Underbody Protection Panel damaged. Batteries and coolant lines need inspection. $72.5K replacement & labor cost. Dealership is Tom Wood in Indiana

[DerekS]

OP should update the post title to reflect the full horror of the repair cost.

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[Maelstrom]

OP should update the post title to reflect the full horror of the repair cost.

Done

 

[whitex]

@Maelstrom , did they ever get back to you whether you get to keep the old battery?

 

[Maelstrom]

@Maelstrom , did they ever get back to you whether you get to keep the old battery?

Not yet - I'm still dealing with the insurance company and dealership going back and forth

 

[satchurator]

Very disturbing thread. My thoughts @Maelstrom:

1. There is very little lateral movement implied in the dent, and the metal exposed looks very fresh. Can the dealership prove that your car was not up on a 4 point lift and accidentally lowered onto a misplaced tool or other rigid obstruction?
2. You should contact Christine Russell Fleischer (head of customer experience) and Glenn Garde (head of after-sales) at PCNA and make them aware of your situation and the broader implications.

 

[gtm]

Update and clarification message from the dealer yesterday evening:
I missed your message yesterday. The actual battery case is what has been damaged and needs to be replaced. The case that houses the battery cells is where the cooling passages run, yes. The issue being, the case with the cooling channels is not a serviceable and replaceable part. Since it's been damaged, it needs to be replaced. It's an issue where we can't get that housing for replacement without replacing the complete unit. I also spoke with the tech about the coolant temperature monitoring. The Taycan senses coolant temperatures at the inlet and outlet of the battery, and without cell malfunction, it wouldn't alert us to an issue or coolant blockage until the whole unit started to overheat.

I can't help but think that no one at the dealership is trying to repair your battery. The dent to the steel protective plate is 3.33 mm. 3.0 is allowable. I'll assume the dent to the coolant passage is the full 0.33 mm over the limit. What is the internal height of the coolant passage? I'm making a semi educated guess that it is at least 3 mm. Less than that wouldn't allow enough coolant to pass to absorb sufficient heat. Even if the internal height is only 3 mm your 0.33 mm dent is 1/10 of the passage and doesn't appear to span the whole channel. That should not compromise the flow and cooling capacity. I see no reason why the dented area couldn't be pulled out. If welding a panel pulling stud isn't possible due to the cell not being fully isolated from the current of the welder there are industrial adhesives strong enough to pull out a 0.33 mm dent. I get being careful where a battery is concerned but this appears to be a very minor dent to a coolant passage not anything structurally or electrically impacting the battery itself.

The Car Scanner app displays individual cell temps (might be some software generated data but individual cells show varying temps). The car monitors individual cell voltages. I'm thinking individual cell temps are monitored by the car. I'm not convinced you are getting accurate info on the temp monitoring from the dealer.

Edit: Forgot to add that a new steel "protective" plate is B.S. It apparently doesn't do a whole lot so just bang out the dent. Odds of exactly hitting the slightly weakened spot again? Those odds are worth taking.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Cannot fathom not being able to graph this with a PIWIS.

 

[DerekS]

Edit: Forgot to add that a new steel "protective" plate is B.S. It apparently doesn't do a whole lot so just bang out the dent. Odds of exactly hitting the slightly weakened spot again? Those odds are worth taking.

Or just order a new "protective" plate from Suncoast.

 

[gtm]

Or just order a new "protective" plate from Suncoast.

Why go for a new piece. Apparently doesn't protect against anything more than dust. 5 lb. hammer and a can of spray paint. Good as new.

 

[bluesky]

Is that why the refresh has just a fiberglass panel now supposedly? Or is that a new extra line of defense?

 

[whitex]

A Porsche CPO 2021 Taycan with PB+ battery lists at $58,900, which is cheaper than just a new battery. It's a CPO, so comes with Porsche warranty. It would still leave the OP with a complete set of parts for a Taycan, and the scraped battery, which must be worth some money. Maybe this is a good opportunity for someone parting cars, buy a car, sell the battery at the cost of the car. the rest of the parts are pure profit.

 

[BigBob]

Not yet - I'm still dealing with the insurance company and dealership going back and forth

If the insurance ends up paying, then the old battery would belong to them, not the owner of the car....

 

[whitex]

If the insurance ends up paying, then the old battery would belong to them, not the owner of the car....

That is true if warranty pays (manufacturer may want the part back for investigation), or if there is a "core charge credit" as part of the quote (whoever pays gets a credit for the old part by the manufacturer). It may be true with insurance too, however worth inquiring, as I doubt insurance companies are in the business of recovering old parts they pay to replace. AFAIK they only do that when they total the car. If insurance is in fact wanting to claim the old battery, it would be worth inquiring how much they want for it, but again, I doubt they would.

 

[BigBob]

That is true if warranty pays (manufacturer may want the part back for investigation), or if there is a "core charge credit" as part of the quote (whoever pays gets a credit for the old part by the manufacturer). It may be true with insurance too, however worth inquiring, as I doubt insurance companies are in the business of recovering old parts they pay to replace. AFAIK they only do that when they total the car. If insurance is in fact wanting to claim the old battery, it would be worth inquiring how much they want for it, but again, I doubt they would.

Are you thinking along the lines of having a spare, like we use to for Nokia phones ??
But yes I doubt they’d sell you it, in case it exploded!

 

[whitex]

Are you thinking along the lines of having a spare, like we use to for Nokia phones ??
But yes I doubt they’d sell you it, in case it exploded!

If I pay for replacement parts in the US, I am entitled to the old parts. Personally I'd be thinking of converting such battery into a house power backup, but I know I am not representative of most people. Most people however could sell the battery on ebay, and some could even part it out and sell individual modules, though they seem to have dropped in price about 50% over the last year.

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