Greetings all! i bought an almost brand new salvage title Tesla model 3, it was built in 3/22. I have about 10 cars’ experience with flood salvage, that’s all I deal with and all I drive. Mostly new BMWs and Toyotas. I bought it to learn and maybe to drive, I have a LOOOONNNNGGG commute each week and it would be nice to save the gas. Plus other people will pay for the electricity to charge it. The car has no body or mechanical damage, it was flooded up to the bottom of the dash in relatively clean fresh water. I’ve learned a bunch, thought I would share.
First, Tesla service and parts manuals are FREE from Tesla. You just have to sign up for an annual subscription on their web site, the cost is $0. Pretty awesome. The diagnostic software is pricey but available on a monthly or annual subscription basis. Connecting to a laptop is by computer network cable in my car.
Second, the Tesla is a network of computers and electric motors, if you approach servicing it like a “normal” car you will be very frustrated. Don’t worry about driving it until the very end, if anything doesn’t operate properly it’s probably not going to run anyway. Focus on getting the computers on the network all running and talking.
Third, spend the money (currently $1800) to have Tesla remove and inspect the battery. Mine charges correctly with full range but I will feel MUCH MUCH better knowing that the battery is OK and not prone to self destruction. The battery and penthouse are well sealed and airtight so I’m not terribly worried. There is actually a procedure in the service manual to confirm whether or not the battery is airtight.
Fourth, the heart of the car is the Multimedia Control Unit (MCU) which is also called the car computer. It and the autopilot computer are mounted on a common liquid cooled chassis on the firewall forward of the glovebox. The MCU and left and right body modules are all mounted inside the cabin and are not sealed against moisture. These all got wet in my car, the body modules are cheap but a new MCU is $2500. Don’t bother with a used one, once the VIN is programmed it’s done for. The MCU partially worked in my car but it obviously had problems and the “bathtub ring” extended up on it a little way.
Fifth, in any car the airbag module lives down low in the car, typically under the console. This is true of the Tesla model 3. I ALWAYS replace these with BRAND NEW. This is a critical piece of safety equipment and, no matter what went wrong with the car, it was probably adversely affected.
Sixth, the modules forward of the firewall live outside and seem to be pretty well sealed against the elements. I replaced the front (high voltage) body module with a brand new one, didn’t seem to matter at all. I tried disassembling the old one and the sucker seems to be glued together. Guess I wasted some money there. The steering, ABS and power booster modules look like they are sealed up tight as well. I bought used replacements for the ABS and power booster on eBay but I didn’t bother installing them.
Seven, I tried a USED front body module from eBay and got tons of errors related to airbags and HV pyro fuse, I’m guessing that the unit was from a wreck and stored all these errors. Don’t waste your money on a used one of these.
This car is a power hog. When I first jumped the battery and got the thing up and running I fully charged the HV battery and it lost a good 12 miles of range every day just sitting there. Turns out all those computers are always running, the only thing that turns off when you get out is the screen. My car has the small lithium LV battery which will supply the car for about an hour and when it goes dead the internal MOSFETS turn off and you are screwed. I put all the original parts back in the car, powered it up, then fully charged both batteries with the charging cable. Then I disconnected the LV battery and reinstalled all the replacement parts. When I powered the car up again it saw all the software mismatches from the replacement modules and turned off the HV battery but left the LV battery turned on and I connected a 16.00 VDC power supply to the jumper post. The car continuously draws 10 to 14A at 16 VDC but that supplies the normal car functions and keeps the LV battery charged to 85%. When I power up the car I connect the LV battery and turn on the power supply, to turn off the car I turn off the power supply then disconnect the battery.
That‘s where I’m at. I scheduled it in at my local Tesla service center on Jan 3, apparently it takes a couple of weeks to get the new car computer.
