Ownership journal: living with a used P85D

[D6LC]

Good days work today, first was to replace my instrument screen. Many poss on doing this and to be honest it’s a pretty easy job, the car comes apart pretty easily compared to some other vehicles I’ve worked on. I didn’t disconnect the 12v or the high voltage power. Basically you can leave your power on and listen to your audio whilst doing all the work other than disconnecting the IC. Once I was at the point that the cluster was ready to be disconnected I powered down from the MCU and then disconnected the IC. As you can see my screen wasn’t too bad.

Removing the back of the IC is pretty easy, thn you have to detach the ribbons, the first pic shows the smaller ribbon in place and “locked down”

You then lift the black plastic flap up to release the ribbon

the next picture shows the larger ribbon locked in place

to release the ribbon lift up on the edge of the white plastic clip with you finger nail. Both sides need lifting, the image below shows the RHS clip released

I reconnected the IC and pressed the brake, my MCU fired up but my IC didn’t. A scroll wheel reset and everything worked perfectly.
Then I refitted all the trim, one point worth noting is the spacer that on my car was fitted behind the RHS vent facia fixing as shown below

So all fixed with a $350 used display off eBay and about 1 hours work.

 

[D6LC]

I also investigated the noisy passenger side window, the wind noise was coming from the very front triangular piece on glass in the door. Just placing a cloth in the front glass inside the car cuts out the noise. On closer investigation it looks like the front rubber seal isn’t fitted correctly, there is a little rubber flap that should be fitted around the glass as shown below

After fixing that I would say it reduced the wind noise by 30-40% but annoyingly still there. On closer inspection the foam pad at the front edge of the glass doesn’t seem to seal against the rubber door frame. I added some door draft seal that I had as shown

I’d say this reduced the noise but about 70% so much better but not perfect. I’m going to get some thicker/denser foam to see if that improves the wind noise.

 

[D6LC]

Tackled another job today, when I purchased the car I noticed one of the front sensors didn’t fit correctly

Removing the front bumper was very simple, no need to remove the wheels or wheel liners, 2xM10 bolts under the frunk facia, 2xT25 torx in the wheel well and the around 8 plastic clips, thats the bumper is off in 10 minutes.
Most sensors are clipped or screwed in place, this is the first time I have seen then fixed in place with double sided tape

I used Gorilla Glue double sided tape, cleaned the parts with isopropyl alcohol, and as it was only around 40 degrees I warmed the part and the bumper with a hair dryers to ensure the tape bonds really well

Bumper back on and the sensor fixed

 

[D6LC]

With the bumper off today I was a little surprised by how dirty the rads were, there was all sorts of trash on mine, from a rusted bolt to shredded pieces of a tire

A shop vac and a brush clears it out, with the bumper being so easy to remove I’d advise everyone to clean these out every few years, so as not to risk trash and moisture corroding the cores. This is a common issue that affects water cooled 911’s whose rads are low in the car like ours.

 

[D6LC]

Electrician finished the 240v 40A socket today and I'm surprised how happy 27 miles of charger per hour feels compared to 4

The 120v charge never caused me an issue but happy that now no matter what the SOC is I can recharge overnight and ready to go the next day

 

[beatle]

I had a similar experience. When I bought the car I brought it home to a 5-15 plug and just trickle charged it for a couple of days until I could get the 14-50 installed. Like you also found, it was enough to get by to run an errand or my daily commute, but I knew it was 240v or bust.

It is strangely satisfying "seeing" the electrons pour into the car at a high rate, especially when starting from a low SoC and seeing it back at 90% the next morning.

 

[BigNick]

120V doesn't even have enough juice to run the battery warmer in subzero temperatures F so a cold-soaked battery can charge.
That would be very important in MN if you park outside or in an unheated garage.

 

[D6LC]

I have my car booked in next week to have the Tegra emmc daughter board replaced as a preventative measure as my car is getting to the age where it could be affected. The SC contacted me and tried to sell me on the MCU2 upgrade and whilst the faster system would be nice its not $2000 nice in my eyes, so keeping the same system and eliminating the risk.

When I booked the car in I also mentioned the fact the IC (instrument cluster) often takes 12-15 seconds to wake up, I got a text from a tech saying they need to check my data logs and to inform them when it last did this, I went straight to the car and true to form the IC took time to wake up. Informed the tech and they replied that they think it's was due to the display being set in energy saving mode. I've switched off that mode and 'touch wood' all seems to be working perfectly well. Amazing what a game changer having a connected vehicle is!!!

 

[D6LC]

Whilst my car is in the SC they have given me a 100D loaner, clearly newer than my 2015 car. Its a very interesting comparison to my car, a few things that spring to mind:
1. Overall doesn't really feel any different to my car other than mine is a lot cleaner inside and out!
2. Wind noise is the same now that I have fixed the foam on my car.
3. Motor whine is a little quieter than on my car (one of the reasons that it is in the SC being checked)
4. The 100D has navigate on Autopilot, I am unclear what version this is but to be frank its not that much more useful than my AP1. It definitely tracks merging lanes better than my car does and the screen is more detailed showing lanes and cars more accurately. However I didn't like the navigate on Autopilot, the worst for me is that it always wanted to change to the outside left lane seemingly irrespective of traffic, it just felt clunky and didn't make for a relaxing drive. Maybe there were some settings that could be changed but for me I do not see the benefit over AP1 Autopilot.
5. I have to get a center console, this car has one and for me its a basic need.
6. The additional battery capacity and mileage is impressive, I'm guessing (as I havent checked) that it has 50+ miles on my car.
7. Noticed this morning in the dark that there is a small light illuminating each of the door handles, never noticed that on my car.
8. Noticed on navigation that when you input a destination it shows estimated battery for the trip and estimated battery for the round trip, maybe it is a software difference but my car doesn't have that.
So when I first saw the newer car I expected that after driving it I would be thinking about my next newer Model S, however honestly it hasn't crossed my mind. Maybe the latest FSD cars are at another level but this car definitely isn't worth upgrading to.
Once I get my car back I'll do an update on the work scheduled. I must say I like how you schedule the service on the App, however not having the ability to call and speak to the service center now my car is there is a little frustrating. Fingers crossed the work will be done to plan.

 

[Crutonius]

Yeah. I've test driven half a dozen MSs over the years. The only thing I really envy about the newer models is those really nice premium seats.

The newer ones are faster but it's a kind of speed which goes beyond having any utility in the real world.

 

[beatle]

4. The 100D has navigate on Autopilot, I am unclear what version this is but to be frank its not that much more useful than my AP1. It definitely tracks merging lanes better than my car does and the screen is more detailed showing lanes and cars more accurately. However I didn't like the navigate on Autopilot, the worst for me is that it always wanted to change to the outside left lane seemingly irrespective of traffic, it just felt clunky and didn't make for a relaxing drive. Maybe there were some settings that could be changed but for me I do not see the benefit over AP1 Autopilot.

Agreed, I have not driven a car with FSD or even AP2, but AP1 works pretty well for my uses. IMO the benefits of "FSD" right now are overblown until you can truly drive hands free and watch a movie or something.

7. Noticed this morning in the dark that there is a small light illuminating each of the door handles, never noticed that on my car.

You should have lights on your handles as well. When I got my car, one was burned out so they replaced the handle.

8. Noticed on navigation that when you input a destination it shows estimated battery for the trip and estimated battery for the round trip, maybe it is a software difference but my car doesn't have that.

That is odd - I have that feature on my car.

 

[domodan]

5, 7 and 8 are present on my 2016 P90D.

 

[D6LC]

My car is still in the SC, hopefully get it back early next week. I charged the 100D to 100% out of interest which gave 299 miles which came in use today.
After running a bunch of errands totaling around 200 miles, I have to say navigate on autopilot is pretty shite, I don’t think it works very well at all, disappointing to be honest.
The more I drive a Tesla the more I love this car, smooth, powerful and almost silent. I also recognize how I do not miss for one minute having to visit gas stations.
When I first picked the car up I did have an element of range anxiety, however with time this passes. Most people wouldn’t have any anxiety getting into my ICE car with 3/4 of a tank so why on earth does it bother people in a Tesla?. If anything the Tesla is even more impressive that you plug it in when you get home and it’s ready to go the next day.
I’m desperately trying to think of a road trip to test out the Supercharging network.

Downsides to the car?, well the fact there is no auto speed/volume adjustment is poor for this level of car, something I notice more than you would expect. At the moment that is about it really.

For anyone interested last time I checked I’ve covered just over 1,000miles and at at $0.13 kw/h I’ve paid around $43 in charging. If you calculated that at $2/gallon then is running the equivalent of around 48mpg which is pretty amazing for such a powerful large premium car. I am sure I could drive it much more economically, if I didn’t use the heater and pre warm the car before driving home to counter the sub 30F days here.

Sorry for the typo’s red wine, fat thumbs and an iPhone don’t mix well !!

 

[beatle]

When I first picked the car up I did have an element of range anxiety, however with time this passes. Most people wouldn’t have any anxiety getting into my ICE car with 3/4 of a tank so why on earth does it bother people in a Tesla?

You very rarely need to plan for fueling stops when driving an ICE vehicle. Gas stations are so plentiful that only the most remote drives would generate range anxiety. In addition, many ICE vehicles have fuel ranges in excess of 400 miles, and that's under most all conditions (including freezing cold).

In an EV, you have less range, more variability in that range due to conditions, and way, way fewer places to "fuel up" if you find yourself with less range than needed to make it to your destination. That all said, I have found that as long as I do some planning ahead of time as to where I will stop, range anxiety is virtually a non-issue.

 

[Prof]

Electrician finished the 240v 40A socket today and I'm surprised how happy 27 miles of charger per hour feels compared to 4

The 120v charge never caused me an issue but happy that now no matter what the SOC is I can recharge overnight and ready to go the next day

Don't forget to apply for your 30% federal tax credit which applies to the full cost of installing electric car charging (I believe up to $1000.)

 

[D6LC]

Don't forget to apply for your 30% federal tax credit which applies to the full cost of installing electric car charging (I believe up to $1000.)

Thanks for the heads up, I didn't know that!

 

[D6LC]

Got my car back from the SC yesterday, all seems well with the repairs as follows:
1. Tegra 64GB daughterboard replaced as a preventative measure $314
2. LTE upgrade $500
3. Checked out the motor whine, came back as normal accentuated by the cold weather was the reply.

Also I can confirm that my nav does have the return trip battery % and my door handles are illuminated as other suggested.

Looking forward to driving the car, and for me the eMMC preventative was worth $300 vs waiting for it to fail and claiming it on warranty.

 

[D6LC]

Disappointed to say that the rear drivers door handle stopped presenting itself today, I've ordered a replacement stainless steel gear paddle (the part that fails) off Amazon for $30 shipped. Hopefully its delivered next week and I'll post the repair.

 

[rickyjb]

Disappointed to say that the rear drivers door handle stopped presenting itself today, I've ordered a replacement stainless steel gear paddle (the part that fails) off Amazon for $30 shipped. Hopefully its delivered next week and I'll post the repair.

yep most likely the paddle gear , while you have the handle out might be worth replacing the micro switches too . However I ordered the paddle gear and micro switches thinking ill sort this and pre-emptively replace the switches . Only to find the motor seized, luckily managed to find someone on eBay willing to remove and ship just the motor from a full handle assembly.

 

[D6LC]

Replace the door handle gear paddle today, I didn’t take pics as there are numerous videos to undertake the work. I purchased the paddle off Amazon for $30 shipped, honestly I made the purchase before finding out SC’s sell them. I think the one I purchased is the Tesla part as it’s a machined stainless steel casting. The pic shows the new and old part, I’d say the new part is 30-40% thicker compared to the original where it fails.