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Model X Shut Down while Driving - WARNING!

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Tesla Owners, be warned, I love my Model X, but what happened to me today is not acceptable and could cost someone their life. Please read and be aware.

Nov 6, 2019 @ 8:00am
I got into the vehicle with my 1 year old and pressed the brake to turn it on. The AC turned on as normal and everything seemed fine. There was no visible leak or fluid coming from the car.

I was looking for my cat that morning and couldn’t find her, so I checked under the car real quick and saw the car started draining fluid quickly. The consistency looked somewhat thick. I tested it with my finger and it seemed watery with no smell.

I called Tesla customer service and went through their automated system, only to be directed to the website. After trying twice, I was unable to get anyone on the phone.

I then called the Tesla service center by my house and got the same automated system.

At this point, I am unsure what to do. I looked at roadside assistance, but I didn’t want to call them if this wasn’t a major problem and I could drive to the service center. Roadside assistance options didn’t show anything that applied to me, so I Googled what I was seeing.

I noticed people were saying it could be the coolant, but a warning would be present, which there was none. I also noticed a post that said it could be the battery fluid, which is very dangerous. It didn't look like battery fluid, didn't have an odor, and seemed more or less like Washer Fluid.

With my daughter needing to get to daycare, I had no time to wait and figure out what to do, so I got in the car and started to drive, as I had no reason not too. For all I knew, this could be windshield fluid. Remember, no warnings on the car so I took next steps.

I didn’t get more than 200 yards from my house and I got a notice on my dashboard that said “Your vehicle needs service, power is reduced” with a picture of a turtle.

At that time, I was going up a hill and the car started to slow down and I wasn’t moving very fast despite pressing the acceleration. Cars are speeding by me. I was able to pull off to a safe area luckily (a lookout).

I then put in a request for roadside service and waited. For safety purposes, I took my daughter out of the car and we sat on a bench waiting for Tesla to respond to my request.

Sometime within 10 minutes, I received a text asking what was wrong with my car from Tesla.

I let them know the situation, that my car was leaking fluid and that it powered down on me. I sent them photos of the leak. They asked me to reset the vehicle. I questioned that as I was given a notice from Tesla that service was needed...as well as my vehicle leaking!! I told them that and they said they are trying to diagnose.

After the car reset, I asked what was next and they requested I proceed to drive the vehicle. Listening to those dumb orders, I drive maybe 100 feet and they text saying “I see you are driving, would you like me to cancel the request”..and my car then immediately goes into the same mode it went before. I am on a 45mph road up a hill with no way to pull over and my car is shutting down. I try to pull over to the left into a park but my car will barely move. I was able to put the flashers on and back up slightly into oncoming traffic and up a little onto the sidewalk. But meanwhile, cars and buses are flying by me. I am on a corner turn and I know I am going to get hit. So I immediately take my daughter out and stand on the side of the road (there’s no place for safety), and I tell the Tesla people to get someone out here right away.

I need to act quickly, so I reset the car and put my daughter back in and I am able to limp over to the park in the car and get it parked and to safety.

That is when I check my texts from Tesla and they say “At this point, if you don’t feel comfortable driving the vehicle we can assist with a tow for an out of pocket expense”. Tesla just put me in an unsafe situation, with a vehicle barely working, and then proceed to tell me if I am “not comfortable driving”...and then proceed to tell me they are going to charge me for the tow. This was incredibly stressful as it sounded like they didn’t believe me even though I sent photos of the leaks and they saw the alerts.

Thank god I was able to act quickly and go to safety because Tesla for sure didn’t have my safety in mind.

I was able to get a friend to pick me up and take my daughter and I to daycare as we waited for the tow company to get to the car.

Once I got back to the car, I saw the leaks were still happening almost an hour and a half later. I then noticed an alert come on the dash that said: “Vehicle coolant very low, please contact Tesla Service”. That is when I confirmed it was the coolant and let Tesla know.

WARNINGS FOR DRIVERS:
1. Tesla will shut down your car if the coolant is leaking (and maybe other fluids too). This is very dangerous! They do not provide you enough time or power to get to safety. I was lucky to have this happen where I did. On the highway, I would have been screwed.

2. Despite you telling roadside service that there's a leak, showing them there's a leak, and providing them a warning that states the vehicle needs service and it is powering down, they still asked me to reset and keep driving. Are you kidding me?

I'd like Tesla to enact some change ASAP and will be working towards getting ahold of them, which is virtually impossible.
 

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This is unbelievable! I’d tweet that to Elon. I don’t understand how Tesla can let these things happen, screwing their customers and nothing seems to change. They’re riding their company into the ground with this dismal service policy. What else needs to happen for Tesla to wake up?
 
...a tow for an out of pocket expense...

First, sorry for Tesla's level of comprehension of the issue: Leaking car that has a turtle speed icon should automatically mean a tow!

I assume that they are good at reading script so it's time to add more to the script!

By the way, how old is your car that Tesla want to charge you for a tow?
 
First, sorry for Tesla's level of comprehension of the issue: Leaking car that has a turtle speed icon should automatically mean a tow!

I assume that they are good at reading script so it's time to add more to the script!

By the way, how old is your car that Tesla want to charge you for a tow?
Yeah I got it March 2018. I’ve been in to the service center 6 times. I joke that I have a refurbished Model X
 
Tesla Owners, be warned, I love my Model X, but what happened to me today is not acceptable and could cost someone their life. Please read and be aware.

Nov 6, 2019 @ 8:00am
I got into the vehicle with my 1 year old and pressed the brake to turn it on. The AC turned on as normal and everything seemed fine. There was no visible leak or fluid coming from the car.

I was looking for my cat that morning and couldn’t find her, so I checked under the car real quick and saw the car started draining fluid quickly. The consistency looked somewhat thick. I tested it with my finger and it seemed watery with no smell.

I called Tesla customer service and went through their automated system, only to be directed to the website. After trying twice, I was unable to get anyone on the phone.

I then called the Tesla service center by my house and got the same automated system.

At this point, I am unsure what to do. I looked at roadside assistance, but I didn’t want to call them if this wasn’t a major problem and I could drive to the service center. Roadside assistance options didn’t show anything that applied to me, so I Googled what I was seeing.

I noticed people were saying it could be the coolant, but a warning would be present, which there was none. I also noticed a post that said it could be the battery fluid, which is very dangerous. It didn't look like battery fluid, didn't have an odor, and seemed more or less like Washer Fluid.

With my daughter needing to get to daycare, I had no time to wait and figure out what to do, so I got in the car and started to drive, as I had no reason not too. For all I knew, this could be windshield fluid. Remember, no warnings on the car so I took next steps.

I didn’t get more than 200 yards from my house and I got a notice on my dashboard that said “Your vehicle needs service, power is reduced” with a picture of a turtle.

At that time, I was going up a hill and the car started to slow down and I wasn’t moving very fast despite pressing the acceleration. Cars are speeding by me. I was able to pull off to a safe area luckily (a lookout).

I then put in a request for roadside service and waited. For safety purposes, I took my daughter out of the car and we sat on a bench waiting for Tesla to respond to my request.

Sometime within 10 minutes, I received a text asking what was wrong with my car from Tesla.

I let them know the situation, that my car was leaking fluid and that it powered down on me. I sent them photos of the leak. They asked me to reset the vehicle. I questioned that as I was given a notice from Tesla that service was needed...as well as my vehicle leaking!! I told them that and they said they are trying to diagnose.

After the car reset, I asked what was next and they requested I proceed to drive the vehicle. Listening to those dumb orders, I drive maybe 100 feet and they text saying “I see you are driving, would you like me to cancel the request”..and my car then immediately goes into the same mode it went before. I am on a 45mph road up a hill with no way to pull over and my car is shutting down. I try to pull over to the left into a park but my car will barely move. I was able to put the flashers on and back up slightly into oncoming traffic and up a little onto the sidewalk. But meanwhile, cars and buses are flying by me. I am on a corner turn and I know I am going to get hit. So I immediately take my daughter out and stand on the side of the road (there’s no place for safety), and I tell the Tesla people to get someone out here right away.

I need to act quickly, so I reset the car and put my daughter back in and I am able to limp over to the park in the car and get it parked and to safety.

That is when I check my texts from Tesla and they say “At this point, if you don’t feel comfortable driving the vehicle we can assist with a tow for an out of pocket expense”. Tesla just put me in an unsafe situation, with a vehicle barely working, and then proceed to tell me if I am “not comfortable driving”...and then proceed to tell me they are going to charge me for the tow. This was incredibly stressful as it sounded like they didn’t believe me even though I sent photos of the leaks and they saw the alerts.

Thank god I was able to act quickly and go to safety because Tesla for sure didn’t have my safety in mind.

I was able to get a friend to pick me up and take my daughter and I to daycare as we waited for the tow company to get to the car.

Once I got back to the car, I saw the leaks were still happening almost an hour and a half later. I then noticed an alert come on the dash that said: “Vehicle coolant very low, please contact Tesla Service”. That is when I confirmed it was the coolant and let Tesla know.

WARNINGS FOR DRIVERS:
1. Tesla will shut down your car if the coolant is leaking (and maybe other fluids too). This is very dangerous! They do not provide you enough time or power to get to safety. I was lucky to have this happen where I did. On the highway, I would have been screwed.

2. Despite you telling roadside service that there's a leak, showing them there's a leak, and providing them a warning that states the vehicle needs service and it is powering down, they still asked me to reset and keep driving. Are you kidding me?

I'd like Tesla to enact some change ASAP and will be working towards getting ahold of them, which is virtually impossible.
Car started draining fluid quickly...but since I needed to be someplace I decided to go for it. That didn't turn out well and my vehicle, which has been into Tesla six times, since I go in for each thing rather than a list of things is still inder warranty.

Most of it is Tesla's fault, because their agent, who isn't in the car misinformed me. I bear no responsibility for driving the car in the first place.

Sound about right?
 
Edge case meaning I don't imagine that service tech often get called upon to address a rodent chewed hose.

Agreed that Tesla needs to increase their availability and access via phone.

They are tech centric, but most of their customers...not so much.
 
Car started draining fluid quickly...but since I needed to be someplace I decided to go for it. That didn't turn out well and my vehicle, which has been into Tesla six times, since I go in for each thing rather than a list of things is still inder warranty.

Most of it is Tesla's fault, because their agent, who isn't in the car misinformed me. I bear no responsibility for driving the car in the first place.

Sound about right?

Not really.
1. Fluid was draining with no alert. Alert popped up and I stopped driving and called a tow.
2. I’ve been in 6 times and each time had a slew of issues to address. Sorry, paying $100k for a vehicle and being ok with malfunctions isn’t my thing.
3. You’re not understanding my issue. This isn’t about my responsibility. Tesla put me in a bind. With no one answering my calls, the only person who will talk to me is giving me instructions to follow, as the expert.

I find it odd you take issue to this.
 
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