Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Month old 90D won't start.

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Not sure if this is the right place to put this up, but my recently delivered Model S 90D won't start. Door handles present and I can open the trunk just fine, but neither one of the two screens turn on even after several reboot attempts. Car seems to have a live internet connection though, according to support. Tesla support is sending me a tow truck and loaner vehicle right away, but I'm just wondering if anyone has ever experienced something like this before and what the cause of the problem was?

I love the car and all, but being only a month old and basically bricking itself is not very reassuring.
 
Not sure if this is the right place to put this up, but my recently delivered Model S 90D won't start. Door handles present and I can open the trunk just fine, but neither one of the two screens turn on even after several reboot attempts. Car seems to have a live internet connection though, according to support. Tesla support is sending me a tow truck and loaner vehicle right away, but I'm just wondering if anyone has ever experienced something like this before and what the cause of the problem was?

I love the car and all, but being only a month old and basically bricking itself is not very reassuring.

Sorry to hear this.

1. It's not bricked. The battery pack is fine.
2. The 12V battery sounds fine too.
3. It's probably a fairly simple fix. Might require a fuse reset, firmware flash, or perhaps some hardware--but shouldn't be a huge issue.

4. (This is the most important one): Electronics tend to have higher failure rates on initial use (first few months of use). Failure rates then drop dramatically for a long time. So basically, if this is a hardware issue it's more likely for your display to fail in the first few months of use than it is to fail years down the road.

Having said that, it doesn't sound like a display issue, since both your main and console displays aren't going on. That would be unlikely for both to fail simultaneously unless your car was struck by lightning or something.
 
Last edited:
Support had me try to reboot the car a few times with no success. Interior lights and windows worked but no life on the screens. Tesla app couldn't connect to the car and activate any functions. Couldn't even get the car into neutral so the towing guys had to carefully get the car on wheel dollies.

Not the way I wanted to spend the afternoon, but at least I've got a loaner to use for the time being. I've done a ton of research on the Model S but never heard of this issue before so I figured I'd ask! Will give updates once I get more news about my car.
 
I've had this happen a few times (unfortunately). Both times it was a 12v battery failure due to a failure in the connector that charges the 12v battery from the main battery pack. They were unfortunately unable to do the repair on site because it wasn't as simple as replacing the 12v, so it had to be flatbedded. The repair was very quick after that.
 
I would vote low 12v as a cause too. While the handles and such may operate, it may not be enough to power on the screens. When I had this issue a while back I used a jumper pack (or cables if you don't have a pack) and it powered everything right up, however, the 12v ultimately was replaced.
 
Not sure if this is the right place to put this up, but my recently delivered Model S 90D won't start. Door handles present and I can open the trunk just fine, but neither one of the two screens turn on even after several reboot attempts. Car seems to have a live internet connection though, according to support. Tesla support is sending me a tow truck and loaner vehicle right away, but I'm just wondering if anyone has ever experienced something like this before and what the cause of the problem was?

I love the car and all, but being only a month old and basically bricking itself is not very reassuring.

Wanna sell it?
 
Another variation. I had a download stop mid-stream and the car was inoperable. The Tesla team disabled the parking brake with a bypass in the trunk and we rolled it on their flatbed. In the shop they had to redo the download and reset the charger I was told.
 
Turns out it was a faulty DC to DC converter that ended up killing the 12v battery. They replaced both the converter and battery, and all seems to be well now. Props to the SD service center for fixing my car so quickly!

On a side note, having a P85D loaner for a few days really makes my 90D feel slow in comparison.
 
Turns out it was a faulty DC to DC converter that ended up killing the 12v battery. They replaced both the converter and battery, and all seems to be well now. Props to the SD service center for fixing my car so quickly!

On a side note, having a P85D loaner for a few days really makes my 90D feel slow in comparison.

Can't beat that right there! Tesla SD has done a great job on staying on top of any issues. Glad to hear everything has been fixed quickly.

How was the P85D in comparison, that noticeable difference in acceleration?
 
At first I thought you were given the beta of a feature being asked for over in another thread: a way to not only turn screen brightness down, but to turn off the backlight completely.

Ha! That would be a pretty cool feature, as long as my screens would actually turn back on :wink:

Can't beat that right there! Tesla SD has done a great job on staying on top of any issues. Glad to hear everything has been fixed quickly.

How was the P85D in comparison, that noticeable difference in acceleration?

Quite noticeable. Aside from the obvious difference in launching, the throttle feels more responsive. Not that the 90D is slow, but there is a definite performance difference that numbers alone cannot convey.
 
Unfortunately it looks like this problem has reared its ugly head again. Door handles and other accessories work, but no life from either of the two screens. And this time it happened while I'm out of town visiting my girlfriend.

Two incapacitating failures in less than one month - disappointing.