SOC under 25 miles rated

[Chas F]

My model S is at the body shop to repair a damaged bumper/qtr panel. I had to drive almost 100 miles to get to this particular body shop and I've kept track of the cars location and SOC thru the phone app over the last week. The car has been sitting, unplugged, for almost a week now (waiting on an insurance adjuster) and the SOC is now down to just over 20 miles after vampire loads have eaten away from 55 miles SOC 5 days ago. I expect the body shop will continue working on it in the next couple of days and finish up within another week or so.
Do I need to be worried about the charge dropping under 20 miles? Do I need to tell the shop to plug it up immediately? They said they would charge it up before I picked it up, but I don't know if there is any negative impact to having the SOC drop down into the teens or lower.

 

[Doug_G]

Personally, I would have them plug it in. It's going to go to zero before they're finished. At the very least they could plug it into 110V each night.

 

[Chas F]

Yea, that makes sense. The only issue for them is that the car is currently sitting in an outdoor parking lot so getting to an outlet may be harder. I think i will force the issue on Monday to hold them liable for any damage caused from letting the battery drop too low. Why take the chance right?

 

[dsm363]

Definitely get them to plug it in. If anything buy a high quality extension cord to plug it into a 110V outlet.

 

[mitch672]

Yea, that makes sense. The only issue for them is that the car is currently sitting in an outdoor parking lot so getting to an outlet may be harder. I think i will force the issue on Monday to hold them liable for any damage caused from letting the battery drop too low. Why take the chance right?

Elon has stated that the Model S will protect it's battery pack, and go into a low energy sleep mode... However, I would have them plug it in and charge it up, if they only have 120V, it could take a couple of days to charge up, you're going to need a charge to drive it back anyway, I assume.

 

[Doug_G]

If the battery protects itself, you'll need a flatbed.

 

[gregincal]

If the battery protects itself, you'll need a flatbed.

Exactly. I'd let them know if they don't plug it in soon they might not be able to drive it inside.

 

[FlasherZ]

Not to mention that you might not even be able to charge it. If the battery pack goes into protect, and the 12V battery discharges completely, then you won't be able to start charging without applying 12V to the front posts.

 

[efusco]

I would use firm terminology with them like "the battery will be destroyed if it is not plugged in and allowed to charge back up....does your insurance cover that?"

 

[EarlyAdopter]

I would use firm terminology with them like "the battery will be destroyed if it is not plugged in and allowed to charge back up....does your insurance cover that?"

That's not entirely true and perpetuates a myth about battery electric vehicles. Why go there?

Even if it did destroy the battery (which it won't) the shop's insurance wouldn't have to cover it because Tesla would with their "no fault" battery warranty.

Just let them know it's getting close to empty, that even when it's "off" it's actually still on and using power, and if they don't move it and plug it in soon it'll need to be towed.

 

[scaesare]

That's not entirely true and perpetuates a myth about battery electric vehicles. Why go there?

Even if it did destroy the battery (which it won't) the shop's insurance wouldn't have to cover it because Tesla would with their "no fault" battery warranty.

Just let them know it's getting close to empty, that even when it's "off" it's actually still on and using power, and if they don't move it and plug it in soon it'll need to be towed.

I agree.

Not to mention that starting the conversation with the spirit and tone of cooperative request, rather than veiled threat, is not only a nicer way to treat people but can have distinct advantages when those folks are performing a service for you that you can's directly supervise.

There's a reason I've dropped my vehicles off with a box of donuts inside before.

 

[NielsChr]

The problem is, that the battery will not get totally destroyed, it will in worst case "only" suffer a minor drop in max SOC.
This can be very difficult to document (and get compensated for)

You should deffently demand that they drive the car inside and charge it to atleast 60-70% before driving it back.
You will never be able to document a degraded battery performance.

 

[yobigd20]

The problem is, that the battery will not get totally destroyed, it will in worst case "only" suffer a minor drop in max SOC.
This can be very difficult to document (and get compensated for)

You should deffently demand that they drive the car inside and charge it to atleast 60-70% before driving it back.
You will never be able to document a degraded battery performance.

Dude. 6 month old thread. It's a pretty safe bet he's charged the car since then lol

 

[Chris Naps]

Yea, that makes sense. The only issue for them is that the car is currently sitting in an outdoor parking lot so getting to an outlet may be harder. I think i will force the issue on Monday to hold them liable for any damage caused from letting the battery drop too low. Why take the chance right?

Good idea!! Resort to the old "I will sue you" tactic! It always works.