Battery Damaged After Hitting Tow Hitch

[EcahRS]

I also have the MPP "Smash Me" plate on my Model 3 to help protect the coolant lines that run along the front of the battery pack. Those seem to be the most vulnerable part that can cause the whole pack to need replacement because they are plastic and stick out of the front of the pack. The fiber or plastic shield that Tesla uses in the front won't protect as much as a 1/8" aluminum plate. The MPP plate is made in Canada, but there's another similar product that's made in the USA (HPS Performance "Meet Me Outside" plate) HPS Black Aluminum Skid Plate Undertray Protection Shield Tesla Model 3

My front skid plate broke last night after owning the car for a week and running over a street sign that was left in the middle of a freeway off-ramp. I was looking for a skid plate replacement, and I might give the HPS one you linked a shot. Thank you!

 

[Rootboy]

You had 2 tons of car sitting on top of a tow hitch made of 1/4 to 1/2 inch steel at highway speed. It likely ancored itslelf and tore through the undercarriage. There isn't a skid plate around which would of held up to that. Don't waste your money trying to protect from these 1 in a million scenarios.

I might get them just to keep snow out. Where I live, they do not plow alleys.

 

[TunaBug]

I also have the MPP "Smash Me" plate on my Model 3 to help protect the coolant lines that run along the front of the battery pack. Those seem to be the most vulnerable part that can cause the whole pack to need replacement because they are plastic and stick out of the front of the pack. The fiber or plastic shield that Tesla uses in the front won't protect as much as a 1/8" aluminum plate. The MPP plate is made in Canada, but there's another similar product that's made in the USA (HPS Performance "Meet Me Outside" plate) HPS Black Aluminum Skid Plate Undertray Protection Shield Tesla Model 3

To my mind the problem isn't so much that the plastic coolant nipple can break, but instead that Tesla won't replace that part by itself and instead insists on replacing the entire battery. That's just throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Part of me is engineering fanboi thinking that the huge castings and structural battery pack are awesome. But on the flip side it seems like Tesla is trying to make cars with a reparability score of zero. I can imagine a future where the smallest fender bender requires totaling the car. Which basically means that none of us will be able to afford the insurance.

 

[roblab]

My brother was driving his camper under an overpass when the exhaust pipe and muffler from an RV came sailing down from above, hit the windshield, and ended up, smoking, on the bed just inches from their baby. No one was able to find the owner of the exhaust system when the police were informed. They just told him he was lucky it went between him and his wife and didn't kill the baby. No undercarriage plate would have helped.

 

[bgreet]

My brother was driving his camper under an overpass when the exhaust pipe and muffler from an RV came sailing down from above, hit the windshield, and ended up, smoking, on the bed just inches from their baby. No one was able to find the owner of the exhaust system when the police were informed. They just told him he was lucky it went between him and his wife and didn't kill the baby. No undercarriage plate would have helped.

Oh my god, thankfully they were unharmed. That's really crazy. Can't take anything for granted

 

[dmurphy]

To my mind the problem isn't so much that the plastic coolant nipple can break, but instead that Tesla won't replace that part by itself and instead insists on replacing the entire battery. That's just throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Part of me is engineering fanboi thinking that the huge castings and structural battery pack are awesome. But on the flip side it seems like Tesla is trying to make cars with a reparability score of zero. I can imagine a future where the smallest fender bender requires totaling the car. Which basically means that none of us will be able to afford the insurance.

The problem is that to repair the plastic nipple properly, the battery needs to be unsealed and opened. This is NOT an operation that Tesla does in their service centers normally. Service Centers don't "crack the seal."

So, at best, they would need to transport the battery back to HQ, do the repair and send it back. These batteries are very limited in how they are transported - (NO air freight!) and so ... I suspect it's more cost effective to send them back to HQ in batches, not one at a time.

Thus, the battery swap is likely more efficient. Replace the battery, store the busted one at the service center until several in the area are ready to go back, get a truck, load them, send them back, refurbish them, and get them back out as refurb batteries.

They're not the kinda part that you just pack in a FedEx envelope ...

 

[TunaBug]

The problem is that to repair the plastic nipple properly, the battery needs to be unsealed and opened. This is NOT an operation that Tesla does in their service centers normally. Service Centers don't "crack the seal."

So, at best, they would need to transport the battery back to HQ, do the repair and send it back. These batteries are very limited in how they are transported - (NO air freight!) and so ... I suspect it's more cost effective to send them back to HQ in batches, not one at a time.

Thus, the battery swap is likely more efficient. Replace the battery, store the busted one at the service center until several in the area are ready to go back, get a truck, load them, send them back, refurbish them, and get them back out as refurb batteries.

They're not the kinda part that you just pack in a FedEx envelope ...

You're right, but that gets to my point that they are not designing the cars with reparability in mind. Would it really be that hard to rev the design so that it was a field replaceable part? It doesn't need to be easily replaceable, we're still talking about refilling the coolant so it's still something to be done at an SC.

 

[CRIMSON_DATE]

You're right, but that gets to my point that they are not designing the cars with reparability in mind. Would it really be that hard to rev the design so that it was a field replaceable part? It doesn't need to be easily replaceable, we're still talking about refilling the coolant so it's still something to be done at an SC.

The Gigacastings should answer that question... Cheaper for tesla to produce and more expensive to repair. Totaling the car is a better all around deal for Tesla. Replace the car and the FSD.... all profit

 

[Kzrman]

The battery pack for my 2021 MY LR was destroyed in Florida last year when I inadvertently drove over a small wild boar late at night.
It took me 28 days to get the whole thing repaired and my insurance was charged $15,000 for a new pack.
I just ordered a HPS Performance front guard.
This sort of thing happens more than you think.

 

[bgreet]

Just an update. Estimated $16,000 to replace the battery and nearly a month out now without any idea of when I'll get the car back. Still on wait-list for battery

 

[Mr Limpet]

The problem is that to repair the plastic nipple properly, the battery needs to be unsealed and opened. This is NOT an operation that Tesla does in their service centers normally. Service Centers don't "crack the seal."

So, at best, they would need to transport the battery back to HQ, do the repair and send it back. These batteries are very limited in how they are transported - (NO air freight!) and so ... I suspect it's more cost effective to send them back to HQ in batches, not one at a time.

Thus, the battery swap is likely more efficient. Replace the battery, store the busted one at the service center until several in the area are ready to go back, get a truck, load them, send them back, refurbish them, and get them back out as refurb batteries.

They're not the kinda part that you just pack in a FedEx envelope ...

There is actually a fix for the nipple. Tesla will not do it since it is not an oem part replacement.
Start the video at about 13:45 for the repair.

 

[dmurphy]

There is actually a fix for the nipple. Tesla will not do it since it is not an oem part replacement.
Start the video at about 13:45 for the repair.

No, that’s not a fix, it’s a half assed workaround.

There’s no way I’d let someone do that to my battery.

Just the shavings from the tap alone could be a major problem. The cooling microchannels in the battery clog very easily. All it takes is one piece of those shavings to end up in there to clog the entire system.

It’s not a true fix, it’s a duct tape and bubble gum hack.

An actual fix requires opening the battery and removing the broken part. Full stop.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

Anyone fixing the battery by tapping some threads like that would of course run some water thru the battery from the other direction to flush out any chips prior to reassembly. Mechanics can be pretty dumb sometimes, but not dumb enough to forget to flush out chips after cutting new threads in the coolant system.

But if they did screw up - and some chips remained in the system that just happened to be the perfect size to clog a microchannel, then yeah, one of the million microchannels might get clogged and perhaps a bank of cells will run just slightly hotter/cooler than the others sometimes. But who cares?

 

[ucmndd]

No, that’s not a fix, it’s a half assed workaround.

There’s no way I’d let someone do that to my battery.

Lol, you can keep your principles, I’ll keep my $15,300.

 

[dmurphy]

Lol, you can keep your principles, I’ll keep my $15,300.

This is what insurance is for.

 

[ucmndd]

This is what insurance is for.

Did you watch the video? The owner didn’t have insurance.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

This is what insurance is for.

Auto "insurance" is not actual insurance.

With real insurance (e.g. health, homeowner's, rental car, etc.) you pay a set premium and they pay the claims.
With auto insurance you pay a retainer fee and they lend you money to pay the claims, at whatever interest rate they want. Auto insurance is nothing more than a simple line of credit with an unknown, unpredictable, and unlimited interest rate.

 

[CRIMSON_DATE]

Auto "insurance" is not actual insurance.

With real insurance (e.g. health, homeowner's, rental car, etc.) you pay a set premium and they pay the claims.
With auto insurance you pay a retainer fee and they lend you money to pay the claims, at whatever interest rate they want. Auto insurance is nothing more than a simple line of credit with an unknown, unpredictable, and unlimited interest rate.

What kind of crazy auto insurance do you have ???..... I have never paid intrest on any damage claim. I get quotes for the repair and they cut a check to you or the place doing the repair.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

...and then they may or may not raise your premium by a limited or unlimited amount. And then they share your debt status will *all* other insurance companies so that you still end up repaying it even if you switch insurers.

 

[skygraff]

...and then they may or may not raise your premium by a limited or unlimited amount. And then they share your debt status will *all* other insurance companies so that you still end up repaying it even if you switch insurers.

So do home and health insurers. Heck, once a home insurer cancel my floater policy (for items which leave the home such as musical instruments) after only 2 claims - one for damage and one for theft by a consignment shop. Surprisingly, even life insurance companies do it after a claim (on relatives as well as others in the same demographic).

The only difference is that auto insurance is mandated in many US jurisdictions while the rest of the insurance products are optional meaning the rest of us assume liability for those who can't cover their losses (raised premiums for those who do insure, higher medical costs, lower property values when uninsured damage isn't repaired, etc.).

Rental insurance might be an exception but I'd be willing to bet that, following enough claims, they would blackball you or massively raise the rental/insurance costs as well as share your status with other rental agencies