Coolant system failure, dead battery, frunk failure. HELP!

[Jhumph88]

Hello everyone, first post and wish it was under better circumstances. This may be a bit of a long post, so please bear with me.
I took delivery of my '17 S75D in spring of this year. For the most part, I truly enjoyed ownership- lack of autopilot parity and some build quality issues aside. Recently, I've run into a very huge problem.
In late September, I was involved in a minor accident (off road into ditch avoiding a deer) that damaged the front and rear bumpers VERY mildly (they're barely unclipped). The car had fairly low battery at the time of the accident, and it was much lower by the time the tow truck delivered it to the house. I plugged it in to charge. The next morning I went into the garage and due to an apparent failure of the coolant system, the battery won't charge. The main battery is dead, along with the 12v. Therefore, I can't access the car. I pulled the backup mechanical cables in the correct order to open the frunk, and the frunk popped up but is still latched.
The way things stand now: The car can't leave the garage. The charge cable is locked into the car. I can't put the car in tow mode to even push it out.
I've been in touch with Tesla service and they were basically clueless. The woman on the phone was actually resorting to google to try and be helpful. They suggested having an electrician come out and remove the wall charger (I paid $2500 in labor alone to have it installed), but even then- still no tow mode. Can't even push it out of the garage. They were supposed to call us back almost two weeks ago. We've sent a corporate escalation email via MyTesla, but the car has now been sitting so long that I'm sure the battery is being damaged. Any help or advice, at all, would be greatly appreciated!

 

[shokunin]

Late September? You've been unable to drive your car for 2 months?

Did you try to steps outlined below from the owners manual?

Opening with No Power Note: The mechanical release lever described below is not available on all versions of Model S. For dual-motor vehicles and on some newer models, contact Tesla for assistance.

If Model S has no electrical power, or if you are unable to open the front trunk using the touchscreen or key, pull the mechanical release lever located below the glove box. This releases the primary latch. Then push down on the secondary latch lever and lift the hood. You may need to push the hood down slightly to release the pressure against the secondary latch

 

[Jhumph88]

Late September? You've been unable to drive your car for 2 months?

Did you try to steps outlined below from the owners manual?

Opening with No Power Note: The mechanical release lever described below is not available on all versions of Model S. For dual-motor vehicles and on some newer models, contact Tesla for assistance.

If Model S has no electrical power, or if you are unable to open the front trunk using the touchscreen or key, pull the mechanical release lever located below the glove box. This releases the primary latch. Then push down on the secondary latch lever and lift the hood. You may need to push the hood down slightly to release the pressure against the secondary latch

Yes, it's been sitting that long. I consulted the manual, but the mechanical backup to open the frunk failed. I can't get into the car anyway, it's fully dead. The manual indicated there was a secondary button to push under the frunk lid, but there's nothing there. I literally cannot get into the car. So even if theres a backup button to open it, I can't get into the car without breaking a window.

 

[Az_Rael]

Lord, that sounds like a towing company is going to have to wheel dolly it out of your garage. A towing company might also be able to pop the doors open using one of those window balloon things (been locked out of a previous car before and that's how they got in)

I am surprised Tesla hasn't sent out a tow truck to get the car.

I don't know how they handle the wall charger issue - it seems like there should be SOME way to release it, otherwise, what do you do if this happened at a Supercharger or public charging station?

 

[MIT_S60]

Lord, that sounds like a towing company is going to have to wheel dolly it out of your garage. A towing company might also be able to pop the doors open using one of those window balloon things (been locked out of a previous car before and that's how they got in)

I am surprised Tesla hasn't sent out a tow truck to get the car.

I don't know how they handle the wall charger issue - it seems like there should be SOME way to release it, otherwise, what do you do if this happened at a Supercharger or public charging station?

I mean, the simple (but expensive) answer is to cut off the cable to get it out if using dollies to move the car.

 

[brkaus]

Just because the wall charger cost $2500 to install, doesn’t mean it is that much to take off the wall. The installation cost included running wires, adding breakers, cutting drywall, etc.

To remove -
- turn off the circuit breaker.
- remove the front cover
- disconnect the wires
- remove from wall

It will go back on as easily.

It’s also oretty unlikely that the main battery is dead. If the 12v is out, it won’t close the contactors and the high voltage battery will be disconnected.

Btw - it sat for a month dead. You finally called Tesla after a month??

If nothing else, someone here pulled a fender liner to get to the battery, if I recall correctly.

 

[Petra]

There is a manual release for the charge port but it requires access to the trunk (so, not very helpful in this case).

Follow the appropriate steps from the ERG to get your frunk open (PDF, page 27): https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/downloads/2016_Model_S_Emergency_Response_Guide_en.pdf

If the manual release procedure above doesn't work when executed correctly and you can't get a tool in there to pop the stuck latch, then I'd wager you either damaged your car more than you're letting on or more than you realize. In which case, @brkaus advice for pulling the wall connector and carting the car out on wheel dollies may be where you're at.

Also, you let your car sit for two months? 0.o

 

[Gt1948]

Cars under warranty? Why didn’t tesla send someone out?

 

[Olds442]

i would have been on the horn once a day minimum. squeeky wheel this situation friend.

 

[brkaus]

Cars under warranty? Why didn’t tesla send someone out?

Would the accident that was bad enough to require towing the car home void the warranty?

OP - Did airbags trigger? Any errors on the dash? I’m thinking the HV pack disconnected itself.

I’m looking for the other thread on getting into the frunk with broken cable and dead 12v. I think I remember one.

Edit - sorry, I couldn't find the other thread. I believe the discussion was around removing the front protective plate under the car to access the 12v. But I think the poster managed to reach the battery by taking out the wheel liner. I don't recall if they removed the wheel. In their case the cable was broken.

 

[shokunin]

Cars under warranty? Why didn’t tesla send someone out?

The OP was in an accident. I don't think this falls under a warranty repair.

At this point, I'd start calling Tesla Approved body shops around your area and see if they get the frunk open or tow it to their facilities for inspection. Something tells me there's far more damage to the OP's car than he/she realises.

 

[Jhumph88]

Would the accident that was bad enough to require towing the car home void the warranty?

OP - Did airbags trigger? Any errors on the dash? I’m thinking the HV pack disconnected itself.

I’m looking for the other thread on getting into the frunk with broken cable and dead 12v. I think I remember one.

Edit - sorry, I couldn't find the other thread. I believe the discussion was around removing the front protective plate under the car to access the 12v. But I think the poster managed to reach the battery by taking out the wheel liner. I don't recall if they removed the wheel. In their case the cable was broken.

No airbags, the car was able to drive under its' own power down the driveway once the tow truck dropped it off and the only warning message was that the coolant was low.
Yes, the car has been sitting for two months- however, I was out of the country for the first 4 weeks after the accident, and had nobody around that I could ask to handle it for me while I was away. I've been in touch with Tesla since directly after the accident, but there's been no progress made. (I do understand how bad for the battery it has been for it to sit so long, and I already feel bad about it.. Could we please not focus on that? )
I've been in touch with both my sales contact and the service center. The service center wasn't able to provide me with any options, the woman was googling the issue while we were on the phone. They said to expect a call (last) Monday and I've reached out to them again but haven't heard back, they're "swamped"... We are now looking into doing an executive escalation to get some answers. The nearest Tesla-approved body shop to me is well over an hour away, I should probably call them but I feel like I'd wind up paying for them to come out only to tell me they have no idea what to do- If the service center can't even give me advice, how can a body shop?

Thank you all for the advice thus far, I love forums! Always a great source of help and information.

 

[MP3Mike]

the only warning message was that the coolant was low.

If you got a coolant level low warning that means the you likely damaged the radiator and it is leaking. That may be why you can't get the frunk open, things in the front have been pushed out of position.

How far up did the frunk hood pop when you pulled the first responder releases? (Maybe you need someone to wiggle the frunk hood hile someone else pulls the second release to get the latch to release.)

 

[Big Earl]

If you got a coolant level low warning that means the you likely damaged the radiator and it is leaking. That may be why you can't get the frunk open, things in the front have been pushed out of position.

How far up did the frunk hood pop when you pulled the first responder releases? (Maybe you need someone to wiggle the frunk hood hile someone else pulls the second release to get the latch to release.)

Agreed that it sounds like there is front end damage to the radiator or coolant lines as well as the front trunk release mechanism.

A towing company needs to bring a flat bed truck and some jack skates and extract the OP's Model S from the garage.

I don't know what @Jhumph88's insurance situation is, but this would be best handled through your insurance company. The damage is likely to be more expensive than just clipping a couple of bumper covers back on.

 

[brkaus]

No airbags, the car was able to drive under its' own power down the driveway once the tow truck dropped it off and the only warning message was that the coolant was low.
Yes, the car has been sitting for two months- however, I was out of the country for the first 4 weeks after the accident, and had nobody around that I could ask to handle it for me while I was away. I've been in touch with Tesla since directly after the accident, but there's been no progress made. (I do understand how bad for the battery it has been for it to sit so long, and I already feel bad about it.. Could we please not focus on that? )
I've been in touch with both my sales contact and the service center. The service center wasn't able to provide me with any options, the woman was googling the issue while we were on the phone. They said to expect a call (last) Monday and I've reached out to them again but haven't heard back, they're "swamped"... We are now looking into doing an executive escalation to get some answers. The nearest Tesla-approved body shop to me is well over an hour away, I should probably call them but I feel like I'd wind up paying for them to come out only to tell me they have no idea what to do- If the service center can't even give me advice, how can a body shop?

Thank you all for the advice thus far, I love forums! Always a great source of help and information.

Ok. I’d focus on the wheel wells and underside and see if there is anything that can be removed to access the 12v battery.

Put a charger or booster on it for a while and see if you can unlock the doors.

If the charge port won’t release, there is a manual release in the trunk.

Not surprised the service center cannot quickly help. It really isn’t their job to remote diagnose. It doesn’t sound like a warranty issue given the accident.

 

[Jhumph88]

Ok. I’d focus on the wheel wells and underside and see if there is anything that can be removed to access the 12v battery.

Put a charger or booster on it for a while and see if you can unlock the doors.

If the charge port won’t release, there is a manual release in the trunk.

Not surprised the service center cannot quickly help. It really isn’t their job to remote diagnose. It doesn’t sound like a warranty issue given the accident.

The liner in the front around the wheel wells came off, which made it easier to access the backup Frunk cables- Would this also give me easier access to the 12v itself? I've looked up the actual location of the 12v inside the front end, but I've found several different answers. I'll try the technique of having someone pull up on the frunk lid while pulling the cable and see if that makes any change. Thanks again to all of you for all the help!

 

[Petra]

The liner in the front around the wheel wells came off, which made it easier to access the backup Frunk cables- Would this also give me easier access to the 12v itself? I've looked up the actual location of the 12v inside the front end, but I've found several different answers. I'll try the technique of having someone pull up on the frunk lid while pulling the cable and see if that makes any change. Thanks again to all of you for all the help!

The 12V battery location in your Model S is shown on page 11 of the Tesla ERG that I linked to above.