parking lock mechanism failure...fixed via firmware update?!

[mudpie]

Turned my car ON the other day and the screen stated "parking lock mechanism failure, move car to flat area and apply parking brake." Let it roll off my driveway onto the flat street and that didn't help.
Well, it wouldn't let me put the car in drive or reverse, only neutral. Nor would it let me turn the car off because....the car was not in and could not be put in 'P'...note that P is not the same as the parking/emergency brake.
When I left the car's proximity, a nonstop beep went on, so I had to leave the key in the car and doors unlocked.
Got the car towed to Toyota and two days later they claimed they applied a firmware update per a technical service bulletin and that fixed the problem.
I find it hard to believe that a mechanical issue was fixed by a firmware update and am leery of this happening again, plus I did not find any TSBs online...
Anybody have any insight?
Nervous about getting stranded somewhere. :x

 

[mudpie]

Nobody has had this issue??

Update: Toyota claims they updated the firmware and the "car seems to work fine now!".
uhh...how does a mechanical issue get fixed by firmware?, I asked
They claimed they did the update per a TSB Technical Service Bulletin. I cannot find such a TSB on the internet, and they couldn't give me the number of the TSB...

So I'm a bit leery that the issue will crop up again, though it hasn't for the last few days....

 

[miimura]

Yeah, that's a strange one. I think that's their standard mode of operation though - update all the firmware and if the problem is gone, that must have fixed it! Right??!

 

[Dsinned]

mudpie, the problem that you described sounds suspiciously similar to the "Check EV System . . . take to dealer immediately" issue. The latter has been THOROUGHLY documented in other threads here, one of with has nearly "50" continuous pages of members' posts!

Aside from that, my car recently went to the dealer to get the latest firmware update(s) just a few weeks ago. A few days later, I experience a very similar problem like yours.

In my case, the Tesla Gateway computer had a stored history code of U1136, which means there was some sort of breakdown or "glitch" in the car's electronic communications. My dealer cleared the code, but was unable to determine the cause of any faulty operation. Nevertheless, I was told that the computer needs to be replaced to fix the problem, which I guess I'll have done by my dealer in a few weeks (new Gateway computer is already on order).

I personally do not believe this will "fix" the actual problem as there have been a few reports from other members here that the same problem reoccurred after their Gateway computers were replaced.

Bottom line, either Toyota (Tesla?) has no clue what is causing this random, but reoccurring anomaly, or the actual source of the problem has yet to be pin pointed by the "experts". Unfortunately, that's how "intermittent" problems generally are, i.e. VERY HARD to duplicate at the dealership, therefore very difficult to determine the actual fault to make it possible to find a solution.