My car is a Sep 2019 Model 3 LR AWD with ~ 22k miles. Trouble-free til now, with only a punctured tire that needed patching.
I’ve now experienced two more serious problems, possibly related, the second of which has rendered the car undriveable. Sharing in case helpful to others + will try to post follow-up + resolution.
About a month ago I began driving, noticed my car was sluggish, and saw that it was in Chill mode. I never use that mode, and more concerning the option button to shift to normal mode was grayed out. A soft-reboot on the go didn’t fix the problem, but fortunately was very close to my local SC, and even more luckily both the lead Tech and a Service Manager immediately looked at my car on a drive-by basis. The Tech first thought I had inadvertently switched into either Valet or Speed Limit mode in the app, and indeed my app showed the latter mode toggled on. When I tried to toggle it off, it asked for my Tesla PIN. I had no idea what that was, having never set one, needed one, or heard about before. They were both a bit mystified, couldn’t fix the problem immediately, and set up a service appointment. Googling at home later that day (still in Chill mode) I found another owner who was able to skip the use of the PIN by logging in on the Service menu (in the car, not app) using Tesla credentials (e-mail + password). That enabled me to switch out of Speed Limit mode. Thinking it was a one-off, I cancelled the service appointment, but first texted the SC the way I resolved it. They thanked me for that. A few days later, the problem repeated, but I fixed it a second time (in same manner) and hadn’t seen it again.
Yesterday the more serious problem started. At start got the warning “Power Reduced - Exiting and re-entering vehicle may restore operation”. Has a yellow icon of a turtle. I put car in park, got out and back in, and problem appeared to be gone. I again assumed it was a one-off gremlin. But today the problem repeated multiple times, while I was away from home. The car moved, but had very little power - e.g., couldn’t make it up a hill and just came to a halt. After backing down the hill, I called roadside assistance, and asked for a tow or other help. I was told to power off the car in the Service menu, wait 2 minutes, and then power up by tapping the brake. Problem appeared to resolve, but they also advised to set up SC appointment to get it checked. The problem repeated an hour later, and this time did not resolve until the third power off attempt (Roadside Assistance was arranging for a tow when that happened). I was able to drive home, but tonight the problem has recurred and does not respond to the suggested fix (at least not in 5 attempts). So the car is effectively bricked (it can still creep very slowly), and I will get it towed to SC tomorrow.
Booked a SC appointment on app, but earliest was 2 weeks out, ouch. Googling suggest similar problems in 3s and Ys have been fixed by replacement of either a wiring harness or the rear motor.
I’ve now experienced two more serious problems, possibly related, the second of which has rendered the car undriveable. Sharing in case helpful to others + will try to post follow-up + resolution.
About a month ago I began driving, noticed my car was sluggish, and saw that it was in Chill mode. I never use that mode, and more concerning the option button to shift to normal mode was grayed out. A soft-reboot on the go didn’t fix the problem, but fortunately was very close to my local SC, and even more luckily both the lead Tech and a Service Manager immediately looked at my car on a drive-by basis. The Tech first thought I had inadvertently switched into either Valet or Speed Limit mode in the app, and indeed my app showed the latter mode toggled on. When I tried to toggle it off, it asked for my Tesla PIN. I had no idea what that was, having never set one, needed one, or heard about before. They were both a bit mystified, couldn’t fix the problem immediately, and set up a service appointment. Googling at home later that day (still in Chill mode) I found another owner who was able to skip the use of the PIN by logging in on the Service menu (in the car, not app) using Tesla credentials (e-mail + password). That enabled me to switch out of Speed Limit mode. Thinking it was a one-off, I cancelled the service appointment, but first texted the SC the way I resolved it. They thanked me for that. A few days later, the problem repeated, but I fixed it a second time (in same manner) and hadn’t seen it again.
Yesterday the more serious problem started. At start got the warning “Power Reduced - Exiting and re-entering vehicle may restore operation”. Has a yellow icon of a turtle. I put car in park, got out and back in, and problem appeared to be gone. I again assumed it was a one-off gremlin. But today the problem repeated multiple times, while I was away from home. The car moved, but had very little power - e.g., couldn’t make it up a hill and just came to a halt. After backing down the hill, I called roadside assistance, and asked for a tow or other help. I was told to power off the car in the Service menu, wait 2 minutes, and then power up by tapping the brake. Problem appeared to resolve, but they also advised to set up SC appointment to get it checked. The problem repeated an hour later, and this time did not resolve until the third power off attempt (Roadside Assistance was arranging for a tow when that happened). I was able to drive home, but tonight the problem has recurred and does not respond to the suggested fix (at least not in 5 attempts). So the car is effectively bricked (it can still creep very slowly), and I will get it towed to SC tomorrow.
Booked a SC appointment on app, but earliest was 2 weeks out, ouch. Googling suggest similar problems in 3s and Ys have been fixed by replacement of either a wiring harness or the rear motor.
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