Beware of rotten egg odor

[gilfish]

My 2018 model s started giving off strong odor of rotten eggs. When I scheduled service , soonest appointment was 7/30. After searching this forum I saw it may be the 12 v battery. So I called the sc, they said they had never heard of that and tried telling me maybe I left something stinky in the car. SMH. And said to just keep scheduled appointment.
So this morning vehicle is totally dead, can’t even unplug from charger. Tesla is sending a tow truck.

 

[JChu]

I just noticed the same smell today, just curious what did the SC say?

 

[by74]

Is that from AC? My car has bad smell from AC after l left it under sun for a while. I wonder if we have the same issue.

 

[Galinette]

Well, I had exactly these symptoms (slight rotten eggs odor, becoming stronger, until the car becomes bricked), and the SC came at my home for changing the 12v battery which was faulty. The car was 4 month old so this was a defect and not wear. Tesla support could not see any voltage issue in the logs.
Tell them to contact the SC in Nantes, France if they are skeptical...

This happened in less than 48h so don’t wait for an appointment, and leave your car at home if you don’t want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere. This is likely an internal short circuit in the battery causing it to heat and the sulfuric acid to boil, this will continue even if the car is sleeping.

 

[Stellavator]

Rotten eggs smell = sulfuric acid = wet cell battery boiled out = your 12v battery is dead. Any SC employee suggesting otherwise has no idea WTF they are talking about, and shouldn't be trusted.

 

[outdoors]

I thought the AGM's aren't supposed to act like wet cells. Found this below regarding the types of batteries used.

12 Volt Battery Compendium | TeslaTap

 

[Holo]

Thanks for the link. That was a great article about how the 12V battery functions in both a Tesla and an ICE car.

 

[dark cloud]

I have not had to replace the 12v battery yet, but I have read that most owners get a message on the cluster several days before the failure of the battery. None of you saw this warning?

 

[Stellavator]

I believe I was wrong about this. I thought the 12v was a wet cell. If it's AGM, I do not know the chemistry or if a sulfer smell would be indicative of an issue with that battery. Sorry.

 

[Lasairfion]

So it's not a special add-on package to help ex ICE car owners feel like they still have a catalytic converter?

 

[Galinette]

AGM batteries have the same chemistry, ie lead/sulfuric acid. The difference is that the acid is absorbed in glass fiber sheets I stead of being plain liquid.

There is no warning message in the case of the rotten eggs failure (at least in my case). Tesla even looked in the logs and the recorded voltage was not abnormal. It just stank more and more until the car suddenly bricked (about 48h process). The car lives in a temperate oceanic climate and in a garage, no extreme temperature involved.

I believe the warning appears when the battery is old, and the voltage slowly drops below a threshold.

 

[SMAlset]

Thanks for posting your situation. Have not had a problem here with our cars at all but always good to have more info from owners when you know something isn’t right be it odor, sound or car not handling right. Neither one of us has been a car person before so learning something all the time.

 

[forkee]

This alert just popped up in my X this morning! Along with the nasty smell! The whole garage reeked we thought it was a sewer leak. What's the anticipated remaining lifespan of the battery at this point? I just called support and they checked behind the scenes and said it's holding a charge and should not give any problems. I only drive a few miles a day but tomorrow I'm going 20 miles into LA. Will definitely cancel though if there is any risk of getting stranded....

 

[Galinette]

By the way, when it happened to me, Tesla wanted to send a tow truck. After insisting I finally managed to talk to the local SC tech which is very good and decided to come with a spare battery rather than a tow truck. In 20 min he changed the battery and fixed the car.

 

[Galinette]

This alert just popped up in my X this morning! Along with the nasty smell! The whole garage reeked we thought it was a sewer leak. What's the anticipated remaining lifespan of the battery at this point? I just called support and they checked behind the scenes and said it's holding a charge and should not give any problems. I only drive a few miles a day but tomorrow I'm going 20 miles into LA. Will definitely cancel though if there is any risk of getting stranded....

I got stranded about 48 hours after the first smell. I first suspected a kid fart, then an intake stinky bomb joke, and a more serious issue when I couldn’t drive without opening all windows. Meanwhile I drove 1000mi in 48h and the car had the good idea to wait going back home before blacking out. Yes I’m lucky.

The smell means acid is boiling. As soon as it’s fully gone the voltage will drop to zero very quickly. The support has the wrong issue in mind, when a battery is old its voltage is slightly low and can still work for a while. The issue here is different.

 

[demundus]

The 12v uses the contactors and the main HV pack to maintain its voltage, much like an alternator does to an ICE car. The 12v powers all peripherals, so if its "dead" the HV is pumping power into it to maintain 12v and give you a false sense of charge. Once you power the car down the contactors will close after a certain time and there wont be enough voltage to open them again, then the battery will fade away naturally.

 

[tllt]

Hmm, I’ve noticed the smell, but only when I accelerate hard. But it doesn’t stick around

 

[danbucks]

Went into the garage and almost vomited. What a smell. I thought perhaps a dead animal, but correlation is not to be overlooked: model X says: "12V Battery needs to be replaced ASAP"

 

[Wol747]

I thought the AGM's aren't supposed to act like wet cells. Found this below regarding the types of batteries used.

12 Volt Battery Compendium | TeslaTap

Great link.

I'm relieved the site gives a thumbs-up to the Ohmmu replacement - I have a new M S but will change to that when the 12v dies.

Now I know to order it as soon as the car farts and to stick it in the garage until the battery arrives!

Would it be a good idea to disconnect the farting battery - would the car object does anyone know if it's disconnected for a week or more?

 

[Kandiru]

I also get something similar in the car after I eat kimchi with Tunisian sardines in plain yogurt