# It's here! And I have some questions



## Power Surge (Jan 6, 2022)

So my 18 M3 Long range was delivered today, and I am quite happy with the car . A few observations and questions!

- Date of manufacture is 7/18. Is there any significance to that? I have seen mention of early and late 18s as for features and such.
- My car came with the older style mobile charger. It does have the 14-50 adapter on it, so that is good. Any concerns using the older charger? When charging the car, it seems to charge at the 40 amp max. Is that good?
- Is there a way to allow the cruise control to work without having your seatbelt on?
- I have the car set to standard regen, which is pretty aggressive. Do the brake lights come on during regen when the car is coming to a stop?
- The info screen on my car shows Autopilot Safety Features, Included package, and Premium Connectivity, Included package. Does that mean my car has Autopilot and Lifetime connectivity? Pic of screen below.
- I have seen jacking pad sets for sale. Should I get a set of these?
- What's up with the orange roof when wet? :laughing:
- When the car was delivered today, it showed 88% pack charge. I did an 80 mile round trip drive, mostly highway at 75mph. When I got home, I was at 60% pack charge, and the energy graph screen showed 160 miles estimate range left. Does that all sound good?

I still can't claim ownership of the car, but I was able to speak to someone via the chat option on the Tesla site, and they emailed me the proper info I need to submit to get that taken care of. So hopefully a few days and I should be good. Fingers crossed, lol.

One nice thing is I was planning to do some dash and console overlays, but the previous owner did some satin black ones already that look pretty nice for now. Eventually I would like to do the interior trim all in carbon fiber.

As for the first drive, I liked it! Didn't take long to get used to the screen. Car drives really nice. Handles well too. Pic of the car is below. Does it look lowered or is that stock stance for a RWD LR?


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## PiperPaul (Oct 31, 2018)

_I have an M3 AWD Long Range built in October 2018 so fairly similar to yours. Here's my answers to some of your questions:_
- Date of manufacture is 7/18. Is there any significance to that? I have seen mention of early and late 18s as for features and such. _Don't know._
- My car came with the older style mobile charger. It does have the 14-50 adapter on it, so that is good. Any concerns using the older charger? When charging the car, it seems to charge at the 40 amp max. Is that good? _Sounds very good. I have the same charger & adapter and get 32 amp. max._
- Is there a way to allow the cruise control to work without having your seatbelt on? _Don't know._
- I have the car set to standard regen, which is pretty aggressive. Do the brake lights come on during regen when the car is coming to a stop? _Yes; You can check by having a passenger use a magnifying glass to look at the graphic of the car while you take your foot off the go pedal. If they have really good eyesight they'll see the brake lights brighten._
- The info screen on my car shows Autopilot Safety Features, Included package, and Premium Connectivity, Included package. Does that mean my car has Autopilot and Lifetime connectivity? Pic of screen below. _Don't know._
- I have seen jacking pad sets for sale. Should I get a set of these? _I think they are a good idea. I made my own from hockey pucks (Canadian, eh?)_
- What's up with the orange roof when wet? :laughing: _That's the extra? UV protection built into the roof glass. My Mobile Rep says that isn't done any more._
- When the car was delivered today, it showed 88% pack charge. I did an 80 mile round trip drive, mostly highway at 75mph. When I got home, I was at 60% pack charge, and the energy graph screen showed 160 miles estimate range left. Does that all sound good? _So the full range should be roughly 160 m / 0.60 = 267 m. when driving at the same speed and in the same conditions. My M3 should get about the same at that speed. Keep in mind these are estimates that change for every trip, particularly according to speed, so I recommend not getting too stuck on the figures. When using Navigate the car will recommend what to do to manage the range._

Enjoy the ride!


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## Bigriver (Jan 26, 2018)

@Power Surge, congratulations! I will try to pick up on some of the I don't know from above.

- Date of manufacture is 7/18. Is there any significance to that? I have seen mention of early and late 18s as for features and such.

Tesla is always changing things, so yes, sometimes a specific date can mean your car just got, or just missed a new feature. From your screen shot with premium connectivity, yes, you have it free for the life of the car because it must have originally been ordered by 6/30/2018. That was the cut off for free for life.

- My car came with the older style mobile charger. It does have the 14-50 adapter on it, so that is good. Any concerns using the older charger? When charging the car, it seems to charge at the 40 amp max. Is that good?

I'm not sure which mobile charger you would be referring to as older. I am not aware of the mobile charger that comes with model 3's changing.

- Is there a way to allow the cruise control to work without having your seatbelt on?

My model 3 won't even let me drive without the seatbelt. It puts itself back in park, with some message about preventing rollaway. Why would you want to use cruise control without the seat belt? Please don't be trying crazy stuff.

- The info screen on my car shows Autopilot Safety Features, Included package, and Premium Connectivity, Included package. Does that mean my car has Autopilot and Lifetime connectivity?

Yes to lifetime premium connectivity. The autopilot is probably the basic version that comes as default on new Tesla's. That was not an option at the time your car was new and must have been added later by the previous owner.


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## Power Surge (Jan 6, 2022)

Bigriver said:


> @Power Surge, congratulations! I will try to pick up on some of the I don't know from above.
> 
> - Date of manufacture is 7/18. Is there any significance to that? I have seen mention of early and late 18s as for features and such.
> 
> ...


Apparently I have the Gen1 mobile charger. Not sure why, my understanding was all 18 Model 3s came with the Gen2. I guess it doesn't matter as it works. And I have read the Gen1 can do 40 amps but then Gen2 can only do 32.

What does the premium connectivity give you? Is it like internet and mobile data?


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

Power Surge said:


> - Date of manufacture is 7/18. Is there any significance to that? I have seen mention of early and late 18s as for features and such.


As someone who has a 2018 build (built in June, delivered in July): Black was the free color, so your paint color cost an extra $1500. The wheels also cost extra, as the Aero Gen 1 was default back then. Looks like someone tinted the windows for you, which is good, because those cost a lot. You also get free premium connectivity forever, but Autopilot is optional. Tap Additional Features to see if it's activated, and if you're lucky, someone paid for Enhanced Autopilot which comes with Summon and Navigate on Autopilot. It looks like you also have HW 2.5 instead of 3 (no one upgraded it) so you can't add Full Self Drive right now. The 2018's also don't support Pedestrian Warning Speaker without some modification, but you can drive around silently without UFO noises.

From my personal experience, the 2018 models were probably the best built and most reliable even to today!



Power Surge said:


> - My car came with the older style mobile charger. It does have the 14-50 adapter on it, so that is good. Any concerns using the older charger? When charging the car, it seems to charge at the 40 amp max. Is that good?


That's one that someone substituted - it's not the adapter that came with the 2018's. Still, it's a pretty good one and does 40 amps - and I think the cord is longer as well.



Power Surge said:


> - Is there a way to allow the cruise control to work without having your seatbelt on?


I've never tried it.



Power Surge said:


> - I have the car set to standard regen, which is pretty aggressive. Do the brake lights come on during regen when the car is coming to a stop?


The brake lights are G-force activated, and come on if regen is applying enough slowing force to behave like braking. If you want to train with less regen, set it to Low at first. Eventually you'll learn not to pull your foot off the accelerator suddenly and release it slowly enough to glide regen to a stop.



Power Surge said:


> - The info screen on my car shows Autopilot Safety Features, Included package, and Premium Connectivity, Included package. Does that mean my car has Autopilot and Lifetime connectivity? Pic of screen below.


Tap the Additional Features to see.



Power Surge said:


> - I have seen jacking pad sets for sale. Should I get a set of these?


I never have. And I get tire rotations at Firestone, and they've never complained or broken anything.



Power Surge said:


> - What's up with the orange roof when wet? :laughing:


That's the solar coating. The back window also originally had that, but mine was replaced, so only the part above the front seats is orange in the rain now. By the way, that's how you can tell if the rear window was ever replaced.



Power Surge said:


> - When the car was delivered today, it showed 88% pack charge. I did an 80 mile round trip drive, mostly highway at 75mph. When I got home, I was at 60% pack charge, and the energy graph screen showed 160 miles estimate range left. Does that all sound good?


I now recommend setting your battery display to % instead of miles. The mileage estimate is about as good as the one in gas cars, which is generally not very. You probably only need to use miles remaining if you're going on a long drive and cutting it close (though generally keeping it above 10% between charges is just as easy).



Power Surge said:


> I still can't claim ownership of the car, but I was able to speak to someone via the chat option on the Tesla site, and they emailed me the proper info I need to submit to get that taken care of. So hopefully a few days and I should be good. Fingers crossed, lol.


There is also a button on the web site to submit that info and add a 3rd party purchased car to your account.



Power Surge said:


> One nice thing is I was planning to do some dash and console overlays, but the previous owner did some satin black ones already that look pretty nice for now. Eventually I would like to do the interior trim all in carbon fiber.


You're in Florida, so remember that anything aside from window tint that you stick to the car is going to fade and peel in a couple of years. You're also going to have damaged cloudy chrome trim in a couple years as well. You'll be able to replace it then, but just keep that in mind. The good news is you'll never have road salt crusting up the underbody.



Power Surge said:


> As for the first drive, I liked it! Didn't take long to get used to the screen. Car drives really nice. Handles well too. Pic of the car is below. Does it look lowered or is that stock stance for a RWD LR?


That looks stock. You have the optional wheels, so they really fill out the wheel wells.


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## Power Surge (Jan 6, 2022)

JasonF said:


> As someone who has a 2018 build (built in June, delivered in July): Black was the free color, so your paint color cost an extra $1500. The wheels also cost extra, as the Aero Gen 1 was default back then. Looks like someone tinted the windows for you, which is good, because those cost a lot. You also get free premium connectivity forever, but Autopilot is optional. Tap Additional Features to see if it's activated, and if you're lucky, someone paid for Enhanced Autopilot which comes with Summon and Navigate on Autopilot. It looks like you also have HW 2.5 instead of 3 (no one upgraded it) so you can't add Full Self Drive right now. The 2018's also don't support Pedestrian Warning Speaker without some modification, but you can drive around silently without UFO noises.
> 
> From my personal experience, the 2018 models were probably the best built and most reliable even to today!
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info Jason! What exactly is premium connectivity? Is that like internet or mobile data?


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## Jim H (Feb 11, 2017)

Power Surge said:


> Thanks for the info Jason! What exactly is premium connectivity? Is that like internet or mobile data?


I have premium connectivity on my 18, and as I understand it without this you would only have navigation and radio stations. You have Premium connectivity probably for life so no additional charge for everything else, internet, all the streaming options, netflix, you tube, traffic, etc.


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## Bigriver (Jan 26, 2018)

Power Surge said:


> What does the premium connectivity give you? Is it like internet and mobile data?











Connectivity | Tesla Support


Connectivity is an important part of all Tesla vehicles, further enhancing the driving experience by providing access to features that require data usage. Find out more about Standard and Premium Connectivity.




www.tesla.com


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

Power Surge said:


> Thanks for the info Jason! What exactly is premium connectivity? Is that like internet or mobile data?


Traffic data, streaming music, web browser access, etc without wifi or being tethered to your phone.


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## TrevP (Oct 20, 2015)

Power Surge said:


> So my 18 M3 Long range was delivered today, and I am quite happy with the car . A few observations and questions!
> 
> - Date of manufacture is 7/18. Is there any significance to that? I have seen mention of early and late 18s as for features and such.
> - My car came with the older style mobile charger. It does have the 14-50 adapter on it, so that is good. Any concerns using the older charger? When charging the car, it seems to charge at the 40 amp max. Is that good?
> ...


Premium connectivity was included with the 2018 models for life, they changed to paid connectivity in 2019 and yes it's for traffic data, steaming, Youtube etc.

Congrats on the car, the RWD 2018 are highly sought after, they're the most efficient by far of all the 3s!


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## OneSixtyToOne (Apr 17, 2017)

I have a March 2018 LR RWD, one of the first 12,000 built. Best car I’ve ever owned.


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## Power Surge (Jan 6, 2022)

TrevP said:


> Premium connectivity was included with the 2018 models for life, they changed to paid connectivity in 2019 and yes it's for traffic data, steaming, Youtube etc.
> 
> Congrats on the car, the RWD 2018 are highly sought after, they're the most efficient by far of all the 3s!


So I did good? 

Drove it to work today, still loving it so far! All the guys at work seemed to like it also. They are old school, so this new technology is weird to them, lol.

I noticed the car has updated it's software twice in the past day. That's pretty cool. Although the first update changed the screen around just as I was getting used to it .

Still awaiting Tesla to fix the ownership issue, but she did say it would take a few days.

Here's some new pics from today, since it was raining yesterday.


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## FRC (Aug 4, 2018)

The excitement will lessen with time. After three and a half years I only smile while driving about 80% of the time.  

Enjoy!


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## msjulie (Feb 6, 2018)

My July built 2018 also came with both nema 14/50 (240v) and boring old 110v outlet adapters for the charger , back when Tesla skimped less? 

Also free lifetime connectivity, orange roof etc.

I keep the original charger bits in the rear under-trunk and have a 2nd (Gen 1) as the home solution. Got a good deal on eBay and works just fine, 1/2 price over installing the wall charger (not even accounting for wiring of the wall charger).

I installed a simple mat finish vinyl film over the piano black plastic on the center console as it's scratch and finger print prone. Simple and has lasted well, still looks like the day installed. Also because reasons, I got some inexpensive 'chrome' pedal covers as the cheapie rubber ones didn't seem suited for the cost of a Tesla. (Stealth performance 3s looked just like all 3s, no chrome pedals, spoilers, whatnot)

The only regret I have is that Tesla's software design (UI direction) is going the wrong way for me but I've kept my car on an older release and everything is working great. Very good road tripping car actually, nice solid feel etc. Good locally too 

Enjoy and please wear your seatbelt!


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

msjulie said:


> I keep the original charger bits in the rear under-trunk and have a 2nd (Gen 1) as the home solution. Got a good deal on eBay and works just fine, 1/2 price over installing the wall charger (not even accounting for wiring of the wall charger).


I did almost exactly the same thing! Except I got a used Gen 2 mobile connector instead that I have permanently mounted to the wall in the garage. The one that came with the car always stays in the car.


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