Have you ever found yourself on a long road trip in your Tesla, wishing you could take the scenic route instead of being constantly funneled onto a crowded highway? Perhaps you prefer a more relaxed drive, want to explore charming small towns, or simply avoid the high speeds and heavy traffic that often come with major thoroughfares. Good news! Your Tesla's navigation system offers a straightforward way to tailor your journey and avoid highways.
This comprehensive guide will walk you through the simple steps to enable this feature, giving you more control over your driving experience.
Step 1: Engage with Your Tesla's Touchscreen
First things first, let's get acquainted with your Tesla's magnificent touchscreen. This is your command center, and navigating its intuitive interface is key to customizing your driving preferences.
When you're ready to set a destination or are already on a route, look for the navigation area on your touchscreen. This is where your map and directions are displayed.
Step 2: ️ Accessing Navigation Settings
Once you've got your map in view, it's time to dive into the settings. Tesla makes this quite easy, even while you're driving (though it's always best to adjust settings when safely parked).
Finding the Three Dots (...)
On the navigation screen, you'll see three small dots (or sometimes an icon that looks like a menu or settings gear) typically located near the bottom of the turn-by-turn direction list. These three dots are your gateway to the navigation menu.
Tap on these three dots to reveal a list of options.
Step 3: ⚙️ Customizing Your Route Preferences
Within the menu that pops up after tapping the three dots, you'll find various settings to customize your route.
Locating the "Settings" Option
Among the options presented, you'll want to tap on "Settings". This will open a dedicated screen for all your navigation preferences.
Step 4: ️ Toggling "Avoid Highways"
Now for the main event! Once you're in the navigation settings, look for the "Avoid Highways" option.
Finding and Activating "Avoid Highways"
Scroll down the settings list until you see "Avoid Highways". It's usually presented as a toggle switch.
Tap the toggle next to "Avoid Highways" to turn it ON. The color of the toggle will change (often to blue or green) to indicate it's active.
Confirmation and Immediate Rerouting
As soon as you enable this setting, your Tesla's navigation system will automatically recalculate your current route (if one is active) to bypass highways. You'll observe the map adjusting, showing you a new route that primarily uses back roads and local streets.
This setting is saved to your profile, meaning it will remain active for future navigation sessions until you manually turn it off.
Step 5: Understanding the Impact and Flexibility
Enabling "Avoid Highways" offers a different driving experience, and it's important to understand what that entails.
What to Expect
Scenic Routes: Your Tesla will prioritize more scenic and less congested roads, potentially leading you through charming towns and picturesque landscapes.
Longer Travel Time: Naturally, avoiding highways often means a longer travel time and potentially more turns. Be mindful of this when planning your journey.
Increased Battery Consumption (Potentially): While not always the case, frequent stopping and starting on local roads can sometimes be less energy-efficient than maintaining a steady speed on a highway. However, for shorter distances, this difference might be negligible.
Discovering New Places: This feature is excellent for exploring areas you might otherwise miss when sticking to main highways.
Flexibility: On-the-Fly Adjustments
The beauty of Tesla's navigation is its flexibility. You can toggle "Avoid Highways" on or off at any point during your drive.
If you find yourself needing to get somewhere faster, simply repeat the steps above and turn the "Avoid Highways" toggle OFF. Your Tesla will immediately reroute you back to the quickest path, which may include highways.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How to turn off "Avoid Highways" in Tesla navigation?
To turn off "Avoid Highways," tap the three dots (...) on your navigation screen, go to "Settings," and then toggle the "Avoid Highways" option to the OFF position.
How to avoid tolls in Tesla navigation?
In the same navigation settings menu where you find "Avoid Highways," you'll also see an option to "Avoid Tolls." Simply toggle this setting ON.
How to avoid ferries in Tesla navigation?
Similar to avoiding tolls, there's typically an "Avoid Ferries" option within the navigation settings that you can toggle ON.
How to add multiple stops (waypoints) in Tesla navigation?
After entering your initial destination, tap the three dots (...) at the bottom of the turn-by-turn direction list. Then select "Add Stop" to add additional destinations to your route.
How to use voice commands for Tesla navigation?
You can use voice commands by pressing the right scroll wheel on your steering wheel and saying commands like "Navigate to [address]" or "Drive to [place name]."
How to save home and work addresses in Tesla navigation?
In your navigation menu, you can usually find options to "Set Home" and "Set Work" to save these frequently used addresses for quick access.
How to view real-time traffic in Tesla navigation?
Tesla's navigation system, especially with Premium Connectivity, displays real-time traffic conditions directly on the map using color-coded lines (green for clear, yellow for slow, red for congested). This is usually enabled by default if you have premium connectivity.
How to adjust navigation volume in a Tesla?
When navigation instructions are playing, you can often adjust the volume directly on the touchscreen or by using the left scroll wheel on your steering wheel. Alternatively, in navigation settings, there are volume controls.
How to switch map views (satellite vs. standard) in Tesla navigation?
On the map screen, you'll usually find an icon resembling a globe. Tapping this icon allows you to switch between standard map view and satellite imagery (requires Premium Connectivity).
How to use the Tesla mobile app for navigation?
Open the Tesla mobile app, go to "Locations" or "Navigate," enter your destination, and then use the "Send to Car" option to share the trip with your vehicle.
For a visual guide on navigating these settings, you might find this helpful:
