How to reset your Tesla to fix issues

I had a recent issue where one or more of the resets shared by Tesla Support fixed the problem.
I assume these are in a handbook or online but sharing here in case someone searches and it helps them.

---- copy of email contents from Tesla Support----

I will advise you to complete these resets simultaneously and see if it fixes the issue.

Below is a list of the most commonly used resets on the vehicle we use for troubleshooting issues

Scroll Wheel Reset
You can restart your touchscreen if it is unresponsive or demonstrates unusual behavior.
**Warning: Only restart the touchscreen while the vehicle is stopped and in Park. The car status display, safety warnings, backup camera, etc. will not be visible during the restart.

1. Shift into Park.
2. Hold down both scroll buttons on the steering wheel until the touchscreen turns black.
   
3. After a few seconds, the Tesla logo appears. Wait approximately 30 seconds for the touchscreen to restart. If the touchscreen is still unresponsive or demonstrating unusual behavior after a few minutes, try power cycling the vehicle (if possible). See Power Cycling the Vehicle.

Note: Restarting the touchscreen using the scroll buttons does not power Model 3 off and on.



Language Reset
Please see below for the steps involved in performing a language reset on your vehicle.
These steps are really useful in any case where wi-fi or cellular connectivity issues are present as this reset will also reset the connectivity gateway.
Language Reset Steps: Tap on the car icon on the bottom right corner of the screen
1. On your vehicle navigate to: Controls> Display> Touchscreen Language
2. Change language to any other language ( British English). This will restart the media control unit, which is exactly what we want, so select "Yes" when it prompts you saying it will have to reboot.
3. Once it reboots once again navigate to Controls> Display> Touchscreen Language and change language back to your preferred choice.
The display tab symbol looks like a small glass screen (as it will be in a foreign language you may not be familiar with once the system reboots)



Power cycle (Powering vehicle off and on again)
You can power cycle Model 3 if it demonstrates unusual behavior or displays a nondescript alert.
I would suggest disabling Sentry mode temporarily while completing this as it can interfere with the vehicles sleep function during this process - however if you are parked at home and the vehicle is set to exclude home from Sentry mode - it should work without disabling this feature.

1. Shift into Park.
2. On the touchscreen, touch Controls > Safety > Sentry Mode> Off- you will need to scroll down on the page to view this setting
3. On the touchscreen, touch Controls > Safety > Power Off.
4. Wait for at least two minutes without interacting with the vehicle. Do not open the doors, touch the brake pedal, touch the touchscreen, etc. as this will wake the vehicle
5. After two minutes, press the brake pedal or open the door to wake the vehicle.
   

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[doggy1]

Thanks for this useful summary. In particular, I was unaware of the last one mentioned. Also interesting they left out the "last resort" hardware reset of disconnecting and then reconnecting both batteries.

 

[Maximillan]

Thank you for taking the time to share this, @meloccom can you please consider making this a Sticky Thread?

 

[meloccom]

Moderators note:
Renamed for clarity and stuck.

 

[ATPMSD]

Thanks for this useful summary. In particular, I was unaware of the last one mentioned. Also interesting they left out the "last resort" hardware reset of disconnecting and then reconnecting both batteries.

There is one more option before you go to the disconnect route. This one performs a deep reset:

1. Go to Controls > Service > Wheel Configuration and select a different size, the car will reboot
2. Go back to Controls > Service > Wheel Configuration and change it back to the correct size, the car will reboot

I have not personally tried this, but this method has been posted a number of times.

 

[DGSteig]

I had a recent issue where one or more of the resets shared by Tesla Support fixed the problem.

---- copy of email contents from Tesla Support----

I will advise you to complete these resets simultaneously and see if it fixes the issue.

Below is a list of the most commonly used resets on the vehicle we use for troubleshooting issues

Scroll Wheel Reset


Language Reset



Power cycle (Powering vehicle off and on again)
You can power cycle Model 3 if it demonstrates unusual behavior or displays a nondescript alert.
I would suggest disabling Sentry mode temporarily while completing this as it can interfere with the vehicles sleep function during this process - however if you are parked at home and the vehicle is set to exclude home from Sentry mode - it should work without disabling this feature.

1. Shift into Park.
2. On the touchscreen, touch Controls > Safety > Sentry Mode> Off- you will need to scroll down on the page to view this setting
3. On the touchscreen, touch Controls > Safety > Power Off.
4. Wait for at least two minutes without interacting with the vehicle. Do not open the doors, touch the brake pedal, touch the touchscreen, etc. as this will wake the vehicle
5. After two minutes, press the brake pedal or open the door to wake the vehicle.

------

Wouldn't the Power cycle reset all the computers, thus making the Scroll Wheel Reset unnecessary? Maybe the Language Reset as well?

 

[Roger61]

I had a recent issue where one or more of the resets shared by Tesla Support fixed the problem.
I assume these are in a handbook or online but sharing here in case someone searches and it helps them.

---- copy of email contents from Tesla Support----

I will advise you to complete these resets simultaneously and see if it fixes the issue.

Below is a list of the most commonly used resets on the vehicle we use for troubleshooting issues

Scroll Wheel Reset
You can restart your touchscreen if it is unresponsive or demonstrates unusual behavior.
**Warning: Only restart the touchscreen while the vehicle is stopped and in Park. The car status display, safety warnings, backup camera, etc. will not be visible during the restart.

1. Shift into Park.
2. Hold down both scroll buttons on the steering wheel until the touchscreen turns black.
   
3. After a few seconds, the Tesla logo appears. Wait approximately 30 seconds for the touchscreen to restart. If the touchscreen is still unresponsive or demonstrating unusual behavior after a few minutes, try power cycling the vehicle (if possible). See Power Cycling the Vehicle.

Note: Restarting the touchscreen using the scroll buttons does not power Model 3 off and on.



Language Reset
Please see below for the steps involved in performing a language reset on your vehicle.
These steps are really useful in any case where wi-fi or cellular connectivity issues are present as this reset will also reset the connectivity gateway.
Language Reset Steps: Tap on the car icon on the bottom right corner of the screen
1. On your vehicle navigate to: Controls> Display> Touchscreen Language
2. Change language to any other language ( British English). This will restart the media control unit, which is exactly what we want, so select "Yes" when it prompts you saying it will have to reboot.
3. Once it reboots once again navigate to Controls> Display> Touchscreen Language and change language back to your preferred choice.
The display tab symbol looks like a small glass screen (as it will be in a foreign language you may not be familiar with once the system reboots)



Power cycle (Powering vehicle off and on again)
You can power cycle Model 3 if it demonstrates unusual behavior or displays a nondescript alert.
I would suggest disabling Sentry mode temporarily while completing this as it can interfere with the vehicles sleep function during this process - however if you are parked at home and the vehicle is set to exclude home from Sentry mode - it should work without disabling this feature.

1. Shift into Park.
2. On the touchscreen, touch Controls > Safety > Sentry Mode> Off- you will need to scroll down on the page to view this setting
3. On the touchscreen, touch Controls > Safety > Power Off.
4. Wait for at least two minutes without interacting with the vehicle. Do not open the doors, touch the brake pedal, touch the touchscreen, etc. as this will wake the vehicle
5. After two minutes, press the brake pedal or open the door to wake the vehicle.

------

I thought a hard reset was press brake pedal and hold the two scroll wheels down.

 

[BigCutie]

i just did this today and reset my autopilot...so that the parking assist (vision based) would be enabled. it kept saying it was unavailable until i reset.

 

[azmodls]

I thought a hard reset was press brake pedal and hold the two scroll wheels down.

That is a myth, no such thing as a hard reset with scroll wheels and brake pedal.

 

[kimmyicecream]

Thank you for posting this! Such a great help.

 

[PC__LoadLetter]

I had a weird issue last weekend when using regen to come to a stop on a downhill, several hours away from home. It decided not to stop on one-pedal & started giving me a constant error.

"Automatic vehicle hold disabled. Use brake pedal when stopping"

The two-button reset didn't fix it, but Controls > Safety > Power off did. Though I didn't wait two minutes or turn off sentry mode.

 

[Davemcd]

I had a weird issue last weekend when using regen to come to a stop on a downhill, several hours away from home. It decided not to stop on one-pedal & started giving me a constant error.

"Automatic vehicle hold disabled. Use brake pedal when stopping"

The two-button reset didn't fix it, but Controls > Safety > Power off did. Though I didn't wait two minutes or turn off sentry mode.

I had that last week.. I think I caused it by pushing park when it was just rolling almost stopped .. Instead of brake pedal/or waiting for it to stop then park.
Yes had to do the power off and on to make it go away.

 

[Quickst]

What is the procedure if the touchscreen reset via scroll wheel does not work and a power cycle is then required but the power cycle as described above requires touchscreen to work - but the touchscreen is not working?

 

[OzVic]

What is the procedure if the touchscreen reset via scroll wheel does not work and a power cycle is then required but the power cycle as described above requires touchscreen to work - but the touchscreen is not working?

The physical way to reset the car is here:

Hard Reset Model 3 (Cameras not working, no GPS functionality and car won't go to sleep)

Basically as described in the title, I woke up yesterday morning to find my Model 3 SR+ with the following issues (software version 2021.4.18.2): -cameras with a black screen when in reverse, with only a loading symbol showing on the repeaters -as a result of no camera functionality no...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[Mikeisnomech]

You can also change the wheel design instead of the language, it does the same thing wrt rebooting. It makes it easier to read when you want to change it back and no chance of accidently picking Chinese where you've little chance of finding the right menu item again.

 

[Nomac]

I believe the real hard reset involves removing the 12V battery. Scary stuff but maybe worth knowing if you are stuck a million miles from T help

 

[doggy1]

I believe the real hard reset involves removing the 12V battery. Scary stuff

You DO NOT have to remove the battery. Just one terminal- this will require a 10mm spanner. Of course, there are other things you have to do- so make sure to read the procedure fully. But it really is not difficult and it is not "scary". I did it to install my OBD reader cable. Took only a few minutes from start to end.