This is the third post about one stubborn light. My third-row map light kept switching itself on, so the Tesla map light replacement I had done under warranty in July lasted exactly four days before the fault returned.
On July 26 I took the car back to the Kyoto Shijo Service Center for round two.
The good news: this time somebody actually told me what was causing it.
The recurrence, the remote diagnosis, the second estimate are covered in the previous post.
Back to the Service Center, Two Weeks Later
The full timeline of this saga now looks like this:
- May 23, 2026 — Model YL delivered
- Shortly after delivery — third-row map light starts switching itself on
- July 12, 2026 — light unit replaced under warranty during the 1-month inspection (¥0)
- July 16, 2026 — fault recurs, four days after the replacement
- July 17, 2026 — remote diagnosis flags it again, estimate issued
- July 18, 2026 — estimate (¥0) approved, re-repair booked
- July 26, 2026 — second replacement carried out (¥0)
The booking was locked in back on July 18, so on the day itself I just had to turn up at the appointed time.
Worth noting how much ground the car covers between visits. At the July 12 drop-off the odometer read 7,778 km. Two weeks later it was 10,340 km — 2,562 km in fourteen days.
Dropped Off at 11:01, Back at 11:43
Short version: the whole job took 42 minutes.
The invoice records it to the second. Checked in at 11:01:51, out at 11:43:31, against an estimated completion of 11:45:18. Slightly ahead of schedule.
The invoice (in Japanese) reads: “Drop-off date: 26-Jul-2026 11:01:51. Estimated completion: 26-Jul-2026 11:45:18. Odometer at drop-off: 10340. Odometer before loan: 10340. Pick-up date: 26-Jul-2026 11:43:31.”
Charging While I Waited to Hand Over the Keys
Even the few minutes before check-in went into charging, at the Supercharger on the ground floor of the same building.
State of charge was 39%, with the first taper reading 160 kW.
The screen (in Japanese) reads: “Model Y — 39%. 35 min until charge limit. Charge limit: 95% · Charging. 160 kW · 1051 km/hr · +11 kWh · ¥0.00. Charging advice: 80% recommended for daily driving.”
Having been here once before, I found the car park entrance plus the reception desk without a second thought. Knowing the drill lowers the barrier to a service visit more than you would expect.
The App Switches to “In Service”
Once the work starts, the app home screen flips to a service status.
I was impressed by this the first time round, yet I still caught myself staring at it again.
The screen (in Japanese) reads: “In service — Service in progress. Estimated completion: Jul 26, 11:45. Location: 147 m away.”
That estimated time turned out to be almost exactly right.
Progress Goes From “In Repair” to “Resolved”
Open the repair progress view, and each line item shows its own status bar. This visit had a single line item.
After a while it flipped to resolved, with a technician note attached.
The screen (in Japanese) reads: “Repair progress — Other / Interior: Resolved. Technician note: rear map light replacement carried out.”
The completion notice arrived twice over: once in the app chat, once by phone.
The chat (in Japanese) reads: “Service complete — your service is finished. You can review the repair summary directly in the app. Vehicle collection: please use the app to collect your vehicle.”
Getting both means you can put the phone away while you wait.
The Cause Was Interior Fabric Pinched Under the Cover
Here is the real payoff of this visit: an actual explanation.
A piece of the headliner fabric had been trapped under the cover attached to the light unit.
The theory I was given: that trapped fabric was pressing on the touch sensor continuously, so the car read it as somebody holding a finger on the switch.
In the previous post I had guessed the wiring was picking up noise. Completely wrong. Nothing electrical about it — just a physical pinch.
The awkward part is that the same component was replaced the first time too. If the pinch was already there after round one, nobody removed the actual cause, which explains neatly why the symptom returned within four days.
Which also means both light units I had swapped out were probably working fine all along. Not that I mind, since both replacements were covered by the warranty.
The Invoice Came to ¥0 Again
The invoice that lands in the app a few days later is a wall of zeroes, exactly like last time.
- Remote Diagnosis: ¥6,600 (approx. $44) → zeroed under a Goodwill-Internal billing category
- Bezel – Map Light – Rear – LH (Model YL) – Remove plus Replace: ¥1,320 (approx. $9) → ¥0
- Part, 3R ROW DOME LIGHT (1774351-10-D): ¥3,830 (approx. $26) → zeroed under the warranty category
Both labour lines carry an adjustment equal to the price, so each subtotal lands on 0.00.
The invoice (in Japanese) reads: “Job 1 — Correction: Remote Diagnosis. Price 6,600, adjustment (6,600), subtotal 0.00. Billing category: Goodwill-Internal. Job 2 — Correction: Bezel – Map Light – Rear – LH (Model YL) – Remove plus Replace. Price 1,320, adjustment (1,320), subtotal 0.00.” The customer statement above each job describes the recurring third-row light.
The parts column works the same way, offsetting the ¥3,830 dome light under warranty.
The invoice (in Japanese) reads: “3R ROW DOME LIGHT (1774351-10-D), qty 1, unit price 3,830, price 3,830, adjustment (3,830), subtotal 0.00, tax rate 10%. Billing category: warranty. Parts total 0.00, labour total 0.00, discount 0.00, taxable at 10% 0.00, consumption tax (10%) 0.00, total (JPY) 0.00.”
Same part number as the previous estimate. The same light, in the same hole, a second time.
Because it falls under the new vehicle warranty, Tesla keeps fixing it at no cost until it is genuinely fixed. That is the part of a new car warranty you really appreciate on the third visit.
Lunch Across the Road While the Car Was In
With the car handed over, we walked across to kyoto family, the shopping mall directly opposite. Same routine as the first visit to this service center.
Drop-off was just before noon, so the wait doubled as lunch. We went for the Indian place in the food court.
The board (in Japanese) lists set menus: curry set ¥750, salad set ¥950, chicken fried rice ¥790, cheese naan set ¥850, special grill set ¥1,220, double curry set ¥950, kids set ¥610. Options include a larger curry portion (+¥220), a different naan (+¥220), tandoori chicken (+¥325), a drink (+¥110).
I ordered the cheese naan set at ¥850 (approx. $5.70). One curry, a salad, a cheese naan for that price.
We shared the naan around the family, with a kids udon set from the noodle chain next door. The repair plus lunch came to almost nothing.
Once we had eaten, the car was ready. Straight back to the ground-floor Supercharger to plug in again.
Stalls were still free, we wanted the time anyway, so this session ran longer. Charge limit set to 96%.
The screen (in Japanese) reads: “Model Y — 55%. 30 min until charge limit. Charge limit: 96% · Charging. 121 kW · 807 km/hr · +7 kWh · ¥0.00. Charging advice: 80% recommended for daily driving.”
Then we left it charging while we did the shopping. Service, lunch, charging, errands all in one place is a genuinely efficient way to lose half a day — or rather, not lose it.
What the Second Tesla Map Light Replacement Taught Me
This second Tesla map light replacement took 42 minutes at a cost of ¥0.
The win this time was not the repair itself but the explanation. Instead of another blind part swap, I got a concrete cause: interior fabric pinched under the cover.
Since the problem turns out to be mechanical rather than electrical, the odds that this refit finally holds feel decent.
I am fairly confident it is sorted. If the light comes on again, I will simply book it in once more.
Should there be a round four, you will read about it here.
This article is also available in Japanese.
