2016 TESLA MODEL S port

1. Exterior lights (Lights on page 48)
2. Door handles ( Using Exterior Door Handles on page 6)
3. Sunroof (optional) ( Sunroof on page 15)
4. Charge port ( Charging Instructions on page 130)
5. Autopilot-equipped vehicles only: Forward looking camera ( About Driver Assistance on page
65)
6. Exterior mirrors ( Mirrors on page 40)
7. Autopilot-equipped vehicles only: Radar sensor (hidden from view in the above image)( About
Driver Assistance on page 65)
8. Hood/Front trunk ( Front Trunk on page 12)
9. Wheels and tires ( Wheels and Tires on page 169)
10. Rear view camera ( Rear View Camera on page 64)
11. Rear trunk/liftgate ( Rear Trunk on page 10)
12. Ultrasonic sensors ( Park Assist on page 57 and About Driver Assistance on page 65)
Exterior Overview
Overview3

Correct Driving PositionThe seat, head support, seat belt and airbagswork together to maximize your safety. Using
these correctly ensures greater protection.
Position the seat so you can wear the seat belt correctly, while being as far away from the
front airbag as possible:
1. Sit upright with both feet on the
floor and
the seat back reclined no more than 30
degrees.
2. Make sure you can easily reach the pedals and that your arms are slightly bent whenholding the steering wheel. Your chest
should be at least 10 inches (25 cm) from
the center of the airbag cover.
3. Place the shoulder section of the seat belt mid-way between your neck and your
shoulder. Fit the lap section of the belt tightly across your hips, not across your
stomach.
Model S seats include integrated head
supports that cannot be adjusted or removed.
Adjusting the Driver

Folding Rear Seats
Model S has a split rear seat that can fold
forward.
Note: If Model S is equipped with the optional
executive rear seats, these seats do not fold
forward.
Before folding, remove items from the seats
and the rear foot well. To allow the rear seat
backs to fold completely
flat, you may need to
move the front seats forward.
To fold a rear seat, press the corresponding
lever and fold the seat forward.
Raising Rear Seats
Before raising a rear seat, make sure that the
seat belts are not trapped behind the backrest.
Pull the seat back upward until it locks into place.
To
confirm that the seat back is locked in the
upright position, try pulling it forward.
Warning: Always ensure the seat backs
are locked in their upright position.
Failure to do so increases the risk of injury.
Head Supports
Seats include integrated head supports that
cannot be adjusted or removed.
Seat Heaters
The front seats are equipped with heating
pads that operate at three levels from 3
(highest) to 1 (lowest). To operate the seat
heaters, see Climate Controls on page 104.
If Model S is equipped with the optional cold weather package, you can also control seat
heaters in all rear seating positions, as well as
heated wipers and washer nozzles by by
touching Controls > Cold Weather (see
Controls on page 94).
Seat Covers Do not use seat covers on Model S. Doing so
could restrict deployment of the side air bags
if an accident occurs. It can also reduce the
accuracy of the occupant detection system.
Front and Rear Seats
18Model S Owner

Wearing Seat Belts
Using seat belts and child safety seats is the
most
effective way to protect occupants if a
collision occurs. Therefore, wearing a seat belt is required by law in most jurisdictions.
Both the driver and passenger seats are
equipped with three-point inertia reel seat
belts. Inertia reel belts are automatically
tensioned to allow occupants to move
comfortably during normal driving conditions.
To securely hold child safety seats, all
passenger seating positions are equipped with
an automatic locking retractor (ALR) that, by
pulling the seat belt beyond the length
needed for a typical adult occupant, locks the
belt into place until the seat belt is unbuckled
(see Installing Seat Belt Retained Child Seats
on page 24).
The seat belt reel automatically locks to prevent movement of occupants if Model Sexperiences a force associated with hard
acceleration, braking, cornering, or an impact in a collision.
The seat belt reminder on the
instrument panel alerts you if a seat
belt for an occupied seat is not
fastened. If the belt remains unfastened, the reminder
flashes and
an intermittent chime sounds. If all
occupants are buckled up and the
reminder stays on, re-fasten seat
belts to ensure they are correctly
latched. Also remove any heavy
objects (such as a briefcase) from an
unoccupied seat. If the reminder
light continues to stay on, contact
Tesla.
To Fasten a Belt
1. Ensure correct positioning of the seat.
2. Draw the belt out smoothly, ensuring the belt lays flat across the pelvis, chest and
mid-point of your collar bone, between
the neck and shoulder.
3. Insert the latch plate into the buckle and press together until you hear a click
indicating it is locked in place.
4. Pull the belt to check that it is securely fastened.
5. Pull the diagonal part of the belt toward the reel to remove excess slack.
To Release a Belt
Hold the belt near the buckle to prevent the
belt from retracting too quickly, then press the
button on the buckle. The belt retracts
automatically. Ensure there is no obstruction
that prevents the belt from fully retracting.
The belt should not hang loose. If a seat belt
does not fully retract, contact Tesla.
Wearing Seat Belts When Pregnant
Do not put the lap or shoulder sections of the
seat belt over the abdominal area. Wear the lap section of the belt as low as possibleacross the hips, not the waist. Position theshoulder portion of the belt between the
breasts and to the side of the abdomen.
Consult your doctor for
specific guidance.
Warning: Never place anything between
you and the seat belt to cushion the
impact in the event of an accident.
Seat Belts
Seating and Safety Restraints19

Testing a Child Safety Seat
Before seating a child, always make sure the
child safety seat is not loose:
1. Hold the child safety seat by the belt path and try to slide the safety seat from side
to side and front to back.
2. If the seat moves more than one inch (2.5 cm), it is too loose. Tighten the belt or
reconnect the LATCH retained child safety
seat.
3. If you are unable to reduce slack, try a
different seat location or try another child
safety seat.
Warnings - Child Safety Seats
Warning: Extreme hazard! Do not seat a
child on the front passenger seat even if
you are using a child safety seat. This seat
has an airbag in front of it. Although this airbag is disabled when Model S detects a
lightweight passenger, do not rely on technology to protect your child.Warning: Child restraint systems are
designed to be secured in vehicle seats
by lap belts or the lap belt portion of a lap-shoulder belt. Children could be
endangered in a crash if their child restraints are not properly secured in the
vehicleWarning: According to accident statistics,
children are safer when properly
restrained in the rear seating positions
than in the front seating positions.Warning: Do not use a forward facing child safety seat until your child weighs
over 20 lbs (9 kg) and can sit
independently. Up to the age of two, a
child

1. Pull the handle to release the seat backand pull the seat back fully forward.
2. Push the lever to release the head supports from the seat back, then fold
back onto the seat.
3. Secure the Velcro strap.
4. Pull the strap at the rear of the seat to fold
the seat assembly into the trunk floor.
5. Replace the cover on the trunk floor.
Tesla Built-In Rear Facing Child Seats
28Model S Owner

Passenger Front Airbag
Model S has an occupancy sensor in the front
passenger seat that controls the status of the
airbags based on the weight of the occupant.
Passenger airbag status displays in the top
right corner of the touchscreen to indicate
whether the airbag will
inflate (on) or notinflate (off) if a collision occurs.
Note: The occupancy sensor system meets the regulatory requirement of FMVSS 208 and
automatically detects when
inflating the
passenger front airbags would be unnecessary
or potentially harmful.
Front passenger seat
occupancy*Passenger airbag
statusEmptyOFFInfant in child safety
seat (up to 20 lbs/
9kg)OFFChild or small
occupant
(20-100 lbs/9-45 kg)ON or OFFHeavy object/
occupantON*Values are approximate. Occupants whose weight is close to the low weight threshold
can cause the status to occasionally turn on
and
off depending on seating position and
physique.
Note: It takes approximately six seconds after
you power on Model S for the occupancy
sensor to report accurate status of the front
passenger airbag. As a result, when you
firstpower on Model S, the status defaults to PASS
AIRBAG ON, even in situations when it should
be OFF because the seat is either empty or
carrying a weight of 20 lbs (9 kg) or less.
However, after the six second initialization, the status should display as PASS AIRBAG OFF. If
it fails to do so, contact Tesla service
immediately and seat passengers in the rear
seating positions only.
If the status shows the airbag as permanently
on, even when the seat is empty and the seat belt is unbuckled, contact Tesla immediately.
To make sure the sensing system can correctly detect occupancy status, eliminate the
following:

IndicatorDescriptionTire pressure warning. The pressure of a tire is out of range. If a fault with the
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) is detected, the indicator flashes.For a TPMS fault, contact Tesla. See Tire Care and Maintenance on page 135.A door or trunk is open. See Door handles.A seat belt for an occupied seat is not fastened. Note: Depending on the
date of manufacture, rear seating positions may not be equipped with a seat
belt reminder.See Seat Belts on page 19.Electronic stability control systems are no longer minimizing wheel spin (i.e.
on a single motor vehicle, the traction control system has been turned off, or
on a dual motor vehicle, Slip Start has been enabled). See Traction Control
on page 56.Model S is in Tow mode and can roll freely. It does not automatically shift
into Park when you exit. See Instructions for Transporters on page 175.Flashes green when the left turn signal is operating. Both turn signal
indicators flash green when the hazard warning flashers are operating.Flashes green when the right turn signal is operating. Both turn signal
indicators flash green when the hazard warning flashers are operating.Instrument Panel
Driving45