Tag: electric vehicles

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Toronto plans to add 17 on-street EV chargers in 2022

Though the City of Toronto publicly says it still plans to have 3,000 level-2 charging ports across the city by 2025, a new report proves that the city might not be taking this goal very seriously.

Toronto started the pilot project to launch on-street EV chargers in 2017, but it wasn’t until late 2020 that the city finally got all 17 total charging locations up and running. It should also be noted that only nine of these are for on-street parking, with other chargers placed in Green P (paid) parking lots.

These chargers aim to help Toronto residents that don’t have a driveway/garage charge their electric vehicles (EVs) overnight. The chargers supply level-2 charging speeds and are attached to hydro poles.

Level-2 speeds are decent for overnight charging and are typically what people install at their homes. You can get level-2 rates out of the same 140-volt outlet that most stoves plug into in Canada.

The Toronto chargers have a $3 flat fee for overnight use by people with valid street parking permits and an EV. During the day, the chargers can be rented for $2 per hour. This system is being tested to incentivize EV owners to charge overnight and leave the chargers clear for other people to use during the day.

However, this strategy doesn’t seem to be working. A Toronto Star report from 2021 mentions that this is likely because nine on-street chargers that take multiple hours to charge vehicles aren’t helping those interested in buying an EV feel more comfortable making the jump.

The city’s public goal for EV charger ports is 3,000 by 2025, and at this rate, it’s not even close.

Source: Toronto Star, Electric Autonomy Canada 

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Tesla to deliver OTA update to fix seatbelt audio cue bug

Nearly all recent Tesla-related news appears to be negative lately.

There are reports regarding the electric vehicles’ ‘Passenger Play’ feature that troubled the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), recent issues regarding ‘Phantom Braking,’ and even cars rolling through stop signs.

Now, Tesla is recalling over 817,000 cars in the U.S. due to an issue preventing the seatbelt audio alert from activating, according to the NHTSA. It’s unclear if Tesla vehicles in Canada are also affected, but they likely are.

Models that are part of the recall include 2021-2022 Model S and Model X, 2017-2022 Model 3 and 2020-2022 Model Y.

“This condition is limited to circumstances where the chime was interrupted in the preceding drive cycle and the seat belt was not buckled subsequent to that interruption (e.g., the driver exited the vehicle in the preceding drive cycle while the chime was active and later returned to the vehicle, creating a new drive cycle),” reads the safety recall report.

Tesla told the NHTSA that it was unaware of any crashes or injuries due to the issue, as of January 31st.

All models facing the issue will receive an over-the-air (OTA) update to fix the issue.

Via: Reuters

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Complaints regarding Tesla ‘Phantom Braking’ on the rise

Over the past three months, roughly 107 Tesla drivers have reported that their vehicle is making sudden stops — also known as ‘Phantom Braking’ — while driving in autopilot mode.

Phantom Breaking occurs when an autonomous vehicle falsely detects an object on the road or an oncoming vehicle and hits the brakes to avoid a potential collision. While the safety mechanism is useful when in a hazardous situation, it can be especially dangerous if another vehicle is tailgating you.

While the problem isn’t new given there have been reports regarding phantom braking since November, the issue is only now receiving mainstream attention following a Washington Post report, causing a drop in the electric vehicle maker’s shares.

According to the report, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received a surge in complaints lodged by Tesla owners regarding Phantom Braking over the past three months, compared to only 34 complaints in the preceding 22 months.

Many suspect that the problem has become worse since Tesla ditched its radar tech to solely use camera vision to detect nearby objects and other vehicles.

This is the latest in a string of safety issues plaguing Tesla vehicles. Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) raised concerns regarding over 53,000 Tesla vehicles being programmed to roll through stop signs,

These vehicles will now receive an over-the-air (OTA) software update that will disable the vehicles from autonomously performing a rolling stop through a stop sign.

In other Tesla-related news, Elon Musk says Canadians can expect Tesla Full-Self Driving Beta to drop in February.

Source: Washington Post

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Complaints regarding Tesla ‘Phantom Braking’ on the rise

Over the past three months, roughly 107 Tesla drivers have reported that their vehicle is making sudden stops — also known as ‘Phantom Braking’ — while driving in autopilot mode.

Phantom Breaking occurs when an autonomous vehicle falsely detects an object on the road or an oncoming vehicle and hits the brakes to avoid a potential collision. While the safety mechanism is useful when in a hazardous situation, it can be especially dangerous if another vehicle is tailgating you.

While the problem isn’t new given there have been reports regarding phantom braking since November, the issue is only now receiving mainstream attention following a Washington Post report, causing a drop in the electric vehicle maker’s shares.

According to the report, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received a surge in complaints lodged by Tesla owners regarding Phantom Braking over the past three months, compared to only 34 complaints in the preceding 22 months.

Many suspect that the problem has become worse since Tesla ditched its radar tech to solely use camera vision to detect nearby objects and other vehicles.

This is the latest in a string of safety issues plaguing Tesla vehicles. Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) raised concerns regarding over 53,000 Tesla vehicles being programmed to roll through stop signs,

These vehicles will now receive an over-the-air (OTA) software update that will disable the vehicles from autonomously performing a rolling stop through a stop sign.

In other Tesla-related news, Elon Musk says Canadians can expect Tesla Full-Self Driving Beta to drop in February.

Source: Washington Post

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Musk says Canadians can expect FSD Beta to drop in February

Back in January, Elon Musk announced that Full-Self Driving Beta (FSD) for Tesla vehicles in Canada should release in roughly two to four weeks. We’ve now entered February, which is near Musk’s shared timeframe, and yet, FSD still isn’t available for Canadians.

However, in a Twitter reply to @NoahWebb_, Musk has raised hopes once again, stating that Canadians can expect FSD Beta to release later this month.

 

According to Musk, the delay in release is due to safety concerns, and because the team need to “confirm [there are] no significant issues, given slightly different road rules,” before proceeding with the rollout.

Though as we’ve seen in the past, Musk’s promises on Twitter should be looked at with an air of skepticism. Further, while delays are annoying, I wouldn’t consider Musk’s statements over the past few months to be empty promises, as Tesla employees have been testing FSD across Canada since February 2021.

This comes soon after Musk said that self-driving Tesla vehicles will be on road in 2022 and that the technology is safer than human drivers.

In other Tesla-related news, a Full-Self Driving feature that allowed some Teslas to roll through stop signs is now being disabled through an over-the-air update.

Source: @elonmusk

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Tesla to disable self-driving feature that rolls through stop signs

Rolling through a stop sign is likely to result in a failed road test in Canada (I can attest to that), as it’s a potentially dangerous maneuver. The act is also likely to get you a ticket if a police officer spots you. So why do some of Tesla’s self-driving vehicles include this feature embedded in their software?

To be fair, the rolling through a stop sign isn’t as risky as it sounds. To roll through a stop sign, a Tesla must be travelling below the speed of 5.6 mp/h (about 9 km/h) while approaching an intersection, and the vehicle needs to identify that there are no moving cars, pedestrians or bicyclists nearby

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Tesla’s Full-Self Driving (FSD) Beta allows vehicles to pass through a four-way stop sign without first coming to a complete stop, which can increase the risk of a crash

About 53,000 affected Tesla Model 3, Model S, Model X and Model Y vehicles will receive an OTA (over-the-air) software update that disables the vehicles from autonomously performing a rolling stop through a stop sign.

According to The Verge, “Tesla says it is not aware of any collisions, injuries, or fatalities related to the use of the feature.” The carmaker says it will notify Tesla owners with vehicles that require the OTA update via a letter mailed before March 28th, 2022.

This comes soon after Tesla announced that it has been testing an improved version of its FSD software. The beta version of FSD will reportedly finally release in Canada sometime in February.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation Via: The Verge

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Elon Musk says self driving Teslas will be on roads and safer than humans in 2022

After years of delays and hype-filled tweets, Elon Musk now claims that Tesla’s full self-driving feature will release in 2022 and that the technology is safer than human drivers.

The exact quote from the most recent Tesla investors call is, “I would be shocked if we do not achieve Full Self-Driving safer than human this year. I would be shocked,” according to a report from Electrek. 

Tesla has been testing its fell self-driving beta software on public roads for the past several years, but if the current state of the software is any indication of the system’s progress, then Elon is likely hedging his bet here. Electrek notes that around 60,000 cars in the U.S. are in the beta program.

As far as we know, the beta hasn’t officially rolled out in Canada, but it’s reportedly coming soon.

Source: Electrek

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Tesla Supercharger vandalized in B.C

A Tesla Supercharger under construction for months in Surrey, B.C., has been vandalized.

According to reporting by InsideEVs, the charger had 12 stalls. A Twitter user reports four of them are now vandalized. Construction started in October 2021, and all that remained was turning on the power, the publication reports.

Tesla’s Canadian division believes those responsible tried to extract copper from the charging cable and sell it.

This isn’t the first time this particular site has been the target of vandalism. InsideEVs reports chargers were tagged with graffiti, and protective plastic covers were removed. It’s not clear if the two incidents are connected.

Source: InsideEVs

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Tesla Supercharger vandalized in B.C

A Tesla Supercharger under construction for months in Surrey, B.C., has been vandalized.

According to reporting by InsideEVs, the charger had 12 stalls. A Twitter user reports four of them are now vandalized. Construction started in October 2021, and all that remained was turning on the power, the publication reports.

Tesla’s Canadian division believes those responsible tried to extract copper from the charging cable and sell it.

This isn’t the first time this particular site has been the target of vandalism. InsideEVs reports chargers were tagged with graffiti, and protective plastic covers were removed. It’s not clear if the two incidents are connected.

Source: InsideEVs

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Tesla testing out ‘standard horn’ after users complain about ‘button horn’

Tesla is working to remedy its latest boneheaded design move by adding a standard airbag horn to the centre of the new yoke steering wheel.

When the automaker released the new yoke wheel with the refreshed Model S/X vehicles last year, it came with a simple button layout for traditional car controls for singling left and right plus the horn. While some users liked how streamlined this made the cars look, it likely takes some getting used to.

Now Tesla appears to be testing out a standard horn, suggesting that drivers aren’t fond of the streamlined look.

This all comes from a leaked image of a yoke with a standard horn labelled “Airbag horn enabled in SW-352573.”

It’s unclear if this horn design will make its way to production, but I’d suspect it will given people are likely annoyed with the button.

Source: Reddit ‘todd2fst4u’