Driving home in the New York rain the other day, I hit something on the highway. No idea what it was, but I suspect it was a part from another vehicle or possible the asphalt from the road. Smashed through the undercarriage/armor just behind the passenger front wheel. I was driving 50mph because of the poor visibility, but 30 seconds after I hit the object, all the alerts started popping up. Reduced power, low coolant, reduced HVAC functionality, speed limited to 67, 63, 57, then 53. Car told me it was safe to drive, so I took it another 15 minutes home.
Got home and plugged it in, stopped charging within 5 minutes. Whining noise coming from the passenger side front. Sounds like a seal with a spear through its belly. Looked under the car and saw about a 6inch wide missing section of the cover under the car. Thought it was just plastic, but apparently it was the metal armor that protects the battery. Tried to get it towed through roadside in the morning, but they wanted to charge me $275 for a 20 mile tow. Refused that and called my insurance company. Ended up with a $30 bill for the flatbed tow that came 2 hours later. They brought it to the local Tesla dealership. I called the dealership before the car was towed and asked them if I should have attempted to drive the car there to which they told me not to.
The car arrived and it was still whining, apparently trying to pump coolant that wasn't in there anymore. The dealership thought that I had probably broken the cooling neck that extends off of the battery and sits behind the passenger wheel under the car. Upon further inspection, they discovered that the armor protecting the battery had been destroyed and told me that the lithium cells were visible inside. They had to store the battery outside because they told me it was a fire hazard.
I've had the car in the shop a few times over the last two months for a trunk leak, windshield replacement (twice), and windshield wiper replacement because of wind noise, so I've driven a 2016 X and 2017 S - both of which have very dated tech compared to my '22 Y. I asked for the newest vehicle in the loaner fleet and they gave me a M3 Standard Plus (which is a blast to drive with how nimble and lightweight it is compared to my MYP [which I friggin love]).
Dealership called me ten minutes after I left and sent me some pictures as well as the finding that the battery would have to be replaced ($16k plus labor was the unofficial estimate from the dealership. Still waiting for the adjuster to get there to take a look and approve the payment. Fortunately collision covers road debris and all I'm (hopefully) going to be responsible for is the deductible with insurance. They told me I'd be getting a new battery versus a refurb based on the fact that the car is a '22 model year.
I picked this thing up in November Last year and it is an amazing vehicle. Quality control is definitely lacking in some small areas, but overall, the car is a blast to drive. I only work three to four days a week, so I never have to use a super charger unless I go on a long trip. I live in an apartment building, so I don't have the ability to install the Tesla charging adapter. The car only gets charged by a standard wall outlet that gives me about 1.5% battery per hour, and even though I drive about 1.5k miles per month, I only ever dip into the 20% battery range and always make it back up to 80% during the week.
See attached pictures for the damage. Fortunately it was only under the vehicle, nothing on the front or under the front bumper from what I could tell. Try to avoid driving over anything in the road, or you might find yourself having to get a new battery. On the flip side, I guess if you want a new battery, you just have to hit something hard enough to break the cooling neck (since they cannot replace that part individually), and then only have to pay the insurance deductible. A hell of a lot cheaper than $16k plus labor out of pocket.
Got home and plugged it in, stopped charging within 5 minutes. Whining noise coming from the passenger side front. Sounds like a seal with a spear through its belly. Looked under the car and saw about a 6inch wide missing section of the cover under the car. Thought it was just plastic, but apparently it was the metal armor that protects the battery. Tried to get it towed through roadside in the morning, but they wanted to charge me $275 for a 20 mile tow. Refused that and called my insurance company. Ended up with a $30 bill for the flatbed tow that came 2 hours later. They brought it to the local Tesla dealership. I called the dealership before the car was towed and asked them if I should have attempted to drive the car there to which they told me not to.
The car arrived and it was still whining, apparently trying to pump coolant that wasn't in there anymore. The dealership thought that I had probably broken the cooling neck that extends off of the battery and sits behind the passenger wheel under the car. Upon further inspection, they discovered that the armor protecting the battery had been destroyed and told me that the lithium cells were visible inside. They had to store the battery outside because they told me it was a fire hazard.
I've had the car in the shop a few times over the last two months for a trunk leak, windshield replacement (twice), and windshield wiper replacement because of wind noise, so I've driven a 2016 X and 2017 S - both of which have very dated tech compared to my '22 Y. I asked for the newest vehicle in the loaner fleet and they gave me a M3 Standard Plus (which is a blast to drive with how nimble and lightweight it is compared to my MYP [which I friggin love]).
Dealership called me ten minutes after I left and sent me some pictures as well as the finding that the battery would have to be replaced ($16k plus labor was the unofficial estimate from the dealership. Still waiting for the adjuster to get there to take a look and approve the payment. Fortunately collision covers road debris and all I'm (hopefully) going to be responsible for is the deductible with insurance. They told me I'd be getting a new battery versus a refurb based on the fact that the car is a '22 model year.
I picked this thing up in November Last year and it is an amazing vehicle. Quality control is definitely lacking in some small areas, but overall, the car is a blast to drive. I only work three to four days a week, so I never have to use a super charger unless I go on a long trip. I live in an apartment building, so I don't have the ability to install the Tesla charging adapter. The car only gets charged by a standard wall outlet that gives me about 1.5% battery per hour, and even though I drive about 1.5k miles per month, I only ever dip into the 20% battery range and always make it back up to 80% during the week.
See attached pictures for the damage. Fortunately it was only under the vehicle, nothing on the front or under the front bumper from what I could tell. Try to avoid driving over anything in the road, or you might find yourself having to get a new battery. On the flip side, I guess if you want a new battery, you just have to hit something hard enough to break the cooling neck (since they cannot replace that part individually), and then only have to pay the insurance deductible. A hell of a lot cheaper than $16k plus labor out of pocket.
