Hydraulic Fade Compensation
Your vehicle is also equipped with hydraulic
fade compensation. This assists in monitoring
brake system pressure and ABS activity for
instances of lower brake performance. If lower
brake performance is detected (as a result of
brake fade, or cold or wet conditions, for
example), you may feel the brake pedal pull
away from your foot, detect some noise, and
notice a strong increase in vehicle braking.
Continue to press the brake pedal without
releasing or "pumping" them— just brake as
you normally would.
CAUTION:
If the brakes are not
functioning properly, stop the vehicle
as soon as safety permits and contact
Tesla Service. See
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
) 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
).
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:
Braking and Stopping
69
Driving