2013 MS 85 upgrade to MCU2 then HV battery problem

[Espi2451]

Hello all,
I have a 2013 MS 85 and recently upgraded to the MCU 2. As soon as I got the upgrade completed I received a call from them saying it’s ready to be picked up but that the charge level is now capped at 52%. Needless to say, I was LIVID. They basically told me that I had an underlying problem with my battery and it is now capped to “preserve” the battery. As you can imagine, this was difficult to take in. They explained that the MCU1 didn’t have the tech to detect the problem in the battery like the MCU2 does and will preserve it. It’s $13k for a new battery out of warranty. The next day it went down another 10%! They said it was an adjustment period to figure out what is safe but recommends a new battery pack.

I honestly don’t know what to believe anymore with Tesla. Love the car but not sure what to do now…anyone else have this problem after MCU2 upgrade? Really crazy to think that I had a perfectly running car one day that would get a full charge, but 4 hours later get charge limit cut in half. willing to explore 3rd party options in Northern CA. Thank you all!

 

[ElectricIAC]

Sounds like horse manure to me…

 

[Rocky_H]

They explained that the MCU1 didn’t have the tech to detect the problem in the battery like the MCU2 does and will preserve it. [...] I honestly don’t know what to believe anymore with Tesla.

I am going to call in the expert, because he will know about this for sure and will tell you the truth. @wk057 Is there really anything to this, where the switch from MCU1 to MCU2 would legitimately cause massive capacity restriction because of it suddenly detecting a real battery failure?

 

[ElectricIAC]

I am going to call in the expert, because he will know about this for sure and will tell you the truth. @wk057 Is there really anything to this, where the switch from MCU1 to MCU2 would legitimately cause massive capacity restriction because of it suddenly detecting a real battery failure?

Knowing Tesla, they’re just passing the buck as usual.

 

[Espi2451]

I am going to call in the expert, because he will know about this for sure and will tell you the truth. @wk057 Is there really anything to this, where the switch from MCU1 to MCU2 would legitimately cause massive capacity restriction because of it suddenly detecting a real battery failure?

Thank you. I’m new to this site but seeking answers. I have read @wk057 knows his stuff.

 

[wk057]

They explained that the MCU1 didn’t have the tech to detect the problem in the battery like the MCU2 does and will preserve it.

MCU1 -> MCU2 doesn't change ANYTHING with regard to the BMS... So this ^ is complete BS. The MCU has nothing whatsoever to do with battery management. Never has.

Either they don't actually know what they're talking about, are being given incorrect information to start with, or are just making things up to try and sooth the customer. Bad look regardless.

 

[MP3Mike]

MCU1 -> MCU2 doesn't change ANYTHING with regard to the BMS... So this ^ is complete BS. The MCU has nothing whatsoever to do with battery management. Never has.

In other words it is just a coincidence that the battery failed right after the Infotainment/MCU2 upgrade.

It seems like lots of battery failures lately, but with Tesla saying that they are recycling ~50 packs per week, that means that they are replacing ~7 packs per day that can't be refurbished. (Who knows how many packs they replace per day where the failed pack can be repaired.)

 

[Crutonius]

Ask them what this new underlying data is that indicates the pack is failing. It sounds like they broke your car.

Have you tried ScanMyTesla?

 

[ElectricIAC]

MCU1 -> MCU2 doesn't change ANYTHING with regard to the BMS... So this ^ is complete BS. The MCU has nothing whatsoever to do with battery management. Never has.

Either they don't actually know what they're talking about, are being given incorrect information to start with, or are just making things up to try and sooth the customer. Bad look regardless.

Would it be the same Tesla if this wasn’t par for the course?

 

[Electric700]

Can they downgrade your car and refund you the money (note that this is likely only a temporary solution)? It had almost double the range when you brought it to service, and you didn't know beforehand that the upgrade would cause this issue...it was discovered by Tesla. Since it appears your battery does have a problem, you could also ask for a low-cost Tesla repair option.

These third-party companies can help too:

www.recell-ev.com

www.057tech.com

www.grubermotors.com

www.electrifiedgarage.com

 

[ElectricIAC]

Can they downgrade your car and refund you the money (note that this is likely only a temporary solution)? It had almost double the range when you brought it to service, and you didn't know beforehand that the upgrade would cause this issue...it was discovered by Tesla. Since it appears your battery will likely need to be repaired or replaced soon, you could also ask for a low-cost Tesla main battery repair option.

These third-party companies can help too:

www.recell-ev.com

www.057tech.com

www.grubermotors.com

www.electrifiedgarage.com

Sounds like they already downgraded the car and charged them for the privilege.

 

[Espi2451]

MCU1 -> MCU2 doesn't change ANYTHING with regard to the BMS... So this ^ is complete BS. The MCU has nothing whatsoever to do with battery management. Never has.

Either they don't actually know what they're talking about, are being given incorrect information to start with, or are just making things up to try and sooth the customer. Bad look regardless.

Thank you. I agree this seems like BS. I requested data from Tesla. Will be speaking with the manager today. Spoke to her last time as well but was given the response of the underlying condition with the battery

 

[MP3Mike]

you didn't know beforehand that the upgrade would cause this issue...

The upgrade didn't cause the issue.

 

[Espi2451]

Can they downgrade your car and refund you the money (note that this is likely only a temporary solution)? It had almost double the range when you brought it to service, and you didn't know beforehand that the upgrade would cause this issue...it was discovered by Tesla. Since it appears your battery does have a problem, you could also ask for a low-cost Tesla repair option.

These third-party companies can help too:

www.recell-ev.com

www.057tech.com

www.grubermotors.com

www.electrifiedgarage.com

Thank you. I really hope Tesla will do something about this. I’ve never heard of this happening. It’s really upsetting.

 

[Espi2451]

Ask them what this new underlying data is that indicates the pack is failing. It sounds like they broke your car.

Have you tried ScanMyTesla?

I haven’t tried scan my Tesla. I did request data though

 

[Electric700]

I haven’t tried scan my Tesla. I did request data though

Can/did they downgrade your car back to the state it was in before you brought it to Tesla?

 

[Espi2451]

Can/did they downgrade your car back to the state it was in before you brought it to Tesla?

I asked about that and she said “it’s like of like when you go get an X-ray, once it finds something you can’t just say, no I don’t like that and go back to what it was. Trust me, that was the first thing I asked, was to go back to the MCU1

 

[Crutonius]

I asked about that and she said “it’s like of like when you go get an X-ray, once it finds something you can’t just say, no I don’t like that and go back to what it was. Trust me, that was the first thing I asked, was to go back to the MCU1

Let me ask, did you regularly use more than 50% of your battery?

If you rarely drive longer than whatever that range is then it's possible the problem has always been there.

But if you regularly drive farther than that on a charge then that might indicate that the battery is okay.

 

[Espi2451]

Let me ask, did you regularly use more than 50% of your battery?

If you rarely drive longer than whatever that range is then it's possible the problem has always been there.

But if you regularly drive farther than that on a charge then that might indicate that the battery is okay.

My driving habits are to and from work for a total of maybe 40-50 miles a day. Occasionally more. But I work from home 3 days out of the week where it gets driven minimally those days. It has less than 90k miles on it! Wife takes it on the weekend for maybe 70-80miles. I supercharge approximately once a week. Trickle charge at home mostly. Short trips maybe once or twice a month less than 200 miles for sure. I just don’t get it.

 

[wk057]

The 2012 and 2013 S packs are pretty hit or miss these days. Some are rock solid, others have developed terrible moisture ingress issues that lead to damage.