On off button on Taycan dangerous?

[violuma]

THIS! Walk away door lock (like Tesla) is so simple. I wish Porsche would do this.

I guess this is subjective, because I also eschewed all of the semi-quasi-autonomous features on the Taycan, but I'm not interested in machines making important decisions by themselves.

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[whitex]

I guess this is subjective, because I also eschewed all of the semi-quasi-autonomous features on the Taycan, but I'm not interested in machines making important decisions by themselves.

Hence the settings menu, like below (as well as you can still lock the car yourself even if auto-lock is on).

Different users have different preferences. Any brand which will sell with just one set of features which are not configurable, will quickly become a very niche brand.

 

[DerekS]

TIL failing to put cars in park might cause them to roll unsafely, who knew?

 

[irrelevant]

"They cannot even make wipers not skip (factory wipers lasted 1 day of rain, new OEM wipers lasted a couple of rain days, aftermarket, cheaper than Audi, lasted a few months - still, what the hell did they do to the design that eats through wipers like this?!?"
Is this something specific to Audi EV models? The wipers on my A6ar have been fine.

No...2 1/2 years and 20k miles on our e-tron's original wipers, without issues.

 

[snstevens]

Maybe our wives can compare notes when we visit WA next summer.
As in, like, how do they consider this a fun activity?
My wife was never into this for the first two decades of our marriage, then the pandemic hit, and turned out she was a landscaper sleeping cell.
And does your wife also need reminders not to place bags of bark mulch and soil directly on the leather seats of expensive German cars?1

If you do come out here let us know in the Seattle Area. I'd love to meet you ?

 

[snstevens]

Two separate thoughts on the ON/OFF button --

• OTA Updates -- We were all told that OTA updates were possible. Sadly that does not appear to be the case, even though I did get ONE a few years ago. The ON/OFF button has a role to play in the OTA process -
  • Park the car.
  • Push and HOLD the ON/OFF button.
  • Watch the PCM screen to see if a Download is available for installation.
  • If it is, exit the car, do NOT connect a charging cable, and lock the door.
  • The update will then install.
  • NOTE - As stated, only happened one time and while I check this once it a while I have given up hope for OTA at this point.

• The "Other Car" Conundrum -- Like so many of you, my routine is to stop the car, push Park, get out, and use my finger to lock the car which simultaneously shuts it off.
  • The problem for me is that I've gotten so used to this protocol that that it has caused me to leave my wife's Lexus RX 450h running a couple of times.
  • And when the side mirrors don't fold I've also been known to stare at them stupidly until I realize that the car is still running.
  • Yes, I know. I'm an idiot...

 

[whitex]

OTA Updates -- We were all told that OTA updates were possible. Sadly that does not appear to be the case, even though I did get ONE a few years ago.

Yea, that never materialized. I got the email notification about one, but never saw one install (I even tried turning the car off and waiting, never happened, eventually the dealer installed it for me when doing the next recall). Far cry from Porsches official plans in 2019:

As a matter of fact, I started wondering if they removed the OTA module out of the later models as I've seen wiring diagrams for some later cars which seem to indicate the gateway now took over OTA function (which I'm sure is much more limited).

The "Other Car" Conundrum -- Like so many of you, my routine is to stop the car, push Park, get out, and use my finger to lock the car which simultaneously shuts it off.

• The problem for me is that I've gotten so used to this protocol that that it has caused me to leave my wife's Lexus RX 450h running a couple of times.
• And when the side mirrors don't fold I've also been known to stare at them stupidly until I realize that the car is still running.
• Yes, I know. I'm an idiot...

The solution seems easy, swap the RX 450h for a Macan EV. Q4 etron if in a rush (though warning, software less usable, but at least locking works the same way most of the time).

 

[ShiftyWolf]

I did recently get an OTA update notification and successful install for the radio. It was very small and simple, however.

And I'm still going to use my on/off button, dagnabbit!

 

[Jonathan S.]

If you do come out here let us know in the Seattle Area. I'd love to meet you ?

I would love to be the instigator for a Seattle Taycan meet-up!
(My wife's uncle lives in Seattle, so if we do pull off this cross-country trip, a Seattle stop will definitely occur.)

Although I will be in my A6ar.
(Both for range and add'l interior space.)

And speaking of the A6ar, I couldn't remember how that works, so I tried turning off the engine the other day while in D, and works just fine. Which reminds me that I have rarely pressed its P button (which is located on the gear selector).

Which prompted me to try to remember how my wife's i4 works.
Turns out that pressing the On/Off button while in either D or R works just fine.
However, pressing the On/Off button while in N prompts a rollaway warning, and indeed it will roll away (although I braked after a few inches of disconcerting movement).

The i4 does have an issue -- noticed by both myself and posters at the i4 forum -- of turning off the car, walking away from it w/o locking (as in your own home garage), then noticing the the radio and other accessory functions still seem to be On.
Doesn't seem to drain the 12V as the car eventually becomes more definitively Off.
But does show that Porsche is not alone in struggling on how best to deal with the On/Off functionality of an EV.

 

[Bennachie]

Sorry guys and guyesses. Why is this an issue?

 

[Jonathan S.]

Sorry guys and guyesses. Why is this an issue?

Because we need a new topic to discuss while taking a break from bemoaning the large wholesale<>retail differential in the used Taycan market (i..e., so-called "depreciation").

 

[Isaac]

Sorry guys and guyesses. Why is this an issue?

hi because if you use the off button to engage park and the delay on the button means it doesnt work and you then brush the throttle on leaving, the car can go fwd. or backwards explosively…. which has led to a few accidents….

 

[Bennachie]

I mean why is this an issue. I stop. I select neutral and switch off.

Just as An ICE vehicle.....................................

Can't see an issue here..............

 

[whitex]

But does show that Porsche is not alone in struggling on how best to deal with the On/Off functionality of an EV.

I think the problem may be lack of vertical integration - nobody actually designing the UX. Different teams and companies working on different modules, resulting in a combined user experience that was not actually designed. That and of course legacy components and software designed for ICE cars (which probably explains why the Audi still has the concept of accessory mode vs. engine-on mode, I seriously doubt they energize the electric motors in engine-on mode while parked).

EV upstarts got the benefit of a clean sheet design. Large companies are naturally inclined for only incremental changes (big changes always risk interfering with the revenue stream), which makes it near impossible to innovate. The primary way large companies innovate is through acquiring startups which already did the innovation. That said, even in that situation they often just pick off bits and pieces of the startup product, incorporate into their mainstream legacy designs as incremental changes, then kill the startup product.

 

[ShiftyWolf]

This is how the US ends up with cars you can't shift out of park unless your foot is on the brake, overly high recommended tire pressures, warnings on the sun visors... etc... etc... etc...

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