Tesla has made a handful of small changes to its owner’s manuals with the recent holiday update, including a shift to how Autopark works, cabin radar monitoring, and an expansion of certain construction details, among other edits still.

On Monday, Not a Tesla App spotted and reported a handful of the changes seen in Tesla’s owner’s manuals that were not reported in the company’s holiday update release notes. Some of these include subtle feature changes or hints as to what other features may be coming, while many of them simply have different wording than was previously in the manual.

Typically, Tesla will make changes to the owner’s manuals when it debuts new software updates, and although the recent holiday update has offered owners a number of new features, some of those that weren’t reported by the company may be equally important.

You can check out the unlisted updates to the owner’s manual below, complete with new rules for Autopark, the removal of a previously-retired regen braking mode, expansions to certain navigation construction information, and more.

Note: the links navigate to various sections of Tesla’s Model Y owner’s manual, though these updates can be seen across the company’s lineup.

Tesla’s recent changes to the owner’s manual, both big and small

Cabin Radar now used for occupancy, rather than seat sensors

Tesla’s Cabin Radar, located just above the rearview mirror in the latest of the company’s vehicles, is now being used to detect cabin occupancy instead of the individual seat sensors, as was changed earlier this year. Over the summer, Tesla switched from using the seat sensors to using the cabin radar to monitor occupancy, as part of a response to a recall mandating closer passenger and driver monitoring.

The section now also includes a warning that blocking or obstructing the device will disengage Autopilot or Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD). You can see the entry for cabin radar in Tesla’s owner’s manual here.

Camp Mode: text added to indicate that ports still work

While Tesla has already changed its vehicles so that the USB and 12V ports still work when Camp Mode is engaged, the company has also now updated the owner’s manual text to indicate this. You can see the company’s new details on Camp Mode here, under its section on Operating Climate Controls.

Construction and Accident Alerts to expand

Tesla has been adding additional icons to the map for road closures, accidents, and construction, and while the text in this section previously said they were limited to the U.S., this section has now been removed—suggesting that Tesla could be looking beyond North America with these in the near future.

Not a Tesla App also points out that, in all likelihood, Tesla will just need to wait for more data providers to partner with the company to add this information in other markets than the U.S. and Canada. You can check out this part of the owner’s manual here, in the Maps and Navigation section under the Online Routing section.

Desiccant Bags details removed

Tesla has removed details on its desiccant bag in the heat pump’s A/C section, which previously required a replacement every four years. This could suggest that this service may not be necessary after all, as the hardware likely lasts far more than four years in most cases. You can see the Maintenance Service Intervals section that previously had the instructions here.

Front Camera Window Cleaning

Tesla now points out that owners should clean the inside of the windshield within the front camera housing every so often. This was not previously a required maintenance option, and Tesla now says owners should schedule a service appointment to have the cleaning done when necessary.

There’s also a DIY option for this cleaning, and details for this can be found in the service manual under “Quad Camera Cover – Upper (remove and replace).” You can find the new text for cleaning inside the windshield here in the Maintenance Service Intervals section, listed under Periodic Checks.

Parental Controls now auto-set to these features

Tesla has made the default speed limit setting “Relative” with an offset of plus 5 mph. Additionally, when drivers select “Require Safety Features” in the parental controls, the system now automatically enables the following options, without the ability to change or remove them:

• Automatic Emergency Braking
• Obstacle-Aware Acceleration
• Automatic Blind Spot Camera
• Blind Spot Collision Warning Chime
• Automatic 911 Call
• Allow Mobile Access
• Park Assist Chimes
• Lane Departure Avoidance: Set to Assist.
• Speed Limit Warning: Set to Chime.
  • Speed Limit: Set to Relative.
  • Offset: Set to +5 mph (8 km/h).
• Forward Collision Warning: Set to Early.

You can find the Safety and Security Settings here, with the above options now located under Parental Controls.

Regenerative Braking options ‘January 2024’ wording removed

While Tesla removed the low regenerative braking setting for new vehicles in January, opting for the higher-efficiency option as default, the company’s owner’s manual has removed a section saying that the low options wouldn’t be available after January 2024. This suggests that Tesla could someday re-introduce multiple regen options in the future in some way, shape, or form.

Tesla’s regenerative braking instructions can be found here, as part of the Braking and Stopping section.

Steering Wheel Weight

Tesla has changed the name of the steering wheel weight option from “Medium” to “Standard,” which you can see here under the Steering Wheel Weight section.

Strikes No Longer Count Against Autopark

Vehicles that include a cabin camera can get as many as five strikes before banning Autopilot features, while those without one can get up to three strikes. However, Tesla has apparently removed the Autopark system from these strike-out rules, meaning that striking out won’t disqualify drivers from the automated park system. You can see Tesla’s Autopark section here.

Valet Mode Privacy Improvements

Tesla has improved the privacy features of its Valet Mode, now preventing access to a handful of features while it is engaged, such as showing text messages even if the owner is still connected to Bluetooth. The vehicle will now also remove home and work address access in this mode, and it will restrict access to driver profiles and a number of other features that could potentially compromise someone’s privacy.

You can check out the Tesla owner’s manual’s section on Valet Mode here, under the larger Driver Profiles section.

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