tl;dr - S85, took delivery 9/30 with 9 miles on the odometer, less than 2 weeks later at 173 miles in I got a 12V battery warning on the freeway, towed to service center, got a loaner. Seems like record time from new car to first problem.
Longer version:
I'm currently at less than a single full-charge of driving distance with a brand-new car and I already got the "12V Battery Power Low - Car May Shut Down Unexpectedly" message. This happened on 101 N in Santa Clara, CA (right before the Lawrence Expressway exit) but was able to pull over to the shoulder. How disappointing. Immediately called Tesla Roadside Assistance and went through a reboot and when that didn't work, a momentary power-off. When those attempts failed, a flatbed service was called.
Interestingly, after the tow service was called the battery warning disappeared and I was able to put the car into Drive. I decided to play it safe and let the service center take a look at it, but it was nice to be able to run AC while I waited for the tow since it was rather warm inside the car.
The tow truck arrived roughly half an hour after Roadside Assistance contacted them. I engaged the tow mode and it was interesting to watch my car pulled onto the flatbed. A short ride later, I was at the Sunnyvale service center moving my belongings to a loaner which is an S85 similar to mine but in black / tan (a combination I was originally considering). It had almost 900 miles but was probably built right before the Autopilot hardware became standard. I already miss the Driver Assist features.
Overall, the roadside and service center experience was relatively seamless and while inconvenient as I was on the way to work, I didn't expect the transition from a dead car to a loaner to be this easy.
But before Tesla's blamed for a defective 12V battery, this may be owner negligence. When I first took delivery with a charge level of 235 miles, I had a detailer appointment scheduled on the same day but he was running about a week behind so the delivery center allowed me to keep the car at the factory for 6 days (sitting outside along the other demo cars). It wasn't charged at all during this time. I also stopped by several evenings and remotely opened the car with my phone so I could familiarize myself with the controls, pair the phone, configure settings, listen to the radio, etc.. The car wasn't running 6.0 yet so I couldn't roll it over to the Supercharger stalls.
Later I finally got to drive it a few blocks to the detailing shop and there it stayed for a few days. I finally picked it up 10/9 with about 170 miles on the main battery meter and made my first charge at the factory Supercharger. Since then I've maintained the charge at home, used a Chargepoint near my office, and also used the factory Supercharger again last night.
I guess sitting in the car at night during the first week and powering the dashboard electronics without the car being plugged in created this seemingly-premature 12V battery failure. I did hang out in the car for an hour or so at a time since it was fun. It's fortunate that I was able to get a loaner for the weekend.
Longer version:
I'm currently at less than a single full-charge of driving distance with a brand-new car and I already got the "12V Battery Power Low - Car May Shut Down Unexpectedly" message. This happened on 101 N in Santa Clara, CA (right before the Lawrence Expressway exit) but was able to pull over to the shoulder. How disappointing. Immediately called Tesla Roadside Assistance and went through a reboot and when that didn't work, a momentary power-off. When those attempts failed, a flatbed service was called.
Interestingly, after the tow service was called the battery warning disappeared and I was able to put the car into Drive. I decided to play it safe and let the service center take a look at it, but it was nice to be able to run AC while I waited for the tow since it was rather warm inside the car.
The tow truck arrived roughly half an hour after Roadside Assistance contacted them. I engaged the tow mode and it was interesting to watch my car pulled onto the flatbed. A short ride later, I was at the Sunnyvale service center moving my belongings to a loaner which is an S85 similar to mine but in black / tan (a combination I was originally considering). It had almost 900 miles but was probably built right before the Autopilot hardware became standard. I already miss the Driver Assist features.
Overall, the roadside and service center experience was relatively seamless and while inconvenient as I was on the way to work, I didn't expect the transition from a dead car to a loaner to be this easy.
But before Tesla's blamed for a defective 12V battery, this may be owner negligence. When I first took delivery with a charge level of 235 miles, I had a detailer appointment scheduled on the same day but he was running about a week behind so the delivery center allowed me to keep the car at the factory for 6 days (sitting outside along the other demo cars). It wasn't charged at all during this time. I also stopped by several evenings and remotely opened the car with my phone so I could familiarize myself with the controls, pair the phone, configure settings, listen to the radio, etc.. The car wasn't running 6.0 yet so I couldn't roll it over to the Supercharger stalls.
Later I finally got to drive it a few blocks to the detailing shop and there it stayed for a few days. I finally picked it up 10/9 with about 170 miles on the main battery meter and made my first charge at the factory Supercharger. Since then I've maintained the charge at home, used a Chargepoint near my office, and also used the factory Supercharger again last night.
I guess sitting in the car at night during the first week and powering the dashboard electronics without the car being plugged in created this seemingly-premature 12V battery failure. I did hang out in the car for an hour or so at a time since it was fun. It's fortunate that I was able to get a loaner for the weekend.
Last edited: