One of the most interesting aspects of electric cars is that they can “drive with just one pedal”. Thanks to regenerative braking, just lift your foot off the accelerator to slow down the car, even in an important way. This is a system that makes driving much more comfortable, especially in an urban environment, and that allows you to maximize energy recovery.
There are, however, some situations where regenerative braking is less effective. For example, when it is cold and the battery has not reached an optimal operating temperature or when the accumulator is at maximum charge. In such situations, therefore, regenerative braking can be limited. This means that the deceleration becomes less effective. The driver, therefore, will have to make greater use of traditional brakes.
Even Tesla, like all-electric, “suffers” from this problem, indeed, it would be better to say, “suffered” since there is an interesting novelty. The American car manufacturer has announced the distribution of the new software update 2022.16.0.2 which introduces a very useful feature, at least on Model 3 and Model Y. By enabling it, the car will be able to “simulate” regenerative braking with mechanical brakes when, in fact, it is limited.
MORE HOMOGENEOUS BEHAVIOR
This way, when you lift your foot off the accelerator, the car will always behave in the same way with a constant level of deceleration. In addition to making driving more homogeneous, this novelty also brings advantages on the safety front. People who are used to slowing down using regenerative braking will always get the same behavior from the car when decelerating. In this way, you will avoid the risk of delaying the activation of traditional brakes.
Tesla describes this innovation introduced with the latest update as follows:
Your vehicle can now automatically use the brakes for constant deceleration when regenerative braking is limited due to battery temperature or state of charge.
To activate this new function, select “Controls”, “Pedals and steering” and then “Activate the brakes when regenerative braking is limited”.