12 volt battery dies without warning

[Msjulie]

A friends 12v died and he was literal hours from a tesla service center

I sent these links, gathered from this and other forums and he chose one and it was a perfect functional fix

Caveat I have not looked at these recently I just saved them just in case

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...rt-extreme-battery-group-size-51r/ssb7/51rext



DieHard EV Hybrid/Electric Battery: B24L Group Size, 410 CCA, 510 CA, 75 Min Reserve Capacity B24-XEV - Advance Auto Parts



DieHard Platinum AGM Battery: 51R Group Size, 435 CCA, 540 CA, 75 Min Reserve Capacity, Best For High Electrical Demands 51R-AGM - Advance Auto Parts

 

[one2many]

Wow over 1000 posts about a batterie, must be a record.
For bottom readers
1. Yes they die and some without warning
2. My guess is that everyone has some roadside coverage.
3. Its not a FLUX Cap.
4. Most can do a swap in there sleep
5. There are shops open 24/7 in the USA
6. I changed mine at 2.5 years, so what
7. Back to dogie mode with my partner
8. some folks have a 9v battery taped to bumper with wires
9. I guess there are a few utube videos as well
10. Only date partners with automotive experence and tools

 

[fholbert]

It is not a regular 12V battery which you can buy in any Auto shop, so please find out the details of the 12V battery which will fit your Tesla vehicle before you buy the 12v battery.

I am surprised by that. My friend has another brand of EV. He picked up a new 12v battery at Chief.

Any idea what makes the Tesla 12v so special that it's not on the aftermarket?

 

[father_of_6]

I am surprised by that. My friend has another brand of EV. He picked up a new 12v battery at Chief.

Any idea what makes the Tesla 12v so special that it's not on the aftermarket?

It's a "Group Size 51R", and they seem to be available at Napa, AutoZone, Walmart, and everywhere else.

 

[E90alex]

I am surprised by that. My friend has another brand of EV. He picked up a new 12v battery at Chief.

Any idea what makes the Tesla 12v so special that it's not on the aftermarket?

Nothing special about it.

But I believe Teslas pricing for 12V battery and labor is very reasonable, so it’s easiest to just pay Tesla to do it or buy the battery from Tesla.

 

[iwannam3]

My 2021 Tesla model 3 12 volt battery just died without any warning. A few months ago my nieghbor had the exact same issue with his 2021 Y.
When this happens it’s like a stroke one half of the car is paralyzed and only the passenger side door will unlock. You are unable to remove the charger plug and your will be totally stranded . The battery is under warranty but the bug question for me , a little heads up your battery is dying. Neither of us received any warning and luckily my nieghbor and I had this happen at home and not on the road.
Now I have to wait till Friday for service and since this happened I can’t get in the car at all and I have items I need to retrieve from the car and I can’t get in. Very frustrating.

No news there, thousands of posts on 12 V battery failure throwing weird errors or none at all. $85 gets you a new battery over the counter, 15 minutes to remove old one and install new one.

 

[iwannam3]

A friends 12v died and he was literal hours from a tesla service center

I sent these links, gathered from this and other forums and he chose one and it was a perfect functional fix

Caveat I have not looked at these recently I just saved them just in case

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...rt-extreme-battery-group-size-51r/ssb7/51rext



DieHard EV Hybrid/Electric Battery: B24L Group Size, 410 CCA, 510 CA, 75 Min Reserve Capacity B24-XEV - Advance Auto Parts



DieHard Platinum AGM Battery: 51R Group Size, 435 CCA, 540 CA, 75 Min Reserve Capacity, Best For High Electrical Demands 51R-AGM - Advance Auto Parts

$209 at O'reillys and probably not correct battery. VS $85 at Tesla.

 

[android04]

$209 at O'reillys and probably not correct battery. VS $85 at Tesla.

I agree that it is best to get a replacement from Tesla because it's only $85. Most other 51R that are maintenance free and have the vent hose connection are $200+ and a lot of them are actually AGM. The original Tesla battery is not AGM, it's just a maintenance-free flooded lead acid battery (I opened mine up to verify).

The cheapest aftermarket replacement battery that I've found outside of Tesla (that meets the specs and requirements) is actually sold at Menards. If you live in a region with a Menards, I would recommend this battery ACDelco® Advantage™ 51R Automotive Battery for $114 after rebate (and yes, they are good about rebates).

I want to note that my 12v battery was working fine when I replaced it at 5 years and 112,000 miles. I just replaced it because I noticed that my car was waking up every 4 hours to charge it back up, compared to a brand new battery where it should wake up a few times a day. Now with a new battery it only wakes up every 8 to 11 hours. I would have kept using my old battery until I got a warning message or it died, but was concerned about the increased cycling of my high voltage contactors in keeping it charged more often. Replacing those would be more expensive and not DIY, unlike replacing the 12v battery.

Here are some pictures of my OEM 12v battery. One can see the tops of the lead plates inside, and it seems like it only had about half of the liquid electrolyte than it should. That is one reason for the reduced capacity and increased cycling needed to keep it topped off.

 

[stopcrazypp]

You sure about that? As far as I can find, it's a "Group Size 51R", and they seem to be available at Napa, AutoZone, Walmart, and everywhere else.

It's true that ICE cars experience this too and without warning... but it's also true that when it happens in your ICE car it's easier to resolve. In a Tesla you're locked out and can't easily pop the frunk to replace it.

The solution, as others have mentioned, is to open the tow hook panel on the front of the car and short circuit the wires using a small 12v or 9v battery to pop the frunk. Then you can replace your 12v battery using basic tools as you would with your ICE vehicles (socket set).

Read the manual for more accurate and specific details regarding popping the front with a dead 12v.

The "special" part of Tesla's OEM battery is it's a maintenance free battery with a vent hose port. You would have a very hard time finding that in 51R size (I remember previous thread looking), as most batteries stocked at general stores are vented batteries without a vent hose port. A suitable alternative would be an AGM battery as they typically have a compatible vent hose port, but that's significantly more expensive.

And at any rate, at only $85 the Tesla battery is less expensive than even the typical vented battery. Unless it was not an option at all, generally getting the Tesla one is the best choice.

 

[Msjulie]

$209 at O'reillys and probably not correct battery. VS $85 at Tesla.

Perhaps that one is not; read my post though where he is HOURS from the nearest Tesla with a dead 12v. He got one of those (again I do not know which one and indicated so) and went on his way.

I'm lucky the service center is 15 mins from me when I wanted to change my battery out; of course $85 is the better deal when available. I should also note that my proactive swap took 6 months until Tesla had one in stock anywhere with an hour or so of my location

 

[Lashlee]

Not all 51R's will fit. I have an XS Power that won't fit. It's just slightly too big in all dimensions. Make sure that you verify that the replacement will fit.

 

[gearchruncher]

Also, for all this stranded stuff....
You can actually jump a Tesla just like you would a normal car.

First use the jumper cables to pop the frunk using the procedure in the manual.
Hook the jumper cables to the 12V battery.
The car will now turn on and run off the HV battery.
You can drive it now. All you want. In fact, as long as you don't let it sleep, it will work forever. The HV battery and the PCM can take over for the 12V battery.

If you know what you are doing, it's more reliable than an ICE car and strands you less.

 

[iwannam3]

Also, for all this stranded stuff....
You can actually jump a Tesla just like you would a normal car.

First use the jumper cables to pop the frunk using the procedure in the manual.
Hook the jumper cables to the 12V battery.
The car will now turn on and run off the HV battery.
You can drive it now. All you want. In fact, as long as you don't let it sleep, it will work forever. The HV battery and the PCM can take over for the 12V battery.

If you know what you are doing, it's more reliable than an ICE car and strands you less.

UNLESS the battery is toast, shorted, open or too much internal resistance and the BMC will not charge it and will not supply 12vdc as it sees a major fault. If it is just low and takes a normal amp/volt charge you can get going after a jump.

 

[golferguy]

My M3 battery went bad. Had a notice on screen to schedule service ASAP as some functions are limited. I just drove over to Tesla service center, 90 mins later I was out of there. Total charges $120, my car is out of warranty so had to pay. Its considered a safety issue so walk ins are allowed for batteries.

Pricing 51R's and doing it yourself doesn't seem to be worth it for the price and time.

 

[gearchruncher]

UNLESS the battery is toast, shorted, open or too much internal resistance and the BMC will not charge it and will not supply 12vdc as it sees a major fault. If it is just low and takes a normal amp/volt charge you can get going after a jump.

Incorrect. The car can run without a 12v battery and can isolate it from the rest of the 12v bus. It just needs 12v to get started. Yes, some accessories won't work, but it will drive. Only batteries so shorted that when you hook up jumper cables the battery catches on fire are an issue.

So it's actually better than an ICE car.

 

[JPLAYAJ]

My 12 volt died this morning and I had to get into the car through the passenger side door which unlocked itself and rolled its window down. Once inside I tried booting up the car and after a few minutes the driver side window broke twice within about 60 seconds of each other. I think the car completely glitched when the 12 volt died, and it tried to roll up the driver side window (even though it was already rolled up) thereby breaking itself!! Warranty has expired and Tesla is now charging me to replace the battery, install a new drivers side window and replace the window trim. This seems like a glitch, possibly a recall item, and I should not be charged for the window. I can't name any other make of car, electric or otherwise, which breaks it's own windows when the battery fails. Unbelievable!

 

[gearchruncher]

Was the door closed or open when the window rolled up and broke itself? Did it break al by itself, or only when you opened the door? How do you break a window twice?

Did you follow the process in the manual for jump starting the car?

 

[golferguy]

Was the door closed or open when the window rolled up and broke itself? Did it break al by itself, or only when you opened the door? How do you break a window twice?

Did you follow the process in the manual for jump starting the car?

Recall that the Tesla windows drop down to open the door and roll up once door is closed. If windows get out of calibration, they will roll up 100% with door open. You then close the door and the top of the window hits the frame, smash. That happened to me but it was a gentle push, the glass was fine and the window trim molding got creased. Under warranty, Tesla replaced the molding. (But I don't know how a window is broken twice)

Without warranty it may recall a trip to small claims court to get it covered, or recovered costs.

 

[danarcha]

Without warranty it may recall a trip to small claims court to get it covered, or recovered costs.

What do you mean by small claims court? Who can you sue for this?

 

[Leafdriver333]

I don't know why people are surprised that 12V batteries die suddenly. Every ICE car has been like that. I never had my car tell me that the 12V was about to die.

on a 2 year old car? I am surprised you are not surprised.