[Resolved] Picked up my model 3, 2 hours later I get a low coolant warning ... :(

[pazdan]

So I picked it up on Saturday, drove it home. Plugged it into to charge it back up from 70 to 90%. Low coolant warning pops up. I will be getting a call from the service center tomorrow to find out if they are going to tow it or what. But I'm def. a bit bummed right now.

Anyone have a similar experience? I'm a bit bummed right now. I knew we'd see some issues with the early vins but I didn't think I wouldn't be able to drive the car after the first drive home.

 

[PoitNarf]

Ouch. Hope it’s something minor. Keep us posted on what happens.

 

[doubleohwhat]

Edit: Nevermind. False alarm

 

[ℬête Noire]

Is the car leaking a blue fluid? If so, you wouldn't be the first person with a new 3 to have this issue.

Are you referring to this?: (False alarm) Leaking battery coolant <500 miles in!

 

[PoitNarf]

Is the car leaking a blue fluid? If so, you wouldn't be the first person with a new 3 to have this issue.

The person that started that thread quickly found out it wasn’t anything leaking from the car. I believe their theory was that some previously spilled windshield washer fluid was underneath their 3 and some condensation from the AC unit or something else dripped on the dried wiper fluid.

Edit: Bete Noire beat me to it

 

[doubleohwhat]

Ah, nevermind then. Thanks for the correction!

 

[Az_Rael]

Well, if it isn’t leaking fluid, it probably wasn’t fully flushed and bled before delivery. Actually had this happen when I bought my CPO S. Drove it halfway home from delivery only to get a coolant warning. Detoured to Van Nuys to have the coolant topped off. No problems after that.

Was a bit miffed at the time though.

 

[Tam]

I refilled coolant for a gasoline car quite competently in the past. Now, I wonder if owners who want to can do that with Tesla?

 

[pazdan]

Something else I forgot to mention, I was supposed to pick it up on Friday but they pushed it back a day to do more inspections. They didn’t say they were behind on other work so that made me concerned something was up already.

 

[mongo]

Was a bit miffed at the time though.

Understandable. Not to excuse the issue, but to provide information, it is really hard to purge air from a system of pipes without connecting an oversized pump for a non-trivial length of time. Same thing occurs with geothermal and radiant floor systems. That said, Tesla could add a coolant purge mode during shipping and top off at service center.

I refilled coolant for a gasoline car quite competently in the past. Now, I wonder if owners who want to can do that with Tesla?

Nope, 3 manual says don't open and don't add. Damage may void warranty (assuming you could get your hands on some). A leak on these cars can indicate some electric is getting soaked and should be investigated.

 

[Brass Guy]

I refilled coolant for a gasoline car quite competently in the past. Now, I wonder if owners who want to can do that with Tesla?

If it's anything like the S (and I suspect it is), my understanding is that you need Tesla's "toolbox" to purge the system if you access the coolant. So unless someone comes up with a hack (or Tesla releases the toolbox - as if) then no, you won't be able to flush or even top off your coolant.

I would love to be wrong, somebody please refute.

 

[pazdan]

So I drove up to the nearest Tesla service center. Am at a nearby starbucks, just waiting until the center opens. The warning turned off a couple times on the drive, mostly after I turned. I wonder if the coolant sloshed around and turned the warning off. It would always come right back though, not even a minute later.

 

[pazdan]

Ouch. Hope it’s something minor. Keep us posted on what happens.

Yea I'm hoping the same. Stay tuned

 

[pazdan]

So while I was waiting for the place to open, I test drove the car around in an open parking lot. I noticed everytime I turned left the warning would turn off. Right, or straight it was stay on. At least I was able to consistently turn it off, so I think there was SOME coolant in there, and maybe just actually low or a trigger happy sensor.

They will let me know in about an hour how easy or complex the situation is.

 

[RandyS]

Not exactly the same thing, but I get an alert on my screen every few days that the windshield wash fluid is low (it is not), and at the same time I get a brake warning icon on the top of the display on the left. These two alerts come and go together. I took it in for service because of the brake warning. They had the car for a few days, said they didn't see it, and updated the software. On the way home, the warnings came back on. Grrr.....

 

[N5329K]

"All sufficiently complex systems operate in the failure mode."
Robin

 

[Marsnaut]

As a non-owner, I'm a little grateful that the invites are taking so long to come out. The more issues that are caught, the faster they can be fixed.

 

[pazdan]

As a non-owner, I'm a little grateful that the invites are taking so long to come out. The more issues that are caught, the faster they can be fixed.

Yea you guys can thank me later

I don't mind as much. I have a very flexible job, and like to troubleshoot things. So I'm sort of perfect for being an early owner.

 

[mongo]

Not exactly the same thing, but I get an alert on my screen every few days that the windshield wash fluid is low (it is not), and at the same time I get a brake warning icon on the top of the display on the left. These two alerts come and go together. I took it in for service because of the brake warning. They had the car for a few days, said they didn't see it, and updated the software. On the way home, the warnings came back on. Grrr.....

Sounds like a bad connection in the sensor power or ground feed that both fluid level switches use. If it stays on, you may be able to call Tesla and have it remotely checked out, but it sounds like a physical hunt is needed. Possibly a pushed out terminal if the feeds are spliced.

 

[mongo]

So while I was waiting for the place to open, I test drove the car around in an open parking lot. I noticed everytime I turned left the warning would turn off. Right, or straight it was stay on. At least I was able to consistently turn it off, so I think there was SOME coolant in there, and maybe just actually low or a trigger happy sensor.

They will let me know in about an hour how easy or complex the situation is.

Thanks for the updates. Agree, it sounds slightly low (air bubble burped for lines?) and like the switch is on the right side of the reservoir (also that the signal could use more debouncing).