Don't drive my Tesla in heavy rain due to battery damage???

[Richard__G]

So there's a story or two about Tesla batteries becoming flooded & ruined in heavy rain, resulting in $17,000 to $21,000 repair bills because Tesla doesn't cover that in the warranty.

Say what?? I'm on Rochester, NY, and sometimes we get heavy rain, just like anywhere.

1. How concerned should I be about this?
2. Can the battery be sealed off better to prevent this?

I understand that driving into salt water is particularly dangerous and that a submerged Tesla (as in a flood) will very likely suffer this damage. But driving through heavy rain?

PLEASE, what's the story on this and SHOULD I take precautions and does anybody sell rubber boots for Tesla batteries?

TIA,

- Richard

 

[jjrandorin]

This reads like you just bought a Tesla (or are about to buy one), and "helpful" people in your life are sending you links about "Did you see this? Did you see that?"

If you were not worried about your previous ICE engine flooding (which is a thing) then you really shouldnt be worried about this either. Both of these things are possible, but unlikely. Dont drive through deep puddles of water, same as you shouldnt in an ICE vehicle unless you drive a lifted truck.

Step back and think about this for a minute.... with as many of these cars as has been sold, if there was some need for a "rubber boot for Tesla batteries" or some epidemic of flooded cars with people driving through rain, there would be more than a story or two, which is probably fewer stories than ICE vehicles stalling by driving through water.

 

[rlsd]

You can do this:

and this:

 

[Richard__G]

This reads like you just bought a Tesla (or are about to buy one), and "helpful" people in your life are sending you links about "Did you see this? Did you see that?"

If you were not worried about your previous ICE engine flooding (which is a thing) then you really shouldnt be worried about this either. Both of these things are possible, but unlikely. Dont drive through deep puddles of water, same as you shouldnt in an ICE vehicle unless you drive a lifted truck.

Step back and think about this for a minute.... with as many of these cars as has been sold, if there was some need for a "rubber boot for Tesla batteries" or some epidemic of flooded cars with people driving through rain, there would be more than a story or two, which is probably fewer stories than ICE vehicles stalling by driving through water.

You nailed it.

I have a model Y LR on order. I'm trading in a Toyota Venza hybrid. No problems ever. The articles intimated that newer models are being built with lower quality to compete at lower prices. So there seems to be the potential for it to be real. My sister informed me of this and my response was, "Gosh, good thing I don't live in Scotland" (which is where it happened).

The process of ordering this vehicle, getting an accurate trade in value, and taking delivery (I was initially told to go to a location 6.5 hours away and that they could not guarantee the vehicle would even be there, and the 3 day window was when my wife was scheduled for surgery. So I postponed it 2 weeks and will be picking it up in Oneida (Indian reservation territory) which is only 1.5 hours away thankfully, but also means I can't keep my custom plates for some reason, and adds another step in this process of having to get the new plates & dealing with the State in some fashion. I requested and am waiting for further clarification on that.

ALSO, the Tesla app couldn't process the photos of my Venza trade in, saying it encountered errors every time. So per the advice of support, I deleted the app, reinstalled it, and now have NO option to input pictures. I have a call in on that awaiting answers too.

I'm very sorry to whine at you, but never has buying a car been SO difficult and frustrating.

 

[jjrandorin]

You nailed it.

I have a model Y LR on order. I'm trading in a Toyota Venza hybrid. No problems ever. The articles intimated that newer models are being built with lower quality to compete at lower prices. So there seems to be the potential for it to be real. My sister informed me of this and my response was, "Gosh, good thing I don't live in Scotland" (which is where it happened).

The process of ordering this vehicle, getting an accurate trade in value, and taking delivery (I was initially told to go to a location 6.5 hours away and that they could not guarantee the vehicle would even be there, and the 3 day window was when my wife was scheduled for surgery. So I postponed it 2 weeks and will be picking it up in Oneida (Indian reservation territory) which is only 1.5 hours away thankfully, but also means I can't keep my custom plates for some reason, and adds another step in this process of having to get the new plates & dealing with the State in some fashion. I requested and am waiting for further clarification on that.

ALSO, the Tesla app couldn't process the photos of my Venza trade in, saying it encountered errors every time. So per the advice of support, I deleted the app, reinstalled it, and now have NO option to input pictures. I have a call in on that awaiting answers too.

I'm very sorry to whine at you, but never has buying a car been SO difficult and frustrating.

No, its ok, dont worry about it. I didnt mean to sound as "blunt" as I did in my first response in this thread either. I didnt intend to offend, but if I did, please accept my apologies.

EVs in general (and Tesla in particular) are really polarizing for some, with some people convinced that its all some sort of sham or plot, etc. Its a car, not a political / hippie movement, but some people wrap it all up together like it is.

Im not saying you are doing that, but your family member is far (far far) from the first "helpful" person to "share important info / did you see THIS?!" when it comes to EV stuff.

Also combine that with buying a Tesla vehicle is not the same as buying a car from any other dealer, its more like placing an order at Walmart or something. No one to really walk you through the process, employees overworked even if they are well meaning, they cant handle the volume of questions, etc (My daughter worked for Walmart for 5 years while in college and I have another family member who is a manager at one).

Anyway, for this particular question, this isnt a thing you need to worry about (although I wouldnt try to treat it like a boat like in the other links either). Perhaps I am different than some, but when there were people at my job a few years ago who were asking questions about EV that were basically "leading" questions ("Did you know about? Arent you worried its going to catch on fire? These things arent mainstream yet..." etc.... I just replied "thanks for your input" and changed the subject.

I have no desired to "convert" someone to something, nor do I have any desire to justify a car purchase to anyone other than the other decision maker in my household (my wife). Other than that, I really dont give a @$%@@$# about "I saw this video where a fireman....." or any other stuff like that people opposed to EVs try to drag out.

Anyway, good luck with your purchase. These really are good cars, even if the company is weird sometimes.

 

[OxBrew]

Every Tesla is driven through deep water as part of final QC before releasing for delivery, I read here somewhere.

Stories all over the place driving through 12 inches or more of water. Not safe, just in general, but people do it.


I've driven ours for hours in heavy downpour with the wipers on full speed, hitting bad standing water dozens of times. No issues at all. (I should have stopped and waited for the storm to pass, that's how bad it was. Trucks pulled over, no one going over 45 on the freeway. Just felt adventurous I guess.)

 

[Richard__G]

No, its ok, dont worry about it. I didnt mean to sound as "blunt" as I did in my first response in this thread either. I didnt intend to offend, but if I did, please accept my apologies.

EVs in general (and Tesla in particular) are really polarizing for some, with some people convinced that its all some sort of sham or plot, etc. Its a car, not a political / hippie movement, but some people wrap it all up together like it is.

Im not saying you are doing that, but your family member is far (far far) from the first "helpful" person to "share important info / did you see THIS?!" when it comes to EV stuff.

Also combine that with buying a Tesla vehicle is not the same as buying a car from any other dealer, its more like placing an order at Walmart or something. No one to really walk you through the process, employees overworked even if they are well meaning, they cant handle the volume of questions, etc (My daughter worked for Walmart for 5 years while in college and I have another family member who is a manager at one).

Anyway, for this particular question, this isnt a thing you need to worry about (although I wouldnt try to treat it like a boat like in the other links either). Perhaps I am different than some, but when there were people at my job a few years ago who were asking questions about EV that were basically "leading" questions ("Did you know about? Arent you worried its going to catch on fire? These things arent mainstream yet..." etc.... I just replied "thanks for your input" and changed the subject.

I have no desired to "convert" someone to something, nor do I have any desire to justify a car purchase to anyone other than the other decision maker in my household (my wife). Other than that, I really dont give a @$%@@$# about "I saw this video where a fireman....." or any other stuff like that people opposed to EVs try to drag out.

Anyway, good luck with your purchase. These really are good cars, even if the company is weird sometimes.

Shucks, no worries, I didn't find your response blunt at all. I truly value all the information provided here, there are lostsa good people on this forum, yourself included !

Thanks very much for your answers. I'm now over the scare and very excited about picking up the car and have finally abandoned all fantasies about turning it into a James Bond underwater vehicle.

All the best

- Richard

 

[Richard__G]

Every Tesla is driven through deep water as part of final QC before releasing for delivery, I read here somewhere.

Stories all over the place driving through 12 inches or more of water. Not safe, just in general, but people do it.


I've driven ours for hours in heavy downpour with the wipers on full speed, hitting bad standing water dozens of times. No issues at all. (I should have stopped and waited for the storm to pass, that's how bad it was. Trucks pulled over, no one going over 45 on the freeway. Just felt adventurous I guess.)

Thanks OxBrew (neat handle! BTW), that helped reduce my anxiety.

It's not that I subscribe to conspiracy theories, it's just that this is a very new & different process (and expensive, all told - I'm replacing an overloaded circuit box, going from a 100 to 200 amp service, to run a 65 amp line for the charger, ouch$$ ) so I'm particularly sensitive to stuff like that story at the moment.

Best!

- Richard

 

[drtimhill]

So there's a story or two about Tesla batteries becoming flooded & ruined in heavy rain, resulting in $17,000 to $21,000 repair bills because Tesla doesn't cover that in the warranty.

Say what?? I'm on Rochester, NY, and sometimes we get heavy rain, just like anywhere.

1. How concerned should I be about this?
2. Can the battery be sealed off better to prevent this?

I understand that driving into salt water is particularly dangerous and that a submerged Tesla (as in a flood) will very likely suffer this damage. But driving through heavy rain?

PLEASE, what's the story on this and SHOULD I take precautions and does anybody sell rubber boots for Tesla batteries?

TIA,

- Richard

As others have noted, don't worry. There are lots of OPINIONS out there, but very few FACTS. While you should not of course drive the car through deep water, the whole electrical system is well insulated and sealed. I live in Seattle which gets a LOT of rain, and the car has never once had any issues at all.

Remember people form opinions based on random headlines or "stuff I read someplace", but you dont read headlines like "ICE car catches fire" simply because it happens all the time and isnt "headline worthy" the way "EV catches fire" is (just because its new and different).

 

[Mike728]

... never has buying a car been SO difficult and frustrating.

Really? I've been around a long time, and buying a Tesla was by FAR the least difficult and frustrating ever. Car dealers have actually gotten worse over the past few years. Buying our Tesla was as easy as shopping on Amazon.

 

[Rocky_H]

You can kind of make a distinction between two things:
Buying a car from Tesla: Super easy
Trying to do a trade-in to Tesla who really doesn't want to deal with buying people's used cars: yeah, likely a pain in the ass.

 

[UserAnon99]

Really? I've been around a long time, and buying a Tesla was by FAR the least difficult and frustrating ever. Car dealers have actually gotten worse over the past few years. Buying our Tesla was as easy as shopping on Amazon.

For the most part. Only using the app to buy a car was not always ideal and the payment required was not intuitive. It appeared I would have to pay the entire balance before taking delivery which is insane to me. Once I finally got a sales rep on the phone he explained that you just pay the deposit and then pay the balance on delivery. But that was NOT at all clear when using the app.

Other than that, yes, one of the most painless car buying experiences I've ever had, by far.

 

[CaseyL]

So there's a story or two about Tesla batteries becoming flooded & ruined in heavy rain, resulting in $17,000 to $21,000 repair bills because Tesla doesn't cover that in the warranty.

Say what?? I'm on Rochester, NY, and sometimes we get heavy rain, just like anywhere.

1. How concerned should I be about this?
2. Can the battery be sealed off better to prevent this?

Drive in heavy rain with no worries.

After 51,000 miles of driving in all kinds of downpours, I can say that it's not an problem. I've driven in rain on I-10 so heavy that I couldn't see anything (terrifying). I've driven down soupy dirt roads with mud spashing everywhere (MYLR AWD loves it!) with no battery "issues".

Years ago, several times I drove ICE cars into heavy puddles and had them "drown out". Somehow my escapades never made the national news.

Drive the car and enjoy it. The battery is waterproof.

 

[CaseyL]

So there's a story or two about Tesla batteries becoming flooded & ruined in heavy rain, resulting in $17,000 to $21,000 repair bills because Tesla doesn't cover that in the warranty.

My favorite words of wisdom (from ICE owners) ...

What are going to do when your battery runs out while driving?

You do know that battery will have to replaced in a few years? You got an extra $20,000 saved up, right?

You do know that Teslas spontaneously catch on fire all the time, right? Your house will probably burn down.

Why would you drive a Tesla? Road trips take forever. You drive for a couple of hours, then you have to stop and charge for hours before you can head out again.

The power grid will collapse from all these EV's trying to charge at one time. Then what are going to do?


And yes, I've been asked all of these multiple times.

 

[father_of_6]

You can kind of make a distinction between two things:
Buying a car from Tesla: Super easy
Trying to do a trade-in to Tesla who really doesn't want to deal with buying people's used cars: yeah, likely a pain in the ass.

I traded in for mine, thought that was super easy too. Give them a VIN, answer a few canned / multiple choice questions, upload a handful of very specific photos of the the car (one of each exterior side plus the inside), done.

 

[father_of_6]

EVs in general (and Tesla in particular) are really polarizing for some, with some people convinced that its all some sort of sham or plot, etc. Its a car, not a political / hippie movement, but some people wrap it all up together like it is.

Im not saying you are doing that, but your family member is far (far far) from the first "helpful" person to "share important info / did you see THIS?!" when it comes to EV stuff.

So true. I've had numerous experiences like this from friends and family, and they're almost always one from @CaseyL's list.

I always just take the statements / questions as legitimate requests for information, and so I respond with my real experiences and whatever I've learned from other owners here on the forums.

With 90% of new cars sold still being ICE, the misinformation will likely be around for a while. At least until we get to 50/50 ICE vs BEV.

 

[bruce4000]

Sounds like “I was driving through heavy rain and my car/ battery died, therefore it must have been due to the rain” when it may have died from other reasons and just a coincidence. My understanding is that the battery and all the electronics & cables are sealed against water. BTW, I live in Seattle and we get our share of wet weather and have never had any kind of water issues.

 

[cwerdna]

Every Tesla is driven through deep water as part of final QC before releasing for delivery, I read here somewhere.

I've never heard this before. Source?

There have been cases of Model S having pack or drive unit problems due to water ingress:

Vendor - Preventative Maintenance regarding Battery Failures in early Model S vehicles (2012-2014)

There are some definite trends with early battery packs failing in earlier Model S vehicles... from day 1 builds up to about Q4'2014 and some even Q1'2015... and any cars that have had Tesla-refurbished packs installed. The issues are all pretty much the same thing in one form or another...

teslamotorsclub.com

Who has had rain damage the Drive Unit or Battery

Are there any other Tesla Model S or other models that have experienced damage to the drive unit or battery due to rain?

teslamotorsclub.com

There's also this reference: Drive unit replacement worth it?.

I have notifications turned on for 2014 P85d High Voltage Failure (again, Model S).

 

[OxBrew]

I've never heard this before. Source?

There have been cases of Model S having pack or drive unit problems due to water ingress:

Vendor - Preventative Maintenance regarding Battery Failures in early Model S vehicles (2012-2014)

There are some definite trends with early battery packs failing in earlier Model S vehicles... from day 1 builds up to about Q4'2014 and some even Q1'2015... and any cars that have had Tesla-refurbished packs installed. The issues are all pretty much the same thing in one form or another...

teslamotorsclub.com

Who has had rain damage the Drive Unit or Battery

Are there any other Tesla Model S or other models that have experienced damage to the drive unit or battery due to rain?

teslamotorsclub.com

There's also this reference: Drive unit replacement worth it?.

I have notifications turned on for 2014 P85d High Voltage Failure (again, Model S).

start at 1:10 for the fording test.

This is in Shanghai factory, but I saw the same tests somewhere in Fremont too.

 

[cwerdna]

start at 1:10 for the fording test.

This is in Shanghai factory, but I saw the same tests somewhere in Fremont too.

Do you know for a fact this is done for every vehicle? I doubt it, esp. for ones to be delivered to customers.

Nissan did this with Leaf when it was still in development (earlier YouTube link is dead, found someone saved a copy of that snippet of the old Ustream video at

): Ripped Undercarriage Composite from the rain? but that doesn't mean they do that to EACH car or any customer cars.

Now, I wouldn't doubt they'd test (bound for) customer cars where they're showered with lots of water, which is standard industry practice. Too bad the video I pointed to at QC Issues -- Leaking roof/rear hinge seal is dead.