My 2 day old P85D suddenly died in the middle of an intersection

[AmpedRealtor]

It it is a moot point now. My wife is adamant that she does not want to drive a Tesla after yesterday's incident.

^^ If this happened to me, I would feel exactly the same way. Tesla needs to get its act together because these problems have been ongoing for 2 years and Tesla should be utterly embarrassed. Where is the quality control, not just in-house but with the parts suppliers? I can tell you that if this happened to any of my friends, they would feel exactly the same way as Omar's wife. I cut Tesla zero slack in this department.

I've had two drive unit replacements and now my 2nd replacement is acting up. It pains me to say this, but this vehicle has too many ongoing quality issues that are not being resolved. Musk glosses over them during the quarterly conference calls. But nothing is really changing on this end of things. Tesla's reputation is going to suffer if these issues aren't addressed, and it doesn't seem like Tesla cares to address them.

 

[Gizmotoy]

i don't know what is wrong with my wife's car. Nobody from the SC called me yet.
It it is a moot point now. My wife is adamant that she does not want to drive a Tesla after yesterday's incident.

Based on what you've said so far it sounds like that was inevitable, anyway, and didn't want it in the first place. If it wasn't this it would have been something else. It was just a convenient reason.

Sorry this happened. Certainly it's crappy. "Infant mortality" on pretty much any consumer product is a problem, and especially so when you buy from the very first batch of a new product. Tesla really needs to figure out this 12V/DC-DC/Contactor issue. You're not the first to get stuck like this, unfortunately. This is not acceptable. Plus, at least in the US, they should have offered to pick you up. I'm not sure if that's a US-only thing, but given how cold it was and that you were without heat...

 

[yoyo]

this is a very useful thread as it warns new tesla drivers to be on alert and be prepared for this kind of issues.
The temperature should have nothing to do with it, 10F is absolutely nothing and we had -10F two nights ago and will be getting colder, and we got over -40F windchill last winter in Chicago.
I have now added blanket and printed user manual to the trunk, and will be looking for a booster.
Yeah, the other thread about supercharging not working on brand new P85D prompted me to test out mine... I would not have thought about it at all.

some suggested to always plug-in the car, well, impossible at work when the car must sit in <0F for 8 to 10 hours.
preheat the car and time the charging - still trying to figure out the correct way -- as yesterday I timed it and when I was leaving, it was not finished with the 85% charge yet, and I preheated the car for about 15 minutes, then as soon as left the house, hit traffic jam due to two car accident due to ice, the car energy use went through the roof -- it was using more than 900w/mile, and the predicted range kept dropping all the way to 37 miles (only after 2 miles from a 84% charge).... yeah, I averaged about 900w/mile for the 15mile chart... ---- I even turned off the heater, but the energy use did not change much - so I assume the battery was being heated

then today, the charge was completed around 4AM, I heated the car for over 20 minutes, and forced it to charge for about 5 minutes, and the energy use (on highway) averaged about 570w/m at 0F...
so not sure what is the magic formula yet...

still lots to learn, and become more aware of all the potential problems through people's postings..
Thanks OP and other posters who CONTRIBUTE

 

[dsm363]

^^ If this happened to me, I would feel exactly the same way. Tesla needs to get its act together because these problems have been ongoing for 2 years and Tesla should be utterly embarrassed. Where is the quality control, not just in-house but with the parts suppliers? I can tell you that if this happened to any of my friends, they would feel exactly the same way as Omar's wife. I cut Tesla zero slack in this department.

I've had two drive unit replacements and now my 2nd replacement is acting up. It pains me to say this, but this vehicle has too many ongoing quality issues that are not being resolved. Musk glosses over them during the quarterly conference calls. But nothing is really changing on this end of things. Tesla's reputation is going to suffer if these issues aren't addressed, and it doesn't seem like Tesla cares to address them.

And I've had zero drivetrain problems in more than two years. Single reports are anecdotal. You're making it sound like this is happening to 50% of cars or something.

 

[islandbayy]

this is a very useful thread as it warns new tesla drivers to be on alert and be prepared for this kind of issues.
The temperature should have nothing to do with it, 10F is absolutely nothing and we had -10F two nights ago and will be getting colder, and we got over -40F windchill last winter in Chicago.
I have now added blanket and printed user manual to the trunk, and will be looking for a booster.
Yeah, the other thread about supercharging not working on brand new P85D prompted me to test out mine... I would not have thought about it at all.

some suggested to always plug-in the car, well, impossible at work when the car must sit in <0F for 8 to 10 hours.
preheat the car and time the charging - still trying to figure out the correct way -- as yesterday I timed it and when I was leaving, it was not finished with the 85% charge yet, and I preheated the car for about 15 minutes, then as soon as left the house, hit traffic jam due to two car accident due to ice, the car energy use went through the roof -- it was using more than 900w/mile, and the predicted range kept dropping all the way to 37 miles (only after 2 miles from a 84% charge).... yeah, I averaged about 900w/mile for the 15mile chart... ---- I even turned off the heater, but the energy use did not change much - so I assume the battery was being heated

then today, the charge was completed around 4AM, I heated the car for over 20 minutes, and forced it to charge for about 5 minutes, and the energy use (on highway) averaged about 570w/m at 0F...
so not sure what is the magic formula yet...

still lots to learn, and become more aware of all the potential problems through people's postings..
Thanks OP and other posters who CONTRIBUTE

Thats interesting for the energy usage. Plus, you can "partially disable" the pack heater by turning on range mode in the settings. It will reduce heating power and turn off pack heater down to about -20*F-Ish. I did Milwaukee, to downtown Chicago to the Chinese Consulates office to pickup visas, and turned around and made it to Highland Park to supercharge. I averaged ~380w/mile. Last week, did the same trip at about 15*F out, and averaged ~300w/mile. This is on my 60kWh Pack.

I do highly recommend getting a product called FogPRO and put it on your windshield. It will let you re-circulate interior warm air and reduce fogging by about 95% requiring only about a minute of fresh air every 20 minutes or so at 0*F. This lets you use Range Mode heat with it's reduced power and still be able to keep the cabin nice and toasty at 0 or sub zero temps.

 

[tga]

It it is a moot point now. My wife is adamant that she does not want to drive a Tesla after yesterday's incident.

You've never had a new car without some sort of build issue? Consider yourself lucky. Things break sometimes, that's why there's a thing called a "warranty."

- - - Updated - - -

this is a very useful thread as it warns new tesla drivers to be on alert and be prepared for this kind of issues.

No, it's not. There is absolutely zero evidence that temperature had anything to do with the OP's problems. Those who assume to the contrary are just spreading FUD throughout this thread.

 

[NigelM]

Mod note: couple of posts went to snippiness. Let's leave out the personal stuff.

 

[osama]

Based on what you've said so far it sounds like that was inevitable, anyway, and didn't want it in the first place. If it wasn't this it would have been something else. It was just a convenient reason.

That is not a fair statement. No one twisted my arm to buy them. I REALLY wanted this experiment to work. I REALLY wanted my wife to believe in the electric car and enjoy it. I wrote a check for $300K+TAX. I bought and installed chargers. I drove a ****** rental for 3 months to make all this happen.

My wife posed a simple question. What would happen if her car broke down again in the same fashion on the freeway? How long will it take to get help? What would happen on a day like today with no heater? (-18C outside now). To compound this, my wife has medical issues with her fingers. They become white and go numb with very limited exposure to the cold.

The ICE cars break down too argument did not work with her. She's always driven a less than 3 year old SUV (Merc, BMW etc.) and never had any issues other than scheduled maintenance. She feels safe in an ICE SUV. I have trouble arguing with her when her Tesla broke down catastrophically with 190km on it.

I will keep mine and return hers. I personally want to continue the Tesla experiment. She doesn't. I can't blame her to be honest.

 

[yoyo]

I do highly recommend getting a product called FogPRO and put it on your windshield. It will let you re-circulate interior warm air and reduce fogging by about 95% requiring only about a minute of fresh air every 20 minutes or so at 0*F. This lets you use Range Mode heat with it's reduced power and still be able to keep the cabin nice and toasty at 0 or sub zero temps.

Thanks! I just did amazon search and google, but could not find FogPRO. Would you be able to share a link? Yeah, I am actually forced to turn on the heat, just to keep it from fogging up, so this product you described would be perfect. The energy use is on a P85D.

 

[Gizmotoy]

That is not a fair statement. No one twisted my arm to buy them. I REALLY wanted this experiment to work. I REALLY wanted my wife to believe in the electric car and enjoy it. I wrote a check for $300K+TAX. I bought and installed chargers. I drove a ****** rental for 3 months to make all this happen.

Perhaps, of course you're the only one who really knows. I have no doubt you wanted to work out, I was just pointing out that in several comments you mentioned how she didn't want the car and that you had to twist her arm (Example of one of the comments that led to the above: "She was extremely skeptical about buying a Tesla and I twisted her arm"). Certainly I didn't intend it to be offensive or antagonistic, so I absolutely apologize if it came off that way.

My wife posed a simple question. What would happen if her car broke down again in the same fashion on the freeway? How long will it take to get help? What would happen on a day like today with no heater? (-18C outside now). To compound this, my wife has medical issues with her fingers. They become white and go numb with very limited exposure to the cold.

The ICE cars break down too argument did not work with her. She's always driven a less than 3 year old SUV (Merc, BMW etc.) and never had any issues other than scheduled maintenance. She feels safe in an ICE SUV. I have trouble arguing with her when her Tesla broke down catastrophically with 190km on it.

I will keep mine and return hers. I personally want to continue the Tesla experiment. She doesn't. I can't blame her to be honest.

To answer your wife's question: if it happened on the freeway she'd have to coast to the side of the road as best as was possible, same as if there were a major electrical failure on an ICE. It shouldn't have taken long as long as it did to get help. Tow trucks are often slow, but many others have had Tesla offer to pick them up and leave the vehicle. This should have been an especially high priority given the cold and family situation. I had a simple flat tire on the evening of the 4th of July when everything in the US is closed, and they offered to send a car out to the middle of nowhere and drive me and my family the 100 miles home.

Again, early failures in practically everything are common. If it's going to fail, it's usually going to do it when it's brand new or when it's getting old. Wholesale failure of the drivetrain is never an acceptable situation, but if anything, the timing is absolutely expected. That it happened in the first 190km is a predictable outcome, not an indicator of overall reliability.

 

[efusco]

The next time you get stranded in -12C weather in the middle of an intersection with your 10 year old son and have to ask him to push the car with you then you won't find my action extreme. I am not sure how this will work either but i will find out and tell you.

I said i won't be reordering until I am convinced the cars are ready for prime time. I may never reorder too.

Happens with ICE vehicles all the time. I know you're upset, but your reaction seems disproportionate here.

 

[idoco]

i My wife is adamant that she does not want to drive a Tesla after yesterday's incident.

My wife has been driving her Model S for almost two years. We had the 12V/stranded issue twice in the first couple months. Both times promptly addressed by Tesla.

Despite this she refuses to drive an ICE car. That is because a Model S with a minor problem, that can happen with any type of vehicle, and is easily fixed, is still better than most ICE vehicles.

 

[SmartElectric]

The ICE cars break down too argument did not work with her. She's always driven a less than 3 year old SUV (Merc, BMW etc.) and never had any issues other than scheduled maintenance. She feels safe in an ICE SUV.

I have an opposite experience. My wife's Mercedes GLK350 SUV wouldn't start on a cold winter day a few weeks ago. She switched to driving my electric car. I had to figure out the problem with the ICE SUV, get to the dealer and replace the faulty part and commute multiple days in the SUV before she would accept switching back to it from the EV.

The faulty part? The 12V battery! I love irony.

So, there is my anecdotal evidence that ICE SUV's are unreliable and not worth the trouble.

Oh, and she vows to never purchase another ICE vehicle after driving my EV exclusively for a week.

 

[tga]

Mod note: couple of posts went to snippiness. Let's leave out the personal stuff.

Aw, just when things were starting to get fun! :biggrin:

Actually, I toned down one of my responses above because I feared it going into the bit bucket.

I will keep mine and return hers. I personally want to continue the Tesla experiment. She doesn't. I can't blame her to be honest.

Will they even let you return it? I've only seen that discussed in the context of lease, not purchased, cars.

Would trading cars with her help? You give her the red one that didn't break down and drive the white one until everyone's confidence is restored...

 

[efusco]

That is not a fair statement. No one twisted my arm to buy them. I REALLY wanted this experiment to work. I REALLY wanted my wife to believe in the electric car and enjoy it. I wrote a check for $300K+TAX. I bought and installed chargers. I drove a ****** rental for 3 months to make all this happen.

My wife posed a simple question. What would happen if her car broke down again in the same fashion on the freeway? How long will it take to get help? What would happen on a day like today with no heater? (-18C outside now). To compound this, my wife has medical issues with her fingers. They become white and go numb with very limited exposure to the cold.

The ICE cars break down too argument did not work with her. She's always driven a less than 3 year old SUV (Merc, BMW etc.) and never had any issues other than scheduled maintenance. She feels safe in an ICE SUV. I have trouble arguing with her when her Tesla broke down catastrophically with 190km on it.

I will keep mine and return hers. I personally want to continue the Tesla experiment. She doesn't. I can't blame her to be honest.

Will you try a BMW "experiment" now? What if that car stops working... Again I am very sorry this happened and a bit of frustration is understandable. But I have to believe this is a dramatic overreaction on all parts. If your wife doesn't want to drive the vehicle then you should be the one to drive it. Generalizing your situation to call it a failed "experiment" is ludicrous. There are many of us driving around with 20, 30, 40, or 50k miles plus that have never experienced a shut-down/failure. And most who have had one, have never had another. It's magical thinking to believe that simply changing vehicles will prevent an occurance of being stranded. I used to live in Alaska, when I did I always kept blankets, hand warmers, bunny boots, etc. in the vehicle (an ICE, BTW) just in case of these sorts of eventualities. Anyone living where it gets that cold should be prepared whether you drive a Mercedes or a Tesla.

 

[ckessel]

The ICE cars break down too argument did not work with her. She's always driven a less than 3 year old SUV (Merc, BMW etc.) and never had any issues other than scheduled maintenance. She feels safe in an ICE SUV.

It's an understandable reaction, though not a rational one. But, you can't force people to be rational.

People have all sorts of superstitions they honor. After an accident a number of years ago, I avoided the intersection for months and months....wasn't really the intersection's fault though, just a distracted driver, but I just felt better avoiding it.

 

[osama]

You've never had a new car without some sort of build issue? Consider yourself lucky. Things break sometimes, that's why there's a thing called a "warranty."

I've had lots of issues with cars but none that were in the category of a catastrophic engine failure that left me stranded in an intersection with no heat.

 

[dsm363]

I've had lots of issues with cars but none that were in the category of a catastrophic engine failure that left me stranded in an intersection with no heat.

And yet others have. Should anyone who's ever been stranded in an ICE avoid all 'experimental' ICEs? I understand your frustration and it certainly sucks to be stranded in the cold waiting for a tow truck but it can happen to anyone. But if your wife no longer wants to drive one of the safest cars on the road then selling it is the way to go. Someone will get a great car at a discount.

 

[osama]

I have an opposite experience. My wife's Mercedes GLK350 SUV wouldn't start on a cold winter day a few weeks ago. She switched to driving my electric car. I had to figure out the problem with the ICE SUV, get to the dealer and replace the faulty part and commute multiple days in the SUV before she would accept switching back to it from the EV.

The faulty part? The 12V battery! I love irony.

So, there is my anecdotal evidence that ICE SUV's are unreliable and not worth the trouble.

Oh, and she vows to never purchase another ICE vehicle after driving my EV exclusively for a week.

Doesn't start and shuts down in the middle of an intersection are two different things. If the Tesla didn't start in our garage you wouldn't even be hearing about it.
My wife is not concerned with her car not starting. She is extremely concerned with her car shutting down suddenly and unexpectedly.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

And I've had zero drivetrain problems in more than two years. Single reports are anecdotal. You're making it sound like this is happening to 50% of cars or something.

A point of discussion during a quarterly conference call doesn't occur if the issue is happening to a minority of owners. Tesla doesn't add a drive unit warranty because a small number of owners are impacted. Let's not rehash this one again. It's an issue for a lot of people and that's a well known fact proven by all of the threads and polls here. My point is that these issues can't continue, and if they do, Tesla's reputation will suffer.

I'm happy that you have not had any issues.