I wanted to take a moment to extend my thanks to this community for guiding me through the pros and cons of buying of buying a used Tesla X Your insights, advice, and shared experiences were invaluable in making my decision. After covering approximately 350 miles in my new to me ride, I’m thrilled to report that it seems to be running beautifully. A pleasant surprise was that the free supercharging offer did indeed transfer with the car.
However, it’s not all smooth sailing. I’ve encountered a couple of issues that I hope to find solutions for, possibly with your help once again.
Firstly, the control wheel on the right side of the steering wheel is unresponsive. This glitch has me puzzled, as it’s quite an essential feature for navigation and media control.
Additionally, I’m facing a significant challenge with the car’s connectivity. Despite trying every trick in the book, including attempting to use a hotspot from my phone, the car refuses to connect to the Internet. This has left me scratching my head about how to manage software updates, which are crucial for keeping the car in its best shape.
Last but not least, the key fob has suddenly become unrecognized by the car. After replacing the battery and exhausting all troubleshooting tips I could find online, there’s been no luck in getting it recognized again. For now, I’ve been relying on my phone to unlock the car and placing the fob in the center console, which does the trick. Strangely, the car locks itself automatically when I walk away, which adds to the mystery.
I’m reaching out to see if anyone has experienced similar issues or has any advice on tackling these challenges.
Thank you once again
For the steering wheel: You might first try a reboot (it's a computer and they need this occasionally) and it might solve the internet issue as well.
Methods in ascending order of complexity / annoyance:
1: Hold both scroll wheels down on the steering wheel until you see the logo come back up on the center screen. This is called the MCU btw.
2: On the MCU, go to the "service" page (might be called safety, I don't have my car nearby to check) and choose "wheel configuration" and change it from what you have to something else. When you apply the settings the computers SHOULD reboot around 15-20 seconds later. This may not happen depending on the software version though. It's helpful to choose a different color of wheel so it is obvious on the dashboard screen when the wheels change. You can of course change it right back after it reboots.
3: On the MCU in the "safety" page, choose the "power off" option and then DO NOTHING AT ALL AND DON'T EVEN REALLY MOVE MUCH in the car for the next 2+ minutes. Even adjusting in the seat can change the seat weight sensor and wake it up before it has gone to sleep. This one though is the least likely to be effective as a reboot.
4: The most guaranteed to work as a reboot no matter what, AND the most complicated to do: Open the Frunk. Pull up on the plastic panel at the base of the windshield (it just lifts out) and look to the passenger side: That plastic wire loom loop with the orange tag is the "fireman's loop" and when you unplug this it will isolate the high voltage battery - shutting off those functions. IT WILL NOT REBOOT THE CAR THOUGH. For that, you will need a 13mm wrench or socket and extender - look to the right of the fireman's loop and below the plastic tray at the base of the windshield, just to your left of the coolant bottle / cap at the center of the window, you will see a shiny aluminum nut on a stud with ONE black wire in it. This is the primary ground from the 12v battery. Undo the nut while holding the cable down - then lift the cable off in as smooth a way as possible. There WILL be a little bit of sparking here b/c the computers are powered up and about 200 watts continuously is flowing from the battery to keep them all awake. Count to 5 and put it all back together in order, the computers have now been "hard booted" and the car will come up in around 30-40 seconds or so.
Note: That ground stud is aluminum and FRAGILE so don't be a gorilla or you will twist it right off. 5-10 ft-lbs (hand tight) is plenty of torque there.
For the key fob: Maybe the reboot will help, but it sounds like you don't have a functional battery for the fob. It's a weird size, CR2354, that is only readily available from Amazon and frequently they are dead on arrival. They also don't last for crap. Try another battery and ensure that the contacts aren't broken / loose when you are inserting the battery. You cannot program the fob yourself, only the service center can. They can make you a new one for (IIRC) about $175 but at least it will come with a warranty. Use a cover for the fob and don't store it within 30 feet of the car or it will suck that fob battery flat in less than a week by never going to sleep.
If the control wheel on the steering wheel never comes back, they CAN be replaced individually - don't ask at the service center, those clowns will want to charge you for an AIRBAG to do it! Buy the button modules off Ebay as a pair and replace them, you will have to pull the airbag (This WILL require that hard boot procedure above) and waiting 20 minutes with the door open to let the airbag safety drain. Then pull the bag and you can pull the wheel center apart to replace the buttons.
The service manual is available free in Tesla's service section of the website. It doesn't have everything, but it has most of the information to do this work, and you don't need to program those switches.
