ML Auto
Member
Whoa. Hadn't even seen this thread - but received a pm from another Roadster owner, very concerned about what he was reading:
I totally agree.
Just to clarify my position. I only shut my cars down if they don't go to "sleep" after several hours, after the battery has had time to stabilize from any use. Thermal runaway during non-use (charging is a use) occurs from a defective cell internally shorting and absorbing its charge. The heat generated eventually melts the cells internal insulation and boom. If any Roadster had ever had any slight hint of this problem, it would rapidly become a "brick", as the balancing system can't keep up with even one minor self-discharging cell. All these cells are at least 5 years old, so any internal manufacturing defect would have been discovered by now (hence the warrantied batteries). About the only thing that can happen during non-use on these cells that can cause thermal runaway is physical damage. Even if you were able to abuse one cell to a point that it would start to self discharge at a higher than normal rate (the process would start small), the heat would get absorbed into the stagnant coolant and the rest of the sheet. And then you would soon have a "brick". I look at my battery brick voltages every time I shut the car down. The same brick always has the lowest reading, but always within .05 volts. While the Tesla solution is the safest way to deal any problem, I feel it is overkill, causing power waste and pump wear.