Model S Technical / Mechanical Issues

[aerodyne]

@criley125 and @canasion35 ....

Greater than zero chance you both pulled short straws and have lemons.

No guarantee Tesla will ever make your cars right. I'd explore lemon law options in your state.

I've had only minor delivery issues so far, save for some creaks and rattles. If I do have a major problem I will just sell, but not for much, as the price cuts mean 30% depreciation in the first year.

 

[criley125]

Probably not. Quality has gone down. My mother in law’s X has ~40 miles on it (brand new) and it’s on the 3rd main battery….

Update: Service station has to replace windshield (again) to repair A/C. Sounds like they damaged A/C when replacing windshield. Anyone know how they managed to do this?

 

[TexasDuke]

Wow! My 2017 MS is going strong with over 100k miles. No battery issues and still the original windshield. However, a sunroof piece broke and will have to be fixed for a hundred dollars with labor. (Just a $5 piece of metal, but difficult to get to.) I’ve never expected Lexus level of service, but grateful for respectful Tesla associates.
If you are expecting perfection, you should’ve bought a Lexus. (Which is my 2nd vehicle. [2009 LX])

 

[walla2]

Recently had some major DV inverter issues with failure of the non-fuse components of the DC inverter. Symptoms were voltage too low, car may not start, unable to drive. Able to connect a 25 AMP battery charger to the battery terminals to get the car to move so I could get it out of a difficult loading situation very far from service to avoid a long tow.

Steps:

1. Power off in Safety. Disconnected the high voltage and negative 12v terminal for to reset the computer. 60 seconds works.
2. Hooked up the battery charger to the front terminals. I used a black and decker charger/starter.
3. Reconnected the negative 12v battery and HV battery and then turned on the charger. Charger immediately began providing the extra amps needed to get all the electronics running.
4. Got in the car and pressed the brake, shifted into drive once it was available and able to drive.

At Tesla service, quoted $4700 to upgrade the DC inverter to GEN2 meaning a ton of new wiring, etc. Decided to get a replacement DC inverter on ebay and tested it prior to install. Removal is easy enough in an early car (took about 2 hours to install and reassemble). Videos available in Youtube.

Removed mine, all the fuses test fine but the internals of the inverter must have failed somehow.

Hope this is helpful for those with DC inverter failures in GEN 1 inverter cars. The battery charger trick saved me a ton of trouble getting it moving again to service or to a place / position where it could be easier to remove the front passenger wheel and do the repair.

Interestingly, while the car was down, I connected the battery charger to a portable battery with 600 W peak output. This allowed the car to stay on for a long time meaning, one could bypass the DC inverter failure with this method and drive a reasonable distance if needed.

 

[Bugeater]

Some of us would say that 10 years old is well broken in, but not old.

I say that as someone that typically owns vehicles for ~15 years on average. Last car I finally retired was a 2005 Accord which retired in late 2021 having owned 16 years since new. Was still running fine. Decision to sell was due to downsizing our "fleet", not that it was not a reliable car.

I would concur with comments of others that upgrading from MCU1 to MCU2 is a step improvement in capability. Did that on my mid-2016 MS90D in December 2021. While I cringed at bit at the cost, I decided to bite the bullet versus getting Tesla to replace my eMMC chip before my MCU went totally non-functional.

And I do still have my '65 Chevy Impala! Yea, it does need some notable work to be drivable again though.

 

[OldCreek]

I'm having two issues. The door handle problems seem to be real. My driver's door handle extends but won't open the door. Ranger coming to fix it in an hour or so. The other problem I'm going to show him is clearly a software problem, the dashboard (small) screen has smatterings of black pixels with a semi-regular pattern. This is almost certainly caused by data being written through bad pointers. Problems like this usually get worse over time, until something important gets overwritten, so after I show it to the ranger I intend to do a display reset.

Is there anyway to manual pull the handle out if it doesn't auto display? I'm shopping for a 2016 or newer model S and this is one of my top concerns.

 

[MP3Mike]

Is there anyway to manual pull the handle out if it doesn't auto display? I'm shopping for a 2016 or newer model S and this is one of my top concerns.

They are only held in by a spring. You can likely pry it out with a credit card. (I have even seen people tie a piece of string to them to be able to pull them when needed.)

 

[PCMc]

Is there anyway to manual pull the handle out if it doesn't auto display? I'm shopping for a 2016 or newer model S and this is one of my top concerns.

I've had two handles go out a various times on my mid-2016 Model S. I happen to have some small velcro straps that are used for electrical cords, like what many laptop power supplies will have on the cord so you can fold it up and hold in a bundle. I have just used one of those to run around the handle, let the end stick out, to serve as a type of pull-strap.

Something like a credit card to fish in the edge of the opening works, but I preferred the approach of string, or in my case velcro, tie around the handle. Minimizes chance I can inadvertently scrape/knick the paint with any form of pry tool.

 

[ggr]

Is there anyway to manual pull the handle out if it doesn't auto display? I'm shopping for a 2016 or newer model S and this is one of my top concerns.

Wow, you're replying to an 11-year-old problem, with the original handles that were all re-designed and replaced. If the handle doesn't auto-present, just push it, and (assuming the car is unlocked) it will pop them all out.

 

[OldCreek]

Wow, you're replying to an 11-year-old problem, with the original handles that were all re-designed and replaced. If the handle doesn't auto-present, just push it, and (assuming the car is unlocked) it will pop them all out.

Ah, my mistake. I'm new to the forum and Tesla in general. I'm here researching and learning about issues so that I'm prepared for my purchase.
Thanks for understanding and explaining.

 

[ggr]

Ah, my mistake. I'm new to the forum and Tesla in general. I'm here researching and learning about issues so that I'm prepared for my purchase.
Thanks for understanding and explaining.

No worries. Literally. Just go buy the most phenomenal car...

 

[KalJoMoS]

Wow, you're replying to an 11-year-old problem, with the original handles that were all re-designed and replaced.

Not all are! Three on mine are still v.2. If you turn to Tesla then they will change it for the new v.3. Old versions are repairable, newer not so much. Older have the microswitch failure and that’s the symptoms on the handle. I have clear electrical tape around one handle (on upper side with a lip to grip) that suffers from damp weather and not always presents.

 

[ggr]

Not all are! Three on mine are still v.2. If you turn to Tesla then they will change it for the new v.3. Old versions are repairable, newer not so much. Older have the microswitch failure and that’s the symptoms on the handle. I have clear electrical tape around one handle (on upper side with a lip to grip) that suffers from damp weather and not always presents.

v.2 is after v.1.

 

[KalJoMoS]

OP was searching 2016 model's, mine is 2016 and the handles are v.2 (apart from one that was changed to v.3). Sure 11 years ago the car had v.1 handles, 2016 car’s don’t.

 

[Gtech]

OP was searching 2016 model's, mine is 2016 and the handles are v.2 (apart from one that was changed to v.3). Sure 11 years ago the car had v.1 handles, 2016 car’s don’t.

Anyone know when they stopped using V1 handle? Think they are not used for a long time. Have seen an Dec 2013 with gen2 (there is a chance it was already replaced so not 100% sure)

 

[ACS.]

Is there anyway to manual pull the handle out if it doesn't auto display? I'm shopping for a 2016 or newer model S and this is one of my top concerns.

Check for broken wires in door hinge rubber grommets. Front doors open manually by pulling inside latch 100%, rear door by pull cord latch located inside carpet wall behind feet position.

 

[FMinMI]

Is there anyway to manual pull the handle out if it doesn't auto display? I'm shopping for a 2016 or newer model S and this is one of my top concerns.

If you are going to buy a Tesla, I wouldn't worry about the handle - this is a minor inconvenience if it were to break...

 

[C-NRG-GO]

I just had my 2013 MS P85's drive unit replaced for about $7,000. The cause of the damage was from a water incursion. The explanation given was that the O-rings failed due to the age of the car. That's a pretty steep price to pay for O-rings going bad. I don't know if that's something they can check for, but if it is, I'd mention it to the service guys if you have to take in your 8 to 11 year old S. Oh, and like everyone else, they had to replace a door handle and adjust another one. Hopefully that's the last repair before picking up my shiny CT.

 

[miimura]

You should be clear about where the liquid came from. Normally in these Large Drive Units it’s the coolant that’s leaking into the rotor space or even the inverter. The liquid is not from the environment.

 

[Evgensud]

Hello
I removed the bumper, errors appeared and the air conditioning stopped working. All contacts are ok and there is power. Tell me where to look next?