Dead Model S

[PDXdog]

has this happened to anyone? I took my 7 year old for a weekend getaway. We get here and plug into the destination charger. I get a text that says it's done charging. We go out to the car to drive to dinner...and the car is completely unresponsive.

Won't open with the key fob. I tried unlocking with my phone and nothing. Tesla service tried unlocking remotely and nothing. They sent a tow truck and the guy used some tool to open the door from the inside. But the car still won't turn on. The door lights came on once the doors were open, but no dome light. And I could use my phone to flash the headlights. At first I couldn't even get it unplugged from the destination charger because the port wouldn't unlock. But a maintenance guy turned off power to the charger and I could finally unplug it. Has this happened to anyone before? What could be the problem??

 

[Snowstorm]

Keep us posted on what was going on. What state of charge was it in when you left it?

 

[Evoforce]

It sounds like your 12 volt battery is weak or dead.

 

[wdolson]

It sounds like your battery pack may have had a failure. If the 12V battery had failed, I would think none of the lights would have come on. In any case it sounds like you have some kind of electrical failure.

 

[PDXdog]

I had gotten a phone notification that my car had completed charging to 205 miles shortly before I went out to the car.

My 12v was replaced last year, I'm pretty sure.

 

[Evoforce]

The car goes into a protect mode if the 12 volt drops below spec. Tesla eats 12 volt batteries and many are only lasting a year. Hook up cables to jump and see what it does.

 

[MikeBur]

The car goes into a protect mode if the 12 volt drops below spec. Tesla eats 12 volt batteries and many are only lasting a year. Hook up cables to jump and see what it does.

Agreed. Would hook up jump cables first and see if car lights up. Sounds like catastrophic failure of 12V, so it would likely still need to be towed though would put your mind at rest.

What %age charge (you said 205 miles, though not sure which size battery you have), and what outside temperature was it?
Only asking as charging to 100% puts some strain on the battery pack and hot day exacerbates this - i.e. 100% charge in 110F I would not recommend ;-). I really don't think it's main pack though, rather 12V

 

[ABVA]

I had gotten a phone notification that my car had completed charging to 205 miles shortly before I went out to the car.

My 12v was replaced last year, I'm pretty sure.

As for the 12v battery, on my 2013 MS I had mine replaced in April this year and then again in June of this year. So please don't rely on that it was replaced last year.

 

[ecarfan]

As for the 12v battery, on my 2013 MS I had mine replaced in April this year and then again in June of this year. So please don't rely on that it was replaced last year.

And yet in 3 1/2 years and 66K miles my S has had its battery only replaced once. It's very strange how some batteries don't last very long and others last for years.

@PDXdog sorry to hear about your problem, which is pretty rare in my opinion. I'm sure Tesla will figure it out. Has the car been towed to the Portland Service Center?

 

[Saghost]

It sounds like your battery pack may have had a failure. If the 12V battery had failed, I would think none of the lights would have come on. In any case it sounds like you have some kind of electrical failure.

If the 12V system was working normally, you wouldn't have any of the symptoms described, and there would be error messages on the screen warning of the high voltage failure.

It certainly looks to me like a 12V problem, though the car clearly isn't completely dead. Low voltage can have all sorts of weird effects in modern cars...

 

[PDXdog]

My car is 2014 and my battery is 85kwh and I had set it to charge somewhere 75-80%. I just checked my phone app and it says I now have 202 miles of range. I must have lost 3 miles overnight.

Last year I got a warning notice about the 12v, but maybe this is a different failure.

Also, at the beginning of July, we were on vacation for 10 days. Left the car at home, plugged in. Got home, car doors opened right up, but nothing turned on in the car. Put my foot on the brake, and no response. I finally reset the screen and the car woke up. That was about 2 weeks ago and now I wonder if that was a related issue. However, I did try the reset multiple times last night once we broke into the car, but it still did nothing.

The car hasn't been towed yet. It was somewhat late last night. Tesla service has been helpful and already arranged a rental car for this morning. Not how I wanted to spend my vacation, but I certainly appreciate that no other car company would do all this for me!

 

[AEdennis]

And yet in 3 1/2 years and 66K miles my S has had its battery only replaced once. It's very strange how some batteries don't last very long and others last for years.

@PDXdog sorry to hear about your problem, which is pretty rare in my opinion. I'm sure Tesla will figure it out. Has the car been towed to the Portland Service Center?

Don't want to jinx either of us, but our 2013 had one replaced as well. (late October production/early November delivery) before failure all sorts of warnings and Tesla sent a ranger. Fingers crossed.

 

[PDXdog]

The tow truck driver tried hooking my MS up to jumper cables and that hasn't done the trick. He's not sure how to move it, since the parking lot is really tight

 

[EVie'sDad]

The tow truck driver tried hooking my MS up to jumper cables and that hasn't done the trick. He's not sure how to move it, since the parking lot is really tight

wheel Dollies, that is what i have seen used in these circumstances.

 

[Evoforce]

Sometimes they need to have jumper hooked on a little longer and you may have a dead short in your 12 volt. Tesla roadside service can sometimes get your screen to power up remotely so you can put the car into tow mode.

 

[Evoforce]

Hopefully you don't have a problem with your main traction battery. I have been stranded for well over a month and a half with a rental car and 2300 miles from home and no end in sight. Yes, Tesla is paying for car rental and shipping the car back to Arizona. My car is currently stranded in Ohio. They are planning on putting a temporary pack in it when they get it. Then sometime later, they will put in the permanent replacement. Wishing us both better luck!

 

[Lex]

Ack, sorry to hear. Stories like this are why I carry an emergency 12V power pack in my Model S. Reminds me to check the batt level.

Well, this and also in case someone needs a boost and thinks they're connecting their ICE to my 350V car for a boost