My 2013 P85+ got the infamous bms_u029 "Charge level reduced" last week and after reading up on the forum and going back and forth with Tesla Service I decided to write up what I learned. Much of this info is available on this forum but buried in various threads. My hope is to make this post complete enough so people who find themselves in this situation will have to spend less time searching for info.
First things first: bms_u029 is the end of the pack. It is not repairable. It is not a false alarm.
There are 3rd party options for replacement packs. This post is not about them, it is about options from Tesla Service.
The following is for the US market. If you're in a different part of the world things may be different.
Tesla offers two options:
Option 1: Remanufactured 85kWh pack
Service will order you a reman pack. There's a gamble aspect to this: If Tesla doesn't have any reman packs in stock they will provide a software locked brand new 90kWh pack for the same price. But they won't tell you what you're getting until you pick up the car and it's too late to back out. The 90kWh pack will be locked to 85kWh and can be unlocked for the full 90kWh for $700-$1,000 (heard both numbers, unsure which is correct).
If you're lucky and get the new pack the final invoice will list an updated part number for the pack. The new pack requires installation of "Shear plates". The additional cost of the shear plates is goodwilled in case you ordered a reman pack.
Prices:
Option 2: Guaranteed new 90kWh pack
If you're like me and don't gamble Tesla offers a guaranteed new 90kWh battery at additional cost. The new pack requires installation of "Shear plates" that adds to the parts cost.
Prices:
Both options come with a 4 year/50k mile warranty.
Differences between reman 1088815-01-B pack and 1014116-00-C/1918190-85-A new pack:
The 1088815-01-B reman pack is a 16 module 400V pack, the same as originally installed. To the best of my knowledge it will not have new cells. These are packs that failed due to bad BMS boards, wiring etc but the cells themselves were ok. The pack will have degradation and still be part of "charge gate", or slowed down supercharging speeds. Range can be up to 265 miles but will likely be lower due to degradation.
The 1014116-00-C/1918190-85-A new pack is a 14 module 350V pack. It's basically a modern 100kWh pack with 2 modules removed. Once installed the car should no longer be part of "charge gate" and get much faster super charging speeds. Range for the locked 1918190-85-A is 272 miles. The 1014116-00-C (or unlocked 1918190-85-A) is 297 miles.
Hope this helps! Additions/corrections always welcome!
"Tesla Model S electric car at Berkeley, San Francisco Bay Area" by mariordo59 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Admin note: Image added for Blog Feed thumbnail
First things first: bms_u029 is the end of the pack. It is not repairable. It is not a false alarm.
There are 3rd party options for replacement packs. This post is not about them, it is about options from Tesla Service.
The following is for the US market. If you're in a different part of the world things may be different.
Tesla offers two options:
Option 1: Remanufactured 85kWh pack
Service will order you a reman pack. There's a gamble aspect to this: If Tesla doesn't have any reman packs in stock they will provide a software locked brand new 90kWh pack for the same price. But they won't tell you what you're getting until you pick up the car and it's too late to back out. The 90kWh pack will be locked to 85kWh and can be unlocked for the full 90kWh for $700-$1,000 (heard both numbers, unsure which is correct).
If you're lucky and get the new pack the final invoice will list an updated part number for the pack. The new pack requires installation of "Shear plates". The additional cost of the shear plates is goodwilled in case you ordered a reman pack.
1088815-01-B | Remanufactured 85kWh pack. This pack is likely to have previous battery degradation. |
1918190-85-A | This is a new 1014116-00-C 90kWh battery that has been software locked to 85kWh |
Prices:
1088815-01-B Reman Battery | $13,500 |
Various nuts/bolts/coolant | ~$100-$200 |
Labor | $400 |
Total cost (Can vary between Service Centers) | ~$14,000 + tax |
Option 2: Guaranteed new 90kWh pack
If you're like me and don't gamble Tesla offers a guaranteed new 90kWh battery at additional cost. The new pack requires installation of "Shear plates" that adds to the parts cost.
| New 90kWh battery. |
Prices:
1014116-00-C New 90kWh Battery | $17,000 |
Various nuts/bolts/coolant/shear plates | $342 |
Labor | $400 |
Total cost (Can vary between Service Centers) | $17,742 + tax |
Both options come with a 4 year/50k mile warranty.
Differences between reman 1088815-01-B pack and 1014116-00-C/1918190-85-A new pack:
The 1088815-01-B reman pack is a 16 module 400V pack, the same as originally installed. To the best of my knowledge it will not have new cells. These are packs that failed due to bad BMS boards, wiring etc but the cells themselves were ok. The pack will have degradation and still be part of "charge gate", or slowed down supercharging speeds. Range can be up to 265 miles but will likely be lower due to degradation.
The 1014116-00-C/1918190-85-A new pack is a 14 module 350V pack. It's basically a modern 100kWh pack with 2 modules removed. Once installed the car should no longer be part of "charge gate" and get much faster super charging speeds. Range for the locked 1918190-85-A is 272 miles. The 1014116-00-C (or unlocked 1918190-85-A) is 297 miles.
Hope this helps! Additions/corrections always welcome!
"Tesla Model S electric car at Berkeley, San Francisco Bay Area" by mariordo59 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Admin note: Image added for Blog Feed thumbnail
Last edited: