Secrets and Surprises of the Tesla Model Y: Hands-On Tips and Tricks
Uncovering some of the lesser-known features in Tesla’s popular crossover.
As the most meme-centric car company, Tesla fills its vehicles with all sorts of silly gags. There’s even a Wikipedia page devoted to Tesla Easter eggs. But not every feature is as juvenile as making the car project artificial flatus. After driving our long-term-review 2023 Tesla Model Y for a while, I’ve found a few things indicative of Tesla’s innovative and unconventional approach to building cars. Check 'em out.
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Quick note: Previously, senior features editor Scott Evans chaperoned our long-term Model Y. Now that he’s in the Fisker Ocean and our esteemed Hyundai Ioniq 5 has departed, I’ve taken over as the Tesla’s primary driver. Stay tuned for my updates on public charging, Full Self Driving, and all the things we love and hate about the world’s best-selling vehicle. Now, on to those secrets and surprises.
Physical Door Release Handles
This one isn’t particularly secret, as it’s been widely reported, but I’ll mention it for the sake of safety in case you missed it. From inside, you’re meant to open the Model Y’s front doors by pressing a button on the door panel grab handle—it’s easy and ergonomic.
But on the chance your Tesla has a dead battery or software meltdown, that button could stop working. How to get out then? Below the grab handle there's a latch on the panel just ahead of the window switches. Lift it up and the door opens. If you do, the Tesla beeps like you’ve done something wrong, but at least you can get out.
The rear doors have a physical release mechanism too, but it’s far more complicated to use. You must remove the rubber lining in the door pocket, pop open a cover, and yank a strap hidden within to get the back door open.
Individual Rear Door Child Locks
Regarding rear doors, Tesla offers a clever approach to child locks. From the infotainment touchscreen, you can set a child lock on both doors, or only the left or right door—making it easier to constrain your mischievous offspring. There are no physical child lock switches within the door itself.
Walk Away Automatic Door Lock
More locks to discuss. Quite unlike Scott Evans’ experience, I’m finding our Model Y’s door handle unlocking exceedingly finnicky, sometimes recognizing the presence of my Tesla iPhone app’s built-in key function on the first press, and other times anywhere between the second and approximately thirty-seventh press. As if the Model Y’s slim, non-motorized door handles weren’t annoying enough to use in the first place.
I could make things a little easier for myself by turning on “Exclude Home” for the Walk-Away Automatic Door Lock function. The car always locks the doors when I depart with my iPhone. But with Exclude Home on, it’ll stay unlocked when it detects it’s parked at the home address I designated when configuring my driver profile. I’m not sure my apartment’s off-street parking is secure enough to make this feature worthwhile, but if you have faith in your location, or private garage parking, Exclude Home will make it a little easier to get in.
Fastidious Tire Monitoring
Like many vehicles, the Model Y has pressure monitoring for each individual tire, a better way to know if a single tire is low than an old-school single warning light forcing you to check every corner. But what I’d never seen before the Tesla was a readout not only of each tire’s pressure, but also how long ago each pressure reading was taken. A practical use case for such detail is currently eluding me, but more information is better than less, I guess.
Any Color You Like, Sort Of
Did you know that every paint color for the Model Y besides Stealth Gray is extra cost? Like our Deep Blue car, Pearl White is $1,000, Solid Black is $1,500, and Ultra Red is $2,000. Perhaps these expensive and limited paint options are why I see so many wrapped Teslas around Los Angeles; drivers like my neighbor with a matte rainbow-hologram-wrapped Model Y would apparently rather spend their money on something expressive and different. That’s still better than the Cybertruck’s tough-yet-touchy stainless steel exterior, which gets grimy so easily it practically requires a wrap.
Anyway, for digital renditions of your Tesla on its infotainment screen and app, you can change your paint color any time you want, for free. The Colorizer tool allows you to select a hue from a wheel, then fine-tune its tone, tint, and shade. From there, you can select a solid, metallic, or matte finish. There’s no hologram option, surely to the chagrin of my neighbor. Maybe that’ll come in a future software update.
Thanks, Joe
The Model Y’s various beeps, bongs, and chimes aren’t excessively loud to begin with, but I prefer using Joe Mode because it makes them a little less intrusive while still perfectly easy to hear. Found in the infotainment’s Safety submenu, Joe Mode simply reduces the volume of the different noises the car makes (aside from, unfortunately, all the creaky and rattling trim around the cabin). Online lore indicates the feature is named after the guy who tweeted at Elon Musk a while back asking if his car’s noises could be made quieter.
Wheel of Function
Scrolling the Model Y’s left-side steering wheel dial turns the audio volume up or down. By pressing and holding it, you can call up an individual function of your preference designated in the Display area of the infotainment. Choices include acceleration mode, climate control fan speed, display brightness, steering wheel heat, or exterior cameras.
Or you can set it to Ask Each Time, which makes pressing the dial bring up a small menu where you can choose any of those options in real time instead. The size and location of that menu in the lower-right corner of the screen necessitates taking your eyes off the road, just like with using pretty much anything in the Model Y’s infotainment. How convenient.
Alex's earliest memory is of a teal 1993 Ford Aspire, the car that sparked his automotive obsession. He's never driven that tiny hatchback—at six feet, 10 inches tall, he likely wouldn't fit—but has assessed hundreds of other vehicles, sharing his insights on MotorTrend as a writer and video host.
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