Taycan Problems are overwhelming an otherwise great car

[Vim Schrotnock]

I have enjoyed driving my Taycan Turbo S for almost three years, and 30,000 miles. At this point, my car is in the dealership with an unexplained 30% drop in range. What really bothers me is that Porsche just doesn't seem to know and/or be willing to diagnose and determine the cause of a number of problems that I have had over the life of the car, and at this point I am incredibly frustrated.

The first problem I had was the dreaded 'red screen, stop the car in a safe place', and my car was completely down. Luckily I was at a stoplight, and I restarted the car and it was good enough to get to the dealer for an extensive 'software upgrade'. Then I started getting error messages from my Porsche charger, and it was shutting down during the summer months. (I have all the upgraded outlet receptacle, wiring etc.). I resolved that I will simply cut the charging current from 40A to 36A, and this seems to have solved the problem. How can Porsche sell a very expensive charger that doesn't meet its labeled specifications?? There is a class action that was started in March on this one. Then I've had the typical rattle, charging port stuck, and a few other minor issues - no big deal here.

What has become a big deal, is I've now had two very significant problems, and Porsche simply doesn't have an answer for me. Both of my rear tires wore down to the cords on the very inside shoulder with uniform treadwear (4-5mm on all treadwear markers across the tire, including the innermost marker.). The driver's side rear was worn so badly it deflated completely. My dealer tried to tell me this is an 'alignment issue'. The alignment on the tire that failed (complete separation of the tread/sidewall in the inside rear tire) was perfect. Again, for those of us who have seen a lot of tire wear, if you have a serious alignment issue that causes the tires to wear down to the cords, you will always see uneven treadwear when you look across the tire tread. Not the case here, and there are multiple examples of this reported, WITH DIFFERENT TIRES, so it is not a tire defect. No answer from Porsche other than 'we'll monitor the tires carefully'. Something is very wrong here. Again, alignment issue would present uneven treadwear across the tire - not the case for ANY of my tires, or the other tires that have experienced the same failure.

The second big problem is my battery seems to have lost about 30% of its range overnight after getting the car back from the dealer. I showed them a photo of my estimated range at 85% of 236 miles before I took the car in. After I got the car back, I got 170 miles at 85% under the same conditions - in my garage with the same charger, same weather. I also tried to fast charge the car (very rarely do this, but they left me a car with only 80 miles, and I needed more range. Plugging into a 150KW station, the car never requested more than 90KW. First time that's ever happened. The first input I got from my dealer was that it appeared to be a 'high voltage battery issue'. They only have 3 techs qualified to work on the HV battery, so after a few days, the tech got back to me and said all the battery cells are in perfect condition. He measured all 33 cell modules and all 198 cells and said they came out to 3.9Volts and 73% charge, so the cells are all balanced and have correct voltages. I'm not sure why they were only 73% charge.

The dealer is trying to tell me that everything is fine, and that they charged the car to 100% and got 222 miles in Range Mode, which is evidently within the acceptable specs. I just checked via Porsche Connect, and my car is showing 190 mile range at 96% which equates to 198 mile range at 100% charge. I have never had less than 200+ mile range at 85% charge in my three years and 30K miles. There is clearly something wrong, and I am getting quite frustrated that Porsche does not seem to be capable of diagnosing either my tire or battery issues. I will say that the dealer is doing their best, and I have a very good relationship with them. This series of problems has really soured me on the car though - it's a shame.

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[dtich]

Now, I don't know, and you are perfectly within your rights as a person to react this way, but... I humbly suggest you are overreacting. The car measures SoC and range via an algorithm that takes input from a number of parameters. After time in service, who knows what the algorithm thinks is happening. I suggest give it a few days to recalculate and settle and see where you are then. It very well may come right back to what you're used to. If not, by all means, have a freak out. But it may be a bit premature at this point. 2¢.

 

[mikezhang31]

The only way to be convincing with the SOC and range data would be to drive your car until near 0% and then see the real life distance. or drive for 196 miles to a charging point and see if you have 0% SOC. Otherwise it is just a computer guess that is as simple as driving a gasoline car up to the top of the rockies and then complaining that suddenly the car doesnt show enough range for you to get back to the hotel at the bottom because youre doing 2 mpg

 

[Vim Schrotnock]

I'm asking the tech to simply measure the total KWH charge of my battery at 100%. A 'perfect' battery should have 93.4KWH with 83.7KWH of useable charge. This will eliminate the uncertainty around the 'range' software.

 

[ciaranob]

I'm asking the tech to simply measure the total KWH charge of my battery at 100%. A 'perfect' battery should have 93.4KWH with 83.7KWH of useable charge. This will eliminate the uncertainty around the 'range' software.

Just for reference, whilst the 'published' available kWh is indeed 83.7 for the PB+ other tests have shown fairly conclusively that Porsche understates an actual usable KWh of ca 86.7.

See more here: #1

I asked my SA re the possibility of doing a proper full SoH analysis on my HV battery but this as you may well know is not trivial and would take a no. of days to complete - and unless you are at 80% Soh or lower it would be a cost item to you i.e. not a warranty issue.

Curious if you have taken a 'flash' Soh reading using any of the OBDII tools in same above link? Also your total mileage and how old the car is? If for any reason you have an anonymously low Soh this of course could impact any PCM range calculation. Probably a total red herring but with the OBDII tool pretty cheap and simple test to either rule out this option or evaluate further.

 

[fullmetalbaal]

I think it's appalling how bad knowledge and support is for this car at this point.
The Taycan has been available for 3 years. EVs are the future, this is not going away.
Yet we keep hearing "they only have 1 technician certified for this" and "they are not that familiar with this" from all over the place.

 

[SergeyIndy]

+1 to @ciaranob on the OBDII tool as you can independently check your dealers claims on a lot of data points they are telling you, but did they print it out for you? I asked my dealer to do this during PDI (give me delivery SoH and battery cells health to support @ciaranob data gathering efforts) and the answer is a big NO, because corporate does not allow it, otherwise, I never heard a no on anything I ever asked them to do for me.

I cannot comment on the tires, but given reasonable concern from others, I bought a tread depth measurement meter similar to what the dealer uses, and plan to measure and take pictures to capture any unusual wear to have proof if needed.

 

[Archimedes]

I'm asking the tech to simply measure the total KWH charge of my battery at 100%. A 'perfect' battery should have 93.4KWH with 83.7KWH of useable charge. This will eliminate the uncertainty around the 'range' software.

After 30k miles, your battery SOH will have declined somwhat. Were you checking actual mileage before and have you since to compare? Have you asked them to charge the car to 100% and show you 222?

BTW 222 would be normal to me.

 

[daveo4EV]

also displayed mileage is a crock - and easily mislead - actual range may be unaffected - recent consumption figures can easily skew the displayed range…

+1 for legacy automobilie manufactures being clueless with EV's and not having sufficient tech's on hand - this is not a new problem - and one of the reasons I tolerated Tesla for as long as I did - they at least are fully EV and all their tech's in the service shop are certified to work on EV's - I ran into this problem with my Ford Focus EV in 2011 - they kept having the 1 guys "gone" most of the days of the week - it took then 4 weeks to diagnose a simplte issue - by then I had sufficient cause for Lemon law…

the existing guys are not "committed" to the EV thing and still really really want it to be just a bad fever dream - they really really prefer their ICE business and it shows.

 

[Avantgarde]

My humble opinion is also you are over-reacting. The range estimate can be off because of a variety of reasons. You just need to drive it a bit and see how it holds up. And "the car is only pulling 90kw at a 150kw DC station! " - you are just connecting dots that does not exist. I've seen anywhere between 50-60kw to 70-80kw or 90kw max charge rates at different 150kw EA stations, for reasons unexplained. One station will give me 60 switch to next one I'd get 120. You said you rarely DC charge, so possible you have not experienced this. Finally uneven tire wear - i see this often in forums. You have a Turbo S, crazy (truly crazy) amount of wheel torque - it is possible certain driving habits is causing asymmetric wear (eg too many straight accelerations but less lateral acceleration). I am not saying it is normal but also it is possible the whole set up might have some weak spots/tendencies that gets amplified in the most extreme model in the line-up...

 

[Vim Schrotnock]

+1 to @ciaranob on the OBDII tool as you can independently check your dealers claims on a lot of data points they are telling you, but did they print it out for you? I asked my dealer to do this during PDI (give me delivery SoH and battery cells health to support @ciaranob data gathering efforts) and the answer is a big NO, because corporate does not allow it, otherwise, I never heard a no on anything I ever asked them to do for me.

I cannot comment on the tires, but given reasonable concern from others, I bought a tread depth measurement meter similar to what the dealer uses, and plan to measure and take pictures to capture any unusual wear to have proof if needed.

Thank you and ciaranob so much for your informed and experienced opinions. I will take your advice. The actual range has deteriorated significantly. Just got a note from my SA and they are re-opening the case with Porsche.

 

[Avantgarde]

I think it's appalling how bad knowledge and support is for this car at this point.
The Taycan has been available for 3 years. EVs are the future, this is not going away.
Yet we keep hearing "they only have 1 technician certified for this" and "they are not that familiar with this" from all over the place.

I agree with this. And it is appalling how little info is available on these cars' specs. I've been searching for simple torque curve data for the entire line-up. And it is simply not available. There are some odd-ball dyno tests here and there with spotty data. I don't know why. I have simple questions like "what is the max torque and HP RPM for the motor". "how does the torque curve change in launch mode vs standard". Nothing can be found...

 

[Ross]

It’s a guessometer. It does not represent how many KWs are in your battery.

To compare.

If an ICE car has been in the garage for servicing and diagnostic work and repairs it may have been connected to a rig, stationary, with the engine running for an hour. It may have been repeatedly revved to the red line to test it.
It may have been on a rapid test drive.
Stop start journeys in and out of the workshop.
When the car is in the garage they are not driving it for economy and range.
If an ICE car comes out of the garage and you fill it up and expected range on the trip computer is 200 miles instead of 300 miles it doesn’t mean it is broken. It doesn’t mean it is suddenly less economical. It doesn’t mean the fuel tank fits 1/3 less fuel.

Drive the Taycan around gently for a day or two. Your guessometer range will bounce right back.

To prove it to yourself empty the battery.
Charge it to 100% and scientifically measure exactly how many kilowatts you can now put in it.
Then you have a solid argument.

 

[mcr21]

I have enjoyed driving my Taycan Turbo S for almost three years, and 30,000 miles. At this point, my car is in the dealership with an unexplained 30% drop in range. What really bothers me is that Porsche just doesn't seem to know and/or be willing to diagnose and determine the cause of a number of problems that I have had over the life of the car, and at this point I am incredibly frustrated.

The first problem I had was the dreaded 'red screen, stop the car in a safe place', and my car was completely down. Luckily I was at a stoplight, and I restarted the car and it was good enough to get to the dealer for an extensive 'software upgrade'. Then I started getting error messages from my Porsche charger, and it was shutting down during the summer months. (I have all the upgraded outlet receptacle, wiring etc.). I resolved that I will simply cut the charging current from 40A to 36A, and this seems to have solved the problem. How can Porsche sell a very expensive charger that doesn't meet its labeled specifications?? There is a class action that was started in March on this one. Then I've had the typical rattle, charging port stuck, and a few other minor issues - no big deal here.

What has become a big deal, is I've now had two very significant problems, and Porsche simply doesn't have an answer for me. Both of my rear tires wore down to the cords on the very inside shoulder with uniform treadwear (4-5mm on all treadwear markers across the tire, including the innermost marker.). The driver's side rear was worn so badly it deflated completely. My dealer tried to tell me this is an 'alignment issue'. The alignment on the tire that failed (complete separation of the tread/sidewall in the inside rear tire) was perfect. Again, for those of us who have seen a lot of tire wear, if you have a serious alignment issue that causes the tires to wear down to the cords, you will always see uneven treadwear when you look across the tire tread. Not the case here, and there are multiple examples of this reported, WITH DIFFERENT TIRES, so it is not a tire defect. No answer from Porsche other than 'we'll monitor the tires carefully'. Something is very wrong here. Again, alignment issue would present uneven treadwear across the tire - not the case for ANY of my tires, or the other tires that have experienced the same failure.

The second big problem is my battery seems to have lost about 30% of its range overnight after getting the car back from the dealer. I showed them a photo of my estimated range at 85% of 236 miles before I took the car in. After I got the car back, I got 170 miles at 85% under the same conditions - in my garage with the same charger, same weather. I also tried to fast charge the car (very rarely do this, but they left me a car with only 80 miles, and I needed more range. Plugging into a 150KW station, the car never requested more than 90KW. First time that's ever happened. The first input I got from my dealer was that it appeared to be a 'high voltage battery issue'. They only have 3 techs qualified to work on the HV battery, so after a few days, the tech got back to me and said all the battery cells are in perfect condition. He measured all 33 cell modules and all 198 cells and said they came out to 3.9Volts and 73% charge, so the cells are all balanced and have correct voltages. I'm not sure why they were only 73% charge.

The dealer is trying to tell me that everything is fine, and that they charged the car to 100% and got 222 miles in Range Mode, which is evidently within the acceptable specs. I just checked via Porsche Connect, and my car is showing 190 mile range at 96% which equates to 198 mile range at 100% charge. I have never had less than 200+ mile range at 85% charge in my three years and 30K miles. There is clearly something wrong, and I am getting quite frustrated that Porsche does not seem to be capable of diagnosing either my tire or battery issues. I will say that the dealer is doing their best, and I have a very good relationship with them. This series of problems has really soured me on the car though - it's a shame.

The only reoccurring and apparently unfixable issue I've had is the unreliability and to me (and my service centre's) completely arbitrary malfunction of the 360 surround camera. During the recent repair they spend several days running diagnostics on it, replacing the right side camera and the issues remain - sometime no cameras are working, but more often one or two go offline.

That aside, I've had pretty much a fault free car.

 

[LongLive959]

.

What has become a big deal, is I've now had two very significant problems, and Porsche simply doesn't have an answer for me. Both of my rear tires wore down to the cords on the very inside shoulder with uniform treadwear (4-5mm on all treadwear markers across the tire, including the innermost marker.). The driver's side rear was worn so badly it deflated completely. My dealer tried to tell me this is an 'alignment issue'. The alignment on the tire that failed (complete separation of the tread/sidewall in the inside rear tire) was perfect. Again, for those of us who have seen a lot of tire wear, if you have a serious alignment issue that causes the tires to wear down to the cords, you will always see uneven treadwear when you look across the tire tread. Not the case here, and there are multiple examples of this reported, WITH DIFFERENT TIRES, so it is not a tire defect. No answer from Porsche other than 'we'll monitor the tires carefully'. Something is very wrong here. Again, alignment issue would present uneven treadwear across the tire - not the case for ANY of my tires, or the other tires that have experienced the same failure.

I was actually going to ask if this is an issue with Taycans

I have the same issue on my Model S. For me it is because I have my air suspension set to Low - this, along with the camber of the wheels, increases tire wear and does so in a slanted manner, causing the tire to get completely worn along the inside while there is still tread remaining on the outer half of the tire.

my issue Was Tesla service sent me back on the road while my cables were exposed, and my sidewalk basically separated a few days later. I was going to ask this forum if your air suspension does similar things in the lowest setting? I am going through tires like crazy.

maybe this is an answer to your tire concern? Maybe not?

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