I am contemplating whether to also file actions against Tesla about my #chargegated S85. Long-distance travel is a no-go, add 3 1/2 hours charging on a 1000km trip to a long drive at it is. My GF is no longer willing to take the Tesla. Even our (old) dog is annoyed by the long and frequent stops. Hence we take a rented / borrowed Diesel car for these trips.
To get the ball rolling I sent a letter of complaint via registered mail to Tesla Switzerland in Zurich. After a few days already I received a call from the local Service Center. They told me, they would like to run a thorough diagnosis on my battery. I will get an eMail to which I shall reply to with dates that fit my schedule. This eMail never showed up. Instead I received a letter, also via certified mail, from my local SeC.
This letter seems to be the official answer to such inquiries, now - since I know of another owner who received the same letter. I translated it from German language to English language. The German language text looks to me also being (badly) translated to from another language, most likely English, since it has some (technical) wording which just does not make sense.
We refer to your letter xxx in which you state that the charge curve was lowered after a software update.
Tesla vehicles are unique in that Tesla continually strives to improve its vehicles by releasing regular software updates for a variety of reasons. Tesla regularly releases software updates that allow owners to benefit from a variety of free after-sales vehicle upgrades, including updates that give the vehicle new features and improved performance and functionality.
In May 2019, Tesla introduced a new fast charge profile that is aligned with the additional cell physics understanding Tesla has gained through research and analysis over the past 5 years. The new profile educes cone current and is more 'temperature sensitive' than the previous profile. As a result, quick-charge times increased minimally (2 minutes) for optimal conditions, while at a colder initial temperature, quick-charge times increased by up to 15 minutes. This change is a continuous effort to optimize charge, battery performance and life, and your vehicle remains safe.
The latest update of the Tesla User Manuals contains additional information about the peak charge rate of the battery (page 171 Model S/page 203 Model X/page 182 Model 3): "The peak charge rate of the battery may decrease slightly after many rapid charging operations with DC power, such as on superchargers. To ensure maximum range and battery safety, the charging rate is reduced when the battery is too cold, when the battery is almost fully charged or when the condition of the battery changes due to use and wear. These changes in battery condition are caused by the physical characteristics of the battery and over time can increase the total duration of the supercharging process by a few minutes.
Tesla is committed to providing its customers with the safest and best vehicles available. Through regular software updates, Tesla will continue to improve, enhance and maximize the performance and safety of its vehicles. In particular, we are making improvements to preheat the battery in version 2020.8. This will ensure that more charging processes begin with your battery at the optimum temperature. These heating changes will reduce the average charging time for customers by 5 minutes, offsetting the profile change in version 2019.20. As we continue to learn from our vehicles, we will continue to work to optimize charging, battery performance and durability over time for all our vehicles.
