Help! Considering buying used 2022 GTS with ARB5 + 3 other recalls

[bosbruce]

Hoping for some input on how long it might take a local Porsche dealership to address the 2 front brake line and (probably the bigger issue!) 2 HV battery cell block (inspection, possible replacement) as well as 240v cable recalls.
As expected, the price of the car is substantially discounted and I know there will be important steps like never charging above 80%, probably never charging @220v beyond 25 AMP rate until the cell block and cable recalls are complete.
Hoping for some input from people who've had these recalls done or are still waiting.

(FWIW, I had 2022 Taycan 4S I really liked except for charging network and performance, traded for 2023 Tesla Plaid S which is in a different universe of power (and actually handles quite well in Track Mode but like a way-too-fast boat in normal driving modes) and usability for long trips... But wife misses Taycan so much and I also miss the handling and electronic sport sound a lot so, given huge discounts considering getting a used GTS if the recalls are likely to be handled within a year or so...)

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[bosbruce]

FWIW I spoke with CA dealership service rep that bought the car back and they said apart from recalls only customer complaint was freezing PCM which they believe was resolved but they didn't have parts for recalls so sold the car to be sold elsewhere.

 

[Jonathan S.]

All depends on your local dealership for the brake & EVSE recalls.

Are you planning on Herb Chambers?
Given that they have two different Porsche dealerships in the Boston area, perhaps that's a good sign that they have more than just one Taycan tech.
Although I've had such bad attempted car buying experiences with them (plus their BMW and Audi dealerships), but then again, perhaps given your prior Porsche purchases you might have a better track record.

I had the brake & EVSE recalls performed at Hartford CT dealership (Hoffman), since that's closer to my primary residence in Western Mass.
That dealership has only a single Taycan tech, but the brake and EVSE recalls were just fine.

The HV cell monitoring recall though, I don't think work has started anywhere yet for that?

 

[bosbruce]

All depends on your local dealership for the brake & EVSE recalls.

Are you planning on Herb Chambers?
Given that they have two different Porsche dealerships in the Boston area, perhaps that's a good sign that they have more than just one Taycan tech.
Although I've had such bad attempted car buying experiences with them (plus their BMW and Audi dealerships), but then again, perhaps given your prior Porsche purchases you might have a better track record.

I had the brake & EVSE recalls performed at Hartford CT dealership (Hoffman), since that's closer to my primary residence in Western Mass.
That dealership has only a single Taycan tech, but the brake and EVSE recalls were just fine.

The HV cell monitoring recall though, I don't think work has started anywhere yet for that?

Thanks for the input. I've had decent service experience with Porsche Burlington though none after delivery for an EV... You are right HV cell recall there is no current fix available which is one big reason some Taycans are being sold by Porsche dealerships to other resellers vs end buyer... they couldn't yet perform the recall and couldn't sell the car to an end consumer until that was done...

I expect the car will need to be kept under 80% charge even for long trips (which I wouldn't use it for until Tesla Supercharger adapter official anyway), probably should be parked outside when charging or shortly afterwards, and will need to be in for service for 1-3 months next year for the ARB5 cell monitoring issue...

 

[Jonathan S.]

re waiting on that Tesla Supercharger V3 authorization (which is the pending issue, not the adapter), just in case you haven't noticed this yet, be sure any Taycan you buy has the 150kW/400v option, otherwise you'll be stuck at 50kW (instead of in the 130s), both at some point in the future and at exiting V3 stations w/ Magic Docks and V4 stations.

As for max 80% and charging outside, nobody is taking those precautions now, and nobody will until the monitoring recall is implemented with particular cars getting flagged.
(As for what % of cars will get flagged for such precautions until the necessary modules are fixed, nobody has any idea...)

 

[Jonathan S.]

And definitely an interesting situation with how the HV monitoring recall work won't be completed for awhile, and many brake & EVSE recalls have yet to be completed, so does that mean that all Porsche dealerships are in a state of limbo not being able to sell any used Taycans? Yet other dealerships and private sellers can still sell used Taycans with the usual caveats re open recalls?

 

[bosbruce]

And definitely an interesting situation with how the HV monitoring recall work won't be completed for awhile, and many brake & EVSE recalls have yet to be completed, so does that mean that all Porsche dealerships are in a state of limbo not being able to sell any used Taycans? Yet other dealerships and private sellers can still sell used Taycans with the usual caveats re open recalls?

I think that is the bubble we are in and why I am considering gambling here... If a Porsche dealership has a Taycan with one of these HV battery recalls and no solution, I believe they have a stop sale (to consumer) but they are not prevented from wholesaling to 3rd party resellers.

I also expect (but have no data to back up) that Turbo & Turbo S Taycans will more likely have battery issues given more frequent high draw from cells, but it is possible charging strategy is as relevant here as how lead footed one is. I had first gen Mach E (really liked it though it was sloooow) and they had HVJB switch issues, but it turns out the GT and AWD versions had far more problems due to the draw (and also people who frequently drove very steep hills/mountains).

I think similar to situation that happened with Bolts except there were more (only a total of 11 IIRC) bolt fires than Taycan fires (IIUC only 1 fully documented so far?) ... All this is noise compared to rate of ICE car fires but there are a LOT of people incented to exaggerate all the issues with EVs while pretending things like oil spills never happen...

BTW, I see you have a '22 CT ... Any issues with PCM freezing? That is the main complaint the customer invoking lemon law on vehicle I'm looking at complained about and I understand it is common (but there's a 2 finger service menu hack to reboot or leave the car for 15 minutes)... I only experienced the issue once in my 22 4S but I did almost everything through Android Auto so wasn't doing much with PCM...

 

[Jonathan S.]

I can't remember if my PCM froze just one single time, or if I'm imagining that after reading about it so often here.
Either way, my MY22 4CT has been flawless for the ~24k miles I've owned it -- seems like the previous owner for the first ~18k didn't have any problems either judging by the Carfax. And given that it was traded in for an Infiniti, must have been dissatisfied with EVs in general, not the Taycan in particular.

Seems like this might be a good time to buy a used Taycan if impatient Porsche dealers are selling them to other non-Porsche dealers!

Interesting theory on whether hard driving -- especially with the more powerful motors of the Turbo and Turbo S -- is more taxing on the battery.
The usual focus/concern is on charging habits.
(Definitely far beyond my expertise though!)

 

[Tooney]

Here is link to post about ARB6 and ARB7 battery recalls: https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/t...ced-diagnostic-software-october-1-2024.21536/

US owner notification letters scheduled for Nov. 29.
So far no TSB issued to dealers with details of the remedy. Vehicles taken to dealer will have HV batteries analyzed. Until detailed procedure is issued, how much time the analysis will take is unknown.
Analysis may indicate that battery module(s) need to be replaced. Some dealers must have battery module replacements supervised by a fly-in Porsche battery expert.

All recalled vehicles will have diagnostic software installed.

For other Taycan battery recalls, initial owner notification letter indicated that no remedy is available and owner will be notified in future when remedy is available.

Months can pass between initial owner recall notification and remedy notification.

Once remedy is available, additional time required to schedule the work (and fly-in battery expert), obtain parts, and potentially get approval from Porsche in Germany to rework batteries, if needed.

 

[Murph7355]

Brakes were done inside a day on mine.

Not sure I'd touch one with battery issues though, unless it was REALLY cheap (less than half comparable cars). And even then I'm not sure....

 

[JaseH84]

Brakes were done inside a day on mine.

Not sure I'd touch one with battery issues though, unless it was REALLY cheap (less than half comparable cars). And even then I'm not sure....

Had my 4S CT for all of 10 days and received the ARB5 recall letter. Approx 5 days required to diagnose whether fault exists, then who knows how long to replace battery modules if required. Booked in at the start of next year.

 

[bosbruce]

Brakes were done inside a day on mine.

Not sure I'd touch one with battery issues though, unless it was REALLY cheap (less than half comparable cars). And even then I'm not sure....

As long as Porsche will stand by their warranty and as long as I'm willing to have it in service for 1-2 months in a year or so, it is entirely possible that being in the (vast majority IIUC) of Taycans being looked at for POTENTIAL battery issues is a long term good thing as battery cells will be removed and have intensive analysis for any possible issues, then possibly replaced. Best case scenarios are no issues or replace with new cells.

Anyway saving a lot of cash but having to deal with lengthy recall procedures isn't for everyone, and I'm still debating whether it's for me as I've had zero maintenance work on ANY of my 5 full battery EVs so far and only 1 defect affecting driveability (12v battery fail on 1 of 3 volts I leased before those). So this would no longer be a low maintenance vehicle but maybe worth it.

Also, IMO ,Porsche appears to be VERY conservative here... there is an issue with some cars but they are broadening the net to install software to monitor battery behavior on a wide swath of cars to better understand the problem and replace any batteries with issues. It is entirely possible almost all Taycans up to 2024 MY will have some recall related to at least monitoring the HV batteries.

 

[D00notD00d]

Whilst battery warranty cover is 8 years, go careful with purchasing a car from a non-Porsche franchise trader which is outside the new car warranty period. They can’t sell-on the extended warranty, only private owners can transfer it. That means you’ll have to pay for a Porsche dealer inspection to put the car back under warranty. I don’t know if the outstanding recalls would cause it to fail the checks necessary to get the warranty. The 8 year battery warranty may not cover expensive stuff like the charging system etc.
Buying a car with an extended warranty in a private sale is less of a gamble than buying from a non Porsche trader.

 

[bosbruce]

Whilst battery warranty cover is 8 years, go careful with purchasing a car from a non-Porsche franchise trader which is outside the new car warranty period. They can’t sell-on the extended warranty, only private owners can transfer it. That means you’ll have to pay for a Porsche dealer inspection to put the car back under warranty. I don’t know if the outstanding recalls would cause it to fail the checks necessary to get the warranty. The 8 year battery warranty may not cover expensive stuff like the charging system etc.
Buying a car with an extended warranty in a private sale is less of a gamble than buying from a non Porsche trader.

Agreed... Absolutely I would not buy one that is out of warranty (only the oldest Taycans are just starting to be out of 4 year mfgr warranty at this point), and I need >= 2022 as I don't think I could handle the older AV hardware and not clear if Android Auto would work well on older Porsches.

 

[bosbruce]

Additionally, for ANY EV purchase, new OR used (but of course especially used), inspection of the underside of the car is critical... Any deep gouges or even light dents in the bottom of an EV where battery lives could result in manufacturer denying battery warranty claiming owner damaged the vehicle. I've heard horror stories from owners of Tesla, Mach E and Hyundai Ionic 5 EVs where battery warranty was denied. And Taycans all have long wheelbase and low ground clearance so damage is more likely.

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