HankLloydRight
No Roads
Yes, it's well covered and confirmed that it's $200 per visit. Even says so in the contract.
They're fixing it today, so I can't answer that yet.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Rear Hatch Latching Problem (Model S)
- Thread starter berkeley_ecar
- Start date
Yes, it's well covered and confirmed that it's $200 per visit. Even says so in the contract.
They're fixing it today, so I can't answer that yet.
HankLloydRight
No Roads
HankLloydRight
No Roads
I asked them how they did it, but the tech who worked on my car was out the next day. The service adviser said they go in through the back (duh!) and pull the emergency release. I told him I tried that and it was jammed, and then he said they just remove the trim panels from the inside. I don't know how accurate that is or just a guess, but he confirmed that they didn't cut or break anything and definitely didn't use a "sawzall" method.
The strange thing is that they upgraded my faulty door handle with the latest "Version 3" handle, which he said required a bit of re-wiring and I'd lose the carbon fiber vinyl wrap I put on all the handles. But when I went to pick it up, the CF wrap was still there. So I wonder if they replaced the whole module and also swapped in my existing handle.. or if they did something else entirely to the existing unit to fix it and didn't replace it.
The actual handle part comes off separate from the rest of the module, so they just used the old one on the new module.
In some cases, it has been reported the emergency release works but most of the time it doesn't. There is NO way to remove the trim panels with the hatch shut without cutting them.
Guys, excuse my ignorance on this subject, however does the model S rear truck latch have a motor that actually drives the locking mechanism shut? I've noticed on ocassion that after the truck has closed, there's a sound much like a motor that I assume is driving the locking mechanism shut? Sometimes it works, other times not, which is why I believe dust is infiltrating into the car.
Please advise.
Thanks, Citation
Please advise.
Thanks, Citation
HankLloydRight
No Roads
Yes, that is the “chinching” motor that’s known to go bad. You might want to get it checked out before it fails completely.
Hi There - I'm a new member on this club and have the same issue with my 2015 90D - the manual rear boot won't latch. The bolt enters the mechanism but the latch doesn't trigger so it stays open. As you say it bounces a little going over bumps but is driveable - just not lockabable. You mention you fixed it yourself once - what parts did you order as I would like to do the same? Many thanks for your help
Mark
Brass Guy
Active Member
I can look up the invoice if I remember. Putting back the large trim piece for the hatch is no picnic by the way.
Check out this possible solution though.
Trunk Latch Problem
Check out this possible solution though.
Trunk Latch Problem
Brass Guy
Active Member
You're welcome. Thanks for posting your results. I haven't had the problem since the last replacement, so haven't had the opportunity to test that procedure. I doubt the service technicians know about it.
HankLloydRight
No Roads
whitex
Well-Known Member
Audi just unveiled their eTron GT RS, coming to the USA this summer.My rear latch cinching motor broke again. Another $200 deductible.
Have to wait two weeks for a mobile service repair.
If the trunk opening is big enough, I'm in. If not, awaiting the Taycan Sport Tourismo. Wife not willing to move somewhere with garage large enough to keep a Taycan and a Hummer EV.
HankLloydRight
No Roads
Does anyone know what the parts/labor warranty is on ESA repairs?
Since I just had the cinching motor fixed at a SC in Sep/2019, I'm wondering if it might still be covered if there's a two-year repair warranty.
Since I just had the cinching motor fixed at a SC in Sep/2019, I'm wondering if it might still be covered if there's a two-year repair warranty.
I'm sad to be posting again to this thread, which I started in May 2018 with a description of a problem with my Model S rear hatch not latching properly, leaving the car unlockable, and thus unusable if you think it important to lock your vehicle when it is unattended, which is a must in my urban area. The problem turned out to be due to a failed cinching motor.
Well, it happened again Sun 1 Aug, just over 3 years since last replacing the cinching motor, and 4 months out of warranty. I am scheduled for a Tesla Mobile Service visit 3 days from now, and am functionally left without a vehicle until then. The experience has left me concerned about a number of service-related issues:
1) This sort of failure in hatch closure seems a weak link in the design of the Model S. I cringe to think what the situation would have been like if I had been on a road trip when this happened. It's a pity there is no means of manually securing the hatch from the inside to allow the car to be locked.
2) Although I find the iPhone app quite helpful (and use it often), I despair every time I have to use it for service-related issues. In this instance, I called the phone hotline number, which directs you to use online services or the app, and then turned to the app to set up a service call to my local Service Center (a mile from my home); instead it set up a Mobile Service visit, but at the Service Center. When I tried to correct the address to my home address, the app got wedged (I was unable to change the address, and unable to step backwards through the GUI). I drove to the Service Center and explained the situation, and the patient and courteous check-in person took my home address (still incorrect in the Tesla database, despite multiple "corrections" over the past 4.5 years), implying that would fix the problem (my app started working again, but the address remains that of the SC rather than of my home). The app continued to ask me to accept a service estimate just shy of $560 with no explanation whatsoever of what work/parts were envisaged for the task (the SC contact had explained that they would replace the latch, hatch motor, and cinching motor -- even though it is likely that only the last of these has failed).
3) Although I am sympathetic with the problems of scaling up service support as Tesla makes the move from a niche market to a mass market, and acknowledge that earlier purchasers have been cosseted (something that clearly could not continue), it still seems that Tesla needs a triage system that places greater priority on relatively quick and straightforward repairs for situations such as this, in which a car becomes effectively unusable.
Please do not take these comments in the spirit of Tesla-bashing. I continue to feel grateful every time I get into my Model S, and wish the enterprise and its personnel the best -- but do hope consideration of the issues I raise here will contribute to improving both the vehicles, the firm, and its policies.
Well, it happened again Sun 1 Aug, just over 3 years since last replacing the cinching motor, and 4 months out of warranty. I am scheduled for a Tesla Mobile Service visit 3 days from now, and am functionally left without a vehicle until then. The experience has left me concerned about a number of service-related issues:
1) This sort of failure in hatch closure seems a weak link in the design of the Model S. I cringe to think what the situation would have been like if I had been on a road trip when this happened. It's a pity there is no means of manually securing the hatch from the inside to allow the car to be locked.
2) Although I find the iPhone app quite helpful (and use it often), I despair every time I have to use it for service-related issues. In this instance, I called the phone hotline number, which directs you to use online services or the app, and then turned to the app to set up a service call to my local Service Center (a mile from my home); instead it set up a Mobile Service visit, but at the Service Center. When I tried to correct the address to my home address, the app got wedged (I was unable to change the address, and unable to step backwards through the GUI). I drove to the Service Center and explained the situation, and the patient and courteous check-in person took my home address (still incorrect in the Tesla database, despite multiple "corrections" over the past 4.5 years), implying that would fix the problem (my app started working again, but the address remains that of the SC rather than of my home). The app continued to ask me to accept a service estimate just shy of $560 with no explanation whatsoever of what work/parts were envisaged for the task (the SC contact had explained that they would replace the latch, hatch motor, and cinching motor -- even though it is likely that only the last of these has failed).
3) Although I am sympathetic with the problems of scaling up service support as Tesla makes the move from a niche market to a mass market, and acknowledge that earlier purchasers have been cosseted (something that clearly could not continue), it still seems that Tesla needs a triage system that places greater priority on relatively quick and straightforward repairs for situations such as this, in which a car becomes effectively unusable.
Please do not take these comments in the spirit of Tesla-bashing. I continue to feel grateful every time I get into my Model S, and wish the enterprise and its personnel the best -- but do hope consideration of the issues I raise here will contribute to improving both the vehicles, the firm, and its policies.
There is a way to lock the car.
A multiple step process.
- Open drivers door.
- Using the MCU click on ‘Lock’
- Get out and close driver door.
(Optional - use MCU to fold mirrors.)
HankLloydRight
No Roads
My rear latch cinching motor broke again. Another $200 deductible.
Have to wait two weeks for a mobile service repair.
Cinching motor strikes again! Third time's a charm? I sure hope so.
This time I'm several hours drive away from home base (the Milford SC). And as my rear hatch won't close, I can't lock the car at the hotel overnight. I can't use AP or TACC. The damn alert goes on for several minutes before stopping.
LUCKILY -- I did a walk-in this morning to the Norwell, MA service center and they are replacing the cinching motor now. The Tesla app has a bug and won't allow me to confirm an appointment on iPhone XS Max, so as a walk-in, they are being super accommodating. I know A LOT of people bitch and moan about Tesla Service, but I've had nothing but 100% absolute great experiences at each one I've visited: Milford, CT, Cherry Hill, NJ, Norwell, MA, White Plains, NY (now closed) and others I can't recall.
edit: Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure they're going to update the firmware to V11.
HankLloydRight
No Roads
Just a followup. Took three hours to fix the cinching motor for the third time. I hope they've updated the cinching motor part to fix this annoying problem! When I get back home, I'll compare the part numbers from each invoice.
And they didn't update my firmware!! YAY!
And they didn't update my firmware!! YAY!
Wol747
Active Member
FWIW my cinch motor failed on the 2020 Model S after about 15 months and was replaced u/w. There were odd effects with the opening/shutting at the same time which makes me think that the cinching is tied in with the up/down in some way.
Similar threads
