4 Wheel drive on Model Y?

[amperage]

I've owned many, many cars over my many many years, and I've never driven anything so bad on snow in my life (MYLR).

We have a couple of inches of snow on the slopped side roads (UK - High peak), after my wife returning from shopping complaining that the car was extremely bad and all over the place when other cars appeared to be fine. I took it for a drive.

Now although the car managed to crawl up them and I mean crawl, any steering input was met with the car going anywhere but where I was pointing it. It was beyond lose and unpredictable. I'd only been out for a minute or so, when I noticed that everything to do with safety had shut down including ABS, which I noticed when pushing the brakes while going down a slight slope and finding that I had nothing but an uncontrollable, unpredictable two ton sledge that was not following the steering wheel and not producing any ABS assistance, it was brakes off of it's all over the place. I found it absolutely frightening to drive, even at crawl. This is not like I am a bad driver either (I've had everything Mercedes, Porsche, Maserati, BMW), many rear wheel drive that will put you to the test and I'm not abusing the power in the slightest, even with the lowest power, it's horrendous. Even my rear wheel drive Mercedes is more stable than this car.

I am very shocked, I thought with all of the tech that it is supposed to have, 3,000 miles on the tyres which have plenty of tread as the car is only 6 months old and 4 wheel drive, that it would be a rock star on the snow, total opposite.

Has anybody else experienced this? Have you seen all of your systems shut down like this?

 

[lawmangr]

I don't know the conditions you have right now, but those warnings imply a wheel sensor issue. I had that happen after I had some "fun" with my car in a parking lot during a snow storm last year. I had most, if not all, of the same warnings you are seeing. And the fact that she said it is "all over the place" tells me there is something wrong. Short of the Subaru Outback I used to own, our Model Y is by far the best winter handling car I've ever owned (and I've owned 20+ vehicles of all varieties - FWD, RWD, AWD). I would schedule a service appointment.

 

[Goobers]

Sounds like inappropriate tires were used... did they come with summer tires?

 

[boones]

Seems that your car has a fault or faults that are preventing the traction systems from working properly. I would recommend a service appointment for these fault. Sorry you are having these problems, thats frustrating.

For some comparison: Its been between 0 and -20c here for the past week or so with daily snow and ice. Its been quite slippery out as the temp is so low, that even with mag chloride on the roads, its not melting. The ABS and traction control systems intervene regularly. I find that my MY LR, on winter tires, is decent in the snow. Its better than the FWD or RWD cars I've owned for sure (also on winter tires). Having lots of experience with winter driving in the mountains, I would rate the tesla as average. It's not as good as a subaru in the snow on winter tires, but as good or better than many popular crossovers with AWD systems like Honda CRV or Toyota RAV4.

 

[buckets0fun]

post a photo of the tire sidewall. Tyres need to be for the environment you’re driving in.

Buuuuut, you have larger issues. Likely Abs sensor. 20min install on the ground.

 

[LoudMusic]

If the car is broken, then yes, I'd expect it to not drive well.

 

[rolling green]

You have a bad ABS Wheel Speed Sensor. Most likely one of your front sensors. Theres a cable/sensor that runs from the wheel up the strut then turns hard 90 degrees towards the front of the car. Most likely it's pinched or pulled which causes these errors. I've had it happen to me in good weather i cannot imagine what it's like in snow. The car feels like it weighs 10k lbs. Check both wheels, you can see it when you turn your wheels all the way to either side. Check and make sure the cable is secure and not in any position to be tugged or pinched by turns and dips. Worst case, replace it....$100

 

[rolling green]

Just to add, once the issue is fixed your Y will perform great in snow. Here in Chicago we got a lot of sleet/snow and ice this past week and it's now -10 degrees. Averaging roughly 100miles a day and the Y is handling it all. Car is lowered and running all season tires and the only issue is low tire pressure warning due to the extreme cold.

 

[Goobers]

I already mentioned that I wonder if inappropriate tires were used. Because I wonder about if someone were continuously attempting to drive up an icy incline and no tires have sufficient traction, won't the car think there's something wrong with the system and throw up faults?

 

[Hippo25]

Turning on Off Road Assist makes a huge difference driving in snow and slippery road conditions.

 

[amperage]

To try and answer all of the above in one shot

The car is 6 months old. The tyres are not winter tyres, it's not here right now, I presume they are summer, Hankook's, with plenty of tread.

the issue was happening whether I go up, down or on the flat. I touch the brakes, and there's no ABS, but the car just did not want to respond to steering input, handling score of zero, it would go in all directions and you could not apply any steering corrections to get any control, taking the brakes off was the only chance.

Conditions are light snow, an inch or two max, around 0C/32F outside, not actually icy, just light snow.

I have seen YouTube videos of them handling well, so I suspect it's a fault.

I have since spoken to Tesla, who told me to reboot it with the two buttons on the steering wheel, then power off and power on, and see if it comes back again. Not very reassuring really, if the system goes out at anything above a crawl, this car is a death trap. By the time I get an appointment with Tesla it'll be summer, it's not easy to get in quickly.

 

[VipinLJ]

Just to add, once the issue is fixed your Y will perform great in snow. Here in Chicago we got a lot of sleet/snow and ice this past week and it's now -10 degrees. Averaging roughly 100miles a day and the Y is handling it all. Car is lowered and running all season tires and the only issue is low tire pressure warning due to the extreme cold.

I agree. I have an MYLR (not lowered). It is one of the best I've ever driven in these icy and snowy conditions. I'm surprised at how well it handles. The only car that I had that felt this good was our old VW Atlas. We have/had a B9 SQ5, B9 A4, G01 X3, G20 330i, X253 GLC 300, C7 A7 and CLS450. None of them handles the snow and ice like the MYLR does. And it's on the shitty, OEM Goodyear all seasons.

So yes OP. There is 100% something wrong with your car.

 

[jjrandorin]

The car is 6 months old. The tyres are not winter tyres, it's not here right now, I presume they are summer, Hankook's, with plenty of tread.

You are seriously not complaining about All wheel drive, if you bought a model Y Performance that comes with summer tires and still driving around on those in the snow... are you?

If so, then you have your answer (summer tires are not supposed to be driven on the snow, PERIOD). If your car is a Model Y Performance, on summer tires, I am probably going to delete this thread as its not relevant to anything.

 

[VipinLJ]

You are seriously not complaining about All wheel drive, if you bought a model Y Performance that comes with summer tires and still driving around on those in the snow... are you?

If so, then you have your answer (summer cars are not supposed to be driven on the snow, PERIOD). If your car is a Model Y Performance, on summer tires, I am probably going to delete this thread as its not relevant to anything.

Damn. I didn't see his reply where he said his car is on summers! And he's surprised it doesn't handle well.

 

[Pianewman]

amperage: "I have since spoken to Tesla, who told me to reboot it with the two buttons on the steering wheel, then power off and power on, and see if it comes back again. Not very reassuring really."

I don't understand you're lack of reassurance. This is the correct first step to find a solution to your problem. Right now. W/o a service center/mobile visit, right?

I hope the reboot works. If it's a software malfunction, it's the correct solution. If it's hardware, you'll need service.

 

[gx9901]

You are seriously not complaining about All wheel drive, if you bought a model Y Performance that comes with summer tires and still driving around on those in the snow... are you?

If so, then you have your answer (summer tires are not supposed to be driven on the snow, PERIOD). If your car is a Model Y Performance, on summer tires, I am probably going to delete this thread as its not relevant to anything.

In the first sentence of the OP's post, it says MYLR, so I assume the car has all-season tires.

Seems like the wheel speed sensor could be the culprit. I don't know if the Model Y is the best car in the snow, but my MYP with snow tires got through two snowy Minnesota winters just fine.

 

[Geech72]

You are seriously not complaining about All wheel drive, if you bought a model Y Performance that comes with summer tires and still driving around on those in the snow... are you?

If so, then you have your answer (summer tires are not supposed to be driven on the snow, PERIOD). If your car is a Model Y Performance, on summer tires, I am probably going to delete this thread as its not relevant to anything.

He's not complaining he's asking for help which is kinda what online forums are for.

 

[fiehlsport]

In other markets it may have shipped with purely summer tires.

What are the make/model of the tires, OP? I suspect they are the Hankook Ventus, but could be an AS or S1 summer tire version...

 

[Iron]

Now although the car managed to crawl up them and I mean crawl, any steering input was met with the car going anywhere but where I was pointing it. It was beyond lose and unpredictable. I'd only been out for a minute or so, when I noticed that everything to do with safety had shut down including ABS, which I noticed when pushing the brakes while going down a slight slope and finding that I had nothing but an uncontrollable, unpredictable two ton sledge that was not following the steering wheel and not producing any ABS assistance, it was brakes off of it's all over the place. I found it absolutely frightening to drive, even at crawl. This is not like I am a bad driver either (I've had everything Mercedes, Porsche, Maserati, BMW), many rear wheel drive that will put you to the test and I'm not abusing the power in the slightest, even with the lowest power, it's horrendous. Even my rear wheel drive Mercedes is more stable than this car.

You are seriously not complaining about All wheel drive, if you bought a model Y Performance that comes with summer tires and still driving around on those in the snow... are you?

If so, then you have your answer (summer tires are not supposed to be driven on the snow, PERIOD). If your car is a Model Y Performance, on summer tires, I am probably going to delete this thread as its not relevant to anything.

Jjrandorin, you read all that and chalked it up to simply summer tires? I've driven high HP rear wheel drive vehicles with bald tires in the snow, that sound better than what he's describing.

 

[Gumball]

Sounds like a abs sensor not working, safety issue, simply go to your sec and they will fix it. Make sure to let them know it is a safety issue!