A week without my Model S

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After spending a week without my Model S, I found I missed the following features: (putting aside the fact that it is quiet, fast and has great handling)

  • I listen to Slacker radio often. (Signal quality is way better than the Sirius radio on the Ford fusion loaner)
  • Twice a day I plan my route to avoid traffic, very convenient with an overview of the Ottawa city on the 17 inch screen.
  • I use the backup camera in traffic to cover the famous dead angles.
  • I was not getting the regular thumbs up from the enthusiasts 🙂

I was also very surprised to notice how much we use the break pedals with a regular gas car. The Model S one pedal driving is very efficient and convenient.

The service centre kept the car for a week because they ended up replacing the whole drive train. The service centres are not allowed to open the drive train nor the battery pack. If either one needs special attention, they replace it. Once the work was completed, they returned the car home on a flat bed trailer. Isn’t that great?

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Back at the pump

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backAtThePump

I left my car at the service centre in Montréal, Québec during a business trip. The service was booked a week earlier.

Surprise #1: No Model S loaner for me available. Surprise #2, No vehicle loaner available at all! They called me a taxi.

Are they too busy? Was it a lack of planning? I had a strange feeling, the lady looked at the manager with an unusual look. The next day, someone brought me a Ford Fusion. (Really?)

I was contacted later telling me the strange high pitch sound coming from the drive train needed attention/help from the Tesla engineers. That meant coming back to Ottawa without my Model S.

Because they brought me an half full tank car, I had to stop at the pump on my way to Gatineau. Ford fusion seats are way too soft for long drives, my back is soar! 🙂

I called Tesla in California to describe the experience. To be continued.

A lot of people in California are working hard to make everything perfect.  It’s unfortunate that the Montreal service centre is not following the same standards of excellence. Although, Kathy at the front desk, was very professional.

Is it possible to drive the Gaspé peninsula from Ottawa using only electrons?

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The answer is yes of course and without any issues! Every icon represents a place where we recharged our batteries (Car and body).

Gaspésie2

The goal was to enjoy 3 days in a nice cottage in Valmont Plein Air, 3 days  of camping in Forillon National Park, visit Rocher Percé and enjoy the beautiful landscape along the way.

  • Day one: We drove from Ottawa to Boucherville (90Amp SunCountry/Éco Route Québec Charging station @ SENS restaurant) then we continued and slept in Québec City (SunCountry/Éco Route Québec Charging station @ Hotel Sepia).
  • Day two: We drove from Québec to Rimouski (90Amp SunCountry/Éco Route Québec Charging station @ Cage aux sports) then we continued to Matane (90Amp SunCountry/Éco Route Québec Charging station @ Quality Inn.)
  • Day three: We drove to Cap-Chat and stayed 3 days at Valmont Plein Air cottage (Charging station: regular 15Amp plug).
  • Day six: We drove to Stainte-Anne-des-Monts (90Amp SunCountry/Éco Route Québec Charging station @ Auberge la Seigneurie des Monts), had lunch and continued to Forillon National Park of Canada for our 3 nights stay (30Amp regular camper plug).
  • Day eight: We drove to Rocher Percé, went for a boat ride and continue to our hotel in Bonaventure (90Amp SunCountry Charging station @ Riôtel)
  • Day nine: We drove to Parc National de Miguasha, visited the park for 3 hours and they allowed us to use the 110 volt during our stay. We then drove to Rimouski (90Amp SunCountry/Éco Route Québec Charging station @ Hotel Empress)  and realized I reserved a hotel in Rivière-du-Loup (90Amp SunCountry/Éco Route Québec  Charging station @ Hotel Universel) instead of Rimouski 🙂 After a quick stop to juice up the batteries a little, we continued to Rivière-du-Loup for the night.
  • Day 10: We drove to Québec (SunCountry/Éco Route Québec Charging station @ Hotel Sepia) city and stayed for the afternoon to visit the Aquarium. Once the car was at full charge we continued to Boucherville (90Amp SunCountry/Éco Route Québec Charging station @ SENS restaurant) had dinner and came back home.

We are not afraid to do long rides with this very comfortable car.  We just need to plan ahead to locate the charging stations.  I can’t wait for the super charger stations to cover the entire United States so we can plan for even longer trips.

Number of the day: 10,068

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How can I resume in 2 sentences the experience with the Model S after driving it for 10,000 km: “Can you pinch me? is this vehicle for real?” This car is very close to perfection. The following are the little things that happened during the first 10,000 km:

  1. Too many people are staring at the car and taking pictures 🙂
  2. One of the software update I received made a constant fan noise behind the 17 inch console. A subsequent software update fixed it.
  3. The door handles occasionally do not open properly (You to have wait a few seconds)
  4. I hear a few cracking noise here and there.

Nothing major to report with the car yet!

42km = 7.5kWh = 52.5 cents

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52.5 cents is what it’s costing me to drive to work and come back home every day.

Pretty impressive right? Keep in mind that I was not using the air conditioning nor the heating system. Not bad if you think about it some more, 52.5 cents to move a 4,647 lb (2,108 kg) vehicle for 42km.

Half of the commute is on highway, the other half is stop and go in downtown Ottawa.

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