Model S Slid Away...

[OrbiterTI4]

Yeah, that’s just an accident. I’d argue weather related and no fault of yours. Should be a comprehensive claim, no different than if a tree fell on it.

This will depend on the wording of OP's insurance policy.

Anecdotally, my policy explicitly says the car being hit by a falling object (your tree example) would not be a collision loss, but it does not specify ice/winter weather...the closest it gets is "water". Would be an interesting argument to make that "frozen water on the ground" should count as water...

 

[bktiger86]

Damn felt like it was my car. Doesn't feel good.

 

[Bob Denny]

You need to press and hold the park button till the brake light comes on, meaning the brake is applied. Just push-release-ing it to put it into “P” is not enough when on hilll, etc.

 

[designrs]

Wow! Really freak event. My sympathies and good luck getting this resolved!

 

[ewakko]

My X slid down our driveway while unloading. We had just come back from a trip and it had snowed. I'm guessing the weight of the car on top of a couple inches of snow made it icy undernearth the tires. We had gotten the kids in the house so it had been 5-10 minutes after parking. Even had 2 doors open. Husband reacted by trying to stop the car or jump in to apply brakes. I noticed the tires weren't rolling and yelled at him to get out of the way of a one ton car, there was nothing he could do to stop it. Luckily the car stopped rolling where the driveway bottoms out and no damage done. Lesson learned.

 

[HarleyW]

Hello, I also posted on Tesla Form, however between their form and TMC I have been able to obtain so much information by reading the posts. I figured it wouldn't hurt to reach out on here as well.

What brings me here today is a fairly unusual even that happened to me today with my Model S. After running errands today I returned home, parked my car and plugged it in. It was snowing today but living in New England, I did not think much about it.

So I go into my home and am inside in my kitchen and I hear the alarm on my car and then get an alert that "Sentry mode has triggered the alarm state". Since I didn't hear the driveway alarm and was home alone I found this odd. Well... I go outside to find my car in the middle "island" of my driveway. Thankfully sentry mode recorded most of the event, however there is a second or two lapse between clips. Posted link to the video below.

So here's my main question for today. From my understanding every time we put any Tesla in "Park" the emergency brake is auto applied... is this correct? My insurance company is trying to blame this on that or that there was a defect on my car, but there has never been an issue with it nor have I had ANY complaints at all during my Tesla ownership. Even the service center experience (Warwick, RI) has been very pleasant, which I know isn't always the case for everyone on here.

There is quite a bit of damage caused by this event. The Tesla Wall Charger plug prongs are ripped out (but the charger base is still attached to my house), the front of my cars over bumper is cracked, the charge port is shattered and the charge port door went flying, and the entire driver rear side rear is dented in multiple spots and where it is not dented it is very deeply scratched, and the left taillight is ruined and ready to fall out.

Thank you for any input!

I read your post the other day and funny thing as I was surfing tiktok ran into this today. Never heard of it before and 2 in 1 week. Weird.

TikTok

 

[howardc888]

Answering OP original question: yes, I think just hitting park will engage the brake same as emergency brake.

You can read the details from the model 3 post I had, and someone had shown the schematic. I assume S and 3 works the same way on brakes.

Model 3 will not shift to park

 

[Brolo]

Hello, I also posted on Tesla Form, however between their form and TMC I have been able to obtain so much information by reading the posts. I figured it wouldn't hurt to reach out on here as well.

What brings me here today is a fairly unusual even that happened to me today with my Model S. After running errands today I returned home, parked my car and plugged it in. It was snowing today but living in New England, I did not think much about it.

So I go into my home and am inside in my kitchen and I hear the alarm on my car and then get an alert that "Sentry mode has triggered the alarm state". Since I didn't hear the driveway alarm and was home alone I found this odd. Well... I go outside to find my car in the middle "island" of my driveway. Thankfully sentry mode recorded most of the event, however there is a second or two lapse between clips. Posted link to the video below.

So here's my main question for today. From my understanding every time we put any Tesla in "Park" the emergency brake is auto applied... is this correct? My insurance company is trying to blame this on that or that there was a defect on my car, but there has never been an issue with it nor have I had ANY complaints at all during my Tesla ownership. Even the service center experience (Warwick, RI) has been very pleasant, which I know isn't always the case for everyone on here.

There is quite a bit of damage caused by this event. The Tesla Wall Charger plug prongs are ripped out (but the charger base is still attached to my house), the front of my cars over bumper is cracked, the charge port is shattered and the charge port door went flying, and the entire driver rear side rear is dented in multiple spots and where it is not dented it is very deeply scratched, and the left taillight is ruined and ready to fall out.

Thank you for any input!

Happened to me the other week in M3. Was sitting in the car, snowing, sloped driveway, and I witnessed it start sliding down towards the road. Luckily it didn’t go all the way but definitely slid about 2’. I reversed back up and tried to get it to do it again by rocking in the car just to make sure that indeed was what had happened. I recorded it on the third time.

 

[bro1999]

Saw this very thing happen to a Volt parked on a sloped driveway a few years ago. Owner parked it for the night, plugged it in. Then freezing rain fell overnight and somehow enough ice formed under the wheels for the car to lose traction and start sliding down his driveway. Ended up ripping out either the charge port of the charging station itself....I forget.

 

[designrs]

Just watched your video! Unless the slope is actually much steeper than the video shows. The snow and ice do not look that bad.

I find it hard to believe that type of sliding and the speed of which it is sliding is possible with two locked wheels. If that were the case, cars would be sliding out of their driveways every day!

Find a physics professor to calculate all of the forces... adhesion, force required to move the mass, rate of acceleration (based on video time, car mass and slope, and impact force.

Also document at the condition and type of tires on your car... and note the condition of the pavement when you actually parked your car vs. when the car moved.

This would answer the question of, “Is this even possible if the parking brake is engaged correctly?”

 

[David.85D]

I’ve had my Model S slide on my driveway. I opened the door and the shock of me flopping into the seat got it started. I didn’t realize what was happening at the moment. Luckily it wasn’t plugged in and my driveway levels off. Now I salt / scrape / shovel / etc before parking…

The only question I have is whether the “extra” parking brake (long hold to activate) is better under these conditions - is it activating all 4 wheel calipers or just the 2 parking brake calipers?

Oh, and one more plug for back end in parking. If the car was parked for the whole storm, there will be a snow free area under the car. If the rear end of the car is uphill, it will slide and stop on the clear area. If the rear end is downhill, once it starts sliding, the wheels with the parking brakes are on ice and … game over.

i tested this yesterday. Put the car into “long hold park” and jacked one front wheel off the ground - it spun freely. So, whatever it does, it does it only in the rear.

 

[jjrandorin]

Just watched your video! Unless the slope is actually much steeper than the video shows. The snow and ice do not look that bad.

I find it hard to believe that type of sliding and the speed of which it is sliding is possible with two locked wheels. If that were the case, cars would be sliding out of their driveways every day!

Find a physics professor to calculate all of the forces... adhesion, force required to move the mass, rate of acceleration (based on video time, car mass and slope, and impact force.

Also document at the condition and type of tires on your car... and note the condition of the pavement when you actually parked your car vs. when the car moved.

This would answer the question of, “Is this even possible if the parking brake is engaged correctly?”

thats funny, because of course its possible, because it happened. If the car was rolling, you would have seen tire tread, in the snow instead of long black streaks. So, you dont need a physics professor to calculate anything to see "could this happen", because it DID happen, so of course it could happen.

 

[KenC]

Hello, I also posted on Tesla Form, however between their form and TMC I have been able to obtain so much information by reading the posts. I figured it wouldn't hurt to reach out on here as well.

What brings me here today is a fairly unusual even that happened to me today with my Model S. After running errands today I returned home, parked my car and plugged it in. It was snowing today but living in New England, I did not think much about it.

So I go into my home and am inside in my kitchen and I hear the alarm on my car and then get an alert that "Sentry mode has triggered the alarm state". Since I didn't hear the driveway alarm and was home alone I found this odd. Well... I go outside to find my car in the middle "island" of my driveway. Thankfully sentry mode recorded most of the event, however there is a second or two lapse between clips. Posted link to the video below.

So here's my main question for today. From my understanding every time we put any Tesla in "Park" the emergency brake is auto applied... is this correct? My insurance company is trying to blame this on that or that there was a defect on my car, but there has never been an issue with it nor have I had ANY complaints at all during my Tesla ownership. Even the service center experience (Warwick, RI) has been very pleasant, which I know isn't always the case for everyone on here.

There is quite a bit of damage caused by this event. The Tesla Wall Charger plug prongs are ripped out (but the charger base is still attached to my house), the front of my cars over bumper is cracked, the charge port is shattered and the charge port door went flying, and the entire driver rear side rear is dented in multiple spots and where it is not dented it is very deeply scratched, and the left taillight is ruined and ready to fall out.

Thank you for any input!

Sorry, clearly the car is sliding, while in Park. You can see at the very end of your video, the wheels are not turning, and the car actually does a small lateral slide, indicating that. Unfortunately, the slope and weight were just enough to cause the vehicle to slide. If it hadn't happened now, it likely would have happened some other time.

As for it never happening before in worse weather, it always takes a specific set of conditions. It's no different than an avalanche. If you recall, the recent storm started out with heavy wet precipitation that really packed down into a kind of white ice. Later it turned into fluffier snow on top. It's really ideal conditions for a slide.

Even the residual heat from the battery may have contributed, as there's melting under the car, perhaps adding a little more lubrication as the car began moving.

And as others have mentioned, cold hard tires will also slide more easily than softer rubber compounds.

 

[captanzuelo]

I noticed the tires weren't rolling and yelled at him to get out of the way of a one ton car, there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Did he reply, “Challenge accepted?”

Model X is more like 2.5 tons! A good call on your part. Lots of youtube videos out there of people trying to stop vehicles sliding on ice then getting tossed aside like a rag doll. Its like nobody took high school physics. F=MA^2!

 

[designrs]

FYI: The Model 3 Owner’s Manual specifically has a disclaimer about this exact thing. I think it’s pretty crazy, yet if I were the auto manufacturer I’d probably warn of the same thing.

 

[MikeHolliday]

Hello, I also posted on Tesla Form, however between their form and TMC I have been able to obtain so much information by reading the posts. I figured it wouldn't hurt to reach out on here as well.

What brings me here today is a fairly unusual even that happened to me today with my Model S. After running errands today I returned home, parked my car and plugged it in. It was snowing today but living in New England, I did not think much about it.

So I go into my home and am inside in my kitchen and I hear the alarm on my car and then get an alert that "Sentry mode has triggered the alarm state". Since I didn't hear the driveway alarm and was home alone I found this odd. Well... I go outside to find my car in the middle "island" of my driveway. Thankfully sentry mode recorded most of the event, however there is a second or two lapse between clips. Posted link to the video below.

So here's my main question for today. From my understanding every time we put any Tesla in "Park" the emergency brake is auto applied... is this correct? My insurance company is trying to blame this on that or that there was a defect on my car, but there has never been an issue with it nor have I had ANY complaints at all during my Tesla ownership. Even the service center experience (Warwick, RI) has been very pleasant, which I know isn't always the case for everyone on here.

There is quite a bit of damage caused by this event. The Tesla Wall Charger plug prongs are ripped out (but the charger base is still attached to my house), the front of my cars over bumper is cracked, the charge port is shattered and the charge port door went flying, and the entire driver rear side rear is dented in multiple spots and where it is not dented it is very deeply scratched, and the left taillight is ruined and ready to fall out.

Thank you for any input!

You had icy conditions on the driveway. My driveway is on a small hill and I have had this same issue with every car I have ever owned. It would not matter if you welded the wheels so that they could not turn you would still have this issue... Also, when you park the car as normal it is no different than putting the Gear in Park. If you wish to apply the parking brake the you hold the Gear Stalk button in approximately 3 seconds and you will get a Red Brake signal on the monitor. But in this situation it would have made no difference...

 

[David.85D]

Not a physics professor, but I've played one on TV.

Friction on ice/snow if highly variable - it gets very low (low is bad) close to freezing, as a little pressure will create a water layer that lubricates the sliding. At very cold temperatures the coefficient of friction is higher. It also is speed dependent - higher for no sliding, then drops quickly as the sliding speed increases - so, once it starts moving, hard to stop on its own. Using a common "worst case" friction on ice of 0.1 gives an angle a little less than 6 degrees would allow sliding... The actual friction depends on the tires, the surface, the temperature, etc.

And, somewhat counter-intuitive to your high school physics class, a larger mass has a lower coefficient of friction on ice (it is usually taught as independent of mass), which I believe is due to it being more likely to form a water layer that lubricates sliding. (for the red/green/blue graph - R1, R2, R3 represent 3 different rubber compounds. The upper curves are at -13C. The bottom curves are at -5C.

 

[SemiS3XYR]

sorry about your accident but i had a moment like this a few days ago while in my model 3. With an icey base your car sliding on it's own can be very possible. The all season tires suck and they especially are worse at 45 psi in the winter.

I was parked on the slope section of my driveway. Just got up it while "reving" it up the slippy slope. I got half way and couldn't get it up more. Put it in Park. Two seconds later, the model 3 slid a few feet. After that I parked it on the street.

 

[bbwex]

I live in (occasionally) sunny Pittsburgh, and had a similar event on my driveway several years ago. We have lived in this house for 50 years, and it only happened once. It was not my MY, but I parked on our driveway which is sloped, though not too much and not any more than what appears in your video. The snow/ice conditions must have been just right, and the car slid almost into the street. I don't think it was any fault of the car, I think it was just ideal conditions for the slide to have happened. I get nervous everytime there is ice and snow on the driveway, and I take more care to put salt in front of the wheels to stop any slide as soon as it starts, but it has not happened since. I agree that this is likely a matter for your comprehensive coverage. I strongly doubt that it has anything to do with the car. Mother Nature can be sneaky at times.

 

[Martlet]

My Tesla took a slide down my driveway during the recent ice storm too, my fault for not checking before trying to head out. Does great on ice going straight, but you realize the weight when you try to turn on a sloped bend on a full sheet of pristine ice. No damage, just ended up in the snow until the sun came out in the afternoon.

Out of curiosity, why park a $100k car outside the 2 car garages rather than inside, particularly an EV that wants warm batteries for best mileage? It must be a permanent situation since the wall charger is visibly outside.

I guess if you've got his and hers Roadsters in there it makes sense to sacrifice the MS.