Model 3 at the Drive-In Movies

[Maevra]

Husband and I recently went to a drive-in movie theater in the Model 3 and found it a very cool experience. I was honestly apprehensive because I've heard from Model S owners that they had issues with the headlights not staying off or the MCU shutting down in the middle of the movie etc., so it was a bit of a gamble. Thankfully, it seems the 3 is an ideal car to take to on movie date night.

We simply pulled up to a parking spot, put the car in Park and manually turned off the exterior and interior lights. The screen was always on and set to night mode. I think we also could have put it into screen cleaning mode to minimize the lights even more, but honestly didn't feel like it was necessary.

However, we did have to manually turn off the auto-wipers as they would go off every few seconds, perhaps due to the combo of the angle of the screen + lights + dust particles on the windshield.

I still think the FM radio UI could use some improvement, but we were able to tune in to the movie's channel and the quality of the sound was great! Definitely glad we have the premium sound in the car for this.

We used the seat heaters and HVAC on and off throughout, and lost about 5 miles in 2.5 hours total with the HVAC + media on. Car never went to sleep or shut down, though we were poking the screen every so often to adjust the heater temps.

Overall, pretty cool experience!

 

[ng0]

Husband and I recently went to a drive-in movie theater in the Model 3 and found it a very cool experience. I was honestly apprehensive because I've heard from Model S owners that they had issues with the headlights not staying off or the MCU shutting down in the middle of the movie etc., so it was a bit of a gamble. Thankfully, it seems the 3 is an ideal car to take to on movie date night.

We simply pulled up to a parking spot, put the car in Park and manually turned off the exterior and interior lights. The screen was always on and set to night mode. I think we also could have put it into screen cleaning mode to minimize the lighst even more, but honestly didn't feel like it was necessary.

However, we did have to manually turn off the auto-wipers as they would go off every few seconds, perhaps due to the combo of the angle of the screen + lights + dust particles on the windshield.

I still think the FM radio UI could use some improvement, but we were able to tune in to the movie's channel and the quality of the sound was great! Definitely glad we have the premium sound in the car for this.

We used the seat heaters and HVAC on and off throughout, and lost about 5 miles in 2.5 hours total with the HVAC + media on. Car never went to sleep or shut down, though we were poking the screen every so often to adjust the heater temps.

Overall, pretty cool experience!

What's a drive-in movie? LoL jk. Sadly there aren't too many left. I heard there was one still in San Diego, but have never actually been to it. Might have to try it out one day when I get my car. Thanks for posting your experience!

 

[TheTony]

I've been wanting to go to the last one left in my area for over a year. Seeing this thread reminded me of that, and I'm glad it worked so well for you - it'll definitely be on my list of local trips when mine arrives.

Thanks!

 

[Maevra]

What's a drive-in movie? LoL jk. Sadly there aren't too many left. I heard there was one still in San Diego, but have never actually been to it. Might have to try it out one day when I get my car. Thanks for posting your experience!

Lol it's the first time I'd ever been to one too! Luckily we have a couple of them here in the Bay Area. I think the biggest perk is we can bring our dog, so fun for the whole family indeed.

 

[reallove]

@Maevra thanks for posting this! Thanks to you, my drive-in experience was great last night (the screen cleaning trick was genius!). Had some glitches with the radio (it completely died on me right when the movie started, had no sound at all on any channels, but worked for internet radio), but a soft reset fixed it!

 

[Jim Brown]

Husband and I recently went to a drive-in movie theater in the Model 3 and found it a very cool experience. I was honestly apprehensive because I've heard from Model S owners that they had issues with the headlights not staying off or the MCU shutting down in the middle of the movie etc., so it was a bit of a gamble. Thankfully, it seems the 3 is an ideal car to take to on movie date night.

We simply pulled up to a parking spot, put the car in Park and manually turned off the exterior and interior lights. The screen was always on and set to night mode. I think we also could have put it into screen cleaning mode to minimize the lights even more, but honestly didn't feel like it was necessary.

However, we did have to manually turn off the auto-wipers as they would go off every few seconds, perhaps due to the combo of the angle of the screen + lights + dust particles on the windshield.

I still think the FM radio UI could use some improvement, but we were able to tune in to the movie's channel and the quality of the sound was great! Definitely glad we have the premium sound in the car for this.

We used the seat heaters and HVAC on and off throughout, and lost about 5 miles in 2.5 hours total with the HVAC + media on. Car never went to sleep or shut down, though we were poking the screen every so often to adjust the heater temps.

Overall, pretty cool experience!

Drive-in movies. Yeah. Those were the days!

 

[Rick Steinwand]

You don't find drive-in movies up north any more. Seems to be more of a "south" thing due to being able to leave them open longer in the year.

The last time I was in a drive-in theatre was when I managed one and was glad when it finally closed. They might be fun to go to, but are definitely not fun to work in or manage.

My opinion is they went out of favor due to cable TV and home AC becoming more popular and turned into a place for under-aged kids to party, which just created a problem for managers of them.

 

[TheTony]

You don't find drive-in movies up north any more. Seems to be more of a "south" thing due to being able to leave them open longer in the year.

They're certainly much harder to find in Minnesota than they used to be, and I grew up after their peak, really. There used to be 2 within 10-15 minutes of my neighborhood when I was a kid. However, the one closest to me closed in the mid 80's and the other held on until after 2000. Their demise locally is probably not due to a single factor, but the rise of the multi-plex, home video and the growth of the suburbs (and the value of the land, in turn) all certainly played a role.

Still, there are still a handful alive and kicking in Minnesota. The first and only one left in the MSP metro is Vali-Hi, in Lake Elmo. There's also the twin screen Starlite in Litchfield and the Long Prarie Drive-In (halfway between Alexandria and Brainerd).

 

[GDN]

There is a drive in South of DFW, I think down near Waxahachie. The local Tesla club makes an outing there once or twice a year. Will have to remember the tips and tricks to keep the lights off and the car behaving.