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

[aerodyne]

As others have pointed out, a survey is not a good way to acertain the percentage of pack or motor failures, the reason being folks with problems are much more likely to be here posting.

Having said that, if I knew three years ago, that a large percentage of packs or motors would fail anywhere near the end of warranty, I would have stayed away from Tesla.

I like to keep my cars 20 years and 200k plus miles. So far, 3 of my have done that.

I can see widespread pack replacement after 10-15 years, but i really don't know why there are any motor failures.

 

[Akikiki]

Oh my. I do enjoy sharing what I know - to help someone on this forum. And its fun when the subject challenges us to think. But this thread. Oh boy, this thread. Its so loaded with paranoia, fear, worse case speculation, and making Tesla out to be a greedy monster, I am not going to touch the subject. I want to say just this. Tesla is not a non profit, charity or foundation that sells products or parts below costs.

 

[AustinP]

Tesla is not a non profit, charity or foundation that sells products or parts below costs.

I agree with you. And had Tesla been a non profit org, I feel it would not have succeeded, as it would not have had the support & resources to survive and thrive.

I can see you invested more than I did in Tesla (3 cars ), and thanks for that.
I indeed happily bought the car, knowing it was an adventure. Tesla needed support (financially but also ambassadors on the road, ...) to survive and pursue their mission. This was and still is a priority for me.

That being said: the cost of replacing the battery outside warranty is a honest concern one can have and that I share.

My situation allows me to endure the cost of a new MCU1 out of warranty (2019). Not happy, but I put it on the list of bullets to take "for the team". Same when several parts in the front suspension needed replacement, or even the wipers motor eating the bonnet (see video of Bjorn).
All for the cause, Tesla grin still on

But there's a limit to costs I'm ok to sustain.

Back in 2015, I expected the battery would at some point need replacement, like any parts would.
The 8 year warranty brought peace of mind for the years to come.
My personal bet was that within that time frame, battery replacement options would show up, at prices reduced from 2015 prices, and with options to upgrade to larger batteries.
We're 6 years later, and so far the price for a replacement has not changed, and there is no option to upgrade to a bigger battery.
I've still another year or so to decide whether or not I'll keep it beyond the warranty.

But that's just me and everyone's situation is different.
This kind of thread is indeed doomed to attract negative comments, but does also provide valuable information thru the experiences of those concerned, that will help me decide if I can keep this car or will move on to the next one. (I really hope the former one)

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

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

I think he has lost interest.

True, but maybe a referal to the electrified garage. I'd love to open one near where I am.

 

[aerodyne]

I'd love to support a third party repair in SoCal!

Except for Mobile, the quality of service in my area is not what it used to be, and far from what was promised.

To not support economic repair of the older packs is in direct conflict with the stated sustainability mission of Tesla.

 

[Guvnah]

So, are the 3 & Y batteries repairable by Tesla? Elon made that tweet about it a few years ago. Has it actually happened yet? (or modules replaced...)

 

[ucmndd]

I want to say just this. Tesla is not a non profit, charity or foundation that sells products or parts below costs.

As one of the most vocal objectors in this thread, I'll be completely unambiguous and say I haven't the slightest reservation about Tesla operating as a for-profit corporation. However, the numbers in this thread lack any grounding in reality. The cost of a battery replacement is so seriously inflated when accounting for the core charge (>$400/kwh!) that IMO it runs the serious risk of undermining Tesla's mission as a for-profit corporation to "accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy". Even without the core charge $22k is shockingly expensive for a presumably refurbished 85kwh battery.

 

[Cheburashka]

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.

Makes sense then. Still, the battery should be much cheaper.

I doubt the techs at the service center open the battery. I assume Tesla has some facility that's set up for refurbishing them.

 

[MP3Mike]

As one of the most vocal objectors in this thread, I'll be completely unambiguous and say I haven't the slightest reservation about Tesla operating as a for-profit corporation. However, the numbers in this thread lack any grounding in reality. The cost of a battery replacement is so seriously inflated when accounting for the core charge (>$400/kwh!) that IMO it runs the serious risk of undermining Tesla's mission as a for-profit corporation to "accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy". Even without the core charge $22k is shockingly expensive for a presumably refurbished 85kwh battery.

Yes, @wk057 seems to have much more reasonable pricing. ($22k for a 90kWh pack by itself, or $4,500 installed if you give him your good 85kWh pack back.) I wonder how much more he would charge for an upgrade with a failed pack.

 

[brkaus]

A battery for a 2016 Nissan Leaf is $11.5k. I think it’s a 40kWh model now. I do not know if there is a core charge. I had mine replaced under warranty.

did the OP find out there was really a core charge in addition to the $22k? Or was that speculation?

 

[aerodyne]

Makes sense then. Still, the battery should be much cheaper.

I doubt the techs at the service center open the battery. I assume Tesla has some facility that's set up for refurbishing them.

This is true as far as cell replacement, they can open the pack for things like BMS, contactors, etc.

This link has excellent content pertinent to this thread and states the packs are remanufactured at a place called Lathrop:

 

[Akikiki]

The SC's don't open battery packs. The box them in the return crate and send them back to some central refurb site. Hence, there goes with it the practicality of on-site individual part repair.

 

[aerodyne]

The SC's don't open battery packs. The box them in the return crate and send them back to some central refurb site. Hence, there goes with it the practicality of on-site individual part repair.

They opened mine, but to be clear, only at the very back, where the charger and other electronics are.

I believe you are correct, they do not open the whole life to access any of the pack modules, nor do they do any local repair of same.

 

[Akikiki]

(Charger is under the seat in the S.) You mean HV interface to the battery? Your's an S?

 

[SO16]

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

I think he has lost interest.

He started Electrified Garage.

Electric Vehicle Service

Expert third-party service for maintenance, repair, and customization, all at competitive prices.

electrifiedgarage.com

 

[MP3Mike]

Interesting that someone else was recently quoted a much lower price, I'm not sure if it is $11.5k or $14.5k, to replace their out of warranty 85kWh pack:

My 2012 S P85 that I purchased as a CPO in June 2017 with 42k miles on it now has less than 70k miles on it and after having it towed to Tesla 2 weeks ago because it wouldn't charge past 45 miles and giving me a bunch of errors from Maximum Charge Rate reduced daily etc. I was just notified from Tesla that my pack needs to be replaced and since my HV warranty ended 12/2020 it will be customer pay and even though I have been complaining about my battery for the past 6 months the issues that I was complaining about (SC rates reduced, range a lot less than 1 yr ago, etc) had nothing to do with the failure and they will only offer me a goodwill $3k credit towards the remaned pack that will still cost me $11,516 + tax. I don't know what to do... any suggestions?

 

[ucmndd]

Interesting that someone else was recently quoted a much lower price, I'm not sure if it is $11.5k or $14.5k, to replace their out of warranty 85kWh pack:

I think that's part of the problem. They seem to just make it up as they go and everyone gets a different price/experience.

 

[Electric700]

$11,516 is too high. I'd rather have a less than $1,000 small battery component replacement. For now it seems Gruber Motors and the like are your best lowest-cost options for out of warranty battery repairs.

 

[MP3Mike]

$11,516 is too high. I'd rather have a less than $1,000 small battery component replacement. For now it seems Gruber Motors and the like are your best lowest-cost options for out of warranty battery repairs.

Doesn't the Gruber repair cost start at like $5k and doesn't offer a warranty for anything else failing in your pack after they repair whatever failed. So for just a little more than double their cost that person is getting a refurb pack with a 4-year/50k mile warranty. (And won't have to pay to transport their car to Gruber.)

 

[Akikiki]

So, in just a matter of days, it appears the price of a replacement battery has dropped by half from $22,000 to $11,000. How could this be? Could it be that @badpenny, simply was told by someone as a SC "a replacement battery is about $22,000" and they didn't actually go look it up in the catalog or call the factory and find anything out. Could it be the SC person simply pulled it out of his okole? Certainly not @badpenny's fault or doing. No reflection on him, he reported what he was told.

Then the fear and people ready to criticize, climbed on the downhill bound snowball and complained about the price? Doesn't the $11,000 cost seem more inline with progress these days versus what it probably was 9 years ago when Tesla started making battery packs.

This is why I said, I was not going to comment. Yet I did. I could not find the post, again, but someone after #1 did say, they wanted to see a hard copy quote from a SC not just a guess. Where's that actual hard copy of the quote?