufacturers in this way to make additional revenue. In a recent email, they are advertising several different gizmos such as a carbon fiber upper door sill. I haven’t had these for 2 1/2 years. And why do I need or want one? or probably two? I also find it a bit unsettling that the prices are not listed on the web page.

Carbon Fiber Door Sills

Charging Station Safety

Tesla Owner — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 23:50:57 +0000

After using a charging station as I described in my earlier post, I began to wonder about the safety of having an expensive unlocked plug in a public garage. These plugs have quite a bit of perhaps valuable metal in them and could perhaps be sold for scrap metal. The thought crossed my mind as I saw a Nissan Leaf parked with a bicycle lock around their plug.

Nissan Leaf with a Faux Lock

Although the lock is clearly around the cord, an astute observer can see that it is probably quite possible with a minor amount of fiddling to remove the cord without unlocking the bike lock. When looking around the lot, I did conclude that my Tesla and its plug were safe for a few reasons: this particular garage has 24 hour security, the elevators are right next to the electric parking, and a security camera video camera points right at the four charging stations.

After a four day trip, my cord and car were still in the public garage.

Unlocked Cord in a Public Garage

I would love the hear any comments about the safety of public charging stations.