Tesla Model S power battery unknown liquid appears during the warranty period
car owner is required to bear the transportation and dismantling and inspection fees
China Quality News Network (Yu Chang) On April 25, 2022, China Quality News Network Auto Channel received a complaint from the Tesla car owner, saying that unknown liquid appears inside the Model S power battery he purchased and the vehicle cannot start normally again. The owner went to two Tesla maintenance centers and not only failed to get a reply to the cause of the problem, but also was asked to sign a "commissioned repair contract" when further testing was needed. The contract clearly stated that the battery transportation costs and dismantling inspection costs totaled 15,921 yuan, which the owner needed to bear. The maintenance center stated: If the car owner does not sign the contract, the maintenance center will not submit it to the inspection.
is similar to traditional fuel vehicles, pure electric vehicles also have "three major components", namely power batteries, electric drive systems and electronic control systems, among which power batteries directly determine the vehicle's user experience and performance safety. This website launched an investigation into the complaints of the car owner.
Tesla maintenance technician opened the thermal insulation layer of the power battery and saw a large amount of liquid on the upper layer of the battery, and some screws were rusted...
Mr. Liu, who lives in Beijing (whose articles are all pseudonyms at the request of the owner), purchased a Model S on November 28, 2017, and has been driving 60,000 kilometers. According to Mr. Liu, there was no problem with the vehicle during use until it received a notice from Tesla’s customer service on April 1, 2022, saying that its vehicle was within the recall scope and needed to be opened to the store for inspection.
(Picture source: provided by the car owner)
Mr. Liu told us the cause of the incident on the phone. He said: "On the way to (the store), the vehicle dashboard showed that the vehicle would not be restarted. I didn't take it seriously and drove it to the store. In addition to the recall inspection, they just happened to ask me to check what was going on." Mr. Liu handed the vehicle over to the staff of the Tesla maintenance center with confidence.
Mr. Liu originally thought the fault could be solved quickly, but he saw that the staff at the maintenance center were inspecting all afternoon. This made Mr. Liu feel strange. He asked the store staff what was going on? The staff told him: "The motor coolant leaks, and the vehicle needs to be placed in the store for repair."
During the Qingming Festival, Mr. Liu received a call from the Tesla Center. "They said they adjusted a new motor for me, but the system still couldn't enter the data after the replacement." Mr. Liu said, "The store told me that the vehicle might be an compressor problem, and I needed to go to the store to discuss repairs." It happened that during the Qingming Festival, Mr. Liu went to the store again.
Since the vehicle has been in use for four years, there are only two parts of the motor and battery during the warranty period, and the replacement and repair of the compressor must be paid by the owner. Mr. Liu believes that since there is a problem with the vehicle parts and it is not within the warranty period, it should be repaired.
However, the next day, Mr. Liu received a call from the Tesla maintenance center again, saying that after the compressor was replaced, the vehicle system could not be entered, which was not a problem with the compressor, but a problem with the battery. He also said that the battery had been removed and placed in a relatively safe place, so that Mr. Liu would go to the repair center again.
Tesla repair technician opened the thermal insulation layer of the power battery and found that there was a large amount of liquid on the upper layer of the battery (Picture source: provided by the car owner)
After Mr. Liu arrived at the store, the Tesla technician lifted up a corner of the battery fire blanket, indicating that there was liquid in the battery, which may be water, and it was proved with a freezing point tester.
Liquid should not appear under the power battery heat-insulated blanket (Picture source: provided by the car owner)
Due to the low amount of water, it is inconvenient for testing, Mr. Liu asked the technician to lift all the fire blankets. The scene that appeared shocked everyone - there was a lot of liquid on the battery, and some of the screws were rusted!
batteries can only be sent to Shanghai for inspection and maintenance from Beijing. In addition to the adverse factors caused by the epidemic to inspect and repair, the Tesla Maintenance Center also insists that the owner of the vehicle must sign a "maintenance entrusted contract " before the vehicle is sent to inspect.Article 15 of the contract stipulates: "Power battery and motor must be sent to Tesla factory (including its entrusted or approved affiliated companies) before the final maintenance plan and maintenance fee can be determined. Once the customer signs this document, he will clearly agree to dismantle the power battery and motor, agree to pay the dismantling inspection fee and the freight fee for the power battery and motor (including its accessories) to the Tesla factory and agree that the fee cannot be exempted or refunded."
said that the effusion on the power battery, even if it is due to product quality problems, or due to product design defects, involves transportation fees and dismantling inspection fees of more than 10,000 yuan, Tesla's policy to users is to only collect and not refund, and it is defined in the form of signing a contract with the user!
What are you doing?
Seeing this scene, Mr. Liu didn’t even have time to be afraid, and his mind was occupied by a huge doubt: How did these liquids get in?
The photo taken by Mr. Liu when Tesla disassembled the exhaust valve. You can see small droplets attached to it (Picture source: provided by the car owner)
In this regard, the Tesla Maintenance Center explained that when passing through a water-stabilized section in rainy days, the meeting between the two parties may cause the water to enter the car through the open ventilation valve, and a new exhaust valve was replaced by Mr. Liu.
However, Mr. Liu told this website that he has been driving on urban roads during the use of the vehicle and is very careful when parking. He usually lives in the underground parking lot in the residence. He tries not to drive an electric car whenever it rains, but drives another SUV at home. "I usually drive very carefully. Look at me, I only drive 60,000 kilometers in four years, so I can say that I rarely drive," said Mr. Liu.
Mr. Liu, who has not experienced driving and wading through water, believes that the damage caused by the battery's "water" is not a use problem, but a vehicle's design or quality problem; therefore, he insisted that Tesla official provide further inspections and explanations of the cause of water inlet.
Tesla's unified standard contract does not apply to Mr. Liu's current situation (Picture source: provided by the car owner)
In this situation, the Tesla Repair Center said that they are powerless and need to be transported to the Tesla headquarters in Shanghai for further testing and repairing the battery. The staff asked Mr. Liu to sign a commissioned repair contract and list the battery transportation costs and inspection costs, totaling 15,921 yuan. Mr. Liu's signature is required before the battery can be sent for inspection.
(Picture source: provided by the car owner)
. Article 15 of the contract terms made it difficult for Mr. Liu to sign: "The power battery and motor must be sent to the Tesla factory (including its entrusted or approved affiliated companies) before dismantling and inspection can be determined before the final maintenance plan and maintenance fee can be determined. Once the customer signs this document, he will clearly agree to dismantle the power battery and motor, agree to pay the dismantling fee and the freight rate of the power battery and motor (including its accessories) to the Tesla factory and agree to the The fees cannot be waived or refunded. "
contract even stipulates: "If the customer fails to confirm the repair plan within the deadline, the customer should pay the dismantling fee and freight within three days after the withdrawal of Tesla's notice and withdraw the unrepaired vehicles at the designated location."
In other words, once Mr. Liu signed and agreed to the battery for inspection, he did not agree with the repair plan proposed by Tesla, and not only would he bear the round-trip freight at his own expense, but he would even go to the designated location of Tesla to pick up the vehicles that he could not start within three days. A vehicle sold directly through the manufacturer has no other place to repair, which means that the vehicle will become a "waste" weighing several tons and can only be disposed of in scrapping. Mr. Liu firmly could not accept the terms of
. He questioned the staff of the Tesla Maintenance Center: "The contract does not indicate that if it is a quality problem, the car owner does not have to bear the inspection or inspection fee. The reason for the problem has not been found out yet. If I signed the letter, even the transportation and inspection fee will be paid by me. If it were you, would you sign such a contract?"
As of press time, Mr. Liu did not sign the contract. His car was parked in the Tesla Maintenance Center. The removed power battery was also placed at a corner of the repair workshop and on several car tires.
China Quality News Network will continue to pay attention to the progress of solving the problem of effusion in Mr. Liu's power battery.
