$8K Repairs on 2013 Model S

[newbury]

After 10.5 years of faultless running (only very minor, non-operational issues), my 2013 Model S (60) bricked, and after four weeks of diagnostics and $2.5k repairs, Tesla Service says it will cost close to $5.5k more to repair, and they don't know for certain if those repairs will completely fix the issue (more details below). I have questions...

• Has anyone else experienced this type of major issue? What was your experience?
• In evaluating whether to plunk down another $6k, what factors should I consider? Remaining battery life? Concerns about a continuing cascade of repair catastrophes?
• At $2.5k in, am I throwing good money after bad? Should I cut my losses and run? Tesla says they'd give me $6700 on a trade in. Whoopee. How much longer will this car last?
• Are these service people having me on? Do they know what they are doing? Should I suspect gross incompetence, as in, they are clueless about what is wrong and are just replacing stuff until it works again?

Details: We went on an extended (3-month) vacation from April to July. The car was in a closed garage for the entire time, was plugged in, but not driven. While the garage is dry, the climate was cold and wet most of that time. The car ran fine for a couple of weeks after we returned, but then started flashing dire warning messages before bricking completely before we could get it in for its scheduled appointment.

The first thing the tech discovered was that there was a rat's nest in the car, and the rat had chewed up some of the wiring. While necessitating replacement of the wiring harness, that was not what was causing the car to fail. After two weeks of poking at it and trying to get the error to repeat, they determined the problem to be the battery management system. Waited two weeks to get the parts only to hear that now it needs a DC to DC Converter and a junction box. They said that part of the expense is that the OEM parts for a 2013 are no longer available, and they have to retrofit to replace them with second generation parts. They also mentioned something about possible water intrusion. The service rep said that once those parts are fixed, it's possible more could be wrong.

I love my Model S, and would like to keep it. If I got a new car, it would be another Model S; I would definitely appreciate the doubled range and the new-style regen braking. While plunking down the $80-90K is not out of the question, I do have better things to do with that money. Other than the fact that it currently doesn't run, the car is in good condition. I am getting around 180 miles of charge when full (down from the original 200). 112000 miles.

Any feedback and thoughts are welcome and appreciated!

 

[jmaddr]

Honestly, Tesla is just plugging in a computer and replacing whatever it says to replace. Not to discredit them, but I wouldn’t call most of them troubleshooters. I say that as it jives with what you describe…the technician saying they can’t be positive it will fix what’s wrong. They can’t be positive because they don’t really know what’s wrong, only what the computer tells them to replace.
So, if you can swing it, it’s probably best to get the new one or say 1-2y old one. The tech is years ahead and a for a first generation car, you have done pretty well.

 

[newbury]

Honestly, Tesla is just plugging in a computer and replacing whatever it says to replace. Not to discredit them, but I wouldn’t call most of them troubleshooters. I say that as it jives with what you describe…the technician saying they can’t be positive it will fix what’s wrong. They can’t be positive because they don’t really know what’s wrong, only what the computer tells them to replace.
So, if you can swing it, it’s probably best to get the new one or say 1-2y old one. The tech is years ahead and a for a first generation car, you have done pretty well.

Thanks for the reply. Should I ask for proof that the parts they are replacing are actually not working? Can they tell?

 

[NickFie]

Are you looking for a solution or an adventure?

The solution path would be to trade or sell your no-longer-reliable well-used Tesla for parts or to a hobbyist. Then purchase a recent model Tesla that will provide superior safety (FSD), range and convenience.

The adventure path is to spend an unknown amount of money to resurrect an older model that might still have problems that surface later.

 

[bkenchan]

Similar issue here. I went in because my AC stopped blowing out cold air so they replaced the fuse for a little over $900 then I got my car back and four days later it bricked and now they're saying I need a gen 2 DC/DC converter retrofit which cost a little over $6k and can take up to six months depending on the availability of parts.

In my case I'm leaning towards repairing it since my car is still in great condition from it being in the garage most of its life. I also have a Y so I don't need those few thousand dollars that they will give me for a trade in.