Understanding the battery warranty

[cclarke47]

Can someone help me understand the battery warranty. In a typical gasoline engine the battery is primarily used to start the vehicle, so as cranking power reduces over the life of the battery the unit will simply fail. Warranty replacement is a prorated value.


With the Telsa I would assume the range will be the first sign of a problem. What happens (from a warranty prospective) if the fully charged range drops off significantly? Yes significantly is not cleared define but let use more that 2% / year as quoted in many of the blog and forum posting. Is the replacement prorated or is the whole vehicle warranty to perform through the full warranty period (8 years)?


I did check the forum before writing this inquire.

Cliff


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[djp]

The Tesla warranty doesn't cover loss of battery capacity, it's designed to replace the battery if it fails completely. The battery will be replaced with one of similar capacity.

 

[cclarke47]

Great. Thanks. So if a cell report that it has failed Tesla will replace it at no charge through the warranty period. By contrast the warranty can not be used if the full charge range drops from 285 mi to 100 mi within the warranty period.

I just wanted to know what we are getting into. Thanks.

 

[Lloyd]

Great. Thanks. So if a cell report that it has failed Tesla will replace it at no charge through the warranty period. By contrast the warranty can not be used if the full charge range drops from 285 mi to 100 mi within the warranty period.

I just wanted to know what we are getting into. Thanks.

Tesla will replace or repair a battery with abnormal degradation. Where they draw the line we don't know. To my knowledge nobody has had to do this yet.

 

[djp]

You wouldn't notice a single cell failing, and that would probably be considered normal wear and tear. If an entire brick or sheet failed due to a defect that would be replaced. Here's the actual text:

Battery Limited Warranty

Subject to the exclusions and limitations described in this New Vehicle Limited Warranty, the Battery Limited Warranty covers the repair or replacement necessary to correct defects in the materials or workmanship of the vehicle’s lithium-ion battery (“Battery”) manufactured or supplied by Tesla that occur under normal use for a period of 8 years or for the miles specified below for your vehicle’s Battery type, whichever comes first:

• 40 kWh - 100,000 miles (160,000 km)
• 60 kWh - 125,000 miles (200,000 km)
• 85 kWh - unlimited miles/km

The Battery, like all lithium-ion batteries, will experience gradual energy or power loss with time and use. Loss of Battery energy or power over time or due to or resulting from Battery usage, is NOT covered under this New Vehicle Limited Warranty. See your owner documentation for important information on how to maximize the life and capacity of the Battery.

Warranty (esp. driving through floods!)!)

 

[stopcrazypp]

We had another thread about this already (suggest using the forum search function before posting):
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/14001-Warranty-of-Battery

Like others have said, gradual capacity loss is not covered (even if it's faster than average). A complete pack failure is covered and defects are covered. The only case where capacity loss is covered is for uneven degradation (one module degrading much faster than the others) as this is a sign of battery defects in that module.