Salvage cars: Tesla permanently disabling SC from supercharger

[stopcrazypp]

Maybe Tesla doesn’t cross check the VIN with salvage databases until it’s supercharged? So it worked the first time but that triggered the system to check and see if the VIN was salvaged. Then by the next time it was marked as salvaged in Teslas database and blacklisted from supercharging.

Tesla runs the charging network so they can allow or ban whoever they want from using it. If you have a problem with it then sue them. Arguing on a forum with random people isn’t going to resolve this for you.

Most likely it is because of an ownership change. That's when usually an "audit" is done on features. Sometimes FSD or AP is also removed during such audits (not related to this salvage issue, has more to do with cars sold at auction that passed through Tesla hands).

 

[medphys3]

And yes, you own the car, but you do not own the supercharging network.

 

[Rocky_H]

Agreed. My local service center actually said I would get supercharging ack after getting the HV certification. Then after I paid for it and had the service completed they backtracked and said it was not possible anymore. I bought my car after talking with my local service writers to make sure I would have access to supercharging, but I can't. I feel robbed because I made my decisions based on their info. If you know any sources who can "fix" it for me please let me know. The car I bought had very minimal damage, and I did go through the HV safety check, I'm not trying to do anything unsafe, just get what Tesla reps themselves said I would have with my vehicle. Thanks.

When you are making multi-thousand dollar decisions based on some information, that is way too important to go on "Well, he said..."

You must get that IN WRITING before going forward with something like that.

 

[JJGlacier]

Tesla - Never Again
I just viewed a 201 Tesla Model 3, While testing the vehicle , I went to a tesla supercharger and all worked great, I was so impressed on how easy it was. I have the receipt and credit card statement to prove it. Why say that? Because after all went well on the testing of the vehicle I decided to buy it. I also purchased a tesla wall charger. Here is the problem, I was aware of the car having a rebuilt title and in Manitoba when a car is repair because the repair was too much for insurance company to pay, they sell as is, then the car must go through a Integrating certification before it can return to service. This means the car is returned to 100% of its new status. Yet after a week of owning the car, I wanted to see how long it would take to charge for 5% to full, to prepare for a road trip. It was a Saturday , the car would not charge, and tesla phone support is NOT 24/7 they are closed on weekends, so here I am with no charge to get home, I had to find a Level 2 charger to get enough power to get home, well 3 hours later I get home. Then online some people say that the car must be at 20% and preheated to charge, so Sunday, off I go again, with enough power to return home just in case, and good thing I did, because again did not charge.
So I call Monday noon to talk to support and they tell me the car is a salvage car and cannot be charged on TESLA fast charges, I explained it did work, and the car was on rebuilt status for over 4 months, charging all this time without issues. So why only 10 days after I buy the car does Tesla deem its not safe to charge??? Fact is the car is 100% safe and checked by the Government of Manitoba. So there response was not acceptable, so then I said ok, then I will use 3rd party DC fast charges, however the car needs to have the CCS software enabled and/or installed. They said they did not know how to do that and to contact the service department to bring the car in, My service depart is in a different province and over 800KMS away with a car that has a range of 360kms, HOW in gods name and I going to do that, I requested they temporally turn it back on so I can get the car to a service department, they flatly refused.
So - No Supercharger and no CCS fast charging, they basic said your tough luck for buying tesla, because like Apple, even if you own the product WE CONTROL IT weather you like it or not!
What would you do? Sell for parts and Sue telsa for the difference, because it is there fault, and please don't say I should have known when the system worked foe the first 10days I bought the vehicle. The car only has 5500K and still on Warranty, at least I think they are legally responsible for that?
So with the warranty I do not want to hack the car to make it work.
GF

I totally agree with you. I had a very similar experience. I purchased the car from a third party and he showed that free supercharging works and is available on the app. I purchased the car and supercharged it a few times with no problem. Then, suddenly it stopped working. I can still see free supercharging on my app, but they told me that it will not be possible because it is a salvaged car. It was salvaged car before I bought it. I do not know what to do. Suing them is the best option, but I do not think we can find a lawyer to fight against Tesla.

 

[BritneySpears]

It’s a known fact that salvaged titled Teslas can’t supercharge. They are protecting themselves for potential litigation if/when something goes horribly wrong on a rebuilt Tesla.

While Tesla shut down SC on branded titled cars your thinking "protecting themselves" has no basis other than your very simplistic opinion. I just want people to know that that is not a fact but yet another internet "fact".

 

[Barryg56]

When you are making multi-thousand dollar decisions based on some information, that is way too important to go on "Well, he said..."

You must get that IN WRITING before going forward with something like that.

Yeah, I would think the dealership service center would know, but I was wrong. In the end I put my Tesla up for sale and it sold in 3 days even salvaged. I was shocked but thankful to get more than I paid. Then bought another one for slightly more with a clean title. Glad to have supercharging, sad for salvaged Tesla owners to go through loops.

 

[Barryg56]

Tesla - Never Again
I just viewed a 201 Tesla Model 3, While testing the vehicle , I went to a tesla supercharger and all worked great, I was so impressed on how easy it was. I have the receipt and credit card statement to prove it. Why say that? Because after all went well on the testing of the vehicle I decided to buy it. I also purchased a tesla wall charger. Here is the problem, I was aware of the car having a rebuilt title and in Manitoba when a car is repair because the repair was too much for insurance company to pay, they sell as is, then the car must go through a Integrating certification before it can return to service. This means the car is returned to 100% of its new status. Yet after a week of owning the car, I wanted to see how long it would take to charge for 5% to full, to prepare for a road trip. It was a Saturday , the car would not charge, and tesla phone support is NOT 24/7 they are closed on weekends, so here I am with no charge to get home, I had to find a Level 2 charger to get enough power to get home, well 3 hours later I get home. Then online some people say that the car must be at 20% and preheated to charge, so Sunday, off I go again, with enough power to return home just in case, and good thing I did, because again did not charge.
So I call Monday noon to talk to support and they tell me the car is a salvage car and cannot be charged on TESLA fast charges, I explained it did work, and the car was on rebuilt status for over 4 months, charging all this time without issues. So why only 10 days after I buy the car does Tesla deem its not safe to charge??? Fact is the car is 100% safe and checked by the Government of Manitoba. So there response was not acceptable, so then I said ok, then I will use 3rd party DC fast charges, however the car needs to have the CCS software enabled and/or installed. They said they did not know how to do that and to contact the service department to bring the car in, My service depart is in a different province and over 800KMS away with a car that has a range of 360kms, HOW in gods name and I going to do that, I requested they temporally turn it back on so I can get the car to a service department, they flatly refused.
So - No Supercharger and no CCS fast charging, they basic said your tough luck for buying tesla, because like Apple, even if you own the product WE CONTROL IT weather you like it or not!
What would you do? Sell for parts and Sue telsa for the difference, because it is there fault, and please don't say I should have known when the system worked foe the first 10days I bought the vehicle. The car only has 5500K and still on Warranty, at least I think they are legally responsible for that?
So with the warranty I do not want to hack the car to make it work.
GF

If you bought salvaged, I don’t think you have any warranty. Just an fyi. I went through the same thing buying a salvaged model s only to have supercharging removed. I went to double check the day before a longer drive and it didn’t work. About a week after buying :-( turns out it is turned off and you need to know it’s all direct charging not just supercharging. My tesla tech advised doing a high voltage certification to get SC back. I paid $660 for the service and when finished they informed me I couldn’t get SC back and they were sorry. They did not give me a discount or anything. Just sorry you can’t have SC back. Then the same guy recommended I get a Chademo for faster charging. After spending $540 on one of those I found it also doesn’t work!!! In the end I put my Tesla up for sale and it sold in 3 days even salvaged. I was shocked but thankful to get more than I paid. Then bought another one for slightly more with a clean title. Glad to have supercharging, sad for salvaged Tesla owners to go through loops. I feel your pain.

 

[shad9876]

Welp, count me in as another unsuspecting buyer of a salvaged title Tesla not knowing that I wouldn't have access to SC. Got a 2019 Model 3 Standard Range Plus. 1st time Tesla owner so still learning the basics of the basics.

It can currently still supercharge, but sounds like its just a matter of time until it's blacklisted.

My question is: If I don't use Tesla SCs, am I safe to keep using 3rd party high speed chargers or will Tesla find me/disable SC anyways?

 

[E90alex]

Welp, count me in as another unsuspecting buyer of a salvaged title Tesla not knowing that I wouldn't have access to SC. Got a 2019 Model 3 Standard Range Plus. 1st time Tesla owner so still learning the basics of the basics.

It can currently still supercharge, but sounds like its just a matter of time until it's blacklisted.

My question is: If I don't use Tesla SCs, am I safe to keep using 3rd party high speed chargers or will Tesla find me/disable SC anyways?

Your 2019 will not have CCS adapter compatibility so you won’t be able to use third party fast chargers unless it specifically has a Tesla plug on it already or you retrofit CCS compatibility and get the CCS1 adapter (there’s a big thread on this site with all the details).

But I’m not sure whether Tesla can block third party fast charging or if it’s only Tesla Superchargers…

 

[stopcrazypp]

Your 2019 will not have CCS adapter compatibility so you won’t be able to use third party fast chargers unless it specifically has a Tesla plug on it already or you retrofit CCS compatibility and get the CCS1 adapter (there’s a big thread on this site with all the details).

But I’m not sure whether Tesla can block third party fast charging or if it’s only Tesla Superchargers…

Note people have reported the official CHAdeMO adapter still work even if supercharger is disabled. There was some internal policy that previously said third party fast charging is disabled also, but the current public policy only says supercharging is disabled (nothing about third party charging):
Additional Resources | Tesla

I don't believe CCS adapters have been tried yet however, so no idea yet on that.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Welp, count me in as another unsuspecting buyer of a salvaged title Tesla not knowing that I wouldn't have access to SC. Got a 2019 Model 3 Standard Range Plus. 1st time Tesla owner so still learning the basics of the basics.

It can currently still supercharge, but sounds like its just a matter of time until it's blacklisted.

My question is: If I don't use Tesla SCs, am I safe to keep using 3rd party high speed chargers or will Tesla find me/disable SC anyways?

In case it still works due to a hack done (some have done this), you may be able to extend the time it still works by not updating the software. Presumably however, later software versions Tesla would have a way to disable it remotely, even if it was hacked. There was a update that temporarily reenabled supercharger access for disabled vehicles, but it was an accident (later update removed it).

Tesla Model 3 with salvaged titles are regaining access to the Supercharger Network

There was talk about Tesla changing the protocol to allow them to disable at the charger instead of a flag in the car (in which case no hack on the car side would help), but not sure if Tesla implemented that.

 

[ElectricIAC]

Back in the day, we used to use a line filter or some other apparatus to stop the cable company from zapping an unlocked cable box.

Surely there’s some way to do this with hacked cars.

 

[shad9876]

Thanks for the responses and info!

Do you think using a Tesla SC increases the chances of getting banned? Would staying away from SCs and only using 3rd party FC with CHAdeMO keep me 'off the radar'?

Or is using a SC irrelevant to when/if a branded title Tesla gets banned?

I bought the Tesla because I drive a 700 mile round trip 2-4x/month and it would suck to get halfway on one of my trips and find out I had been banned

 

[stopcrazypp]

Thanks for the responses and info!

Do you think using a Tesla SC increases the chances of getting banned? Would staying away from SCs and only using 3rd party FC with CHAdeMO keep me 'off the radar'?

Or is using a SC irrelevant to when/if a branded title Tesla gets banned?

I bought the Tesla because I drive a 700 mile round trip 2-4x/month and it would suck to get halfway on one of my trips and find out I had been banned

If you are relying on the car for long trips, that is too much of a gamble. If I were in your shoes I would do the same thing as the other person up thread and sell the car quickly while the market was still hot and get one that can use superchargers with no qualms.

 

[shad9876]

If you are relying on the car for long trips, that is too much of a gamble. If I were in your shoes I would do the same thing as the other person up thread and sell the car quickly while the market was still hot and get one that can use superchargers with no qualms.

Yeah, that's what I'm leaning towards right now.

Otoh, if I knew I would still have access to DCFC with a CHADeMO, I could live with that.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Yeah, that's what I'm leaning towards right now.

Otoh, if I knew I would still have access to DCFC with a CHADeMO, I could live with that.

CHAdeMO adapter is only 50kW though and it's in the way out, so it doesn't seem that practical. Maybe if CCS is allowed it might work out, but it's unknown right now how that interacts with salvaged and disabled supercharging.

 

[BritneySpears]

Welp, count me in as another unsuspecting buyer of a salvaged title Tesla not knowing that I wouldn't have access to SC. Got a 2019 Model 3 Standard Range Plus. 1st time Tesla owner so still learning the basics of the basics.

It can currently still supercharge, but sounds like its just a matter of time until it's blacklisted.

My question is: If I don't use Tesla SCs, am I safe to keep using 3rd party high speed chargers or will Tesla find me/disable SC anyways?

I have a 3, salvaged and a y, salvaged. Both can dcfc via chademo. The y is ccs1 enabled and it charges over 120kw with it. I believe if Tesla remotely interjects itself into owners cars to remove 3rd party charging they’ll have lawsuits with strong precedence supporting owners.

 

[Barryg56]

CHAdeMO adapter is only 50kW though and it's in the way out, so it doesn't seem that practical. Maybe if CCS is allowed it might work out, but it's unknown right now how that interacts with salvaged and disabled supercharging.

All direct charging was disabled for me. This included Chademo I bought on the recommendation of my Tesla service center. Don’t expect any fast charging abilities to be guaranteed.

 

[Barryg56]

I have a 3, salvaged and a y, salvaged. Both can dcfc via chademo. The y is ccs1 enabled and it charges over 120kw with it. I believe if Tesla remotely interjects itself into owners cars to remove 3rd party charging they’ll have lawsuits with strong precedence supporting owners.

Glad that worked for you. I did the High voltage certification check because my service center said I would get supercharging back. After the service they said oops, we were wrong, ($660). Then the helpful Tesla service writer recommended Chademo, so I bought one on this forum($540). It didn’t work either. All Direct charging was removed for me. I thankfully sold my car for a good price shortly after.

 

[M0rpH3x]

You are right about the software change on the car. However, as they own and operate the SC network they can do whatever they want and deny the service to anyone for any reason.

Is the policy fair? That's a different question all together...

But SC denial is done on the car side, as we know very well. This has some unwanted side effects, like the SC that @wk057 built at home and suddenly couldn’t charge one of his cars.