Tesla Service says my Tesla Model S 2013 60 kw Main battery needs to be replaced

[ucmndd]

With EVs transitions, it seems more like a throw away world even more.

Meh, I'm not so sure about that. I mean, yeah, batteries have a finite life span, but they are infinitely more recyclable than fossil fuels.

The less fortunate people are supposed to buy our old cars and potentially stick with $20k+ repair bills?

The cost will of course come down dramatically over time, as will the reliability and longevity of the packs. This is already happening.

Speaking of... CARB is already proposing for better battery warranty because of this...

The proposed terms aren't really any better than what Tesla already provides, are they?

 

[MP3Mike]

The proposed terms aren't really any better than what Tesla already provides, are they?

I thought they were proposing something like that the battery would need to retain at least 80 percent capacity for 15 years or 150,000 miles. So yeah, it is better than what Tesla currently provides. (70% for 8 years and 100k/120k/150k miles depending on model.)

I'm not sure the 80% is a good target. It would likely increase the cost, and reduce the efficiency of vehicles. (They would have to have larger batteries with more being carried around but locked away from use for years. A good side effect would likely be faster charging to the higher SoCs.)

 

[dipper]

The new proposed CARB battery warranty is 10yr/150k. Starting 2026 new EVs, has a minimum 70% charge for warranty replacement.

Better, but still doesn't fix expensive battery when it dies.

 

[AprilDelivery??]

I just called Tesla service and they said tech is working on my car . Apparently they got the battery and maybe by end of week it might be ready. The Tesla app has all my doors and hoods open, that’s how I realised something is going on.

 

[AprilDelivery??]

Tesla Fremont probably shipped my car a battery pack maybe with a mix of refurbished , new batteries. Below is photo of Tesla Giga factory Houston. "the automaker starting to produce Model Y vehicles with the old battery architecture using 2170 cells.
The automaker could have received a shipment from Fremont, and it is waiting to shift back to vehicle production with the structural battery packs in Texas.

Tesla could also have found a problem with those packs, and it needs to be fixed before they can make their way into vehicle production.

Either way, at least it shows that Tesla is still working on ramping up structural pack production, which is believed to be needed to ramp Gigafactory Texas to full production as the Model Y with 2170 cells is just a temporary solution.: Tesla spotted stacking structural battery packs at Gigafactory Texas; what's happening?

 

[AprilDelivery??]

 

[AprilDelivery??]

S/X packs: Pre late-2014 packs are meh. Late 2014 to mid 2015 packs are OK. Late 2015 to mid 2016 packs are good. Late 2016 and onward are pretty solid.

If Tesla knew about this fuse box defect and Tesla is giving me a 2nd generation battery pack which relocates the fuse cover to eliminate the water corrosion ,same type of failure , Tesla should repair it free . This is not my fault . Tesla made this defect and should have told me earlier and replaced it free. Right wk057, Recell ??? What do you say?

 

[AprilDelivery??]

our standard warranty on battery packs is 2 years / 25 miles, and 5 years /75,000 miles on the contactors and main fuse.

If Tesla knew about this fuse box defect and Tesla is giving me a 2nd generation battery pack which relocates the fuse cover to eliminate the water corrosion ,same type of failure , Tesla should repair it free . This is not my fault . Tesla made this defect and should have told me earlier and replaced it free. Right wk057, Recell ??? What do you say?

 

[MP3Mike]

If Tesla knew about this fuse box defect and Tesla is giving me a 2nd generation battery pack which relocates the fuse cover to eliminate the water corrosion ,same type of failure , Tesla should repair it free . This is not my fault . Tesla made this defect and should have told me earlier and replaced it free. Right wk057, Recell ??? What do you say?

That isn't how things work. Defects are only covered during the warranty period. (Unless they are a safety defect and a NHTSA recall gets issued.)

The automotive industry is full of examples of this. Mercedes having "defective" radiators that dump coolant into the transmission destroying it, which normally happens after the warranty has expired, is an example. (Later designs of the radiator reduced, or prevented, that failure.)

 

[wk057]

The fuse cover is rarely the issue we find. Seems silly to focus on this. I'll bet you $100 to charity that this is NOT what has caused a failure on your battery.

Yes, Tesla did flip this to the bottom of the pack at some point in 2015, but this was for ease of replacement (don't have to remove the battery pack) and nothing whatsoever to do with moisture ingress near the fuse. Any time I've seen a fuse cover rusted/damaged/etc, it's been due to some other issue (moisture from inside, damage from unqualified repairs, etc). The actual issue is almost always the side vents along the rails that fail and allow moisture ingress into one or more module chambers, almost always near the center of the battery pack. (There's a few reasons why this in the location, but perhaps a story for another time.)

The fuse covers are actually usually very well sealed. Even more so than the rest of the battery pack cover. The failure points tend to be the side vents, followed by the through-bolt aluminum fasteners that have an o-ring at the top of the pack. I've yet to find a car where a cell group or other related component has failed without a moisture related cause.

We always update the side vents, or we'll transplant an entire pack of modules from a v1.0 or v1.5 enclosure into a v2.0 enclosure if needed, although generally the side vents are more easily replaceable than a full transplant.

 

[davewill]

That isn't how things work. Defects are only covered during the warranty period. (Unless they are a safety defect and a NHTSA recall gets issued.)
...

Or if it becomes such a pie-in-the-face PR nightmare that they extend warranties or do voluntary recalls.

 

[AprilDelivery??]

The fuse cover is rarely the issue we find. Seems silly to focus on this. I'll bet you $100 to charity that this is NOT what has caused a failure on your battery.

Yes, Tesla did flip this to the bottom of the pack at some point in 2015, but this was for ease of replacement (don't have to remove the battery pack) and nothing whatsoever to do with moisture ingress near the fuse. Any time I've seen a fuse cover rusted/damaged/etc, it's been due to some other issue (moisture from inside, damage from unqualified repairs, etc). The actual issue is almost always the side vents along the rails that fail and allow moisture ingress into one or more module chambers, almost always near the center of the battery pack. (There's a few reasons why this in the location, but perhaps a story for another time.)

The fuse covers are actually usually very well sealed. Even more so than the rest of the battery pack cover. The failure points tend to be the side vents, followed by the through-bolt aluminum fasteners that have an o-ring at the top of the pack. I've yet to find a car where a cell group or other related component has failed without a moisture related cause.

We always update the side vents, or we'll transplant an entire pack of modules from a v1.0 or v1.5 enclosure into a v2.0 enclosure if needed, although generally the side vents are more easily replaceable than a full transplant.

I told Tesla its a defect and they should have told me and replaced it last year or prior when it was under warranty. I am right , if they knew about these failures its very dangerous cause cars can stop driving right away with no warning and get in accident. What do you think?

 

[wk057]

I told Tesla its a defect and they should have told me and replaced it last year or prior when it was under warranty. I am right , if they knew about these failures its very dangerous cause cars can stop driving right away with no warning and get in accident. What do you think?

Like I said, there's no defect with the fuse cover. Continuing to repeat claims that it is over and over, when you have zero evidence whatsoever that this is a widespread problem or even a problem with your particular car... doesn't make it true.

The issues with the side vents didn't really start becoming an issue until well after warranties expired, so Tesla wouldn't have had much of a way to know abot this within the warranty period anyway. They actually only updated and improved them for manufacturing convenience (they're long strips now with only 2 of the spots actually used for venting instead of a half-dozen individual vents) and not because they were failing at that time.

So... no defect for them to have corrected.

Also, a car losing power and being unable to be driven isn't a safety threat. It's not like in an airplane where you lose your engine and now you need to take emergency action to find somewhere to land in a hurry because, well, gravity is bringing you in whether you like it or not. In a car you lose your engine and you just coast to the shoulder and to a stop, then get out and push it somewhere better if you didn't coast to where you wanted to. Inconvenient? Sure. Hazardous? At best that's debatable, but I'm going with no. That's like saying all cars should have to have tires that never go flat because you might get a flat and get stuck on the side of the road for a while. Kind of nonsense.

 

[davewill]

I told Tesla its a defect and they should have told me and replaced it last year or prior when it was under warranty. I am right , if they knew about these failures its very dangerous cause cars can stop driving right away with no warning and get in accident. What do you think?

I think you only have a case if you brought it in complaining of symptoms that were caused by this failure while the warranty was still in effect. If I were you, I'd forget the word, "defect". I don't think that terminology is very useful to you in arguing a case with them. They do NOT consider it a defect and using that term will just push buttons when you're trying to get an accomodation.

 

[AprilDelivery??]

Like I said, there's no defect with the fuse cover. Continuing to repeat claims that it is over and over, when you have zero evidence whatsoever that this is a widespread problem or even a problem with your particular car... doesn't make it true.

The issues with the side vents didn't really start becoming an issue until well after warranties expired, so Tesla wouldn't have had much of a way to know abot this within the warranty period anyway. They actually only updated and improved them for manufacturing convenience (they're long strips now with only 2 of the spots actually used for venting instead of a half-dozen individual vents) and not because they were failing at that time.

So... no defect for them to have corrected.

Also, a car losing power and being unable to be driven isn't a safety threat. It's not like in an airplane where you lose your engine and now you need to take emergency action to find somewhere to land in a hurry because, well, gravity is bringing you in whether you like it or not. In a car you lose your engine and you just coast to the shoulder and to a stop, then get out and push it somewhere better if you didn't coast to where you wanted to. Inconvenient? Sure. Hazardous? At best that's debatable, but I'm going with no. That's like saying all cars should have to have tires that never go flat because you might get a flat and get stuck on the side of the road for a while. Kind of nonsense.

I see they put in the 75kw battery but it only charged to 215 mile. Maybe thats what the original car full range on it till 215 mile when I got it in 2013. On 75kw I should get more but I guess the software limited it.

 

[Droschke]

I see they put in the 75kw battery but it only charged to 215 mile. Maybe thats what the original car full range on it till 215 mile when I got it in 2013. On 75kw I should get more but I guess the software limited it.

208 miles.

 

[AprilDelivery??]

208 miles.

212-215 . Tesla said I agreed for the repair and it’s not under warranty and the enclosure is not a defect.

 

[MP3Mike]

212-215 . Tesla said I agreed for the repair and it’s not under warranty and the enclosure is not a defect.

You did agree to it didn't you:

I approved the estimate on the Tesla App for 75kw battery for $11,478 . Its cheaper because the 75kw is probably more available as apposed tp 60kw that have to rebuild and it takes more time and 75kw they just have to ship it as a finished product from a junked Tesla . Plus the 90kw is $19,183 maybe because its more available ,there are more cars with that battery pack.

Though that looks like it was $12,032.67 (Diagnosis/12v battery + 75kWh battery)

What is the remaining $1,063.21? Tax?

 

[AprilDelivery??]

You did agree to it didn't you:



Though that looks like it was $12,032.67 (Diagnosis/12v battery + 75kWh battery)

What is the remaining $1,063.21? Tax?

Labor+ Taxes + diagnosis

 

[AprilDelivery??]

212-215 . Tesla said I agreed for the repair and it’s not under warranty and the enclosure is not a defect.

I just spoke to Tesla and I have to pay for the repair in full first to unlock the full 75KW battery which the range would be around 249 miles .