Help! Center screen stuck off and A/C keeps running; can't reboot.

[ZoeDog]

Here is the problem:

The center screen on my Loaner Model S went blank and the a/c is incessantly running. I cannot turn the A/C off and the reboot is not working. I also cannot do anything via the center console.

I currently have a Loaner Model S P85 AP 1.0 Original (before the refresh) while my Model S is in service since last week.
I am not within driving distance of any service centers.
The dashboard screen functions fine, but the center console is off.
I can drive the car.

I have attempted several times to reboot it (brake plus scroll wheel technique) without success. I've tried several variations of the reboot. I CAN reboot the dash, but CANNOT reboot the center screen.

The A/C has been running for the past 2 hours and its become increasingly noisy outside the car.

Here are my major concerns:
1) Will the car battery overheat because the A/C is running non stop? - should I park outside the garage for safety and concerns of overheating (can't plug in outside though). I don't know if the battery management functions have been affected or not.
2) Will the a/c motor burn out?

I cannot reach ANYONE in the service or support departments. I have tried texting, calling (the mailbox is full at the nearest service center); I even tried roadside assist and they had nothing better than what I have already tried. The online chat feature doesn't work. I have e-mailed customer service. No help yet.

I'm pretty upset at the inability to reach someone in Customer Service (after three years as a Model S owner, this is the worst experience I've ever had).

Any advice would be appreciated. Please help.
Thank you!

 

[BPeter]

I think the older ones you can disconnect the first responder cut loop under the hood without actually cutting it.

Have you tried holding the top buttons above the wheels? I thought I read somewhere that the MCU1 cars had something reset on holding the top buttons.

 

[Tam]

...Have you tried holding the top buttons above the wheels?...

Those top buttons only reset the instrument clusters but it's worth trying since everything else has failed.

Now that I read again, I think that Instrument Clusters reboot was done as in the sentence:

" I CAN reboot the dash"

 

[brkaus]

Give it a good few minutes of holding the scroll wheel buttons?

Perhsps you found the reason that someone sold/returned the car and it is there as a loaner...

Our center has a text message thread open with every car in service. I have no complaints about our local service center.

 

[DriveMe]

Try Hard Reboot: Hold down both steering wheel buttons and press on the brake. Continue holding until the Tesla logo appears. 20 seconds or so. Then let go.

 

[Tam]

...1) Will the car battery overheat because the A/C is running non stop?...

The power source is from the main battery pack and not the small 12V battery so I would not worry about it.

Short answer: No.

...should I park outside the garage for safety and concerns of overheating (can't plug in outside though)...

It does not matter where you park your car, it's safe and it won't burn or explode.

However, since you want to shut the A/C and nothing else works, and if you don't plan to drive the car and plan for a tow, just let the A/C runs down the main battery by not plugging it in. I think A/C will automatically shut down if you leave the car with a low State of Charge like 20% or so. However, it might take a few days so you might want to ask your neighbors who need to go somewhere and drive them around.

...battery management functions have been affected or not...

It's fine. Don't worry about it!

...2) Will the a/c motor burn out?...

Most likely no.

If you are handy, maybe you can try to pull off a fuse or 2 (F13 and K2):

In summary:

1) If you don't need to drive the car and expect a tow: don't charge the car.
2) If you still want to use the car, then plug in and don't worry about it.

 

[DriveMe]

You said the instrument cluster is working?
You should be able to control the fans/AC from it. (Going by memory): Press and hold the right scroll/button and then scroll until you see the climate control screen. Select it. Now press it once again to toggle between Auto and Manual. Just scroll to adjust the fan speed.

 

[ZoeDog]

You said the instrument cluster is working?
You should be able to control the fans/AC from it. (Going by memory): Press and hold the right scroll/button and then scroll until you see the climate control screen. Select it. Now press it once again to toggle between Auto and Manual. Just scroll to adjust the fan speed.

I can get to this screen, but unfortunately it just shows "climate off" and I cannot adjust the fan speed. Great idea though. Thank you!

 

[ZoeDog]

The power source is from the main battery pack and not the small 12V battery so I would not worry about it.

Short answer: No.



It does not matter where you park your car, it's safe and it won't burn or explode.

However, since you want to shut the A/C and nothing else works, and if you don't plan to drive the car and plan for a tow, just let the A/C runs down the main battery by not plugging it in. I think A/C will automatically shut down if you leave the car with a low State of Charge like 20% or so. However, it might take a few days so you might want to ask your neighbors who need to go somewhere and drive them around.




It's fine. Don't worry about it!



Most likely no.

If you are handy, maybe you can try to pull off a fuse or 2:

View attachment 423650

In summary:

1) If you don't need to drive the car and expect a tow: don't charge the car.
2) If you still want to use the car, then plug in and don't worry about it.

WOW! Thank you for this incredibly helpful advice! I am not daring enough yet to try this. I do feel better in regards to my safety concerns and I am grateful to you for this. I don't think I'm going to be daring enough to mess with the fuses on a loaner. I'd rather just let it run down if I have to.

On a positive note, I was able to reach a human being at Tesla by eventually calling the SALES department (answered right away) and they will walk over to the service department and have them call me back. Fingers crossed. Hopefully, they will call before they close.

I guess its better to have a cold car, rather than a hot car, but I wish we had more Superchargers around Michigan, Then I wouldn't be as worried about having a dead battery while its parked at work tomorrow with the a/c running. (I already drive 85 miles round trip for work and lack charging access near the parking lot).

Fingers crossed...

 

[MP3Mike]

I guess its better to have a cold car, rather than a hot car, but I wish we had more Superchargers around Michigan, Then I wouldn't be as worried about having a dead battery while its parked at work tomorrow with the a/c running. (I already drive 85 miles round trip for work and lack charging access near the parking lot).

I don't think that Supercharging will work while it is in this state. (Sometimes even AC charging won't work, or will be painfully slow.)

 

[ZoeDog]

Try Hard Reboot: Hold down both steering wheel buttons and press on the brake. Continue holding until the Tesla logo appears. 20 seconds or so. Then let go.

No luck with this. I've tried it for various lengths of time.
It was the first thing I tried (as I think all Model S owners eventually become pretty familiar with this technique.) :|
I've even held it as long as 8 Minutes before my fingers got tired and I gave up.
I've tried it with and without the brake pedal depressed.
I've tried it with charger plugged in and without.
I've tried rebooting both the dash and center simultaneously and in progression.
I've tried it while in Park and while driving.
Nothing...

 

[brkaus]

No luck with this. I've tried it for various lengths of time.
It was the first thing I tried (as I think all Model S owners eventually become pretty familiar with this technique.) :|
I've even held it as long as 8 Minutes before my fingers got tired and I gave up.
I've tried it with and without the brake pedal depressed.
I've tried it with charger plugged in and without.
I've tried rebooting both the dash and center simultaneously and in progression.
I've tried it while in Park and while driving.
Nothing...

Sounds like it didn’t crash but just died.

I think fuses or the safety loop are the only option other than driving it to the service center or letting the battery just go dead.

 

[BPeter]

Sounds like it didn’t crash but just died.

I think fuses or the safety loop are the only option other than driving it to the service center or letting the battery just go dead.

Yeah it's a P85 so pretty old. I bet the MCU suffered the flash memory failure issue.

 

[ZoeDog]

Yeah it's a P85 so pretty old. I bet the MCU suffered the flash memory failure issue.

LOL. Its funny that we refer to a top of the line Performance Tesla from 2015 "pretty old". But yeah, these cars get outdated very fast. Hope they make efforts to prevent this in the future models.

 

[ZoeDog]

Just an update (nothing has really changed).

Someone from the service center called me right before they closed and said they would reboot my car remotely and to call them in the morning to let them know if it worked. Well it didn't. Of course, they don't open until 10am so I've left a message for them...

Car's A/C ran all night and the front driver wheel-well got pretty warm so I ended up parking in the driveway instead of the garage (yeah, I know it is probably safe...but my little daughter's room is right above the garage and I wasn't going to take a chance).

The car also won't charge because I have "scheduled charging" at night and I don't think it recognizes the charging schedule with a dead MCU.

I lost about 40 miles due to the A/C running all night. Still have 200 left so no worries yet.

My neighbors are wondering why the usually quiet electric car is now so noisy with all that rattling in the front.

On a positive note, the interior of the car IS refreshing cool on an otherwise hot muggy morning.

I'll update if anything useful develops.

 

[PWlakewood]

Request new loaner. If they say they dont have any call bs and mention they should get one from enterprise and have them drive it out to you and then tesla can pick up the loaner. Also, was it doing this when you picked it up?

 

[ZoeDog]

Request new loaner. If they say they dont have any call bs and mention they should get one from enterprise and have them drive it out to you and then tesla can pick up the loaner. Also, was it doing this when you picked it up?

No, I had the loaner for 3 days prior to this happening. The most frustrating thing is actually reaching a human being at Tesla Service. It used to be easy but now I can't reach a real person. I guess I got spoiled by the concierge level service I was getting for the past 3-4 years.

Quite honestly, an experience like this has made me uncertain if my next car will be a Tesla. Hopefully they can win the lawsuit against the Michigan dealerships and legally open up service centers in this state...or they improve their communications with the customer.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Have you tried turning off the A/C with the Tesla app?

 

[ZoeDog]

I don't think that Supercharging will work while it is in this state. (Sometimes even AC charging won't work, or will be painfully slow.)

I think you are right. The AC charging wouldn't work so supercharging probably wouldn't as well. Thank you.

 

[PWlakewood]

Have you tried turning off the A/C with the Tesla app?

It's a loaner so he doesnt have access via the app