Model 3 is bricked after getting rear ended. Ideas on how to put it in neutral?

[mvenkat]

My 2 week old Model 3 got rear ended last Friday. I think the fuse blew out (I could smell something burning in the car after the impact) and I can no longer drive it. It's stuck in park mode. The airbags were not deployed. After the impact, the 12v was still powering the console, so i could put it in transport mode to tow the car home. I've contacted all the Tesla body shops in my area and no one has an availability at least till late March. Not even a space to park the car. Right now, even the 12V is dead and the car is locked. How can i get the wheels rolling again to load it into a tow truck? The car is locked and I can't get to the 12v to jumpstart it. Is there a manual override to disengage the parking brakes?

The car is sitting outside by the curb and they tell me the earliest they can look at it is by April.

 

[MP3Mike]

You will have to jump start the 12v battery in the front of the car. To open the Frunk you will have to supply 12v to the wires behind the tow hook cover. This is all covered in the Model 3 manual.

Pages 19 and 193-194 cover what you need.

 

[Gondi63]

As someone who just today finished a settlement of getting rear-ended last July, feel for you man. Good luck with everything.

 

[Gwgan]

In the manual there are instructions for opening the frunk by applying a charger to the 12V via wires behind the tow hook port on the left front fascia. Once the frunk is open the 12V is accessible directly for usual 12V charging. If it is going to be while how about using a solar trickle charger.
Reports from the Model S showed that a 9V battery could pop the funk.

 

[ewoodrick]

My 2 week old Model 3 got rear ended last Friday. I think the fuse blew out (I could smell something burning in the car after the impact) and I can no longer drive it. It's stuck in park mode. The airbags were not deployed. After the impact, the 12v was still powering the console, so i could put it in transport mode to tow the car home. I've contacted all the Tesla body shops in my area and no one has an availability at least till late March. Not even a space to park the car. Right now, even the 12V is dead and the car is locked. How can i get the wheels rolling again to load it into a tow truck? The car is locked and I can't get to the 12v to jumpstart it. Is there a manual override to disengage the parking brakes?

The car is sitting outside by the curb and they tell me the earliest they can look at it is by April.

Just tell the tow truck that the wheels are locked and they will need dollies to pull onto a flatbed.

 

[mvenkat]

You will have to jump start the 12v battery in the front of the car. To open the Frunk you will have to supply 12v to the wires behind the tow hook cover. This is all covered in the Model 3 manual.

Pages 19 and 193-194 cover what you need.

Thank you! I have a portable jump starter. I'll give this a try today.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

If you can jack it up and remove the rear wheels, you could unplug the connector from each parking brake motor and use a 12v supply or even 9v battery to unwind the motors and release the brakes.

As detailed in this thread:
P3 Brake Job

 

[CharleyBC]

I once had the ignition switch fail on a new Toyota. Since it wouldn't turn at all, we couldn't put it into neutral. The tow truck driver had no magic either. He dragged it up onto a flatbed tow truck. And I mean dragged--wheels shuddering but not turning. It was painful to watch.

 

[OCR1]

It sounds like Tesla needs to find some more body shops to certify. That’s way too long to have to wait for a simple repair. Can the Tesla service center handle the job? They do some repair work now.

 

[Az_Rael]

I once had the ignition switch fail on a new Toyota. Since it wouldn't turn at all, we couldn't put it into neutral. The tow truck driver had no magic either. He dragged it up onto a flatbed tow truck. And I mean dragged--wheels shuddering but not turning. It was painful to watch.

He didnt have a set of wheel dollies? That is unfortunate.

 

[VT_EE]

You most likely had the seatbelt pretensions fire which would have blown the pyro fuse (I think this is how it works). If so, you won't be able to drive it again until Tesla replaces the pretensions and fuse. You might want to have them do this while you wait for the body shop. The vehicle looks drivable.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

seatbelt pretensions fire

^^ This

I think the fuse blew out (I could smell something burning in the car after the impact)

You'll know the pretensioner's the issue because the seatbelt will not work correctly. That explosive device will need to be replaced, along with the pyrofuse (s?) before you are able to drive the car again.

You'll most likely need a new 12V too, especially if it doesn't get fully charged promptly (they cannot be left discharged for any significant amount of time). The trickle charger is a good suggestion in the meantime.