Power Surge at Supercharger actually 'jerked' my car- Scary!

[RachH]

Hello all!

I was at the Manhattan Beach Supercharger the other day. I was near the end of my charging when my car actually jerked- like someone had bumped me. I was with a friend and we looked around and there was no reason for the car to have moved. Then my body felt tingly- like when you get shocked by someone and you have the after affects.

I was really freaked out. I unplugged my car and called support. Then the support guy REALLY freaked me out even more. He asked if the car lurched forward and I said yes and he said he thought there may have been an 'explosion' in the main battery but then he back peddled a bit but said to go directly to the service center. He said that it was for sure the battery that got hit with a surge but that my car was showing normal for now. When I asked if I should still go he didn't hesitate and to definitely go to the service center immediately.

When I got there, they all looked at me like I was crazy. They said they have never heard of anything like that happening. While we were still outside, about 3 different people were talking to me about the incident. I was told that if it was from the supercharger then it wasn't covered under my Tesla warranty because it wasn't the car- it was the supercharger.

This really baffled me. It was a TESLA SUPERCHARGER so why wouldn't Tesla be responsible if something had happened?!?

They also said that if I would've gotten a big enough surge to move my car then it would have severely shocked me and I would have been in the hospital. That didn't make me feel very good to say the least.

They checked out my car and sure enough- I got a major surge at the supercharger but my car regulated the surge so it didn't do any damage and/or kill me- thank goodness. They said it came from the supercharger and not from my car itself.

I could tell that they may have thought I had exaggerated a bit so I sent my friend up there who was in the car with me and felt the car move. He has an X and was there at the same time charging. He is getting his car looked at as well to make sure it didn't happen to his car too.

AND I have a manager from a different service center who I have been in contact with about a different issue. He too had never heard of this happening and is going to do some investigation about all of it. When I hear back, I will post it here in this thread.

Has anyone else had this happen?

 

[eli_]

There's a known issue where you'll get this bang sound from the battery and you can even feel it through the floor, sort of like big metal sheet expanding. Maybe that was it? It's kind of surprising/shocking, but it's not a safety issue, it's just caused by a difference in air pressure equalizing between the outside and inside of the battery pack. It happens when the battery heats up during supercharging or driving in cold weather in the mountains.

 

[acarney]

I wouldn’t think there would be any risk to you, other than fire, but I wouldn’t expect the car to just burst into a fireball or anything. I would think it would basically be the same as being hit with lightning when in a car.

 

[acarney]

There's a known issue where you'll get this bang sound from the battery and you can even feel it through the floor, sort of like big metal sheet expanding. Maybe that was it? It's kind of surprising/shocking, but it's not a safety issue, it's just caused by a difference in air pressure equalizing between the outside and inside of the battery pack. It happens when the battery heats up during supercharging or driving in cold weather in the mountains.

Yep, and it can be very loud at times. It was so loud for me that I actually got out of the car and walked about twenty feet away for a few minutes while monitoring the app/charge.

 

[RachH]

Yep, and it can be very loud at times. It was so loud for me that I actually got out of the car and walked about twenty feet away for a few minutes while monitoring the app/charge.

I'm aware of that issue however THIS was not that. I've experienced that before but it was not the same.

The service center confirmed that there was a large surge at that time. And when I talked to the guy from support over the phone, he asked if my car actually lurched forward and it did. This was in no way normal AT ALL. That's why I posted about it.

And the fact that Tesla said it was not covered by warranty if something was damaged during supercharging because of the Tesla supercharger.

 

[justsomeguy]

Did you happen to save the camera footage?

 

[jerseygirl18]

WOW! sorry for your scary experience...let's hope it never happens again!! And thanks for sharing the event with us.

 

[Candleflame]

the cabin should still be a faraday cage so surely a shock to the body isn't possible? I think it is more likely that the metal from the battery cover expanded suddenly outward as written above.

 

[palmer_md]

There have been several earthquakes around 2+ that you may have felt if you were sitting still in a non running vehicle.

 

[eye.surgeon]

I vote for earthquake. Multiple people experiencing a jolt in California is far more likely to be a tremor. I had two shake me here in California this year.

 

[Rocky_H]

There's a known issue where you'll get this bang sound from the battery and you can even feel it through the floor, sort of like big metal sheet expanding. Maybe that was it?

I think it is more likely that the metal from the battery cover expanded suddenly outward as written above.

There have been several earthquakes around 2+ that you may have felt if you were sitting still in a non running vehicle.

I vote for earthquake.

Come on, people! Sure, I was thinking battery cover through the first paragraph or two, but when support on the phone who checked his car's logs remotely, and then service technicians checking his car directly, confirmed it was a power surge, why are you all insisting on not comprehending that?

They checked out my car and sure enough- I got a major surge at the supercharger but my car regulated the surge so it didn't do any damage and/or kill me- thank goodness. They said it came from the supercharger and not from my car itself.

It's right there in the initial post.

the cabin should still be a faraday cage so surely a shock to the body isn't possible?

Yes, that would be a protection against direct conduction, but large electrical events still create electric and magnetic fields around them, so you can still feel a fuzzy or tingling static electric kind of feeling from being near them.

 

[DirtyT3sla]

OP said the service center confirmed it was a power surge so I don't know why anyone is trying to come up with a different explanation...I'm interested in how this develops.

 

[eye.surgeon]

OP said the service center confirmed it was a power surge so I don't know why anyone is trying to come up with a different explanation...I'm interested in how this develops.

I think it's because it seems very implausible that a power surge would cause the vehicle to move. It's pretty easy to call Tesla and speak to someone who doesn't know what they're talking about. Many owners here know more than even high level Tesla techs let alone the call center employees. There's a reason the service center techs looked at the OP like he was crazy and that they had never heard of this happening. Because it is crazy and it probably has never happened. But you know what happens every single day in the state of California? Tremors that move cars.

 

[Rocky_H]

I think it's because it seems very implausible that a power surge would cause the vehicle to move. It's pretty easy to call Tesla and speak to someone who doesn't know what they're talking about. Many owners here know more than even high level Tesla techs let alone the call center employees. There's a reason the service center techs looked at the OP like he was crazy and that they had never heard of this happening. Because it is crazy and it probably has never happened. But you know what happens every single day in the state of California? Tremors that move cars.

Apples and oranges. Techs and call center employees spouting off their opinions about what they think something might be? Sure--you get nonsense often. But this is two different sources who are looking at the car's logs and seeing that the car did report a power surge.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Maybe everyone is right. Earthquake could have triggered a surge.

 

[eye.surgeon]

Apples and oranges. Techs and call center employees spouting off their opinions about what they think something might be? Sure--you get nonsense often. But this is two different sources who are looking at the car's logs and seeing that the car did report a power surge.

Correlation does not determine causation.

 

[RachH]

Come on, people! Sure, I was thinking battery cover through the first paragraph or two, but when support on the phone who checked his car's logs remotely, and then service technicians checking his car directly, confirmed it was a power surge, why are you all insisting on not comprehending that?


It's right there in the initial post.


Yes, that would be a protection against direct conduction, but large electrical events still create electric and magnetic fields around them, so you can still feel a fuzzy or tingling static electric kind of feeling from being near them.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

People on here are guessing and second guessing when Tesla CONFIRMED it was a large surge which showed in my log. Omg....all of these people saying it is this or that when I wrote exactly what it was. Ugh!!!!!

I wrote this post to show people that yes indeed this can happen and to see if anyone else had ever experienced it. Geez. I really wonder if people actually fully read a post before commenting and giving their 'opinion'.

 

[RachH]

Ok everyone.....first of all, I am a her not a he but don't hold that against me ;-) I had a friend sitting in my car with me who has an X and whose car was charging a few cars down from mine. He can confirm that my car actually MOVED- like someone bumped me from behind. It wasn't a huge, throw yourself out of your seat bump but we definitely felt it move. It baffled both of us.

He is actually taking his X in to get looked at- as I said before. I'll let you know if it was his car as well or just my lucky car. Her name is Christine so there is that.

And no there was NO EARTHQUAKE reported.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY- my car log showed a large surge and I was asked by the support guy on the phone specifically if my car had bumped FORWARD or not- and it did. So maybe he had heard of this and/or knew something I didn't regarding the battery and a surge? He didn't say for sure. He just said to definitely go to the service center to have them check it. Like now- not later.

AND it was CONFIRMED by my car's log. Let me say that again for those who need to hear it again- MY CAR LOGS CONFIRMED THERE WAS A LARGE SURGE AT THE TIME I SAID IT HAPPENED.

And as Rocky said above and the service center confirmed, the fact that I felt it is completely possible. And that is why I got nervous. I FELT IT!

Hopefully that is VERY clear this time.

 

[Rocky_H]

A power surge causing a feeling of a jolt forward wouldn't surprise me in an electric motor vehicle. If it got to the inverter that runs the motor, it could have put a pulse on the stator, causing a burst of magnetic field that gave a momentary twitch of forward rotation on the motor. The surge itself should be rare, but that seems like a reasonable symptom.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Her name is Christine so there is that.

Damn this is solved! Everybody knows a crazy biiiitch named Christine. BuckCherry even wrote a song about her. Even the movie Christine was crazy. That's like naming your car Cujo! What were you thinking?