What has been people's experience with their battery being replaced? The 2011 Roadster that I'm buying has a bricked battery and the owner is putting in a new/refurbished battery for me? I know that they don't make new batteries and wonder about the quality of the refurbished ones. Also I think they only give a year warranty on them.
dhrivnak
Active Member
I hear you will likely have to balance the pack by charging in range mode and letting it sit for a few days. Outside of that you should be OK. Do you mind sharing the cost of a new battery? Thank you.
wiztecy
Active Member
Is there an expected Range and CAC? If not you should inquire. Also how was it bricked, curious. Was it under warranty or is this going to be paid out of pocket by the previous owner. All these things do matter. As for Range mode charging and balancing, I didn't see any great advantage of doing a RM charge for that. Did it on previous packs, it buys a day of balancing. The largest time is for the CAC to get re-calibrated. It took mine 3 months to settle in, kept climbing each day which was nice to see, and then my final ideal miles settled in that I'm very happy with. I also did one Range mode charge where I unplugged it right as soon as the charge completed, drove the SOC down 70% on one key turn, came back and did a Standard mode charge. Tesla indicated that's needed to have the CAC recalculated, although I'm not sure if I needed that or not. I was seeing my CAC recalculate everytime I'd do a charge that resulted in an 80% or above SOC. It would recalculate after the charge and even at work when it was between 65-75% SOC.
It was bricked by the person in charge at the garage who failed to charge it for the past 2 months!!! it is going to be paid out of pocket by the owner as we were in the process of doing the paperwork. Obviously she doesn't drive it often!
dhrivnak
Active Member
I have been told, even by rangers to get a pack balanced fast is to do a range charge and let the car sit. While repeated standard charges will balance the pack that is a very slow process. Range charging allows the pack to balance faster. I have read from owners who got a new pack or sheet and they had to balance as the pack they received was significantly out of balance.
wiztecy
Active Member
I've balanced two packs so far, one in Range mode and one in Std. Mode. Both were way out of balanced and started at approx the same approx 142 CAC. So that's what I'm basing my observation off the balancing grid. For me I stay away from 100% SOC charges unless I really do need them and I don't want it to sit there long which if you balance your pack in RM will do. Its also bleeding it down so at most you get 2.5 days above the std. mode SOC. I've always seen dependencies in Tesla advice, and use it with my own and other's observations to build a conclusion that works for me
The interesting thing is that Tesla does not give any really steps on this balancing process.Again from my observation I see that the packs in the 145 CAC have a std. mode charge of about 152 ideal miles. After they balance, which is about 4 days to a little over a week, they'll climb up to about 175 ideal miles which also you'll see the CAC climb to around 147-149. Then its a slow process of the CAC getting recalculated with is over 2 months, each std. mode charge you'll see the CAC climb up .15-.40 in calculation. At times you won't see the ideal miles adjust and then you'll see those gradually increase. Once the CAC has maxed out it will drop about .20 and equalize, then you'll see your ideal miles be at its max. I did my 70% SOC draw about 95% towards the end of this whole CAC recalibration process. The key is to be very patient and track your CAC.
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Mitrovic
Member
Thx everyone for the information. Too bad a new battery pack isn't available yet with Model S cells!
EVsport
Member
I had a "new to me" battery installed early this year. Tesla doesn't install new batteries, only refurbished. Tough $40k cookie to swallow when you know it's not new. Haven't had any issues with the battery, my only complaint was the disappointing service I received at the Rockville, MD service center. Absolutely the worst experience I've ever had at an automotive service center.
Enjoy your Roadster.
Enjoy your Roadster.
Thanks EV. That's too bad. The service at the Queens, NY center has always been fantastic. Any info on the longevity of the refurbished battery?
EVsport
Member
No data that's usable, My job takes me away from home for 2 months at a time, my Roadster sits in storage mode while I'm away. My last range estimate was above 200. Before this trip, I took it out on a dedicated battery exercise run, only raced 2 mustangs :biggrin:, was able to spend 4 plus hours touring the country side and returning home with 30 miles remaining. Extremely happy with the performance.
One thing, the service center tried to sell me new PEM cooling fans, said they were out of balance and were falling. I removed them, conducted a thorough cleaning with a tooth brush and compressed air, ended up having dirt built up on the squirrel cage vanes. No more vibration, good as new.
One thing, the service center tried to sell me new PEM cooling fans, said they were out of balance and were falling. I removed them, conducted a thorough cleaning with a tooth brush and compressed air, ended up having dirt built up on the squirrel cage vanes. No more vibration, good as new.
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