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

[chun]

How many reports does it take until this turns into a recall? There's several factors that could play into it:

1. the 3mm fatal dent resulting in no errors or warning that the battery is compromised.
2. very low margins
3. the fact that porsche themselves have re-designed it for the facelift so it shatters instead of bending.

In EU, I am confident only first point could make this a recall; the battery being damaged by external forces and giving 0 errors or warnings of fire is not something that is overlooked in safety tests usually.

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[Jasper4S]

How many reports does it take until this turns into a recall? There's several factors that could play into it:

1. the 3mm fatal dent resulting in no errors or warning that the battery is compromised.
2. very low margins
3. the fact that porsche themselves have re-designed it for the facelift so it shatters instead of bending.

In EU, I am confident only first point could make this a recall; the battery being damaged by external forces and giving 0 errors or warnings of fire is not something that is overlooked in safety tests usually.

The first one can be a software recall. So the error will come. For me not a solution for a 3mm dent.

 

[DerekS]

STOP LOOKING AT WHOLESALE PARTS ONLINE! Unless it is racecar stuff most dealers will not install parts you find online. Even if you believe it is the same part at a better deal. They are just going to refuse you. The only times I have gotten away with brining my own parts have been track pads and exhaust systems "that don't delete the cats"

I buy OEM parts online all the time and have the dealers install them. Been doing this since 1998.

 

[Maelstrom]

@TeecanToocan I think your focus is a little miopic. When the 3.33mm dent was being inspected my service advisor clearly stated there was no drag and/or scrape marks and the likely conclusion was that some debris from the road has caused the impact - there is zero correlation to that and the pedestrian collision system, outside of that having a crack there is zero damage to the front bumper etc.
I do get your point of liability from the dealership but that's short sighted, the point made by many others is valid - there is potentially a ton of people driving around with a dent greater than 3mm and they are oblivious to it due to no errors and/or warning lights. That then leads to another question, is it really that serious to drive around on it? The lack of sensors etc. in that area, in an overly engineered car is either a massive oversight or they simply thought this wouldn't happen and as of yet the total lack of diagnostic data to confirm anything.
As for metal flexibility and using aluminium as an example is comparing apples to pears - this is a steel plate and on the new models is a composite.
Take a step back and look at this from a consumer perspective, the optics on this whole situation are absolutely terrible from a Porsche perspective

 

[chun]

The first one can be a software recall. So the error will come. For me not a solution for a 3mm dent.

Sure, but cars will have to be recalled to upgrade the software and fix the damage, on porsche's money.

There is no world where they are allowed in europe to: "we are recalling your car to install a software error that makes you give us 72.5k euros". They would receive a cease and desist same day.

EDIT: And i doubt its a software issue, i doubt they have sensors for this

 

[SteveDC]

According to who?

Do you think a 3mm dent on a protective plate being capable to total a car, because the dealer is incapable to do repairs on a car that drive very low to the ground, makes sense? Is this good design? Usually when shit like this happens, car manufactures are told stop order and recall all cars on the road.

So a 3mm dent can total a car; according to this dealer the car can't be driven. But he drove the car to the dealer, didn't he? What would have happened if he wouldn't have went to the dealer?
The car gives no errors or warnings. So we can assume that a 3mm dent on a protective plate can set the car on fire. How many of the 150.000+ cars might currently have a 3mm dent?

So with all of this in mind; there's tens of thousands of possible cars on the road that may catch on fire any moment, because of a 3mm dent on a protective plate, without any warning or error.

So we should start a class action lawsuit, with the consumer rights protection agency from europe baking the consumers, against porsche; and force porsche to buy back all 150.000+ cars?

Is this what you are saying?

This is an excellent point. Since a driver receives no notification of a problem from the vehicle itself, we should get down on hands and knees to check for damage whenever we think we have gone over rough terrain. One begins to think travel over gravel roads is highly dangerous and should never be attempted.
Either that or the potential danger is being inflated by a too tight manufacturer’s tolerance or an absence of vehicle on board monitoring hardware to save manufacturing costs.
It has to be the case that *tens of thousands* of Taycans have driven over gravel roads, many at speed. Where are the fires? If, based on such evidence, we can conclude that so minor a dent does not, in point of fact, lead to catastrophic failure, then the problem may lie with Porsche that prefers the course of manufacturing replacement parts, with the additional revenue generated, and put the cost on insurers and, thence, on us.
I do have some sympathy for the dealer here. As their lawyer might well conclude, once a manufacturer determines a potentially deadly circumstance to exist, returning the car to the customer potentially places the dealer in a position of liability for later damage due to the fault.
There is an analog here in the medical community when a patient leaves a hospital “AMA”, against medical advice. I don’t know how liability works out there.

 

[Tooney]

Hey @TeecanToocan, relax, guy.

On your first post in the forum on the same day you first joined you decided to comment on the situation involving a 3.33 mm underbody dent allegedly 'incapacitating' a Taycan taken into service for other reasons at Tom Wood Porsche in Indianapolis.

You commented that the owner should have left the resolution of his car's situation up to the dealer and his insurance company.

Fortunately he shared information on the forum about the vulnerability of Taycans to underbody dents, and his reception from Tom Wood Porsche. That has helped all of us.

Tom Wood Porsche's web site explains that the dealer is family owned and does many good things for the community. We get it.

And we learned from you that the photographic scan of the vehicle's exterior which surfaced the 3 mm dent and the resulting $50,000+ potential repair bill was absolutely "FREE" at Tom Wood Porsche. Such a deal!

 

[tigerbalm]

It has to be the case that *tens of thousands* of Taycans have driven over gravel roads,

What makes it even more nuts is that the CT variants of Taycan have a "gravel" mode.

 

[SergeyIndy]

What makes it even more nuts is that the CT variants of Taycan have a "gravel" mode.

Very good point of caution. I think it will not take much speed to sling a gravel rock to make a 3mm damage in the underbody panel.

 

[tigerbalm]

Needs legal disclaimer: Do not drive like this as it could cause a 3.01mm dent in your "protective" cover and total the car.

 

[TeecanToocan]

Trying to make sense of this. Because there is a dent in part of the housing structure of the battery one has to buy ALL battery cells NEW, while in other cases Porsche goes at lengths to only swap damaged cells . And there is no data/pictures after repeated questions of the customer.

Maybe @TeecannToocan has a serious explanation to this.

+1
After I welcomed him to the forum, I was gonna ask @TeecanToocan if he worked for Tom Wood Porsche. You beat me to it.

No I do not work for Porsche in any manner. My home dealer is Porsche Milwaukee.

 

[Tooney]

No I do not work for Porsche in any manner. My home dealer is Porsche Milwaukee.

This can be answered quite simply.

To your first question. As explained by the OP the vehicle originally went in for a different repair. Likely got the loaner then.

The damage was found during a FREE UV eye scan. So now that the damage has been flagged the dealer has no choice but to inspect. Think of the liability if the dealer did not. Say OP is driving down the road and then surprise error in the cluster for faulty electrical system. The first thing that will come to his mind is "I was just at Porsche!!"

@TeecanToocan is just a guy from Milwaukee who just happens to know the exact brand name of the car scanner used at Tom Wood Porsche in Indianapolis.

https://www.uveye.com/
And why should the OP complain? He got that UVEYE scan for FREE!

 

[TeecanToocan]

@TeecanToocan I think your focus is a little miopic. When the 3.33mm dent was being inspected my service advisor clearly stated there was no drag and/or scrape marks and the likely conclusion was that some debris from the road has caused the impact - there is zero correlation to that and the pedestrian collision system, outside of that having a crack there is zero damage to the front bumper etc.
I do get your point of liability from the dealership but that's short sighted, the point made by many others is valid - there is potentially a ton of people driving around with a dent greater than 3mm and they are oblivious to it due to no errors and/or warning lights. That then leads to another question, is it really that serious to drive around on it? The lack of sensors etc. in that area, in an overly engineered car is either a massive oversight or they simply thought this wouldn't happen and as of yet the total lack of diagnostic data to confirm anything.
As for metal flexibility and using aluminium as an example is comparing apples to pears - this is a steel plate and on the new models is a composite.
Take a step back and look at this from a consumer perspective, the optics on this whole situation are absolutely terrible from a Porsche perspective

Whether this plate is made of steel or aluminum does not make a difference to my statement. Workable metals will stretch and deflect when impacted. This is a fact of the world. Do you know how much harder you would have to hit a steel plate to create a permanent 3mm dent?? Waaayy harder than aluminum. Which now leads me to believe that you hit something and don't want to admit you are at fault.

Now I am not on here to point fingers in any type of way. Unlike many who are on this post. I would be grand if this dealer had someone come on here and clear up all of the misconceptions and give a better understanding to what is going on.

I find it hard to believe that they would just quote you willy nilly when it comes to something at important as the protection of your high voltage battery.

You also many times bring up data. What data??? There is impact damage to your battery. What more data do you need?? Many many times it has been stated my you that a 3mm dent in the center of your battery warrants further inspection. Clearly the dent is greater than 3mm and clearly there is a dent in a cooling line. So at this point you no longer have an argument.

I agree with you that what the dealer had said is quite harsh. Some training in customer interaction should definitely be issued. However the investigative part of me believes you are leaving something out. Calling liability short sighted is a complete fallacy. Read this thread from the start and all you hear is lawyer lawyer lawyer. That was even my first thought.

A dealership has many many rules and regulations they have to follow. If they miss one thing and something happens they will lose in court. So if papa Porsche says it's not serviceable then what is that dealer supposed to do?? Just bilt on a new plate and go hush hush until you experience a thermal event??

I would hate to be the Porsche tech working your case. Even after they perform the repair I almost guarantee you will think of something to complain about.

 

[TeecanToocan]

@TeecanToocan is just a guy from Milwaukee who just happens to know the exact brand name of the car scanner used at Tom Wood Porsche in Indianapolis.

https://www.uveye.com/
And why should the OP complain? He got that UVEYE scan for FREE!

It has been stated by the OP in the thread. That is why I know..... wow you are really out here reaching huh??

 

[Tooney]

@Maelstrom
Tom Wood has a page at UVEYE scanner site with glowing testimonials from its GM and others about revenue and profitability benefits of their scanner:

And your vehicle scan was FREE!

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