My M3 died while driving it and Tesla does not have a 12V in stock to fix it

[Rizzod206]

I've had my M3 performance for about 3 years. About a week ago I was driving, I had battery available and it just stopped working. I lost all electrical, all lights, even breaks! I was luckily able to narrowly avoid and accident and gently slow it down to a stop along a curb. Then it had no hazards and people narrowly missed hitting it at night for a few hours while Tesla service came to tow it. The 12 volt died according to the service person, they towed the vehicle to my house where it sits and won't work any longer. I immediately scheduled service to fix this as it's under warranty- but they have no 12 volts! So when I asked the service center when they'd get them in, they said they didn't know. They scheduled me a service appointment which would require me to drive my car in (doesn't work) and they confirmed that they won't have a 12 volt for the appointment. I tried several times to explain to the woman why this doesn't make sense she said "I am sure they'll figure something out by your appointment" but... they don't have 12 volts and they need a 12 volt AND I CANT DRIVE IT there to the appointment (in two weeks btw) because it doesn't work. They have no loaner car and said there was nothing they could do between now and the appointment.

Has anyone ever experienced this? Since only Tesla sells the 12 volt am I at the mercy of when it comes in stock? They also said if I attempted to install one myself it would void the warranty. I am pulling my hair out over not having a car for weeks! What am I supposed to do?

 

[jjrandorin]

There is quite a bit of information here about the 12V on a model 3. here is a thread you can review, for your options:

Model 3 12v Battery issues, monitoring, Aftermarket replacement

Okay, went to the Hankook battery site, and EFB is Enhanced Flooded Battery, which gives 3x the life of regular MF, Maintenance Free, batteries. The Atlas battery is the one I underlined. Note, it's a MF, maintenance free, not an AGM. Also, note the that the 3 batteries marked as "for Tesla"...

teslamotorsclub.com

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(moderator note: Thread title edited to closer reflect what you are describing)

 

[Perscitus]

Ask the local TX SC to to try and source an OE 12V from the East coast, New England region. Plenty of 12Vs in stock.
Alternatively have them check the PNW region distribution center for the same.

The regional parts distribution center that services TX must have run out and the SC is too lazy to look beyond.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

I've had my M3 performance for about 3 years. About a week ago I was driving, I had battery available and it just stopped working. I lost all electrical, all lights, even breaks! I was luckily able to narrowly avoid and accident and gently slow it down to a stop along a curb. Then it had no hazards and people narrowly missed hitting it at night for a few hours while Tesla service came to tow it. The 12 volt died according to the service person, they towed the vehicle to my house where it sits and won't work any longer. I immediately scheduled service to fix this as it's under warranty- but they have no 12 volts! So when I asked the service center when they'd get them in, they said they didn't know. They scheduled me a service appointment which would require me to drive my car in (doesn't work) and they confirmed that they won't have a 12 volt for the appointment. I tried several times to explain to the woman why this doesn't make sense she said "I am sure they'll figure something out by your appointment" but... they don't have 12 volts and they need a 12 volt AND I CANT DRIVE IT there to the appointment (in two weeks btw) because it doesn't work. They have no loaner car and said there was nothing they could do between now and the appointment.

Has anyone ever experienced this? Since only Tesla sells the 12 volt am I at the mercy of when it comes in stock? They also said if I attempted to install one myself it would void the warranty. I am pulling my hair out over not having a car for weeks! What am I supposed to do?

I think the pandemic is totally messing with 12V battery supplies (lots of dead batteries from people never driving, supply chain issues, etc.). Just my opinion. I couldn't get an OEM battery replacement for my Highlander and had to hack in an appropriate replacement, which was slightly cheaper than the OEM AGM, but didn't fit quite right. Painful.

There's nothing TOO special about the Tesla battery. It's quite possible that getting an AGM or other aftermarket type battery might not work quite right with what Tesla's charging circuit is expecting (might shorten life of battery), but it will still basically work and you need to get driving.

What I would do in this situation: Look for a 51R battery at a local auto parts store, and I would not get AGM if I could avoid it to keep cost down. Put it in. And then get Tesla to order an ($85) replacement battery for me and let me know when it's in. It's covered by warranty. Interesting that they say that replacing the battery would void the warranty (seems very dubious unless it damages the car, which I don't think it will - are all the Ohmmu people voiding their warranties?).

You'll be stuck with the generic 51R battery cost ($100-$200?), but maybe you can sell it used and get half the cost back (with a recent receipt and explanation you might get more)? Or you can donate it to another Tesla owner who needs a battery but can't get one, lol.

 

[Tam]

...they towed the vehicle to my house...

When my 12V died, the Tesla Road Assistance called a tow for my car to the nearest Service Center.

It doesn't make sense to break the protocol to tow your car to your house.

It's possible that they have a new procedure that since there's no battery, they don't want your car sitting idle in their Service Center.

...They scheduled me a service appointment which would require me to drive my car in (doesn't work) and they confirmed that they won't have a 12 volt for the appointment...

I have a mobile service option and Tesla would come to my house instead. Do you?
I guess, when it's time for you to drive to your appointment, you'll just have to call Tesla Road Assistance to tow your car to the appointment. Make sure you call a few hours in advance because it takes time to get a tow.

...They also said if I attempted to install one myself it would void the warranty...

I think they said in general terms. More specifically, it should be "If you installed your own battery, our own brand Tesla 12 Volt battery warranty is voided and any tow associated with your self-installed battery is on your dime."

I guess, if you need your car now, you can self-install a non-Tesla battery and use it until the appointment. When it's time for your appointment, just swap it out and call a tow for the dead battery.

 

[henh2o]

Call tesla road service again and tow to service center. Then ask for a loaner or uber credits from them since its under their care now.

 

[Kevy Baby]

Buy a new Tesla: there should be one in there.

 

[rrolsbe]

I've had my M3 performance for about 3 years. About a week ago I was driving, I had battery available and it just stopped working. I lost all electrical, all lights, even breaks! I was luckily able to narrowly avoid and accident and gently slow it down to a stop along a curb. Then it had no hazards and people narrowly missed hitting it at night for a few hours while Tesla service came to tow it. The 12 volt died according to the service person, they towed the vehicle to my house where it sits and won't work any longer. I immediately scheduled service to fix this as it's under warranty- but they have no 12 volts! So when I asked the service center when they'd get them in, they said they didn't know. They scheduled me a service appointment which would require me to drive my car in (doesn't work) and they confirmed that they won't have a 12 volt for the appointment. I tried several times to explain to the woman why this doesn't make sense she said "I am sure they'll figure something out by your appointment" but... they don't have 12 volts and they need a 12 volt AND I CANT DRIVE IT there to the appointment (in two weeks btw) because it doesn't work. They have no loaner car and said there was nothing they could do between now and the appointment.

Has anyone ever experienced this? Since only Tesla sells the 12 volt am I at the mercy of when it comes in stock? They also said if I attempted to install one myself it would void the warranty. I am pulling my hair out ovr er not having a car for weeks! What am I supposed to do?

If I understand your post correctly, the car died while you where driving it? If the contactors are closed and the DC-to-DC converter is working properly, the car should not stop working while driving. If the 12V battery is shorted or something keeps the DC-to-DC converter from maintaining proper voltage to the cars 12V components, the car could stop functioning. I tested this by removing the 12V cable from the negative post on my M3 in the awake state (ie.. contactors closed) and everything worked normally (except for an error message on the center screen indicating the 12V was disconnected).

 

[Radish11]

How does only Tesla have a 12V? Doesn’t like every car have a 12V battery

 

[jjrandorin]

The OP of this thread joined TMC on Jun 14th, made this 1 post on june 14th, and has not been back here since June 15th. The original thread title was pretty "sensationalist" and I changed it to what it is now, which is a description of what their issue was from their 1 post.

Maybe its just me, but I am not a fan of "drive by posting" where someone joins, makes one post and makes it fairly sensationalist, then disappears never to be seen again.

 

[Resist]

I lost all electrical, all lights, even breaks!

You didn't lose your brakes. You just lost that power brake feeling.