Failed driver's seat weight sensor - downsides to ignoring? Repair cost estimate?

[cleverscreenam]

Agreed, but oh man, this must be your first Tesla I could write a 2 page list of things that piss me off about my $120k Tesla... but still, no other vehicle is even a consideration... all though the other car markers are finally catching up! It's especially bitter for me since I came from Toyotas: where things not only work, they work for 400,000 miles before needing attention....

 

[izzzyyd]

How much is this part? 1099592-00-D

 

[Desmond Hughes]

After a few days of "off-nominal performance" (described below), figured out today the seat weight sensor for the driver's seat has failed. There were no obvious cable disconnections below the seat that I could see, so I do believe this is a failure above/beyond just a physical switch disconnect.

Observed symptoms of the sensor being out:
Car puts itself in park if in reverse with seat belt unbuckled
Car doesn't know the driver is inside, so unless driver has brake pedal depressed, car turns off as soon driver's door is closed.
No auto-Bluetooth connections - must manually connect every time.

Anyone else had this happen? Any other symptoms/failures happening or about to happen that I just haven't stumbled into yet? And the thousand dollar question - any one seen an estimate before? I'm half expecting the response on the app to be the entire seat has to be replaced.

My 2021 M3 LR just recently started this behavior. (1)Screen turns off when I sit in driver seat, (2)Bluetooth audio not connecting automatically and (3)“Vehicle automatically parked to prevent rollaway…” error when seatbelt not engaged. My issue started at some point after an accident last month. Not sure if the accident caused the issue or something during the collision repair. Either way I called the collision center and they told me to stop by, as this wasn’t an issue before the accident. I’ve already observed the driver occupancy sensor in service mode going back and forth while I’m seated.

 

[P3dStealth]

Hey just FYI, I replaced my second seat sensor recently. The warranty replacement lasted over a year and it went bad again...

I bought the sensor from Tesla for $12. Replaced it myself in about an hour. You just take out the seat and pull the seat cover off. The sensor comes with double sided tape on the bottom and taped to the foam. There are YouTube videos on how to take the seat cover off.

 

[David.85D]

Hey just FYI, I replaced my second seat sensor recently. The warranty replacement lasted over a year and it went bad again...

I bought the sensor from Tesla for $12. Replaced it myself in about an hour. You just take out the seat and pull the seat cover off. The sensor comes with double sided tape on the bottom and taped to the foam. There are YouTube videos on how to take the seat cover off.

That’s a remarkably reasonable price! BMW charges over a hundred, if it’s available. On some models you have to replace the integrated foam, for $500+.

 

[P3dStealth]

That’s a remarkably reasonable price! BMW charges over a hundred, if it’s available. On some models you have to replace the integrated foam, for $500+.

At first when I read your comment I thought no way these sensors cost more than a few dollars. Then I looked up the BMW version and it's bmw.

The Tesla version: my seat


Bmw version:

 

[OrbiterTI4]

Hey just FYI, I replaced my second seat sensor recently. The warranty replacement lasted over a year and it went bad again...

I bought the sensor from Tesla for $12. Replaced it myself in about an hour. You just take out the seat and pull the seat cover off. The sensor comes with double sided tape on the bottom and taped to the foam. There are YouTube videos on how to take the seat cover off.

I no longer own the Model S with the issue, but for posterity, can you post the part number and your vehicle's info? I can't remember exactly what the Tesla rep said but I thought the seat sensor was made its own part in the 2016 (2017?) seat generations, so the current part available for sale may not work in the pre-refresh cars.

 

[KArnold]

I had this happen on my '17 MS a few years ago on the driver's side. Had the part ordered waiting for installation. For the heck of it, I re-seated each connector under the driver's seat and it's been working ever since. FYI.

 

[P3dStealth]

I no longer own the Model S with the issue, but for posterity, can you post the part number and your vehicle's info? I can't remember exactly what the Tesla rep said but I thought the seat sensor was made its own part in the 2016 (2017?) seat generations, so the current part available for sale may not work in the pre-refresh cars.

I have a 2020 model 3 but it's the same part number as the newer S. It's a little hard to find in the catalog because it's not under seats. It's under safety and restraints then seats belts. You are likey right that it's different for the pre-2017 cars.

FIRST ROW
OCCUPANCY
SENSOR(1099592-00-F)

 

[izzzyyd]

I’ve just been dealing with it putting on my seatbelt and if the car stays on I just have to re-open and close the door.

How long can I get away with this before the car just stays on permanently and it never shuts down lol?