Underbody of the battery bent from impact

[ro_explorer]

Hi all. Today was a sad day for me. I hit a piece of ... something ... laying on the highway, while changing lanes (at roughly 85km/h - slow speed zone).
The impact was very loud, with the sound coming from the underbody and the car felt like "jumping" a little.

This is the metallic piece in question (as captured by the cameras - I cannot attach mp4 files apparently):


This is the aftermath (I documented everything so I can present the case to Tesla service and the insurance).



Any opinions regarding what am I looking at in terms of service/replacement ? I have the summer vacation coming up in 6 weeks or so ... would be a bummer to have to rent a car.
Is it safe to drive it like this until the service visit if it did not burned up so far ?

 

[Resist]

Let the Tesla Service Center determine if it's safe and if you have to rent a car, so be it. They could take a deeper look at it than anyone on this forum can by looking at the pictures. But, I'd rather have to rent a car than have the battery spontaneously combust later, due to the impact.

 

[ro_explorer]

An update of the situation - the service gave the verdict - new battery needed
It will be fixed on the insurance, but just for info - there are 2 possibilities:
1. refurbished battery (wit at least the same remaining capacity as the current one,or better): ~9000 EUR (without VAT) - replacement time between 20 and 40 working days.
2. brand new battery for this model of the car : ~10000 EUR (without VAT) - replacement time between 5 and 10 days.

Total cost of fixing the car (including replacing the aero shield, man hours and VAT): ~14-15K EUR (covered by the insurance).

 

[Resist]

So the replacement time is less if you go with a new battery instead of a refurbished battery? Sounds like a no brainer, get the new battery.

 

[byeLT4]

I can't see the situation where a new battery would be a bad choice.

 

[MP3Mike]

I would go for the new battery even if I had to pay the extra 1000 EUR myself. But I would think your insurance wouldn't want to pay for a rental for an extra month waiting for the refurb...

 

[KenC]

An update of the situation - the service gave the verdict - new battery needed
It will be fixed on the insurance, but just for info - there are 2 possibilities:
1. refurbished battery (wit at least the same remaining capacity as the current one,or better): ~9000 EUR (without VAT) - replacement time between 20 and 40 working days.
2. brand new battery for this model of the car : ~10000 EUR (without VAT) - replacement time between 5 and 10 days.

Total cost of fixing the car (including replacing the aero shield, man hours and VAT): ~14-15K EUR (covered by the insurance).

Yep, insurance should pay for the new battery, since time in the shop also costs them, so it's cheaper in the end.

 

[afadeev]

An update of the situation - the service gave the verdict - new battery needed
It will be fixed on the insurance, but just for info - there are 2 possibilities:
1. refurbished battery (wit at least the same remaining capacity as the current one,or better): ~9000 EUR (without VAT) - replacement time between 20 and 40 working days.
2. brand new battery for this model of the car : ~10000 EUR (without VAT) - replacement time between 5 and 10 days.

Total cost of fixing the car (including replacing the aero shield, man hours and VAT): ~14-15K EUR (covered by the insurance).

Sorry, and frankly, disturbing to hear that hitting minor debris on the road can generate a ~15K EUR repair event.
Definitely go for the new battery, if at all possible!

Also, if Tesla is monitoring this thread - get your engineering act together and protect the @#$%ing battery better!
Tesla insurance rates are getting WAY out of hand on Tesla because vulnerabilities like this one, and overall exorbitant cost of repairing Teslas even from minor accidents!

Good luck,
a

 

[Altes]

An update of the situation - the service gave the verdict - new battery needed
It will be fixed on the insurance, but just for info - there are 2 possibilities:
1. refurbished battery (wit at least the same remaining capacity as the current one,or better): ~9000 EUR (without VAT) - replacement time between 20 and 40 working days.
2. brand new battery for this model of the car : ~10000 EUR (without VAT) - replacement time between 5 and 10 days.

Total cost of fixing the car (including replacing the aero shield, man hours and VAT): ~14-15K EUR (covered by the insurance).

would love to know how the service dept made that determination (looking at it, diagnostic etc) sounds like it may be a ploy since its insurance money (but your rates will no doubt go up

 

[3sr+buyer]

Tesla insurance rates are getting WAY out of hand on Tesla because vulnerabilities like this one, and overall exorbitant cost of repairing Teslas even from minor accidents!

The Model 3 does not seem to have worse insurance losses than BMWs, etc. according to Insurance losses by make and model , although it is still bad in collision losses (not worse the BMWs, etc.).

But if you want low insurance losses, get a Chevrolet Bolt (see the linked insurance losses page). However, if you dent the bottom of the battery case, it may be declared as a total loss, due to unavailability of replacement batteries due to much of the production going to ongoing recall replacements.

 

[3sr+buyer]

would love to know how the service dept made that determination (looking at it, diagnostic etc) sounds like it may be a ploy since its insurance money (but your rates will no doubt go up

The service center probably wants to exercise caution, particularly if it is an NCA or NMC battery that can catch fire (not necessarily immediately) if damaged. Better to replace the battery and send the damaged one back to a specialized center that can determine if it can be refurbished by replacing the damaged portion, or if it should be scrapped and recycled. Given Tesla BMS finickiness about cell matching, rebuilding a battery is probably only within the capability of specialized Tesla battery refurbishment centers, not regular service centers.

 

[MP3Mike]

would love to know how the service dept made that determination (looking at it, diagnostic etc) sounds like it may be a ploy since its insurance money (but your rates will no doubt go up

They most likely have specs for how deep a dent can be before a pack is declared bad. For example, some people wanting to get Supercharging re-enabled on a salvage vehicle failed the inspections because of dents in the bottom of the pack. (But not for just minor damage/scrapes from things like being moved by forklifts at the auction site.)

 

[brainhouston]

Debris look like a semi strap ratchet to me...

My opinion, if its not punctured thru n no errors or leaks, its fine, just keep driving it. That's what i would do if it was my car.
There's a gap inside the case between floor n battery cells...

FYI, another case someone posted n Tesla said battery ok:

Battery dent tolerance?

Is there a tolerance for how deep a dent has to be in the battery before one needs to worry about it? Encountered some road debris at relatively slow speed ~10-15MPH. RPMtesla aluminum skid plate took up some of the damage, but looks like it bounced and hit the battery, making a 1/2" dent. My...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[ro_explorer]

There's a gap inside the case between floor n battery cells...

FYI, another case someone posted n Tesla said battery ok:

Battery dent tolerance?

Is there a tolerance for how deep a dent has to be in the battery before one needs to worry about it? Encountered some road debris at relatively slow speed ~10-15MPH. RPMtesla aluminum skid plate took up some of the damage, but looks like it bounced and hit the battery, making a 1/2" dent. My...

teslamotorsclub.com

The dent depth tolerance is 8mm on these 82kwh packs (according to the tehnician). I have 4 dents from that debris tumbling under the car. The deepest one apparently exceeded 8mm

There was an air leak test performed on the battery (and it came out correct) and and also a controlled discharge of the pack, down to 20%.

I've sent all the info to the insurance - currently waiting for their response.

 

[charlieaf92]

Sorry to hear about that. I'm curious - is that quote for a single pack or the entire battery? If I remember correctly there are 3-4 different packs that make up the battery.

 

[MP3Mike]

Sorry to hear about that. I'm curious - is that quote for a single pack or the entire battery? If I remember correctly there are 3-4 different packs that make up the battery.

It works be for a whole pack. (Individual modules can't be replaced.)

 

[afadeev]

The Model 3 does not seem to have worse insurance losses than BMWs, etc. according to Insurance losses by make and model , although it is still bad in collision losses (not worse the BMWs, etc.).

Somehow, that does not appear to reflect the reality of insurance pricing on Teslas vs. BMWs. I'm speaking from experience, as well as feedback from anyone who had ever bought insurance on Model 3.

Perhaps, here is part of the (obvious) answer:

Why Tesla cars get totaled so easily

Insurers are increasingly writing off Teslas even after light damage because of their complexity, their cost, and the high wait times for repairs.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[father_of_6]

Somehow, that does not appear to reflect the reality of insurance pricing on Teslas vs. BMWs. I'm speaking from experience, as well as feedback from anyone who had ever bought insurance on Model 3.

Perhaps, here is part of the (obvious) answer:

Why Tesla cars get totaled so easily

Insurers are increasingly writing off Teslas even after light damage because of their complexity, their cost, and the high wait times for repairs.

www.businessinsider.com

Pretty sure Business Insider has a strong bias against Tesla. Part of the reason for a Tesla being declared a total loss was because of parts shortages. If it takes 3 months to get a part, that's a lot of rental car expense.

Also, only a subset of body shops are Tesla certified, so they likely charge "Tesla tax" for repairs.

 

[charlieaf92]

It works be for a whole pack. (Individual modules can't be replaced.)

Are you sure? I could have sworn I read the packs are modular. $10k euros for an entirely new 75kw or so pack is less than I'd have guessed.

 

[texas_star_TM3]

Seems excessive having the replace entire pack for an 8mm dent… Tesla should consider protecting the battery pack much better if that’s the case. Tie down straps from a trailer are solid metal but hardly as heavy and solid as a trailer hitch…