First Post; Haven't Even Driven my M3

[perrylt]

So, in a bit of a conundrum here and hopefully I can get some assistance from the community here.

I just received my 2021 M3 Performance in late July, I was out of town at delivery and am still out of town until 8/18 so I have not seen, driven or setup my key cards or phone as a key (but I did use the phone initially to unlock it for a friend on delivery day).

Using the mobile app, I am currently at 0 range; I tried to have a neighbor go over to charge the vehicle; I was going to unlock the vehicle using the app but since I have 0 range and it appears the 12V battery is dead, I cannot unlock it and they cannot charge it as the charging equipment is still in the car from delivery.

My question is:

When I am back to the car, can I use a 12V battery tender/maintainer to charge the 12V battery enough to "wake the system up" and then unlock the car using the Telsa app, grab the charging equipment and plug in? Or is there something else that I should do, or do I need to have it towed to the service center (without having never driven it :-( )

Thanks in advance for any and all help/suggestions.

 

[RayK]

Welcome to the forum!

You should be able to use the wires behind the tow hook cover in the front bumper to open the frunk (see the owner's manual for the procedure). Then remove the cover over the battery and attach the 12V battery charger. Given that your phone already has access to the car, you could probably do as you suggest. Or you can get mobile service to come out and do it all for you but it could incur a (financial) charge.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

@RayK has very concisely answered your question but I'll add that the car should have been delivered with cabin overheat and sentry disabled so I'd guesstimate that it must have arrived with less than 20% SOC if it has gone completely dead in just 3 weeks.

I was annoyed that my car was at 50% when I picked it up from the delivery center, I'd be really mad if they dumped it in my yard with a critically low battery knowing that I was out of town. Batteries can be damaged by over-discharge so I'd suggest scheduling a service request in the app so that they can take any responsibility that may be theirs.

 

[DRTII]

@RayK has very concisely answered your question but I'll add that the car should have been delivered with cabin overheat and sentry disabled so I'd guesstimate that it must have arrived with less than 20% SOC if it has gone completely dead in just 3 weeks.

I was annoyed that my car was at 50% when I picked it up from the delivery center, I'd be really mad if they dumped it in my yard with a critically low battery knowing that I was out of town. Batteries can be damaged by over-discharge so I'd suggest scheduling a service request in the app so that they can take any responsibility that may be theirs.

LOL this was me yesterday. I picked up my M3P with a 50% charge (160 miles) and said "what's the deal?" and the SA said "all our cars are delivered at 50%" - oh, okay, so I guess when I bought an M3LR last month the 90% charge on delivery was just a mistake? HAHA. Come on. Lazy.

And that's exactly what happened to you OP. Lazy delivery. You might have had a delivery at 50%, but likely, it was a bit lower. Sentry and climate will certainly drain the battery if left unplugged, but 50% (160 miles) in 3 weeks? Nah.

First suggestion was correct. Pop the frunk. Pop the black plastic cover above the cubby off (the snaps are pretty tight, so a little force is needed) and the terminals are exposed then use the suggested 12v trickle charger. Not ideal, of course.

OP's idea to grab the included charger is a good option, but as RayK suggested, call mobile. The real issue is that you've got a 120v outlet that's going to charge at about 6mph at best. Chances are you want to get that battery up to 80% - 90% pretty quick. You should never have this below 20% for extended times.

Good luck!

 

[perrylt]

Thanks, DRTII - Do we know what mobile will do? Do they have the ability to do a charge on site or do they tow it to a service center for a charge?

LOL this was me yesterday. I picked up my M3P with a 50% charge (160 miles) and said "what's the deal?" and the SA said "all our cars are delivered at 50%" - oh, okay, so I guess when I bought an M3LR last month the 90% charge on delivery was just a mistake? HAHA. Come on. Lazy.

And that's exactly what happened to you OP. Lazy delivery. You might have had a delivery at 50%, but likely, it was a bit lower. Sentry and climate will certainly drain the battery if left unplugged, but 50% (160 miles) in 3 weeks? Nah.

First suggestion was correct. Pop the frunk. Pop the black plastic cover above the cubby off (the snaps are pretty tight, so a little force is needed) and the terminals are exposed then use the suggested 12v trickle charger. Not ideal, of course.

OP's idea to grab the included charger is a good option, but as RayK suggested, call mobile. The real issue is that you've got a 120v outlet that's going to charge at about 6mph at best. Chances are you want to get that battery up to 80% - 90% pretty quick. You should never have this below 20% for extended times.

Good luck!

 

[RayK]

I don't know if mobile service can bring a charge to you. There are third party companies which offer mobile charging through the use of large battery packs but I've not heard/read of a Tesla ranger providing that service. My guess would be that they can only use a mobile connector and whatever power outlet you have nearby. I was going to mention in my first post that that would probably be a standard 120V/15A outlet, which on a good day might give you 5MPH; maybe 3MPH if you have to use an extension cord. It would help somewhat if you can grab a 240V outlet somewhere in your house but then again, that would most likely need an extension cord. Unless your car is in your garage and you have a dryer next to it. You'll just need the appropriate NEMA adapter for the mobile connector (which I would hope that mobile service would bring/have).

 

[Frank99]

Don't worry about Mobile service. Pop the frunk, remove the battery cover, and attach your 12V charger. Within a minute or so, the system will reboot and you'll be able to unlock doors/frunk/trunk. Plug the car into a 120V outlet if that's all you've got, and in 24 hours you'll have over 100 miles of range on the car, so go visit a Supercharger to top off and life will be good. If you've installed a higher power charging outlet, then in 10-15 hours you'll be fully charged.

Note that once you plug the car in, and charging starts, you can remove your 12V charger because the car will be able to use it's internal charger to finish charging the 12V battery.

Then go have some fun.

 

[Frank99]

LOL this was me yesterday. I picked up my M3P with a 50% charge (160 miles) and said "what's the deal?" and the SA said "all our cars are delivered at 50%" - oh, okay, so I guess when I bought an M3LR last month the 90% charge on delivery was just a mistake? HAHA. Come on. Lazy.

It's common industry practice to ship Lithium Ion Batteries at 50% state-of-charge. If you buy a new phone, or whatever, it's likely to be at that charge level when you pull it out of the packaging. There's lots of technical reasons for that, and it's generally a good thing. But, I agree with you that the SC should have plugged the car in and charged it once a delivery time is scheduled. There's no reason to send a new owner on their way with anything other than a full (90%) charge.

 

[Gasaraki]

It's common industry practice to ship Lithium Ion Batteries at 50% state-of-charge. If you buy a new phone, or whatever, it's likely to be at that charge level when you pull it out of the packaging. There's lots of technical reasons for that, and it's generally a good thing. But, I agree with you that the SC should have plugged the car in and charged it once a delivery time is scheduled. There's no reason to send a new owner on their way with anything other than a full (90%) charge.

Exactly. Most stuff with a battery ship with 50% charge. Just because somebody got a 90% charge once doesn't make it correct.

Just follow everyone's instructions, pop out the circle cover in the front bumper (by pushing in, don't pry it out), jump the two connectors with battery jumpers or 12V or 9V to pop open the hood.

I'm afraid that your 12V is probably damaged also by being at 0% charge. Your car's main battery is probably ok, no major issues with it because it does have under 0% hidden reserves.

 

[perrylt]

Update here, and @Gasaraki may be correct...wondering if my 12V is completely dead.

Finally got back to the car and attempted to pop the frunk using a 12V - no luck. I hear a slight clicking noise after connecting to 12v, like an actuator trying to release the frunk, put nothing occurs. Tried a few times and no luck.

I am also getting a "Vehicle Connection Error" when trying to attempt to connect to the app to unlock doors, etc.

And in addition I was able to borrow a charger, but it looks as if my charge port is in the locked position so therefore I can't plug in.

Any suggestions here or just best to call Mobile Service and let them deal with it?

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

No. Consumer electronics are delivered with low states of charge because they might sit on store shelves for months or years and it's best not to have too much or too little charge in storage.

Teslas are delivered with partial charges because the delivery centers are inexcusably pathetic.

 

[Frank99]

Kinda confusing as to why the frunk won’t pop. Are you using the 12v charger to try? Some of those are electronic, and don’t supply full power until it sees something that looks like a battery connected to it. Try using a brand new 9v battery to pop the frunk. If that doesn’t work, call Tesla.

 

[mbp11]

Update here, and @Gasaraki may be correct...wondering if my 12V is completely dead.

Finally got back to the car and attempted to pop the frunk using a 12V - no luck. I hear a slight clicking noise after connecting to 12v, like an actuator trying to release the frunk, put nothing occurs. Tried a few times and no luck.

I am also getting a "Vehicle Connection Error" when trying to attempt to connect to the app to unlock doors, etc.

And in addition I was able to borrow a charger, but it looks as if my charge port is in the locked position so therefore I can't plug in.

Any suggestions here or just best to call Mobile Service and let them deal with it?

Resuscitating dead Teslas is my current hobby.
Look on You Tube for the videos on how to open your frunk when the battery is dead. Basically pop open the small front port on the left hand sided of the bumper, it bevels open at 8 and 2 o'clock position, and pull out the hot and ground lead. You can charge from there, or jump it with a 9 volt battery that will open the frunk and then you can get to the hot lead in the battery fuse box and charge the 12 volt battery until the car wakes up. Then connect the external HV charger and charge the car. Might be a good idea to charge both the 12 volt battery and the HV battery at the same time for a few hours, since the 12 volt is charged from the main battery.

 

[jjrandorin]

Update here, and @Gasaraki may be correct...wondering if my 12V is completely dead.

Finally got back to the car and attempted to pop the frunk using a 12V - no luck. I hear a slight clicking noise after connecting to 12v, like an actuator trying to release the frunk, put nothing occurs. Tried a few times and no luck.

I am also getting a "Vehicle Connection Error" when trying to attempt to connect to the app to unlock doors, etc.

And in addition I was able to borrow a charger, but it looks as if my charge port is in the locked position so therefore I can't plug in.

Any suggestions here or just best to call Mobile Service and let them deal with it?

Please let us know how it comes out. I am sure I am not the only one following along to hopefully see a resolution for you.

 

[perrylt]

Mobile came today; they were able to pop the frunk, had to put in a new 12v and it's now charging. $0 from mobile.

The mobile experience was amazing; wish I could say the same about the delivery process and my Sales Rep has gone cold and will not respond to messages from me.

 

[jjrandorin]

Mobile came today; they were able to pop the frunk, had to put in a new 12v and it's now charging. $0 from mobile.

The mobile experience was amazing; wish I could say the same about the delivery process and my Sales Rep has gone cold and will not respond to messages from me.

Your salesrep is not the correct contact for, basically anything, once you have a vin number (prior to delivery). At that point you get assigned a delivery specialist. After your car is delivered, neither one of those people are the correct ones.

After purchase, your point of contact is the service department at tesla, neither the sales rep or delivery rep are the correct contacts.

 

[perrylt]

Understood; this had to do with a supercharger referral prior to purchase

 

[Frank99]

Is there supercharger nearby? As soon as you have enough charge to make it there, more would be an excellent time to take 45 minutes out of your day and drive over to see how they work, charge up your car, then take it out and have some fun.

 

[perrylt]

Yep....waiting to get enough charge to get over there and will then enjoy