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Time for a new HV Battery

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what's wrong with an 85 reman pack? if it fails within 4yrs you get another pack with another 4yr warranty, right?
I believe the warranty doesn't reset either way. If it's the original 8 year warranty the replacement pack is warrantied until the original warranty runs out. If you paid out of pocket for a new battery the 4 year warranty timer doesn't reset. You get a total of 4 years on the battery regardless of how many times it's replaced after. Unless, of course, you purchase another new pack and then in that case the 4 year timer begins anew.
 
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I believe the warranty doesn't reset either way. If it's the original 8 year warranty the replacement pack is warrantied until the original warranty runs out. If you paid out of pocket for a new battery the 4 year warranty timer doesn't reset. You get a total of 4 years on the battery regardless of how many times it's replaced after. Unless, of course, you purchase another new pack and then in that case the 4 year timer begins anew.
Ok i guess in that case i'll likely buy a refurb if my 85 ever fails, thanks
 
I can confirm that the 90kWh C battery's price is the same.... Just got a quote of 26k CAD while the trade-in value for my '15 85D from Tesla is 21k CAD
I recommend you ask for a low cost Tesla repair option. These third-party companies can help also with main battery repairs, and I've seen prices in the $5k US range for main battery repairs:

www.057tech.com (Offers a main battery warranty)

www.recell-ev.com
 
I recommend you ask for a low cost Tesla repair option. These third-party companies can help also with main battery repairs, and I've seen prices in the $5k US range for main battery repairs:

www.057tech.com (Offers a main battery warranty)

www.recell-ev.com
Why is it that there are no 3rd party shops in California, yet over 50% of the Teslas are sold here? frustrating lol
 
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Why is it that there are no 3rd party shops in California, yet over 50% of the Teslas are sold here? frustrating lol
Heh, well, wk057, who operates out of North Carolina has been asked about opening up a west coast branch kind of thing, and he has said he would have to about triple his costs because of how much more expensive it is to operate a business in California (taxes and expensive building space mainly), so there's no way.
 
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Heh, well, wk057, who operates out of North Carolina has been asked about opening up a west coast branch kind of thing, and he has said he would have to about triple his costs because of how much more expensive it is to operate a business in California (taxes and expensive building space mainly), so there's no way.
Fair enough I believe it. Nevada is 4 hours from san francisco fwiw, and californians are used to paying premiums... the cost of shipping is like 3k plus the down time to ship alternatively ..
 
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Heh, well, wk057, who operates out of North Carolina has been asked about opening up a west coast branch kind of thing, and he has said he would have to about triple his costs because of how much more expensive it is to operate a business in California (taxes and expensive building space mainly), so there's no way.
Yep, this. 👆

Fair enough I believe it. Nevada is 4 hours from san francisco fwiw, and californians are used to paying premiums... the cost of shipping is like 3k plus the down time to ship alternatively ..

If it were 5-10% or something of a premium, then maybe it'd be acceptable.

But I've looked into this a bunch of times, and even did the research based on dozens of locations out near the west coast... and there's just no way. To be able to do what we do here in NC out in CA, our costs would be between double and triple our current costs, but likely more. For the same shop space we have here we'd be paying low to mid five-figures per month, which isn't practical on its face. If that were surmountable somehow, the operations costs are also way higher (cost of labor, materials, taxes, etc).

(Edit: And no, opening up a smaller satellite location makes no sense, since then we're still transporting major components cross-country at roughly the same cost as moving a full vehicle... except now we have to add in the costs of the satellite location AND there's no time savings.)

We've looked at nearby states, but pretty much anything west of Texas has similar issues and doesn't negate the transport overhead. For example, California to Texas is only about a 20-30% transport cost savings vs CA to NC. California to Arizona is roughly the same as CA to TX. So, there's not even anywhere in between that makes sense, and not even enough of a benefit vs where we already are to even jump to Texas (where we could duplicate our operation for roughly the same costs, or perhaps even lower).

So our options are to continue to offer what we offer with the monetary and temporal penalties of round-trip cross-country transport (~$3k + couple of weeks, usually), but keep our reasonable pricing (usually half of Tesla's costs on major services or better, even when including transport costs). Or, open up shop out that way, and charge triple... which would price us above Tesla themselves for most services.

Answer is pretty clear every time I look into it and do the math on it, and that's to stay put. I know vehicle transport isn't ideal for everyone, and makes little sense for lower cost services... but for major services it still works out to an overall savings vs Tesla service.
 
Yep, this. 👆



If it were 5-10% or something of a premium, then maybe it'd be acceptable.

But I've looked into this a bunch of times, and even did the research based on dozens of locations out near the west coast... and there's just no way. To be able to do what we do here in NC out in CA, our costs would be between double and triple our current costs, but likely more. For the same shop space we have here we'd be paying low to mid five-figures per month, which isn't practical on its face. If that were surmountable somehow, the operations costs are also way higher (cost of labor, materials, taxes, etc).

(Edit: And no, opening up a smaller satellite location makes no sense, since then we're still transporting major components cross-country at roughly the same cost as moving a full vehicle... except now we have to add in the costs of the satellite location AND there's no time savings.)

We've looked at nearby states, but pretty much anything west of Texas has similar issues and doesn't negate the transport overhead. For example, California to Texas is only about a 20-30% transport cost savings vs CA to NC. California to Arizona is roughly the same as CA to TX. So, there's not even anywhere in between that makes sense, and not even enough of a benefit vs where we already are to even jump to Texas (where we could duplicate our operation for roughly the same costs, or perhaps even lower).

So our options are to continue to offer what we offer with the monetary and temporal penalties of round-trip cross-country transport (~$3k + couple of weeks, usually), but keep our reasonable pricing (usually half of Tesla's costs on major services or better, even when including transport costs). Or, open up shop out that way, and charge triple... which would price us above Tesla themselves for most services.

Answer is pretty clear every time I look into it and do the math on it, and that's to stay put. I know vehicle transport isn't ideal for everyone, and makes little sense for lower cost services... but for major services it still works out to an overall savings vs Tesla service.
Thanks for the interesting insight, you've definitely done your research!
 
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Yep, this. 👆



If it were 5-10% or something of a premium, then maybe it'd be acceptable.

But I've looked into this a bunch of times, and even did the research based on dozens of locations out near the west coast... and there's just no way. To be able to do what we do here in NC out in CA, our costs would be between double and triple our current costs, but likely more. For the same shop space we have here we'd be paying low to mid five-figures per month, which isn't practical on its face. If that were surmountable somehow, the operations costs are also way higher (cost of labor, materials, taxes, etc).

(Edit: And no, opening up a smaller satellite location makes no sense, since then we're still transporting major components cross-country at roughly the same cost as moving a full vehicle... except now we have to add in the costs of the satellite location AND there's no time savings.)

We've looked at nearby states, but pretty much anything west of Texas has similar issues and doesn't negate the transport overhead. For example, California to Texas is only about a 20-30% transport cost savings vs CA to NC. California to Arizona is roughly the same as CA to TX. So, there's not even anywhere in between that makes sense, and not even enough of a benefit vs where we already are to even jump to Texas (where we could duplicate our operation for roughly the same costs, or perhaps even lower).

So our options are to continue to offer what we offer with the monetary and temporal penalties of round-trip cross-country transport (~$3k + couple of weeks, usually), but keep our reasonable pricing (usually half of Tesla's costs on major services or better, even when including transport costs). Or, open up shop out that way, and charge triple... which would price us above Tesla themselves for most services.

Answer is pretty clear every time I look into it and do the math on it, and that's to stay put. I know vehicle transport isn't ideal for everyone, and makes little sense for lower cost services... but for major services it still works out to an overall savings vs Tesla service.

Great insight indeed. And unfortunate for us west coasters haha.

Can shed some light on a completely different industry (complete senior retirement to end of life care facilities) I've researched for aging parents. This industry is having the same issues with west coast : Land and labor both too expensive.

Only local operators seems to be able o find a way. For elderly care, thats often include finding free assets : donated land (public/private), church acquired old assets, endowment etc. State gov funding board includes private industry lawyers to guide any gov funding towards industry needs. San Francisco has a state of the art nursing home on 62 acres! within the city. City donated the land, SF sued tobacco company for $150M and voters voted to put $ into this nursing home. $2M in local artist art work displayed on the walls, have own small zoo, pottery kiln in the art studio, and large indoor recreation pool (we can debate fund utility efficiency separately haha)

West coast state gov is quite busy cooking up incentives for EVs. But probably will always be targeting large OEM sales for more PR+votes. Or if you are big enough employer for a poorer state like NV : Land+tax holiday. None of this will come to aftermarket independents anytime soon.

Just outlining this to share. It maybe possible in west coast's higher cost environment. But may very well require a local operator beyond the sophisticated battery tech service knowledge.

I'm just a retired computer tech auto DIYer but super motivated to find a way to increase scale of Tesla aftermarket service options. The tidal wave of after warranty cars have already arrived. 2015s off warranty this year.
 
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In appreciation for all the wonderful information I have gleaned from this forum, I wanted to share our personal experience having Re/Cell exchange the battery pack on our Model S. When we got the dreaded BMS_u029 error, it basically turned our car into an expensive 'doorstop' since a new battery pack would cost more than Kelley Blue Book's value for the car. Even though we had less than 100,000 miles, we were past the eight-year warranty on the 2013 Model S we've owned since 2015.

Tesla gave us a $20,334 quote for a new battery pack and did not have any refurbished battery packs available as an alternative.

Through this very informative forum, we learned about Re/Cell and contacted them. We very much appreciated that their website stated their price up front, and it was the price they ultimately charged us. We chose to buy their "210+" battery pack. The only thing that changed a little bit from the quote they gave us was the cost to have the car shipped back to us. They had initially thought it would be around $600; then said it would be a maximum of $900; but ultimately it ended up being $995. However I believe this truly was out of their control and that they don't make a dime of profit on the shipping costs. I mentioned this only so people have a realistic idea of the 'moving target' shipping costs are these days (pun intended). Still, even with the slight increase over the total anticipated costs, Re/Cell saved us more than half what Tesla was able to offer us. Granted, a new-to-us battery pack *should* be less than a new one but Tesla did not have a refurbished option available to us when we were otherwise stuck with a pretty 'paperweight'. We're also happy that Re/Cell has a four-year/50,000 mile warranty that automatically transfers over to any new owner.

We were very lucky that Re/Cell was able to fit us in to their schedule quickly but since we contacted them just before Christmas, delays were all based on getting the car shipped from Los Angeles to Texas. Once the car did get to Re/Cell, they had the entire battery pack replaced and tested within two days.

Yesterday, we got back from our first long trip with this new-to-us battery pack. We traveled from LA to Vegas (300 miles each way) and supercharged along the way, sticking to the 80-20 rule (for newbies: no more than an 80% charge and don't drop below 20%). Everything went very smoothly. It typically took us 35 minutes each time to gain approximately 100-110 miles.

I'd like to commend Re/Cell not only for saving people such as us from selling our car for scrap but also for their excellent communication. It didn't matter what time of day or night I emailed them, I received a reply within a few short hours. Of course, no one should expect a quick response when you e-mail at 3am but they did anyway, even over the December major holidays.

They recommend not charging our 'new' pack more than 90% (special trips) and to keep it at 80%, if possible, daily. This means our Tesla is more of a 160-mile local commuter car at this point -- but still much more usable than a huge, expensive 'lawn ornament' that doesn't have a working battery pack. We're lucky that we work from home so we typically don't need a lot of daily miles but it is such a relief to know that, if we're patient, we can still SuperCharge for 'big' trips. We do love this car and are overjoyed to have her operational again.

[Yes, I signed up for an account just to be able to post this because I hope the information is helpful to 'desperate' folks like us. We are not affiliated with Re/Cell in anyway and hope they stay in business for YEARS (at the very least 4 years, LOL).]
 
In appreciation for all the wonderful information I have gleaned from this forum, I wanted to share our personal experience having Re/Cell exchange the battery pack on our Model S. When we got the dreaded BMS_u029 error, it basically turned our car into an expensive 'doorstop' since a new battery pack would cost more than Kelley Blue Book's value for the car. Even though we had less than 100,000 miles, we were past the eight-year warranty on the 2013 Model S we've owned since 2015.

Tesla gave us a $20,334 quote for a new battery pack and did not have any refurbished battery packs available as an alternative.

Through this very informative forum, we learned about Re/Cell and contacted them. We very much appreciated that their website stated their price up front, and it was the price they ultimately charged us. We chose to buy their "210+" battery pack. The only thing that changed a little bit from the quote they gave us was the cost to have the car shipped back to us. They had initially thought it would be around $600; then said it would be a maximum of $900; but ultimately it ended up being $995. However I believe this truly was out of their control and that they don't make a dime of profit on the shipping costs. I mentioned this only so people have a realistic idea of the 'moving target' shipping costs are these days (pun intended). Still, even with the slight increase over the total anticipated costs, Re/Cell saved us more than half what Tesla was able to offer us. Granted, a new-to-us battery pack *should* be less than a new one but Tesla did not have a refurbished option available to us when we were otherwise stuck with a pretty 'paperweight'. We're also happy that Re/Cell has a four-year/50,000 mile warranty that automatically transfers over to any new owner.

We were very lucky that Re/Cell was able to fit us in to their schedule quickly but since we contacted them just before Christmas, delays were all based on getting the car shipped from Los Angeles to Texas. Once the car did get to Re/Cell, they had the entire battery pack replaced and tested within two days.

Yesterday, we got back from our first long trip with this new-to-us battery pack. We traveled from LA to Vegas (300 miles each way) and supercharged along the way, sticking to the 80-20 rule (for newbies: no more than an 80% charge and don't drop below 20%). Everything went very smoothly. It typically took us 35 minutes each time to gain approximately 100-110 miles.

I'd like to commend Re/Cell not only for saving people such as us from selling our car for scrap but also for their excellent communication. It didn't matter what time of day or night I emailed them, I received a reply within a few short hours. Of course, no one should expect a quick response when you e-mail at 3am but they did anyway, even over the December major holidays.

They recommend not charging our 'new' pack more than 90% (special trips) and to keep it at 80%, if possible, daily. This means our Tesla is more of a 160-mile local commuter car at this point -- but still much more usable than a huge, expensive 'lawn ornament' that doesn't have a working battery pack. We're lucky that we work from home so we typically don't need a lot of daily miles but it is such a relief to know that, if we're patient, we can still SuperCharge for 'big' trips. We do love this car and are overjoyed to have her operational again.

[Yes, I signed up for an account just to be able to post this because I hope the information is helpful to 'desperate' folks like us. We are not affiliated with Re/Cell in anyway and hope they stay in business for YEARS (at the very least 4 years, LOL).]
Wonderful account of your solution to the BMS_U029 issue. My I share within a Facebook Group I created for BMS_U029 "casualties "
 
In appreciation for all the wonderful information I have gleaned from this forum, I wanted to share our personal experience having Re/Cell exchange the battery pack on our Model S. When we got the dreaded BMS_u029 error, it basically turned our car into an expensive 'doorstop' since a new battery pack would cost more than Kelley Blue Book's value for the car. Even though we had less than 100,000 miles, we were past the eight-year warranty on the 2013 Model S we've owned since 2015.

Tesla gave us a $20,334 quote for a new battery pack and did not have any refurbished battery packs available as an alternative.

Through this very informative forum, we learned about Re/Cell and contacted them. We very much appreciated that their website stated their price up front, and it was the price they ultimately charged us. We chose to buy their "210+" battery pack. The only thing that changed a little bit from the quote they gave us was the cost to have the car shipped back to us. They had initially thought it would be around $600; then said it would be a maximum of $900; but ultimately it ended up being $995. However I believe this truly was out of their control and that they don't make a dime of profit on the shipping costs. I mentioned this only so people have a realistic idea of the 'moving target' shipping costs are these days (pun intended). Still, even with the slight increase over the total anticipated costs, Re/Cell saved us more than half what Tesla was able to offer us. Granted, a new-to-us battery pack *should* be less than a new one but Tesla did not have a refurbished option available to us when we were otherwise stuck with a pretty 'paperweight'. We're also happy that Re/Cell has a four-year/50,000 mile warranty that automatically transfers over to any new owner.

We were very lucky that Re/Cell was able to fit us in to their schedule quickly but since we contacted them just before Christmas, delays were all based on getting the car shipped from Los Angeles to Texas. Once the car did get to Re/Cell, they had the entire battery pack replaced and tested within two days.

Yesterday, we got back from our first long trip with this new-to-us battery pack. We traveled from LA to Vegas (300 miles each way) and supercharged along the way, sticking to the 80-20 rule (for newbies: no more than an 80% charge and don't drop below 20%). Everything went very smoothly. It typically took us 35 minutes each time to gain approximately 100-110 miles.

I'd like to commend Re/Cell not only for saving people such as us from selling our car for scrap but also for their excellent communication. It didn't matter what time of day or night I emailed them, I received a reply within a few short hours. Of course, no one should expect a quick response when you e-mail at 3am but they did anyway, even over the December major holidays.

They recommend not charging our 'new' pack more than 90% (special trips) and to keep it at 80%, if possible, daily. This means our Tesla is more of a 160-mile local commuter car at this point -- but still much more usable than a huge, expensive 'lawn ornament' that doesn't have a working battery pack. We're lucky that we work from home so we typically don't need a lot of daily miles but it is such a relief to know that, if we're patient, we can still SuperCharge for 'big' trips. We do love this car and are overjoyed to have her operational again.

[Yes, I signed up for an account just to be able to post this because I hope the information is helpful to 'desperate' folks like us. We are not affiliated with Re/Cell in anyway and hope they stay in business for YEARS (at the very least 4 years, LOL).]
Do they cover shipping at all if u have to claim the warranty ? 995x2 round trip is quite a bit ..
 
Do they cover shipping at all if u have to claim the warranty ? 995x2 round trip is quite a bit ..

Recell website states shipping to them is included but return is not. I've emailed and asked, they said shipping included but didn't clarify which direction. Based on the website, I assume just shipping to them since thats what the website says. They can answer in more detail of course

Model S 85 (recell-ev.com)
 
that is correct, we’re not able to cover shipping for warranty repair, but we always ensure that we do right by our customers on all the packs that we deliver, even covering out-of-warranty/voided warranty packs where circumstances have warranted and the issue in question has been beyond the owner’s control.

moreover, one of the reasons we’re actively looking at servicing arrangements closer to the source is to reduce shipping costs for our customers.

again, we hope to have more details on this in the weeks ahead. 👍
 
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Tesla gave us a $20,334 quote for a new battery pack and did not have any refurbished battery packs available as an alternative.
Wow. I'm looking to get the pack replaced on my 2013 S 85. Today Tesla got back to me said only option is a reman pack - no new packs available. The reman pack I got from Tesla to replace my original pack lasted 16 months and 57k miles.

1674702211950.png
 
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