The REAL answer for non-warranty battery repair options?

[cascherman]

Ok folks. Have asked this question to others, the dealer, and anyone I can find. Let's pretend that someone in this world plans to drive a Tesla after warranty is up and will be responsible for a battery replacement cost.

What are the options that people have found out there for battery replacement or repair without taking out a mortgage line of credit (i.e. $12k)?

Are there shops? Online vendors? A wholesaler that people know about? Used batteries available? Where?

Help me decide on whether to keep my Tesla.

 

[DerbyDave]

It will almost always be less expensive to keep your Tesla until the battery fails. Most of the time this will be near the life expectancy of a normal car. Then you can make a decision. The cost of batteries is always coming down, but it will always be the most expensive single thing to replace on a Tesla. Other expenses on the Tesla out of warranty are much more likely to cause me to consider getting a different car, so I will likely get the extended warranty. When that and the battery warranty are gone, the decision is easier when a huge repair expense comes up. I probably wouldn't sell on fear alone unless the car is unreliable.

 

[cascherman]

Thanks for jumping in Dave. Your answer is consistent with majority of the answers I've gotten on this question thus far.

I'm looking a layer deeper than considering whether it's cost effective to pay a dealer to replace the battery at various stages of warranty or whether to sell... What I'm talking about is where is the person, shop, company that has figured out a way to do it more cost effectively. No one has done it yet?

 

[DerbyDave]

I think the failure rate is so low and the component is still one that only Tesla can make. You can negotiate with Tesla, and they may replace it free or give you a big discount. The component is so much more than batteries, and sole source protected at this point. Only Tesla.

 

[Crutonius]

I don't know about anyone doing it themselves. There are places that sell individual modules. 85-type | Battery Modules | Products | 057 Technology. Quite a bit cheaper than the 14k for a new battery. Exactly how to change it though? Still trying to figure that out.

You'd have to support the battery while you remove it and it weighs about 1400 pounds.
Take off the top skin which looks like kind of a pain since it's glued.
Replace the failed module.
Reseal it, this has to be done in such a way that you can guarantee that it's water proof.
Reinstall the battery.

It seems doable to me. It's dangerous sure, but so is working on any car.

 

[Tiger]

There is the Electrified Garage (it is expanding to new locations) and probably also others, who can help with maybe refurbishing the pack (if needs partial replacement) or replacing with a new one (from a salvage, for example). You could ask them for price estimates and recommendations.

 

[David_Cary]

How comfortable are we with Tesla pricing estimates thrown out above? The $12k or $14k?
I have not heard either of those prices before and last I heard was closer to $20k but clearly few have paid it (if any?). Mostly it has been from insurance estimates that have never actually been paid because the car gets totaled.
There are reports of failures - for unclear reasons - but it does happen. I think people want to be optimistic because they want owning an EV to be a good long term choice - and I share that optimism. But you should realize the bias in people's responses.
Tesla has a poor track record in the last year on supporting older cars - the MCU being a very large exception.
I have a 2015 70D with 86k - I rarely supercharge and I can only get 50 kw. My cooling pump runs excessively if I charge to over 80%. These are measures that are not done by a company that expects zero battery failures. Everyone seems to blame these changes on fires but I am not so sure.
The fact is that if you have a Jan 2013 build with 100k miles, you should at least consider selling if you can't handle a big loss. It is a risky stock to own. Risk is generally rewarded but can cause an individual great pain.
Anyone want a 2015 70D? Hey it charges slow and keep the charge percentage under 80% or you will probably wear out the unwarranted cooling pump ... but the range is 220 and has been really reliable. FUSC and all.
California is probably a safer place to own an older Tesla. More likely to have someone who could do the work. I do think Jason can do the work if he is inclined and he is near Hickory. But repairing Tesla's is not his job - he just likes to tinker.
My opinion - if $12k causes you to require a mortgage line of credit, you should consider other options than owning an older Tesla.

 

[cwerdna]

What to do?!?!? 2013 Model S 60 Battery fail is an example of an out of battery warranty 60 kWh S.

What to do?!?!? 2013 Model S 60 Battery fail mentions he bit the bullet ($11K).
What to do?!?!? 2013 Model S 60 Battery fail mentions a slightly revised upward estimate by $250..

I watched 3 Ways To Ruin Your Tesla Battery, Plus What It Costs To Replace It long ago. At around 6:25 of the first video, he said in Aug 2018, the cost of a replacement battery that he would've had to pay out of pocket was $18K to $20K. Surprisingly, per Check Out This Used Tesla Model S With A Brand New Battery, Tesla covered it even though he was out of warranty.

 

[beatle]

Gruber Motors offers battery repair for $3600 + $895 per module. Gets kind of pricey if you have to ship your car to/from Arizona, and still not an inexpensive repair, but it is cheaper than the 5 figure estimates from Tesla.

 

[cascherman]

Gruber Motors offers battery repair for $3600 + $895 per module. Gets kind of pricey if you have to ship your car to/from Arizona, and still not an inexpensive repair, but it is cheaper than the 5 figure estimates from Tesla.

Looks like an amazing company there. THAT is what I'm looking for!

 

[cascherman]

How comfortable are we with Tesla pricing estimates thrown out above? The $12k or $14k?
I have not heard either of those prices before and last I heard was closer to $20k but clearly few have paid it (if any?). Mostly it has been from insurance estimates that have never actually been paid because the car gets totaled.
There are reports of failures - for unclear reasons - but it does happen. I think people want to be optimistic because they want owning an EV to be a good long term choice - and I share that optimism. But you should realize the bias in people's responses.
Tesla has a poor track record in the last year on supporting older cars - the MCU being a very large exception.
I have a 2015 70D with 86k - I rarely supercharge and I can only get 50 kw. My cooling pump runs excessively if I charge to over 80%. These are measures that are not done by a company that expects zero battery failures. Everyone seems to blame these changes on fires but I am not so sure.
The fact is that if you have a Jan 2013 build with 100k miles, you should at least consider selling if you can't handle a big loss. It is a risky stock to own. Risk is generally rewarded but can cause an individual great pain.
Anyone want a 2015 70D? Hey it charges slow and keep the charge percentage under 80% or you will probably wear out the unwarranted cooling pump ... but the range is 220 and has been really reliable. FUSC and all.
California is probably a safer place to own an older Tesla. More likely to have someone who could do the work. I do think Jason can do the work if he is inclined and he is near Hickory. But repairing Tesla's is not his job - he just likes to tinker.
My opinion - if $12k causes you to require a mortgage line of credit, you should consider other options than owning an older Tesla.

I was being facetious about an equity line of credit obviously. But a major part of truly making Teslas affordable is the owners demanding options for repair that makes Tesla truly consider how they can make service more affordable. For example, if owners demand it, aftermarket shops will open, when Tesla sees those shops opening and they see a loss of control of the product, they will be forced to prioritize making repair more affordable.

There seems to be a type of robot response to this question that I get over and over : "if you are that worried about buying a repair that costs the same amount as an entire economy car, you should sell the car". It's the dealer response as well, if it makes you feel better.

Let's demand more options here, how many Tesla's are being abandoned after warranty because of shear fear of the possible repair needed? Maybe Tesla won't respond immediately but when they see shops popping up they may get with the program.

You should care about this because it decreases the value of your car!

 

[cascherman]

What to do?!?!? 2013 Model S 60 Battery fail is an example of an out of battery warranty 60 kWh S.

What to do?!?!? 2013 Model S 60 Battery fail mentions he bit the bullet ($11K).
What to do?!?!? 2013 Model S 60 Battery fail mentions a slightly revised upward estimate by $250..

I watched 3 Ways To Ruin Your Tesla Battery, Plus What It Costs To Replace It long ago. At around 6:25 of the first video, he said in Aug 2018, the cost of a replacement battery that he would've had to pay out of pocket was $18K to $20K. Surprisingly, per Check Out This Used Tesla Model S With A Brand New Battery, Tesla covered it even though he was out of warranty.

Good stuff. Thank you!

 

[LoL Rick]

You have a much closer option, in Hickory, NC. Here's the web site of the company, although it doesn't currently mention anything about pack replacements. HSR Motors

And here is a long thread where he talks about selling replacement packs.
Nearly brand new 90 kWh Non-Ludicrous battery pack, v3 - LIMITED TIME

 

[ucmndd]

I was being facetious about an equity line of credit obviously. But a major part of truly making Teslas affordable is the owners demanding options for repair that makes Tesla truly consider how they can make service more affordable. For example, if owners demand it, aftermarket shops will open, when Tesla sees those shops opening and they see a loss of control of the product, they will be forced to prioritize making repair more affordable.

There seems to be a type of robot response to this question that I get over and over : "if you are that worried about buying a repair that costs the same amount as an entire economy car, you should sell the car". It's the dealer response as well, if it makes you feel better.

Let's demand more options here, how many Tesla's are being abandoned after warranty because of shear fear of the possible repair needed? Maybe Tesla won't respond immediately but when they see shops popping up they may get with the program.

You should care about this because it decreases the value of your car!

“Mechanically totaled” is not a new term to the automotive industry, and it’s quite the common phenomenon in competitors to the Model S, like BMW and Mercedes models.

I see it as much the same with Tesla. At some point 8+ years in you might have a mechanical failure that renders the car not worth fixing. It’s a sad but unfortunate fact of life. I think over time there will be a cottage industry that pops up in the shadows of some of the early pioneers like the Electrified Garage and wk057 to address this, but the volume of cars in such a predicament isn’t going to hit any sort of critical mass for probably 3-4 more years.

As a car company, and particularly a car company that lives and dies by quarterly delivery numbers, they just don’t have a particularly big incentive to perform major surgery on older cars vs. sell a new one.

 

[Electric700]

Gruber Motors offers battery repair for $3600 + $895 per module. Gets kind of pricey if you have to ship your car to/from Arizona, and still not an inexpensive repair, but it is cheaper than the 5 figure estimates from Tesla.

Tesla told me that they offer this service too. It's much better than paying for a completely brand new li-ion battery pack.

 

[Crutonius]

Tesla told me that they offer this service too. It's much better than paying for a completely brand new li-ion battery pack.

Really? When was this? Also was this for an S or a 3? I've heard that the 3 has a more modular design and a repair like this was a little easier.

 

[gwxfer]

Sometimes in case of fail, you don't need to replace whole pack. Cheaper way is to replace dead brick. Full pack have 16 bricks, sometimes 14 (in 75 packs), anyway. The most common issue is low voltage on 8 pack, don't know why, but control board on 8 brick can easy rust some components, and it cause the whole pack failure.
I said that because in my country 95% of Teslas are out of warranty, and no one cares about it.

 

[sirbil]

How comfortable are we with Tesla pricing estimates thrown out above? The $12k or $14k?
I have not heard either of those prices before and last I heard was closer to $20k but clearly few have paid it (if any?). Mostly it has been from insurance estimates that have never actually been paid because the car gets totaled.
There are reports of failures - for unclear reasons - but it does happen. I think people want to be optimistic because they want owning an EV to be a good long term choice - and I share that optimism. But you should realize the bias in people's responses.
Tesla has a poor track record in the last year on supporting older cars - the MCU being a very large exception.
I have a 2015 70D with 86k - I rarely supercharge and I can only get 50 kw. My cooling pump runs excessively if I charge to over 80%. These are measures that are not done by a company that expects zero battery failures. Everyone seems to blame these changes on fires but I am not so sure.
The fact is that if you have a Jan 2013 build with 100k miles, you should at least consider selling if you can't handle a big loss. It is a risky stock to own. Risk is generally rewarded but can cause an individual great pain.
Anyone want a 2015 70D? Hey it charges slow and keep the charge percentage under 80% or you will probably wear out the unwarranted cooling pump ... but the range is 220 and has been really reliable. FUSC and all.
California is probably a safer place to own an older Tesla. More likely to have someone who could do the work. I do think Jason can do the work if he is inclined and he is near Hickory. But repairing Tesla's is not his job - he just likes to tinker.
My opinion - if $12k causes you to require a mortgage line of credit, you should consider other options than owning an older Tesla.

 

[sirbil]

I have a model S. Does anyone know whether newer Tesla battery technology can be offered down the road as replacement for the current batterypack. Would Tesla consider upgrading battery technology when it comes available at a cost to the owner?

 

[gaswalla]

Tesla is putting 'new battery tech' in old 85's... more range than a new 2012 car and faster supercharging... question is how does one make sure they receive one of these if purchasing out of warranty
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/new-85kwh-battery-for-my-2013-p85.181716/