Caution: If the brakes are not functioning
properly, stop the vehicle as soon as safety permits and contact Tesla Service.
See Park on page 56 for information on
using the Park button to stop the vehicle
in case of emergency.Warning: Always maintain a safe driving
distance from the vehicle in front of you
and be cautious in hazardous driving
conditions. Do not rely on brake disc
wiping or hydraulic fade compensation to act as a substitute for adequate braking.
Regenerative Braking
Whenever Model 3 is moving and your foot is
off the accelerator, regenerative braking slows
down Model 3 and feeds any surplus energy back to the Battery.
By anticipating your stops and reducing or
removing pressure from the accelerator pedal
to slow down, you can take advantage of regenerative 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 3 (such as when your foot is
completely off the accelerator pedal at
highway speeds), the brake lights turn on to
alert others that you are slowing down.
Note: Installing winter tires with aggressive
compound and tread design may result in
temporarily-reduced regenerative braking
power. However, your vehicle is designed to continuously recalibrate itself, and after changing tires it will increasingly restore
regenerative braking power after some
moderate-torque straight-line accelerations.
For most drivers this occurs after a short
period of normal driving, but drivers who
normally accelerate lightly may need to use
slightly harder accelerations while the
recalibration is in progress.
Warning: In snowy or icy conditions
Model 3 may experience traction loss
during regenerative braking, particularly
when in the Standard setting and/or not
using winter tires. Tesla recommends
using the Low setting (see To Set the
Regenerative Braking Level on page 66)
in snowy or icy conditions to help maintain vehicle stability.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. For example,
regenerative braking may be limited if the Battery is already fully charged or if the
ambient temperature is too cold.
Note: If regenerative braking is limited, a
dashed line displays on the energy bar (see
Driving Status on page 63).
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:
Note: The parking brake operates on the rear
wheels only, and is independent of the pedal-
operated brake system.
Warning: In snowy or icy conditions the
rear wheels may not have sufficient
traction to prevent Model 3 from sliding
down a slope, particularly if not using winter tires. Avoid parking on hills in
snowy or icy conditions. You are always responsible for parking safely.Warning: Your Model 3 may display an
alert if the road is too steep to safely park
on, or if the parking brakes are not
properly engaged. These alerts are for
guidance purposes only and are not a
substitute for the driver’s judgment of safe parking conditions, including specific
road or weather conditions. Do not
depend on these alerts to determine
whether or not it is safe to park at any location. You are always responsible for
parking safely.When you use the touchscreen to
manually apply the parking brake,
the red parking brake indicator lights
up on the touchscreen.If the parking brake experiences an
electrical issue, the amber parking brake indicator lights up and a fault
message displays at the top of the
touchscreen.Caution: In the unlikely event that Model 3
loses electrical power, you cannot access
the touchscreen and are therefore unable to release the parking brake without first
jump starting Model 3 (see Instructions
for Transporters on page 199).Brake Wear
Model 3 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
replace the brake pads, 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 Subsystems on page 188.
Additionally, Tesla recommends cleaning and
lubricating the brake calipers every year or
12,500 miles (20,000 km) if in an area where
roads are salted during winter months.Warning: Neglecting to replace worn
brake pads damages the braking system
and can result in a braking hazard.
Braking and Stopping
68Model 3 Owner
Park Assist
How Park Assist Works
Model 3 has several sensors designed to
detect the presence of objects. When driving
slowly in Drive or Reverse (for example, when
parking), the sensors alert you if an object is
detected in close proximity of your Model 3.
Objects are only detected in the direction of
the gear you selected; front objects in Drive,
rear objects in Reverse.
Warning: You may not be alerted if Model
3 rolls freely in the opposite direction of
the gear you selected (for example, you
will not receive an alert if Model 3 rolls
backwards down a hill while in Drive).
The sensors are activated when driving slower
than 5 mph (8 km/h).
Warning: Never depend on Park Assist to
inform you if an area you are approaching is free of objects and/or people. Several
external factors can reduce theperformance of Park Assist, causing
either no readings or false readings (see
Limitations and False Warnings on page
71). Therefore, depending on Park Assist
to determine if Model 3 is approaching an
obstruction can result in damage to the vehicle and/or objects, and can
potentially cause serious injury. Always
inspect the area with your own eyes.
When reversing, perform shoulder checks and use all mirrors. Park assist does not
detect children, pedestrians, bicyclists,
animals, or objects that are moving, protruding, located too far above or
below the sensors, or too close or too far
from the sensors. Park Assist is for
guidance purposes only and is not intended to replace your own direct visual
checks. It is not a substitute for careful
driving.
Visual and Audio Feedback
When you shift to Reverse, the Park Assist
view displays on the touchscreen, showing objects that are in close proximity to the front
and rear of Model 3. This view closes when you shift into Drive unless an object is
detected close to the front of Model 3, in
which case the Park Assist view closes automatically when your driving speed
exceeds 5 mph (8 km/h). When reversing,
visual feedback also displays on the touchscreen, immediately below the camera
view (see Rear View Camera on page 75).
You can manually close the park assist view on
the touchscreen by touching the X in the
upper corner.
When driving with the Camera app displayed
on the touchscreen, you can switch to the
Park Assist view when driving at speeds below
5 mph (8 km/h). Touch the button located in
the upper left corner of the Camera app
window. This is useful if you need assistance
with parallel parking.
If chimes are turned on (see Controlling
Audible Feedback on page 71), an audible
beep sounds as you approach an object. You
can temporarily mute the chime by pressing
the scroll button on the left side of the
steering wheel or by touching the mute button on the bottom left corner of the Park Assist
view.
Note: If a sensor is unable to provide
feedback, the touchscreen displays an alert
message.
Park Assist
70Model 3 Owner
Caution: Keep sensors clean from dirt,
debris, snow, and ice. Avoid using a high
pressure power washer on the sensors
and do not clean a sensor with a sharp or abrasive object that can scratch or
damage its surface.Caution: Do not install accessories or
stickers on or near the parking sensors.
Controlling Audible Feedback
You can use Park Assist with or without
audible feedback. To turn chimes on or off,
touch Controls > Safety & Security > Park
Assist Chimes .
To mute the chimes temporarily, press the
scroll button on the left side of the steering
wheel or touch the mute button in the corner
of the Park Assist view. The chimes are muted
until you shift into a different gear or drive
over 5 mph (8 km/h).
Limitations and False Warnings The parking sensors may not function
correctly in these situations:
Regenerative Braking
Regenerative braking may be limited if the Battery is too cold. As you continue to drive,
the Battery warms up and regenerative power
increases (see Regenerative Braking on page
66).
Note: Limited regenerative braking can be
avoided if you allow enough time to precondition your vehicle or use scheduleddeparture before your drive, as mentioned
previously.
Note: Installing winter tires may result in
temporarily reduced regenerative braking
power but Model 3 will recalibrate itself to correct this after a short period of driving.
Blue Snow
Release the accelerator pedal to allow Traffic-
Aware Cruise Control to maintain your cruising
speed.
When the cruising speed is
set, the speedometer icon on
the touchscreen turns blue
and displays the set cruising
speed.
Note: Moving the gear level fully down twice in
quick succession engages Autosteer
(assuming it has been enabled as described in Autosteer on page 93) and the set speed
changes to either your current driving speed,
or the current set speed (displayed in the
icon), whichever is greater.
Note: The minimum speed you can set is
18 mph (30 km/h) and the maximum is 90
mph (150 km/h). It is the driver
Cruising Near or On Freeway Exits
When cruising near an exit on a controlled
access road (such as a highway or freeway)
and engaging the turn signal toward the exit,
Traffic-Aware Cruise Control assumes you are
exiting and begins to slow down the vehicle. If
you do not drive onto the exit, Traffic-Aware
Cruise Control resumes cruising at the set
speed. In a region with right hand traffic, this
occurs only when you engage the right turn signal when driving in the right-most lane
within 164 feet (50 meters) of an exit. Likewise
in regions with left hand traffic; when
engaging the left turn signal when driving in
the left-most lane within 164 feet (50 meters)
of an exit.
Note: The onboard Global Positioning System
(GPS) determines if you are driving in a region
with right or left hand traffic. In situations
where GPS data is unavailable (for example, if
there is inadequate signal), engaging the turn
signal near an exit does not cause Traffic-
Aware Cruise Control to slow down Model 3.
When enabled while on a highway interchange
or off-ramp, Traffic-Aware Cruise Control may
reduce your set speed in 5 mph (5 km/h)
increments
The touchscreen displays a message
indicating that Autosteer is temporarily unavailable if you attempted to engage
Autosteer when driving at a speed that is not
within the speed required for Autosteer to operate. Autosteer may also be unavailable if
it is not receiving adequate data from the
camera(s) or sensors.
If Autosteer is unable to detect lane markings,
the driving lane is determined based on the
vehicle you are following.
In most cases, Autosteer attempts to center Model 3 in the driving lane. However, if the
sensors detect the presence of an obstacle (such as a vehicle or guard rail), Autosteer
may steer Model 3 in a driving path that is
offset from the center of the lane.Warning: Autosteer is not designed to,
and will not, steer Model 3 around objects
partially or completely in the driving lane.
Always watch the road in front of you and
stay prepared to take appropriate action. It is the driver