What To Do When Your Tesla Battery Fails and You Can’t Afford To Fix it

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We look at what Tesla battery Replacement option exist
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[@RichRebuilds]

Shop Temu Black Friday Deals event and get $100 coupon bundle: temu.to/m/upjk9m5qnwf Or search code “dkj2937” in Temu to apply Time to get this Car Tire Inflator Pump for FREE (Temu new app users): temu.to/m/ur0zoo2e63y

[@Spartin57]

Hey @RichRebuilds what's your opinion on the Polestar2 looking at getting one

[@iordanisG]

selling the electric that ruined you financially to buy another one, or paying for a new battery is just an accident waiting to happen. There is only one advice, sell it and buy an ICE vehicle

[@porovaara]

temu uses forced labor camps in china to create products they sell to americans. nice sponsorship dude.

[@TheStuartstardust]

​​@@iordanisG I had a Mercedes where the engine blew up - so if you are unlucky it does not matter the platform. Getting a used engine was more than half the cost of the car. 💸 Edit: I guess the main point is right to repair, so more 3rd party shops as Rich says - win for the customers. 👨‍🔧👩‍🔧

[@Coen80]

TEMU SUCKS. and you know it boy! Also... why the F is the video mirrored?

[@jamiedear7889]

This is why we love Uncle Rich. Yes, we love the comedy gold, wild builds, and Stevon; but we really come here for the honesty, informed perspective, and advice.

[@trigganometry168]

Don't forget most people like me tune in for the girl Lenda.

[@spontaneousexpress]

Damn....You calling him Uncle makes him look like he was your grandmother's highschool sweetheart.

[@justinx9892]

@@trigganometry168she’s starting to look old and used.

[@nadnerb2k]

This is what I like to see: exactly the right balance between acknowledging that it's an unlikely event, and truth around what happens in the event of a worst case scenario. Onya Rich.

[@Fireballsocal]

But it's not an unlikely event. All EVs will need their HV batteries replaced at some point assuming they are still functioning otherwise. The vehicles Rich is mentioning now are getting to that age of needing replacement. Wait for another 5 years to go by when Tesla output had grown exponentially and we will see lots more of these stories. They are disposable vehicles. The cells in the roadster had a slightly longer lifespan assuming you didn't go with the upgraded pack but they are getting to that age of replacement as well.

[@drivefast996]

Model 3 is pushing 6 years old. there are hundreds of thousands still on the road without battery issues. The money you save on a new model 3 after tax credit and gas savings over life of ownership well justifies the purchase. You will be in denial until every vehicle on the road is an ev. Battery replacements will get cheaper over time. @@Fireballsocal

[@yarrik701]

This isn't a matter of "if", but "when". If you hold on to your EV long enough, it's not even just extremely likely the battery pack will fail, it's inevitable that it will fail. You can baby your EV, do everything right and luck out that you don't have random cells die on you, but, the usable capacity will over time and with or without use decrease until the battery pack becomes unusable. Same can be said for ICEs, an engine WILL wear out of you run it long enough, though they can and many have lasted longer than what you can expect out of previous and today's EV battery packs. What matters though is; will the pack outlast the car it powers or not?

[@sumduma55]

​@yarrik701 outside of some of these turbocharged 3 cylinders engines, most modern internal combustion engines will reliably give you 200k plus miles if they are taken care of. That will surpass most batteries given the same drive time and mileage.

[@phiiz3r]

​@yarrik701 Or when the pack becomes unusable has the replacement cost dropped to such an extent that it is a no-brainer to have it done.

[@JimCourtney33]

I am a TESLA Plaid owner and you are absolutely 100% spot on. 😂 Love your sense of humor. Don’t ever stop. Best wishes. 😂

[@JezzaUK]

You OK Jim? (Rich said to check on you!) ;-)

[@philtucker1224]

Sorry for your loss 🙏

[@JimCourtney33]

Thank you 😂

[@jhumbo631]

Rich really cracked me up with that line. I just bought a (used) S Long Range and was surprised to notice that it was only a wee bit more for a Plaid. Hope you're doing ok and made it to work today. Rich told me to check in.

[@philtucker1224]

@@jhumbo631 how much? (Clean title or cat S?)

[@johngerraughty]

Excellent information as always. One more factor is the drive unit(s). If your battery warranty is expired your drive unit warranty likely is as well. At a cost of roughly 6k each for a drive unit you need to be prepared to potentially deal with a drive unit failure at some point as well. Other than those components the rest are fairly reasonable to replace.

[@senorhabanero8117]

Stevon in the van made me really happy just then

[@miker7808]

what happened to him? yes my addy is under a rock

[@daexion]

I ran into one person who liked to claim the 20k+ USD price didn't exist anymore and was ancient history from over 10 years ago and liked to claim that independent EV repair shops were a dime a dozen. These people don't understand that replacing the battery pack is literally like buying a used car for a lot of people.

[@JetFire9]

The number of stupid people spreading pro-EV misinformation is mind boggling. They are ready to die on the EV hill. It will be a sad day for them when they get their $20k surprise bill. 😂

[@AceEverett]

More than a used car in many cases. I know plenty of people in the past year who were used car shopping with a 5-20k budget while these repairs are going for, according to Rich, 15-27k...

[@JetFire9]

@@AceEverett EV's are unaffordable for the people that keep this country running. Somehow they have these people voting for their own demise. Funny how that happens. The people fleeing Venezuela and flooding this country as illegals all voted for their country's demise.

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

Sounds like good advice, Rich. Hope those folks in this situation can make it through these issues.

[@alano2875]

Your Temu Ad is the first in my 10+ years of watching KZbin, that I did not forward through! Great Video and great ad.

[@thatguyty89]

PLEASE STOP PROMOTING TEMU MALWARE

[@FalkonNightsdale]

Exactly. TEMU is known to be both malware AND low-quality items seller… No need to tarnish one's reputation associating with them… But yeah, they pay a lot without asking too much questions…

[@Warex06]

Temu =🇨🇳💩

[@HunterxHunter--]

Shop like a billionaire even if you're not 😂

[@numlockkilla]

That's how they get there money. Wouldn't you know it they can't stand on their own skills. Channels like rich rebuilds and tavarish learned as a kid to get that money lifestyle , sellout immediately so they can get them gritts. Other channels with same content make it on their skills. Parts slappers get what they get. That's why I unsubbed. Content game is weak

[@tommytfaa]

Temu sucks

[@goatmr2]

Truly brilliant! This was so honest, even when it was not in your own financial best interest. The best way to make a good financial assessment about what to do with a cat that the battery gives up the ghost. Now the market needs to incentive Tesla to build cheaper and easier ways to fix and rebuild batteries so it isn't such a loss if they go out

[@ericsfishingadventures4433]

Just One of the biggest issues are the materials that are used to build the batteries that make them so expensive. Lithium and nickel and others they use aren't heavily mined in the United States. It typically comes from China or Africa and is extremely toxic. That's why rich advocates to try and recycling the batteries as responsible as possible,and the right to repair which I also support. Check out a video on how and what it looks like to mine for lithium and other materials for the batteries.

[@jarrodf_]

@@ericsfishingadventures4433 Australia produces ~50% of the world's lithium; Chile's the other biggest lithium producer.

[@champspec]

The problem with these new cars is the electronic powertrain and the fact that they can all literally have their engine management system controlled via the build in WiFi adapter… do you really think that functional obsolescence and your expired vehicle warranty doesn’t have anything to do with the reason the manufacturer keeps pushing firmware updates all the sudden, every time you plug your car in??? Lol 😂

[@Texarmageddon]

@@jarrodf_all producers are funded or outright owned by China. FYI

[@thegreattuna7187]

This only gets harder with their new battery packs because they are all or nothing now. I really like Tesla and their products, but there are some serious drawbacks.

[@vaibhavdlv]

This is very well put. Last year when I wanted to buy a new 2-wheeler I looked at what is available in market. There were few battery-electric options along with conventional IC engine bikes. I went through the specs of every vehicle and finally considering my use case, went ahead with a 125cc ICE scooter.

[@HifeMan]

Electric motorcycles, are still way behind cars. They just don’t have the range or power you can get from an ice motorcycle. Kawasaki is coming out with an EV and an hybrid which is definitely cool.

[@VinceTheCreatorr]

​@@HifeManI agree. Gas powered motorcycles are still the better option and cheaper

[@ryanhavens959]

Thanks for the videos. You have helped me with door handle repair and many more on my 17 ms . I would love to see more in depth repair videos.

[@JoshMilesVFX]

Temu is very scetchy with privacy and data mining. Be careful people. That said, another incredible video. Hilarous and informative.

[@btam83]

It's full of junk. I like rich but that's some sketchy sponsorship. Should have some standard

[@absolutepressur]

Agreed. It was really off putting when he started promoting them. I hope he doesn't continue with them.

[@mattb9343]

They also like to source labor and cotton from places affected by genocide.

[@TRYtoHELPyou]

2013 S 85 owner here. Bought used from Tesla in 2018, October. It was a miserable experience but the car and the warranty were and are good. Contactors are wearing out and it's power limited on output. Tesla wanted about 2 grand to replace contactors, and a couple other things that normally happen when they yoink the battery. We are doing what you said here, just driving it. No need to waste time fixing it since it still works well. Plus, we imagine it could take a dump months after replacing the contactors. A year or two ago I teed off the ac condenser line so it doesn't pee on the battery. Such a tragically stupid design flaw. Easy enough fix... first say the issue from grubwrt... the battery shows 211 miles at 90 percent... 150k plus miles. We are going to keep it around as long as possible.

[@JetFire9]

Have fun!

[@nodelayfordays8083]

Tutorial on the pee prevention tactic?

[@StephenPace1]

211 at 90% isn't bad. My 2012 S85 is 223 at 100%. Which is only down 42 miles in 11 years.

[@ginog5037]

​@@StephenPace1How do you maintain your battery, and what's your mileage??

[@Bozobi]

This really clears a lot of confusion and helps a lot of people who are dealing with this.

[@bavelnaard]

Your honesty does you credit, man. Thank you

[@skittlesgarage]

Rich is so funny. 😂 I don’t care what car he’s working on, I’m entertained.

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

He should move his hands more when he talks though.

[@snoflite5234]

Show us more on repairing the pack please.

[@Where2bub]

It’s so fricken good when I actually get information within my entertainment in yt, unlike most other car channels.

[@Supernumerary]

Rich- I clicked on your video because you are The Original Tesla Expert. I have not seen you around for a long time. It’s good to see you.

[@mcdonnellpadraic]

Please go into a deep dive!!!!!!! Also collaborate with Sandy Munro in the series. THIS is a series. What can go wrong, what goes wrong, how the packs can be Built differently to fix the issues we will see more of in another decade, and how many of these m, or not, of these problems have been addressed. Fascinating and actually usful research.

[@TeslaRebuilders]

So I have just recently gone through a high voltage battery pack replacement by Tesla. Usually all non warranty repairs I do myself, I have replaced a rear drive unit in my 100k mile 3. After looking at all my options of fixing it myself it turned out Tesla was not that much more than DIY. I also got a warranty for 4 year and 50k miles and re-enabled supercharging on my salvaged SR3. The pack replacement was a refurbished pack with a new module 1 out of the 4 after I checked it. Using "Scan My Tesla" App I could clearly see one of the modules was new and very balanced. The other cell groups in other 4 modules were all normally random and off a bit. I did a range test and was able to get 220 miles from 100% to 0% SOC before balancing. I want to do it again and expect probably 235 miles driving at 45-60 mph highway/city. So in all going DIY just sourcing a pack off Ebay would have been over 6k$ + shipping and very risky. Having to change the pack myself this summer was not a good plan as I was super busy. My garage would have to clear out of my project and everyday driver to do the swap. I would have to deal with trying to sell the old HVB and or reuse it some way. All in cost 9500$ for Tesla to replace the pack in my SR3, 7k$ for battery, 1K$ for labor and 1500$ for other labor and parts to do the High voltage safety inspection with supercharging re-enabled. So that's how I came to my decision on which way to go as at the time I had just enough to get them to do it. Time will tell if it was all worth and if the warranty holds true in case of a issue. Thanks Rich for keeping up with the Tesla repair community that you started so long ago! Take care, Casey

[@thewatchersofthewood3530]

Did they even have an option for an all new pack? While the 4 year warranty is good so much money for repaired pack. Although I be an all new one is just too expensive.

[@TeslaRebuilders]

@@thewatchersofthewood3530 Yes they had a option for the new pack it was 12k Plus labor so it would have been 14-15k total.

[@MrZee-wl7cm]

Hey how much did it cost to add the warranty to the salvaged Tesla

[@reeyanshah4620]

wassup casey! glad i got to see u here! its reero :)

[@TeslaRebuilders]

@@reeyanshah4620 Hey dude, hahaha ya found me!

[@Ibaaqee]

Always appreciate your videos. I don't own a Tesla (maybe some day), but I appreciate your humor and EV insights. Keep up the good work.

[@Protoceratops]

thank you for such an honest look at this sort of repair work

[@willnzsurf]

Yes Sir, a deep dive would be greatly appreciated. Doesn't matter to me who the co hosts are or what you are working on, I always tend to enjoy your content. Shred on Brother!😏

[@10schimmelg]

Step by step process on the Tesla battery rebuild would be very beneficial.

[@craigmcclure1355]

STEVON IN THE VAN 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@briankrische3364]

That's old footage from when they built it

[@xAgyex]

Best video you have done in years. Please keep them coming. All of our old Teslas are out of warranty and having issues. Need your expert hands. Also can you open a shop in the DC area please?

[@johnadams3800]

I only own Hondas, so many of the issues other car owners experience are relatively unknown to me. Then again, I'm a guy that prioritizes pragmatism, utility, cheap and interchangeable plentiful parts, and longitudinal reliability over flash, hype, and quality leather.

[@lateefcarrere1649]

Another brilliantly made video breaking down the pros and cons of repairing your EV. This (along with the clever humor and interesting side projects) is why I subscribed to Rich's channel. Good stuff, Uncle Rich! P.S. We need more people, especially politicians, to support #righttorepair legislation. ✌

[@kukucska1984]

breaking down not ev`s just the crap tesla.... According a german TUV test of a 110 cars tesla is the worse car with a 14,9% possibility to end up in the service with a serious issue... Even the crapy little french Renault Zoe is only 5%. Tesla is not all EV, as a matter of fact its a new company making shit cars with good sofware!

[@freshlysaltedfishing8500]

Politicians won't support it because they (Elon musk who supports the republican party) fights against it. If that helps you understand to start looking into how the rich keep you poor.

[@kevinhill7140]

Thank you for your content. Keep doing your thang. Keep building because your drive and determination are inspiring.

[@fatboy19831]

Awsome video with excellent information. Thank you! I have a 2018 paid off long range Tesla 3. 90,000 miles zero problems. Three years left on the battery warranty.

[@chriscuster5721]

I really enjoy how entertaining every video is , and i enjoy even more how well everything is always thoroughly explained .

[@Teslacustoms]

Have started fixing tesla’s small repairs in last year and now have been watching your videos for years. Doing my first module replacement and would love to see a few step by step videos on how y’all open the pack ( hopefully with kitchen knives 😂😂) Not much in depth how to with scanning and repairing pack instead of replacing it. Love the channel man, keep up content!

[@RobFromRI]

@thequestionablegarage just opened one up.

[@D4no00]

between getting electrocuted to death and creating a fire that cannot be extinguished, I would recommend to think twice when opening one of those packs

[@bubba99009]

@@D4no00 Yea we really need our lord and savior Musk to do all our household, commercial, and industrial electrical work too because he's the only one that knows how to work safely around electricity... much more dangerous in those settings too since they are 50/60Hz AC, not DC.

[@linemanap]

​@@D4no00preventing electrocution is easy. It would be the 400v arc flash I would be worried about, if I didn't work on high voltage lines everyday that is.

[@gartmcdun8704]

Rich, I have to say it. I have to say it as a Canadian raised Jamaican born. I love you. I love your corny jokes. God bless keep it up so I can keep watching you.😂😂😂❤❤❤

[@harrygreene5571]

I love your honesty Rich. ... your 7th option is bring it to a shop like mine, which I don't recommend. LOL. The more I look at the issues with pure, big battery EV's the more I see why Toyota and Honda continue to pour money into making the best hybrids on the planet. If we could just get those drive trains into more interesting or practical vehicles, what a win for the little guy/gal. I think a base model, two wheel drive, work truck with the Prius drive train would sell out the factory capacity over night. Keep up the honest work on your channel.

[@4whunt]

Great breakdown of this problem. Wonderful advice for a bad situation.

[@TheDeafRabbit]

This happened to me on my 2015 model s, terrible thing to happen. Was able to get it fixed, they actually helped me out with cost. Had to get both the battery and drive unit replaced, went without my car for 2 months. 16k is a tough pill to swallow. Other than the big things I always fix the smaller things (like the door handles) myself, thanks for that video too btw!

[@JetFire9]

Literally every EV has this in their future, and before an ICE would fail. Selling my Tesla’s now before everyone finds out the scam.

[@moestrei]

​@@JetFire9BS

[@carholic-sz3qv]

​@@JetFire9ICE with regular basic maintenance will last literally millions of miles and might need repairs here and there but not the whole engine or gearbox! There are old cars in Africa with how many millions of miles who knows still on the streets.

[@ghosttesla]

How much was it in total?

[@TheDeafRabbit]

@@ghosttesla after taxes like 17k

[@RadoTrenciansky]

Thank you Rich. Can we have a deep dive into this topic please? There are no 3rd party shops in Australia fixing Teslas apart from Tesla so these videos are extremely helpful to us. I have 2015 S 70 and would love more info just in case I need it in the future. Love your content and thanks again.

[@johnthomas2970]

There’s definitely 3rd parties doing it. Check out Tiago Car Technology in Perth

[@capcom4eva]

Just saw a 3rd party repair shop called QC Charge in vista, California, featured on MotorBiscuit. They repair individual Tesla module instead of only full battery pack replacement, according to the KZbin video, as well as some improvement kits for some EVs.

[@falcie7743]

I love the little detail with the rivian logo. When it's mirrored like that and you cover the end it looks like it says "naive"

[@scottredner6569]

this video has at least 100% more arm movement than previous videos. can we expect more of this in the future?

[@neuronbob]

Thank you for your blunt honesty. I think most of us would appreciate the deep dive into battery issues you suggested. I don’t own a Tesla (all my cars are manual transmission), but am EV-curious🤣. Mostly, though I’m a longtime sub because of you and the crew. Keep grinding, your work is appreciated.

[@JetFire9]

You will learn the hard way that an EV is a mistake.

[@hamsterbrigade]

​@@JetFire9I feel these statements are just as terrible as the statements that come from hardcore BEV people who think BEVs don't need maintenance. Cars really aren't a one size fits all situation. Also, so many of the BEVs are in beta. I don't think "EVs are a mistake will apply" in 10 years once the segment is much more mature.

[@JetFire9]

@@hamsterbrigade I think it will. Battery vehicles have failed before, even 100 years ago, and they will fail again.

[@sparksmcgee6641]

Yep

[@sparksmcgee6641]

​@ph5548 seriously? This is a video about very rare issues. As he pointed out there Re millions of these cars on the road outperforming Detroit in every way. Put this failure rate up this up against trucks that blow out their spark plugs and injector failure. The 140 dollar tool to even try to change the plug before finding out its much worse. Anti American union people spamming anti EV stuff like this to support crap Detroit cars. I remember the 70s and 90s cars.

[@arthurkinsolving8149]

Thanks Rich! Love the video. The next level of detail on repairs would be great.

[@johnathanepic3790]

Thanks for the info Rich. This is why I bought a new Tesla over a used one. Hopefully the battery replacements become much cheaper and easier to replace.

[@rbergman74]

Hey rich. I dont own a tesla or an electric car but I love watching all of your videos. Keep up all the hard work. You help tons of people.

[@GiffysChannel]

I was about to write this exact message myself.

[@mattpackwood6737]

If you have the top AAA membership, you can get a free tow up to 200 miles. They charge per mile after that but it could still be much cheaper than the $1,500 you quoted. Also, once the battery is fixed you could just fly there to pick it up and drive home. It all depends on where you live.

[@royalcrowntowing2464]

Car hauler business here I would not touch a dead Tesla with a faulty battery with a barge pole it's inop for starters so probably can't move on of off the transporter very easy and it's a fire risk

[@AWellesley]

Did you watch the video? Most battery failures don’t result in a completely dead car, they’re drivable, just with drastically reduced range (50-80 miles instead of 200+)

[@SeattlePaulie]

We just bought a new M3LR for a daily commuter and so far we love it! Was it a smart purchase? No idea. But we're going to baby the hell out of that battery and enjoy it for as long as we can. Welcome to the era of disposable cars!

[@eliab8514]

Sacramento, Northern CA, EV's Republic excellent third party Tesla service. I have have S #6,000-ish. I did not know of EV's Rupublic when my battery and motor went out, so I can't personally attest to them for that repair. But Tesla took almost $300 to "diagnose" my leaking air suspension and all they could tell me is "it's old, we don't know what's wrong, we will replace the pump for $1,000 when it dies". I went to EV's Republic and literally in five minutes they went to one of the standard leaking spots and had it fixed. This saved me thousands for a new pump and however many times I would have taken Tesla to fix the standard defect leak on their car. (I think it's that T slitter). Thank you Rich and Team for this video. Yes, I wish I had a garage and probably the 100 hours it would take me to do the repair, not to mention how the heck to do I get a battery out with no lift. Otherwise I'd love the directions to fix it myself. Right to Repair!

[@anthonybha4510]

Excellent video Rich. Thank you for keeping EVs on the road

[@Slant6Nova]

Nice video Rich. I work in a small 3rd party repair shop and had the "chance" to open a few tesla packs and I too would suggest a costumer to take it to Tesla cause the repairs gets expensive and complicated really quick. You never know when you put it back in the car if it's gonna work or just trow you and other code. Anyway, I would really like to see a deep dive video of the repairs your shop do on these packs. I've learned a lot trought trial and error over the years but any info I find might get me to help an other costumer. Thank again for a great video ;)

[@danieldaniels7571]

I don’t think the word “costumer” means what you think it means.

[@Slant6Nova]

@@danieldaniels7571 good catch, my bad. English is my second language

[@saabreplay7553]

Thank you Rich total brilliance. Looks like I will be keeping my 2006 Prius for a long time.

[@taurota1554]

awesome as always.thanks for sharing and taking us along

[@gsxtrex]

If you still owe on the vehicle, call your lien holder and see if you can negotiate a settlement. I've seen finance companies who would rather settle the loan for way less just to prevent a repo.

[@ecospider5]

Medlock and Sons In Seattle is a complete Tesla repair shop. They will even do roadster battery replacements.

[@SirAJentz]

Great explanation Rich, very few options. Might as well get a thermal detonator and place it under the front wheel.

[@jeremygrbj4745]

Rich, that SIG bottle sticker is dope, I as well appreciate some of their equipment!

[@JustAutoChannel]

Great video and thanks for your honesty. I am someone who love to buy used cars was considering buying older used Tesla model s but after watching this video I am reconsidering my decision. It just hurts to make such bad investments. Tesla need to figure out how to make cheaper replacement battery packs and also support right to repair because the more people know about these issues, the worse it will get for the whole EV industry. Thank Rich Rebuild for enlightening us.

[@vanderumd11]

No, essentially when you buy something a decade old what do you expect.

[@JS-st9gs]

At least you get a year warranty if purchased from Tesla. I'd drive the hell out of it as well as get the batteries fully tested with a third party shop

[@johnraviella6561]

@@vanderumd11I don’t expect a battery to die after 7 years and 70,000 miles. Defective is the word, not “old.”

[@lupe2947]

I think this was very well put! A battery pack replacement could make sense for people who owned the car new and was able to reap the gas savings and free supercharging, but people who purchased used don’t have that possible reserve to put back into the car. For me, buying a used model S is on par with buying an old used Mercedes or BMW-don’t purchase one unless you’re willing to pay the repair bills. Expensive cars used are cheap, but brand new parts still hold brand new prices.

[@moabman6803]

Very few people understand that concept until they try to repair a old luxury car.

[@johnraviella6561]

That doesn’t sound quite right. Why would a used Model S battery or drive unit fail at 68,000 miles?? How is that comparable to the expensive foreign performance parts found in German imports?

[@moabman6803]

@johnraviella6561 They could fail because of moisture intrusion or have a issue with windings or connections due to vibration.

[@alsavage1]

@@johnraviella6561The early battery packs physically leak water to the inside, from the A/C condensate drain, through the poorly constructed one-way pack vent, and via other means. The early LDU (Large Drive Units: all RWD and some Performance) have coolant leaks from a seal that fails on the rotor of the motor -- it's an extremely common problem, and the coolant leak causes internal rusting (rotor binds up to stator), electrical insulation resistance failure of the stator (throws an Isolation Fault and won't drive), and eventually it corrodes and shorts the inverter electronics. Again, an extremely common issue, and not entirely mileage-based.

[@trayvonlittle9326]

Wouldn’t that reserve for used car buyers come from the huge discount from buying the car used?…

[@davidshettlesworth1442]

Thanks for a great video! Some excellent information passed on today!

[@EVForge]

Outstanding video Rich! Would be stoked to see videos on how to's on HV battery DIY.

[@trnlft]

Very interesting and informative!

[@thisisntforsharing]

to be honest, I miss your tesla content. More of this please!

[@h-j.k.8971]

I run a 2014 Model S, in 2000 I took the car into tesla because of a noise under the car (not unlike a wheel bearing) they put in a referbished motor, a year later the battery deid while I was sat in an ice parlour watching the waitresses, tesla put in a new battery (newer generation) all under warrenty, so all in all not bad. If the old girl gives up again I thing I´ll just give her back to tesla, end of experiment! Thanks Rich, good asessment, keep up the good work.

[@cricticalthinking]

Excellent well made well explained video and educational. Keep them coming

[@olekiller11]

I'm a plaid owner. And I felt that sir. Almost made me cry lol

[@okunlolaolaoluwa7672]

Sending you hugs like rich said 🥺 🫂

[@libertylovin2359]

❤

[@ryan3859]

At least your not a lucid owner.

[@JohnnyLightningV10]

I would....

[@RothBeyondTheGrave]

​@@ryan3859is that because of depreciation, or because the Lucid is what a Tesla would be if a Tesla wasn't 100% disposable junk? Lucid are real cars, & there's no antichrist behind their engineering. Just real engineers.

[@kctyphoon]

Seems crazy the batteries aren't made as smaller modular packs where you could just replace say 1 out 6 instead of the entire pack.

[@celderian]

They kinda are. The pack is made out smaller modules that could be individually replaced. The issue is that you have to take the entire thing out and apart to get to them.

[@WorkinDuck]

The reason is simple: contact resistance. 500 HP draw around 750 Amp of current from the battery. A contact resistance of 3 milliOhms equals 1700 Watts of heating power in the little connector (roughly equal to a small space heater)

[@kctyphoon]

@@WorkinDuck we run power lines for hundreds of miles. Seems like some robust connections are a plausible alternative to having to replace the entirety of a $15,000 battery.

[@WorkinDuck]

@@kctyphoon yeah, but the power lines operate at a much higher voltage (around x 2000) with multiple power phases (reduces the strain on each conductor by 3) so you can transmit around 6000 times the power on the same size conductor like in a tesl

[@killingtimeitself]

yet again the solution for an EV, just run the pack on a higher voltage arch and suddenly current isn't nearly as big of an issue. @@WorkinDuck

[@ChrisWhite-zn1dt]

Great video and it's very informative. Knowledge and in some cases just plain common sense is key. Thanks Rich.

[@xdanonymity8330]

Loved the beginning great information (stays quiet) 👍😂

[@jackblakeney2452]

Been waiting for electric vehicles to become commonly available for 30 years, but I can't justify buying one until someone is selling vehicles with hot-swappable battery packs (and infrastructure to support them). I think I may have another 20 years to wait. Thanks sincerely for all you do. Inspirational, alla ya's!

[@TTM1895]

There needs to be better infrastructure for me to think about buying one. If I want to go on a long trip, an electric car is not what I am going to take.

[@RothBeyondTheGrave]

20 yrs is the best case scenario. It will never happen. EV's aren't meant to be serviceable, sustainable, or affordable. They are simply meant to sell the lie & facade of those 3 attributes while NEVER delivering on them. EV's are about control, & in 20 yrs only the very wealthy will be driving anything.

[@rkgsd]

It's called Vinfast.

[@yarrik701]

I wonder if they'll need to shy away from making batteries structural on EVs to do this? Having the ability to swap your battery, while not a new idea, could help. Not sure I'd want to try hot-swapping one; that kind of implies swapping battery packs out while the car is in use (think hot-swapping HDDs\SSDs or server components). The other concern though would be down to the quality of the battery pack that you get when the swap is done. These packs aren't simple modules, especially with all the individual cells, cooling components, monitoring hardware etc. You drastically increase the odds of dealing with a damaged pack with such a service, either from the act of swapping the battery, or dealing with an abused or defected battery pack. Maybe when you don't have to worry about both thermal runaway, and batteries don't require complicated cooling solutions, it *could* be a thing. The reason I'd be concerned about such issues with a battery pack swapping service is that people tend to... abuse stuff that isn't theirs. That, and you're talking about $10,000 to $20,000+ hardware, not DVDs from RedBox. Think renting exotic cars and lying when they say they're not going to run it on the track.. but they run the daylights out of it on the track. The, "I paid for X amount of HP when I rented this car, I'm going to use all of it!" mentality. That or less than honest people purposefully dropping damaged packs into the network to let someone else deal with it. ... this is the same general public that used to not rewind rented VHS tapes and all too often can't be bothered to put a shopping cart in a cart corral.

[@deltajohnny]

​@@yarrik701great comment! 👏👏👏

[@joep1253]

I just did the HV no a model S for 15k. The main reason to use Tesla is the warranty, I think it increases the value over comparable years.

[@tiloalo]

Since it's a refurbished pack, it only increase it while under warranty. After that it doesn't make much if a difference compared to an original battery

[@JetFire9]

You'll be out of warranty again soon, and Tesla will be waiting for you with another $15K invoice.

[@coffelt683]

What I have noticed is that people are buying used ev's based on the same factors as a used gas car. The problem is it seems ev batteries fail more based on age as opposed to miles. Normally someone think getting a car thats a few years older but has way less mileage is worth it, but it is the opposite with Teslas.

[@drockjr]

That dry erase flow chart was a simple and awesome idea

[@Mr.OCanada]

Regarding older Model S vehicles, There are thousands of people out there looking for another voice that is actually vocal on this topic. I wondered where electrified garage was. Because the last video they did was replacing one part on a Model 3 to save the battery or coolant of such. This was long ago. The aftermarket 'market' is sitting there waiting for anyone to chomp at the bit. If I didn't know better this is what this video is for.

[@joeliopro1740]

I know its complicated and would require complete redesigns, but replaceable battery packs would be such a problem solver for most issues. I know that this is the dream and I should keep dreaming, but if I can hot swap out my R/C packs, leaf blower, and my lawn mower batteries, I think dreams can come true for cars.

[@crherniman]

I think Nio is doing this

[@killingtimeitself]

it should 100% be a put it on the lift, unplug a few things, unhook hoses, and drop the pack, swap in a new one, and its good to go, 30 minute deal type of fix.

[@joeliopro1740]

@@killingtimeitself agreed. Any problems with the battery pack would be charged, inspected, addressed, repaired, or decommissioned for recycling. Just like a propane tank, more complicated, but just as dangerous a thing that we trust anyone with.

[@reeldealev]

Good advice from Rich! We also get the same emails from customers with the same issues 😢.

[@chatrkat]

Just found your channel. Ok after 3 minutes, I like you. Yes I subscribed and hit the 👍. And no I don’t own an EV now, and in the future that will not change. I like your honest opinions and look forward to watching your channel.

[@smd-tech]

I dont have a tesla, nor do I intend to buy one in the near future, but this was a great video Rich, its good to have the occasional bit of serious content among the fun nonsense, thanks for keeping us all entertained and informed.

[@Mondo_Monchi]

I'm mechanically inclined and do most of my own work my vehicles. I'd love to see how you'd repair any & all of it. I certainly wouldnt attempt any of it myself tho lmao

[@prdn8]

Hey Rich! I only own two old BMWs. And your advice is great. Keep it up, amazing content!

[@moescolla]

You got to love this man 🤣 Straight hilarious and very informative and the same time

[@Isitar]

Fantastic vid, just gone trough this proces, it is EXATLY as u show. Opted for the 3rd party repair shop, car had the BDS_u29 error (u think its caused by an update? Error showed up just efter update... took around 6 hours for car to update, and mobile phone hotspot reported that it was 7.2 GB! I know there is a law suit in the US at the moment.) I live in Europe, the prices are the same here, 3rd party repair replaced the battery with another refurbished pack they got from somewhere else en Europe... but now 3 weeks after, it got an error again, this time "wrong voltage" and a couple of hours later, car died completly.... not even door handles work now.... shipping to 3rd party repair will be between 500-1000 dollers.... sigh... thats before the repair, though I hope they take it on the garantie - 3rd party repair offer 2 years of garantie in my country. Has been following you all the 8 years I have had the Tesla, u are just great - thx for the many, many good, entertaining and usefull vids.

[@raulsuazo5015]

Best is to sell the car before the battery warranty expires

[@adamtheironhorse7175]

Posting my numbers so others may make educated decisions. This happened to me last week. 2013, rear wheel drive, S 85, with the rear facing 3rd row seats, 140k miles. HV batery failure due to water intusion (just happened to be after about a week of rain in the Pacific Northwest). Tesla quoted $15k to replace it. I took the "new Model Y option". Tesla offered $4k for my dead S on trade-in and transferred my free supercharging. It sucks having a car payment again but I feel I made the best decision given all the options in my region.

[@leonjohnson9433]

Thank you Sir. Invaluable information.

[@TRiLL_FiL]

my jaw dropped at no car wash or loaner for a $26k repair. STOP GIVING THEM YOUR MONEY!!!

[@DiscGolfAceRunner]

Hey Herd, sorry to hear you left Hoonigan, good luck on the next adventure!

[@gbadesakin]

😂

[@BERZERKERSV4]

Your sarcasm is priceless !!!!!

[@donx03]

Excellent advice, in similar situations.

[@Bwill-hn2pc]

🤚 I am one of those plaid owners. Thx for checking in on me. Early adoption suckkkkks

[@AJNpa80]

Pity more packs aren't designed to be modular, disassembleable. There has to be room for innovation and have a standardizable battery racking, packaging, cooling, control interface. The whole industry, idea of EVs being efficient and socially responsible depends on them being economical. Easy dissassembly, reassembly for maintenance, upgrade, recycling would only be a benefit, but the decision makers do better with planned obsolescence and a throw away economy.

[@RothBeyondTheGrave]

Your last sentence sums up everything that an EV is now, & will always be. That is their intention & purpose. A throwaway society is a profitable society. For them.

[@fallinginthed33p]

It's a problem when manufacturers treat car battery packs like laptop battery packs. Vehicle packs should be modular so individual cells can be replaced, like old Prius packs. You don't swap out an entire engine if the spark plugs get fouled or a piston ring gets worn down. I understand cooling and crash protection requirements making it hard to get into battery packs but manufacturers should make disassembly easier.

[@davidbrayshaw3529]

It is a disgrace. An absolute disgrace. How this is allowed to happen in this day and age, when we are supposedly "environmentally conscious" is beyond me. How the likes of Sandy Monroe can stare into the camera and exclaim how wonderful Tesla's latest bit of disposable rubbish is, is also beyond my comprehension. There should be a law against it.

[@Macmonkey1000]

@@davidbrayshaw3529 Sandy made a good living from advising manufacturers how to make things cheaper. Eliminate joints and fasteners, make components sealed, these are the things that make Sandy engorged. They also mean that they're not repairable for the second or third owner a few years down the line ☹

[@davidbrayshaw3529]

@@Macmonkey1000 How proud he must be of his achievements. At least he finally had the decency to come clean with regards to his commercial relationship with Tesla.

[@BMA967]

Thanks Rich; informative

[@jorgipogi]

Very honest point of view Rich.

[@QualityCraftsmen]

Oh boy, It's Temu ;(

[@kevinplunkett637]

Rich, as always you definitely show all of the folks the scenarios they need to hear. Sadly, the Tesla refurbished price for an updated pack always benefits Telsa. I definitely agree that Tesla should allow more for the right to repair, but they do not have too. Considering you already bought the car for upwards of 80K or more and got no more than 100,000 miles and 10 years out of the car, you really have shown, other than oil changes and hopefully less wear and tear, it has cost you over 9.5K per year to keep your Tesla. I love Tesla but I think the reality of what the company has really done is beginning to show. Thank you for doing such a great job in your videos. I definitely love watching all of your videos on all EV's.

[@RonniePTexan]

I am not defending Tesla, they have a lot of things they can improve upon, but the reality with batteries isn't something they nor any other manufacturer can fundamentally change. Batteries will degrade and batteries will fail. Even in a perfect world, no battery is going to last for even 10 years without serious degradation. Batteries are a throw away item. Even when they cost $20k they are still a disposable item at the end of the day. EV owners are going to face a harsh reality in the coming years.

[@ERIKM-ed9ef]

Not really. My 2013 Volt has a 10 year old battery with 217k miles on it. It's down to 87% compared to new and covers my wife's short commute. My Model 3 has 102k miles put on it in 5 years and has a normal 6% degradation, most of which occurred in the first 30k miles. For most people a car is EOL at 100k miles and 10 years of ownership. I'm a bit different. I take cars to between 200-300k miles. Can't say may Model 3 will make 300k miles. But it should be no problem to 200k, at which point I'll want a new vehicle anyway.@@RonniePTexan

[@RonniePTexan]

@@ERIKM-ed9ef Your wife and yourself drive under ideal circumstances with a predictable commute etc and you still had battery degradation. The car's system is telling you that the battery pack has degraded by 13% on the Volt, but that doesn't mean that you will get the full mileage expected from the battery pack. That just means that *_at least_* 13% of the battery is unusable. I've seen numerous examples of the EV telling the driver that the vehicle has a 225 mile range, but after only being driven for 100-120 miles it is extremely low on power and the range is then saying it's only good for another 15-20 miles. I'd be willing to bet that your vehicles are in the same boat, if you truly tested their claimed range vs actual miles driven. You know as well as I do how batteries work, and their degradation isn't linear. I have a laptop that when plugged in says 99% and that it has a 2hr 38min charge, but as soon as I unplug it, the battery only powers the laptop for about 15-20 minutes. A cell phone that is several years old will have decreased use time because of the same battery degradation. The battery composition isn't all that much different between the cell phone, laptop and EV batteries. EVs do have cooling, so they are less likely to have catastrophic meltdowns etc but at the end of the day, a battery is a battery. I'm very glad that you've had good luck with your Volt and hope that you get many more miles of usage, but let's not assume everyone has that sort of luck and let's not ignore that even if you do manage to get another 100k miles out of it, there will be a day that the battery pack fails. When that day comes, and the battery pack does indeed fail, the battery pack is going to cost you (or the next owner) tens of thousands of dollars to replace. That is the point that the EV becomes disposable because very few people will want to, or have the ability to pay $15-20k to repair a 15 year old vehicle. And it's not like an ICE vehicle where there are cheap repairs to older vehicles and worst case scenario a lot of usable parts. An EV's various computer systems are only able to do a hardware handshake and function properly with the parts that came with it from the factory. It's not like an ICE vehicle that can use a transmission, cooling system, differential etc etc from any number of other ICE vehicles. That is why even a blown engine or a wreck doesn't make an ICE vehicle disposable. It still has a significant amount of value for the remaining parts. An EV not only has the battery problem that is just a matter of time, but it has very little value once it gets "totalled" and is more or less only valuable as scrap metal

[@joonius]

I'm sure lots of us would appreciate the 'No money' route of embarking on DIY replacement along with an updated video of what that process looks like on the more modern packs

[@AnttiKangro]

My mothers 2014 P85+ was very lucky and just before the end of the warranty it got motor replacement and just 6 months later HV battery replacement (last month of warranty). Luckily the older ones had no mileage limit on the drivetrain warranty, it happened at around 250 000km . Hopefully it lasts a bit now.

[@infectedbull]

Awesome video Rich! Long time fan and owner of a 2014 P85D with almost 100k miles. Drives great at the moment but I think about this reality on the regular! More tesla nerd content would be appreciated

[@JetFire9]

You will be screwed if you keep the car much longer. Word is getting out, so soon your car will have next to zero resale value. Get out while you can.

[@tiloalo]

​@@JetFire9a 2014 model S is currently already not worth much more than 24k$, too late to get out without big loss

[@KokoReko2]

Great video, would happy to hear about other vendors and their issues (Hyundai,Ford, Nio, VW, Skoda etc)

[@wheresbicki]

It's so refreshing that you've been lately leaning more into actual informative content in your videos than the weird dank meme videos from yesteryear.