RIP Vin #783

augkuo · Oct 31, 2013

After reaching a bit over the 50,000 mile mark and returning home from National Plug In Day, my underside was punctured by some object on 101. My battery started decreasing range and I had an annual service scheduled for late October but I was able to schedule it a little earlier due to the rapid range loss. While I was waiting for the service, I tried rebalancing the battery but looks like the puncture fried something (no fires though!) and nothing worked. A video taken by Tesla of my underside is here: [video]https://plus.google.com/117988036691160667450/posts/avPsLrZLYVe[/video]

At first I thought they could just replace a battery sheet and I'd be on my way but looks like they won't be able to get the battery out and they don't really have the expertise of aluminum cutting/welding so the car has been declared a total loss. :crying::crying::crying:

So except for the hand brake and battery (now only holds 18 miles charge, down from 174 before in ~30 days) the car is perfectly fine so it felt weird to just give it to the salvage yard. I've decided to keep it as a spare for parts so I guess it's not really dead yet...

slcasner · Oct 31, 2013

How sad!

brianman · Oct 31, 2013

Mitrovic · Nov 1, 2013

Sad story!

But why can't they replace the battery?

Is there a damage on the chassis?

hcsharp · Nov 1, 2013

I'm very sorry. Did you get to see what you ran over on 101? I bet somebody could fix it. I'm glad to hear you're going to get another one.

markwj · Nov 1, 2013

Nooooh! So sad.

Looks like the tub is punctured in several places, and that is a write off on its own.

bhuwan · Nov 1, 2013

Man another one? Our insurance rates are going to go up!

bart513 · Nov 1, 2013

Very very sad. Hopefully it wasn't a painful death.......

JRP3 · Nov 1, 2013

I'd take it to a really good body shop or custom build shop, I'm pretty sure they could repair the damage and make the pack accessible. Frankly I'd be a bit concerned with just leaving the car sitting long term with a damaged pack without removing it.

Pantera Dude · Nov 1, 2013

Serious bummer. I had heard that it doesn't take much to total an Elise due to the aluminum chassis.

gg_got_a_tesla · Nov 1, 2013

So sorry to see this, augkuo. Hope you get a new Model S real soon (have you ordered a replacement already?)

I'm avoiding anything that remotely resembles road debris like the plague now. Have had to avoid a landscaping rake once and on another occasion, what looked like a large boxcutter. Ran over a narrow but long piece of wood with my right wheels once on Hwy 101 (coincidentally right around the time of the Kent fire) but, with thankfully no damage.

Bradleybang · Nov 1, 2013

I will miss seeing that beautiful white cruising around Berkeley/Oakland. Best of luck on getting a great CPO roadster.

strider · Nov 1, 2013

So did the insurance company total and then you bought it back for salvage value? Care to share the numbers? I'm curious what insurance and salvage values are for Roadsters these days. I'm sure there's value in parting it out - folks who need headlights, seats, body panels, etc. Could really save someone's car in the future.

shrink · Nov 1, 2013

This makes me sad. My condolences. I can't believe it can't be fixed. Hope the insurance took care of you and hope you're in another Tesla soon.

Let us know when/if you decide to part it out. I'd be interested in your black rims.

lolachampcar · Nov 1, 2013

Sorry to hear it.

WRT the Elise tub, I'd not concern myself with that kind of damage. I once had a thin Ti sheet bonded to the bottom a tub to address just that kind of damage. With some high temp Hysol and a good shear, you could probably do it yourself. The big key is a vacuum bag arrangement so as to properly present the plate under pressure. Sounds a lot harder than it is to do.

wiztecy · Nov 1, 2013

lolachampcar said:
Sorry to hear it.

WRT the Elise tub, I'd not concern myself with that kind of damage. I once had a thin Ti sheet bonded to the bottom a tub to address just that kind of damage. With some high temp Hysol and a good shear, you could probably do it yourself. The big key is a vacuum bag arrangement so as to properly present the plate under pressure. Sounds a lot harder than it is to do.

I'd also try to repair it, but sounds like you have to act fast since the SOC is down in the bricking state. Is that 18 miles/10% SOC after a charge? I'm curious if you can charge it up then pull the fuse to help save the battery.

richkae · Nov 1, 2013

Doesnt it seem like if you could do some cutting to get the battery out you might have 12 good sheets?
Then if you find an intact battery box and 1 more sheet you would have a good battery?

augkuo · Nov 1, 2013

richkae said:
Doesnt it seem like if you could do some cutting to get the battery out you might have 12 good sheets?
Then if you find an intact battery box and 1 more sheet you would have a good battery?

Yes I suppose you could - here's what they told me -

Unfortunately we will not be able to service this vehicle since we are unable to remove and reinstall the battery due to the frame damage. The battery may not fit back in as the alignment will be off.

jeremyz · Nov 1, 2013

That's an interesting way to repair the tub. You can't really weld in a new sheet since aluminum loses a ton of strength after welding unless you heat treat it. From the 6061 aluminum alloy wikipedia page:

6061 is highly weldable, for example using tungsten inert gas welding (TIG) or metal inert gas welding (MIG). Typically, after welding, the properties near the weld are those of 6061-O, a loss of strength of around 80%. The material can be re-heat-treated to restore -T4 or -T6 temper for the whole piece. After welding, the material can naturally age and restore some of its strength as well. Nevertheless, the Alcoa Structural Handbook recommends the design strength of the material adjacent to the weld to be taken as 11,000 psi without proper heat treatment after the

So if you wanted to weld the tub, you would have to throw the whole car in an annealing oven to make the welded area strong again. Obviously, that's not trivial.

Join techshop and you can fix it there. They have a waterjet to cut the titanium. They also have stuff for doing carbon fiber, so you should be able to properly bond the titanium sheet to the aluminum.

lolachampcar said:
Sorry to hear it.

WRT the Elise tub, I'd not concern myself with that kind of damage. I once had a thin Ti sheet bonded to the bottom a tub to address just that kind of damage. With some high temp Hysol and a good shear, you could probably do it yourself. The big key is a vacuum bag arrangement so as to properly present the plate under pressure. Sounds a lot harder than it is to do.

Doug_G · Nov 1, 2013

augkuo said:
Unfortunately we will not be able to service this vehicle since we are unable to remove and reinstall the battery due to the frame damage. The battery may not fit back in as the alignment will be off.

A rebuild battery is apparently $38k including installation. So it's worth a fair penny if you can save it. It might be worth your while to figure out a way to get the battery out of the car, even if that means completely disassembling the car around it.

RIP Vin #783

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