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2021+ Model S and Model S Plaid Refresh Issues Thread

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On the other side: there's really no other car I want.
I must admit, I'm completely in love with my Model 3 Performance. The only thing I don't like is that even though my car is the "stealth" model (which means no "performance" suspension), the suspension is still a bit stiff for me and my spine with its 8 fusions. But other than that, I am completely over the moon with it. I've never had so much fun driving a car. Ever.

So when I think about being able to put the Model S's amazing air suspension in "old man mode," AND being able to make things disappear behind me in a hurry, I get all sorts of giddy.

So to say that I "want the Plaid" is a huge understatement. Kinda like saying hydrogen bombs go "bang."

But if I'm going to shell out over one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for a car, I expect decent quality control. If that means I have to wait for a bit, that's ok with me. Not "great," but "ok."

Maybe the Rivian but I'm a year away.
If the Rivian was as large as a Cybertruck, it would definitely have my attention.

And yeah, I know that every large corporation has its fair share of dirty little secrets, but stealing the juicy bits of Tesla's technology just isn't cool. Yeah, I know.. innocent until proven guilty, but I can't help but pre-judge them on this; the information released so far is pretty damning.

On a completely unrelated note...I am a bit surprised that Tesla didn't update the Model S and X suspensions for this refresh from air to magnetorheological, though.
 
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I must admit, I'm completely in love with my Model 3 Performance. The only thing I don't like is that even though my car is the "stealth" model (which means no "performance" suspension), the suspension is still a bit stiff for me and my spine with its 8 fusions. But other than that, I am completely over the moon with it. I've never had so much fun driving a car. Ever.

So when I think about being able to put the Model S's amazing air suspension in "old man mode," AND being able to make things disappear behind me in a hurry, I get all sorts of giddy.

So to say that I "want the Plaid" is a huge understatement. Kinda like saying hydrogen bombs go "bang."

But if I'm going to shell out over one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for a car, I expect decent quality control. If that means I have to wait for a bit, that's ok with me. Not "great," but "ok."


If the Rivian was as large as a Cybertruck, it would definitely have my attention.

And yeah, I know that every large corporation has its fair share of dirty little secrets, but stealing the juicy bits of Tesla's technology just isn't cool. Yeah, I know.. innocent until proven guilty, but I can't help but pre-judge them on this; the information released so far is pretty damning.

On a completely unrelated note...I am a bit surprised that Tesla didn't update the Model S and X suspensions for this refresh from air to magnetorheological, though.

Agreed - I liked my Model 3, but I wanted more range and found it necessary given how much out of town driving I do. Also, the Model 3 was quieter than my other cars, but not quiet. The suspension was fine, but not amazing. I also hated not having a driver display unlike others, I never got used to it.

I hate Jeff Bezos and some of the stuff Rivian does (even some stuff you didn't mention). I'm supposed to be getting a Rivian test drive soon. It will have to be AMAZING for me to switch from Tesla.

I will not drive anything but an EV, I cannot stand ICE cars anymore. So my options are limited. The charging networks outside Tesla are flipping terrible so there's really only one decision. If I still had my Model 3 I'd wait, but since I don't and my EDD should be any day now, I'm going to go for it and assume any issues I have will get fixed, just like in my Model 3.
 
I liked my Model 3, but I wanted more range and found it necessary given how much out of town driving I do.
Man, that's a huge factor for me. In my Model 3, I can't round-trip my home-work-home commute; it's 131.6 miles each way. I think I could do that with a decent buffer in a Plaid. That would be so nice.
Also, the Model 3 was quieter than my other cars, but not quiet.
My wife says that the Model 3 is so quiet that it makes you wish it was quieter. Can't say she's wrong about that. It'll be interesting to see how much of a difference ANC will make if/when they ever get the software released for it. In your opinion, is the refresh S substantially quieter than the 3?

I also hated not having a driver display unlike others, I never got used to it
I have three levels of my neck fused, and having to turn to look at the display is an... annoyance.

Having a heads up display is one of those things that, when viewed from the perspective of never using one, would seem "nice" to have. But once you've used one, it is really difficult to NOT have one.

The driver display is at least a close substitute for a HUD. I'm pretty surprised that Elon hasn't made a HUD an option for the S and X yet. Unfortunately, the aftermarket has failed (so far) in producing a decent one that continues to work through firmware updates.

And I feel the same way about ICE cars. I'm done with them.
 
What about the vibration issue you guys are seeing at around 45mph? They said that it's a known issue, but no fix as of yet.

Are the new cars being delivered still affected by this?
I have tried but can not detect it on mine and I have an early build. It appears to affect just some cars.
 
@WilliamG Because you are 1 of 3 with that pack replacement required, issue!

Not sure that makes me infamous, but... I'll allow it.

I have tried but can not detect it on mine and I have an early build. It appears to affect just some cars.

Agreed, so far. I had to drive my car to the service center today, - quite cold out first thing this morning. I went looking for the vibration, but didn't detect it. Slow acceleration from 40mph to 50mph, and nothing out of the ordinary. Not to say it won't show up later in the car's life, but as of now, that might be the only issue my car doesn't have. 😅
Plaid persuasion!!

Say what????
New pack?
Yeah, new high-voltage pack for me going in today/tomorrow/whenever Tesla gets done with it.
 
Not sure that makes me infamous, but... I'll allow it.



Agreed, so far. I had to drive my car to the service center today, - quite cold out first thing this morning. I went looking for the vibration, but didn't detect it. Slow acceleration from 40mph to 50mph, and nothing out of the ordinary. Not to say it won't show up later in the car's life, but as of now, that might be the only issue my car doesn't have. 😅

Yeah, new high-voltage pack for me going in today/tomorrow/whenever Tesla gets done with it.
The vibration occurs for me when neither accelerating or deaccelerating - just while maintaining a steady speed around 45 MPH.
 
Not sure that makes me infamous, but... I'll allow it.



Agreed, so far. I had to drive my car to the service center today, - quite cold out first thing this morning. I went looking for the vibration, but didn't detect it. Slow acceleration from 40mph to 50mph, and nothing out of the ordinary. Not to say it won't show up later in the car's life, but as of now, that might be the only issue my car doesn't have. 😅

Yeah, new high-voltage pack for me going in today/tomorrow/whenever Tesla gets done with it.
Bad luck sorry! Keep us posted on the progress.
did they say the problem with the pack. Bad cell.
 
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When I get texts, the car will display them but then often shows additional notifications for very old messages from different people as if they are new. Also, the new texts I am receiving often get deleted off my phone after I view them in the car on screen. This is happening multiple times a day. Car is paired to my android Galaxy S10+.

Anyone else having these issues?
 
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Well I broke my Plaid...Came to dead stop on the highway, 5 seconds wasnt enough to pull off the road but I wont go into detail because im a Tesla fan and still alive to tell lol .. Had to wait for it all to reset and drove to service next day. Apparently my HV cables to rear drive units internally failed, perhaps faulty, and caused a ground arc or something along that line. (Peak phase alert was reported) In their defense, I was giving the car the FULL beans quite OFTEN with AC on blast etc..so I may have over heated the wires. This seems to be a one off situation, so others shouldnt be concerned..

Tesla Engineering got involved and there was some analyzation of my driving logs to see what could possibly have happened. Both rear HV cables replaced which needed the rear subframe removed.. Took a month.. I had a really good tech and the car is solid again. The power actually is more intense than before, so im wondering if there was a cable upgrade but it could all be mental...

I do have sometimes a hummmm at 39-42 mph mostly off throttle felt thru the steering wheel, but ive noticed its only on some roads so I think it may be tire related or some sort of electrical harmonization from the motors.. It doesnt affect the driving so I dont even care. I love the car and the issues (including the 2 windshields ive had replaced already due to dimples in the glass in line of sight) doesnt keep me from enjoying it. Ill get a Plaid Plus as soon as one comes out when the 4680 batteries start going into this bad boy.
 
Well I broke my Plaid...Came to dead stop on the highway, 5 seconds wasnt enough to pull off the road but I wont go into detail because im a Tesla fan and still alive to tell lol .. Had to wait for it all to reset and drove to service next day. Apparently my HV cables to rear drive units internally failed, perhaps faulty, and caused a ground arc or something along that line. (Peak phase alert was reported) In their defense, I was giving the car the FULL beans quite OFTEN with AC on blast etc..so I may have over heated the wires. This seems to be a one off situation, so others shouldnt be concerned..

Tesla Engineering got involved and there was some analyzation of my driving logs to see what could possibly have happened. Both rear HV cables replaced which needed the rear subframe removed.. Took a month.. I had a really good tech and the car is solid again. The power actually is more intense than before, so im wondering if there was a cable upgrade but it could all be mental...

I do have sometimes a hummmm at 39-42 mph mostly off throttle felt thru the steering wheel, but ive noticed its only on some roads so I think it may be tire related or some sort of electrical harmonization from the motors.. It doesnt affect the driving so I dont even care. I love the car and the issues (including the 2 windshields ive had replaced already due to dimples in the glass in line of sight) doesnt keep me from enjoying it. Ill get a Plaid Plus as soon as one comes out when the 4680 batteries start going into this bad boy.
Total miles?
 
My wife says that the Model 3 is so quiet that it makes you wish it was quieter. Can't say she's wrong about that. It'll be interesting to see how much of a difference ANC will make if/when they ever get the software released for it. In your opinion, is the refresh S substantially quieter than the 3?
At speed, my Plaid is MUCH quieter than my M3P. Driving at 65mph in the 3 produced as much wind noise as the Plaid does at 85 or more, it’s really that quiet. And that’s without ANC!
 
At speed, my Plaid is MUCH quieter than my M3P. Driving at 65mph in the 3 produced as much wind noise as the Plaid does at 85 or more, it’s really that quiet. And that’s without ANC!

What year is your model 3? I test drove a 2021 and used a decibel reader I bought from Amazon at 70 mph an hour. It was actually much better than my 2020 model 3 that didn't have the new windows or new interior. It was quite impressive. Can't wait to test the long range with 19s
 
When I get texts, the car will display them but then often shows additional notifications for very old messages from different people as if they are new. Also, the new texts I am receiving often get deleted off my phone after I view them in the car on screen. This is happening multiple times a day. Car is paired to my android Galaxy S10+.

Anyone else having these issues?
Yes. The pop ups are 90% incorrect. People I haven't spoken with in years instead of the actual people texting. Also if I respond back, it doesn;t show up in my phone in the text chain. Not sure if other people got it or not. Been hoping they would be fixed in updates but nothing yet. Android - Galaxy Note 10