Contact Corrosion

[Beryl]

My baby, "Silvia", has been in the shop for 2 days so far to fix a few relatively minor issues

• Brake assist disabled warning (second time for this one)
• "Touchscreen Needs Service" warning
• "Bug Report" command stopped working

They found "contact corrosion" to be the cause of at least one of the issues. They are replacing contacts and some harnesses.

They questioned if I had ever removed the nosecone and caused moisture to to get to the contacts. It told them that I had not and don't know how. They then suggested that the installer of my Xpel wrap may have done it. Once I gave them the name of the installer (a highly respected installer of over half of the wraps in Houston), they backed off on blaming me and said it would be covered by warranty. I called my installer and he told me that it was not necessary to remove the nosecone in any case.

Has anyone experienced this corrosion problem and have an idea of how it happened? I keep my vehicle garaged and rarely drive in the rain but I have used a touchless carwash and suspect that the conveyor could be the culprit. (I'm hand washing now.)

 

[Caligula]

Not that it matters for this specific question, id never trust washing my car to a machine.

 

[TWBC]

My baby, "Silvia", has been in the shop for 2 days so far to fix a few relatively minor issues

• Brake assist disabled warning (second time for this one)
• "Touchscreen Needs Service" warning
• "Bug Report" command stopped working

They found "contact corrosion" to be the cause of at least one of the issues. They are replacing contacts and some harnesses.

They questioned if I had ever removed the nosecone and caused moisture to to get to the contacts. It told them that I had not and don't know how. They then suggested that the installer of my Xpel wrap may have done it. Once I gave them the name of the installer (a highly respected installer of over half of the wraps in Houston), they backed off on blaming me and said it would be covered by warranty. I called my installer and he told me that it was not necessary to remove the nosecone in any case.

Has anyone experienced this corrosion problem and have an idea of how it happened? I keep my vehicle garaged and rarely drive in the rain but I have used a touchless carwash and suspect that the conveyor could be the culprit. (I'm hand washing now.)

I'm in Houston, too! Who installed your wrap?

 

[CHG-ON]

They are full of it.

The idea that taking off the nose cone would allow moisture in is just plain ridiculous. It's there to be removed to get to the jump posts. Not only that, the entire front end, tops of wheel wells, etc., are absolutely not watertight in any way. Spray flies up from the tires and goes right through the very joints of those weird fabric well liners (that I hate). Water sprays in the front from what gets kicked up from the cars in front. Just pop off the frunk cowl pieces, which we also are allowed to do to get to the fuses, and you will see it.

I put my Valentine One and Fastrack in the nose and I had to shrink wrap the V1 in plastic so that it would stay dry. Works like a charm, BTW.

Honestly, I can't believe they would try to get out of fixing your problem with a lame excuse like that. To be honest, it really p's me off that Tesla Service is pulling that kind of stuff. I paid 130K for my car. They best not pull that on me. I'd be on NA Service in a hot flash.

Please pardon the rant.

 

[Beryl]

I'm in Houston, too! Who installed your wrap?

John Gray (Gulf Coast AutoShield) did it. As soon as I mentioned his name, they said, "we know John and he knows what he is doing." I was relieved but a little irritated that it was necessary to name-drop.

Honestly, I can't believe they would try to get out of fixing your problem with a lame excuse like that. To be honest, it really p's me off that Tesla Service is pulling that kind of stuff. I paid 130K for my car. They best not pull that on me. I'd be on NA Service in a hot flash.

Thanks for validating my concern and explaining how corrosion can happen.

They were definitely planning to fix the problem, supplied a P85+ loaner (no AP ), and told me that they no longer try to get work done in one day to insure quality. That is good, IMO. (Yay,Tesla!)

However, they needed authorization for warranty coverage because they never saw a problem like this before. They thought it may have been caused by neglect. It bugged me since I am so meticulous about my vehicle - few people can drive or even touch it.

(I paid Tesla about $120K with the extended warranty, pre-paid service plan, and other add-ons. No way did I plan to come out of pocket for fixing something like this after only 5 months and 3932.1 miles!)

They are really nice service personnel here and that rep may be a tad misguided so I'll give them a pass -- this time.

 

[CHG-ON]

I'm glad they took care of you. They have always taken great care of me.

My sister had a van named Silvia way back when. She was a big beast (not the sister ). Unlike your lovely svelte one. Oh, and mine too!

 

[Model S M.D.]

@Beryl

So sorry that happened, but glad they are taking care of it.

I have the same installer for my xpel/opticoat and can attest to the fine work he does. I haven't gotten any of those error codes yet.

When I had a P85 loaner, I missed AP, AWD, etc and didn't realize how convenient auto close charge port was!

 

[Beryl]

Thanks. All is well and Silvia is back on the road. Ahh, autopiloting down Hwy 6 in bumper to bumper traffic listening to podcasts -- so nice. I cannot see ever buying another car without it.

I sure hope more AP cars get into the Tesla inventory for loaning. The lane change and cruise stalks are reversed so that is also a painful temporary adjustment. The P85+ is a sweet car otherwise and I'd rather have it over an ICE any day.