A new update to the Tesla operating system adds a nice feature: automatic ride height adjustment to suit the toughest road conditions.
What’s worse than potholes when driving? These road wear holes vary in size, and most of the time the decision is made to work around them — if possible. As Electrek reports in an article published on July 4, Tesla has found a new solution to better manage them: a car capable of detecting them and then adjusting the ride height accordingly.
The advantage of this novelty is twofold: to avoid an unpleasant jolt and, more importantly, to avoid the damage that a pothole that is too deep can cause (for the tires, the suspensions, even the floor). The manufacturer states: Tesla Adaptive Suspension technology will now be able to adjust the height for a difficult section. This adjustment can happen in different places, depending on compatibility, as the car records road data generated by all Tesla vehicles.. »
Tesla wants to fight potholes
This welcome feature is not (yet?) linked to Autopilot and is therefore not an avoidance measure that could prove dangerous depending on the conditions. Tesla cars must however be able to detect holes, thanks to the many visualization devices, to then allow the suspensions to react. It is currently only available on models equipped with adaptive suspensions, i.e. the latest generation Model S and Model X. In the future, it is not excluded that this will benefit the Model Y and the Model 3, as well as the Autopilot (a desire of Elon Musk dating back to 2019).
Note that Tesla is not the only manufacturer to want to fight against the roughness of the road. In this video published in June 2018 and dedicated to the Focus, Ford boasts ” active suspensions capable of anticipating potholes to improve driving comfort. However, unlike Tesla, the system is not based on data stored by the entire fleet, but acts locally – as soon as a hole is detected. In short, the Teslas could benefit from better anticipation. Ford makes it clear that the goal is also to preserve its wheels, which can suffer if they sink too deeply.
Mercedes, too, has made potholes a safety issue. In a press release published in September 2021, the German firm introduced an alert system that all nearby brand cars can receive (if they are compatible). Here, it is a question of information sent to the driver, not of an adaptation of the characteristics of the vehicle in real time. .