Model S Bluetooth doesn't always connect

[JimmyAZ]

I've had my 2015 S85 for about a year now, and I've noticed over the past 4-5 months that sometimes when I get in the car in the morning, although my iPhone is listed in the bluetooth devices list, it doesn't connect. Even selecting it and hitting the Connect button doesn't work. When I delete the entry and ask it to find new devices it will never find any device even though they are in discovery mode. The only way to remedy is to reboot the center stack. That typically fixes it and I can go for a couple days before it happens again.

I spoke to the Svc Center in Scottsdale to see if they've seen anything like this before. They said that I was the first. I need to have a couple things taken care of with it when I'm back home again for more than a weekend, but I thought I'd pose this here to see if anyone else has had a similar issue and whether it was diagnosed and fixed by their service center?

Also, I want to say that I've tried multiple iPhone 6's and 6S's to see if it was a device issue. They all had the same problem connecting so it's definitely with the car. Any thoughts would be really appreciated!

 

[Jason S]

Rebooting the iPhone also seems to make the connection work.

I just think the Tesla's Bluetooth stack is a little wonky and could use some debugging.

Edit: but it has been very good lately for me. Try making the car forget all the bluetooth pairings and just pair the problem phone by itself.

 

[Gizmotoy]

I've had a couple instances of it not automatically connecting. We have two phones paired, so one of the following always fixed it:

• Rebooting the center console
• Removing the device, rebooting the console, and re-pairing
• Power cycling the phone
• Removing one of the two devices, rebooting the console, and re-pairing

Never anything of the frequency you describe, though. My issues mostly occurred around firmware updates or upgrades to new phones. Otherwise it's been pretty stable.

 

[Half Dollar Bill]

I think it's the bluetooth on the phones. I've had it more with the 6S but I also had it with the 4S. Rebooting the phone always fixes it and I never have to do any center console reboots. My wife has a 6S and has never had the issue in the car so that's why i think it's an issue with specific phones.

 

[Owner]

Bluetooth Problem Fixed

 

[Beaker]

I see this too, I toggle airplane mode on then off and I can connect to my Model S again. I've noticed it seems to happen after I spend time passing by the car. e.g. I'm working in the garage and over the course of an hour or so I'll walk pass the car 3 or 4 times causing it to wake up and beg to go for a spin by presenting the handles. I'm guessing at this point bluetooth connects to the phone, but I walk away and it disconnects and the phone doesn't like this and eventually wedges itself in a state where it will no longer even attempt to connect.

 

[JimmyAZ]

I'll have to try rebooting the phone next time. I will say that I work out of state so the car only gets driven Thursday through Sunday. It's hit and miss when it works and doesn't. I wish I could find how to trigger it. I'm an analyst by trade so this type of stuff gets me into work mode immediately. haha

Also, my phone is always the only one in the list.

 

[JimmyAZ]

Bluetooth Problem Fixed

Very good read! I'm curious if this could be my problem as my car is a 2015. I do know that when something wonky happens with the car, you can hit the 'listen' button on the steering wheel and tell it to log defect. It will send information to Tesla that can later be pulled for the car. Very useful in cases like this!

I see this too, I toggle airplane mode on then off and I can connect to my Model S again. I've noticed it seems to happen after I spend time passing by the car. e.g. I'm working in the garage and over the course of an hour or so I'll walk pass the car 3 or 4 times causing it to wake up and beg to go for a spin by presenting the handles. I'm guessing at this point bluetooth connects to the phone, but I walk away and it disconnects and the phone doesn't like this and eventually wedges itself in a state where it will no longer even attempt to connect.

I haven't tried just toggling Airplane Mode! If that works that would be so easy to deal with. And I never thought about how many times I walk past the car with the key in my pocket. That might have something to do with it, although it can't happen more than a couple times a day. We'll see!

 

[cbin97]

For me it was flawless until 7.1. Since 7.1 almost everytime I take a call it cuts off and resets or doesn't connect at all after the call.

 

[CHG-ON]

I've had this. I find that turning off the iPhone BT and turning it back on works for me all the time now. Still a hassle. Doesn't happen very often.

 

[JimmyAZ]

Well I got back to Phoenix last night and got in the car at the airport. The phone synced up perfectly. Then this morning it was fine during an errand run, but walking around the car for 5 minutes did something and it lost the connection. I tried the recommendation by @Beaker of toggling Airplane Mode. It worked!! That's an easy fix!

I'll try toggling just bluetooth on the phone next time. That would be even easier and would most likely have the same effect as suggested by @CHG-ON. This is great news. I was so frustrated having to reboot the center stack every week. This will make my next road trip much more enjoyable.

 

[Joetnr1]

Same thing happens to me. I have not tried rebooting the phone but I will next time it happens.

 

[Owner]

Same thing happens to me. I have not tried rebooting the phone but I will next time it happens.

I tried rebooting the phone, the touchscreen, the instrument panel etc... Eventually the car realized it had a bluetooth problem and there was a message on the dash.

 

[JimmyAZ]

So I got the car back from the Service Center. You won't believe what it ended up being. A LONG time ago I created an iTunes playlist of my music on a flash drive and plugged it into the center console. I left it there and would rarely ever use it. Well the SC said that a bunch of processes had stalled due to that drive being plugged in. Not sure why, but it stopped a large # of things, including bluetooth. When they removed that drive everything started back up again and worked flawlessly.

We took our roadtrip into southern California without a single issue EVER popping up. It was a flawless drive, especially with Autopilot. If you have a flash drive plugged into the center console and are seeing odd behavior from your screen or bluetooth, try unplugging it. It might be the 'ghost' in your machine! I'm so happy we figured this out!

 

[AnserNaqvi]

My Model S Bluetooth has not been connecting. Even the airport mode has not helped so far.