1 Week into Model 3 ownership and had to get Towed

[heyou]

So just took delivery from Fremont on July 6th. Had a great week with the car going to SF for a weekend and communing to work. At this time we have about 600 mi on the car. Yesterday, my wife took the car to work as normal by noticed the the FM radio wasn't working. We were recommended to do a reboot of the computer system by holding down the two buttons. So we did that and things started to boot back up.

However, when the screen turned back on we were greeted with this

The car would not allow us to shift into any gear. Car had to be towed to the Fremont service center afterhours as my wife's shift wasn't over.
Went to the service center this morning and got a loaner. We didn't receive a Tesla loaner which is unfortunate. So one week out and this is making us very nervous about our purchase. This is the first experience that we have had getting a car towed. Already had to make a service appointment about some other minor things but now we don't know what else could be wrong.

Sorry I just needed to vent.

 

[sperkin]

I had that as well during 4th of July weekend on Saturday July 7th. However, the errors went away before I could take a picture, and my car went back to normal. So far no issues. Just worried that it might happen again and it'll need a tow.

Service in LA is difficult to schedule since they only have weekdays. I have to cancel a few times due to last minute work meetings so they have not look at the car yet. Hope it was just a fluke.

 

[DrLegoHair]

I had that as well during 4th of July weekend on Saturday July 7th. However, the errors went away before I could take a picture, and my car went back to normal. So far no issues. Just worried that it might happen again and it'll need a tow.

Service in LA is difficult to schedule since they only have weekdays. I have to cancel a few times due to last minute work meetings so they have not look at the car yet. Hope it was just a fluke.

So just took delivery from Fremont on July 6th. Had a great week with the car going to SF for a weekend and communing to work. At this time we have about 600 mi on the car. Yesterday, my wife took the car to work as normal by noticed the the FM radio wasn't working. We were recommended to do a reboot of the computer system by holding down the two buttons. So we did that and things started to boot back up.

However, when the screen turned back on we were greeted with this
View attachment 316899
View attachment 316900

The car would not allow us to shift into any gear. Car had to be towed to the Fremont service center afterhours as my wife's shift wasn't over.
Went to the service center this morning and got a loaner. We didn't receive a Tesla loaner which is unfortunate. So one week out and this is making us very nervous about our purchase. This is the first experience that we have had getting a car towed. Already had to make a service appointment about some other minor things but now we don't know what else could be wrong.

Sorry I just needed to vent.

Really hope this doesn’t end up being a chronic issue for you like it was for me. I would get this error about every 500-1000 miles.

Basically you have two choices to try and clear this and get the car to drive.

1) Put the car into tow mode, wait 30 seconds and then attempt to shift into gear.

2) Do this at your own risk: Open the frunk, remove the plastic cover towards the back. It’s only held in with plastic tabs. Disconnect the 12V battery, wait five minutes and plug it back in.

Scroll wheel reboot is worthless when the car is in this state as the computer doesn’t actually reset. I would not recommend using the power off feature in the menu either as I have had that make the car unresponsive for hours.

Good Luck!

 

[Tesmotorfaqcom]

I was told the washer fluid low and brake warning is a bug by service center but obviously if your car need service pop up it's not a bug.

 

[heyou]

Really hope this doesn’t end up being a chronic issue for you like it was for me. I would get this error about every 500-1000 miles.

Basically you have two choices to try and clear this and get the car to drive.

1) Put the car into tow mode, wait 30 seconds and then attempt to shift into gear.

2) Do this at your own risk: Open the frunk, remove the plastic cover towards the back. It’s only held in with plastic tabs. Disconnect the 12V battery, wait five minutes and plug it back in.

Scroll wheel reboot is worthless when the car is in this state as the computer doesn’t actually reset. I would not recommend using the power off feature in the menu either as I have had that make the car unresponsive for hours.

Good Luck!

Have you taken the car in for service before? If you have what have they told you is the issue?

 

[thager0]

Have you heard back from the service center yet?

I took delivery on Monday the 16th; the next day in a Lowe's parking lot the traction control slipped going about 5mph and the car stuttered, stopped and locked up. I'm getting the same errors as you, with the traction control icon appearing stuck. It wouldn't budge out of park.

About 200 miles; less than 48 hours and it's on a flatbed truck. Resolution pending and in the meantime I'm not too happy.

 

[Krugerrand]

Note to self: don’t let the washer fluid get low.

 

[electracity]

Have you heard back from the service center yet?

I took delivery on Monday the 16th; the next day in a Lowe's parking lot the traction control slipped going about 5mph and the car stuttered, stopped and locked up. I'm getting the same errors as you, with the traction control icon appearing stuck. It wouldn't budge out of park.

About 200 miles; less than 48 hours and it's on a flatbed truck. Resolution pending and in the meantime I'm not too happy.

Sorry about that. Like a computer it may be most likely to break when new.

How did you like it before it stopped working?

 

[gambit48]

I get the brake and windshield fluid warning, but it doesn't affect the car at all.

Have newest firmware, but I still saw it the one time I drove it since getting car back.

 

[vinnie97]

I'm out of washer fluid but not getting any notification.

 

[thager0]

Have you heard back from the service center yet?

I took delivery on Monday the 16th; the next day in a Lowe's parking lot the traction control slipped going about 5mph and the car stuttered, stopped and locked up. I'm getting the same errors as you, with the traction control icon appearing stuck. It wouldn't budge out of park.

About 200 miles; less than 48 hours and it's on a flatbed truck. Resolution pending and in the meantime I'm not too happy.

Just an FYI. I just heard from the service center. They're replacing the drive unit.