Model S Technical / Mechanical Issues

[EarlyAdopter]

Or they could apply the friction brakes when the battery is too full or cold to accept regen.

Tesla needs to follow the Rule of Least Astonishment and keep the deceleration behavior consistent at all times before someone glides through a red light on a cold morning and hits someone.

 

[brianman]

Or they could apply the friction brakes when the battery is too full or cold to accept regen.

Tesla needs to follow the Rule of Least Astonishment and keep the deceleration behavior consistent at all times before someone glides through a red light on a cold morning and hits someone.

Interesting, I always thought it was "Rule of Least Surprise". Apparently rule vs. principle and astonishment vs. surprise varies.

Anyway, interesting wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Least_surprise

 

[TEG]

Both my RangerEV and LEAF disable regen for a while after the battery is charged to "100%" full.
Another reason to keep routine charging to less than full (in the case of the LEAF "80%".)

 

[jkirkebo]

I thought the Model S would keep the battery at a reasonable temperature (ie not too cold) when plugged in ?

 

[NigelM]

Or they could apply the friction brakes when the battery is too full or cold to accept regen.

Tesla needs to follow the Rule of Least Astonishment and keep the deceleration behavior consistent at all times before someone glides through a red light on a cold morning and hits someone.

Personally I don't want my car applying brakes for me as that's going to reduce range, even if its only a small amount.

Because of my Roadster experience I immediately understood the dotted line and limited regen following the range charge I did. After reading some of these comments I checked the owners manual and the safety manual and didn't find any reference to limited regen. If its missing, Tesla really needs to include something for new EV drivers.

 

[Todd Burch]

I thought the Model S would keep the battery at a reasonable temperature (ie not too cold) when plugged in ?

It will keep it at a reasonable temperature for battery health/longevity. A reasonable temperature for regen is a different matter.

 

[kevincwelch]

Does anyone have this with the latest firmware update? It looked almost as if the dash screen was scratched with these hatch marks. (I am making a mockup of the dash I saw last night when doing a test drive.)

 

[Doug_G]

I thought the Model S would keep the battery at a reasonable temperature (ie not too cold) when plugged in ?

The Roadster does. Have to wait and see what the Model S does...

 

[donauker]

Does anyone have this with the latest firmware update? It looked almost as if the dash screen was scratched with these hatch marks. (I am making a mockup of the dash I saw last night when doing a test drive.)

Yes, I have had some pixilation with the latest firmware. Not near as bad as earlier versions but still occurred recently.

 

[jerry33]

For now, when the pixilation gets annoying enough, you reset the display. This can be done anytime. The 17" display is reset by pressing and holding both scroll buttons. The instrument cluster is reset by holding both top steering wheel buttons.

 

[Kauai]

Anyone have trouble charging? I get the following error message:

Car Needs Service
Unable to Charge

There were some additional messages about the charging system overheating but I foolishly didn't write them down and now they no longer display. For context I picked up my Model S Performance yesterday (Sat, Nov 10th) at Fremont. Charged at home using 14-50 just installed with the electrician watching. Ran a few short errands after than, and left the car plugged in overnight on standard charge. This morning saw the error codes. Car seemed fully charged for Standard mode and drives fine, but I am unable to charge it so off to service on Monday...

Goes without saying that I will miss the car even more now that I've had it my hands for a hot second!

 

[bonnie]

Just a tip - when you see an error message, grab your cell phone and snap a quick picture. It helps when you're talking to your service rep (because there will be an error code). And the pic is invaluable for an error that isn't easily reproducible.

Hope you get your car back quickly!

 

[Kauai]

Just a tip - when you see an error message, grab your cell phone and snap a quick picture. It helps when you're talking to your service rep (because there will be an error code). And the pic is invaluable for an error that isn't easily reproducible.

Hope you get your car back quickly!

Thanks Bonnie! I kicked myself for not doing exactly that when I realized that some of the error codes cleared. Hopefully there is an internal log of the codes the techs can read out in service.

 

[dsm363]

Anyone have trouble charging? I get the following error message:

Car Needs Service
Unable to Charge

There were some additional messages about the charging system overheating but I foolishly didn't write them down and now they no longer display. For context I picked up my Model S Performance yesterday (Sat, Nov 10th) at Fremont. Charged at home using 14-50 just installed with the electrician watching. Ran a few short errands after than, and left the car plugged in overnight on standard charge. This morning saw the error codes. Car seemed fully charged for Standard mode and drives fine, but I am unable to charge it so off to service on Monday...

Goes without saying that I will miss the car even more now that I've had it my hands for a hot second!

That sucks. Did the car ever charge or have you tried a 110V outlet? Hope it gets fixed soon.

 

[Kauai]

That sucks. Did the car ever charge or have you tried a 110V outlet? Hope it gets fixed soon.

The car did charge. When I got home from the factory, I plugged into the 14-50 outlet and charged for about an hour at 40amps with the electrician who installed the plug monitoring and learning about the car. The outlet is on a dedicated 50amp breaker in its own panel. This was the first Model S my electrician had seen :biggrin: Later I drove around some and plugged back in overnight though I limited to 30amps. In the morning I had the various error codes...

 

[Kauai]

Wow talk about service. I swung by the Menlo store/ service center to drop the car off. A tech was around and even though service isnt open on Sunday, he cleared the error codes and charged up my car while I waited. I am posting from the car as a take a spin on a glorious Fall day. Still some work to figure the original issue, but I'm loving my car in the meantime

 

[Cottonwood]

That can't be the only solution though. Some of us don't have smart phones.

And some of us use the car out of cell phone coverage on a regular basis... Maybe, if Tesla gets the WiFi working, the smart phone can just communicate via WiFi, when in range.


Also, another issue: Charge Port Door Not Opening

This morning I went to plug my Model S in, I put the UMC over the rear window, and heard the charge port door release click, but the little door did not open. I tried this multiple times from the rear and the 17" display. Each time, I heard the click of the release, but the charge port door did not open. I did this with and without the key fob in my pocket.

My theory was that the door was stuck. I went and got a thin, flat screwdriver, and used the UMC button again. When I heard the click, I applied gentle pressure to open the charge port door, and it opened. I looked around the edge of the charge port door and the opening it goes into, but could not find any interference points. For now, the little screwdriver will stay with the car.

The next time I tried to open the charge port, it worked.

 

[dsm363]

So am I going to need to carry a camera with me???

If you have a mobile phone with a camera on it, that will work. The picture doesn't have the great quality.

 

[vfx]

...
That's what I like better than the on-or-off "no regen" lamp in the Roadster.

Chad, do you think they have revised this with software upgrades? When I do the occasional Range charge it does not seem to be an On or Off issue like it used to.

 

[bonnie]

If you have a mobile phone with a camera on it, that will work. The picture doesn't have the great quality.

Yes, that's all I meant. The quality only has to be good enough to read the error code. I usually have my cell phone on me - it's just remembering to take a pic. Then I attach it to an email and forward to TM service.