Suspension software flaw

[MichaelS]

I can confirm that this was a software bug. It happened to me more than a year ago. Tesla software engineering confirmed that this was a bug that occurred if the car was parked at a slight incline. Only the front left tire was higher. This caused the failure.

I parked in a parking space over a concrete stop. The space was right next to a planter area and the spot where the concrete block sat was raised slightly. When I got back to the car and pulled out, the car had settled on top of the stop. Fortunately is just scraped a bit, no damage was done.

The bug has been fixed.

 

[Cyclone]

My suggestion to the OP would be simply not to pull in so far, and if you do for some reason raise the suspension before reversing. With that being said I'm not sure why the car isn't raising the suspension as soon as the OP sits down in it.

I would second the suggestion. as for the latter statement, the car only raises the suspension when in the "on" mode. The car isn't "on" when the driver sits down, but when the driver hits the brake. For some, they could sit down, fiddle with the radio, buckle their seat belt, adjust the a/c, etc. and then hit the brake and immediate switch into gear. As such, the car never had the time to raise up after switching on.

After running into this scenario (not scraping, but the car not "on" yet to raise the suspension), I altered my behavior to immediately hit the brake when getting in the car, and then buckling up and selecting my music, etc. This gives the car the time to raise the suspension.

- - - Updated - - -

Also not being technically inclined I watched as the bumper was being
reinstalled and learned that it is held to the body by about 10 plastic plugs.
When I questioned the service tech he explained that attaching many parts
of the auto is made with plastic plugs and that is the industry standard. He did
state that Mercedes uses the same method. I cannot dispute this so I must
accept it.

It's not the bumper but bumper cover that falls off -correct?

Indeed Vitold is correct. It is the bumper cover held in place by plastic clips, not the bumper. Even with the cover off, your bumper is fully functional. So if the cover were to come off, it may be unsightly, but you are still perfectly safe and the bumper will still perform its duties in the event of a crash.

 

[CHG-ON]

This well may be due to the car lowering when parked. It happened to me for the first time the other day. I always have it on the high setting in a particular parking lot, just to be safe. And since the car is so long, my nose needs to hang over the curb when I park. I have never had a problem and had none while pulling in this day. When I left at the end of the day, I heard a rubbing when I backed out. I checked immediately and saw that the car had indeed dropped to normal on it's own. I have read about this on other threads and do think that this kind of settling is a flaw. Fortunately, it was very smooth concrete and there was no damage or visible marks.

This should be fixed, regardless if it happens with other air suspensions, as I have read. When I pull in on high for a specific reason, I expect the car to maintain that height. Period. That is exactly why I paid the extra to get it.

 

[Cyclone]

CHG-ON, was the car sitting at the Normal level, or did the software actually says the air suspension was at Normal. The latter is unusual and yes, should be fixed if it occurs. The former just means you pulled out before the 5 or so seconds before the car could raise itself back up.

FYI, my car lowers from Very High at home and at work almost every single time I park. I've adjusted so it raised up. Neither time is a curb involved though, so I wouldn't get any scraping if I don't wait.

 

[bsbomber]

I have posted this many times on the Tesla forums but never here. When you pull over a curb or block, spend one second your precious time to put the Model S into "Jack" mode. This is a simple and easy fix to NEVER EVER endure the terrible sound and gut wrenching feeling of scraping off of concrete. After having this happen to me two times, I decided to "think out of the box" and figure out how to stop this. I decided to try putting her into "Jack", and guess what, it worked perfectly for two years. (I just sold her to wait for a Model X) You don't need to remove "Jack" when you back up and drive away, it will reset itself within around 20 feet. After you do it a few times, it will be second nature when you pull over something. I really liked the way she set down in my garage after putting her to bed and plugging her in. I just did not like this happening over concrete. THINK OUT OF THE BOX!!!

 

[Lump]

this other guy's thread is about selling both his cars...2 years ago... which I assume means he's not active on the forums and won't look for a reply. Leaving a phone number and email is also a dead giveaway that he won't be checking back here any time soon.

2 Brand New Tesla S Sedans for Sale

 

[cytranic]

Quit pulling so close to the curb... I've never done that in my car. If you absolutely have to kiss the curb, back in.

 

[wstuff]

This isn't a case of pulling too close to the curb, and a 100k car does not solve the problem by backing in. This is a flaw that needs attention. If you pull into a parking spot in most lots and stop before the front of the car is to the parking curb , the tail end will stick out dangerously to where someone who is distracted will hit your car. The problem happens when the car settles on the curb after parking, and when the car starts it will raise the back end first and the front lowers even further. This impacts the curb and pulls the cover off the car, ( very disturbing and embarrassing) i have had three occurrences of this and I am very careful, I actually cracked my cover from this . Tesla said there is no problem with the suspension and arranged for repair at a reduced price of approx 3k. I have not had the bumper cover replaced and won't at 3k. This is not a driver error issue it is a software sequence issue, nobody waits for 40 to 60 seconds when they return to the car to pull out. The fix may be to put the car into high suspension mode ( automatically) whenever park is initiated and not allow the car to move until high suspension setting has been reached when pulling out. If i am in doubt I manually set the suspension to very high when I get in the car and wait for rear and front to stabilize before moving. This is not the way you should have to compromise to drive the best car in the world, and for the world. If this has not happened to you it doesn't help to put the cause down to driver error, if you clear a parking curb when you pull in it is reasonable to expect the car to clear it on the way out.

 

[Discoducky]

Quit pulling so close to the curb... I've never done that in my car. If you absolutely have to kiss the curb, back in.

Best defense is backing in so you can get as close as you want to the curb. I do wish the vehicle behavior would not lower the car onto curbs when parked though. If it were up to me I'd do everything but do that as is unsettling at best to hear the pumps go off and see the car lower as if it is saying "one day you'll forget and then 'crunch'!"

 

[Krugerrand]

The fix may be to put the car into high suspension mode ( automatically) whenever park is initiated and not allow the car to move until high suspension setting has been reached when pulling out. If i am in doubt I manually set the suspension to very high when I get in the car and wait for rear and front to stabilize before moving.

See post #25 for an easy fix.

- - - Updated - - -

Best defense is backing in so you can get as close as you want to the curb. I do wish the vehicle behavior would not lower the car onto curbs when parked though. If it were up to me I'd do everything but do that as is unsettling at best to hear the pumps go off and see the car lower as if it is saying "one day you'll forget and then 'crunch'!"

This might be something that owners can report on those survey card thingies they get? Maybe with enough owner input this would get on the priority list? Or maybe it's already on a list to be addressed? Or, this might end up being one of those quirky things that we all deal with with various vehicles.

 

[Discoducky]

This might be something that owners can report on those survey card thingies they get? Maybe with enough owner input this would get on the priority list? Or maybe it's already on a list to be addressed? Or, this might end up being one of those quirky things that we all deal with with various vehicles.

Yes or just send them an email stating you would like the car to remain at the same suspension height when parked and until the car is placed in "D" (drive) and goes over X MPH (where X is like 10MPH). You know, just a suggestion

 

[Krugerrand]

Yes or just send them an email stating you would like the car to remain at the same suspension height when parked and until the car is placed in "D" (drive) and goes over X MPH (where X is like 10MPH). You know, just a suggestion

We should have a sub forum for premade suggestions with an attached e-mail addy. Then all the forum members who agree with such suggestion could copy and paste and all e-mail it to the same addy. I bet that'd get their attention.

 

[gnxs]

The OP has posted this elsewhere here and at the TM forums under an inflammatory title. This is operator error, parking over a concrete object. Not a major design or safety flaw. Unfortunate event that happens with other vehicles.

Exactly.

Something like this happened to me (ironically on a visit to FL) with my 2009 CTS-V. I pulled over a concrete curb and the plastic clips pulled out as I backed up. The bumper didn't fall off, but the underbody protection near the front was hanging down. Totally my fault. I suspect something similar happened here.

 

[Cyclone]

This might be something that owners can report on those survey card thingies they get? Maybe with enough owner input this would get on the priority list? Or maybe it's already on a list to be addressed? Or, this might end up being one of those quirky things that we all deal with with various vehicles.

Personally, I think the software should be updated to add a suspension height check when the key is detected, rather than when the car is turned "on" by putting your foot on the brake. By doing the check on the timeframe where the door handles present, it will give the car the time to raise up by the time the driver is buckled in.

 

[DCWitt]

Personally, I think the software should be updated to add a suspension height check when the key is detected, rather than when the car is turned "on" by putting your foot on the brake. By doing the check on the timeframe where the door handles present, it will give the car the time to raise up by the time the driver is buckled in.

+1 Excellent suggestion.

 

[33vico]

Divorcing my 2012 Tesla S85

Oct. 03, 2015
I fell in love with Tesla Motors in 2010 after reading an article in a national magazine. We courted through 2011 when I decided we would be become
engaged and I purchased the IPO (stock). The more I researched the companies glowing public relations releases the more I planned for a wedding.
In 2012 I put a deposit down on what I hoped would be my dream car". On December 21, 2012 we were joined when she was delivered to my home.
The honeymoon lasted for more than two years when small repairs became necessary. The Tesla service center was more than accommodating in keeping
me a happy bridegroom. To say the least the service was fantastic, just as promised. In August of 2015 a serious problem surfaced and I contacted
Tesla service center to have it resolved. The front bumper was dislodged and fell to the ground twice. I was initially advised by Tesla techs that it was my
fault and I would have to pay approximately $1,500 to have a new bumper installed and painted. The reason given was that I had parked over a concrete
car stop. I did not feel it was my fault and objected to their decision and did some research. By visiting different Tesla customer chat rooms I found numerous complaints by other Tesla owners with the same problem. It became common knowledge that there was a glitch in the suspension software that allowed the auto to lower itself onto the car stop. Upon backing out of the space, the bumper was pulled off. I discussed this with Tesla service techs and the remained adamant that it was my fault. More research revealed that Tesla motors was aware of this failure in the suspension software and advised their service centers to upgrade the software to eliminate the problem in 2014. Obviously my auto 2012 was never upgraded and consequently suffered the same fate as many other owners. Again I contacted Tesla center and requested that they repair my auto to it's original condition. They responded that as a goodwill gesture
they would supply a bumper but I would have to take it to a recommended body shop and pay for the installation and painting. As a replacement part, the
bumper is listed for $960.00 and is available only from the Tesla factory. Why they wanted me to pay for installation and painting became obvious when
I again surfed Tesla chat rooms and it was revealed that repairs on Tesla are very expensive because painting on plastic and repairing aluminum requires
specialized body shops where the work can be done. The cost to repaint one Tesla door can be $500.00 as I learned from the chat room owners.
I attempted to compromise this expense by offering to pay a portion of the cost for installation and painting. The negotiations with various Tesla
service reps did become contentious at times but I felt ultimately we would agree at some point. At this time Tesla reps have stopped accepting my phone
calls and responding to my emails. In the interim, Tesla by remote upgrading of my suspension software has solved some but not all of the items to
eliminate this design flaw. As a long time business man (50yrs) I have learned by experience that sometimes the first loss is the best loss. It has been a
great adventure with my dream car but it's time to move on. Anyone interested in verifying my research can go to Tesla motors chat rooms and see the
tsunami of owner complaints that are piling up. My Tesla is listed on Cars.com and has been reduced $5,000 to someone who would marry my soon to be
ex and have the repairs done. Only 11,800 miles and in pristine condition aside from what has been noted here. "I love my Tesla but I love my life more".
Nil Disparendum

 

[Niclas]

Do not park over concrete blocks. Not that hard.

 

[techmaven]

A slew of things doesn't make sense in your post, 33vico. Why is it that, in 2015, your Model S doesn't have software from 2014?

Further, even the lowest setting on the Model S suspension isn't all that low... the concrete block has to be quite high for it to be a problem. The issue is more likely the driver's or the parking lot's issue. Further, did you just tear out of that situation in reverse? No care at all when reversing? Scraping on concrete blocks is a common problem.

Tesla already is providing you with a free bumper. This is what insurance is for, btw. It seems to me that they have already accommodated you far in excess of any other auto manufacturer or dealer since it is not clear that they were at any fault.

 

[Krugerrand]

I'm sure you already started a thread on this topic a couple days ago. In that thread someone posted a simple fix to prevent this sort of accident from happening again.

 

[eye.surgeon]

We get it. You ripped your front bumper off on a parking curb and have convinced yourself that is somehow Tesla's fault. And you've posted several times about it.