I was driving my 2018 Model S in the city when I noticed a bad smell, like burning or something. I assumed it was one of the cars in front of me. The windows were down and the HVAC was off. I was venting / opening the sunroof as well during the short drive. About a mile or two later, the smell got worse. I looked over at the passenger side dashboard and saw gray smoke coming the dash area. Not from the vents, but from "all over". I quickly looked for a spot to pull over but was on a narrow road and the street parking was full. Knowing there was a fire station about about 20 seconds away, I sped to it and stopped in their parking lot.
I jumped out of the car and opened the doors, trunk, and frunk to vent the smoke and provide access to the car in the event the power went out. I also removed the plastic frunk cover to get to the fireman's loop. There were no traces of smoke in the frunk area. As I was running to alert the firemen, fully expecting a fire to appear at any moment, I looked back at the car and saw the smoke had slowed / stopped. There was a lot of smoke coming from the dash prior to stopping so it was an obvious change.
Not wanting the firemen to hack the car apart, and since the smoke had dissipated, I returned to the car and called Tesla 24/7 service. They suspected the 12v battery caused the smoke and recommended I tow the car 2 hours to the closest service center. I decided to research the issue before committing to that tow bill and an unknown repair timeline. I did not have any luck; no one else seemed to be reporting similar issues with their MS.
I returned a day later and inspected the car myself. I quickly identified the problem. The passenger side sunroof cable was snaked around inside the area behind the glove box. I could see melted insulation and components (A/C housing). The sunroof cable had shorted out on a large, exposed metal piece which was bolted to the body of the car below the sunroof cable motor.
I have no idea how the cable was able to work its way outside of the insulated housing. However, I suspect the only reason the short was broken was because I likely opened the sunroof when I opened the doors to vent the smoke (honestly don't remember either way).
Tesla stated they were unlikely to cover the cost of repairs because the warranty expired. I have no problem paying for a broken door handle or bad motor (after the 8 year warranty expires) but an issue like this that nearly started a fire does not seem like something I should be expected to cover. I'm just asking for them to look the car over, replace the cable, and implement a solution so this doesn't happen again. I'm not asking for every melted component to be replaced. Seems like Tesla would rather burn my goodwill than spend a couple hundred on a repair. Additionally, Tesla SC are the only people to touch this car. They did repair the sunroof gasket a couple years ago but I don't think that repair should impact the cable...who knows.
Should I be upset about this? I'm just thankful my two kids (who sit in car seats) weren't with me.
TL;DR -- The sunroof cable escaped its housing somehow, shorted out, and started melting components inside the dash. The car cabin started to fill with smoke but the short was broken and the damage stopped before a fire started.
I jumped out of the car and opened the doors, trunk, and frunk to vent the smoke and provide access to the car in the event the power went out. I also removed the plastic frunk cover to get to the fireman's loop. There were no traces of smoke in the frunk area. As I was running to alert the firemen, fully expecting a fire to appear at any moment, I looked back at the car and saw the smoke had slowed / stopped. There was a lot of smoke coming from the dash prior to stopping so it was an obvious change.
Not wanting the firemen to hack the car apart, and since the smoke had dissipated, I returned to the car and called Tesla 24/7 service. They suspected the 12v battery caused the smoke and recommended I tow the car 2 hours to the closest service center. I decided to research the issue before committing to that tow bill and an unknown repair timeline. I did not have any luck; no one else seemed to be reporting similar issues with their MS.
I returned a day later and inspected the car myself. I quickly identified the problem. The passenger side sunroof cable was snaked around inside the area behind the glove box. I could see melted insulation and components (A/C housing). The sunroof cable had shorted out on a large, exposed metal piece which was bolted to the body of the car below the sunroof cable motor.
I have no idea how the cable was able to work its way outside of the insulated housing. However, I suspect the only reason the short was broken was because I likely opened the sunroof when I opened the doors to vent the smoke (honestly don't remember either way).
Tesla stated they were unlikely to cover the cost of repairs because the warranty expired. I have no problem paying for a broken door handle or bad motor (after the 8 year warranty expires) but an issue like this that nearly started a fire does not seem like something I should be expected to cover. I'm just asking for them to look the car over, replace the cable, and implement a solution so this doesn't happen again. I'm not asking for every melted component to be replaced. Seems like Tesla would rather burn my goodwill than spend a couple hundred on a repair. Additionally, Tesla SC are the only people to touch this car. They did repair the sunroof gasket a couple years ago but I don't think that repair should impact the cable...who knows.
Should I be upset about this? I'm just thankful my two kids (who sit in car seats) weren't with me.
TL;DR -- The sunroof cable escaped its housing somehow, shorted out, and started melting components inside the dash. The car cabin started to fill with smoke but the short was broken and the damage stopped before a fire started.