Tesla Model Y: First 20 Settings to Change

Quick summary: Here are the settings I turn on or change first on a new Tesla Model Y. Even if you’ve had yours a while, they’re worth checking. Tap the car icon at the bottom left of the screen to open settings.

Controls and dynamics

1. Lights and wipers on Auto: they might already be, but make sure.
2. Acceleration: pick the mode you want. I have the Sport model, so I chose Sport.
3. Steering mode: I like Light. It feels the most comfortable to me.
4. Stopping mode: Hold. You get the most regeneration and the best range.
5. Apply brakes when regenerative braking is limited: turn this on. If you charge to a high level, regen is limited, and this makes the car slow down like regen is still on.

Locks

6. Phone keys: under Locks, add your phone as a key with Add key in the Tesla app, if Tesla didn’t do it for you.
7. Walk-away door lock: turn it on so the doors and trunk lock automatically when you walk away with your phone or key fob.
8. Car left open notifications: set to doors and windows so your phone alerts you if something’s left open.

Lights

9. Auto-cancel turn signals: the blinker turns off by itself after a turn or lane change.
10. Headlights after exit: the lights stay on after you get out. It makes me feel a little safer.
11. Adaptive headlights: turn on auto high beams and adjust headlights for curves. It knows to turn the high beams off when there’s a car ahead. I also turn on auto dome lights, steering wheel lights and ambient lights.

Display

12. Appearance and brightness: I’d use Auto (dark at night, light during the day), turn on reduce blue light at night, and set brightness to auto.
13. Automatic blind spot camera: turn it on. When you signal, it shows the side repeater camera, and a car in your blind spot shows up in red. It’s a great safety feature.
14. Text size and energy display: I use large text, and show range in miles (tap it to switch to percent).

Charging

15. Charging schedule: under Schedule, tap the plus sign, set the start time and days, and tap Create. Mine charges every day starting at 12 AM, when power is cheapest where I live.

Safety

16. Sentry Mode and camera access: turn on Sentry Mode, or exclude home like I do since I park in a garage. Turn on camera-based detection and view cameras from the mobile app. I turn the Sentry sound off.
17. Dashcam and warnings: set the dashcam to auto so it records automatically. Keep the blind spot collision warning chime and allow mobile access on.
18. Cabin overheat protection and automatic 911 call: I keep overheat protection off because I noticed it uses a lot of battery. Turn it on if you want the cabin kept cooler. Definitely keep automatic 911 call on. If the airbags go off and you’re passed out, it calls 911 through your phone.
19. Chimes and navigation: I keep park assist chimes, gear chimes and the speed camera chime on. I turn automatic navigation off because I work from home and it kept starting routes on its own.

Connections

20. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth: connect to your home Wi-Fi, and pair your phone over Bluetooth for music.

Get a Tesla

• $1,000 off a new Tesla with my referral link