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Turn Signal intermittently doesn't work
- Thread starter metroplex
- Start date
jbeezely4051
Member
Well, I drive a lot. About 100-150 miles per day.
I can't bother with SC. They will start arguing that it's all in my head or that I don't know how to use the turn signal correctly, like the other replies here in this thread...
Just found this thread and i have exactly the same.
9/10 times i can just do what i did on multiple previous non-tesla cars, a quick half-flip of the blinker to do comfort flashing, but then 1/10 times it will definitely not accept this, and even if i do it again, and again it will not work, sometimes i even press full blink and it will not do it.
The problem for me is not that it needs to be pressed a certain way for it to work in this situation, my problem is, it is very intermittend, making it hard to predict.
Happens most often in the motorway, when i am doing a flick to change lane, 9/10 times it works fine, the last time it does not and the car screams at me because i am changing lane without indicating, which is fine, if it was not for the fact that i did in fact do this, the same way as 2 minutes earlier, when it worked like it should.
PS. I turned off that auto cancel feature by the way, it was really crappy, and did not cancel the flasher after multiple different lane changes in the beginning.
Also right before the motorway starts where i live there is a rather short offramp, it consistently did not cancel when i turned onto that offramp.
Same place it also reads a sign that signals a right turn with a recommended max speed of 40, as a 40 kph sign and sets the speed at 40, and does not change that even after the turn where it is straight ahead and 80 kph speedlimit. The sign is only a recommended so there is no "cancel 40 sign"....
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It's frustrating right? The last few times I had it happen to me, I started tapping the sh*t out of the turn signal lever like 5-7 times and it never turned the signal on. Luckily with the latest software update, I no longer need to hold it / or go to the 2nd position. Just 1 half-tap usually gets it going until I finish the turn/curve. Except for the times where this bug rears its ugly head. I now just file a bug report whenever that happens. Who knows if they even read the bug reports!
VERY fustrating.
And yes i have the same, when it fails to engage i can also do loads of taps on the indicator but it just will not turn on. I have even tried different lengths and changing how hard i do it. I use the half-tap as it will then self cancel (Turned off the auto cancel, it works *sugar* for me) but even if i do a full tap, when it has decided that it will not engage, even that, wont make it indicate.
I usually just give up and just finish the lanechange, as i am already doing it, but in all fairness, it is actually illegal here if you do not signal a langechange on the motorway.
This is most frustrating because i have had 3-4 other cars over the last 15 years that have all had this feature and this is the first car i have, where this function is actually not working very well.
E90alex
Active Member
Just had this happen this weekend. Went to signal for a lane change and then proceeded to change lanes. Car then abruptly swerves me back into the lane because the turn signal didn’t actually turn on. Then it took a couple tries before the turn signal actually turned on.
And the lane departure assist does not work consistently either. Sometimes it swerves me back. Sometimes it just lets me cross. Sometimes it feels like it’s pulling me towards the line?? Sometimes it beeps at me. Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it just freaks out completely and screams TAKE OVER IMMEDIATELY.
And the lane departure assist does not work consistently either. Sometimes it swerves me back. Sometimes it just lets me cross. Sometimes it feels like it’s pulling me towards the line?? Sometimes it beeps at me. Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it just freaks out completely and screams TAKE OVER IMMEDIATELY.
WinterDragoness
Member
I have the same issue on a 2024 Model Y and it infuriates me. 9 years with a 2014 Model S and it never failed to register a signal once. The 3/Y stalk problems are just them trying to save a tiny amount of money or some really bad engineering. I do believe this should be an NHTSA issue because I sometimes hit the signal, check over my shoulder and begin to merge, only to realize my signal didn't turn on halfway into the merge when another car might merge into me because I wasn't signaling.
I sent Tesla a video file with my service request showing them the issue. I've attached a version of it here with some personally identifiable info cropped out and only showing the point in the video that the signal failed. This failure was when I pushed it past the first point of resistance (the service person called it the first notch) and I may or may not have reached the second notch. They didn't question the video before service so my SO dropped off the car and did a test drive and of course they couldn't reproduce the problem.
They claimed my video wasn't valid because I had the car in park and plugged into a charger. So they made me drive an hour down there despite my objections. The service tech had me demonstrate the problem in park the same way as in the video (I highly doubt being plugged into a charger makes any difference, they just make up excuses which I've caught the sales people doing many times). I managed to make it happen 4 or 5 times in a short period of time and he agreed to replace the stalk, though grudgingly. The last time it failed in front of him I intended to hit the second notch and I think I did hit it but it didn't detect it.
The tech said the stalk is designed to only engage on a slower flick, and only if that flick ends in the first or second notch, not somewhere between the two. So if you're rushing to make a turn and flick it too fast, or you accidentally use enough force to go past the first notch but not quite to the second, too bad, you get no signal. This is a terrible, awful, unsafe design. My Model S stalk was designed to always detect reaching the first notch such that you get some sort of signal even if you don't use enough force to hit the second notch. It had the same feature where a slight press would engage 3 signals and a harder press would keep it on, but it never failed to signal in over 9 years, not with a quick flick or a flick between notches. I don't even remember cases where I wanted a full signal and only got 3 flashes, though they might have happened on rare occasion.
I got a loaner Model 3 during the repair and its stalk felt significantly stiffer such that it was easier to feel where the notches were. I could still make its signal fail by purposely flicking fast or aiming for between the two notches, confirming the tech is correct about the design. However, in actual driving I don't think it ever failed on me, though I only drove the car for a couple hours. It actually might have failed once, I can't remember for certain.
The new stalk on my car was the same way, slightly stiffer and easier to feel the notches (but I don't think it's quite as stiff as the older Model 3 stalk, and I could be imagining it's stiffer than my original stalk since I don't have them side by side to compare). I can make it fail intentionally on quick or between-notch movement.
In actual driving, I have the issue of missed signals much less often. I've only driven it about 3 days since the repair but I don't think it's failed between notches. On the second (longer) drive, it did fail about 3 times when I pushed it too fast and/or didn't reach the first notch, but I seem to have adjusted my behavior since then to make it more reliable. With the original stalk, no attempts to adjust my behavior ever made it reliable. So I do think the original stalk was defective, but I also think the design of fully working stalks is awful and unsafe.
So good luck to those trying to get theirs replaced. Be ready to demonstrate the problem in person or you might try demonstrating it a bunch of times. Ideally, set up like a dashcam or go-pro on your dashboard pointing at the signal to catch it happening multiple times while you're driving. I actually did that with the tech and could upload those vids as well if anyone is curious.
I sent Tesla a video file with my service request showing them the issue. I've attached a version of it here with some personally identifiable info cropped out and only showing the point in the video that the signal failed. This failure was when I pushed it past the first point of resistance (the service person called it the first notch) and I may or may not have reached the second notch. They didn't question the video before service so my SO dropped off the car and did a test drive and of course they couldn't reproduce the problem.
They claimed my video wasn't valid because I had the car in park and plugged into a charger. So they made me drive an hour down there despite my objections. The service tech had me demonstrate the problem in park the same way as in the video (I highly doubt being plugged into a charger makes any difference, they just make up excuses which I've caught the sales people doing many times). I managed to make it happen 4 or 5 times in a short period of time and he agreed to replace the stalk, though grudgingly. The last time it failed in front of him I intended to hit the second notch and I think I did hit it but it didn't detect it.
The tech said the stalk is designed to only engage on a slower flick, and only if that flick ends in the first or second notch, not somewhere between the two. So if you're rushing to make a turn and flick it too fast, or you accidentally use enough force to go past the first notch but not quite to the second, too bad, you get no signal. This is a terrible, awful, unsafe design. My Model S stalk was designed to always detect reaching the first notch such that you get some sort of signal even if you don't use enough force to hit the second notch. It had the same feature where a slight press would engage 3 signals and a harder press would keep it on, but it never failed to signal in over 9 years, not with a quick flick or a flick between notches. I don't even remember cases where I wanted a full signal and only got 3 flashes, though they might have happened on rare occasion.
I got a loaner Model 3 during the repair and its stalk felt significantly stiffer such that it was easier to feel where the notches were. I could still make its signal fail by purposely flicking fast or aiming for between the two notches, confirming the tech is correct about the design. However, in actual driving I don't think it ever failed on me, though I only drove the car for a couple hours. It actually might have failed once, I can't remember for certain.
The new stalk on my car was the same way, slightly stiffer and easier to feel the notches (but I don't think it's quite as stiff as the older Model 3 stalk, and I could be imagining it's stiffer than my original stalk since I don't have them side by side to compare). I can make it fail intentionally on quick or between-notch movement.
In actual driving, I have the issue of missed signals much less often. I've only driven it about 3 days since the repair but I don't think it's failed between notches. On the second (longer) drive, it did fail about 3 times when I pushed it too fast and/or didn't reach the first notch, but I seem to have adjusted my behavior since then to make it more reliable. With the original stalk, no attempts to adjust my behavior ever made it reliable. So I do think the original stalk was defective, but I also think the design of fully working stalks is awful and unsafe.
So good luck to those trying to get theirs replaced. Be ready to demonstrate the problem in person or you might try demonstrating it a bunch of times. Ideally, set up like a dashcam or go-pro on your dashboard pointing at the signal to catch it happening multiple times while you're driving. I actually did that with the tech and could upload those vids as well if anyone is curious.
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EVRider-FL
Active Member
Every service center is different. My service center in WPB FL took my word for it and replaced the yoke.
Gauss Guzzler
Safety Score = 42
Again, it doesn't matter how far you press the stalk, only how long it takes. Every year model 3/Y has this flaw and it absolutely should be grounds for a recall. My service center reproduces this every time I visit, and they write "within spec" as the solution every time.
You wouldn't sell a piano, video game controller, or handgun that doesn't work unless the trigger/key/button is held for a while. How is it OK to sell a critical safety item with such an egregious and ridiculously unnecessary flaw? I've got 104 buttons right here on my $7 keyboard that all work perfectly fine - it's not freakin' rocket science Elon.
You wouldn't sell a piano, video game controller, or handgun that doesn't work unless the trigger/key/button is held for a while. How is it OK to sell a critical safety item with such an egregious and ridiculously unnecessary flaw? I've got 104 buttons right here on my $7 keyboard that all work perfectly fine - it's not freakin' rocket science Elon.
BigNick
Infamous Fat Sweaty Guy
The Model S signals worked flawlessly because they're Mercedes parts.
I've personally never had an issue with my Model 3 but I've seen a lot of complaints.
Maybe I'm not aggressive enough moving the stalk to get it to fail this way?
I've personally never had an issue with my Model 3 but I've seen a lot of complaints.
Maybe I'm not aggressive enough moving the stalk to get it to fail this way?
The stalk in the S is not so similar that one could acquire one and retrofit it in the 3/Y instead of the stock one they put in a the factory.
I have had comfort flashing in every car since about 2008 and in every other car i have owned or have, this has worked flawlessly. 4 cars since then all worked like expected, but the Tesla is always very hit and miss, if the turn signal will work or not.
Gauss Guzzler
Safety Score = 42
You don't have to be "aggressive" to make the signal fail (some YouTuber did crazy karate chops as an example), you just need to be lazy. A brief tap like you might use in a normal car is completely ignored by the stalk 100% of the time - regardless of how far it is pressed.
My service center actually sent me a video of them doing this themselves on one of their own inventory cars as proof that the dangerous failure is an intended design feature, not a flaw.
My service center actually sent me a video of them doing this themselves on one of their own inventory cars as proof that the dangerous failure is an intended design feature, not a flaw.
Maybe some of the aftermarket manufacturers could make some money making an aftermarket turn stalk that actually worked like one would expect.
Would not be that hard i think...Just need to make a stalk that detects a "fast" flick and extend the signal sent to the car to a lenght where it would also be able to pick it up.
Pretty simple to do with a microcontroller...
BigNick
Infamous Fat Sweaty Guy
If they make one that just works every time i will be buying one pronto.
But i guess they are probably going to add extra features as well....Maybe extra "S3XY" buttons on the stalk itself
I don't think it is a "replacement" stalk. It is a stalk to add to vehicles that don't come with one.
I doubt it will be compatible with vehicles that come with a stalk from the factory.
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