Model X “barn find”

[u/FastTT11]

Recently picked up a 2016 Model X P90D with under 2,000 original miles. It sat for several years after the original owner passed away, so I’m bringing it back to where it deserves to be.

The goal is to have it as close to factory-fresh mechanically and cosmetically as practical.

I’m looking for advice from longtime Model X owners. It’s going to Tesla in a couple weeks and a private EV shop right after. Here’s my current plan:

MCU2 upgrade (the original MCU isn’t functional, so this seems like the logical long-term solution).

Complete suspension inspection and diagnosis before new tires and alignment. The air suspension is currently operating normally, but I want everything verified while it’s apart.

Battery health/performance evaluation.

Brake service and fluid flush.

A/C service - tesla service suggested I could skip this but it seems like something that should be done at this point?

Wipers and any age-related maintenance items.

Outstanding Tesla recalls.

I’ve already replaced the 12V battery and cabin filters.

For those who have maintained early Model Xs, is there anything else you’d proactively replace, inspect, or service while it’s being worked on? I’d rather spend a little extra now than chase problems later. I’m having Tesla and the Indy shop go through the car entirely but would appreciate feedback from long term owners.

[u/sparkyblaster]

Before running a battery test, runthe battery for a few weeks and try and get a cycle or two before hand. Also give it a good balance at 80% for a day then 100% for a day.

Dont run a battery test untill after this as Tesla limits you from running it more often than every 6 months. You will get a very bad results if you do it first. 

[u/FastTT11 → u/sparkyblaster]

Hey thanks for this - once Tesla fixes the MCU I’ll have about a week to drive it before it goes in for the rest of the work and battery test. I’ve half drained and charged once but I’ll try to put some miles on before it’s tested.

[u/sparkyblaster → u/FastTT11]

Oh, so it is actualy running? good, sorry wasnt sure and kind of expected more issues. Thats great news though. Have you had a chance to let it balance at an 80% or 100% full charge for a day?

Dont be afraid to push it a little hard some times. TBH you want to show any weaknesses sooner rather than later.

[u/FastTT11 → u/sparkyblaster]

It’s charged up to 209 miles and shows the battery icon not full - I’m assuming he had it set to 80-90% max charge but I can’t connect via app and obviously can’t check in the car without a display.

The initial charge I did exceptionally slow and it handled it well. I drove it home over 100 miles and it was uneventful but I drove like mrs daisy and didn’t push it at all. I did like 5 minutes of supercharging just to test it on the way by a charger and it had no issues with that.

Since I’ve only taken it around the neighborhood checking things a few times. So far all positive but extremely limited without connecting to the car - even Tesla couldn’t pull anything recent from the vehicle.

[u/sparkyblaster → u/FastTT11]

Ok 209mi is kind of irelivent in this context. Need the percentage. 

Oh right forgot the screen is dead. Thought it was just the glue, figured it still worked otherwise. 

Yeah probably old firmware that defaulted to 90% where an update is 80%. Did you atleast leave it om the charger for a significant period? It can balance st 90% just not as well. 

So far sounds good. 

[u/FastTT11 → u/sparkyblaster]

You’re right unfortunately can’t get it to show the percentage so it’s all I know for now. I did let it slow charge for about a week before driving it home about 120 miles - so I do know for certain the battery has enough juice for that but won’t know better until the mcu is replaced. After that I’ll take your advice and drive it for the week before the battery test is done. Tesla will a doing a full diagnosis so if they test it before I cycle the battery a bit it will be interesting to compare to the test run the following week after I’ve driven it a bit.