2020 TESLA MODEL S brake

Caution: If the brakes are not functioning
properly, stop the vehicle as soon as safety permits and contact Tesla Service.
See Park on page 52 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 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 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 S (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.
Warning: In snowy or icy conditions
Model S 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 67)
in snowy or icy conditions to help maintain vehicle stability.
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 44).
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 yellow line displays on the power
meter.
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:

Use the touchscreen to manually release the
parking brake (which also shifts Model S into Neutral):
1. Touch Controls > Safety & Security .
2. Press the brake pedal, then touch Parking
Brake . If Model S was previously in Park, it
shifts into Neutral.When you use the touchscreen to
manually apply the parking brake,
the red parking brake indicator lights
up on the instrument panel.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
instrument panel.Caution: In the unlikely event that Model S
loses electrical power, you cannot access
the touchscreen and are therefore unable to release the parking brake. Contact
Tesla.
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
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 194.
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
Driving69

Traction Control
How It Works The 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 on. Under normal conditions, it should remain on
to ensure maximum safety.
This yellow indicator

Vehicle Hold
When Model S is stopped, Vehicle Hold can
continue to apply the brakes even after you
remove your foot from the brake pedal. When
driving on a hill or on a

Warning: Forward Collision Warning is
designed only to provide visual and
audible alerts. It does not attempt to
apply the brakes or decelerate Model S.
When seeing and/or hearing a warning, it
is the driver

Obstacle-Aware AccelerationObstacle-Aware Acceleration is designed toreduce the impact of a collision by reducing
motor torque and in some cases applying the
brakes, if Model S detects an object in its driving path. For example, Model S, while
parked in front of a closed garage door with
the Drive gear engaged, detects that you have
pressed hard on the accelerator pedal.
Although Model S still accelerates and hits the
garage door, the reduced torque may result in
less damage.
Obstacle-Aware Acceleration is designed to
operate only when all of these conditions are
simultaneously met:

Note: Regardless of the setting you choose,
Adaptive Suspension Damping adjusts the
suspension system in real time to optimize both ride and handling.
Note: Available settings depend on your
driving speed and other conditions. For
example, the suspension does not lower if a
door is open.
Note: Your chosen Suspension Lowering and
Adaptive Suspension Damping settings are
saved to your driver profile (see Driver Profiles
on page 42).
Auto-Raising Suspension Auto-raising suspension saves you from
manually having to raise the suspension every
time you arrive at a frequently-used location
where you have previously raised the
suspension. Whenever you raise the
suspension to HIGH or VERY HIGH , Model S
saves the location. When you return to the saved location, Model S raises the suspension
and the instrument panel displays this
message:
Note: When returning to a saved location and
driving faster than the High and Very High
suspension settings allow, the suspension
does not raise until Model S slows down.
Note: After leaving a saved location, the
suspension may not lower until you are driving
faster than the speed threshold at which the
suspension lowers.
Note: If Model S reaches a saved location and
the existing suspension setting is already
higher than the level that has been saved for
that location, the ride height is not adjusted.
To remove an auto-raising location
If you do not want the suspension to auto-
raise at a saved location, touch the X in the
auto-raising location status message that
displays at a saved location. Doing so removes
the auto-raise location and the suspension no
longer raises automatically when you arrive at
the location.
Note: Manually lowering the suspension to
STANDARD or LOW while at a saved location
also removes the auto-raising location.
Jack Mode Before jacking or lifting, set the suspension to
Jack mode to prevent the self-leveling that
occurs even when Model S is powered off.
Press the brake pedal, then touch Controls >
Suspension > Jack .
To deactivate, touch Jack again.
Note: Jack mode automatically cancels when
you drive over 4 mph (7 km/h).
Note: Model S also sets Jack mode
automatically if it detects that the vehicle
cannot lower to its target height, or if it
detects that an object is supporting the
vehicle

Checking Brake FluidWarning: Contact Tesla immediately if you
notice increased movement of the brake
pedal or a significant loss of brake