12V battery issues (error messages/car charging problems)

[lolachampcar]

Elon,

If you are reading, this is the exact thing you were concerned about. It's a new car and people will understand issues. It is not a matter of if they happen but how Tesla reacts.

Resouces need to be assigned and, more importantly, Tesla needs to communicate directly to owners the known issues and how they are being addressed. Sure, you'll take a hit in the press when they get their hands on the officail Tesla problem list but the alterative is a loss of confidence with those that most matter - your ambassidors.

Please go pro-active on this one.

Bill

 

[steve841]

Update... Tesla stopped by to replace the 12v. Tesla in CA actually called and had tech stop the replacement and just set up a range charge at low amps.

Tech said they will manually push an even newer version of 4.1 out tonight.... We shall see.

 

[Sparrow]

My 12 volt is being replaced today, proactively at the request of Tesla. I have had no issues with the battery or warnings yet. I also have not received 4.0 or 4.1 software and thus am still operating under the old software. Just hoping the swap out doesn't cause other issues.

 

[FlasherZ]

Update... Tesla stopped by to replace the 12v. Tesla in CA actually called and had tech stop the replacement and just set up a range charge at low amps.

Tech said they will manually push an even newer version of 4.1 out tonight.... We shall see.

You'll probably be getting 1.17.31. Welcome to the 12V fun club!

It's a shame that you had to get the Dead Car Syndrome. I suffered the Couldn't Charge Syndrome, a related disease. The good news is that it sounds like there's a fix for all of us, to get our Teslaitis back!

 

[badgerlake]

Just got word that service fixed everything. Did *not* have to replace the 12v battery, just had to override the message to get the latest firmware in place. Everything is back to normal.

 

[steve841]

Final Update ... hopefully!

1.19.31 installed when I got home and we shall see!

 

[William13]

Tesla bought a large number of batteries for the Model S then the production was delayed. This and the larger than designed for vampire draw on the 12 volt battery caused a huge number of replacements. There is a large stack at the Chicago service center. All batteries need to be correctly treated. If you store an ice for the winter, you need to attach a trickle charger or be prepared to replace the battery in the spring.

 

[steve841]

Update again. .... not so rosey.

As I type I am sitting in my S at a strip mall. No power, dead as a door nail. Why did I wear shorts?

But, I do have 4.1!

Tesla tech thankfully on his way over. ... next update coming soon.....I hope.

Do I not have enough drama in my life? (Rhetorical question)

 

[jerry33]

As I type I am sitting in my S at a strip mall. No power, dead as a door nail. Why did I wear shorts?

No idea. You shouldn't need shorts in a strip mall.

 

[steve841]

Another update:

Since I promised to refrain from complete details .... let's just say I spent the longest amount of time with my S since I bought it .... and as well as the worst time.
Unfortunately ... most of it was spent trying to get home (3 miles away). 3 hours later, its home and now on a battery charger for the 12v.
I think every warning flashed and barked the whole ride home and 2 forced stops (compliments of the system shutting down).

Definitely NOT a good day and it did not get better.

Im hopeful tomorrow is a better day.

All I can suggest to Tesla: You need a fail safe. The complete dependency on the 12V is a huge mistake.

 

[swegman]

William, you said "If you store an ice for the winter, you need to attach a trickle charger or be prepared to replace the battery in the spring.". This is not true. I have a 7 year old MB sports car (with just over 18,000 miles). I drive it only from April thru October, when the top can be put down. All other times the car sits in the garage. The car is still on the original battery. Some years the car starts up come April. Some years it needs to be charged and then the battery is fine. I've never trickle charged the battery in the MB or in the Corvette I had.

I also have a Prius that has sat for extended periods without any battery problems. I have a hunch the Tesla has either a batch of bad batteries, the battery is under-sized, or there is an issue with the charger built into the car.

 

[Doug_G]

Just like the Li-Ion pack, it is quite possible to brick a lead-acid battery by draining it flat. It doesn't always happen - I'm not sure of the variables involved - but I have bricked a car battery just by leaving my headlights on.

 

[dennis]

William, you said "If you store an ice for the winter, you need to attach a trickle charger or be prepared to replace the battery in the spring.". This is not true. I have a 7 year old MB sports car (with just over 18,000 miles). I drive it only from April thru October, when the top can be put down. All other times the car sits in the garage.

Ditto for my '56 Ford Sunliner. A bit of cranking in April and it starts right up, with no boost/charger required. But of course there are ZERO electronics to drain the battery, unlike modern cars.

 

[RDoc]

Tesla bought a large number of batteries for the Model S then the production was delayed. This and the larger than designed for vampire draw on the 12 volt battery caused a huge number of replacements. There is a large stack at the Chicago service center. All batteries need to be correctly treated. If you store an ice for the winter, you need to attach a trickle charger or be prepared to replace the battery in the spring.

Do you have a source for the Tesla battery statement?

WRT batteries stored over the winter, that's only true if there's a drain on the battery. I full charge, then disconnect the batteries in my boat for the winter and they are fine the next spring. We get weeks of below 20F nights and often well below that.

 

[lolachampcar]

Lead Acid batteries will self discharge (as will Lion actually) so if you leave them without a float charge, they will eventually die. I too have had some success recovering lead acid batteries and have had some refuse to take a charge. My success was unrelated to age thus I suspect it was the depth of discharge and the amount of time spent discharged. This is only a guess.

If Tesla does have a suspect batch of batteries they need to step out in front of this, tell the world what to expect then implement corrective action. Doing this on an as they die basis will mean more issues(assuming that they do have an aged suspect battery population which was used in production).

 

[dtich]

Lead Acid batteries will self discharge (as will Lion actually) so if you leave them without a float charge, they will eventually die. I too have had some success recovering lead acid batteries and have had some refuse to take a charge. My success was unrelated to age thus I suspect it was the depth of discharge and the amount of time spent discharged. This is only a guess.

If Tesla does have a suspect batch of batteries they need to step out in front of this, tell the world what to expect then implement corrective action. Doing this on an as they die basis will mean more *snip* cars (assuming that they do have an aged suspect battery population which was used in production).

+1 on all points lola. my experience w lead acid as well, but if you treat them right they will last more than a decade at similar state of charge. li ion will recharge after fully depleting but to a markedly lesser full state of charge. and so on.

 

[Qualchan]

Could I respectfully suggest that the term "Brick" not be used with these Model S 12v battery issues? Bricking means the device is nonrecoverable, dead for ever, a paper weight or doorstop. All Model Ses are under original manufacturer warranty and cannot be made bricks unless some extreme negligence or tampering is done. "Tesla+ that term" is a Google search you don't want to populate with page hits beyond the Roadster ones.

 

[lolachampcar]

Point taken. I will modify my post.
I guess my primary concern (and I've sent this through the appropriate channels) is that issues are cropping up that impact the utility of the car as a day to day driver. My fear is that the only information getting out there are customers posting that they either can not leave their house or, worse, are stranded. I would love to see a seperate set of threads listing each type of issue, exactly how many times it has happened, the suspected cause and action being taken to address the specific issue. Prefferably these threads would contain inside information in a non-formal way.

In the absence of the above, there is far too much room for exageration (not saying anyone is, just that there is room), hysteria and mischief (to use a polite term). Assuming there are real issues here, Tesla please get out in front of this stuff.

 

[steve841]

UPDATE Again and again and again....

After being stranded and my 3 hour trip of 3 miles last night .... Tesla advised that I keep the 12v charger I have on the car over night and through today ....

Well, unplugged the charger and jumped in the car. Thought I was watching "Lost in Space" WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING 12v Battery Low, WARNING WARNING WARNING UNABLE TO DRIVE VEHICLE and on a Friday no less.

This has gone from worse to near unacceptable.

It may not be bricked ... but I do have a $110,000 paperweight sitting in my garage.

 

[yoda]

This does sounds like a problem with a battery that needs to be replaced.