Battery cracked [Tesla claims from pothole damage]

[Judy W.]

Took my 2018 Tesla 3 in for service because it was making a lot of noise. Problem was due to wheel bearings corroded. Unfortunately, mechanic states they also found that the battery was cracked, likely due to a pothole. They said it would be so expensive to replace that we needed to file a claim with our insurance company. Mechanic said that we may not have even noticed that we went over the potholes as potholes can cause a lot of damage, even small ones. Mechanic also claimed we took the vehicle off road. I baby the car and don't even drive it in the winter.

Anyone else have a similar problem?

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

See if you can reach the crack. Maybe you can just cover it with a piece of duct tape?

 

[KenC]

Took my 2018 Tesla 3 in for service because it was making a lot of noise. Problem was due to wheel bearings corroded. Unfortunately, mechanic states they also found that the battery was cracked, likely due to a pothole. They said it would be so expensive to replace that we needed to file a claim with our insurance company. Mechanic said that we may not have even noticed that we went over the potholes as potholes can cause a lot of damage, even small ones. Mechanic also claimed we took the vehicle off road. I baby the car and don't even drive it in the winter.

Anyone else have a similar problem?

Take pictures of the damage. If you have ramps, it'll help with sliding under your car.

 

[afadeev]

Took my 2018 Tesla 3 in for service because it was making a lot of noise. Problem was due to wheel bearings corroded.

How many miles do you have on your Model 3?
Wheel bearings to do bad, eventually, but usually between 150K-200K miles.

Assuming that you are nowhere near that mileage range, has the car been in any accidents? Flooding? Ever?
It's not impossible, but highly atypical for wheel bearings to wears off this early. Also, bearings do not normally corrode, but wear out due to lack of lubrications (oil dries with age, seals fail and dirt gets in, etc.). Bearings would not corrode unless the car has flooded (water reached above the axle / mid-point of the wheel).

Unfortunately, mechanic states they also found that the battery was cracked, likely due to a pothole. They said it would be so expensive to replace that we needed to file a claim with our insurance company. Mechanic said that we may not have even noticed that we went over the potholes as potholes can cause a lot of damage, even small ones.

There is something weird going on with your car, to say the least.
What exactly does it mean "battery was cracked"? Are you getting any error faults? If not, what cracked and did not short any circuits?

Are just talking about the under-tray?
That's way more likely, but it wouldn't cost much to repair.

Mechanic also claimed we took the vehicle off road. I baby the car and don't even drive it in the winter.
Anyone else have a similar problem?

No, this is a highly atypical situation.

I would either dig deeper myself, or take the car to another mechanic for a second opinion!

HTH,
a

 

[talkingevs]

How bad is the crack? And why did they look at the battery if they were working on the wheel bearings? Something doesn't sound right here....

 

[thesmokingman]

You joined just to post this? Mechanic... not tesla service then huh? If the battery was damaged in anyway the car would not move and send off a bazillion alarms.

This story... As dano mentioned go in for wheel bearings on a car that should not need wheel bearings, to find battery cracked what the five. How's a battery crack?

 

[Alysashley79]

There is zero chance driving Over potholes would damage your battery pack. Zero. Maybe if you bottom your car out over them repeatedly then maybe. Driving through them over them no. I drive a 3 mile gravel road and it has potholes and I’ve never had this issue. Suspension issues yes but not Until 85k. Sounds more like you hit something.

 

[Bill_75D]

The OP doesn't mention if she is the original owner of the car. If not, it may have been damaged and repaired poorly before she bought it.

 

[Judy W.]

Took my 2018 Tesla 3 in for service because it was making a lot of noise. Problem was due to wheel bearings corroded. Unfortunately, mechanic states they also found that the battery was cracked, likely due to a pothole. They said it would be so expensive to replace that we needed to file a claim with our insurance company. Mechanic said that we may not have even noticed that we went over the potholes as potholes can cause a lot of damage, even small ones. Mechanic also claimed we took the vehicle off road. I baby the car and don't even drive it in the winter.

Anyone else have a similar problem?

Just got a quote from Tesla for $17,543. There is a small dent in the plate. I don't ever remember hitting anything. Meeting with an attorney. Not sure if our insurance will cover the cost as it is considered damage done by road debris. Meeting with insurance agent. Anyone want to buy it? It has 38,000 miles. I definitely don't want this car!!

 

[Judy W.]

Just got a quote from Tesla for $17,543. There is a small dent in the plate. I don't ever remember hitting anything. Meeting with an attorney. Not sure if our insurance will cover the cost as it is considered damage done by road debris. Meeting with insurance agent. Anyone want to buy it? It has 38,000 miles. I definitely don't want this car!!

 

[Judy W.]

I am the original owner of the car.

 

[jjrandorin]

Just got a quote from Tesla for $17,543. There is a small dent in the plate. I don't ever remember hitting anything. Meeting with an attorney. Not sure if our insurance will cover the cost as it is considered damage done by road debris. Meeting with insurance agent. Anyone want to buy it? It has 38,000 miles. I definitely don't want this car!!

Do you not have full coverage insurance or something? I am really confused at your statement about insurance possibly not covering it because it was road debris. care to elaborate on why that might be?

 

[T3SLAROD]

Lmao

 

[stopcrazypp]

Just got a quote from Tesla for $17,543. There is a small dent in the plate. I don't ever remember hitting anything. Meeting with an attorney. Not sure if our insurance will cover the cost as it is considered damage done by road debris. Meeting with insurance agent. Anyone want to buy it? It has 38,000 miles. I definitely don't want this car!!

If the dent is just cosmetic, I don't see a good reason to spend that much money (or even insurance) to repair that as it's not visible unless you crawl under the car. Or are you saying the noise from the car is related to that dent or you have other issues from that dent?

Unless you don't have coverage for your own car, road debris damage is generally covered by collision coverage if you hit the object on the road or by comprehensive if the object flew and hits your car.
Debris on the highway | Insurance.com

 

[EnrgyNDpndnce]

OP, please post a screen shot of the quote from Tesla including their description of the damage and recommended repair. This should be easily accessible on your Tesla mobile app.

 

[ochompsky]

You joined just to post this? Mechanic... not tesla service then huh? If the battery was damaged in anyway the car would not move and send off a bazillion alarms.

This story... As dano mentioned go in for wheel bearings on a car that should not need wheel bearings, to find battery cracked what the five. How's a battery crack?

is joining TMC a mandatory part of the purchase process? why wouldn't he join to post about this?

 

[Judy W.]

OP, please post a screen shot of the quote from Tesla including their description of the damage and recommended repair. This should be easily accessible on your Tesla mobile app.

I really love hearing everyone's comments. I believe they are replacing the battery pack. Attached is the invoice on my Tesla app. Not a very descriptive invoice. Saw something online for a $700 repair,

 

[Judy W.]

is joining TMC a mandatory part of the purchase process? why wouldn't he join to post about this?

Yes, why didn't the car show any alarms? There were no alarms.

 

[stopcrazypp]

I really love hearing everyone's comments. I believe they are replacing the battery pack. Attached is the invoice on my Tesla app. Not a very descriptive invoice. Saw something online for a $700 repair,

You can always message them in the app for more details and ask them for pictures. To repair the dent "officially" likely requires replacing the pack, which is likely why it's that expensive. If the dent is only cosmetic (from your account it sounds like that's the case, given you don't have any errors in the car), you may be able to have them just work on the noise issue instead on the wheel bearing and leave that part out.

I highly doubt a dent on the pack is going to be a cheap $700 repair, as the plate is probably quite thick and PDR (paintless dent repair) is unlikely to work on it, and disassembling the pack to hammer out from inside is going to be very involved and not someone Tesla offers or a regular PDR person can do. The $700 case you are referring to was a plastic coolant line port on the pack, which was replaced by a third party. That's a completely different case from your car.

In your first post, you mentioned crack however? Which is it? A crack is much more serious than a dent and must be sealed to prevent things from getting into the pack.

 

[afadeev]

Yes, why didn't the car show any alarms? There were no alarms.

If there are no alarms, what exactly is the problem?

Dings and dents are part of car ownership experience, it's how the world "personalizes" your car for you. I have them on all my vehicle, including the Model 3. It never crossed my mind to replace door, hood, and under-tray panels just because they had accumulated dings.
I do replace things if they fall off (Model 3's front under-tray did that), or something is generating mechanical (front control arms) or electronic error conditions.
YMMV,
a