Model S Technical / Mechanical Issues

[znino]

Got our P85 (VIN P02975) on Wednesday and have been loving it!

The wife and I noticed that with the volume all the way off, there is a faint static noise in the cabin. Turned on the stereo and could still here it with low volume, once you turn up the stereo it drowns out the static but I suspect its still there. I haven't noticed it at all times.

Has anyone else encountered this? I hesitate to stop by San Diego Service until I know how to replicate it. It's pretty minor, but when moving at slow speed the car is so quiet that it is distracting.

Thanks!

Is it really static or a low buzzing sound? The ambient lighting (led lighting on doors etc) is known to create a buzzing if the screen intensity is dimmed below 100% so that might be it. It either turn off the ambient lights or out my screen at 100%

 

[jomo25]

I think another update was pushed out. My Bluetooth now works fine for phone and music, and I see the outside air temp even when the battery is heating.

Updates don't auto install, right? So, it would only update if you told it to update, I thought.

 

[Jeff Krueger]

Is it really static or a low buzzing sound?The ambient lighting (led lighting on doors etc) is known to create a buzzing if the screen intensity is dimmed below 100% so that might be it. It either turn off the ambient lights or out my screen at 100%

It is static, not buzzing. It sounds like "digital static" vs. "analog static", meaning it isn't just snow like you might here on a radio when not tuned to a broadcasting station. It almost sounds like a stream of bytes being expressed as static.

I'll try adjusting the brightness and ambient lighting, but it sounds like those are buzzing sounds which this is not.

I have a hunch that this is coming from the navigation system. Does it have a dedicated speaker for navigation guidance? I noticed it has its own volume and seems heavily driver focused (navigation that is, not sure about the static yet).

 

[jomo25]

It is static, not buzzing. It sounds like "digital static" vs. "analog static", meaning it isn't just snow like you might here on a radio when not tuned to a broadcasting station. It almost sounds like a stream of bytes being expressed as static.

I'll try adjusting the brightness and ambient lighting, but it sounds like those are buzzing sounds which this is not.

I have a hunch that this is coming from the navigation system. Does it have a dedicated speaker for navigation guidance? I noticed it has its own volume and seems heavily driver focused (navigation that is, not sure about the static yet).

Ignore if you know that it isn't this, but what you just described does sound like GSM/cell phone interference.

 

[GeekGirls]

Ignore if you know that it isn't this, but what you just described does sound like GSM/cell phone interference.

I hear GSM interference occasionally, too. I'd just like to know if it's from the vehicle's own connection or one of my devices.

 

[DrComputer]

Got our P85 (VIN P02975) on Wednesday and have been loving it!

The wife and I noticed that with the volume all the way off, there is a faint static noise in the cabin. Turned on the stereo and could still here it with low volume, once you turn up the stereo it drowns out the static but I suspect its still there. I haven't noticed it at all times.

Has anyone else encountered this? I hesitate to stop by San Diego Service until I know how to replicate it. It's pretty minor, but when moving at slow speed the car is so quiet that it is distracting.

Thanks!

If it is happening at night when your headlights are on turn off the ambient lights and see if the noise (buzz) goes away. This is a known problem.

 

[ckessel]

Is it possible that these quick warnings on start up are similar to an ICE when the check engine and other warning lights flash on when you first start it?

Since it's come and gone before I can read it, I really don't know. I don't think it's the equivalent of the "check engine" since it's not consistent. Idiot lights all come on every time as part of a normal test at startup, this is something occasional and transitory (since it's there no flashing ! on the center console header).

 

[brianman]

Updates don't auto install, right? So, it would only update if you told it to update, I thought.

Some auto install. v1.15.14 is an example of such a case.

 

[mknox]

Does it have a dedicated speaker for navigation guidance? I noticed it has its own volume and seems heavily driver focused (navigation that is, not sure about the static yet).

It probably just focuses nav through the front left speaker(s). My current ICE's built-in nav does this.

 

[kitk]

I hear GSM interference occasionally, too. I'd just like to know if it's from the vehicle's own connection or one of my devices.

This is most likely to occur if you fall back to EDGE coverage. A 3G/4G/LTE connection shouldn't create this type of interference. Next time this happens take a quick look at how your phone is connected to the network.

 

[GeekGirls]

This is most likely to occur if you fall back to EDGE coverage. A 3G/4G/LTE connection shouldn't create this type of interference. Next time this happens take a quick look at how your phone is connected to the network.

It only seems to happen on a particularly windy stretch of mountain road. There's no way I'm taking my eyes off the road to check the various devices that accompany me everywhere (iPad, iPhone, sometimes more than one of each!) I was wondering if the car is falling back to GSM or EDGE, though I've never seen the indicator change from 3G. I'll try the drive with all of my usual gear in the trunk the next few times. Or look for someone to carpool with who can keep an eye on everything for me.

 

[FlasherZ]

This is most likely to occur if you fall back to EDGE coverage. A 3G/4G/LTE connection shouldn't create this type of interference. Next time this happens take a quick look at how your phone is connected to the network.

My phone causes this if I put it in the cubby below the touchscreen as it falls back to EDGE or GSM/GPRS, and its proximity to the car's audio hardware picks up on it.

 

[teslasguy]

Ok, so today my passenger front door has opened three times by itself. It appears to happen when I put the car in park. And I'm not talking about a partial open. The door pops open a couple inches. I wonder if this could be related to the 12v battery error?


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[NigelM]

Ok, so today my passenger front door has opened three times by itself. It appears to happen when I put the car in park. And I'm not talking about a partial open. The door pops open a couple inches. I wonder if this could be related to the 12v battery error?

It's a problem with the pressure sensor in the door handle. Talk to sevice as it probably needs the handle to be replaced.

 

[ckessel]

My phantom console presses are definitely due to the surrounding dash. It happens most on bumps, the dash bends/torques enough the chrome lining the top of the console is causing the screen to see touches. I've pushed up some on the dash and it's definitely reduced the issues. I've gotten some phantom touches on the bottom of the screen as well taking corners aggressively which, again, adds some stresses to the dash just enough to cause touches to register.

 

[dlmorgan999]

What software version are you on? Is this happening to anyone with 1.19.31 (v4.1)?

It sounds like this isn't the exact same problem, but I've had my car for 8 days. The first night I had the car, I scheduled 4.1 for install. Every morning since then, I've gotten a series of messages including "Car Needs Service (Car May Not Restart)", "12V Battery Power Low (Car May Shut Down Unexpectedly)" and "Car Needs Service (Unable to Drive)". Shortly after getting these messages, the car shuts down, and in fact I can't drive it.

After doing some testing over the last few days, I discovered that the 12V battery really was low. Last night, I put it on a Battery Tender and it took quite a while to fully charge. Once charged, I went for a ride (to get my "Tesla fix" ) and then put the car away for the night (not connected to the charger).

This morning, I woke up to the same series of messages and couldn't drive the car. I connected the Battery Tender again and found that in fact, the battery was fairly low again. It seems that there may be a combination of overnight power draw and perhaps a firmware-related lack of proper charging for the 12V battery. The Tesla engineers have told me that this is fixed in the next firmware update. In the meantime, I plan to leave my car connected to the Battery Tender every night.

 

[steve841]

It sounds like this isn't the exact same problem, but I've had my car for 8 days. The first night I had the car, I scheduled 4.1 for install. Every morning since then, I've gotten a series of messages including "Car Needs Service (Car May Not Restart)", "12V Battery Power Low (Car May Shut Down Unexpectedly)" and "Car Needs Service (Unable to Drive)". Shortly after getting these messages, the car shuts down, and in fact I can't drive it.

After doing some testing over the last few days, I discovered that the 12V battery really was low. Last night, I put it on a Battery Tender and it took quite a while to fully charge. Once charged, I went for a ride (to get my "Tesla fix" ) and then put the car away for the night (not connected to the charger).

This morning, I woke up to the same series of messages and couldn't drive the car. I connected the Battery Tender again and found that in fact, the battery was fairly low again. It seems that there may be a combination of overnight power draw and perhaps a firmware-related lack of proper charging for the 12V battery. The Tesla engineers have told me that this is fixed in the next firmware update. In the meantime, I plan to leave my car connected to the Battery Tender every night.

You NEED to call your service center .... the firmware either didnt take on the 12v charging module or the part is bad. Either way, you will be stranded at some point until they fix it.

 

[ModelS1079]

Ok, so today my passenger front door has opened three times by itself. It appears to happen when I put the car in park. And I'm not talking about a partial open. The door pops open a couple inches. I wonder if this could be related to the 12v battery error?

You know, funny thing: My driver's side door opens at times when I pop the car into Park. I thought, heck, that's kind of convenient, albeit a little precocious. For the record, is this normal?

 

[jerry33]

You know, funny thing: My driver's side door opens at times when I pop the car into Park. I thought, heck, that's kind of convenient, albeit a little precocious. For the record, is this normal?

That isn't the intended behaviour. Its convenient, but only until a 30 mph gust of wind catches the door .

 

[ModelS1079]

Getting a low rumble specifically when the climate is on, with the air flowing only through the defrost vent. AC off does not change this. Goes away if I add floor vent or chest level air flow. Before I'd had time to figure out the above, service saw the car and thought it might be AC cable against an inner cabinet, and opened all to be sure no contact was being made; given the above this obviously was not helpful.

I should add that, when air is sent only through the defrost vent, with or without AC, whether fresh air or recirculating, I get not only this really annoying low rumble as mentioned, but also a fan noise up high (dash, from the defrost vent in the middle). Of note, this is all new in the past week.

Thoughts before I bring Elwood back to Service?