Does Tesla cover 12 volt battery replacement under the CPO warranty?

[Tress]

All,
I am a bit confused. I purchased my MS back in 2018 under the CPO program (no longer around) and I was essentially told the warranty was a new car warranty. Fast forward to today and I have the dreaded replace 12 volt battery message. I reached out to Tesla Service through the app and they are stating the 12 volt battery is not covered under warranty and I have to pay out of pocket.

I find this odd as I see many cases on this forum where the 12 volt battery is covered at no cost. Up to this point all issues have been covered by the CPO warranty and I do not understand why this would not be covered as well.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[IslandHydro]

yes, ive had mine done, as has a friend, both 2015 ms purchased from tesla last year, both under warranty.

 

[Alysashley79]

The haven’t had the issue come up on mine yet but I was verbally told that the only things it won’t cover is failures of components that are cosmetic (is:wheel well linings) I looked at the actual used vehicle warranty (it’s the same as the new vehicle warranty by the way) and it doesn’t exclude the 12v anywhere.

I also found this statement directly in the Tesla website today. The battery should fall under BTB.

did you receive an email from them with a cost associated or did they call you? Sometimes I’ve received an email and I’ve responded back with isn’t this covered under warranty and I get the response that it’s mobile and they don’t get that info initially. They just triage.

 

[Tress]

I figured it should be covered. I received a text with a quote over $200 and a follow up email. I replied to the text (see attached) the rep said the battery was considered "wear and tear" and was not covered.

 

[IslandHydro]

Hmm... So that might be a point of contention, neither my nor my friends had > 50K miles on them at the time, nor were they > 4 years old

 

[KyleDay]

Hate to say this - but go read your warranty document and see what's listed. Might save yourself $200

 

[Tress]

Hate to say this - but go read your warranty document and see what's listed. Might save yourself $200

I did. There is no reference to the 12v battery in the CPO warranty. The rep on the other end of the text message says the 12v battery is part of the following exclusion as etc - - "Expendable maintenance items (such as wiper blades/inserts, brake pads/linings, filters, etc.)"

 

[KyleDay]

I think you have a case for disagreement

 

[Alysashley79]

did you schedule through mobile or service center?

I’ve found mobile to be a pain in the butt when it comes to them covering warranty items. I had a tail light that was full of condensation. He tried three times to get me to just pay for a new one because “they never fail like this” I said no all three times and I’m the end it was a warranty item.

if it’s an actual service center location (mobile is separate) do you have another location close to you to you can try.

 

[Tress]

I scheduled through the mobile app. I will give the service center a call to see if I can get this cleared up.

 

[Tam]

Hate to say this - but go read your warranty document and see what's listed. Might save yourself $200

Other companies do specify specifically how they cover 12V battery such as Lexus (free replacement for the new car up to 24 months).

As @Tress said, 12V battery is not mentioned in the Tesla warranty.

It is not under the coverage nor is it under the exclusion.

Because of its absence in the contract, we are at Tesla's mercy to cover it or not.

In the past, Tesla did cover many things for early birds but Tesla has been cracking down lately and refusing coverage if they are not specifically mentioned in the coverage.

 

[Kamm145]

Hi Tress, I actually had Tesla Mobile Service at my house today to replace my 12V battery. I purchased a 2015 S70D in September 2018 as a CPO. It was free of charge. The invoice said, "Pay Type: Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty". It was an easy process. I'm not sure why they are giving you the run-around.

There is probably one person who you are interacting with that is uninformed. The trick is to find out how to overcome that individual. Good luck. You will probably succeed.

 

[Tam]

...I purchased a 2015 S70D in September 2018 as a CPO. It was free of charge. The invoice said, "Pay Type: Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty". It was an easy process. I'm not sure why they are giving you the run-around...

That's how Tesla works: Some get the service for free, some have to pay for the very same scenario. It's the inconsistency that we can expect.

 

[themacs]

Mine was replaced in my driveway under warrantee. Yours should be also !

 

[dannycamps]

Because of its absence in the contract, we are at Tesla's mercy to cover it or not.

Not exactly. Typically ambiguity in a contract favors the customer. Unless the warranty explicitly states the battery is excluded, a reasonable person could deduce that it is included.

 

[Tress]

Appointment is Tomorrow. Will let you know how it goes

 

[croman]

Not exactly. Typically ambiguity in a contract favors the customer. Unless the warranty explicitly states the battery is excluded, a reasonable person could deduce that it is included.

This.

 

[Tress]

The Mobile Tech was great. Prior to starting the work, I asked if they 12v battery replacement should be covered by the warranty. He quickly pulled the car details up on his laptop and he indicated that it would be covered. He said that many times the centralized team flags charges as bill to customer but he would correct the invoice.

The actual service took approximately 30 minutes. After he pulled the battery, he noted my 12v battery was only 2 years old and probably failed prematurely because the wrong battery profile / configuration was set on the car. Apparently the car was setup with the "old" configuration but my car in fact had the "new" style of 12v battery. Any time the 12v battery is replaced the Tech is suppose to verify the configuration, but that was likely missed during the last replacement.

Overall, a great experience with the mobile tech, but a frustrating experience with the Mobile App team. Thank you all for the input!

 

[SignatureS]

Yea they replaced my battery today and charged me for it. (Under 50k mi) They said it's a normal wear item. I'm fighting it.. They didn't do this to my last Tesla purchase. They seem to have turned their back on their own pre owned warranty program. It's buyer beware with the service departments. I've had too many incidents where they have told me something that wasn't true, I caught it, and saved myself THOUSANDS of dollars. Be careful out there.

 

[TespaceX]

Trying to get my charges reversed for 12V replacement but the local SC service manager where I got service through is keep on denying warranty coverage.
I hate that things are inconsistent with Tesla. Some people get the benefit and some don’t without any rhyme or reason.