Tesla EDR Report download issue

[Lasaman]

Good afternoon.

I went to access the EDR on a 2022 Tesla. The process involved removal of the trim panels, locate the CAN Bus, connect, and voila.
Despite how the Tesla program interface may appear buggy at times, I did successfully obtained the Tesla EDR files.
I went to the Tesla website, and was able to upload the file successfully. There was a DOWNLOAD REPORT button ready for me.

Click!... hmm... waiting...waiting... after a good minute or two, the download failed, due to some unknown server error.

This has happened for 2 days. Has anyone encounter this issue with Tesla server before? Or am I missing something somehow?

Thank you in advance and TGIF!

[tech4cars]

Lasaman:

I have successfully downloaded a number of Tesla EDR files. I just took a quick look and the raw ".EDR" files I have obtained have ranged from 8K bytes to 33K bytes. All of these have resulted in a successful PDF report. I have not encountered a case where a PDF report was not generated. If your raw file is in the size range above, I'd suggest trying to re-submit it again? Its possible their server had some problem? I always received a response within about a minute after submission. FYI, there is another way to access the raw EDR file, and that is the owner can log into this owner privacy URL with their Tesla account and request the EDR file. Then, Tesla will send them the raw .EDR file that will also have to be submitted to the EDR.tesla.com site for translation to a PDF. You might check to see if a file retrieved this way agrees with what you downloaded? Here is the link for the owner to request the EDR file. It will require the date of the incident and approximate time. https://www.tesla.com/support/privacy Also, FYI I was recently interviewed by Scott from Crash Data Group regarding downloading Tesla EDR info, and here is a link to that You Tube video. https://youtu.be/CzKD4CrpHjw

[tandreon]

I did have a similar issue. I was able to download the EDR data but when uploading the file to the Tesla's website - it failed every time. Mine was on a 2020 Model X. Found out later that the current version of Tesla EDR software needed an update, after communicating with Tesla.

Not sure if this is what happened with your 2022 MY, model???

Alternatively, you can try a previous version of the Tesla EDR software and see if that works for you.

Good luck.

--Anthony Andreoni, P.E.
A^2 Consulting Engineers, LLC
NorCal
916.505.7721

[tech4cars]

One other thought also came to mind. Although I haven't seen anything from the Tesla EDR info that specified what browser and Windows version is required for retrieval, I do know that the Tesla Toolbox 3 software (diagnostics and service) recommends Windows 10 Pro, and requires use of the Google Chrome Browser. That's the setup that I use for Tesla and other OEM tools as well. And, as Anthony recommends, make sure you have the latest Tesla software installed.

[Lasaman]

Thank you all for the replies.

Apparently, I had ver. 19.6.1 installed on my laptop when I completed the download. The current retrieval software is at ver. 22.17.1. Regardless, the fact that I am able to obtain the Tesla_EDR_VIN_Date_Time.edr file, and that I am able to upload it to the Tesla website successfully tells me the issue is something else.

Does anyone has a Tesla Tech Support contact email?

Btw, my file is only 2 KB. This may indicate that there was no event reported. (I had a different case where the EDR file is also 2 KB and it contained no event.)

[Lasaman]

I did have a similar issue. I was able to download the EDR data but when uploading the file to the Tesla's website - it failed every time. Mine was on a 2020 Model X. Found out later that the current version of Tesla EDR software needed an update, after communicating with Tesla.

Not sure if this is what happened with your 2022 MY, model???

Alternatively, you can try a previous version of the Tesla EDR software and see if that works for you.

Good luck.

--Anthony Andreoni, P.E.
A^2 Consulting Engineers, LLC
NorCal
916.505.7721

Do you have a contact number/email from Tesla? If so, can I have it please?

[Rusty Haight]

Hi all:
This issue popped up before and I looked into it. Thought there was a resolution but now I can't be sure. Wei, please send me the EDR file directly (PM?) and I will see if I can get it looked into more closely.

[Lasaman]

Hi Rusty,

Not sure if I sent my PM correctly.
The PM attachment does not allow me to attach the raw EDR files due to file extension.
Do you have an email that I send them to?

Thank you in advance, and hope all is good with you.

[Rusty Haight]

Wei:
The Tesla report generation server error has been around off-and-on for a while and replicating the problem to find a solution has been like chasing a phantom from the perspective of whether it was at the software, car, or the online report generation process since it wasn't happening "all the time." It all but stopped the release of the Tesla Technician course materials since, after all, a big part of the access and retrieval process is actually accessing and retrieving data to successfully get to a data translation report and this could have had an impact on either side of the process so there was, until now, no "fix." It appears the problem has been identified and a solution applied.

By way of a little background, if one were to look in the Bosch CDR Tool Help File, we find Coverage Notes like this one for Chrysler:

"... 5. When downloading these modules using the provided CDR cable, plug the cable into the CDR Interface Module, apply power and wait at least 1 minute after power is applied before collecting data. Failure to do so may cause an error during download. ..."

In other instances, within the Bosch tool, the programmers installed a "timer" on the front end giving the ACM (RCM) some time to complete the diagnostics and power-up cycle such that it could then communicate with the retrieval tool. This was, in part, associated with the long ago addition of the "3 passes" during retrieval with the Bosch Tool on most vehicles. In comparison, given the power on nature of Tesla vehicles, there wasn't a reason to expect that if someone were to have their retrieval software setup and ready and then, essentially immediately, initiate a data retrieval, the ACM wouldn't be "ready to go." Turns out, as with some other systems, this isn't always the case.

Particularly when the vehicle's been in a crash and damaged or otherwise shut-off systems are being repowered for retrieval - unlike where an undamaged vehicle would be the source of data to be retrieved for testing - there is a need for a little time at the "front end" to let the ACM get ready to communicate properly. If that time isn't given to the ACM to finish power-up, there appears to be communication but nothing is really retrieved: the EDR file is essentially blank and that lead to the server error during report generation. Because there was always the potential for the ACM to have not recorded data (power depletion on the 12v side during the post-crash recording) having the occasional "empty" retrieval file was, of course, a potential. For that reason, replicating the problem has been like chasing a phantom from the perspective of whether it was at the car or the online report generation process since it wasn't happening "all the time."

Rather than warn the Technician to wait (along the lines of the Chrysler Coverage Note above), Tesla has added a front-end delay timer for communication with the ACM which should allow for the ACM to power up and then respond to requests for data appropriately.

What should a Tesla EDR Tool user do now?
As with any software update, end users should download the updated Tesla EDR Retrieval Program and install that version on the computer used for Tesla data access and retrieval. This won't change the files already created and those who have experienced the server error will have to go back to the ACM and retrieve data using the new version of the software (the current software version is 23.20.1). The new EDR file can then be reprocessed as it normally would at the Tesla website.

[Ballistic]

Thank you all for the replies.

Apparently, I had ver. 19.6.1 installed on my laptop when I completed the download. The current retrieval software is at ver. 22.17.1. Regardless, the fact that I am able to obtain the Tesla_EDR_VIN_Date_Time.edr file, and that I am able to upload it to the Tesla website successfully tells me the issue is something else.

Btw, my file is only 2 KB. This may indicate that there was no event reported. (I had a different case where the EDR file is also 2 KB and it contained no event.)

Telsa has related that the EDR file is not backward compatible with their translation software if older software images are used on newer vehicles.

I imaged a 2022 model 3 with version 20.20.1 of the software and ran into the same issue. Image file was complete and about 3 kb. When uploaded to Tesla and got a “server error”.

Was directed to update the imaging software and re image the ACM. Connected with version 22.1.7.1. The new file was 34kb and did have deployment data.

I wish they would tell you that the software version is incompatible and not give you a file.

[Rusty Haight]

(snip) Telsa has related that the EDR file is not backward compatible with their translation software if older software images are used on newer vehicles.

I imaged a 2022 model 3 with version 20.20.1 of the software and ran into the same issue. Image file was complete and about 3 kb. When uploaded to Tesla and got a “server error”.

Was directed to update the imaging software and re image the ACM. Connected with version 22.1.7.1. The new file was 34kb and did have deployment data.

I wish they would tell you that the software version is incompatible and not give you a file.

I think there's a little confusion here with respect to terms. One would never use an older image "on" a newer vehicle but, if you're saying that some vehicles require newer imaging software to get the original, underlying image from a given car, that much is true.

For retrieval, we always want to use the latest retrieval/download version to get the data from a given vehicle. For example, there are differences between a Model 3 with a build date before 10.5.20 and an older version of the imaging software might not work to get data from one built after that date. But if you had a complete file, that wouldn't effect the report generation process which is where we see the server error.

If you have a solid, complete file, then there wouldn't be any need to go back to the car, the .EDR file from any version can be uploaded to the Tesla site and will generate a report no matter what version the retrieval was done with if the original download was completed properly. It's like Bosch in that respect, the underlying raw data in the .EDR file is backward compatible with the report generation process on line.

That's the problem here: if the ACM was still in power-up mode (diagnostics, powering up, etc) and the retrieval was attempted during that time, then the retrieval software - no matter what version until this most recent release - was going to come back looking like it got data but it really didn't (that's the reason for the small file size). That essentially empty file would then cause the server error at the web site when they try to generate a data translation report.

I think, in your case, your second attempt fortuitously allowed for enough time at the front end to get the module powered up and you got data as it should have. You may have gone back with 22.1.7.1. and just as easily not retrieved anything if the timing was "off."

[Lasaman]

Thank you all for the help and feedback in this!