Model 3 12v Battery issues, monitoring, Aftermarket replacement

[dfwatt]

Funny you should ask...

This morning, I got the dreaded messages that my 12V was having issues. I tried to get a service visit from the truck to replace but the soonest appointment was Saturday. From all I have read here, I knew to get it taken care of immediately.

I drove my car to the Irvine Service Center which is 2 miles from my office (which in the city of Irvine means a 15 minute drive because of the ridiculously long signals). I would have just purchased and put in myself (somehow) but they said they could do it there and threw me some Uber credit.

I should note that I was 149 miles out of warranty (50,149 miles) but they fudged it and got it covered BUT the quote I remember (before they adjusted) was $126 and change.

I've had my car for 32 months and as mentioned, right at 50K miles. I have heard many people whose batteries failed around the same timeframe (even with fewer miles). And from what I have read from many on here, once it gives you the warning, you need to replace immediately (like, tomorrow is too late). Thankfully I live and work in an urban area with easy access to a replacement, but if I were more remote, I would consider other options.

If you have a trickle charger there isn't really nearly that degree of urgency as long as you're not taking long trips. We lasted 3 weeks with the dreaded battery error by doing trickle-charging at night. Once the system detects that the battery is not behaving normally under charging conditions it stops trying to do any supply to the battery from the high-voltage pack. This of course means that the battery runs down quickly. Since doing a system reset and installing the updated ohmmu lithium iron phosphate battery we've had no issues.

 

[dfwatt]

Is there a similar size I can get at Advanced, or ORiley auto? I am about to hit 4 years and my OEM is doing fine. But it sounds like I am on borrowed time

It's unclear without doing a deep dive on your batteries chemistry and degree of sulfation. The problem is that the 12 volt sub system allows some deep cycling which lead acid batteries don't like much. Very few battery chemistries are not degraded by deep cycles but lead acid is among the worst so depending on how many deep cycles your battery has been through you could be anywhere from close to the end to having another year or two.

 

[Flybyglass]

I had 2 years on my AtlasBX battery. Made an appointment for something unrelated and service said there were messages on the battery (I hadn't seen any) and they proactively replaced it under warranty.