Note: On RHD (Right Hand Drive) vehicles, the controls illustrated above are arranged similarly,but are mirrored on the right side of the vehicle.
1. Interior door handles ( Opening Doors from the Interior on page 6)
2.
Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (Traffic-Aware Cruise Control on page 70) and Autosteer (see
Autosteer on page 76)
3. High beams ( High Beam Headlights on page 54), Turn signals ( Turn Signals on page 54),
Wipers and washers ( Wipers and Washers on page 56)
4. Steering wheel buttons - left ( Using Left Steering Wheel Buttons on page 39)
5. Instrument panel ( Instrument Panel on page 45)
6. Steering wheel buttons - right ( Using Right Steering Wheel Buttons on page 40)
7. Gear selector ( Shifting Gears on page 44)
8. Touchscreen ( Touchscreen Overview on page 93)
9. Glove box button ( Glove Box on page 14)
10. Power window switches ( Opening and Closing on page 9)
11. Exterior mirror adjustment switches ( Mirrors on page 42)
12. Seats ( Front and Rear Seats on page 17)
13. Steering column adjuster (hidden from view in the above image) ( Steering Wheel on page
39)
14. Horn ( Horn on page 41)
15. Brakes ( Brakes on page 57)
16. Hazard warning lights ( Hazard Warning Flashers on page 55)
17. Cabin climate control ( Climate Controls on page 105)
18. Cup holders ( Cup Holders on page 16)
Interior Overview
2Model S Owner
Child-protection Lock
Model S has child-protection locks on the rear
doors and liftgate to prevent them from being
opened using interior handles. Use the
touchscreen to turn child protection locks on
or
off. Touch Controls > Settings > Vehicle >
Child Protection Lock .
Note: It is recommended that you turn child- protection locks on whenever children are
seated in the rear seats.
Drive-away Locking
Model S automatically locks all doors
(including the trunks) whenever your driving
speed exceeds 5 mph (8 km/h).
Walk-away Locking
Doors and trunks can automatically lock whenever you walk away carrying the key.
To turn this feature on or
off, touch Controls >
Settings > Vehicle > Walk-Away Door Lock .
Note: Depending on date of manufacture and
options selected at time of purchase, some Model S vehicles are not equipped with the
Walk-Away Door Lock feature.
Note: If all doors are closed and you use the
key to unlock Model S, walk-away locking is temporarily suspended until the next time
Model S powers on (such as when you press
the Brake pedal to engage a driving gear), or
until you use the key again to lock Model S.
This allows you to keep Model S unlocked in
your garage.
Unlocking When the Key Doesn
Shifting GearsWhen Model S is in Park, you must press the
brake to shift to another gear.
Move the lever up or down to change gears.
If you try to shift into a gear that the current
driving speed prohibits, you will hear a chime
and the gear does not change.
Reverse
Push the lever all the way up and release. You
can only shift into Reverse when Model S is
stopped or moving less than 5 mph (8 km/h).
If moving less than 1 mph (1.6 km/h), you must
press the brake.
Neutral
Push the lever up or down to the
first position
and release to shift into Neutral. Neutral allows
Model S to roll freely.
If Model S is in Park and you use the
touchscreen to release the parking brake
( Controls > E-Brake & Power
Off ), Model S
shifts into Neutral (see Parking Brake on page
58).
Model S automatically shifts into Park when
you exit. To leave Model S in Neutral, use the touchscreen to engage Tow mode (see
Keeping Your Vehicle in Neutral (Tow Mode)
on page 44).
Drive
Push the lever all the way down and release.
You can shift into Drive when Model S is stopped or moving less than 5 mph (8 km/h)in Reverse. If Model S is moving less than
1 mph (1.6 km/h), you must press the brake to shift into Drive.
Park
With Model S stopped, press the end of the
gear selector. Whenever Model S is in Park, the
parking brake is applied.
Model S automatically shifts into Park
whenever you:
IndicatorDescription
Parking lights (side marker lights, tail lights, and license plate lights) are on. See
Lights on page 51.Front fog lights (optional). See Lights on page 51.Rear fog lights. See Lights on page 51.Adaptive Front Lighting. See Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS) on page 54.
Electronic stability control systems are actively minimizing wheel spin by
controlling brake pressure and motor power (indicator flashes). See Traction
Control on page 59. If this indicator stays illuminated, a fault is detected (contact
Tesla immediately).Smart Air Suspension
IndicatorDescription
An ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) fault is detected. See Brakes on page 57.
Contact Tesla immediately.The parking brake is manually applied. See Parking Brake on page 58.A parking brake fault is detected. Contact Tesla. See Parking Brake on page 58.Vehicle Hold is actively applying the brakes. See Vehicle Hold on page 62.Tire 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 139.A door or trunk is open. See Doors on page 4, Rear Trunk on page 10, or Front
Trunk on page 12.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.The front passenger
Braking Systems
Model S has an anti-lock braking system (ABS) that prevents the wheels from locking when
you apply maximum brake pressure. This
improves steering control during heavy
braking in most road conditions.
During emergency braking conditions, the
ABS constantly monitors the speed of each
wheel and varies the brake pressure according
to the grip available.
The alteration of brake pressure can be felt as
a pulsing sensation through the brake pedal.
This demonstrates that the ABS is operating
and is not a cause for concern. Keep
firm and
steady pressure on the brake pedal while
experiencing the pulsing.
The ABS indicator flashes briefly on
the instrument panel when you firststart Model S. If this indicator lights
up at any other time, an ABS fault
has occurred and the ABS is not
operating. Contact Tesla. The braking system remains fully operational and
is not
affected by an ABS failure.
However, braking distances may increase.
If the instrument panel displays this
indicator at any time other than
displaying
briefly when you first start
Model S, a brake system fault is
detected or the brake
fluid level is
low. Contact Tesla immediately.
Emergency Braking
In an emergency, fully press the brake pedal
and maintain
firm pressure, even on low
traction surfaces. The ABS varies the braking
pressure to each wheel according to the
amount of traction available. This prevents
wheels from locking and ensures that you stop
as safely as possible.
Warning: Do not pump the brake pedal.
Doing so interrupts operation of the ABS
and can increase braking distance.Warning: Always maintain a safe distance
from the vehicle in front of you and be
aware of hazardous driving conditions.
While the ABS can improve stopping
distance, it cannot overcome the laws of physics. It also does not prevent the
danger of hydroplaning (where a layer of
water prevents direct contact between the tires and the road).
If Model S is equipped with Autopilot
hardware, Automatic Emergency Braking
automatically applies full braking in situations
where a collision is considered imminent (see
Automatic Emergency Braking on page 89).
Warning: Automatic Emergency Braking
is not designed to prevent a collision. At best, it can minimize the impact of a
frontal collision by attempting to reduce
your driving speed. Depending on Automatic Emergency Braking to avoid a
collision can result in serious injury or death.
Brake Wear
Model S brake pads are equipped with wear
indicators. A wear indicator is a thin metal
strip attached to the brake pad that squeals as
it rubs against the rotor when the pad wears
down. This squealing sound indicates that the
brake pads have reached the end of their service life and require replacement. To stop
the squealing, contact Tesla Service.
Brakes must be periodically inspected visually by removing the tire and wheel. For detailed
specifications and service limits for rotors and
brake pads, see Brakes on page 165.
Warning: Neglecting to replace worn
brake pads results in damage to the
braking system and can create a braking
hazard.
Brakes
Driving57
Regenerative Braking
Whenever Model S is moving and your foot is
off the accelerator, regenerative braking slows
down Model S and feeds any surplus energy
back to the Battery.
By anticipating your stops and simply
removing pressure from the accelerator to slow down, you can take advantage ofregenerative braking to increase driving range.
Of course, this is no substitute for regular
braking when needed for safety.
Note: If regenerative braking is aggressively
slowing Model S, such as on a steep descent,
brake lights turn on to alert other road users
that you are slowing down.
The Energy app displays real-time feedback
on the amount of energy being gained by
regenerative braking. You can also display the
power meter on either side of the instrument
panel by choosing Energy using the scroll
button on the steering wheel (see Steering
Wheel on page 39).
The amount of energy fed back to the Battery using regenerative braking can depend on the
current state of the Battery and the charge
level setting that you are using. If regenerative
braking is limited, a dashed yellow line
displays on the power meter. For example,
regenerative braking may be limited if the Battery is already fully charged or if the
ambient temperature is low.
To Set the Regenerative Braking Level
You can use the touchscreen to change the
level of regenerative braking:
1. Touch Controls > Driving > Regenerative Braking .
2. Choose from two levels:
How It WorksThe traction control system constantly
monitors the speed of the front and rear
wheels. If Model S experiences a loss of
traction, the system minimizes wheel spin by
controlling brake pressure and motor power.
By default, the traction control system is
always active. Under normal conditions, it should remain active to ensure maximum
safety.This indicator flashes on the
instrument panel whenever the
traction control system is actively
controlling brake pressure and motor
power to minimize wheel spin. If the
indicator stays on, a fault is detected with the traction control system.
Contact Tesla Service.Warning: Traction control cannot prevent
accidents caused by driving dangerously
or turning too sharply at high speeds.Warning: If the above indicator remains
illuminated in situations in which you have
not enabled Slip Start (described next), the traction control system may not be
operating correctly. Contact Tesla Service immediately.
Allowing Wheel Slip
To allow the wheels to spin at a limited speed,
you can enable Slip Start. Slip Start can be
enabled only when Model S is moving 30 mph
(48 km/h) or slower. Slip Start automatically
disables when the speed exceeds 50 mph
(80 km/h).
Under normal conditions, Slip Start should not
be enabled. Enable it only in circumstances where you deliberately want the wheels tospin, such as: