Replacement Battery Model 3 long range with 22K miles.

[mvill]

I need some perspectives to help me get my mind wrapped around how Tesla handles service.

Situation:
Last week my partner ran over a deer that had been hit earlier causing the lines coolant to leak. The car drove and handled well, but gave the "Slow down" warning. We had it towed to a Tesla service center who said that the lines that feed the battery were damaged.
They say they can not fix the lines so we need to replace the entire battery assembly that is otherwise undamaged (part cost $13.5K).
Q1) Is there anyone who will replace just the coolant lines feeding the battery?
Q2) If so, does this affect the warranty?
Also, though we are paying for a replacement assembly $13.5K in full, they will not allow us to keep the "Damaged" part claiming it is "Restricted part".
Q3) Is this legal, can they really say that something I bought, I can not have? Been working on ICU vehicles 30 yrs and this has never heard anything like this.
Q4) When we do replace it, how do we make sure we get a like conditioned unit that has almost never been charged over 80% and only has 22K on it?

Thanks for your perspective.

 

[jjrandorin]

1. There are a few aftermarket places who might look at this for you.
2. If tesla does not replace it, it would impact anything battery related with warranty
3. The battery includes a core charge. The only way you would be allowed to "keep the old one" would be to do the replacement without the core charge, which is probably double what they will charge. Yes, requiring a core product return is legal, its done on all sorts of parts by all sorts of manufacturers.
4. You will not be able to ensure a replacement battery has "never been charged over 80% and only has 22k on it". You will get a battery that has at least the remaining capacity yours had at the time of replacement but there is no way to guarantee what you are asking.


On a completely different side note, I am sure some regular members wonder why it is I am usually one of the first people to respond to so many threads. The answer to that is, many times, new users threads go to a moderator only subforum before even becoming visible on the site. They sit in a queue for a mod to review and release them, as a preventative measure.

This means that, many times, at least in the subforums I moderate, I am the first person to see the thread and have to release it to be visible for everyone else. Many times when I do that, I also decide to respond to it (since I have already read it).

 

[RayK]

A5: Ask Tesla Service what the cost of a brand new battery is.

 

[3sr+buyer]

3. The battery includes a core charge. The only way you would be allowed to "keep the old one" would be to do the replacement without the core charge, which is probably double what they will charge. Yes, requiring a core product return is legal, its done on all sorts of parts by all sorts of manufacturers.

Core charges are common on parts where there is significant value in the old part for rebuilding, remanufacturing, or recycling. An EV battery pack is an example of this kind of part, but is not the only kind of part that this applies to (e.g. 12V lead-acid batteries commonly have core charges that get returned when you give back the old battery).

 

[3sr+buyer]

When we do replace it, how do we make sure we get a like conditioned unit that has almost never been charged over 80% and only has 22K on it?

Tesla has an explicit warranty policy to give a warranty replacement battery that has at least as much capacity as the replaced one before failure (i.e. you should not get one that is worse). Based on threads around these forums, it is likely that they do the same thing for batteries being replaced due to damage, probably so that they can have the same procedures and get fewer customer complaints.

 

[RayK]

Core charges are common on parts where there is significant value in the old part for rebuilding, remanufacturing, or recycling. An EV battery pack is an example of this kind of part, but is not the only kind of part that this applies to (e.g. 12V lead-acid batteries commonly have core charges that get returned when you give back the old battery).

For the Tesla's 12V battery that's not totally true. I did a proactive replacement of my nearly four year old 12V battery and paid $119.50 (parts and labor). The service tech said I could keep the old battery. IF, however, it had actually failed under warranty, they would have taken it.

 

[ElectricNerd]

There’s a member here who went through a nearly identical situation with his brand new ‘22 LR. Insurance covered the replacement if I recalled correctly.

 

[ofcorona]

Wouldn't this fall in comprehensive or even an collision claim under your insurance?

 

[ElectricNerd]

Wouldn't this fall in comprehensive or even an collision claim under your insurance?

Comprehensive.

 

[KenC]

Rich's Rebuilds. I think there's a story in the past year where they fixed a broken battery hose line.

 

[jjrandorin]

Wouldn't this fall in comprehensive or even an collision claim under your insurance?

This isnt a moderator note, and doesnt represent TMC Moderators, TMC or even "jjrandorin the moderator". The following post is simply an opinion from "jjrandorin the regular poster".

(regular members will likely also have realized that, while my signature states that every post I make that isnt specifically called out as a "moderator note" is from "jjrandorin the regular poster", when I explicitly call it out like this its generally the equivalent of saying something like "with all due respect".

In other words, I am acknowledging I might be about to say something that could be taken the wrong way if a moderator says it, and trying to ensure that its not seen as a moderator note)

===========================================================

With the above out of the way.....

I feel like we are missing some of the story here. Like:

1. Why are they "paying for the battery in full" instead of insurance, for something that would clearly be an insurance issue?

2. Is the only damage at all to the car from running over the deer, to the undercarriage? Running over a deer didnt do any other damage (is the car at a body shop for other work?)

3. Why is the OP assuming that 13.5k the price for a brand new (not remanufactured) battery, and that they would also somehow get to keep the original battery? The concept of "core charges" for parts is not a new one, yet they state they have never heard of it.

4. Since this "should" be an insurance issue, why is the OP looking for someone to repair it outside of insurance?

5. why would there be an expectation to be able to dictate "replacement battery never charged above 80%" for example? There is NO GUIDANCE from tesla that 80% is some sort of threshhold that should be observed, that is owner choice, so why would there be an expectation to be able to dictate that?

I am hoping the OP can fill in some of the rest of the details here, and isnt another "drive by" post where someone creates an account, drops a post in, and never even logs back in to see the responses to the thread they created.

==========================================

 

[3sr+buyer]

For the Tesla's 12V battery that's not totally true. I did a proactive replacement of my nearly four year old 12V battery and paid $119.50 (parts and labor). The service tech said I could keep the old battery. IF, however, it had actually failed under warranty, they would have taken it.

That's interesting, since every other 12V car battery that I bought for replacement came with a core charge that was refunded upon bringing back the old battery. Presumably, they want the lead back for recycling and to keep it out of places it should not be (like leaking into the water supply).

 

[RayK]

That's interesting, since every other 12V car battery that I bought for replacement came with a core charge that was refunded upon bringing back the old battery. Presumably, they want the lead back for recycling and to keep it out of places it should not be (like leaking into the water supply).

My assumption is that would be true if the battery was defective / dead. Mine was still good; at least it hadn't thrown any warning messages in the car. It's sitting in my garage with plans on being hooked up to a tender.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Comprehensive.

The deer was dead, so my understanding is that at that point it is just an inanimate object on the road (like a rock or a tire), so that would be covered under collision.

I don't know whether there are any exceptions or latitude on the part of insurance companies. Perhaps if the deer had just been hit and was sort of still alive? Certainly if it was flying through the air after being hit it would be covered by comprehensive (not the case here).

 

[dmurphy]

The deer was dead, so my understanding is that at that point it is just an inanimate object on the road (like a rock or a tire), so that would be covered under collision.

I don't know whether there are any exceptions or latitude on the part of insurance companies. Perhaps if the deer had just been hit and was sort of still alive? Certainly if it was flying through the air after being hit it would be covered by comprehensive (not the case here).

As I understand it, if the deer were simply lying dead in the road, it’s considered an at-~fault collision as you have a responsibility to avoid it (just like if a Boulder or log or something were in the road.)

If the deer were alive, or in motion (ie another driving hit it and flung it into you) — that would be a comprehensive claim.

Given that the damage was exclusively to the undercarriage of the car, sadly I think this falls in the collision department.

When my wife hit a deer a few years ago, the insurance adjuster told me they actually look for fur and animal “bits” embedded in the vehicle. Hers was up top on the hood and grill area, making it quite obvious it was a live-deer strike. Comprehensive claim — our rate actually dropped a small amount at the next renewal.

 

[Bouba]

I think that the OP should be more concerned about whether he gets the full eight years 120,000 miles warranty or a one year replacement part warranty

 

[mvill]

1. There are a few aftermarket places who might look at this for you.
2. If tesla does not replace it, it would impact anything battery related with warranty
3. The battery includes a core charge. The only way you would be allowed to "keep the old one" would be to do the replacement without the core charge, which is probably double what they will charge. Yes, requiring a core product return is legal, its done on all sorts of parts by all sorts of manufacturers.
4. You will not be able to ensure a replacement battery has "never been charged over 80% and only has 22k on it". You will get a battery that has at least the remaining capacity yours had at the time of replacement but there is no way to guarantee what you are asking.


On a completely different side note, I am sure some regular members wonder why it is I am usually one of the first people to respond to so many threads. The answer to that is, many times, new users threads go to a moderator only subforum before even becoming visible on the site. They sit in a queue for a mod to review and release them, as a preventative measure.

This means that, many times, at least in the subforums I moderate, I am the first person to see the thread and have to release it to be visible for everyone else. Many times when I do that, I also decide to respond to it (since I have already read it).

On the Battery "Core charge", I think this is the reason. The representative I was speaking with used the words "New Battery" and when I asked is it because the price is discounted because of a "Core charge", she said no.
I pushed the issue a bit and not get back a different response saying that we can keep that battery if we wish, but it costs $5k. They still will not use the term "Core charge" even when asked just that they would let us keep the battery for $5K.

Replacement battery. They also confirmed that it is not a "New" batter and that there is an algorithm that calculates a battery life and that it will be replaced by one that as at or above. Out Max mileage in the app is 298 miles down from the original 315 (i think?).

Should we buy the old battery for $5k? The tinkerer in me thinks about all the possibilities. The realist in my thinks it would collect dust. The pessimist in me says this would likely end in flames.... literally!

 

[mvill]

A5: Ask Tesla Service what the cost of a brand new battery is.

Good point. I will ask them and report back.

 

[MP3Mike]

I think that the OP should be more concerned about whether he gets the full eight years 120,000 miles warranty or a one year replacement part warranty

The parts warranty for a HV battery is 4 years or 50k miles which ever comes first. And from my reading of the Tesla warranty and service documents the factory 8 year/120k mile warranty is voided when the battery was damaged. (Though at least one person reported that their Tesla service person said that you maintain the factory warranty. But again, the written documentation, including the service invoice for the battery replacement says otherwise.)

 

[P3dStealth]

This is probably what you broke. For some reason Tesla replaces the whole battery if you break the hose connector in the front. If you run something over it's going to hit the front of the battery. Front of the battery is this coolant line. It's not even a difficult fix.

I think what's happening is Tesla doesn't really have mechanics that solve problems. They have techs that just follow instructions and replace modules. They probably send the battery to depot level maintenance and they replace the connector.