Crashed my 2016 Model S and it won’t turn on

[iSiyah]

Moderator note: The first 14 posts here are a consolidation of three different threads.

I got into a car accident yesterday and managed to get dmg to the body of my car, but my front right tire blew to the curb and I had to get my car tower because of it. I managed to out it into to tow mode, but after the tower my car didn’t seem to turn on anymore. It’s unlikely the battery got damaged, but I’m not 100% sure. I know I have to fix all this, but could there be any electrical issue here?

 

[Gumball]

First thing comes to mind is a empty 12 volt battery

 

[GtiMart]

In an accident it'S possible that the high voltage fuse was blown as a preventative measure. It would need replacement.

 

[AnselmDante]

I think if I crashed my Tesla I would have a hard time turning on too. It should pass once your mood improves.

 

[dmurphy]

Most likely that the "pyro fuse" in your battery went off in the crash. That disconnects the high voltage battery so the car is safe for first responders to work on (and for your safety too!)

You were able to get it into Tow Mode because there is also a 12-volt battery that keeps the car computer running even when the big battery is disconnected. Unfortunately it doesn't last too long - maybe 1/2 hour or so.

Not a big deal. Part of the repair process will be to replace the pyro fuse & recharge that 12V battery. As long as the battery pack isn't damaged it should be just fine. Hard to tell from just one photo, but from what I see, no physical impact to the battery.

 

[iSiyah]

About a week ago I got into a small car accident which caused a few parts in front passenger tire to break. I’ve managed to fix these small problems, but the car won’t seem to turn on. I’ve charged the 12v battery, and even tried replacing it, but nothing seems to work. Is there anything anyone can recommend trying or suggest on what may not be working?

 

[dmurphy]

I posted in the other thread you started but ...

Most likely that the "pyro fuse" in your battery went off in the crash. That disconnects the high voltage battery so the car is safe for first responders to work on (and for your safety too!)

You were able to get it into Tow Mode because there is also a 12-volt battery that keeps the car computer running even when the big battery is disconnected. Unfortunately it doesn't last too long - maybe 1/2 hour or so.

Not a big deal. Part of the repair process will be to replace the pyro fuse & recharge that 12V battery. As long as the battery pack isn't damaged it should be just fine. Hard to tell from just one photo, but from what I see, no physical impact to the battery.

Also -- make sure the first responder loop is attached. That's under the cowling on the left side of the car. If the tow truck driver removed or disconnected that the car won't power on at all.

 

[iSiyah]

I wrote a post a few weeks back about a small accident I had, and some advice on how to repair. The damages were a bit more extensive than I suspected so I contacted my insurance and they asked me to make an appointment with Tesla because Tesla doesn’t work with insurances in Florida, I proceeded to wait until the date of repairs and apparently the tesla service center I went to doesn’t have the proper equipment to repair my vehicle. So my insurance takes the vehicle to a body shop that works with electric vehicles to get inspected and to receive an estimate. I wait a few days and call back, but they tell me my car was a total loss due to damage on the battery which raises the cost of repairs by quite a significant amount most would be able to imagine. I don’t believe there was battery done to the vehicles battery since my car still shows the correct miles, no errors to my knowledge of battery damage, no physical damage to the battery from the accident, and when I went to collect my belongings, the car was in service mode, but said something along the lines of “in service mode press cancel and continue to drive.” All these factors make me feel uneasy about to diagnosis of my car and I would like to know if there’s any action I can take if I feel I’m being lied to or if anyone knows how these codes correlate to battery damage?

 

[dmurphy]

Oh there's definitely something going there with the battery. The external_isolation and isolation_Degradation alerts indicate a battery issue.

Now, how deep the damage is, or even WHAT the damage is, that we can't tell.

But none of what you're saying indicates to me the body shop did anything more or less than they should have.

What would the mileage have to do with anything? the battery is isolated from the rest of the vehicle. It basically shut itself off and disconnected from the car for safety reasons.

And yes, they left the car in service mode. Nothing wrong with that. Even if it says "Press here to exit and resume driving" --- Believe me, that car isn't going anywhere.

I suspect this one is cooked though. Could be as simple as a damaged coolant line into the battery... or as bad as a punctured pack. Anything in-between.

But nobody is lying to you -- believe me, if it were cheaper to repair, the insurance company would want to repair it.

 

[iSiyah]

I am a bit ignorant when it comes to a lot with the vehicle, but understanding was that the code was talking about the 12v battery. I don’t believe the insurance would know the cost of repairs would be cheaper as I believe the body shop could be the ones lying to the insurance about cost of repairs. The accident was fairly minor and there wasn’t much physical damage to the vehicle except in the area where the wheel was, but thank you for the reply and I’ll try to get to over it.

 

[dmurphy]

I am a bit ignorant when it comes to a lot with the vehicle, but understanding was that the code was talking about the 12v battery. I don’t believe the insurance would know the cost of repairs would be cheaper as I believe the body shop could be the ones lying to the insurance about cost of repairs. The accident was fairly minor and there wasn’t much physical damage to the vehicle except in the area where the wheel was, but thank you for the reply and I’ll try to get to over it.

No, those BMS error codes are from the traction battery. Remember the insurance company sends an adjuster out to examine the vehicle too before they pay anyone anything …. Now, WHAT that damage is to the battery? That’s the question. It could be as simple as a broken off inlet for the coolant. The problem is, the “right way” to fix it involves opening the battery and Tesla doesn’t allow body shops to do that.

Unfortunately with collisions, sometimes there’s damage hidden that we just can’t see and that can affect critical parts. Bummer.

Sorry to see the loss of your S. Hopefully you get another one quickly!

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Unless there's some sentimental value to the car, I would be happy to have any common family car that's been in an accident totaled by insurance.

These repair shops do crap work these days fixing anything, and the massive hit you take on the resale value, and the battle to get diminished value, makes it much better to get the pay out and use that money to find a similar car or better without any accident history.

 

[vcor]

As to the body shop lying, why would they do that? They don't make any money from a totaled car. Often on any make of car, what seems like minor damage can hide far worse. As others noted those BMS errors are typically quite serious. As to what exactly is at fault, more work would be needed.

 

[cmarshack]

Was this car a previous salvage? I noticed you did a facelift on an older Model S...

 

[KalJoMoS]

I would not think so, the battery sticker shows 06/2016 manufacturing time.

 

[cmarshack]

I would not think so, the battery sticker shows 06/2016 manufacturing time.

I guess I forgot that AP1 still had no turn signal cameras.

 

[brainhouston]

Oh there's definitely something going there with the battery. The external_isolation and isolation_Degradation alerts indicate a battery issue.

Thats incorrect. For HV battery u will get "internal" isolation

OP, check those HV cables behind the wheel, possibly insulation got punctured thru in the accident n touched the ground
U should have a pyro fuse on the bottom of HV pack, take the cover off n see if its blown (u need 5 lobe socket)

 

[dmurphy]

Thats incorrect. For HV battery u will get "internal" isolation

OP, check those HV cables behind the wheel, possibly insulation got punctured thru in the accident n touched the ground
U should have a pyro fuse on the bottom of HV pack, take the cover off n see if its blown (u need 5 lobe socket)

the BMS TransCon Not Met, isolation degradation and 12V not supported all point to internal issues.

That said, the vehicle has been in an accident, it is at a body shop and there is NO REASON WHATSOEVER for the OP to be opening, touching or checking high voltage components. That's not his responsibility - if the body shop and insurance company have written it off, then there's nothing left for the OP to do but cash the check here.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Moderator note: The first 14 posts here are a consolidation of three different threads.

I got into a car accident yesterday and managed to get dmg to the body of my car, but my front right tire blew to the curb and I had to get my car tower because of it. I managed to out it into to tow mode, but after the tower my car didn’t seem to turn on anymore. It’s unlikely the battery got damaged, but I’m not 100% sure. I know I have to fix all this, but could there be any electrical issue here?

Did your car ever make it on an episode of "Just Rolled In?"