2018 Model S dies at Supercharger.. Stranded (again)

[TechOps]

So I was on a road trip from Austin to San Francisco in a 2018 Model S 75D with 10k miles on it. Made it all the way into southern California, and then when plugging in at a supercharger, the car died with the following messages:
Unable to Charge - Service is required
Unable to Start Vehicle - Service is required
Unable to charge - Disconnect cable and retry
The ring around the charge port was RED. And it would not drive. After about 10 minutes, the electrical system shut down and the doors would not open.

I called the local Tesla service center (which had just closed), they looked at the diagnostics, and said that it looks like a high voltage contactor had failed or "fused." They said it's not a serviceable part, so a complete charger replacement will be required at a cost of ~ $2k. Surprising this would die on a car with 10k miles and be so expensive to fix.

Tow truck driver arrived and jumped the car and towed it to Tesla service center. Once the car came down, it would drive, but still complained about not being able to charge, and service required. A warning also came up about the low voltage battery.

Well, now I am stuck in a hotel and figuring out how to finish my trip. It's deja vu all over again, since another road trip in my Model Y was interrupted with a complete high voltage battery failure on a 2-month old vehicle.

As much as I like Tesla, having low mileage cars completely fail and die at chargers is getting old. I can't imagine having two expensive ICE cars from the same manufacturer have complete engine failures with < 10k miles on them.

 

[maximizese]

That is very unfortunate and I wouldn't know if your low mileage is a cause or coincidence. I think a failure while on a road-trip (especially after-hours) is a fear that most of us hold. I had a drive unit go bad at 90K miles and Tesla replaced the pyro fuse kit and HV contactors under warranty while they were working on it. There are still many folks with over 150K miles who haven't had a component failure to date, but it seems like battery pyro fuses are the topic du jour as many folks are getting warnings to have them replaced after the latest software update.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

It sucks that EV's are hyped as being super reliable with nothing to break. That's a lie, as you have proven with personal experience. It doesn't bother me that they fail, and that they are often more expensive to fix when they do fail. It's the lies that bother me.

 

[zoomer0056]

Two incidents at a SC! Hopefully this latest will be under warranty for your five year old car. 2k miles per year, your car's gotta be in overall great condition.

 

[TechOps]

Two incidents at a SC! Hopefully this latest will be under warranty for your five year old car. 2k miles per year, your car's gotta be in overall great condition.

Unfortunately, the charger is not under the battery/drive unit warranty, so it's out of pocket. The charger itself was $2,200, and including labor, and replacing the 12V battery, it came to $3,100.

It's my friend's car, and yes it's in great shape as he doesn't drive much. He asked me to pitch it for the repair since he let me borrow it for a long road trip (transporting some items that wouldn't fit in my M3), so I helped out with the cost a bit. Not a cheap repair.

It sucks that EV's are hyped as being super reliable with nothing to break. That's a lie, as you have proven with personal experience. It doesn't bother me that they fail, and that they are often more expensive to fix when they do fail. It's the lies that bother me.

Agreed. I was lied to repeatedly when getting my Model Y HV battery replaced, and I have to say the service experience with Tesla is highly variable and sometimes very sub-par.

 

[EVRider-FL]

Agreed. I was lied to repeatedly when getting my Model Y HV battery replaced, and I have to say the service experience with Tesla is highly variable and sometimes very sub-par.

I guess it depends on which Service Center handles the repair. My 2018 Model S HV battery died last year on a road trip (not while charging), with about 26k miles, and the Service Center in Warwick RI was awesome. I had to wait 8 weeks to get the car back (they shipped it to FL after fixing it), but they compensated us for our flights home and did other work without charging us (including body work I didn't ask them to do). The battery was under warranty so I had no out of pocket expenses, and I had a $100/day Uber credit until I got my car back. Inconvenient, but they handled it extremely well.

 

[zoomer0056]

I guess it depends on which Service Center handles the repair. My 2018 Model S HV battery died last year on a road trip (not while charging), with about 26k miles, and the Service Center in Warwick RI was awesome. I had to wait 8 weeks to get the car back (they shipped it to FL after fixing it), but they compensated us for our flights home and did other work without charging us (including body work I didn't ask them to do). The battery was under warranty so I had no out of pocket expenses, and I had a $100/day Uber credit until I got my car back. Inconvenient, but they handled it extremely well.

That's the best I've heard to date. It's a scenario that is good for all ... Tesla and customer. With no dealership shenanigans, I am surprised we don't hear more stories like this. Well, I understand ... forums are for complaints, not praise.

 

[dwbv]

That's the best I've heard to date. It's a scenario that is good for all ... Tesla and customer. With no dealership shenanigans, I am surprised we don't hear more stories like this. Well, I understand ... forums are for complaints, not praise.

This is exactly what I tell people about Tesla EVs... multiple hundred thousands of cars sold, 20 cars goes bad and the world of EVs is a horrible place to live in, never ever get an EV... nobody cares about all the EVs on the road without issues and only focuses on the smaller percentage of EVs that actually do go bad. Is it enough to instill fear?... yep, and that's what makes us human = irrational decision makers.

Of course, I do say that EVs are not any more or less reliable than ICEVs, you're just trading ICEV problems for EV problems. No such thing as a problem-free car.

 

[NewbyMaybe]

If Tesla made ALL the customers happy then the shareholders would be sad.
If Tesla made ALL the customers happy then the cars would be far more expensive and I wouldn't have been able to buy one.
History will reveal the which type of vehicle prevails. My bet is on steam, powered by trash harvested from landfills.

 

[dannycamps]

My bet is on steam, powered by trash harvested from landfills

"Marty, it runs on steam!"

 

[smilepak]

I’ve been curious about this whole situation when the Tesla dies during SC off hours. How do you coordinate AAA or the option is only available by calling Tesla Roadside and use their tow service to drop off your vehicle at the nearest SC during off hours? Or do you tow it home and coordinate another tow service to the SC at a later date?

 

[EVRider-FL]

I’ve been curious about this whole situation when the Tesla dies during SC off hours. How do you coordinate AAA or the option is only available by calling Tesla Roadside and use their tow service to drop off your vehicle at the nearest SC during off hours? Or do you tow it home and coordinate another tow service to the SC at a later date?

Contact Tesla Roadside Assistance and they’ll take care of it. I contacted Roadside Assistance when I had a flat tire at night, and they had my car towed (flatbed) to the Tesla Service Center, which was closed at the time. None of the tire shops were open either, so I felt more comfortable leaving the car at Tesla overnight. If I had wanted to tow it elsewhere, they would have done that.

 

[TechOps]

To be fair, I have also had wonderful experiences at service centers on many occasions. It's just that the bad experiences are..really bad. Far below the line for comparable high-end ICE brands.

To the point about ICE and EVs being simlar on failure rates, probably true. The difference I've observed is that major electrical components can catastrophically fail, leaving you stranded, in an EV, and that is not common with ICE cars. I was *extremely* grateful this didn't happen 12 hours earlier when I was driving through the absolute middle of nowhere in AZ or NM, where an electrical component failure disabling the entire car didn't happen and leave me stranded in 110 degree heat with no one around to help (and maybe spotty cell phone coverage). But that was just luck.

In my experience it's much less likely to have a complete ICE vehicle failure, especially on a newer one (compared with my 2-month-old, sub-2k mile Model Y which bit the dust). That, I think, is what shapes people's perspectives and emotions about EVs.

A little side note. I was getting this Model S inspected at the Austin service center on Monday. There was a woman standing in there on her phone, alternatively yelling / sobbing / pleading with Tesla regarding the vehicle she had *just* taken delivery of, which catastrophically failed and had to be towed back to the Service Center. She didn't want the car and Tesla was clearly refusing to take it back. Will this woman ever buy an EV again? How many dozens of her friends will she tell about how Teslas are total POS?

Maybe this is rare, but it's still happening at a non-trivial rate that I'm observing and concerns me mainly as a shareholder.

On the ride to the SC with the tow truck driver I was asking him about how often he has to tow Teslas away from the Supercharger. He said it happens all the time, and he recently had a customer who had just taken delivery of a Model 3 (200 miles on the odometer), was going 80 mph in the #1 lane, and it completely lost power, lights, steering..everything. He had to drift into the median of the freeway, barely over the fog line, where the tow truck driver loaded up the car.

Anyway, again, just anecdotes, but I don't hear about these stories with ICE cars. There is still a ways to go for reliability.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

To be fair, I have also had wonderful experiences at service centers on many occasions. It's just that the bad experiences are..really bad. Far below the line for comparable high-end ICE brands.

To the point about ICE and EVs being simlar on failure rates, probably true. The difference I've observed is that major electrical components can catastrophically fail, leaving you stranded, in an EV, and that is not common with ICE cars. I was *extremely* grateful this didn't happen 12 hours earlier when I was driving through the absolute middle of nowhere in AZ or NM, where an electrical component failure disabling the entire car didn't happen and leave me stranded in 110 degree heat with no one around to help (and maybe spotty cell phone coverage). But that was just luck.

In my experience it's much less likely to have a complete ICE vehicle failure, especially on a newer one (compared with my 2-month-old, sub-2k mile Model Y which bit the dust). That, I think, is what shapes people's perspectives and emotions about EVs.

A little side note. I was getting this Model S inspected at the Austin service center on Monday. There was a woman standing in there on her phone, alternatively yelling / sobbing / pleading with Tesla regarding the vehicle she had *just* taken delivery of, which catastrophically failed and had to be towed back to the Service Center. She didn't want the car and Tesla was clearly refusing to take it back. Will this woman ever buy an EV again? How many dozens of her friends will she tell about how Teslas are total POS?

Maybe this is rare, but it's still happening at a non-trivial rate that I'm observing and concerns me mainly as a shareholder.

On the ride to the SC with the tow truck driver I was asking him about how often he has to tow Teslas away from the Supercharger. He said it happens all the time, and he recently had a customer who had just taken delivery of a Model 3 (200 miles on the odometer), was going 80 mph in the #1 lane, and it completely lost power, lights, steering..everything. He had to drift into the median of the freeway, barely over the fog line, where the tow truck driver loaded up the car.

Anyway, again, just anecdotes, but I don't hear about these stories with ICE cars. There is still a ways to go for reliability.

Agree. The next time someone says, "but there's only 1 moving part in a Tesla drivetrain and the chassis is built to last 1 million miles, so there's nothing to fail," that should result in mandatory jail time.

 

[mm9351]

I had a similar experience in my M3P, which left me stranded at a SC station in New Jersey. I tried to take the charge up to 100%. Just shortly before the charge completed, I heard a thump followed by a slew of warning messages. I was completely stranded and needed to be towed over 60 miles to Cherry Hill, which luckily is a great Tesla operation. They advised i needed a new rear drive unit and serviced it the next day. All of this was covered under warranty as I had about 6500 miles on a 2022 model 3. Tesla also covered my Uber trip to the dealer, but not the trip from the SC to my hotel. All things considered; I was pleased how Tesla treated me. Worst part of the experience is the tow driver couldn't figure out how to install the tow hook in the dark. So, in case you aren't aware, Tesla uses a LEFT-HAND THREAD on the tow hook.... counterclockwise to tighten...lessons learned!

 

[TLLMRRJ]

I had a similar experience in my M3P, which left me stranded at a SC station in New Jersey. I tried to take the charge up to 100%. Just shortly before the charge completed, I heard a thump followed by a slew of warning messages. I was completely stranded and needed to be towed over 60 miles to Cherry Hill, which luckily is a great Tesla operation. They advised i needed a new rear drive unit and serviced it the next day. All of this was covered under warranty as I had about 6500 miles on a 2022 model 3. Tesla also covered my Uber trip to the dealer, but not the trip from the SC to my hotel. All things considered; I was pleased how Tesla treated me. Worst part of the experience is the tow driver couldn't figure out how to install the tow hook in the dark. So, in case you aren't aware, Tesla uses a LEFT-HAND THREAD on the tow hook.... counterclockwise to tighten...lessons learned!

As someone with an engineering background, I would love to know why charging the car is causing a drive unit failure. Must be some really bonehead engineering.

 

[maximizese]

As someone with an engineering background, I would love to know why charging the car is causing a drive unit failure. Must be some really bonehead engineering.

Could just be a correlation and not causation, but if I had to guess perhaps it more of a connection or contractor issue where the impedance might be too low and locks the drivetrain up into a safe mode. I'm not an engineer and haven't worked on Teslas, but perhaps some folks who have can shed some light. I have noticed that Tesla's systems are a lot more complex than the off-the shelf parts design of much less powerful 2013 Fiat 500e. 83kW Bosch SMG 180/120 only weighs 73lbs compared to the 280kW output of the Tesla S85 weighing in at 290lbs.

 

[airborne spoon]

I've said it once I've said it a thousand times, low mileage cars are the worst.

Maybe it's just anecdotal because people say on there "it's broken" but it's always the old low mileage cars. All us high mileage folks stuff seems to be working great and maybe a minor thing will go out here and there but nothing catastrophic breaks on high mileage cars it seems. Lack of use seems to be a major hazard with these cars. Remember it's just a car not a unicorn get out there and drive the damn thing

 

[tesluv108]

This is exactly what I tell people about Tesla EVs... multiple hundred thousands of cars sold, 20 cars goes bad and the world of EVs is a horrible place to live in, never ever get an EV... nobody cares about all the EVs on the road without issues and only focuses on the smaller percentage of EVs that actually do go bad. Is it enough to instill fear?... yep, and that's what makes us human = irrational decision makers.

Of course, I do say that EVs are not any more or less reliable than ICEVs, you're just trading ICEV problems for EV problems. No such thing as a problem-free car.

It’s called a Toyota Camry

 

[tesluv108]

I've said it once I've said it a thousand times, low mileage cars are the worst.

Maybe it's just anecdotal because people say on there "it's broken" but it's always the old low mileage cars. All us high mileage folks stuff seems to be working great and maybe a minor thing will go out here and there but nothing catastrophic breaks on high mileage cars it seems. Lack of use seems to be a major hazard with these cars. Remember it's just a car not a unicorn get out there and drive the damn thing

I agree with the get out and drive part. The part I would be concerned with at Tesla Corp. is to see the impact low mileage failures have in the court of public opinion. People outside of the Tesla fan club associate low mileage failures with lemons. That’s not an opinion, it’s a fact. Consumers have a level of expectation regarding how long things should last especially if the car is driven less. To say less things break with more miles is completely counterintuitive to the thought process of 90% of car buyers