2020 Model 3 - 14 days in - half of the car has no power?

[Bunnylt]

Today is the exact 14th day of having my 2020 model 3
Love the car and had no problems until last Friday-

Got all the error messages when I tried to drive the car last Friday:
Steel assist reduced
Power reduced
Regen breaking disabled
Traction control disabled
Vehicle hold feature unavailable
Automat emergency breaking unavailable

Was able to clear them out by doing a “power off”

Today when I tried to unlock the car the keycard won’t work- the same error again and the left side doors won’t open from inside or outside, the right side works fine.

I powered it off and unlocked it from my phone it worked and error were gone after a power off.

I drove it out of parking and reparked the car the error messages came back and I wasn’t able to clear it out by powering off/ rebooting.

Tonight I tried to have it tow. But when I tried unlocking the car the left side won’t respond won’t unlock. So I entered the car thru passenger side and used the manual latch to open the driver side door - but the window won’t roll down so now it’s stuck and the doors cannot be shut or locked. the towing company can’t tow the car due to not being able to put the car in neutral. The left side of car is not working at all - no response from doors windows and interior light won’t turn on.

Any ideas on what’s happening here??

 

[sduck]

It might be a bad 12v battery. Might. But I'd call tesla and let them do a real diagnosis.

 

[toolman335]

This sounds like 12v battery issue but there could be more to it.

 

[holmgang]

another vote for the 12v battery.

although you could try calling the emergency number directly from the car. the vehicle sends diagnostic codes back to center so they might be able to decipher something remotely.

 

[dmurphy]

My vote is that your VCLEFT controller has failed. That would explain why it's only on one side. VCLEFT controls the left side seats, parking brake, brake pedal switch, rear motor inverter and more.

The bad news is that it's crippling; the good news is - if it is VCLEFT, it's an easy fix for them to swap and will be 100% solid going forward. No "ongoing" issues. Swap the module and you're like new.

Sorry this is happening but that sure sounds like VCLEFT to me.

 

[Idkorcare]

Voting VCLEFT or a bad connection there, like dmurphy said all that stuff on that side of the car ties in there. Could also be VCFRONT not sending power to VCLEFT.

 

[Bunnylt]

Hi guys!
I appreciate all of your input on this - gave me a peace of mind for sure. THANK YOU!

I went back to the car today and the window was rolled down. Looks like it got corrected sometime last night. The power came back from the driver side and the car was completely fine again?!!! All error messages went away like nothing even happened.

I still got the car towed to Tesla just in case, they took in my car and told me the technician is already working on it from the diagnoses they received from my Tesla data. They said they can get everything figured out and fixed by next Monday. The guy seem very chilled about it.. I guess that’s a good thing?

Such a bummer that this happened.. I’m gonna cry like a baby if I needed to return this car. You would think they’d have a better quality control over the biggest piece - battery! But I guess not? I was kinda upset that this happened for a brand new production

I will keep you guys posted on this!

 

[sduck]

If it was just the 12v battery at this point they would have just swapped it and sent you on your way. I'm guessing they found some anomalous codes that indicate the kind of thing that dmurphy and idkorcare were suggesting, and want to investigate that thoroughly. Chances are really good that you'll be completely fixed on Monday, one way or the other. BTW the 12v battery isn't the same as the large traction battery.

 

[Bunnylt]

Thanks for the clarification - I sounded ignorant there- thought they were the same thing. Good to know. Now I need to do some google on the difference ..

I can’t wait to know more about the issues on Monday. I’m more curious than worried at this point..

 

[dmurphy]

Thanks for the clarification - I sounded ignorant there- thought they were the same thing. Good to know. Now I need to do some google on the difference ..

I can’t wait to know more about the issues on Monday. I’m more curious than worried at this point..

No need to be worried! You'll be just fine. Likely just the system controller (VCLEFT) that needs to be swapped out. It's quite easy (relatively speaking). VCLEFT sits behind the "A" pillar on the driver's side of the car. They just pop that panel off, unplug the wires from it, unbolt it, bolt the new one in, and reconnect the wires.

If it is VCFRONT as mentioned above, that's also easy - they just remove the frunk tub, and it's right behind the 12V battery.

No worries at all - these cars are super smart, report home any issues they have, so like they said - the techs are already working the issue before you ever brought it in.

Good stuff! Were you able to get a loaner for the weekend, or did they offer you Uber credits? At least here at our local service center, any service longer than 24 hours, they offer a loaner. It's pretty nice - when I had my computer upgraded, they gave me a Model S to drive for the day. Fun times!

 

[Bunnylt]

No need to be worried! You'll be just fine. Likely just the system controller (VCLEFT) that needs to be swapped out. It's quite easy (relatively speaking). VCLEFT sits behind the "A" pillar on the driver's side of the car. They just pop that panel off, unplug the wires from it, unbolt it, bolt the new one in, and reconnect the wires.

If it is VCFRONT as mentioned above, that's also easy - they just remove the frunk tub, and it's right behind the 12V battery.

No worries at all - these cars are super smart, report home any issues they have, so like they said - the techs are already working the issue before you ever brought it in.

Good stuff! Were you able to get a loaner for the weekend, or did they offer you Uber credits? At least here at our local service center, any service longer than 24 hours, they offer a loaner. It's pretty nice - when I had my computer upgraded, they gave me a Model S to drive for the day. Fun times!

They indeed gave me a loaner car! Annnnd it was a model S as well. I honestly felt better the moment I saw the loaner haha I was too weak to be upset no more.

Waiting to hear back on Monday and hopefully my car will stay new and stay awesome after. All my friends were more upset than me that this would happened to a brand new car and they all think that I should get another new car instead. but I have good faith in it. I hope this will be the only issue the car has moving forward..

Will keep all of you updated. I’m very curious about what actually happened..

THANK YOU!

 

[dmurphy]

They indeed gave me a loaner car! Annnnd it was a model S as well. I honestly felt better the moment I saw the loaner haha I was too weak to be upset no more.

Waiting to hear back on Monday and hopefully my car will stay new and stay awesome after. All my friends were more upset than me that this would happened to a brand new car and they all think that I should get another new car instead. but I have good faith in it. I hope this will be the only issue the car has moving forward..

Will keep all of you updated. I’m very curious about what actually happened..

THANK YOU!

Unfortunately, "infant mortality" is a thing with electronics. Sometimes, modules fail. It's inconvenient, and annoying, but better that it fails right away than somewhere down the road. The infamous "bathtub curve" describes it pretty perfectly.

The Bathtub Curve and Product Failure Behavior (Part 1 of 2)

No worries - you'll be good to go on Monday -- and can brag to all your friends about how awesome Tesla service is. Took the car right away, started diagnosis before it even arrived, hooked up you with a kickass loaner.... now you'll have an amazing car AND the confidence that Tesla will do right by you! All good!

 

[toolman335]

Unfortunately, "infant mortality" is a thing with electronics. Sometimes, modules fail. It's inconvenient, and annoying, but better that it fails right away than somewhere down the road. The infamous "bathtub curve" describes it pretty perfectly.

The Bathtub Curve and Product Failure Behavior (Part 1 of 2)

No worries - you'll be good to go on Monday -- and can brag to all your friends about how awesome Tesla service is. Took the car right away, started diagnosis before it even arrived, hooked up you with a kickass loaner.... now you'll have an amazing car AND the confidence that Tesla will do right by you! All good!

I absolutely believe in the bathtub curve. For the last ten years anything I've owned at home or work might have an issue pop up in the early days of ownership, it gets fixed, and then it's smooth sailing for a very long time.

 

[Bunnylt]

Hi guys -

just wanted to do a quick update on the car for you guys -

The new pick up date got moved to next Monday - looks like they’re waiting on a part to come in. the part they ordered is :
ASY M3 FRONT CONTROLLER COIL SUSP

Any ideas on what this might be for?

And although I do believe and have faith in my brand new car but it’s still a little bit crazy that I’ve officially driven the loaner more than my new car

thank you guys! You guys have been so nice!!!!!

 

[Fernand]

They may have found something that indirectly caused the major failure. It could be a $5 part. Electronics do fail, most often in the first weeks. It's not a matter of Quality Control. The bathtub curve is essential here. @dmurphy is right on.

Relax, floor that loaner - (personally I hate them: Model S boat with NO autopilot at all) - but know your car will have gone through additional QA, and will be all fine, like most all the Model 3s on the road. Trust us. They don't get the Detroit lemon-chain effect, not much at all. Fewer parts. Do you buy lottery tickets?

I should add that the reason I know the loaners isn't because of frequent visits to the Service Center. In 18 months I made two. The first about what turned out to be a software issue that the next update cleared. The second was a week ago to install the new (whee!) "FSD" computer with the Tesla-made dual visual processing chips. Over ten times faster. Oh, and rotate the tires ($36). And the regular annual maintenance (Free): top off the windshield washer liquid. But anyway, that's how I got to drive those Enterprise Rental Dual Motor Model S like rentals ;-)
.

 

[dmurphy]

Hi guys -

just wanted to do a quick update on the car for you guys -

The new pick up date got moved to next Monday - looks like they’re waiting on a part to come in. the part they ordered is :
ASY M3 FRONT CONTROLLER COIL SUSP

Any ideas on what this might be for?

And although I do believe and have faith in my brand new car but it’s still a little bit crazy that I’ve officially driven the loaner more than my new car

thank you guys! You guys have been so nice!!!!!

Sure, that's the VCFRONT module. I was slightly left of the right diagnosis (ha ha!).

But VCFRONT distributes low voltage power to VCLEFT and VCRIGHT both. If they've traced the diagnosis down to VCFRONT, you'll be good to go as soon as that part comes in.

Meanwhile, enjoy the loaner and your car will be back to itself in no time.

This is what a VCFRONT looks like, by the way. Just for your own reference!

 

[Fernand]

Drat, looks like another plastic gizmo to choke the whales!

That old GM hardware maybe failed a lot more, but that was part of an organic rust to dust process.
.

 

[LongRanger]

Vegan plastic.

 

[dmurphy]

Drat, looks like another plastic gizmo to choke the whales!

That old GM hardware maybe failed a lot more, but that was part of an organic rust to dust process.
.

It's actually a BRILLIANT use of plastic. If you look at the way Tesla molded it .... the cabling keys/connector housings are molded into the module cover, rather than each individual connector on the PCB board. This reduces the amount of plastic used, provides better fit, easier assembly and more stable connections. It's quite good design, all things considered.

 

[outdoors]

Drat, looks like another plastic gizmo to choke the whales!

That old GM hardware maybe failed a lot more, but that was part of an organic rust to dust process.
.

Today I was looking at the Toadi lawn mower. Made out of corn based plastics. Which I found interesting.

Some good reading on plastics in auto and the bio-plastic movement.

https://phys.org/news/2017-12-truth-bioplastics.html

History of Bioplastics in the Automotive Industry