Service says $22k for new battery on 2012 Model S

[SmartElectric]

In reality they're charging $22k PLUS they keep the old one (which as you point out has significant value - others have said they want a $15k core charge if you ask to keep the old part).

The $15K core charge is logically defensible. That pack is useful to Tesla, as they may spend a week to break down the "bad" pack, identify healthy components, replace unhealthy and determine suitability of repurposing refitting for someone else's warranty replacement. The BMS boards and related hardware have been improved many times, it is not practical to maintain "forever" newly manufactured boards for 8+ year old packs, so the core charge is a real disincentive for owners, as it should be.

The labor cost alone is $4K (one weeks salary, benefits) then thousands per pack in costs for building/storage, equipment, testing rigs, software/firmware testing (to make sure old battery packs can be re-integrated properly), the list is long that Tesla invested in to provide this required warranty battery replacement option.

It floors me that owners believe this is simple and cheap to do, it's clearly and provably not.

 

[ThomasD]

I wish I got 4k a week What is the cost to Tesla to refurbish the battery pack. Can anyone just buy the modules from Panasonic and fix the pack themselves?

 

[MP3Mike]

Can anyone just buy the modules from Panasonic and fix the pack themselves?

Panasonic doesn't make modules... And they don't sell Tesla's proprietary cells to anyone else.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

I saw a few 2013-2015 S85s, some with AP 1 for about $25-30k on cars.com / auto trader.

For $22k, I'd rather spend another $2-3 and get a WHOLE CAR.... then you have your old one for parts!

 

[rns-e]

I saw a few 2013-2015 S85s, some with AP 1 for about $25-30k on cars.com / auto trader.

For $22k, I'd rather spend another $2-3 and get a WHOLE CAR.... then you have your old one for parts!

And then keep taking a $22k hit every now and then and filling the street up with bricked Tesla's

 

[MP3Mike]

I saw a few 2013-2015 S85s, some with AP 1 for about $25-30k on cars.com / auto trader.

For $22k, I'd rather spend another $2-3 and get a WHOLE CAR.... then you have your old one for parts!

That's all great until the battery in that car fails out of warranty and you have two undriveable cars. Of course as someone mentioned if you have the space, tools, time, etc. you can part out a $25k Model S and get way more than the cost back.

Part of what you get for the $22k is the 4-year/50k mile warranty on the battery pack.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

My 2013 P85 has gone through 5 drive units in 115,000 miles. The most recent failure was a year ago. I'm out of warranty in August and I'm terrified. My original battery has been performing great, but that also gives me pause. I feel like I'm one of the few who hasn't needed a battery replacement. How to quantify?

My choice is to either keep the car and roll the dice on the battery, or sell it and buy a new Model 3 for roughly the same out of pocket cost as a new battery (approx. $25k). Advice is appreciated!

Life is short: trade it in and get a new one.

Seriously, you'll love the upgrades and Tesla can do what it wants with the old one

 

[ucmndd]

The $15K core charge is logically defensible.

Maybe, but not in conjunction with a $22k charge for a replacement battery. As I said, talk around it all you want, but that's a total cost to me as an owner of $37,000 for a battery pack. $435 per kwh. There is no defensible position to charge that to an existing customer in 2021.

I'll accept your ballpark estimate that it costs maybe $5k all-in to refurbish a pack on average. physical swap at the SC, shipping both ways, plus teardown and refurb at some centralized facility.

If you're going to charge me $15,000 for the privilege of keeping my old (valuable) part, you should not charge me full cost for the replacement (as I said upthread, I strongly doubt Tesla's actual manufacturing cost for a brand new 100kwh pack is north of $22k these days).

You wanna charge me $10k plus a $15k core charge to replace my battery? $25k all-in is in the realm of reason. No complaints here.

$22k plus $15k? Absurd.

 

[krishna3812]

Elon promised module replacement for model3 is (5-7)k. Why is he not doing similar module replacement for model S?

 

[MP3Mike]

Elon promised module replacement for model3 is (5-7)k. Why is he not doing similar module replacement for model S?

Did he really promise that? He estimated that is what it would cost a number of years in the future.

 

[Electric700]

Elon promised module replacement for model3 is (5-7)k. Why is he not doing similar module replacement for model S?

They should start, but I think the cost to replace one module should be less than $1,500.

 

[MP3Mike]

They should start, but I think the cost to replace one module should be less than $1,500.

You can't really replace just one module, as all of them need to be balanced to each other capacity wise. And there is probably almost $1,500 in labor just to drop the pack, open it, do much of anything inside, seal it up, and reinstall it...

 

[CapeOne]

Did he really promise that? He estimated that is what it would cost a number of years in the future.

Elon's tweet from about two years ago:

 

[TSLA Pilot]

You can't really replace just one module, as all of them need to be balanced to each other capacity wise. And there is probably almost $1,500 in labor just to drop the pack, open it, do much of anything inside, seal it up, and reinstall it...

Or around $5k to "fix" it, IIRC:

 

[SmartElectric]

Maybe, but not in conjunction with a $22k charge for a replacement battery. As I said, talk around it all you want, but that's a total cost to me as an owner of $37,000...
$22k plus $15k? Absurd.

The cost of $37K to you assumes you pay for new pack and keep old.
From where I am sitting, the old pack is worth a lot of money (to Tesla and you).

I don't know if you've done the path. $22K for the battery is $22K out of pocket.

The extra $15K is the charge for you to keep (and presumably resell) your old pack.
You could actually net more than $15K for the used pack if resold correctly, so you might be able to claw back some of that $22K.

 

[ucmndd]

The cost of $37K to you assumes you pay for new pack and keep old.
From where I am sitting, the old pack is worth a lot of money (to Tesla and you).

I don't know if you've done the path. $22K for the battery is $22K out of pocket.

The extra $15K is the charge for you to keep (and presumably resell) your old pack.
You could actually net more than $15K for the used pack if resold correctly, so you might be able to claw back some of that $22K.

I'm honestly not sure if we're saying the same thing here or not, or why this is confusing.

If Tesla charges me $22,000 for something, and takes something away from me that has a value of $15,000 (something I already bought once), my net financial impact is -$37,000.

If Tesla sells me a Model 3 for $37,000, but gives me $15,000 for my trade-in, I still paid $37,000 for the car, even if it's "$22K out of pocket".

The two situations are identical. It doesn't matter if we're talking about a whole car or a battery.

 

[aerodyne]

I'd give Rich rebuilds a call.

He is busy building a van for a homeless girl. Before that, putting a V8 into a MS.

I think he has lost interest.

 

[Cheburashka]

You can't really replace just one module, as all of them need to be balanced to each other capacity wise. And there is probably almost $1,500 in labor just to drop the pack, open it, do much of anything inside, seal it up, and reinstall it...

Dropping the pack is actually super easy. Probably takes 15 minutes at the service center.

 

[ucmndd]

Dropping the pack is actually super easy. Probably takes 15 minutes at the service center.

I think he was talking about the labor necessary to physically open the pack to actually do anything interesting to it. By all accounts, that’s a good bit of work.

 

[Akikiki]

My 2013 P85 has gone through 5 drive units in 115,000 miles. The most recent failure was a year ago. I'm out of warranty in August and I'm terrified. My original battery has been performing great, but that also gives me pause. I feel like I'm one of the few who hasn't needed a battery replacement. How to quantify?

My choice is to either keep the car and roll the dice on the battery, or sell it and buy a new Model 3 for roughly the same out of pocket cost as a new battery (approx. $25k). Advice is appreciated!

Since you asked... I know you have been here a long time. I remember some of your first posts. The opened people's eyes to the practical use of a Model S. I remember you talked about taking client/prospects around to different properties in your car. The look on their faces for getting to ride in one of the first S's. I too had a P85. I loved mine too. The man that bought it still has a great car. I ordered new. I can only guess what your mileage is now. Do you think you have got your money's worth? Maybe its time to sell local or trade up to Tesla for a newer one. Making yours available for a first EV is a solid for another citizen. That's my advice. Help someone get into your after you find a newer one. You will and have earned some of the newer features on a 2017/2018 S with MCU2, Dashcam, Teslacam and other grown up toys. My best to you AR.