NHTSA Complaint #11354647 — 2020 TESLA MODEL Y

INCIDENT: CAR SHUTDOWN AND POWER FAILURE WITH LITTLE WARNING. TIME/DATE/PLACE OF INCIDENT: 9/7/2020, APPROXIMATELY 5:20PM IN LIVERMORE, CA. WHILE DRIVING AT A SPEED OF APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH EASTBOUND ON W JACK LONDON BLVD (PAST WOLF HOUSE DRIVE), THE CAR'S COMPUTER DISPLAYED AN "UNABLE TO DRIVE" MESSAGE (ERROR CODE DI_A137) AND INSTRUCTED US TO PULL OVER. SINCE WE WERE ON A 2-LANE ROAD WITH NO SHOULDER WE PROCEEDED TO THE NEAREST DRIVEWAY (TURNING LEFT TO A DRIVEWAY AT ~1105 W JACK LONDON BLVD). THE CAR VIBRATED VIOLENTLY THEN SHUTDOWN. THE ESTIMATED TIME BETWEEN THE INITIAL WARNING AND SHUTDOWN WAS ONLY ABOUT 5 TO 10 SECONDS. OTHER ERROR CODES/MESSAGES DISPLAYED WERE "POWER REDUCED" (DIR_A126) AND "VEHICLE SHUTTING DOWN" (DI_A063). WE CALLED TESLA ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE FROM THE VEHICLE AND WERE INSTRUCTED TO POWER CYCLE THE CAR BY HAVING ALL PASSENGERS AND DRIVER EXIT THE CAR, CLOSE ALL DOORS, THEN HAVE THE DRIVER ENTER AND STEP ON THE BRAKE. WE DID THIS AND THE CAR RESTARTED AS NORMAL. WE DROVE HOME FOR ABOUT 45 MINUTES WITHOUT INCIDENT, BUT WE WERE OBVIOUSLY CONCERNED THAT THIS COULD HAPPEN AGAIN, SO WE KEPT TO THE RIGHT LANES WHENEVER POSSIBLE AND LIMITED SPEED. OTHER INFORMATION: ABOUT 20 MINUTES PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT WE HAD CHARGED THE VEHICLE AT THE LIVERMORE TESLA SUPERCHARGER. IT WAS ALSO A RECORD HOT DAY (111 F). THIS IS A NEW CAR PURCHASED IN JULY 2020 AND AT THE TIME THE ODOMETER WAS APPROXIMATELY 1,300 MILES. THE EARLIEST SERVICE APPOINTMENT I COULD GET IS SCHEDULED FOR 9/17/2020, SO I DO NOT HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL INFO FROM TESLA ON WHY THIS HAPPENED, OR HOW THIS WILL BE REPAIRED. THE SERVICE AGENT MENTIONED A FIRMWARE FAILURE AS A POSSIBLE CAUSE. WE WERE FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE TO GET OFF THE ROAD BEFORE THE CAR COMPLETELY STOPPED BUT IF THIS HAPPENED ON A FREEWAY, WE MAY HAVE BEEN IN A HIGH SPEED CRASH WITH A STALLED CAR.