Safety mode when driving through standing water

[goaliemanshark]

Minor problem.

There was a very heavy downpour in the Bay Area and some streets got flooded. I had to go through one and I was going probably 5 miles per hour. The water was probably a foot deep.

No idea what happened but the car beeped once and went into neutral. I didn't see any error or anything. Did I press the gas and brake at the same time? Did the car get some water inside?

I put it into drive again and it was fine.

Weird huh?

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

^ Hmm... shady reported the same symptom on his test drive at Menlo Park today:

Test drive in the rain?

 

[JRP3]

Minor problem.

There was a very heavy downpour in the Bay Area and some streets got flooded. I had to go through one and I was going probably 5 miles per hour. The water was probably a foot deep.

No idea what happened but the car beeped once and went into neutral. I didn't see any error or anything. Did I press the gas and brake at the same time? Did the car get some water inside?

I put it into drive again and it was fine.

Weird huh?

^ Hmm... shady reported the same symptom on his test drive at Menlo Park today:

Test drive in the rain?

Seems like a recurring issue: http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...elivery-Update?p=238493&viewfull=1#post238493

 

[lolachampcar]

Rain/Wet causing problems with Neutral/Warnings/Error Messages/Lights

There is a technical/mechanical issues thread but I wanted to highlight this potential problem. Hopefully the mods can leave it here for just a while to see if it is a real issue.

I have read in three different posts of a beep/buzzer/neutral/suspension error lights/posible display reset when a vehicle went through water. One was during a test drive, the second was on the way home from factory pick up and I believe the last was driving around town.

All the other issued raised are, in my opinion, little issues that will get sorted. Not one of them has really been drive dynamics related (of the type that NHTSA gets involved in). This is the first serious issue I have read about and was curious if anyone else has had anything like this happen.

These are the types of problems that drive recalls. Noramally, a problem must be solved before the recall can ocure and solving a potential problem like this is non trivial.

For the record, I'm not involved in any options trading. I have a car due in the next few weeks and am only a concerned customer.

 

[waidy]

Minor problem.

There was a very heavy downpour in the Bay Area and some streets got flooded. I had to go through one and I was going probably 5 miles per hour. The water was probably a foot deep.

No idea what happened but the car beeped once and went into neutral. I didn't see any error or anything. Did I press the gas and brake at the same time? Did the car get some water inside?

I put it into drive again and it was fine.

Weird huh?

This is "underwater test"?

 

[Brian H]

So for those having problems closing the passenger front door, mine is now fixed. The Menlo service team knows what the issue is, and is able to fix. No more slamming!

Also, I got the software update (4.1) last night, and saw a tire warning indicator this afternoon and immediately dismissed it as bogus. It went away when we hit the highway, and I didn't worry about it. When we stopped for shopping, I saw the light again, and this time it did not go away. At our last stop, I checked tire pressure and noticed it was 15 psi. Crap. Filled all the tires properly and drove home (34 miles). About 2 miles from home the indicator came on again, and now, 3 hours later, I have 0 psi. Flat.

So, I think with the new software you really do need to pay attention to tire pressure warnings unlike in the past.

Now, does anyone have any recommendations on fixing this tire? I have an air compressor and can fill, but Menlo service is 48 miles away.

Ranger to the rescue?

 

[steve841]

IMHO .... Anyone driving thru water "a foot deep" knowingly is negligent. Not Tesla or the car.

Are we going to blame Tesla if a parking stop cracks the lower plastic because the driver pulled in too far?
Is it Teslas fault if your car is damaged by hail?

We (collectively as a people) need to take some personal responsibility and not blame others for our mishaps.

 

[lolachampcar]

Not my point at all......
NHTSA will not take into account the driver's actions (to a point of course) when looking into complaints. They will investigate.

In all fairness, the guy driving his car home from factory pick up with his kids in the back did not seem to be to be a problem child.

 

[montgom626]

IMHO .... Anyone driving thru water "a foot deep" knowingly is negligent. Not Tesla or the car.

Are we going to blame Tesla if a parking stop cracks the lower plastic because the driver pulled in too far?
Is it Teslas fault if your car is damaged by hail?

We (collectively as a people) need to take some personal responsibility and not blame others for our mishaps.

1++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

[waidy]

IMHO .... Anyone driving thru water "a foot deep" knowingly is negligent. Not Tesla or the car.

Are we going to blame Tesla if a parking stop cracks the lower plastic because the driver pulled in too far?
Is it Teslas fault if your car is damaged by hail?

We (collectively as a people) need to take some personal responsibility and not blame others for our mishaps.

Someone who drove in a one foot water posted at Model S Technical / Mechanical Issues - Page 78

 

[steve841]

Someone who drove in a one foot water posted at Model S Technical / Mechanical Issues - Page 78

Yeah, I believe thats what he was referencing...

Not my point at all......
NHTSA will not take into account the driver's actions (to a point of course) when looking into complaints. They will investigate.

In all fairness, the guy driving his car home from factory pick up with his kids in the back did not seem to be to be a problem child.

Then your thread title should be modified to reflect the actual circumstance ... not implying that simple wet / raining conditions cause the reported issue.

 

[Doug_G]

Yes we have to take responsibility for our cars, but on the other hand Tesla should build them just as rugged as any similar vehicle. I'm willing to cut them some slack on immersion, but...

 

[jerry33]

Yes we have to take responsibility for our cars, but on the other hand Tesla should build them just as rugged as any similar vehicle. I'm willing to cut them some slack on immersion, but...

Agreed. If it doesn't bother a Prius, it shouldn't bother a Tesla--if it does there is a problem.

 

[NigelM]

Moved some other posts on the same subject here and amended title to better reflect discussion. (Reports are of deep water and not simply "rain/wet")

Related thread: Test-drive-in-the-rain

Worth noting that *shady* said:

There was one point when a buzzer came on, and I was told that was because the Traction control engaged, however, just after that, somehow I managed to put it into neutral.....

My personal guess would have been that there was a traction control issue in the deep water.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh and I wouldn't want to take an ICE through 1ft of water, never mind an EV! However, reading through the reports it seems that the Model S reacted better than most ICEs would have. Model S went into neutral, restarted and was fine afterwards. If an ICE had sucked in water, well.....

 

[JRP3]

This incident was not a foot of water however:

I did have one minor scare on my trip home from the factory. It was pouring rain here today, and I hit some standing water on I-880 (at ~ 50 mph). The headlights glitched off and back on, alarm bells started ringing, a warning about 'Air Suspension' flashed up on the speedometer (which disappeared so fast I couldn't read it). My heart jumped into my throat since I had my 2 and 4 year old in the back of the car.

I noticed that when all this happened, the car shifted itself into neutral. Luckily, I only had to put it back into drive and we were underway again.

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...elivery-Update?p=238493&viewfull=1#post238493

 

[steve841]

This incident was not a foot of water however:

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...elivery-Update?p=238493&viewfull=1#post238493

Have a reread of the modded OP in this thread...

 

[Al Sherman]

I'm not getting hysterical but this is starting to seem like a serious issue that justifies some serious attention.

 

[JRP3]

Have a reread of the modded OP in this thread...

I don't get it? I referenced a different incident.

 

[steve841]

I don't get it? I referenced a different incident.

Mods are combining various posts...

 

[JRP3]

I think I see the confusion, when I said "This incident" I was not referring to the OP of this thread, but to the quote I linked, to point out that you need not drive through a foot of water to have this problem. Bad wording on my part.