Dead 12 Volt battery rant

[flyinghawaiian]

Ok, sorry about the rant but I just have to vent. This is the first time I've ever been stranded and have needed a rescue person to come save me, all over a dead 12 volt battery on a 2.5 year car.

I've owned or currently own all Tesla models so I'm a huge fan. But lately, the changes Tesla has made has taken the shine off the brand for me. I use to brag about Tesla customer service. Now it's horrible because you can't talk to anyone.

A couple of days ago, we received a warning on the X stating the 12 volt battery will need replacing. Luckily I had made an appointment a few days earlier to fix a charging port issue, which the mobile guy didn't fix because he couldn't replicate it not opening when he showed up. Before, I could call and usually get in the same day or next day, now with the app, it's always at least a week out. Can't even call anyone anymore. Even with that appointment, the car died exactly 48 hours after receiving the warning.

No problem, I've jumped many vehicles in my time. First problem, can't open the car at all. Finally go on youtube and watch a video how to pop the frunk. Still can't figure out how to get inside the actual car to get the manual since I can't open it. So back to youtube on how to jump it. Pretty straight forward on accessing the positive jump terminal. Then I see I can't find a negative terminal to connect to. I have a portal battery jumper and the cables are short, hence that's why they're portable. One video shows a guy connecting the negative terminal to a bare metal piece in the wheel well! No matter where I looked, couldn't find any bare metal within 2 feet of the positive terminal. WTF Tesla! Never seen this before in any ICE cars I've owned (BMWs, Ford, Nissan, Toyota).

Ok, decide to go onto my Tesla.com account. I find the manual online. I search and search and can't find anything about how to jumpstart the car in the manual. WTF Tesla!

Wife and kids had to have a coworker in an ICE car pick them up, the Model X sitting in the driveway with the hood popped open looking pathetic with panels everywhere.

I love the Tesla tech, but sometimes they also need to do the basic car stuff right.

 

[TechVP]

Thank you for the rant. It's been on my mind for awhile now that my 2017 X is about 2.5 years old. I'll start carrying my 12V jump kit as a precaution if I see anything odd.

I appreciate you bringing up the issue of not having an obvious choice for a negative ground. For other reasons, I was cautiously looking for the same a week or so ago. Panels off, etc. There are several nuts in that location. Because of either tricky access or paint I didn't find an easy ground point that I liked. I'll look again in the near future.
Thats said, let's hear from some other owners & find out their experiences, too.

TechVP

 

[VikH]

They used to have the 12V jump start info in the manual, but removed it for some reason. There are pieces of metal behind the fuse box. What did roadside say?

 

[ElectricLove]

You aren’t the first to experience this sort of thing and you certainly won’t be the last. Tesla made the choice to put a basic (read: cheap) lead acid battery in their vehicles for 12V power. It saves them money but when it comes to running electronics 24/7 like a cell-phone or laptop battery (constant cycling, charge, discharge, etc) lead acid is just not a good battery chemistry.

This is all why my Tesla always have Lithium 12V batteries now!

Highly recommended www.ohmmu.com others who have them will tell you!

 

[jboy210]

You aren’t the first to experience this sort of thing and you certainly won’t be the last. Tesla made the choice to put a basic (read: cheap) lead acid battery in their vehicles for 12V power. It saves them money but when it comes to running electronics 24/7 like a cell-phone or laptop battery (constant cycling, charge, discharge, etc) lead acid is just not a good battery chemistry.

This is all why my Tesla always have Lithium 12V batteries now!

Highly recommended www.ohmmu.com others who have them will tell you!

Wow. Theie LiIon batteries are $600. A lead acid is around $100. I would probably just replace the lead acid every 2 years proactively.

 

[TMThree]

Wow. Theie LiIon batteries are $600. A lead acid is around $100. I would probably just replace the lead acid every 2 years proactively.

Not only that, but Tesla deep discharges the 12v constantly. I wouldn't want to put a lithium battery there, it would be degraded significantly with that charging schedule.

 

[RRM998]

My 12v battery died on Tuesday and it’s still at the shop (this is Saturday) because the shop has no 12v batteries in stock. It’s on order but hasn’t shipped yet. No ETA.

 

[lakemirror]

My 12v battery died on Tuesday and it’s still at the shop (this is Saturday) because the shop has no 12v batteries in stock. It’s on order but hasn’t shipped yet. No ETA.

That absolutely sucks. What service center?

 

[HostileHarry]

How hard is it to install a new 12v battery?

 

[shinytop]

By the YouTube videos it does not appear super difficult but many screws involved in removal of frunk to get at it. Also appeared helpful to have second person to get it out.

 

[RRM998]

That absolutely sucks. What service center?

Houston North Freeway location

 

[aesculus]

Even with that appointment, the car died exactly 48 hours after receiving the warning.

This is the odd part. I drove for over a month in Winter with the warnings without incident.

 

[Silicon Desert]

How hard is it to install a new 12v battery?

Assuming your question is serious.... A mobile ranger came to my house a couple years ago and replaced mine on the X. I watched on the security camera. It took him less than 30 minutes.
And side note, they came out within 48 hours after I reported it !

 

[Silicon Desert]

This is the odd part. I drove for over a month in Winter with the warnings without incident.

You mean a "California winter", where it gets to 50 degrees F and people panic that the ice age is coming back. Just joking of course. Lived there for 40 years and does get cold some time, but not like my Sparks winters.

The real reason for this post is to say I suggest no one ever wait a month to get it replaced, or you will find yourself stranded. "AVERAGE" failure after the messages is roughly 10 to 15 days depending on a LOT of variables. I consider you to be really lucky.

 

[jboy210]

Assuming your question is serious.... A mobile ranger came to my house a couple years ago and replaced mine on the X. I watched on the security camera. It took him less than 30 minutes.
And side note, they came out within 48 hours after I reported it !

Another vote for a ranger. I always look at them as the first line of service. Only if it needs something a ranger cannot do would I consider going to a Service Center. The whole concept of dropping a car off for routine service is as outdated as going to a gas station for fuel.

 

[SSedan]

On the lithium 12volt, when I needed a 12volt I considered it but when asking about using one in Green Bay's climate I got back very salesmanship like answers that did not convinced me to buy one.

 

[aesculus]

You mean a "California winter", where it gets to 50 degrees F and people panic that the ice age is coming back. Just joking of course. Lived there for 40 years and does get cold some time, but not like my Sparks winters.

Actually, I technically live in the Sierras but was doing a lot of trips to Tahoe to go skiing but yeah ...

When I called service to report it they stated it would last for a month. The real reason I ended up dealing with it was that you cannot do updates whenever there is an warning/alert on the car. Glad I did not wait past the 30 days.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

What’s the life expectancy of the stock 12v batter?

 

[SSedan]

2years or so.
When the Ranger did mine at 4ish years and I think 75k miles he said he was only aware of one older.
Was $160 for the battery and another $60 for him to come to my home to change it. Bet shipping would have put a dent in that $60 labor so I was happy with that vs. shipping and diy.

 

[NoMoGas]

You just reminded me it's time t change mine. Been 4 years. :/

To the OP, Yea, Tesla service needs to step it up on a corporate level. The local shops are swarmed.