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| This one isn’t exactly a fun update.
I wrecked and totaled it a couple of days ago.
Back story first.
Awhile back I was driving it in mud. Not super fast, maybe 30 to 40 mph. There was a T intersection coming up where I had to turn left or right. I had driven this road in mud many times in my life so I felt like I knew how to navigate it properly.
Start braking a little earlier than usual because it’s mud but don’t brake too early because you want to keep your momentum up to not get stuck.
When I hit the brakes basically nothing happened. The anti-lock brakes were just way over the top sensitive I guess due to the fact that I was slipping before I even hit the brakes.
I blew right through the T intersection and into an old farmstead entrance on the opposite side of the road. It was a bit disconcerting.
I told my wife about it so she could be a bit more cautious and not have it happen to her and then it happened to her anyway shortly thereafter. Exact same thing except she was going slightly slower than me so it stopped just before going across the intersection. She said there was nothing she could do. It just would not brake.
Fast forward awhile and you get to two days ago.
I was taking the kids to school. I was late and I was driving quite aggressively but the roads were in good shape. I was westbound on a gravel road and I was traveling towards a North/South gravel road. Another T intersection where I was going to turn left or South.
I was being aggressive so I hit the brakes later than I normally would. As soon as I hit the brakes I knew it was over. It was doing the exact same thing that it had done to my wife and I in the mud.
I think I jumped the ditch on the West side of the T intersection at a speed that I would guess was around 40 mph. That probably would not have been the end of the world except the far side of the ditch was a steeply inclining hill. We hit that and went from whatever speed we were at to 0 in about 2 or 3 feet. It was a very hard landing.
I guess in December a Tesla software update made it so that if a phone was connected to the car and if the airbags deployed, it would call 911. Since the airbags deployed it called 911.
I was disoriented. There was smoke in the cabin and I thought it was something electrical burning. Later I realized it was simply from the airbags going off but initially I did not realize that and I wondered if the battery was going to go up in flames. I scrambled out and drug my 3 kids out in short order. Then heard someone asking how they could help. It was the 911 operator hearing my kids screaming and trying to make heads or tails of it.
I talked to her and she sent two ambulances.
Kids got checked out and were fine other than cuts and bruises.
I didn’t feel like I needed to be checked out so I refused treatment.
Today I started questioning myself. Did the brakes really fail to perform on the Tesla due to the anti-lock brakes or was I just imagining it?
So I took the 2023 Honda Odyssey and attempted to somewhat simulate what had happened in the Tesla. The Odyssey stopped so much better in a panic stop type situation. Just an incredible difference.
I don’t know what we’ll do. Maybe there was something wrong with our specific car. Maybe my evaluation is wrong and I was driving faster than I thought I was (I never looked at the speedometer on the trip where I wrecked the Tesla, I only watched the road). Maybe I started braking later than I thought I did.
But I don’t think so. I was driving aggressive but before I hit the brake pedal in my mind I didn’t believe I would have any trouble making the corner. Not only did I not make it but I blew through it at around 40 mph.
In my testing in the van, the anti-lock brakes were working perfectly in a panic stop simulation. Grabbing just hard enough to make me almost fishtail but still make it controllable.
The Tesla was nowhere near giving me that much brake authority. No hint of fishtailing and it felt like it was slowing down as the same rate one would slow down on ice if they were doing a really good job.
Not sure what we’re going to do. It had full coverage. I’m actually thinking about buying another Tesla for two reasons:
1. We absolutely loved the car. It was fun to drive and efficient and quiet and practical and was just by far the favorite car we have ever owned
2. I really want to know I’m not crazy. I want to do some simulated panic stops with it and compare it to the van. If I can replicate what I experienced, maybe even make a video about it and try to get some social media exposure to get the attention of someone at Tesla and help make them aware of the issue to help make them safer.
But we’re hesitant. We can learn from my mistake and avoid being too aggressive like I was. That will avoid most of the issues. But there can be unexpected things that can happen where a panic stop is required through no fault of the driver. We drive a lot of gravel roads and I just don’t know if I want my family exposed to that risk.
I will say for 99.9% of Tesla owners, this is not a big deal. The anti-lock brakes work AMAZING on pavement. It will stop on a dime.
The anti-lock brakes also work AMAZING on snow/ice. It was able to stop the car far faster than I would have expected in those situations.
But in conditions that are less slick than ice and more slick than asphalt (like mud or even dry gravel) it does not do a good job at all.
I think one issue with getting the issue addressed is there aren’t many drivers who are aggressive as I was before this happened and who also own a Tesla and who also spend a lot of time driving on unpaved surfaces. Just not many people who likely care about it right now.
Finally, while I do believe that would have turned out fine in any other vehicle that I own or ever have owned, I do recognize that it could not have happened without me driving crazy like I was. I have a huge amount of regret over that. I am so thankful my kids are ok and I’m ridiculously embarrassed thad I put them at risk because I wanted to make up time. I won’t be the same going forward.
Edited by dpilot83 4/13/2024 07:50
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Tesla update
