Temporary Limitation of Power S85

[scottycs]

My car (S85) is currently at the service center for limiting power on extended drives (30+ min) even with high SOC and ~70 degree F weather. Anytime I floor the car after driving on the highway for extended periods, I get an instant yellow dotted line that limits power which quickly disappears after letting off the throttle. This has happened as early as 35mph, but ALWAYS happens at 55mph+. Attached is a screenshot from a video.

I can only assume this is a heat issue, as it is also apparent after Supercharging the car on road trips. They just called after diagnosing, and said this is completely normal and tried to say the battery management is based it on "the leaky bucket algorithm"….Has anyone experienced anything similar with limiting of power? None of the loaners I have had have done this…. Curious if this is normal behavior.

 

[apacheguy]

Define high SOC. in your video, the car is at 39%. That behavior looks normal.

 

[scottycs]

Has happened above 70%.

 

[bkp_duke]

Year? VIN range?

Asking b/c 2013 cars have a problem with old Tyco contactors in the battery pack. They degrade over time and reduce power. Tesla replaced these with Gigavac contactors and hasn't had the issue anymore.

 

[scottycs]

2013 8800 vin. Thanks!

 

[bkp_duke]

2013 8800 vin. Thanks!

You would definitely be in the range they used the Tyco contactors.

I have P04xxx and P115xxx and both had Tyco contactors that went out.

I would request the service center look into this for you. I don't know for sure, but heard they might be under a recall.

 

[scottycs]

Thanks for the info, I sent a request to my contact asking if the contactors were previously replaced.

 

[scottycs]

They refuse to tell me if they have been replaced, only that they have not been replaced as long as I have had the car.

 

[bkp_duke]

They refuse to tell me if they have been replaced, only that they have not been replaced as long as I have had the car.

Facepalm. Well, then I would personally play hardball and ask for a new battery pack under the conditions of the 8 year unlimited mile warranty. Reason: The pack is not performing to specifications with reduced power output across the full charge range. That should get their attention, as they will likely prefer to replace the contactors vs. the full pack. At least assuming it is the contactors.

Regardless, they should be able to plug in and check the BMS system and see if it is the contactors or something else in the pack causing this. They should also be able to pull logs remotely to get a better idea of what was going on with the battery during the time of the power reduction.

 

[scottycs]

They have been pulling logs and they say they don't see anything causing it. I asked for them to share the logs with me, but they refuse. They said the BMS is intelligent and may limit power as needed to protect the battery. I don't even know what to say at this point, the service guy told me I should have bought a P if I wanted to floor the vehicle or drive it "hard." I sent a nice long email this morning to the Executive Care team.

 

[bkp_duke]

the service guy told me I should have bought a P if I wanted to floor the vehicle or drive it "hard."

And this is BS. Hope the Executive Care team corrects him on that.

The P and non-P cars use the same 85 pack, so this problem would persist, regardless of the motor installed.

 

[scottycs]

I agree....I was told the early 85 had the same motor too but the inverter was different, not sure if that is true or not

And this is BS. Hope the Executive Care team corrects him on that.

The P and non-P cars use the same 85 pack, so this problem would persist, regardless of the motor installed.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I would politely inform the service manager over there that Tesla can either replace your contactors, the entire battery pack, or they can talk to your attorney and the local media you have on speed dial if you aren't satisfied with the resolution. My car is a 2013 P85 and it does not exhibit this behavior. I also had my contactors replaced as part of a pro-active service bulletin for cars in my VIN range. My VIN is 16XXX.

 

[scottycs]

Last contact from the Service Center summarized:

· Early Model S do not have a sufficient cooling system, therefore the problem I am exhibiting would not appear in a later model year which has an improved system
· Turn regenerative braking to low as it creates to much heat in normal mode.
· Gradually ease off the throttle instead of completely letting off, this will prevent the regenerative braking from engaging.

 

[apacheguy]

I've never heard the excuse about the cooling system and I really doubt it. I'm not saying that Tesla hasn't made improvements in subsequent years, but to say that the early cooling system is lacking is quite a stretch, IMO

 

[scottycs]

Here is the email I received this morning.

Hi Chris,

Pardon my delayed response, I wasn't notified about the email on Wednesday because this case was already closed. Mat explained all of that to me, and made it sound like you would try the regenerative and braking suggestions on your next trip, and reach back out to the service center to see how it goes. While we are extremely thankful that you and so many others were early adopters to the Model S, unfortunately, there are certain characteristics of it that are not able to be retrofitted to fix the "issue," like the one you mention. We learned from early Engineering and have improved the cars tremendously along the way, and continue to improve them every day, as you know. However, after escalating to the Regional team and masterminds behind the cars like the FTS team and Engineering teams, we have exhausted all of our options.

While I understand your frustration, at this point, beyond the suggestions Mat discussed with you, you could pursue a trade-in for your car. I would be happy to set you up with the Sales team in your area who could explore those options with you. There are many affordable "newer" Model S's and X's now through our CPO program... just a thought.

Thank you,
Alli

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Here is the email I received this morning.

Hi Chris,

Pardon my delayed response, I wasn't notified about the email on Wednesday because this case was already closed. Mat explained all of that to me, and made it sound like you would try the regenerative and braking suggestions on your next trip, and reach back out to the service center to see how it goes. While we are extremely thankful that you and so many others were early adopters to the Model S, unfortunately, there are certain characteristics of it that are not able to be retrofitted to fix the "issue," like the one you mention. We learned from early Engineering and have improved the cars tremendously along the way, and continue to improve them every day, as you know. However, after escalating to the Regional team and masterminds behind the cars like the FTS team and Engineering teams, we have exhausted all of our options.

While I understand your frustration, at this point, beyond the suggestions Mat discussed with you, you could pursue a trade-in for your car. I would be happy to set you up with the Sales team in your area who could explore those options with you. There are many affordable "newer" Model S's and X's now through our CPO program... just a thought.

Thank you,
Alli

Nothing here says anything about early cars having an insufficient cooling system. Power is never limited on my 2013 P85 unless I'm running low on charge.

 

[bkp_duke]

Nothing here says anything about early cars having an insufficient cooling system. Power is never limited on my 2013 P85 unless I'm running low on charge.

Same here. Only time power was limited (outside of low charge) was when the contactors were going bad in both of our P85s.

My BS meter went through the roof on that reply.

 

[Lasttoy]

Mine did it tonight for first. I was down to 50 miles. Up pops the yellow line, I was in very traffic so I ignored it.
I have 2013 with 106k miles.

 

[Chaserr]

On a low state of charge, your car is completely normal limiting power like that. If it happens at high states of charge like the OP, there is a hardware malfunction. It's ridiculous that his service center refuses to fix a known, documented, easily fixed problem like this.

OP, go to another service center, that one isn't trying.