The primary issue with the touch screen in the Model 3 in my opinion, is actually the climate controls. You could argue that these aren't necessary to adjust while driving because the car is supposed to do it automatically, and/or you can use the admittedly terrible voice command system, but things like the recirculate button (I know I'm not the only one that uses it, my friend keeps tapping the physical button in his Honda and doesn't have to look at it to do this) are particularly annoying.The climate controls are in a
drawer that is opened by a swipe up, and until the latest update, the recirculate button would highlight but not activate/toggle if pressed slightly off centre.
The other situations involving wipers are also annoying when the auto windshield wiper sensor becomes invisibly dirty. The wipers will activate nonstop during Autopilot or just on auto while driving in daylight sun, particularly at sunrise and sunset. It is an extreme frustration to have to look at the screen to click the slider to turn them off.
As of the current software version, the way the buttons on the stalk or the wheel work is they either activate something one off e.g. high beams for a moment, or wipe once, and/or they pop up a little menu on the bottom left corner of the screen where the media controls are, and you have to use the touchscreen to activate them. Recently a mechanism to press and hold the steering wheel scrollwheel to activate a menu was added, but it's just impossible to use without looking. I am not sure if I am special and/or are using it wrong or something, but the menu pops up in a location that is obscured normally by my arm/the wheel when holding the steering wheel at a normal and designed position with both hands. Annoyingly, this is also where the "Apply slight turning force to steering wheel" nag prompt appears, which is a terrible and unnoticeable place to put a safety related alert that is actually designed to have you keep your eyes on the road. This really should have the option to be an audible and friendly chime.
The lack of a turn signal sound when the computer crashes, is, by the way, another omission in my opinion, because the turn signal stalk is only a momentary button. The turn signals work but you'll have no clue while driving if they're actually on, without the screen and the sound.
I mean, maybe these are all normal and maybe I'm just really picky about things. I really do like the overall experience of using the large screen, as the GPS is much more glanceable with this setup and passengers can route plan or discuss the route. The apps are all terrible though, like Spotify/Apple Music, and they're unnecessarily slow and buggy with small touch targets as if they want to trick you into keeping your eyes off the road for more than a fraction of a second.
The UI design is kind of mixed, tbh. I'm sure some of these issues can be resolved by software, but at least there are the "S3XY Buttons", a third party accessories with a set of BLE buttons that you can stick anywhere you like that activate things using CAN bus injection.
Of course, that might (not sure, dont have this accessory) create synchronization bugs like (annoyingly, sometimes the car saying it is in reverse when it is in drive), but these happen anyway by itself.