Car thinks someone is still sitting inside?

[nico1199]

Coming up on two weeks of ownership and lately our MS has decided to [possibly] "act up." I have the walk-away door locks activated and the feature has been working fine until recently. The climate, radio, and headlights (at night) still remain on when I exit the car -- and no, I do not have the headlights after lock feature on. I know everything doesn't shut off instantly, but I've walked a good 20-30 yards away and still notice the accessories on. I also noticed that the seat belt indicator light is still lit on the dashboard, even after I lock the car using the key. The car also makes the "ping" sound as if I had just gotten in the car. Of course it's in park and no one else is in the car. It gets annoying having to hit "power off" every time I park, just to make sure the car indeed turns off; when just a few days ago, I would be able to walk away and the car would lock itself (and the electronics would shut off). I would appreciate any feedback any suggestions. Thanks!

 

[ken830]

Certainly does sound like a possible problem with the driver-side weight sensor. Just e-mail/call your service center to pull the logs. If the logs show that "someone" is sitting in the car all night long, every night, then that would be it.

 

[Electric700]

Also, first check that you don't have an extra key that might have been accidentally left in the car? Make sure that every door is fully shut too (open/close them) along with the frunk and trunk too.

 

[CHG-ON]

One other thing to try is replacing the remote fob battery just in case. But it does sound like a driver's seat sensor.

 

[eujinc]

Sounds like the same issue I am having. I assume that when this happens, you are still seeing the speedometer instead of the Car Off screen (with the picture of the car).

In my case, I used to wait for the speedo to flip to the Car Off screen before shutting the driver's door. If I shut the door before the Car Off screen, the dash, DRL or headlights and the 17" screen will all still be on. The car will not autolock as well. Eventually everything will turn off and lock after 30 min.

I posted this problem last year and Tesla actually had the local service center contact me. So after noting the frequency and the duration for the car to turn off, the SC opened a ticket and had the logs pulled.

The time it took for the car to turn off used to take mere seconds. It has since extended to half a minute and recently as long as 54 secs. So standing by the car with the door open, especially if it's raining is not an option. To date, there is still no resolution and I have always manually powered off.

The suggestion above of the driver-side weight sensor makes sense. I will have to mention this to the SC when I take my car in for the annual service in a couple of weeks.

 

[nico1199]

A quick update - it was in fact, a sensor issue, and a new one is on its way.

eujinc, I suggest you give your SC a heads up on a potential failed sensor as well...

Thanks for the help.

 

[eujinc]

Thanks, nico. I was actually at the SC yesterday for another issue and mentioned this problem. The tech checked it out and verified that it was the "seat belt minder sensor in the driver's seat". The part is ordered so hopefully this should resolve the issue once and for all.