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Comment by techdmn | Hacker News Reader

I drive a Tesla Model 3, a few thoughts:

* I'm hard on brakes in general, but have over 70k miles on the original pads. Regen braking reduces brake use a LOT.

* Regen does NOT bring the car to a complete stop, the brakes are blended in below something like 5 MPH. The rotors are not going to rust away, they see action every time you drive. (Some surface rust is fine and normal, EV or no.)

* EVs can be heavier than ICE cars, and most are. There are many things I dislike about Tesla, but the Model 3 is a feather weight in the category. A comparison I like to make is to the AWS Dodge Charger, which is heavier by a couple hundred pounds. I won't even talk about trucks and SUVs.

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It DOES bring them to a stop in newer models. Not sure which year it started but it's been at least 2

But I know what you mean from my older models

Are you talking about the hold mode they introduced a couple years back? It will bring the car to a stop but (as compared to the previous mode where you had to press the break yourself below ~4-5 mph), but I'll be good money it's using the brakes to do so. Particularly when it's activated on an incline.

I drive an EV6, and I’m almost confident it uses (or can use) regenerative braking to come to a complete stop.

If I use the ePedal or the brake paddle, the stop is super gradual and you never feel the “grab” that you feel when using the brake. Also, I can sometimes feel/see it slightly rolling (so it’s not even truly a complete stop).

I’ve seen some people swear that the EV6 always uses friction braking at stops, but again, I’m pretty sure this just isn’t true.

It's probably using mechanical brakes just to anchor itself while stopped (automatic parking brake).

To be clear this is a software setting now, on all (I think?) Teslas.

> * Regen does NOT bring the car to a complete stop, the brakes are blended in below something like 5 MPH. The rotors are not going to rust away, they see action every time you drive. (Some surface rust is fine and normal, EV or no.)

A Gen2 Leaf (2018+) with "e-Pedal" mode absolutely does stop the car fully with regen.

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