Received the shocking news and subsequent shocking bill from the SC that my 2013 S85 HV Battery needs to be replaced at just over 100k miles. I kept the car past warranty with confidence thinking that these batteries last 300-500k miles. Even Elon Musk was quoted saying the batteries should last that long. Curious why the battery died so early I started searching across the internet for similar stories and boy have I found out I'm not alone. Multiple posts on this site alone and looks like nearly everyone has been affected by the same moisture igress issue. I have a feeling more and more of this problem will arise over the coming weeks and hopefully result in a recall and we can get our $12-20k back. Several years ago I paid for an MCU replacement and got reimbursed when the MCU was recalled. Wish I had found this site earlier this year I would have driven to 057's shop with haste!
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Another 1st Generation(2013 MS 85) HV Battery Failure
- Thread starter ElectricVictor
- Start date
vcor
Tech Specialist
Sorry to say, I don't see how this would be a recall. The car is out of warranty. Similar to an ICE car's engine with a blown engine out of warranty. The manufacturer is not going to cover it.
As to the frequency of failures, that's harder to pin down. Yes, there are battery failures, but some are lasting > 200K miles - there are just not that many cars > 200K yet. I suspect the environment is a far larger factor. High humidity, salted roads, and age are a combination that could be more damaging to the life of the battery than miles driven, especially the older packs.
As to the frequency of failures, that's harder to pin down. Yes, there are battery failures, but some are lasting > 200K miles - there are just not that many cars > 200K yet. I suspect the environment is a far larger factor. High humidity, salted roads, and age are a combination that could be more damaging to the life of the battery than miles driven, especially the older packs.
My MCU was also out of warranty but with the recall I was able to get reimbursed for the MCU repair I paid for earlier. Was hoping the battery would be a similar situation. Worse case I'll enjoy the car for another year and sell to someone the peace of mind of a 3 year warranty.
Let's clarify a little.
And the second thing is that yes, the battery cells individually probably would last that long. The cells didn't hit end of life. It's wiring connections and some inexperienced choices in how they built the pack enclosure that led to these early design packs having some vulnerable failure points.
He has been saying that the last few years about the newer battery types. He wasn't saying that back in 2013 when your car was built. That was the very first half year they sold any. Things were a little unproven yet.
And the second thing is that yes, the battery cells individually probably would last that long. The cells didn't hit end of life. It's wiring connections and some inexperienced choices in how they built the pack enclosure that led to these early design packs having some vulnerable failure points.
When did your battery warranty expire?
Did the battery fail shortly after an OTA software update?
From what I've seen, there's more correlation with the vehicle age is than miles.
Once a vehicle is out of the battery warranty (all 2012s and 2013s and some 2014s) they get the BMS_u029 / "Maximum battery charge level reduced" code. It has happened to a 2013 with 30,000 miles, 70k, 75k and yes, over 100k. But they're all 2013s.
That's an interesting observation. Some of the cell aging is time-related, regardless of use, but Tesla told me when I got my car as CPO in early 2016 that they expected 12-15 years life on those packs, so that also makes another failure mechanism seem more likely than cell degradation, especially for a pack that only had 30k miles on it. Granted, that pack may have had a hard life in terms of being left at too low or high SOC for extended amounts of time, as under 4k miles a year on average is quite low. Would interesting to get more details here, but that may not be possible.
My original 2012 battery most likely did fail from a bad cell at 170k miles and 9.5 years of age, by chance I had gotten access to service mode a couple months before it failed and noticed one BMS subunit consistently being 40 mV lower. The BMS didn't throw any faults, but on a long trip the battery was suddenly shut off at 19% SOC because of "battery charge level too low-unable to drive" (error DI_w127), then 11 days later the same happened even at 35% SOC, indicating that this particular cell (or one cell in that particular unit) had clearly reached end of life. Tesla also told me that it was a "weak" cell after it failed the 1st time, though they also told me that I should be good for another 1-2 years, which I clearly wasn't.
Then my 1st REMAN replacement battery failed with the BMS_u029 / "Maximum battery charge level reduced" code after only 2 months and 5k miles.
Lasttoy
Active Member
My pack died 2 months before warranty ran out. 150k miles. My pack was made in fall of 2012. Replaced with RE manufactured pack, which they say is bad now. They said 12k to replace it. I just laughed and left. That was last March. It's still going strong. If and when it fails? I will certainly not go to the SC for replacement. In my opinion, at the slightest error message, they say ""replace pack"". I've yet to see a post on here where anyone went in with problem and anything got changed but pack? On same day in March, SC said my motor was bad, has water in it. I said. You just installed it 3 years ago? It's bad? I'm changed oil. Clear , no water.
Example, my glove box door broke. They said $500 for entire dashboard. I said I just need door. "sorry we only sell entire dashboard""
I broke it open. Latch broke. I fixed it.
Example, my glove box door broke. They said $500 for entire dashboard. I said I just need door. "sorry we only sell entire dashboard""
I broke it open. Latch broke. I fixed it.
Yep - it tends to be the BMS failing or water intrusion into the pack causing most failures. Though some cell failures, too. Once a few cells in a module fails, the car is no longer able to keep the pack balanced and eventually the pack is dead.
@wk057 seems to have the best shop (057 Technology) for keeping OG Model S and Model X on the road at a reasonable price and has a reasonable extended warranty program.
The other common failure mode on older Model Ss is the rear motor which can develop coolant leaks and the dreaded whirring noise.
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