Hidden features, tips, and emergency access

Model 3 tips

Hidden features & Easter eggs

• Rainbow Road

  Open Toybox and turn on Rainbow Road. With Autosteer engaged, the road in the driving visualization turns into a glowing rainbow, a nod to the Mario Kart track. On cars with a gear stalk (built before the 2024 refresh), pushing the right stalk down four times quickly with Autosteer engaged also works.

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• Mars navigation

  Open Toybox and choose Mars. The navigation map is replaced with a rendering of the Martian surface and the car icon becomes a Mars rover. On older software you could also press and hold the car's name in the Software screen and enter the code mars.

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• Santa Mode

  Open Toybox and turn on Santa Mode, or say "Ho ho ho" as a voice command. The car icon becomes Santa's sleigh and the car plays "Run Rudolph Run" by Chuck Berry. Say "Ho ho ho, not funny" instead and it switches to "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."

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• Rainbow charge port light

  While the car is plugged in, press the button on the Tesla charge handle about ten times quickly. The charge port light cycles through the colors of the rainbow for a few seconds, then returns to normal. It works with the Mobile Connector, the Wall Connector, and Superchargers. On Model 3 and Model Y only the T logo in the port changes color, so it is subtler.

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• Emissions Testing mode (aka fart mode)

  Emissions Testing, in Toybox, is Tesla's whoopee cushion. Pick a sound and the seat it should come from, then set it off from the touchscreen or with a press of the left scroll button at the right moment.

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• Romance Mode

  Also in Toybox, Romance Mode turns the screen into a crackling fireplace, plays soft music, and turns up the cabin heat. It arrived in a December 2018 software update.

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• Boombox

  Boombox plays sounds, from a goat bleat to applause, through the car's external pedestrian warning speaker. A 2022 recall covering about 579,000 cars limited it to Park, so it no longer works in Drive, Neutral, or Reverse. Cars without the external speaker, including many older builds, do not have it.

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• Caraoke

  Open the media player and choose Caraoke to sing along with lyrics shown on the touchscreen. Tap the microphone icon to turn the lead vocals off, leaving the instrumentals and backing vocals for you to sing over.

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• Volume goes to 11

  A small nod to This Is Spinal Tap: the audio volume goes to 11.

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Tips

• Restart a frozen touchscreen

  If the touchscreen freezes or behaves oddly, restart it only while stopped. Shift into Park, then hold down both scroll buttons on the steering wheel until the screen turns black. The Tesla logo appears after a few seconds, and the screen is back in about 30 seconds. Pressing the brake is not needed, and this restarts only the touchscreen, not the rest of the car.

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• Customize the scroll wheel long-press

  Go to Controls > Display > Scroll Wheel Function and pick what a long press of the left scroll button does, or choose Ask each time to get a quick menu instead.

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• Set a daily charge limit, not 100%

  Check your battery type on the charge limit slider. If it is marked Daily and Trip, keep the daily limit at 90% or less and charge to 100% only for long trips. If it is marked 50% and 100%, the car has an LFP battery: Tesla recommends leaving the limit at 100%, even for daily use, and charging fully at least once a week.

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• Set up a driver profile per person

  Driver profiles save seat, mirror, and steering wheel positions, plus preferences such as temperature, lights, display, navigation, and Autopilot settings. Link a profile to your phone key or key card (Controls > Locks > Keys) and the car picks that profile when the linked key is detected as you approach and open the driver's door. A key can carry only one profile, but one profile can have several keys.

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• Software updates need your home Wi-Fi

  Connect the car to your home Wi-Fi. Tesla says Wi-Fi gives the fastest and most reliable delivery of software updates, and some updates wait for a Wi-Fi connection before they download.

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• Low-voltage battery alerts

  A separate low-voltage battery runs the car's computers, locks, and lights. Cars built from late 2021 on use a 16-volt lithium-ion low-voltage battery instead of the old 12V lead-acid one, and the newest cars use a 12.8-volt LFP version. If the car shows a low-voltage battery alert, have it checked soon: if that battery dies, the car will not unlock or wake normally and needs external power.

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Emergency access

• Manual door release, front doors

  Pull up the manual door release in front of the window switches to open a front door when the car has no power. Never use it while the car is moving; when the car has power, press the button at the top of the interior door handle instead.

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• Manual door release, rear doors

  On 2024 and newer cars, there is a slot at the bottom of the rear door pocket in front of the release cover. Slide a finger into the slot, lift the cover out, and pull the mechanical release cable forward. Model 3s built before the 2024 refresh have no manual release in the rear doors, so rear passengers must climb out through a front door if the car has no power.

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• Jump-starting a dead low-voltage battery

  Open the frunk and pull the maintenance panel up to release its clips. Remove the red cover and connect the red cable to the positive (+) jump post first, then connect the black cable to the bolt next to the brake fluid reservoir, which serves as the ground. Turn on the jump pack and touch the screen to wake the car. When finished, disconnect the black cable first. If the car is too dead to open the frunk, pop open the tow eye cover on the front bumper (press its top right edge), pull out the red and black wires, and connect the jump pack to them (red to red, black to black). That only releases the hood latch, it does not charge the battery; disconnect within 30 seconds.

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• Tow Mode for a flatbed

  Model 3 must go on a flatbed, not be towed with its wheels on the ground. To let it roll onto the truck, unplug the charger, keep a key inside, hold the brake pedal, and touch Controls > Service > Towing, then Enter Tow Mode. The car stays free-rolling for winching or moving it out of a parking space, at walking pace and only for a short distance.

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