Regenerative braking technology is a bliss for the efficiency of all-electric vehicles. But it takes time to get used to this helpful feature. Sometimes it gets annoying or makes no sense on some occasions. There is an option to turn it off, but things get complicated with Tesla vehicles. Let us explain.

If you want to turn off regenerative braking on your Tesla, you probably won’t find any disabling option in the menu. Because turning off regenerative braking is not possible on a Tesla. It is also impossible to adjust the regen on Tesla vehicles built since Q2 2020. Tesla Model S/3/X/Y vehicles built before that date can still be able to offer adjustments. You just need to navigate through the main screen and go to Driving, then change the ‘Regenerative Braking’ to ‘Low’ for reducing the level of regenerative braking.

Newer Tesla vehicles come with standard level regen as default. There is no ‘Regenerative Braking’ adjustment option anymore. So, why wouldn’t Tesla allow its drivers to adjust regenerative braking? The main reason is that the vehicle range is heavily affected by not being able to recuperate the energy you otherwise lost to heat, etc by pressing the brake pedal. Other automakers agree with Tesla as well. According to Audi, regenerative braking can extend the range by up to 30% on average. Soon, every new electric vehicle on the market will probably remove the option to adjust regenerative braking for the sake of efficiency.

How to Adjust Regenerative Braking on Tesla Model Y/3 and Model S/X?

If you drive a Tesla vehicle built before Q2 2022, your car’s main screen comes with an option to adjust regenerative braking. You just need to go to settings, then select the ‘Driving’ menu from the left and change the ‘Regenerative Braking’ option to ‘Low’ for partially turning off the regen.

You won’t be able to turn off this feature. There is, however, a way to heavily limit the effects of regen braking. Here’s how:

Why Does Regenerative Braking Limited on My Tesla?

If you live in a cold area or your battery is fully charged, your Tesla vehicle would warn you about the regenerative braking is being limited. That’s because the battery is unable to receive the energy from the regen system and the battery’s management system temporarily turns off the regenerative braking feature. It might take up to half an hour for your vehicle to recover from that. In order to reduce the negative effects of this limitation, you can enable an extra feature for automatically applying the brake pedals instead of regen braking. Just go to Controls > Pedals & Steering, then turn on the ‘Apply Brakes When Regenerative Braking is Limited’ option.

Does Regenerative Braking Work on Icy/Snowy Roads?

Not being able to turn off regenerative braking might sound dangerous on icy/snowy roads, but Tesla has a solution for this. In 2022, Tesla adjusted the traction control software of its vehicles and added a hidden snow mode. Its main function is to better handle regen braking adjustments on icy roads and snow. Take a look at the video down below for more detail.

References

1. Tesla Model Y Owner’s Manual – https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/modely/en_us/GUID-3DFFB071-C0F6-474D-8A45-17BE1A006365.html

2. Tesla Motors Club – https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/regenerative-braking-chnged.244377/

3. Tesla mysteriously removes regenerative braking strength option in new cars – https://electrek.co/2020/10/27/tesla-removes-regenerative-braking-strenght-option-new-cars/