Used P85+ Advise

[Djsmooth56]

Hi, I found what I think might be a good deal on a 2014 P85+ and wanted to get opinions and advice from the pros on here about the car. Link below. It would be my first Tesla so feel free to school me on the in's and out's. My biggest concern with this particular one is that it has a weird Carfax history over the past year and it doesn't show "Highway Autopilot" on the info screen even though it does appear to have AP1. I think the car checks a lot of boxes for me on price and miles although I was originally looking for an 85D although I have a ICE 4x4 truck I will drive in winter so the rear wheel drive doesn't scare me.

2014 Used Tesla Model S 4dr Sedan P85 at Driven Auto of Waukegan, IL, IID 20503306

Thoughts please!

 

[thecloud]

That is a great find! The listing shows you the original packages that came with the car, including the Tech Package, the Fog Lights package, and the Parking Sensors package. Autopilot was not yet announced at the time this car would have been built (probably in September or October of 2014, given its P55854 VIN); it was a package you could only buy later. The picture shows that the car has AP1 hardware, so all you would need here is for Tesla to upgrade your account to have "Tech Package with Autopilot" or the current equivalent.

When I upgraded my P85, it had the same 3 packages (Tech, Fog Lights, Parking Sensors) which had been rolled into the "Tech Package with Autopilot". Since buying all three of these packages separately was equivalent to buying the new package, there was no charge to upgrade at that time. There may be some fee to have them enable Autopilot now, and you would have to bring it into a Tesla service center for them to inspect and perform the front camera adjustment prior to being enabled.

 

[thecloud]

You should know that only about 400 P85 and P85+ cars were built with Autopilot; we've been keeping a list. P55854 showed up as a Tesla used inventory listing back in October 2017. One word of warning: not sure what constitutes a "weird" Carfax but if it's been in a major accident or has a dubious title history, Tesla may refuse to enable AP.

 

[pabla]

I would definitely check the pano roof for any leaks, listen for any clunking noise when you accelerate or decelerate (worn motor mount, requires a new motor), insure all door handles work, check for rust on the little ball that connects the trunk to the motorized arm, check what range is displayed when the car is fully charged, check that both screens don't show any bubbles or yellowing, and finally listen for any clunks you hear in the suspension when driving over bumps! Otherwise it looks good to me, very rare to see a p85/p85+ with autopilot

 

[SoCal Buzz]

Looks to be in good shape. The driver’s display has some bubbles I think. And you should definitely plan on expense of MCU2 or at least the flash memory upgrade. Other than that, advice from others about checking 100% charge range, motor noise (high pitch whir from old bearing design), air suspension, etc. is good. Also, I think the center display yellowing did not occur until a later year. The other known issues with earlier cars include door handle paddle gear failure and the heater/DC converter fuse, which can be expensive. Good luck.

 

[dannycamps]

Good looking car. Definitely has AP1 enabled (Autosteer and Summon showing in Autopilot menu). Only issue I see in the pics is the bubbling of the IC screen which will eventually require a replacement/repair.

 

[Plasmid_Boy]

Looks like a good deal. The 19” wheels are probably not original. P85+ came with larger staggered wheels.
The same blue color as my 2014 P85+, love the color and the car. See if the car sags after sitting for a while, a sign of leakage in the air springs. In addition to the common stuff, such as door handle switches and leaking taillights, I had a few big things replaced including the drive motor, AC compressor, MCU2, and battery pack. If you upgrade to the MCU2, you would also get a new IC, which would take care of the bubbling that others mentioned above.

 

[gaswalla]

great deal!
just concerns about batterygate and chargegate in this older S with an 85 battey.

 

[gaswalla]

what do you mean 'weird carfax history'?
There are no accidents. It has been through multiple owners. Seems like you'd be the third or fourth. Sat with a dealer for a long time. Maybe something about the car that makes folks want to sell it?

 

[Djsmooth56]

Thanks for all the replies. When I mentioned the weird CARFAX, I meant that it looks like it sat around at dealers for a year and the sales agent at the current dealer said it just came in from a Canadian auction. If that’s true, would Tesla strip anything like free unlimited supercharging from it?

Can I call Tesla and ask them about the AP1 status?

What sort of battery problems could it have that would cause Tesla to do a warranty replacement? I ask because in MI we only have one service center and it’s across the state from me.

 

[2101Guy]

my thoughts. YOu are in michigan, and this is rear wheel drive only. Add that simply as a datapoint to all of the other factors you are considering for the possible purchase.

 

[Chaserr]

Supercharging is probably removed already, Tesla has claimed they can strip it even if they never owned the car as long as it was up for auction. If it comes with supercharging get that in writing, because it could be removed post sale. if it doesn't, it's not a big deal.

I'd be afraid of any used 85 battery. They have an ongoing fire problem and instead of a recall Tesla is crippling them slowly. Range can be capped, supercharge speeds are probably already halved if not even slower, and vampire draining is turned up. All steps to reduce how much energy is stored in an 85 battery pack without actually talking about why they are being crippled because there needs to be a recall. The battery is still in warranty, but don't expect it to matter they cripple to dodge warranty expenses. It's a gamble I wouldn't make, that battery design is flawed so badly Tesla can't afford to acknowledge how bad it is right now. there's a huge thread on the scandal in the battery subforum.

 

[Plasmid_Boy]

I have not been using the supercharger much, but on road trips this summer my 2014 P85+ still charged at about 120kw, just over 400 miles/hr at low SOC, IIRC, then tapered off. Took about 1 hr to charge from 10% to 100%, which I thought was fine. The range was 256 miles. Based on this, I thought that the battery we holding up well. I got a replacement battery pack after the road trips due to a BMS error message. @Chaserr, would you happen to have the links to the posts about problems of the 85 battery pack you mentioned (I searched but couldn't find)? Cheers!

 

[Chaserr]

Sudden Loss Of Range With 2019.16.x Software

Stop updating now. they offer nothing but downgrades on older cars like ours and the link above should tell you what you risk in every update. Horsepower, range, charge speed... everything is crippled once Tesla singles out your battery for reduction.

Hopefully your new pack is one without the flaw but without a recall there is no transparency. They have been quietly replacing batteries since announcing the risk of fire though, when was yours replaced?

 

[pabla]

Sudden Loss Of Range With 2019.16.x Software

Stop updating now. they offer nothing but downgrades on older cars like ours and the link above should tell you what you risk in every update. Horsepower, range, charge speed... everything is crippled once Tesla singles out your battery for reduction.

Hopefully your new pack is one without the flaw but without a recall there is no transparency. They have been quietly replacing batteries since announcing the risk of fire though, when was yours replaced?

well I mean as batteries age they get less powerful, can’t charge as fast and don’t have the same capacity. My 2014 p85 with 120k kms on the original battery was charging fine and at decent speeds at a supercharger, only saw about 6% degradation and the car still completed 0-60 runs in the 4.3-4.4 range.

 

[Chaserr]

Tesla says it's about fires. The reductions are their response.

Before the fire reductions I had less degradation than yours! This definitely isn't degradation or natural - if you read the link Tesla confirms it is artificial and intentional and done in response to a fire investigation. GM recalled all their Bolts over a fire problem and used the same emergency bandaid: battery capping to reduce the chances of spontaneous combustion. GM filed the paperwork so we know their software crippling is temporary. Tesla didn't, probably because they hoped it could be permanent by gaslighting owners into thinking it was natural or degradation.

I'm glad you got yours. I hope they never come for you, and for now there are still others left to stand up and maybe stop that from happening.

 

[pabla]

Tesla says it's about fires. The reductions are their response.

Before the fire reductions I had less degradation than yours! This definitely isn't degradation or natural - if you read the link Tesla confirms it is artificial and intentional and done in response to a fire investigation. GM recalled all their Bolts over a fire problem and used the same emergency bandaid: battery capping to reduce the chances of spontaneous combustion. GM filed the paperwork so we know their software crippling is temporary. Tesla didn't, probably because they hoped it could be permanent by gaslighting owners into thinking it was natural or degradation.

I'm glad you got yours. I hope they never come for you, and for now there are still others left to stand up and maybe stop that from happening.

I sold the car a few weeks ago, but aren’t these factors all dependent on your charging habits ie how often the car is supercharged how many 0-100% cycles and so on?

 

[Cleo-n-Company]

The pano roof on my P85+ still creaks 'n' leaks. Even after I shelled out $400 for Tesla to address the sealing and leak issues.

So on that note - be aware that items that may seem like "little things" on these cars (leaking roof... non-presenting door handles... yellowing screens) are very expensive for mere mortals to afford. "Big things" like the MCU2 upgrade... new motor mounts... control arms that snap off like a pretzel stick... will cost you into the thousands.

Kind of strange this P85+ had the original staggered wheels replaced with 19's. Since the P85+ scoots along quick nicely, I do wonder if the 19's can handle quick acceleration runs, or affect ride / handling on this model.

I've had to take a deep breath and sell my pets on Ebay to help pay for the correct staggered tire sizes on my P85+. (About $1400 out the door - and not so easy to find a tire shop that has both the fronts and backs available at the same time, since these aren't common tire sizes.)

 

[Chaserr]

I sold the car a few weeks ago, but aren’t these factors all dependent on your charging habits ie how often the car is supercharged how many 0-100% cycles and so on?

They are. They are also factors that Tesla can and does intentionally cap in response to their internal fires investigation. It's easy to see, they did it the exact same way they cap other cars in software like the Model 3 SR-, S40, S60 etc. The difference here is they were originally sold uncapped so you can't pay later to get the hidden capacity like you can with factory capped cars.

Since you sound interested in the capping, read up on it here Sudden Loss Of Range With 2019.16.x Software

Tesla admits to everything. It isn't and never was natural, and unlike natural aging can be reversed in software. They aren't reversing it because it's unsafe, but anyone can by downgrading to older firmware. Since they hid the recall from everyone it's either safe to downgrade, or a really big problem so a lot of people have said Tesla is just crippling 85s to save on warranty money. Either way, I recommend avoiding the 85 at least until the courts have reached a decision. Get a new Model 3 for similar money and better technology all around.

When was your battery replaced?

 

[pabla]

They are. They are also factors that Tesla can and does intentionally cap in response to their internal fires investigation. It's easy to see, they did it the exact same way they cap other cars in software like the Model 3 SR-, S40, S60 etc. The difference here is they were originally sold uncapped so you can't pay later to get the hidden capacity like you can with factory capped cars.

Since you sound interested in the capping, read up on it here Sudden Loss Of Range With 2019.16.x Software

Tesla admits to everything. It isn't and never was natural, and unlike natural aging can be reversed in software. They aren't reversing it because it's unsafe, but anyone can by downgrading to older firmware. Since they hid the recall from everyone it's either safe to downgrade, or a really big problem so a lot of people have said Tesla is just crippling 85s to save on warranty money. Either way, I recommend avoiding the 85 at least until the courts have reached a decision. Get a new Model 3 for similar money and better technology all around.

When was your battery replaced?

Interesting I will certainly read up on it. My battery wasn’t replaced, I owned the car from 2016-2020 so maybe from 2014-2016 it was replaced never saw the battery sticker though. But that’s that, won’t high-jack this thread.