Model S Technical / Mechanical Issues

[sueinsanjose]

No, Todd, Susie appears to be referring to her Model S tires one of which was apparently really worn out.

I was told by the Fremont service center folks that the (first and free) tire rotation that I got for my 19" wheels at 7,500 miles or so was just at the right time.

I mis-spoke and it was clarified that the tire rotation schedule is for rotation every 5,000 miles with an average life expectancy of 10,000-12,000 miles for the rear tires. This of course is dependent on driving style. It is important to note though so that owners can make sure they appropriately check the tires.

Suzanne

 

[FlasherZ]

I agree with you there. Others have reported horrible fogging issues with the original vent, and so I'm torn. If I wait until I find out if I have problems, it may be too late. I had a few cold days in March when I got my car and was able to keep it under control by directing all air to the defroster and leaving the fan on high. But that was March, not January or February!

I have found the biggest issue was the offgassing that created a film on the inside of the windshield. If I kept the inside of the glass clean once every other week, I didn't have any issues.

 

[JRP3]

I mis-spoke and it was clarified that the tire rotation schedule is for rotation every 5,000 miles with an average life expectancy of 10,000-12,000 miles for the rear tires.

I'm sorry but this still sounds insane. You rotate the tires once and then they are worn out after 10-12K miles?

 

[Doug_G]

I agree with you there. Others have reported horrible fogging issues with the original vent, and so I'm torn.

I'm one of those "others". The bigger problem was actually the driver's side window, which on a long trip completely frosted over for me. This was dangerous as it completely blocked my view to the left and the side rear view mirror. I had to stop and buy a scraper, and I had to use it every ten minutes or so for the rest of the trip.

 

[mknox]

I have found the biggest issue was the offgassing that created a film on the inside of the windshield. If I kept the inside of the glass clean once every other week, I didn't have any issues.

Yep. Same here. Almost every new car I've purchased has had that "offgassing" problem and I do clean my inside glass (all the way around) every week or two.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm one of those "others". The bigger problem was actually the driver's side window, which on a long trip completely frosted over for me. This was dangerous as it completely blocked my view to the left and the side rear view mirror. I had to stop and buy a scraper, and I had to use it every ten minutes or so for the rest of the trip.

I remember you saying that. Did you get a chance to see how the revised vent works in that regard, or was the winter already too far in the past?

 

[Doug_G]

I remember you saying that. Did you get a chance to see how the revised vent works in that regard, or was the winter already too far in the past?

It was kinda almost too late - the hard core weather was over with. But there was still some moderately bad weather and the defog was completely effective.

We'll know for sure in a few months...

 

[loganss]

Just as my 3G stopped working overnight now it's working again. Woke up and just works now. Still going to SC. I'm soooo happy it's back.

 

[mknox]

Just as my 3G stopped working overnight now it's working again. Woke up and just works now. Still going to SC. I'm soooo happy it's back.

This may seem odd, and I have no explanation as to why, buy my 3G signal gradually gets worse and worse over the course of a couple of weeks until it eventually cuts right out. I then re-boot the 17" screen and it's back to normal. I drive the same 1 hour route each day and can see the "bars" getting lower and lower over the several week period between re-boots.

When I do re-boot the 17" screen (for any reason) the 3G will usually take 15 to 20 minutes before it comes back on-line (and I'm in a 5-bar signal area).

 

[bareyb]

This thread is freaking me out a little....All I wanna know is... and I think what most new and perspective buyers want to know is... Is this thing going to leave me stranded?

I can handle (and even expect to have) a certain amount of growing pains that would require me to take my car in, but there are certain times for work that I HAVE to be at a certain place at a certain time and there is nobody who can take my place. The meeting would have to be canceled and 80 people would have shown up for nothing and would have to go home... Has anyone ever actually had a "no start" condition where they had to miss work? Do I need to be thinking about getting some type of backup vehicle? Am I naive to think this can be reliable enough to be my primary vehicle or should I be making some type of arrangement on the days (3 days a week) I have those meetings? Maybe I should do a poll...

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

bareyb, I'd guess that atleast 98% of Model S owners have had no issues more major than a fussy door handle or a noisy pano roof or a chirpy dashboard. Things that may annoy but not leave one stranded.

Yes, there were a few folks who early on reported dead cars in the garage owing to faulty 12V batteries; Tesla has since switched suppliers and there have been no such reports of late AFAIK.

There were the even more sporadic instances where the car powered down with a warning while the car was in motion. Folks needed the main battery pack replaced on occasion.

But, like I said, less than 2% of owners may have faced such major issues and in every such instance, Tesla did right by them by helping with towing, loaners, expedited fixes and so on.

 

[EarlyAdopter]

I'd say that given there are increasingly more and more Model S's on the road every day yet we see fewer and fewer posts about major problems here it's a good indication Tesla has worked out the major issues and the car is proving to be extremely reliable.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I took my car to the local service center to have the tires changed. I noticed the S85 loaner was much quieter at freeway speeds - my car had a "humming" noise coming from the rear that noticeably increased between 65 MPH and 75 MPH. I thought it was tire/road noise, but mentioned it to the service center just in case. They drove it and concluded that it was noisier than it should be. Engineering sent a special instrument with which to record the sound in the back of the car, and after hearing the noise Tesla Engineering advised the service center to replace the "drive inverter". They have those in stock, oddly enough, and I should have my car back on Friday or Monday. They have to send it out for an alignment after replacing the drive inverter, as the entire rear end of the vehicle comes down and the alignment gets messed up.

My car was just over 2 weeks old when it went in to service on Monday with 600 miles. Service has been excellent, diagnosis of the issue was extremely fast and the service manager called me to ensure everything was proceeding to my satisfaction. He said there was nothing technically wrong with the drive inverter, but that it should be quieter. The defective part will be shipped back to the manufacturer for analysis and to determine how to prevent this from happening again.

 

[ckessel]

This thread is freaking me out a little....All I wanna know is... and I think what most new and perspective buyers want to know is... Is this thing going to leave me stranded?

Probably no more or less often than your typical car would due to a broken fan belt, water pump, failed fuel pump, clogged filter, bad starter, bad solenoid, dead battery (ironic there), cracked radiator, etc.

The disconcerting part is that with the Model S it's like wondering why your computer won't boot, it's just sort of a magical mystery. With an ICE, often there's visible/audible indications of the issue. Either way you're equally hosed, but there's a certain odd satisfaction in at least knowing what part to curse at in an ICE.

 

[mknox]

I took my car to the local service center to have the tires changed. I noticed the S85 loaner was much quieter at freeway speeds - my car had a "humming" noise coming from the rear that noticeably increased between 65 MPH and 75 MPH. I thought it was tire/road noise, but mentioned it to the service center just in case. They drove it and concluded that it was noisier than it should be. Engineering sent a special instrument with which to record the sound in the back of the car, and after hearing the noise Tesla Engineering advised the service center to replace the "drive inverter". They have those in stock, oddly enough, and I should have my car back on Friday or Monday.

Interesting. I have had that humming for the past couple of weeks. It's proportional to speed and I was wondering if it was just tire noise I hadn't noticed before or some sort of gear whine.

 

[loganss]

This thread is freaking me out a little....All I wanna know is... and I think what most new and perspective buyers want to know is... Is this thing going to leave me stranded?

I can handle (and even expect to have) a certain amount of growing pains that would require me to take my car in, but there are certain times for work that I HAVE to be at a certain place at a certain time and there is nobody who can take my place. The meeting would have to be canceled and 80 people would have shown up for nothing and would have to go home... Has anyone ever actually had a "no start" condition where they had to miss work? Do I need to be thinking about getting some type of backup vehicle? Am I naive to think this can be reliable enough to be my primary vehicle or should I be making some type of arrangement on the days (3 days a week) I have those meetings? Maybe I should do a poll...

I've hung on to one of my ICE car just in case and as a tinker car. In 16000 miles I've never had to use it in an emergency. I've just got to make sure to start it up every few months or so.

 

[mep]

I took my car to the local service center to have the tires changed. I noticed the S85 loaner was much quieter at freeway speeds - my car had a "humming" noise coming from the rear that noticeably increased between 65 MPH and 75 MPH. I thought it was tire/road noise, but mentioned it to the service center just in case. They drove it and concluded that it was noisier than it should be. Engineering sent a special instrument with which to record the sound in the back of the car, and after hearing the noise Tesla Engineering advised the service center to replace the "drive inverter".

Looks like I have the same problem. Today we went on our first long distance trip to be at the ribbon cutting ceremony of the new Supercharger station in Rockford, IL. The car was quite silent up to about 60-65 mph. At 65 mph a noise started sounding like a loud engine noise or a humming noise. It got much louder at 75 mph to a point that I could hardly hear the radio anymore. I arrived home this afternoon with a headache. Sounds like I will need to take the car to the service station. I assume that noise is NOT normal at higher speeds in a 85 model? I need some reassurance folks because on my way back I seriously thinking whether I made the right choice with a MS. If this is not normal then I am sure they can fix it. Glad I found your post.

 

[jerry33]

This thread is freaking me out a little....All I wanna know is... and I think what most new and perspective buyers want to know is... Is this thing going to leave me stranded?

Basically, no--unless you roll a bad number. I had one of the chargers go out on a vacation trip and Tesla flew in a Ranger to fix it. I couldn't charge but there was enough range left that the only down time was the two hours the Ranger took to install a new one. Great car, great service. I've had worse experiences with other cars.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Regarding the humming noise, it does sound abnormal. I have no such noise at even 85-95 mph (done only occasionally when totally safe, I might add) with my 60 from January.

 

[Newscutter]

The disconcerting part is that with the Model S it's like wondering why your computer won't boot, it's just sort of a magical mystery. With an ICE, often there's visible/audible indications of the issue. Either way you're equally hosed, but there's a certain odd satisfaction in at least knowing what part to curse at in an ICE.

Funny! That's one of the thoughts that has been rattling around my head. My work is very dependent on computers and they frequently leave me wishing for a return to the steam age.
Repeating "computers make our lives easier" over and over isn't nearly as satisfying as it should be.
Maybe I should try more cursing.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Looks like I have the same problem. Today we went on our first long distance trip to be at the ribbon cutting ceremony of the new Supercharger station in Rockford, IL. The car was quite silent up to about 60-65 mph. At 65 mph a noise started sounding like a loud engine noise or a humming noise. It got much louder at 75 mph to a point that I could hardly hear the radio anymore. I arrived home this afternoon with a headache. Sounds like I will need to take the car to the service station. I assume that noise is NOT normal at higher speeds in a 85 model? I need some reassurance folks because on my way back I seriously thinking whether I made the right choice with a MS. If this is not normal then I am sure they can fix it. Glad I found your post.

My car is a P85 and the noise was determined to be abnormally loud, so I would say that if you hear this loud humming noise it should not be considered normal even on a P85. The P85's inverter is a little more efficient, I believe, but otherwise not that much different than a S85. The noise levels should be comparable. I also thought my car might be louder due to the pano roof (loaner had no pano), but I was wrong there as well.

One other issue that I'm having them look into is that my backup camera seems a bit out of focus compared to the one in the loaner car, which was tack sharp. I am going to compare my vehicle's camera to the loaner's camera tomorrow when I pick up my car. I've read other threads here indicating that others are having the same issue. Perhaps Tesla changed camera suppliers and the quality is not the same as it used to be?