How to open a Tesla when the battery dies (HDR)
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- čas přidán 13. 07. 2024
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So, what do you do when your Tesla Model 3 becomes unresponsive... and you can’t get into the car? Here's all the options I tried and the fix that finally allowed me to get into my 2018 Tesla Model 3.
0:00 - Introduction
0:42 - How to open the hood
1:15 - How to jump start the battery
1:32 - Different types of batteries
2:48 - Partially functional car
4:05 - First responder loop
4:36 - How to open the car
5:08 - Trying to wake up the car
5:25 - Emergency manual door release
5:45 - Powering down the car
7:13 - Powering up the car
9:48 - Conclusion
#tesla #teslamodel3 #teslamodely - Jak na to + styl
I would have called the Tesla Ranger right away. Cudos to you for doing this all yourself!
I have a MY with the lithium battery and HEPA filter. Just wanted to note that you don't have to remove the frunk bucket to get the filter out. Just remove the two bolts on the sides of the filter assembly and you can wiggle the whole thing out. I've done it a number of times when adding after market electronics to my vehicle.
I also forgot to mention that you need to unplug the emergency hatch release button.
That must have been a scary couple of hours. Luckily you managed to get the car rebooted and the battery replaced.
How the he'll did you learn to troubleshoot this problem? I am so impressed with your work. I would not have known where or even what a DC to DC converter is, much less where it's located. I can see I have a lot to learn. Let this be a lesson to all of us that advances in technology can bring new problems. Kudos to you, sir, for diagnosing the problem, troubleshooting possible solutions and remaining calm .
Yea, me too. I’m adventurous, but would have been all “Tesla service h-e-l-p”
Just an FYI. I received the bad 12v warning on the dash but it ran fine for several days with no problems. Finally one day the only thing that would not work was the video screen. Fortunately, by doing the steering wheel reboot two times - it rebooted but the 12 V battery warning was still there. I took it to Tessa Service and they replaced the battery at no cost. And mine was the Model Y LR, 2020.
Thank you so much for this video on step-by-step. This video is very helpful in the future.
Classic 12V Battery dying. The reason only half the car is working, is because of the dead 12V, the DC-DC converter can't get the voltage high enough, so only a few modules in the car start up properly. For example in your case VCFront right did startup, wich made the right side doors and windows work, VCFront left did not have a proper startup, so the horn and headlights did work, but not the doors and other functions.
For the people claiming that their ICE car won't have this problem: This is not a Tesla problem, but a new car problem. I've seen plenty of ICE cars that started to behave funky if the 12V couldn't hold charge anymore. The only difference is that you have to disconnect the first responder loop so the DC-DC comverter stops, so you can swap out the 12V battery...easy fix.
Great video btw, no hysterics, just logical problem solving.
Thanks for telling me I was wondering why this was happening
Super useful video. Thank you.
The fact that you were not freaking out and remained calm throughout....IMPRESSIVE! I would have been screaming about stupid design and good for nothing Tesla!
Good going! But, how did you know all of this?
My friend Google.
the fact this video exists amuses me.
This gave me quite a chuckle! See how far we have come in vehicles?
I have a 1969 IIA 109 MilSpec LandRover with a diesel, it doesn’t need electricity to start, open the doors or windows. The engine and power train runs quite happily with out any sort help from pixies. I only have an electrical system for lights and wipers, the engine has a crank handle or air starter.
I had the 12 volt batterygo out onmy 2018 blue Model 3 also. I was able to drive mine to theTela service center where they replaced it under warrenty apso,
As much as I like Teslas, they are great for other people.
Feels like you could have just let the Tesla mobile service deal with this given that they replaced the battery at your home anyway and you already had notifications that it was the 12 volt battery that was causing all the drama.
I personally wouldn't have bothered messing with the car like that if it was still under warranty.
Tesla wanted me to bring the car in to service, which was only possible on a tow truck. It was only after I rebooted the car that the mobile service was offered to me as an option.
when my Model 3 hit 4 years old, I went to service and got them to replaced the 12 volt battery, no appointment. I don't want the hustle of the car dying on me.
So bad. Properly cared (charged in the correct way - you have so much power to charge it with in the car) it should last you 10+ years. Can not understand how they can be so bad at maintaining the low voltage battery. Like they do not have any BMS at all for it.
What you need is a big key coming out of the trunk . 🗝️ turn it and away you go .
This video tells me that resale of out of warranty Tesla's will be very low.
Interesting! Good info. Sounds like they should implement a DC-DC disconnect switch under the front cover as well...
I believe that the first responder loop would do the same thing... but I haven't confirmed this. It will disconnect the high voltage, which would essentially do the same thing. It also disconnects the air bags and other such things, which is why I don't want to experiment with it.
I think the fireman's loop is on the interlock that flows through the contactor, dcdc, on board charger and inverters (motor electronics). They all have little switches on the access panels that if they are opened disable the contactors.
Just had a similar problem with a Model S. The handles would not come out and the only thing that worked was the front latch. The car is not mine, and I had only driven it once, so had no idea what to do. The owner was on a plane so I could not speak to him either. Eventually the front passenger's door handle popped so I could open it. That was when I found out about the frameless window. When I managed to get in touch with the owner 24 hours later (a long flight) he contacted Tesla who came out to the car and replaced the 12 volt battery. Unfortunately the car had been sitting for 2 days with the passenger door partly open as I could not get the window to go down to shut the door. This was during two days of very heavy rain in England so the car is now soaking wet inside.
Same thing happened to me on my 2019 M3. I have a 9 volt battery tied to the wires in the emergency frunk port so that I can open the frunk should this happen away from home. I had a battery charger (from my ICE days) and used it to charge up the battery after disconnecting it. The car gained enough charge to work normally and I drove to the service Center and got the battery changed. I think I could have purchased a new battery and changed it myself. There are instructions for doing that here in CZcams.
I know how...keep my reliable 22 years old car.
The Tesla Model 3 and Model Y won the KBB awards for most reliable luxury car after five years.
Yup! Me too. My 2001 diesel Rover has never done that to me!
Is it a normal lead acid 12v battery in our cars? If so, I wonder if it would be beneficial to run a battery tender lead from the battery and have it sit just under the hood on the plastic cover.
I don't think it is. Regular led acid battery is for staring an engine. You can draw a lot of current from it, but it does not like getting a deep discharge. There is an other kind of led acid battery that is for golf cars or for UPS that would be better suited for a tesla.
Sold me on not wanting a Tesla or probably any EV. Life is too short.
meanwhile regular car: turn key, pop hood, attach cables and off you go.
You still need to replace the worn out 4-year old battery.
@@SuperchargedTravels got 3 diesels 1 gas.. over 5 years now.. havent replaced singleone, all going strong. Lead acids get messed up if people dont take care of them.
@@mingiasi "Pushing a battery longer than five years, even under perfect driving conditions, could cause your battery to fail without notice. For that reason, many manufacturers recommend a replacement schedule of five years." Source: www.autozone.com/diy/battery/how-long-should-a-car-battery-last
@@SuperchargedTravels Nothing lasts forever that's for sure. And they do lose some capacity over the time spent in use. I'm yet to see one "fail with out a notice" on me yet and i have dealt with all kinds of lemons.
I changed my own battery myself you need to keep a eye for the warning battery need changing
I missed the warning, and three days later my car was unresponsive. I think the Lead Acid batteries are very different than the Li-ion batteries in terms of reliability and providing enough warning.
I had this problem in 2020. Scheduled a repair with Tesla, and they replaced the 12 volt battery.
This is really bad and some small design changes could have made this so much better.
For instance:
1. Make it easier to reach the battery terminals! Ridiculous to have to tear half the car apart for it. They could have been easily reached in the frunk.
2. If the battery charger was supplying power to the car so it would not start working properly, then why the heck can it not give enough power to get the car opened?!
3. Unlocking the car like you did with a stick means that you can easily just...unlock the car if you break the window. If I lock our Volvo, it will disable the inside unlock/open buttons/handles. That way you can not open it even if you break the window.
4. The car has a battery charger. Then why does Tesla low volt batteries die so often? A lead acid battery can last for a decade or more without any problem if correctly maintained (charged in the correct way - that is why UPS batteries last for ages if the UPS is not used). Either they use really shitty battery quality or they are totally clueless on how to maintain a lead acid battery. Most probably both...I have NEVER had a battery in an ICE car go flat. Bad, yes, but you could always unlock the car but then maybe not start it in -20 degree C (yes that I had, but I could unlock it (with remote!) and pop the hood and then a charger for five minutes and off to go - yes, that battery was old and heavily used).
5. Do not overcomplicate things. Frameless doors solves a lot of problems, not just this one here where you can not close the door.
6. Once again: Do not overcomplicate things. Just put in a regular keyhole in one door. Once again, in our Volvo, in a somewhat hidden (so it does not collect to much dirt and shit) location on the driver door, you can just put in a real key and open the door.
7. Those nice error messages, why the heck did you not see them earlier? It should Really tell you that something is wrong in this case. Like, really clearly!
Glad you could enter the car and get it to work, finally. But you should not have had all those troubles getting there.
Did you use a multi-meter and measure the voltage the 12V battery was putting out? Was this entire issue caused by low voltage on the 12V battery?
Yes, the voltage was 12.7 Volts when I measured it. But that doesn't mean much as the car had not been used for several days. The 4-year-old lead acid battery needed to be replaced. Once this was done, there were no further issues with the car.
@@SuperchargedTravels I wonder if putting a 12V battery charger on the failing 12V lead acid battery for a couple of hours would have done anything? Good job going through all of that to get the car to completely reboot.
Same thing happened with my 2018 Model S. It turned out to be corrupted firmware which had to be reinstalled.
Exactly. And having over a decade on you, when something goes wrong, you and I roll up our sleeves, we don't expect an app or online update to do it for us. I'm concerned today's youth often don't have the mechanical knowledge to get around digital problems.
Yeah I’m kind of worried for todays generation too I’m gen z these gen alpha kids really are a just a tad lazy
@@Pandypanda1234 Everything they have is app delivered. Hailing a cab/uber, food, entertainment, doctor visits, and hell even dog walkers. Once the current blue collar workforce retires, they are going to be screwed.
@@badtoro fair enough
@@badtoroare you talking gen alphas or boomers
'Hey, my car won't start... let me take the car apart so I can find and access the battery'.
Another reason to have an emergency key so if the 'turn it off, turn it on', universal IT solution doesn't work you can at least get into the vehicle without looking like you're trying to steal it
Bricked usually refers to a firmware issue. Misleading title
This IS a firmware issue. It is because bad firmware that this could happen.
www.insidehook.com/electric/fear-electric-car-bricked
I think seniors like my husband and I would just call service and have them come and fix it. Too complicated and scary!!
I have a 2018 M3 with 108,000 km. Would the 12 volt battery still be covered under warranty? How can I tell when it's time to replace it?
TIA
The warranty is "4 years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first", so no... you are not under warranty. I would suggest you look into replacing it yourself. It's not that difficult. Here is a video on how to do this: czcams.com/video/SZJJNOa3Ju0/video.htmlsi=5qDYbxVimRTLAcuS
Thanks for including the link.@@SuperchargedTravels
Your car was still under warranty even though its a 2018?
Also what if both doors would not open? How would Tesla service guys get into the car? Did you call Tesla service and ask how to open the doors?
The service people can probably do the trick that he mentioned that he didn't think of. From the frunk.
Agreed. The service people would most likely reset the car using the first responder's loop. But this is speculation as I haven't tried this myself.
what a pain
3:40 how you managed to go inside if the car was locked?
4:44 - I was able to vent the windows on the right side of the car using the app, and then I used a long wood stick to open the door electronically from the inside.
i really like to tinker with my phone, and it being an android with the ability to unlock its bootloader i can brick without too much efford if im doing something stupid.... and now im scared to think how id ubrick a car if i mess something up. i'm guessing i cant plug it into my PC and flash the OS again, can i ?
No. This is not an option on a device that can easily kill you and others around you.
So if you get stuck inside the car , locked in how do you preform these fixes?
5:25 - You manually open the door from the inside and get out of the car.
@@SuperchargedTravels that is exactly what a ignorant uneducated individual would say . I'm guessing you own one of these ingenious ideas.
Damn....not looking forward for this to happen to me...😂
Tesla began switching over to using Lithium-ion 12V batteries in 2021, so this is much less of an issue for models built after that.
Seems like it would've been better to just wait for Tesla service 😅. That said, this is why the Lithium Ion 12v is so much better. It's not just that they last much longer, but they can warn you about battery health much sooner than they can with the lead acid battery so that you have plenty of time to get it replaced.
At the time, Tesla expected me to tow the car to the service center. It was a pleasant surprise when the mobile service contacted me after the fact.
I think the little battery is over 16v
There is no reason whatsoever that this should happen if you know how to measure and take care of the battery. A lead acid that you handle the correct way will last 10+ years without problem, and you will know when it is time to replace it. But Tesla just have no knowledge about it it seems, and/or they use the cheapest shit quality batteries.
@@lesterng5748right. It's 16 V on the new battery.
The small battery is there for redundancy in case the large battery fails to ignite.
...and these kids think they're going to get to Mars?!🤣
I am 55 years old, FYI.
I’m keeping my six cylinder Camry.
Wait, so they don't even give you a owners manual in the glove box?
They do not. However, you can watch "how to" videos using the app or in the car using Tesla theater... and, of course, online as well. You also purchase the car using the app. Much better than dealing with a car dealership.
@@SuperchargedTravels that is true, I do watch tutorials on how to take stuff apart. But I rather have a physical manual to read because I don't have to zoom in like on a phone to read text and it just over all feels better.
Who in their right minds wants a Tesla?
They make the best selling car in the entire world… so, a lot of people.
Just for a dead battery.
"Refer to the owner's manual"
No problem, I keep it in the glove compartment. Uh oh. 😞
Tesla doesn’t have a printed manual. It’s all on screen in the car and online as a PDF. The in-car Tesla theater has tutorial videos as well.
Normally I like on-screen manuals but when the batteries are dead, how do you read the manual?
The door latch is really a boondoggle. @@WanderlustWonderscape
0:54 - The owner's manual is available online at tesla.com/ownersmanual
It's thief prevention! Every car thief knows about the hood release feature.
The hood release only works when the car is unlocked or the 12V battery is dead. In normal circumstances, it won't work.
"Won't work if the vehicle is locked and..."
Ok we're done here.
Sounds like a death trap Not being able to exit the car. Inside the car, doors should be able to open under Any condition!
If you are inside the car there are emergency mechanical door releases on all Tesla doors(even the falcon wing doors on model X's).
5:24 - You can see me open the driver's door from the inside using the manual release.
That Tesla was not bricked. If something is bricked there is no way to use the thing.
But useful when it behaves like yours.
My definition, if I can't drive the car, it is bricked
@@-jackinspokane6648 You say that also when the car is out of charge in the high voltage battery? Or in a shop because of an accident?
People and their own truths.
www.insidehook.com/electric/fear-electric-car-bricked
Yikes. What happened to K.I.S.S. ?!
Designed by engineers who have NEVER serviced a vehicle of any kind. And just why is that auxiliary 12v Lead-Acid battery dying? I fear the LIon will do the same thing after a while.
12V car batteries die. Mine lasted four years, which is smack in the middle of the 3 to 5 year expectancy. knowhow.napaonline.com/average-car-battery-life-time-change/
That is the biggest reason I will never own a car like that
You will own a car like that sooner than you may think.
That's absolutely ridiculous. They should have a battery backup for the battery lol
All cars have a 12 volt battery and I don’t think any of them have a backup battery. Actually I lied, the Cybertruck has a 48 V battery.
Thats crazy, that u have to take half a car apart to jump start the battery wtf tesla??!
Compared to spark plugs and oil filters, it's not so bad, and you don't get grease all over your hands.
I also have a Tesla, and I find it very pathetic that you cant get into the car, frunk, or trunk in the event of a dead battery. So cringe.
Now, let's imagine a mom with two kids in the back in the middle of the night, and it's raining. And she bricks the car, with the kids inside. No phone, no charger miles away. NO, thanks.
Sounds like the intro to a Twilight Zone episode.
The mom forgot the kids 2-3 days in the car? Surely a concerning scenario lol
@@Tschacki_Quacki She also doesn't have a phone. She should think twice about having any more kids.
So the children are not valuable enough for you two jokers; OK, then imagine she had two dogs inside of the bricked tesla... maybe in july, at 110 degrees?
Now let’s imagine the same thing but her gas car won’t start. NO, thanks.
There has to be a better design
What a pain in the ass design. I would never buy one of these things.
You're missing out on a wonderful experience. This guy tackled this problem completely wrong btw.
There are other videos that explain how to (simply) resolve this issue.
The last car I would ever buy in this lifetime probably wouldn't take the gift of the piece of sh*t. A million things can go wrong. My 2012 $13,400 2012 Nissan versa is running like a fine Swiss watch 115000 miles gets 39 miles a gallon and have only replaced the brakes. That doesn't include bursting into a 4500 degree fire bomb hope it doesn't happen to you.
In 2021, there were around 174,000 highway vehicle fires reported in the United States. Hybrid vehicles, which have an internal combustion engine and an electric motor, had the most fires per 100,000 vehicles (3475), while vehicles with just an internal combustion engine placed second (1530 per 100,000). Fully electric vehicles had the fewest: 25 per 100,000.
Older vehicles are more likely to catch on fire than newer ones. Vehicles that were 10 to 14 years old accounted for 23 percent of the fires, while vehicles that were less than five years old accounted for only 9 percent.
Tesla way over complicates its cars with electronics.
It would be a challenge to find any new car that is not filled with electronics, from any manufacturer.
Since I am 72 years old I remember when the most electronic item in a car was an optional AM radio.@@SuperchargedTravels
This will never happen to me. Gas cars don’t have this issue. Your first mistake was buying an EV.
Correct, gas cars never break down, run out of fuel or bust into flames either.
@@SuperchargedTravels Not at the rate EV’s do. Data has shown that EV’s have a reliability rating of 20%, while gas cars is 80%. Gas cars do not require 500,000 of material to make 1 Tesla battery, gas cars fill up in less than 10 minutes while EV’s require at least 40 minutes. When gas car batteries fail it’s $150, while EV’s is $30k. EV’s tires are significantly more expensive. This is why Hertz is selling all their EV’s and American’s are not buying them. GM, Ford are losing millions on EV’s. For example, in NYC there are 2 million cars, 1% are EV’s. I can give you many more facts. Do your research boss.
@@josephconsuegra6420 In Norway, where they have extreme cold conditions, the road assistance company Viking reported that they responded to 34,000 requests in the first 9 days of this year. 13% of the calls were electric vehicles and the remaining 87% were ICE cars. Since 23% of the cars in Norway are electric, this makes them twice as reliable. Source: www.tv2.no/nyheter/innenriks/klart-darligst-i-sprengkulden-helt-ekstremt/16370146/
You don’t “fill up” electric cars. If you have a place to plug-in overnight or at work, the charge time becomes irrelevant. For those times when you go on a long road trip, a supercharge from 10% to 50% will take ~10 minutes and to 80% will take ~30 minutes. For example, a road trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas would only require a 6 minute stop in Baker, and this is a slower v2 supercharger limited to 150 kW. Source: abetterrouteplanner.com/?plan_uuid=9a7f8b0d-f2f6-4c0c-9ceb-35432ace2e0c
Both EVs and ICE cars use the same 12 Volt batteries that fail after 3 to 5 years (exception: The Cybertruck uses a 48 Volt battery). The high voltage battery is designed to last 300K to 500K miles, which is 20 to 33 years at 15K miles per year. The warranty on a Model Y LR is 8 years or 120K miles (70% battery capacity retention).
Tesla has no problem selling cars. In 2023, the Model Y was the best selling car in the world, including ICE cars, selling 1.06 Million units, a 57.1% increase from 2022. And this is only the Model Y. The Model 3 is also a top seller.
GM and Ford are losing money because they don’t have the manufacturing efficiency advantage and experience that Tesla has. Tesla is one of the most profitable car makers in the world. They make cars in America that contain the most American parts of any car you can buy.
@@SuperchargedTravels It takes 500,000 pounds of material to make 1 Tesla battery. Your EV “facts” are laughable. Tesla has lowered prices since no one is buying them. Hertz rental cars is selling all their Tesla’s and replacing them with gas vehicles. Elon claimed it was #1, but in actuality it’s Toyota. In NYC, they have 2 million cars, only 1% are EV’s. EV’s are good for small population centers in European countries since commutes are short distances and European’s are easily misled by feelings and Thunberg fantasyland statements.
@@josephconsuegra6420tesla heightens prices to lower demand it’s proven look it up anywhere and you might find it
This is what happens when you don’t pay attention to warnings on the screen…
Gosh, makes me want to go out and buy an over-priced, under achieving coal powered EV immediately 🤣🤡🤣🤡🤣🤡
I have another video just for you! czcams.com/video/CH9JYFyQ9vE/video.html
Ah, I thought there was a reason why I never ever want to own a Tesla, or any other EV come to that. In my 53 years of motoring, I've never had this kind of problem with any of my ICE cars however old or crappy they were.
Never had a dead battery? Bullpucky, The original clown ignored his app telling him to service the car ASAP
What a cluster. Obviously the tesla engineers never learned the K.I.S.S. principle.
This issue does not have anything to do with this being an electric vehicle. This a combination of failure of the 12 V Battery and doors without mechanical handles. There is a variety of ICE cars with the same type of doors. However, legacy car maker usually think about a backup plan. My car (EV by Volkswagen) has a door handle which is operated electronically but has a mechanical backup mode. Tesla does not.
Then why are you watching this video?
@rklein because we like seeing the kind of pain tesla or any ev owners have to go through to do simple things that have been made unnecessarily complicated by these pieces of terrible engineering. Case in point, opening the hood. Why the heck should you need to supply power to it to open it if it has no power? On almost literally every vehicle since time immemorial, it was a simple mechanical latch. Same thing with the doors. You would have to be an idiot to buy one of these things since all it takes is for it to run out of power and you could no longer have access to anything in there. Like what if your wallet, phone, or PASSPORT was in there and you needed it. Oops , let's find you a 12v power supply somewhere to open the hood to find something else to open the thing so you can then open your doors. Screw that.
What a pile of junk. That’s so stupid. A gas powered vehicle, well, just hook up the jumper cables, and done. Perhaps a simple unhook of a better terminal for a few minutes and a reconnect? But, wow, what a joke!
In this case I needed to reboot the car by disconnecting both power sources. You can do this by disconnecting the negative battery terminal and unplugging the first responder loop, both of which are located under the hood. Should take only five minutes.
Talk about over engineering stuff....
Note to self ! Never buy a Tesla or Any EV 😂
What about the Harley-Davidson LiveWire? Or the Energica Experia?
another reason NOT to buy an EV
Don’t be a Luddite.
Problems like this are RARE. Probably much more rare than breaking a timing belt.
I own a Model Y and have had a 12V battery fail. Sorry to say this guy did EVERYTHING wrong. NEVER open the doors when the battery dies unless its an emegengy (there is no need and it >can< damage your window. If you follow this guy's video im linking to using any 12V jumper battery, youll have immediate access to the 12V battery compartment. The great thing about this trick is it wont work if your 12V battery is healthy, so no worries about a thief trying this. It takes 15 seconds and youll be able to swap out a bad battery. Cost of battery from Tesla service was less than $125 and they brought it to me and installed it even though it was just a simple car battery swap. No biggie. czcams.com/users/shorts_ym-Ql3qKug?si=F4EpmL2pLH_00Uxj