"electric drive" error

[korky]

popped up this morning,
read other posts about a possible software errors but my heating isn't working either, it will drive ok though?
is it a trip to the garage or wait a day?
currently on id software 3.0.0, less than 6 months old, 1st warning/error I've had

ta

[MotMot]

Leave it - and try again later. From many forum posts it can go away - but does unfortunately often lead to a workshop visit.

[Mike Stratford]

I had this error and lost heating in early October last year - took it to garage and was told that the positive coefficient heater had failed. Took a month to get one from Germany.

[fatman]

not good

[korky]

looking like a repair, just tried it again and the same,
is it safe to drive though? albeit in better weather if needed to defog the windscreen

[Gannet15]

A few months ago I stopped at traffic lights and, when I tried to drive off, got this warning and car would not drive. Got out, locked car, waited 30 seconds then was able to enter and restart car. I was within half a mile of garage so drove car there. Warning cleared after leaving car parked and locked for about 10 mins whilst arranging check with garage. Car checked by garage next day and no fault found - conclusion was computer glitch. Had no repeat since.

[korky]

A few months ago I stopped at traffic lights and, when I tried to drive off, got this warning and car would not drive. Got out, locked car, waited 30 seconds then was able to enter and restart car. I was within half a mile of garage so drove car there. Warning cleared after leaving car parked and locked for about 10 mins whilst arranging check with garage. Car checked by garage next day and no fault found - conclusion was computer glitch. Had no repeat since.

no heating makes me think this isn't just a software glitch, blowers power up and blast out cold air on max heat setting and the range estimate reduces to what it would be, so feel it's what was was posted earlier or similar
still awaiting a call from the garage to when it can be looked at

[sidehaas]

A few months ago I stopped at traffic lights and, when I tried to drive off, got this warning and car would not drive. Got out, locked car, waited 30 seconds then was able to enter and restart car. I was within half a mile of garage so drove car there. Warning cleared after leaving car parked and locked for about 10 mins whilst arranging check with garage. Car checked by garage next day and no fault found - conclusion was computer glitch. Had no repeat since.

no heating makes me think this isn't just a software glitch, blowers power up and blast out cold air on max heat setting and the range estimate reduces to what it would be, so feel it's what was was posted earlier or similar
still awaiting a call from the garage to when it can be looked at

I believe the battery cooling/heating circuit and cabin aircon share the same refrigerant circuit so if your aircon has gone that might indicate your electric drive error has something to do with battery cooling/heating (ie it might be a common cause)? Speculation - but on that basis I'd definitely get it looked at.

[Gannet15]

Apologies, I had the electric drive error, no fault with heating. Should have included that in first reply.

[korky]

I had this error and lost heating in early October last year - took it to garage and was told that the positive coefficient heater had failed. Took a month to get one from Germany.

this was exactly my problem, fixed inside 2 days

[LongMynd]

I had the electric drive error recently when the SoC was down to 7%. Couldn't drive the car at all. Fortunately we had just arrived home and were in the drive so the only problem was that I couldn't put the car in the garage.
I got out, unpacked the boot and when I got back in the error had cleared and the car drove perfectly.
The following morning I received an eMail from our local dealer saying that our car was booked in for a service a week later. I phoned them and they said that they had been alerted by the car about the electric drive error, and that if it was working fine now they were quite happy to cancel the appointment.

[TimF]

Earlier this week I got this warning about 30s after moving off. Since drive seemed to be working exactly normally, I assumed a glitch and waited for it disappear. But it didn't, nor did two periods of being parked up change things. It still comes up, but only after the car actually moves. From reading various online forums (not just ID3), some reports couple it with heater/AC problems, but I haven't got those. Another common experience is wait and it goes away. I contacted my dealer, and am booked in for the end of the month - seemed as if the warning was to them (I could almost hear the head being scratched!) but they agreed that as the car was behaving normally to just carry on.

FWIW I've been on 2.4 since October.

I don't have an OBD2, but wondered if anyone who does has also had this warning, and whether the unit gave them any useful/interesting information.

[TimF]

Yesterday morning there was a difference. The warning came up as soon as the car was unlocked. It stayed on throughout the 30 minute drive. When I got in to come home, no warning. Turned on drive, no warning. Drove home - still no warning. I haven't cancelled the workshop booking, in case it comes back (in which case I'd be at the back of the queue again) or that there is an underlying issue which the full workshop diagnostics kit could find.

[TimF]

Yesterday morning there was a difference. The warning came up as soon as the car was unlocked. It stayed on throughout the 30 minute drive. When I got in to come home, no warning. Turned on drive, no warning. Drove home - still no warning. I haven't cancelled the workshop booking, in case it comes back (in which case I'd be at the back of the queue again) or that there is an underlying issue which the full workshop diagnostics kit could find.

The warning stayed away, so the day before the booking I rang and cancelled. Chap on the other end was sympathetic, suggested "sometimes the car will do a minor update and that will fix things, sometimes the diagnostics decide everything's OK anyway." So clearly this sort of thing is quite common, to be expected, should not be a concern, etc. Except that - clearly - our car DID diagnose an issue, then undiagnosed it. Why the diagnostics can't display an error code or similar (shades of obscure Windows faults!) I don't know. Something of that sort would surely be useful for the servicing workshop, if only to indicate how long the car might need to be in for?

[LetMeOut!]

Any advice as to whether the car was safe to drive?

After all if you read certain press, they are all about to blow up anyway!

[TimF]

Any advice as to whether the car was safe to drive?

After all if you read certain press, they are all about to blow up anyway!

In my case, yes, in that they said with the warning gone everything should be fine. Even before that (ie while the warning was coming up every time), since the car drove as normal in all respects, they said I shouldn't worry.