3G working intermittently :(

wk057 · Sep 4, 2014

So, a few days ago I left home for a bit in my Model S, set my navigation to my destination (while in the garage, on WiFi) and left.

Not long after I left my large map stopped loading images, and I glanced up and didn't see the 3G icon.

Tried rebooting the center screen. Waited a bit. Still nothing (showed 0 bars of coverage now).

Tried rebooting the instrument screen. Waited a bit, still nothing.

Tried rebooting both at the same time (back to back). Same result.

My passenger's cell phone is on AT&T and had connectivity, so, it wasn't a coverage issue, plus I've made this trip before using the navigation/Google Maps in the Model S.

Called Tesla while driving (bluetooth) and they could not connect to the car to diagnose anything. (Duh, no 3G) They suggested I setup a service appointment. I spoke to them a few minutes more and decided it would be best to contact them again when I was connected to WiFi.

After I hung up, I was talking with my passenger and all of a sudden Slacker started to work. Woo! 3G! About 30 seconds into the song 3G went away again and didn't return that day.

I did call back when I returned home and on WiFi, and the new person on the phone wasn't able to diagnose anything even though they were able to connect to the car this time.

The next day, went out, 3G worked fine the whole time (about an hour of driving total with a few stops).

Yesterday 3G didn't work at all.

Spoke with the service center, and their appointments are pretty far out right now, so, I've been working to see if there is anything I can do to try and diagnose the issue for them, but nothing so far. I'd hate to have to either drive out there (hour each way) or have them valet/tow the car over something that is relatively minor.

Has anyone had this problem? If so, what was the remedy?

For now I think I'll try connecting it via WiFi to a MiFi device...

NigelM · Sep 4, 2014

wk057 said:
...so, I've been working to see if there is anything I can do to try and diagnose the issue for them, but nothing so far. I'd hate to have to either drive out there (hour each way) or have them valet/tow the car over something that is relatively minor.

That's what service is for; I'd push Tesla for an appointment and have them fix it.

wk057 · Sep 4, 2014

NigelM said:
That's what service is for; I'd push Tesla for an appointment and have them fix it.

Yep, unfortunately the first available appointment is mid-October ... which seems like a bit much, personally.

NigelM · Sep 4, 2014

4 weeks is too long for an antenna or module replacement. We don't always help Tesla by diagnosing things ourselves, e.g it's masking a problem if they need to increase service capacity in your area.

wk057 · Sep 4, 2014

NigelM said:
4 weeks is too long for an antenna or module replacement. We don't always help Tesla by diagnosing things ourselves, e.g it's masking a problem if they need to increase service capacity in your area.

4 weeks would be nice. First squeeze-in opening was 10/13, 5+ weeks, with the next openings in November.

Nearest service center is Devon, PA (~45 mi). Next is Springfield, NJ (~90 mi).

So, I use Devon, PA.

I may contact Springfield to see what they say about it all, just to check.

Devon, PA is easily trying to service > a 100 mile radius around the location in all directions, and the area that covers isn't exactly unpopulated. Devon, PA would be servicing all of Pennsylvania, most of southern NJ, Deleware, part of Maryland, possibly some of western, NY. They did just get a facilities upgrade compared to their last location in Norristown, but definitely not enough to handle that huge area.

Anyway...

Honestly, I don't have any problem whatsoever diagnosing (and hopefully resolving) the issue with them. Heck, I'd even happily install a replacement part if they'd let me. More fun for me. Less waste of their resources. Win win. Doubt that will happen though.

The 3G isn't critical, but the features that disappear along with it are ones I've gotten used to. Mainly the full screen navigation and Slacker (just cancelled XM too). I thought I could work around the issue for now and just have the car connect to a MiFi type hotspot device, but it doesn't seem to want to connect to either of the ones I have for some odd reason.

wk057 · Sep 5, 2014

Alright, was officially told I wouldn't personally be able to do anything to resolve the issue without a service technician.

Scheduled service for 10/22... nearly 7 weeks out. Ouch.

Definitely the first time I've been disappointed with Tesla, for sure.

wk057 · Sep 6, 2014

Finally found a hotspot device the car would happily connect to... and you know what? I like it better than the built in 3G.

Verizon 4G MiFi device... speed tests to over 10 megabit downloads. I doubt Tesla's 3G comes close to that.

Slacker is faster, nav loads faster, pretty nice actually.

Only drawback is that it isn't free. Hehe

wk057 · Oct 27, 2014

Alight, so, just an update. Tesla service picked up my car last week. The replaced both side mirrors stating a fault in the cellular antenna. Got the car back, 3G was working! Drove all day, no problems. Parked in my garage at the end of the day. Didn't use the car for a couple of days, then Saturday I went out... no 3G again.

Disappointing after a long wait for the service in the first place.

Contacted Tesla today. After a short conversation, they sent a truck to pickup my car again within an hour. Pretty nice of them. So, it's back with them.

Hopefully they figure this out. :crying:

rlang59 · Oct 28, 2014

wk057 said:
Alight, so, just an update. Tesla service picked up my car last week. The replaced both side mirrors stating a fault in the cellular antenna. Got the car back, 3G was working! Drove all day, no problems. Parked in my garage at the end of the day. Didn't use the car for a couple of days, then Saturday I went out... no 3G again. Disappointing after a long wait for the service in the first place.

Contacted Tesla today. After a short conversation, they sent a truck to pickup my car again within an hour. Pretty nice of them. So, it's back with them.

Hopefully they figure this out. :crying:

They will probably end up swapping out the 17" screen.

iadbound · Oct 28, 2014

Got my fingers crossed for you. My screen is being replaced now for a different reason and it's been at the shop for 10 days while they diagnosed the problem, got parts, etc. It looks like it should be ready tomorrow. Hopefully, replacing the screen fixed my problem.

wk057 · Oct 28, 2014

Yeah I hope I'm not without the car for an extended period... driving ICE is not desirable. I generally don't take a loaner since I have other vehicles, so they have a loaner for someone who really needs it. I probably will be selling off my remaining ICE vehicles (2) soon though, in which case I'll start taking a loaner Tesla when I need service.

Peter_M · Oct 28, 2014

I'm not sure if this is the same as what you're seeing: I complained to my service centre about my 3G connection taking up to 20 minutes to connect after getting in the car. They said it's a known issue relating to power save mode in 6.0 and the workaround for now is to turn off power save mode. Not very satisfactory - I'd prefer not to be losing range while sitting still - but it's what they suggested. Hopefully a real fix will come soon.

wk057 · Oct 28, 2014

Peter_M said:
I'm not sure if this is the same as what you're seeing: I complained to my service centre about my 3G connection taking up to 20 minutes to connect after getting in the car. They said it's a known issue relating to power save mode in 6.0 and the workaround for now is to turn off power save mode. Not very satisfactory - I'd prefer not to be losing range while sitting still - but it's what they suggested. Hopefully a real fix will come soon.

Hmm. Definitely not an issue with power save mode, as my fiance's Model S has no issues and has the same settings as mine for that. (Power save enabled, always connected). Are you on x.x.43? That seemed to solve some other minor issues I was having with the touchscreen.

My 3G won't reconnect after 20 minutes or anything along those lines. If it does reconnect at all while I'm driving, it dies out within minutes again. Was driving around with no connectivity for a while, and all of a sudden slacker started playing... got about 1/3rd through one song and it was disconnected again.

Did just get a call from service. Congratulations to those who voted center touchscreen replacement. They actually said it shouldn't take long and I should have it back within a couple of days at most.

While I was a bit disappointed that their initial fix didn't work out, I'm glad they're on top of it immediately and working on it. Always great service from these guys and gals.

I kind of feel badly for the Devon, PA service center right now. They service such a huge geographic area it is unbelievable. If you look at the service center map, it looks like they service pretty much all of PA, southern NJ, DE, most of western NY, possibly part of OH. Quite a huge area for one shop to handle, but they manage. Kudos.

Peter_M · Oct 28, 2014

wk057 said:
Hmm. Definitely not an issue with power save mode, as my fiance's Model S has no issues and has the same settings as mine for that. (Power save enabled, always connected). Are you on x.x.43? That seemed to solve some other minor issues I was having with the touchscreen.

My 3G won't reconnect after 20 minutes or anything along those lines. If it does reconnect at all while I'm driving, it dies out within minutes again. Was driving around with no connectivity for a while, and all of a sudden slacker started playing... got about 1/3rd through one song and it was disconnected again.

Did just get a call from service. Congratulations to those who voted center touchscreen replacement. They actually said it shouldn't take long and I should have it back within a couple of days at most.

OK, sounds like you've got a different issue. I'm still on .42.

wk057 · Oct 28, 2014

Oh, I forgot the most important note about why mine isn't 6.0 related: It started happening before 6.0 was released. (Updated to 6.0 via WiFi)

iadbound · Oct 28, 2014

There must be a lot of control hardware attached to the center screen. I know there was a teardown of the electronics of the Model S by IHS earlier this month. The conclusion from that teardown was that Telsa had a developed a lot of custom solutions tied into the center display. Unfortunately, I'm concerned that will leave a lot of us needing a center display replacement.

wk057 · Oct 30, 2014

Screen replaced, got car back last night. 3G working fine. Hopefully it lasts this time.

Corrections: Audio System - Internet Radio General Diagnosis

Reviewed logs and DTCs. No issue found. Performed reset on modem without success.
Found modem not powering up. Submitted session to FSE for MCU replacement

Corrections: Media Control Unit (Touchscreen)

Replace Media Control Unit. Checked functionality of 3G service, ok

Part Quantity
MCU, US PREM AUDIO GPS, REMAN
(1004780-00-F)
1
Parts Replaced or Added
Corrections: Firmware Update - Repair
Updated firmware to v6.0(1.67.43) after MCU replacement

Most of my personalized things were retained like nav and media favorites and homelink. Driver profiles disappeared, though. Bluetooth pairings were also removed, but, this was expected.

lloyds · Nov 1, 2014

wk057 said:
Screen replaced, got car back last night. 3G working fine. Hopefully it lasts this time.

Most of my personalized things were retained like nav and media favorites and homelink. Driver profiles disappeared, though. Bluetooth pairings were also removed, but, this was expected.

Out of curiosity, do you know how much the screen costs to replace?

wk057 · Nov 1, 2014

lloyds said:
Out of curiosity, do you know how much the screen costs to replace?

Nope, was $0 under warranty.

pbrulott · Nov 2, 2014

Since V6.xxx , I've gotten intermittent 3G issues. Sometimes shuts down for 2-3 minutes and sometimes for 30+ minutes where the bars completely disappear, NAV shows grey squares, no slacker... I've talked to some other owners in EV gatherings and some of them experienced the same thing. It's not a question of coverage trust me, it happens anywhere, anywhen, no pattern.

Is that a documented defect and being discussed elsewhere?

3G working intermittently :(

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