Model S Battery Failure - Achilles Heel

[markjayhawk]

My 2017 Model S 100D with 40,000 miles suddenly started flashing warnings last week and had towed to Tesla Service Center. Diagnosis was battery failure due to water seepage under a fuse cover which Tesla attributes to an impact to this fuse cover which cracked the plastic below. While there are some minor scrapes near this cover there is no damage to this thin cover itself. Given all the past discussion on the ballistic plate that protects this battery, could Tesla have possibly left an exposed Achilles heel with only this thin cover on top of plastic as the only thing preventing catastrophic damage to a $25K battery.

Further, the Service Center had never seen this issue before and I can find no other reports of this failure. Tesla says it’s “collision damage“ that broke a piece of plastic which destroyed my battery. My insurer will cover, but is calling an “at fault” accident due to me not avoiding whatever caused the plastic to break even though there is no visible damage to the cover itself. I have no recollection of hitting anything! Has anyone ever heard of this issue before?

 

[DerbyDave]

Make sure your insurance company knows you think this is a defective part, and not the result of a collision without any evidence of a collision -- and that you will help them in any way possible to recover the money paid on the claim.

 

[BigNick]

This cover used to be on top of the battery but was changed in 2015: Pics/Info: Inside the battery pack
Makes replacing the fuse far easier, but Tesla should have made the cover more robust when relocating it. Roads are full of all kinds of debris and crap.

 

[airborne spoon]

If you hit something on the road like a moving rock or something its a comprehensive claim. Source: I hit a grapefruit sized rock on the road and popped 2 tires and destroyed 1 rim, $3k damage i didn't pay a penny because it was comprehensive, also USAA is the best.

But yeah make sure your insurance knows tesla is just making excuses and if there is no proof of an accident they should be liable for the repair under the 8 year warranty. And if tesla can prove that you hit something its pretty easy to claim that it was a moving object you tried to avoid but apparently didn't quite miss.

 

[Ddivinia]

Sure looks bogus to me. I don't see any impact damage from the outside.
Additionally I don't see any corrosion or other kind of debris in there. What does the top of the lid look like? If water was getting in there, I would expect there to be other tell tale signs of it.

Be careful about telling your insurance company that you think it is a factory defect. In many cases they will not pay for factory defects.

Makes me wonder if there are other instances of this hidden damage.

D.

 

[DerbyDave]

Sure looks bogus to me. I don't see any impact damage from the outside.
Additionally I don't see any corrosion or other kind of debris in there. What does the top of the lid look like? If water was getting in there, I would expect there to be other tell tale signs of it.

Be careful about telling your insurance company that you think it is a factory defect. In many cases they will not pay for factory defects.

Makes me wonder if there are other instances of this hidden damage.

D.

If it is a factory defect, Tesla will pay. The Insurance company can recover their money if they chose to fight Tesla based on the evidence, if they decide to do that. Tesla made the determination it was caused by road debris -- not the insurance customer. It is like if you fall in your friend's house. The insurance company pays the bill, and then they can sue your friend. You don't need to -- you only need to help the insurance company if they decide to pursue legal action.

 

[Ddivinia]

If it is a factory defect, Tesla will pay. The Insurance company can recover their money if they chose to fight Tesla based on the evidence, if they decide to do that. Tesla made the determination it was caused by road debris -- not the insurance customer. It is like if you fall in your friend's house. The insurance company pays the bill, and then they can sue your friend. You don't need to -- you only need to help the insurance company if they decide to pursue legal action.

Tesla has already said it is not a factory defect - it is collision damage.

You open yourself up to some liability (paying for the battery yourself).

If the insurance company wants to pursue - let them do so.

D.

 

[DerbyDave]

The insurance company has accepted liability, and that was based on Tesla's professional examination. Whatever the insurance client says will not change that determination, as the client has no expertise. The insurance company likes honesty, and they like having the correct party pay for any damages. You subrogate the claim to the insurance company at this point. It is their decision. The insurance client will not be held responsible.

 

[BigNick]

If you hit something on the road like a moving rock or something its a comprehensive claim. Source: I hit a grapefruit sized rock on the road and popped 2 tires and destroyed 1 rim, $3k damage i didn't pay a penny because it was comprehensive, also USAA is the best.

But yeah make sure your insurance knows tesla is just making excuses and if there is no proof of an accident they should be liable for the repair under the 8 year warranty. And if tesla can prove that you hit something its pretty easy to claim that it was a moving object you tried to avoid but apparently didn't quite miss.

Zero-deductible comprehensive?

 

[airborne spoon]

Zero-deductible comprehensive?

Hell yeah the price difference for $0 vs $1000 is 3 bucks a month, also if I ever need a windshield replaced its free, because most of those tend to cost just below an average persons deductible. I have $500 on collision because oddly enough it was cheaper to have $500 that it was for $1000, very odd I know but I'll take it.