The manual states that the car's air suspension will automatically level on charge?

[Rudeep32]

Hey all - I don't get to drive my model S every day so when it's very cold in the garage the car sags it's rear end. Oddly, the front never drops at all in the same cold conditions. There are no warning lights are anything similar that signifies there is a fault.

I had a mobile Tesla guy come over to do a recall and asked him about the sagging and he said oh that's normal because it's so cold out… Which I guess makes sense. But when I was looking at the owners manual it stated that when you had the car on the charger it would auto automatically keep the car level.

So I'm wondering why my S is sagging in the rear if it should automatically be adjusted whilst on the charger. I can think of two scenarios, one the auto leveling isn't working but the front air suspension bellows don't leak any air but the rear bellows do… Or… The auto leveling on charge is working but it's only working on the front and not the rear… Any thoughts here? I searched up and down haven't seen anyone post about this. Thank you, Ed

 

[Rudeep32]

Hey all - I don't get to drive my model S every day so when it's very cold in the garage the car sags it's rear end. Oddly, the front never drops at all in the same cold conditions. There are no warning lights are anything similar that signifies there is a fault.

I had a mobile Tesla guy come over to do a recall and asked him about the sagging and he said oh that's normal because it's so cold out… Which I guess makes sense. But when I was looking at the owners manual it stated that when you had the car on the charger it would auto automatically keep the car level.

So I'm wondering why my S is sagging in the rear if it should automatically be adjusted whilst on the charger. I can think of two scenarios, one the auto leveling isn't working but the front air suspension bellows don't leak any air but the rear bellows do… Or… The auto leveling on charge is working but it's only working on the front and not the rear… Any thoughts here? I searched up and down haven't seen anyone post about this. Thank you, Ed

Forgot to mention my model S is a December 2014 build.

 

[Doanster1]

Nope. Rear end sagging, as in noticeable to call it sagging, in cold weather is not normal. My ‘14 build has never done that.
Your intuition is right, if the front end doesn’t do it, why would the rear? Are both sides dropping by the same amount? Sounds like you need the suspension to be recalibrated.
You could try hard resetting the car to force the SAS computer to reset vs two-thumb wheel reset.

 

[Rudeep32]

Awesome reply thank you so much. Both sides are dropping by the same amount in the rear. Both sides of the front are also equal (and maintaining height) I will try to hard reset the car later today after the newest over the air thing gets finished basically all I do to force the SAS computer to reset is press on the two thumb wheels until the screens turn off? If it matters I recently did the MCU 2 change.

Thank you very much, Ed

 

[ayavner]

Every car I have ever owned with air suspension has done that on cold days - Land Rovers, jags etc. Indeed, the forums are always abuzz with this question when winter kicks in. One or more of them has a tiny leak. If one or more goes down, the car will try to level itself to the extent possible (before eventually wearing out the pump).

But I agree it isn't right or normal; the air struts aren't too hard to replace if you're mechanically inclined. Interesting how its just the rear, let us know what they say about that!

 

[Doanster1]

That’s a std reset. Def try that first. Hard reset by disconnecting the +12V battery.
Did it ever sag in normal temps?
Easy DIY checks for leaks would be the soapy water method sprayed on the air distribution block under the frunk. While you’re there, look for possible frayed hose lines to the rear shocks.

 

[Rudeep32]

Guys thank you so much for your generous time.

I too have experienced air leaks for every air car similar to you, ayavner. One may ask why the heck do you keep buying cars that may/will have suspension leaks and my answer would be because I always think the next car won't do it (leak) and it's so cool, especially in the Tesla, to raise the suspension based on GPS. I live on a dirt road that is crowned and the lift is mandatory. To not have to even think about it is the coolest!

Doanster1, thank you for your reply. I did not notice it sag in summer at Boston temperatures but I've only had the car since April and haven't experienced a full temperate cycle.

I will try the standard reset and see what happens. The hard reset doesn't sound difficult as long as it doesn't put everything already programed out of whack/reset.

I hear you on the soapy water and all of that. It's not super surprising that the tech that came to my house to do the warranty work basically said oh you just need new bellows. I'm like yeah so no. If it comes down to it and I do notice leaks that could be eliminated by new air struts, I would definitely do that myself. I'm not great at a lot of car fixing stuff but when you have/had several suspended cars, you get pretty good at your craft !

Ty, Ed

 

[Doanster1]

Good luck. Chances are that if there’s a leak, it’s not with an individual shock, rather a line or the main distribution block.
My car has never sagged as normal course of business. I hear it leveling up/out sometimes when pulling out of the garage, but we’re talking once second of action and absolutely not something I’d use “sag” to describe it.

 

[ayavner]

Haha @Rudeep32 - yes I ask myself that as well as every time I say I will never get another black car... but they're just so shinyyyyy! (but this time, I got blue, and so far no sags!)

 

[Rudeep32]

Well just as a response, I haven't done any work on the car but yesterday in Boston it was 55° out and the car appeared to have no sagging issues overnight. When it was in single digits the car would drop about halfway overnight and all the way by the second night. So it does appear to be somewhat temperature related.

Today it is half of what the temperature was yesterday which is odd but I guess be becoming less odd. It's too early to tell if it's sagging just because of the temperature change but my suspicion is that it will.

The thing that still gets me the most is that the manual states that, while on the charger, it will automatically self level… so even if there is a leak I would anticipate that the biggest consequence of a leak would be a prematurely wearing out of the compressor pump because it's being cycled so often but in my case it doesn't seem to come on whatsoever.

I'm trying to figure out a way that I can test to see if the front is being automatically adjusted per the manual whilst the rear is not signifying that there is an issue with the automatic on charge leveling with the rear… Unfortunately I have no idea how to do that. Thanks and happy Super Bowl to y'all

 

[MP3Mike]

But when I was looking at the owners manual it stated that when you had the car on the charger it would auto automatically keep the car level.

What exactly did the manual say? (I took a quick look through my manual and didn't see that anywhere.)

Are you sure it wasn't taking about maintaining the battery state of charge level, and not the suspension?

 

[Doanster1]

I’d still check the air lines to the rear. Perhaps the Voss connector(s) at the solenoid/distribution block are just on the hairy edge of leaking so the extra cold temps cause just enough contraction to cause the leak vs warmer temps.

 

[RamboobmaR]

MP3Mike - I am not posting all of the citations to be a wise guy, but with so many mentions, I'm just perplexed that this hasn't been really spoken of… At least my search button can't find it anything as to why this may not be working... Also, I have no fault light illuminated on the dash).

On page 122 the manual state.

"WARNING: The air suspension system causes Model S to self-level, even when powered off. Therefore, when transporting or lifting, you must engage Jack Mode to disable self-leveling (see Instructions for Transporters on page 193 and Jacking and Lifting on page 175)."

On page 140:

"WARNING: The air suspension system causes Model S to self-level, even when powered off. Therefore, when transporting or lifting, you must engage Jack Mode to disable self-leveling (see Instructions for Transporters on page 193 and Jacking and Lifting on page 175)."

on page 175:

"If your Model S is equipped with air suspension, it automatically self-levels, even when power is off (see Jack Mode on page 175). Use the touchscreen to
set the suspension as follows:"

Also on page 175:

"If Model S is equipped with air suspension, it automatically self-levels, even when power is off. To prevent damage when jacking or lifting the vehicle, you must activate Jack Mode to disable self-leveling. Jack mode prevents the self-leveling that occurs even when Model S is powered off."

Also on page 175:

WARNING: If your Model S is equipped with air suspension, it automatically self-levels, even when power is off. You MUST disable this system by engaging Jack mode before lifting or jacking. If you do not disable air suspenion, Model S can attempt to self-level, causing serious damage, bodily injury, or death.

On page 193:

"If Model S is equipped with the air suspension system, it automatically self-levels, even when power is off. To prevent damage, you must activate Jack Mode to disable self-leveling:"

 

[RamboobmaR]

I’d still check the air lines to the rear. Perhaps the Voss connector(s) at the solenoid/distribution block are just on the hairy edge of leaking so the extra cold temps cause just enough contraction to cause the leak vs warmer temps.

I definitely will do that. Of course the temperature here in Boston has gone from 60 days ago to now 20 with 6 inches of snow on the ground. unbelievable…

Thanks, Ed

 

[MP3Mike]

MP3Mike - I am not posting all of the citations to be a wise guy, but with so many mentions, I'm just perplexed that this hasn't been really spoken of… At least my search button can't find it anything as to why this may not be working... Also, I have no fault light illuminated on the dash).

Ok, I was looking for some mention of it being related to charging since you made specific mention of it supposed to be doing that while charging. (Which I never found.)

 

[RamboobmaR]

Why would it, as it is stated above, self level when the power is "off" (without it being plugged into a charger) and not self level when it's on the juice?

I'm not trying to create any discourse, I'm just trying to figure out, potentially for the mutual benefit of the membership, an answer to this question.

 

[Doanster1]

Reference to power is whether the car is on or off, not whether it’s connected to a charger.
That’s why there have been reports of people coming back to their cars and the front end has lowered itself onto a concrete parking block. The car was off/locked, but it still self-leveled.

 

[RamboobmaR]

Reference to power is whether the car is on or off, not whether it’s connected to a charger.
That’s why there have been reports of people coming back to their cars and the front end has lowered itself onto a concrete parking block. The car was off/locked, but it still self-leveled.

OK so I believe what I can conclude hear from my nearly week knowledge on the subject that the self-leveling occurs independent of it being charged or not being charged. I will take you up though on your advice to check the various connections for leaks. As I write this it's 20° out, however, as was last week it's supposed to be in the 50s tomorrow… crazy but maybe I can get out of the car then. Ty, Ed

 

[Kairide]

Shrinkage when it's cold, is a yes, sagging is a no. But it is a '14 and getting kind of old, the rear end does tend to sag as you age.