"Pull Over Safely - Vehicle Shutting Down" - Car Totally Disabled

[Tessifer808]

I just bought a Tesla Model S Long Range (2021). It has 4,500 miles. Really love the way the car looks and drives.
Have had it for about 2 months. This morning, the car flashed a warning while I was driving "Pull Over Safely - Car Shutting Down".
30 seconds after the warning - the car was disabled and stopped in the middle of the street. You could not manually put the car into neutral at all.
I called Tesla Roadside Assistance and they came an hour later to tow the car away. It's a horrifying experience for a vehicle that costs $100K.
Has anyone else had this happen to them? From reading different forums, it sounds like this has happened to several model 3s and model Ys.
Apparently it has something to do with the Rear Motor Drive Inverter. In any case, appreciate your thoughts and help.

 

[Freshness]

Happened to me at 60 miles, at this point it seems relatively common.

It’s unfortunate because it leaves you in a dire situation and seems to affect only new cars.

 

[Positive P]

Happened tome at 1300 miles.

 

[emailforbrett]

What was the failure that was ultimately discovered?

 

[hodapper]

Rear Drive Motor Inverter for me @ 6,000 miles.

 

[Drivin]

30 seconds after the warning - the car was disabled and stopped in the middle of the street.

Is there a reason you didn't pull over safely in those 30 seconds rather than having it stop in the middle of the street?

 

[Tessifer808]

Is there a reason you didn't pull over safely in those 30 seconds rather than having it stop in the middle of the street?

Yeah just general shock and awe and audacity. I couldn't believe it was happening. thats my bad.

 

[Tessifer808]

So they're telling me the rear motor has failed and needs to be replaced.
Estimate is 2 weeks to have it back to me. they gave me a loaner and I'm told it won't cost me anything............right now.
Service process has been ok so far. I live in the bay area so everyone has one of these things.....

 

[Positive P]

Front drive unit needs to be replaced. 2 weeks in, still waiting for repairs to be completed. At least they gave me $1,000 in Uber credits, so been taking Uber Black when needed. I work from home, so didn't press for loaner at this time. Service Center has been somewhat delayed in getting back to me. Was promised a call a couple of days ago, but never got one. Waiting...car has been in shop one week for every month I've owned it. High from buying it has been deflated somewhat. On the other side of things, my girlfriend just paid $7.00/gallon for Premium Unleaded her in California for her BMW. So there's that (staying positive).

 

[mscott]

Rear Drive Motor Inverter for me @ 6,000 miles.

Front drive unit needs to be replaced.

It's very disappointing that the car becomes totally inoperable. I know that when I ordered my car they were touting how with dual motors you could keep driving if one failed. I remember this because it seemed an odd thing to call out, as it highlights something that shouldn't really ever happen—a motor failing. I can't find that language now, but they still imply it by saying "Tesla All-Wheel Drive has two independent motors for improved redundancy" on the Model 3 page.

 

[rwalker]

Very similar issue just happened to my 2021 Model S LR (10,200 mi) only I had less than 10 seconds to respond. I travelled about 60 yards from the moment the first error message appeared to when it completely shutdown while halfway pulled into a parking lot. Luckily this was on a city side street. Tesla Roadside Assistance was able to get a tow to me in about 15 minutes. The closest service center is 170 miles away and I am overly frustrated with app only communication. Two and a half weeks in and the Tesla service center is still working to identify the issue. Part of me is relieved this has happened to someone else, but mostly I find it unnerving that it is not an uncommon issue. No loaner vehicle was offered, however I was offered 2 days of Uber vouchers. Luckily I have a beat up 2002 Toyota Tacoma as a spare vehicle.

 

[hodapper]

Very similar issue just happened to my 2021 Model S LR (10,200 mi) only I had less than 10 seconds to respond. I travelled about 60 yards from the moment the first error message appeared to when it completely shutdown while halfway pulled into a parking lot. Luckily this was on a city side street. Tesla Roadside Assistance was able to get a tow to me in about 15 minutes. The closest service center is 170 miles away and I am overly frustrated with app only communication. Two and a half weeks in and the Tesla service center is still working to identify the issue. Part of me is relieved this has happened to someone else, but mostly I find it unnerving that it is not an uncommon issue. No loaner vehicle was offered, however I was offered 2 days of Uber vouchers. Luckily I have a beat up 2002 Toyota Tacoma as a spare vehicle.

I would ask them to get a rental car for you at the least. That is unacceptable for what they are doing for you.

 

[geordi]

I bought my S (used) with 75k on it.... Have owned it 3 weeks so far and it has spent two of them sitting in the service bay. I'm RIGHT THERE WITH YOU about the app-only communication, that SUCKS. My issue was replacement roof glass (I hate sunroofs) and after the first week when I got it back ($2200!) it leaked almost instantly. Back to service, and the idiots PARKED IT OUTSIDE when the specific call out was for a WATER LEAK FROM RAIN.

Seriously. That level of stupidity takes effort. Hopefully I won't need to visit any further service locations, if this is what usually happens.

 

[Rambino]

My 2021 Plaid also shut off with a 10 second warning.. Was stuck on a highway at night.. Extremely dangerous situation.. I had to run off to the side of the road and flag cars down from smashing into me. I quickly pushed the Power Off button in the service menu, got out and locked the car and moved the key away.. After about 5-10 min everything reset and came back on as normal and I was able to drive away..

Tesla found that my rear high voltage cables had arc'd and replaced them.. Hasnt happened since cross my fingers.. Tesla engineers were in on the process as it happened very early on after the car was released.. If anyones techs are trying to find the issue, have them check the rear voltage lines for a grounded arc. It seems some of the cables on early release had defects in them.

Cheers

 

[Wratran]

I can't seem to find a customer complaint number...the app communication is ridiculous...most of the time they don't respond back.

Most of the time the person that answer the app messaging are the intake person..seem like a high school or college kids that have no clues about the cars

Tesla would not ever let you talk to the actual technician

 

[Rambino]

I can't seem to find a customer complaint number...the app communication is ridiculous...most of the time they don't respond back.

Most of the time the person that answer the app messaging are the intake person..seem like a high school or college kids that have no clues about the cars

Tesla would not ever let you talk to the actual technician

I call the local service dealer and thru the phone options menu you can get the service phone to ring. Also you can ask your service advisor in person to speak to the tech if you have any additional questions. Thats always worked for me.

 

[Dcam]

I bought my S (used) with 75k on it.... Have owned it 3 weeks so far and it has spent two of them sitting in the service bay. I'm RIGHT THERE WITH YOU about the app-only communication, that SUCKS. My issue was replacement roof glass (I hate sunroofs) and after the first week when I got it back ($2200!) it leaked almost instantly. Back to service, and the idiots PARKED IT OUTSIDE when the specific call out was for a WATER LEAK FROM RAIN.

Seriously. That level of stupidity takes effort. Hopefully I won't need to visit any further service locations, if this is what usually happens.

Tesla service is false hope for Tesla owners.

 

[mswlogo]

As soon as I see “used” I move on. I know *sugar* happens on new too. But with used you have no idea what the car has been through even if it only has a 100 miles on it. Major repairs could have happened. Only reports that go through insurance are recorded with CarFax. Everything else can stay hidden.

Paying $100K+ for a used car is a huge gamble. Some win, some lose. I don’t gamble.

 

[geordi]

As soon as I see “used” I move on. I know *sugar* happens on new too. But with used you have no idea what the car has been through even if it only has a 100 miles on it. Major repairs could have happened. Only reports that go through insurance are recorded with CarFax. Everything else can stay hidden.

Paying $100K+ for a used car is a huge gamble. Some win, some lose. I don’t gamble.

I'll certainly never be a buyer of a car for 100k - new or not! It's a depreciating asset, and I'm more than happy to let someone ELSE have that depreciation. I got into this one for a third of that though, so I think I'm doing OK - being about 15k under where the market is right now, AND having (proven) a brand-new 90kw battery in it. I'm definitely not normally a dealer service guy, I do most of my own work. The service experience thus far with the SC staff has not improved that opinion.

That said, I have bought and sold a LOT of cars. I buy diesel jeeps, fix them up, and resell them (usually) for a profit. I've gotten pretty good at looking at any vehicle as an individual, and it's not hard at all to see repairs if you know what to look for. It's REALLY HARD to truly hide body damage from a wreck that bends metal, even panels that are fully replaced and able to bolt up, don't fit perfectly on replacement. So if the body lines aren't even, the panel gaps are variable... That's WAY more informative than any Carfax other than if it has a branded title. (Don't buy branded titles for anything other than parts)

 

[emailforbrett]

It's REALLY HARD to truly hide body damage from a wreck .... So if the body lines aren't even, the panel gaps are variable... That's WAY more informative than any Carfax other than if it has a branded title.

You've just described every new Tesla that leaves the factory.