Onboard charger defect

[McgR]

I am so happy that now I am not only member of the broken heater group but also the broken onboard charger group.

We are leaving on holiday tomorrow. Trip and hotels planned for chargers etc.

No power in the house when I woke up this morning. Taycan stopped charging at 4 am around 70 % soc. Turned the power back on but charge fault in the Taycan. Tried both ports and the house hold plug charger but nothing worked. Wallbox did work with my wife’s CLA.

Left to work with the CLA. My wife tried again after an hour but nothing. Asked her to go to a near Fastned to see if DC would work but she got the well know board failure message, srevive needed. Car would only go into neutral nothing else. Not forward or back.

Called Porsche assistance and they picked up the Taycan left me a RR Evoque. It is smaller and slower as the CLA so probably we will now go With the CLA. I have to return the RR next Friday but we are still abroad. still hace to,see how we will work that out.

I hope they can fix it soon because I want to return the car to the leasing company. I can stop the contract for 3000 euro and return the car. Can’t return it when it is broken.

Maybe I am unlucky and have a bad car but enough is enough. Only had the WPN9 recall installed last week. I have never had a car that has so much issues. Heater defect, leaking in the trunk, door,handels, buzzing sound that is normal for Taycans but really annoying for le. Three software update for which it had to go in for two days. Always a 40 minute drive to the dealer.

After every fix when a drive away I am so happy how it drives and I tell my self it is not so bad after all. but I can’t use this car as our daily driver anymore. Lost a confidence.

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[Scandinavian]

I feel your pain. Sorry to hear about further troubles.

Good solution if you can return the car from,leasing without loosing yo much. I wish I had such an option and then I would like to do the same. But I do not lease my car so not an option.

 

[McgR]

Called yesterday. Morning and they offered me to swap the Evoque for a Panamera. Which I did of course. Unfortunately my wife picked it up and it was on summer tires. So took the CLA anyway.

Some observations during the trip. All stops I planned all had more than two or three chargers free.

The hotel for the stop over in Macon reserved the charging spot and it was free for us over night. Centre of town, small building. Would have been very tricky to get the Taycan in and out. Probably too small.

And the trip was so relaxed. No checking charging occupation while driving. No charging charge plans. When heading for a traffic jam MBUX just gave us a better route. Which is impossible when charge stops are planned ahead.

Had to take fuel twice. Five minute stop. What a difference. Especially in bad wheater. In the summer I do care less

So many EV drivers along the way. Hypermiling. When you see the stress on the drivers face hoping to get to the next charger. I know the feeling. Nobody wants to drive 110 on a 130 road. The EV charging just makes it necessary.

 

[McgR]

For tax a PHEV is still doable for a couple of years.

May go for a BMW 550e or a Panamera. The 550 seems like a good deal with active roll stailisation, sportive and comfortable. i6 and 200 Hp electric engine. Should be a good combination. Still have to do a testdrive. I have will the Panamera for some time so I can test that one too.

Also tested an EQS really nice drive. Really comfortable. But looking on the fora they are having the same issues as we have. Mercedes sales guy mailed me yesterday if I wanted to close the deal (35.000 K rebate on a stock EQS). Confronted him and of course his reply was that EQS doesn’t have the problems the Taycan has. Duhuh. Should ask him to put that on paper.

 

[McgR]

Wanted to test if my charge plan would have worked. 24 chargers in the public parking in Val D’Isere . Found 8. One taken bij a ICE, two by BEV not charging and not plugged in en on PHeV plugged in and not charging. Like laying down a towel at the swimming pool? Not done.

Lots of negative posts on chargemap. I did manage to get charging starting with the Plugsurfing card. Porsche didn’t connect, Shell made a connection but charging didn’t start.

like others noted charging only 2,2 kw. So would have taken 2 days with the Taycan.

But the plan would have worked. I would probably have charged at Tesla Albertville to 85% arriving at 65%.

 

[McgR]

Got my car back. Charger worked at home today.

OBC was broken and changed.

They also tested the HV battery and it was oke.

 

[McgR]

Went to check for a well optioned 2023 Panamera 4 ST. Rws, ventilated seats platinum etc. See if I can make a really good deal because PHEV taxation has changed and it is difficult for them to sell.

anyway this was at another Porsche dealership and I was complaining about Taycan reliability. He said the first models were fine but with corona and chip shortage Porsche switched to other less reliable provider all the problems leading to we are seeing now.

 

[McgR]

Having my car back and driven it for a couple of times I am reconsidering everything I have written the last days.
It so nice to drive but do I trust it enough to keep it.

Now that the OBC has been changed and the heater software opdate, is it safe to presume I will be happy and out of trouble for the next two years of lease. All repairs are covered by the lease contract anyway and I have booked additional Porsche assistance for two years.

Or go for a V6/I6 for one last time now that it is still possible for a couple of yearstry to make a good deal on the Panamera? Or a BMW 550e touring? Tested a i5 M60 with the adaptive M suspension. Very comfortable in comfort and sporty in sport setting. Great I6 engine paired to an 200 hp electric engine. Would still be 25k less than a used Panamera. And infotainment is much better.

 

[McgR]

I am having some issues with my Wallbox pulsar. It is charging normally but it indicates a too high current. The chargers shows 30 kW but the car 5 kW like set in the Wallbox app.

Eco pro function doesn’t work. Starts charging at 22 kW even when set to only 7. So still charging from the grid and not solar only.

electrician will check.

Should I ask Porsche to pay for the defect. Or better stay quiet so they can’t blame the charger of the defect on the car.

 

[McgR]

So the saga continues. Everything was fixed car was performing great. Everything forgotten.

Until today. Did a longer trip yesterday but with a 3 hour stop and charged with a 22 kw AC charger.

Today however did a longer trip and needed DC charger. First Fastned 300 kw charger didn’t work. Charging fault. Tried 3 different ones with three of my cards an finally the Fastned app. Nothing worked. Went two another Fastned 15 km further. 175 kw one with the same result. Fortunately they had a 40 kw charger for Renault Zoe with the normal AC plug and I managed to get that one started with my Porsche card. And lucky for me I have a 22 kw charger. So after an hour we were on the road again and made it home. And lucky for the kids there was a Mac D which we don’t do anymore as only place to sit.

I wondere if they even checked my DC charger when they fixed the car two weeks ago. And oké I should maybe have checked it somewhere at home before going on a longer trip again.

so anyway I am done with this car, it is unreliable. I have been a huge fan of the Taycan, loved my trips and all contributions on this forum but it is time for something new.

Can anyone comment on reliability of the Panamera E Hybrid. Saw I really nice one but don’t want to make the same mistake again.

 

[McgR]

Called Porsche assistance. Had a professional lady on the phone who calmed me down a bit and explained how to reset the car. Double lock, key 15 meters away and restart after 15 minutes by holding the start button.

did this with the same result at the 300 kw chargers.

however I remember what @tigerbalm had an only being able to charge at low speed DC chargers. So proceeded to the local LiDL with a 50 kw DC charger 500 meter away and surprise it started charging at 45 kw. Didn’t have the energy to go back to the first one if now 300 kw would work.

To summarize charging didn’t work on 300 kw and 400 kw Alperia Fastned, 175 kw ABB Fastned
, 300 Kw Alperia Gabriels, but it did AC 22 kw on both charge ports and at the end 50 kw Lidl I think also ABB.

will be back tomorrow after more testing.

@tigerbalm I don’t remember how you solved this? Did you get a new DC charger ? Or yours did start but only charged a bit if I remember wel. Mine didn’t start at all.

 

[tigerbalm]

@tigerbalm I don’t remember how you solved this? Did you get a new DC charger ? Or yours did start but only charged a bit if I remember wel. Mine didn’t start at all.

It was a new DC charger. And because it would only break when charging at a higher kW then my Porsche Centre had available – it was hell to debug. Eventually, it broke enough to refuse to start any kind of DC charge – and that made it easier to get new parts ordered.

I've not had an issue with the 22kW AC charger on my current Turbo S or on my previous 4S since the software fix was applied.

I totally understand your frustration. There is nothing more annoying then being unable to fuel your car – especially if you have smaller family members with you. It dents your confidence in the car too: will it leave me stranded again?

Privately – and off the record – Porsche would admit to service managers that they released the original Taycan too early. They have completely re-worked the charging infrastructure (to include AC, DC and voltage booster all be in one circuit board) in the refreshed Taycan. It will be very interesting to see if reliability has improved.

Internally – (don't ask me how I know!) – Porsche are talking up a big story with the new Macan EV. That it has been thoroughly tested. Service managers/centres couldn't cope with Porsche releasing any more unreliable EV's onto the market. Many are struggling to keep the Taycan fleet on the road. For example, Porsche Assist gives us a car for five days. If you've got a loaner any longer – that is coming out of the pocket of your Porsche Centre. Rolled up – its costing them real money.

I asked my local Porsche Centre about the reliability of the Panamera E-Hybrid – which I've owned previously. The answer was: things do go on them – but parts are much faster to get and fit – and in general nothing big happens – that has them off the road for long.

IMO the new Panamera is the hybrid to consider if you love EVs. They appear to have done a really good job on it this time – with decent EV range and 11kW charging as standard (pity 22kW isn't an option). I'm mulling it over myself – not because of reliability reasons – but because charging infrastructure is lagging behind here in Ireland – which is a bit of a battlefield during summer.

 

[McgR]

It was a new DC charger. And because it would only break when charging at a higher kW then my Porsche Centre had available – it was hell to debug. Eventually, it broke enough to refuse to start any kind of DC charge – and that made it easier to get new parts ordered.

I've not had an issue with the 22kW AC charger on my current Turbo S or on my previous 4S since the software fix was applied.

I totally understand your frustration. There is nothing more annoying then being unable to fuel your car – especially if you have smaller family members with you. It dents your confidence in the car too: will it leave me stranded again?

Privately – and off the record – Porsche would admit to service managers that they released the original Taycan too early. They have completely re-worked the charging infrastructure (to include AC, DC and voltage booster all be in one circuit board) in the refreshed Taycan. It will be very interesting to see if reliability has improved.

Internally – (don't ask me how I know!) – Porsche are talking up a big story with the new Macan EV. That it has been thoroughly tested. Service managers/centres couldn't cope with Porsche releasing any more unreliable EV's onto the market. Many are struggling to keep the Taycan fleet on the road. For example, Porsche Assist gives us a car for five days. If you've got a loaner any longer – that is coming out of the pocket of your Porsche Centre. Rolled up – its costing them real money.

I asked my local Porsche Centre about the reliability of the Panamera E-Hybrid – which I've owned previously. The answer was: things do go on them – but parts are much faster to get and fit – and in general nothing big happens – that has them off the road for long.

IMO the new Panamera is the hybrid to consider if you love EVs. They appear to have done a really good job on it this time – with decent EV range and 11kW charging as standard (pity 22kW isn't an option). I'm mulling it over myself – not because of reliability reasons – but because charging infrastructure is lagging behind here in Ireland – which is a bit of a battlefield during summer.

Thx for your insights.

Indeed traveling with family and young children isn’t ideal if you can trust the car.

and until now I wasn’t really stranded. Yesterday was not to bad only took an hour and we had to eat anyway. I would hate to have this abroad and at night.

I have spoken to 3 sales men in Belgium and one in Germany when looking around for a Approved Panamera PHEV. They all indenpendtly admitted the Taycan was released too soon. One said inferior chips were used during the shortage in 2022.

 

[McgR]

Tested again yesterday and everything works. DC charging started without problems at a 300 kw charger.

what now. Bring it in for controle at the dealer ? Will they just test it at their DC charger and report everything is on?

don’t feel like taking it on a road trip anymore anyway

 

[Kil]

I am having some issues with my Wallbox pulsar. It is charging normally but it indicates a too high current. The chargers shows 30 kW but the car 5 kW like set in the Wallbox app.

Eco pro function doesn’t work. Starts charging at 22 kW even when set to only 7. So still charging from the grid and not solar only.

electrician will check.

Should I ask Porsche to pay for the defect. Or better stay quiet so they can’t blame the charger of the defect on the car.

Has your wallbox been fixed? I’ve run in the same issues as you, woke up this weekend with no power in the house. Taycan stopped charging at 7 am around 80 %. I turned the power back on but charge fault in the Taycan. Car is now at the dealer to replace the OBC. But I also have the same issue with my wallbox pulsar pro, the charger shows over 40kW… So if you got it fixed, I’m very curious how.

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