I have 2013s that runs very well and since it is no longer under warranty I'm trying to gather some info on what I might expect to happen. It seems I read a lot about sudden failure (car performing well showing 50 to 100 miles of charge) completely and unexpectedly stopping. Curious how often the Model S has a gradual decline vs total failure. I realize this question is difficult to answer but hoping for a general feel of the members. My car new charged to 208 miles and now a full charge brings me 196 miles. I have 109k miles and I'm also wondering what you think is the high side (in mileage) of and original battery pack that has been very seldom supercharged.
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HV battery on older S gradual loss or unexpected failure
- Thread starter DB13S60
- Start date
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
Most cars will experience a gradual decline up until the point of sudden failure. 
It’s not either-or.
It’s not either-or.
Unless you have an MS 60 the battery should still be under warranty.
The % degradation you are indicating is entirely normal for the age of the vehicle.
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
Why do you say that? A 2013 is more than 8 years old so it would be out of warranty.
Yes it is a 60 and I get that it is not an either/or situation. With mine dropping only 12 miles of range in over 8 years I feel that's very acceptable. Along with the fact that it has almost never been supercharged. First appearance is the she is in great shape. But is she really? Do owners of cars near this age see 150-200 miles on the original HV battery?
You have lost 6% which is pretty good. I have a 70 that is younger with same mileage and I lost 8% which is pretty average.
It is unusual to see people with significantly >10% loss - not unheard of but not normal. So you are probably on the good side of the bell curve but not some amazing battery either.
Failures seem relatively independent of degradation. Yes, you could die tomorrow on the side of the road. Yes, your risk is higher every day. Is that an unacceptable risk? Hard to say. It is probably near 5% per year by my best guess. Some failures will give warnings. I haven't figured out the percentage either way - like are 50% of failures - dead on side of road?
It is worth noting that 60s are stressed batteries. WK057 will not offer a service plan for them. So be careful extrapolating things your hear from other Teslas that are not 60s.
It is unusual to see people with significantly >10% loss - not unheard of but not normal. So you are probably on the good side of the bell curve but not some amazing battery either.
Failures seem relatively independent of degradation. Yes, you could die tomorrow on the side of the road. Yes, your risk is higher every day. Is that an unacceptable risk? Hard to say. It is probably near 5% per year by my best guess. Some failures will give warnings. I haven't figured out the percentage either way - like are 50% of failures - dead on side of road?
It is worth noting that 60s are stressed batteries. WK057 will not offer a service plan for them. So be careful extrapolating things your hear from other Teslas that are not 60s.
Yea we're in the same boat. I think Gruber will repair a 60 and being in socal I can get it there. The actual time that buys no one knows. Love the car, upgraded to MCU2 (huge improvement). Was hoping to hear of others out there who've reached 200k on the 60 pack, so far only crickets. Best of luck to you.
glhs272
Unnamed plug faced villian
I have 200K on my 2013 S60 and it's battery is still running strong. Full charge is 188 miles. My parent's car which is a 2013 Model S P85+ had it's battery fail just recently at 86K miles. Long story short, age can be as much of a factor as miles. In the case of their battery failure, it was a power output failure. The car would charge normally, had reasonable range. But when you floored it, the battery would get weak and not put out full power. Push it enough, the BMS would get un-happy (a brick would get below 2.5volts) and shut down the car.
Hmm.. SMT just showed 4 bricks around 2.6 V in my S60 (but 64 of the 84 bricks above 3.2V). SOC around 20% and power limited by the BMS to around 160 kW. Do you know what the SOC was when your battery failed?
glhs272
Unnamed plug faced villian
It would shut down even when the state of charge was over 80%. It was a weird failure that I haven’t seen before.
Dealing with Tesla has been a frustrating experience. My car, 2013 S 85 with 52000 miles, was running fine until the rear drive unit failed. I paid $6,000 for a refurbished one and was told I needed a new battery pack because they saw warnings. They couldn’t get more than 50 miles of range when charged. The day the drive unit failed I was getting 200 miles of range. The warranty expired about a month earlier. Everything is done through their app and no service people are able to be talked to unless you walk into the service center. Plus they said there is a 3 month wait for a refurbished battery pack which is the only thing they can do. I’m in the Chicago area and need help. Any suggestions???
Stories like this are making me think hard about what to do about my 2015 Model S, which will reach the 8-year point next fall.
I realize each story is only that, one person's experience, but without hard statistics it is hard to ignore the many anecdotes of very unpleasant and costly failures of these machines. It is really a shame, because my car is young in miles (only 60K miles after 6-1/2 years) and seems to be in good shape. Quite a waste of materials and value if the car becomes uneconomical to repair and operate only because the battery/motor warranty expires. In my ICE days, I happily drove cars that were 10 or more years old with 100K or more miles, without worrying about catastrophic failures. (I never even had a brand new car in 48 years of driving, before I got my Model S.)
Electric700
Active Member
Could something have happened at the Tesla Service Center? You said that you had a full 200 miles of range when you gave it to them. This looks like something they should fix for you for free. You can also ask for a low cost Tesla main battery repair option. These third-party companies can help too:
www.recell-ev.com
www.057tech.com
www.grubermotors.com
www.electrifiedgarage.com
Off course it’s a personal dilemma what if what then!! My 2nd hand bought model S85 build 2014 but delivered in February 2015 in the Netherlands has now 240K km’s and has only a new drive unit replacement after around 80K km’s. I owned it now for 2,5 years and had a few repairs and did the EMMC chip repair on my own because crashing mcu1 and fuw weeks ago Tesla replaced under coulance my Tegra board including the upgraded EMMC chip even it was “healthy” after over the air diagnostic. I have a good relationship with my Tesla Service Center! I know experience is a personal thing but there is a difference between Tesla’s company governance and personal service. Many people are hating Tesla Service Center Amsterdam and it’s true it’s not very kindly governance there…
Long story do you have free lifetime supercharging or not that can make a big point off making a decision? Do you or did you use heavenly supercharging? That is what effects mostly the battery.
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