Tesla should definitely point where the warranty excludes PCS. I also had PCS failure and Tesla replaced under warranty and it makes sense to me as it's equivalent to part of fuel management/fill system on ICE cars which is covered under warranty at least for Mercedes.
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Power Conversion System (PCS) failure
- Thread starter Concestor0
- Start date
Tesla should definitely point where the warranty excludes PCS. I also had PCS failure and Tesla replaced under warranty and it makes sense to me as it's equivalent to part of fuel management/fill system on ICE cars which is covered under warranty at least for Mercedes.
Was your PCS replaced under the bumper-to-bumper warranty, or the battery warranty?
They don't cover the equivalent parts on the Model S under the battery warranty, but they aren't inside the pack. Unless new battery packs come without a PCS and they move your PCS from a failed pack to a new pack I think it would be really hard to support that the PCS isn't covered as part of the battery warranty.
Vol16
Member
Update: Good news, after receiving an invoice estimate this morning of $1,800 to replace the PCS I called them and asked a few questions about battery replacement and if the PCS is replaced with the battery, what’s exactly covered in the battery and drive unit warranty, etc. I also asked about the used vehicle warranty which is additional coverage for 10k miles/ 1 year after the 4yr/50k mile warranty expires. Since I purchased this car in February of this year and it has 56k miles I should be covered under this warranty. The service advisor I spoke to took my questions down and said he would discuss with the sales and the service manager. After a few hours he called back and said they would replace the PCS under warranty. I am very pleased but did not push why they came to that decision, I assume it was the additional 1yr/10k mile warranty that they did not seem to know about, as they tried to get me to approve the $1,800 invoice this morning under customer pay. I’m having a Bourbon now to celebrate avoiding a huge bill.
Was that the used car warranty back in February? I thought back then it was a 4-year/50k mile warranty from when you purchased it... (But it is hard to keep track of all of the changes that Tesla makes.)
But I'm glad that they did the right thing for you and covering under warranty.
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
Great news, if the car has an active used car warranty of course they should replace it, and they should be telling YOU this instead of the other way around.
Vol16
Member
Not sure to be honest, but the website today states used cars get an additional 1yr/10k after the 4yr/50 expires.
My 2018 model 3 LR also had the reduction in charging at home, it has 63k miles so they also quoted me $1800 to replace the PCS. When the SA called to tell me the cost, I also asked about the battery warranty and she said that it was not covered under the battery warranty, I said go ahead and do the work, but I would like the old part given back to me. She asked why and I said because you are making me pay for a new one. She said she would have to get back to me, toward the end of the day she called me back and said when they dropped the pack to replace the PCS they found moisture in the pack and would have to replace the pack and the PCS would now be covered under warranty.... It has been with them since Dec 30th, still waiting for the pack....
I am almost sure changing out the PCS does not require dropping the battery pack, it is accessible by removing the penthouse cover located under the back seat. They probably found water or moisture when they removed that cover. I always ask for the old parts when anyone repairs my vehicles. Asking for the parts sometimes makes it covered by warranty instead of out of pocket.
Just wanted to share my experience. My 2018 LR RWD has this problem with the PCS. Initially the Tesla SC said they would replace the PCS under the HV Battery Warranty. Unfortunately a day before my service appointment I received an updated estimate and it reflected customer pay. The SC called me and said the original estimate being covered under HV Battery warranty was an error. I had to cancel my service appointment as I’m not in a position to pay almost $2k at this time.
Update, my AC charger failed and would not charge past 32A. The error I had was "Bad grid power". Tesla replaced the PCS board in warranty Aug 2021 along with the 12V battery. I got this error when attempting to charge using a Tesla Gen 2 Wall Connector. I tried to charge at two additional locations, capable of charging above 32A, got the same error message.
I'm unfortunately having the exact same issue with my early M3 (56k miles). Given it's out of warranty the service center has quickly diagnosed it as a failing PCS. Here I am stuck with a $1800 estimate. Tried to claim battery warranty, but they were adamant this isn't covered.
Would love any tips that folks have had to successfully get it covered under warranty or "goodwill". Given my searches, this seems like a very common issue and I just wish I had followed up when I first saw the charging drop below 40A. I've seen the issue for months (likely before warranty expired) and just recently called in when it dropped to 16A.
Note, Tesla super charging still works, but assuming that's because it's using a different circuit on the PCS board.
Would love any tips that folks have had to successfully get it covered under warranty or "goodwill". Given my searches, this seems like a very common issue and I just wish I had followed up when I first saw the charging drop below 40A. I've seen the issue for months (likely before warranty expired) and just recently called in when it dropped to 16A.
Note, Tesla super charging still works, but assuming that's because it's using a different circuit on the PCS board.
Supercharging works because it completely bypasses the on-board charger portion of the PCS. Likewise, CHAdeMO or CCS charging with an adapter would also work.
If you could provide a date when you were certain that it failed to charge above 32A within the warranty period, you might have a case to get it covered since it failed within the covered period. However, vehicle logs may not go back that far with sufficient detail to substantiate your claim.
Lostb0y
Member
Mine just failed last week. 1800$ to have mine replaced 4K out of the full warranty. We have decided to sell our Tesla. We don’t want to pay thousands of dollars every few years for this part to be replaced. They couldn’t tell me how or why it failed to begin with. They did provide me with an enterprise rental and that was nice but 1800$ is crazy for a car IMO.
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Update - Finally got the car back with a new PCS after about 2.5 weeks in the SC. It's a 2.5 hour job (per billed rate).
At the end, I ended up not paying for it (would have been ~$2k), although it took many calls + escalations. It was officially covered as "goodwill" and not "HV Battery Warranty" although that is what I was pushing for. I ended up having to reach out to many senior service levels including up to the regional service manager + higher to get someone with decision making ability to review my case.
A couple things helped, that I'd recommend those who are stuck with this issue aim for:
1) Read around on the threads, but a friend helped me find a couple examples of this specific issue being covered by the "HV Battery Warranty" on their invoice. This was a huge helped as I had to point them to it.
2) Ask for the to be replaced PCS part back. If you end up paying for the service, this is your right and I believe it did have an impact on their desire to cover the charge. My sense is if there really is a design flaw this could help you in the future and they likely don't want these defective parts flying around for legal liability. If you end up paying for it, filing a complaint with NHTSA may help if they get many of the same issues. I'd even recommend referring to the bulletin below.
3) Check if your M3 falls into this Service bulletin for this same exact issue: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2018/MC-10148850-9999.pdf
Finally, at the end the regional service manager really did want to help out. I made 2 requests that he follow-up with Tesla corporate with, that he said he already initiated and will keep me apprised of any change. Both of which I really thought were important for fellow Tesla owners who come across the same problem:
1) Have the service bulletin team re-look at the above SB. My sense is this is a flaw that extends beyond that VIN range, as my car (and at least 1 other friend) had the same issue with cars that were 4-5 months earlier than that window.
2) Have their legal/compliance team update the warranty agreement to specifically define the "Battery". This is EXTREMELY vague and makes it impossible for the service centers.
Good luck!
At the end, I ended up not paying for it (would have been ~$2k), although it took many calls + escalations. It was officially covered as "goodwill" and not "HV Battery Warranty" although that is what I was pushing for. I ended up having to reach out to many senior service levels including up to the regional service manager + higher to get someone with decision making ability to review my case.
A couple things helped, that I'd recommend those who are stuck with this issue aim for:
1) Read around on the threads, but a friend helped me find a couple examples of this specific issue being covered by the "HV Battery Warranty" on their invoice. This was a huge helped as I had to point them to it.
2) Ask for the to be replaced PCS part back. If you end up paying for the service, this is your right and I believe it did have an impact on their desire to cover the charge. My sense is if there really is a design flaw this could help you in the future and they likely don't want these defective parts flying around for legal liability. If you end up paying for it, filing a complaint with NHTSA may help if they get many of the same issues. I'd even recommend referring to the bulletin below.
3) Check if your M3 falls into this Service bulletin for this same exact issue: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2018/MC-10148850-9999.pdf
Finally, at the end the regional service manager really did want to help out. I made 2 requests that he follow-up with Tesla corporate with, that he said he already initiated and will keep me apprised of any change. Both of which I really thought were important for fellow Tesla owners who come across the same problem:
1) Have the service bulletin team re-look at the above SB. My sense is this is a flaw that extends beyond that VIN range, as my car (and at least 1 other friend) had the same issue with cars that were 4-5 months earlier than that window.
2) Have their legal/compliance team update the warranty agreement to specifically define the "Battery". This is EXTREMELY vague and makes it impossible for the service centers.
Good luck!
My M3 was built in June 2018 so the Service Bulletin referred to in post #36 below should have been applicable. I was not aware of this until today and Tesla made no mention of it at anytime during the debug and repair process!
Yanquetino
Member
Damn! My Model 3 experienced this same problem. My HPWC has charged it at 40A for years, yet lately the car won't accept more than 32A. I tried using a different HPWC with 48A, and experienced the same 32A limit. So… I set an appointment, drove two hours to take the car to the nearest service center in Las Vegas, and they just sent me a message via the app. Yup, it needs a "Power Conversion System" costing $1,738! I've got 53,924 miles on the odometer, and I can't believe whatever is in the penthouse is NOT covered as an essential part of the battery under warranty. What good is a battery if its charging hardware doesn't work? Can't believe this. Under four years with this Model 3 and it needs that size of a repair, NOT covered under warranty? And here I thought maintenance and repairs for EVs were so minimal. What a fiasco!
Ouch. I completely feel your pain. Look at my post a few messages up for tips. If you car is in the scope of the service bulletin, that's likely the easiest path to a free replacement.
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