No can drive: "the electrical system is unable to support all features"

[AJMi]

Would love to hear any ideas about why our Model 3 won't drive. Two error messages:

"The electrical system is unable to support all features. Shutting down features to conserve energy"
and...
"Please wait while vehicle systems power up. Press brake pedal for 30 seconds to drive"

Welp, pressing the brake for 30, 60, 90 seconds does not help. Heck holding it for 20 minutes doesn't help.

Other things we tried: Reset with the click wheels, reset with the click wheels + brake, power down from the security menu, install the software update.

It's a 2020 Model 3 long range with 6,000 miles and an 85 percent charge.

Made a service appointment but it is three weeks away.

Any ideas would be welcome!

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Okay, so we spent six hours in Chico yesterday. They determined that our "power bottle" was failing. I gather this component is involved in the cooling system that maintains the temperature in the computer, and importantly for our error messages, the high-voltage system. So we have a new power bottle and a bunch of labor. This is the first repair the car has required in 3 years and 61,000 miles, but it was an expensive one. On the road again!

PS: Since I already bought a 12V battery, I had them stick it in. They said they usually need it by 3 years, so why not? No further charge for that work.

That's pretty sad that the cooling system had a problem in that time period. You'd be hard pressed to find an ICE car that would have a cooling system failure that soon, and they're dealing with much higher temps and pressures.

What was the final bill?

 

[stopcrazypp]

That's pretty sad that the cooling system had a problem in that time period. You'd be hard pressed to find an ICE car that would have a cooling system failure that soon, and they're dealing with much higher temps and pressures.

What was the final bill?

Actually it's pretty easy to find given the lower end of average water pump lifetime is around that many miles (60k), given that coincides with timing belt replacement (usually replaced together). Just from a few seconds of googling:
Five Signs Your Water Pump Is Failing - J&M Transmission & Auto Service
How long does a water pump last?

Real world examples:
Water Pump Bad at such low miles
My Water Pump going out at 50k miles?
Water pump leaking at 60k miles

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Actually it's pretty easy to find given the lower end of average water pump lifetime is around that many miles (60k), given that coincides with timing belt replacement (usually replaced together). Just from a few seconds of googling:
Five Signs Your Water Pump Is Failing - J&M Transmission & Auto Service
How long does a water pump last?

Real world examples:
Water Pump Bad at such low miles
My Water Pump going out at 50k miles?
Water pump leaking at 60k miles

Well, so much for being more reliable than ICE cars, right?

 

[YHZ-Owner]

Well, so much for being more reliable than ICE cars, right?

It's so sad how Tesla seems to be getting worse and worse in terms of quality.

 

[CharleyBC]

What was the final bill?

About $650.

 

[CharleyBC]

They determined that our "power bottle" was failing.

Forgive me. The correct term is "super bottle".

 

[Timbo2]

Forgive me. The correct term is "super bottle".

If anybody is interested:

The Tesla Model 3 'Superbottle' Easter Egg Is a Fascinating Packaging Solution

 

[stopcrazypp]

Well, so much for being more reliable than ICE cars, right?

Well the claim is there is less maintenance (at least mandatory ones), but Teslas were never "reliable" as car brands go especially when you include all issues (not just focus on drivetrain/battery which Tesla has a decent warranty on vs your typical ICE powertrain warranty).

 

[CharleyBC]

If anybody is interested:

The Tesla Model 3 'Superbottle' Easter Egg Is a Fascinating Packaging Solution

Fascinating. Thanks! And in our case, it was that actuator in the superbottle that was failing. But they replace the whole bottle.

I should have asked to keep the failed part, just for curiosity.

 

[pbmyp]

Hmmm, I'd like to be sympathetic, but several red flags popped up. A new member, with some kind of major problem, and reporting error messages that are completely unlike the wording typically used for these kinds of problems. Maybe there's some paraphrasing going on? I've never heard
"The electrical system is unable to support all features. Shutting down features to conserve energy"
and...
"Please wait while vehicle systems power up. Press brake pedal for 30 seconds to drive" as being error messages that tesla uses. Perhaps these are just hat the OP remembers, and the actual messages were different. And roadside assistance calls going to voicemail? I've never heard of that before.

Anyway, I'd vouch for the 12v battery being the culprit as others have. Weird things happen right before it goes out.

For what it's worth, I found this thread by googling the exact phrasing because we just got the same message on our Model Y (which also happens to have 6000 miles on it) this morning. So, there's a second data point for ya.

 

[jjrandorin]

For what it's worth, I found this thread by googling the exact phrasing because we just got the same message on our Model Y (which also happens to have 6000 miles on it) this morning. So, there's a second data point for ya.

But if you had looked 2 more posts past the one you quoted, you would see that the person you quoted retracted that statement.

I retract my red flag comments. Thanks for looking that up.

 

[Iadam]

I Googled the phrase "the electrical system is unable to support all features" and besides this thread, found this:

Brand New Tesla Model S Plaid Breaks Down: Report

One of the first Tesla Model S Plaid owners and multiple Tesla car user reports that his brand new car has broken down.

insideevs.com

Same for "please wait while vehicle systems power up" and found this:

Please Wait Vehicle Powering Up

I have seen this message on three separate occasions. Does anyone know what causes this and can it be prevented? When this happens it takes 10 to 15 minutes for my car to be responsive/drivable. This happened to me this morning and it made me late to an appointment. Thanks, Wade

teslamotorsclub.com

And finally, "press brake pedal for 30 seconds to drive" and this was a hit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModel3/comments/lb4jpw

Just got all of those error messages at once about 15 minutes ago. Wouldn’t let me turn the car on.

Going to charger now to see if charging will change the situation.

 

[CharleyBC]

Just got all of those error messages at once about 15 minutes ago. Wouldn’t let me turn the car on.

Going to charger now to see if charging will change the situation.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but if the car wouldn't turn on (ours wouldn't either when we got this), then how were you going to a charger?

In any case, how did this turn out for you? I hope you're back on the road!

 

[bagspacked]

Man this makes me want to upgrade my 12v to the MPP lithium.
Are the OEM 12v that garbage?

Mine was super corroded two weeks after delivery. SC wouldn't replace since they said it was normal electrically. What BS

 

[SOCABOY]

Would love to hear any ideas about why our Model 3 won't drive. Two error messages:

"The electrical system is unable to support all features. Shutting down features to conserve energy"
and...
"Please wait while vehicle systems power up. Press brake pedal for 30 seconds to drive"

Welp, pressing the brake for 30, 60, 90 seconds does not help. Heck holding it for 20 minutes doesn't help.

Other things we tried: Reset with the click wheels, reset with the click wheels + brake, power down from the security menu, install the software update.

It's a 2020 Model 3 long range with 6,000 miles and an 85 percent charge.

Made a service appointment but it is three weeks away.

Any ideas would be welcome!

Just ran I to this today. Jumped in my car and this message popped up. Along with " schedule service to replace low voltage battery". My appt is only a week out and the car still drives. But not taking a chance to drive it for it to die on me.

 

[johnsonrs12]

Hmmm, I'd like to be sympathetic, but several red flags popped up. A new member, with some kind of major problem, and reporting error messages that are completely unlike the wording typically used for these kinds of problems. Maybe there's some paraphrasing going on? I've never heard
"The electrical system is unable to support all features. Shutting down features to conserve energy"
and...
"Please wait while vehicle systems power up. Press brake pedal for 30 seconds to drive" as being error messages that tesla uses. Perhaps these are just hat the OP remembers, and the actual messages were different. And roadside assistance calls going to voicemail? I've never heard of that before.

Anyway, I'd vouch for the 12v battery being the culprit as others have. Weird things happen right before it goes out.

Great observation, however this person’s error message was identical. Nice effort though.

 

[305jeff]

Similar issue here - 3 years 20k miles M3 Midrange.

 

[305jeff]

Similar issue here - 3 years 20k miles M3 Midrange.

Just a quick update to share my service results for anyone who might have the same message(s):

It was simply a dying 12v battery, as expected.

The Tesla service center near me had same day appointments available via the app. I dropped it off at 9:15am and it was ready the same afternoon. Very pleased with my service visit. I was also a little surprised that my 3+ year old 12v battery was covered by the general warranty. My last car (Kia Optima) had a separate 2 year warranty for the battery and when it died after 25 months, I had to pay.

 

[SanteeMike]

Is it my imagination, or are we having a run of dead/dying batteries lately? Mine is slowly going away as well. At least the car has given me warnings.

 

[Altes]

The OEM one costs $85 for the part, and $129 out the door if you pay for tesla mobile service to come to your house and change it because you dont want to do it yourself (like me). The MPP battery looks like its $660. The ohmmu battery looks like its $439.

If you simply preemptively pay for a tesla battery every 2 years, which would likely be on the short side, but lets go with it, you can either do that almost 4 times (8 years) before you get to the cost of an Ohmmu, or 5 times (10 years) before you get to the cost of the MPP, and thats with tesla changing it for you at your home, vs doing it yourself, like the ohmmu and MPP.

Assuming anyone who is willing to put in an ohmmu or mpp battery themselves is also willing to put in the tesla OEM battery every 2 years themselves (for $85 which is the cost of the part), then you are looking at 5 times for the ohmmu (10 years) or 7 times for the MPP (14 years).

TL ; DR , you need to be changing to those batteries for something other than cost, because you are looking at 10 years (ohmmu) or 14 years (mpp) break even point on those batteries, assuming those batteries last 10 years or 14 years respectively, and you have the car that long.

There are other reasons someone might want those batteries, but there isnt any way that they come out cheaper than simply buying the tesla one, even over the long term.

I recently had my first battery replacement on my 5 year old MS75...Ranger came out and replaced it, I asked about DIY and he said they need to tell the car it has a new battery so DIY is not an option as you need to access Elons brain and get permission for the new battery. Also he mentioned they are using a new style battery across the board now that is supposed to last much longer.