Taycan Turbo 2021 - Fire Quarantine

[Matutu]

Has anyone ever had their car rushed to "Fire Quarantine"?

To give some background, I purchased my car in 2021 through PCP through VWFS from OPC Glasgow, however it was shipped down to Devon and OPC Exeter look after the car. Since ownership I have not had a smooth experience with constant yellow error messages and December 2023 I had my third HV Charger, HV converter and HV heater (all 3 have been replaced 3 times). The car was off the road for over 100 days in just over 2.5 years.

Easter Sunday I parked in my parents Garage with my 5 year old daughter, when we parked I got the messaged im used of the yellow ring and "Inspection Necessary", however this time the car would not drive, it would not go into gear. I left it 30minutes and still the same, so yet again Porsche Assistance called. They took over 48hours to collect the car. Nonce collected and taken to OPC Exeter they plugged the diagnostic reader in and immediately had it transported offsite to a specialist "fire Quarantine", this was to stay for 5 days, however upon inspection after 5 days it was still stating not safe and it took over 8days until it could then be worked on. Following this it was 4 weeks of them going back and forwards to Porsche Germany, the technician stated that there was bad cells and suspected a battery replacement. However after time I was then simply told that yet again the HV Charger, HV converter and HV heater were all replaced for the 4th time, now the car was taken on a 60mile road test and from last week the I was told the car was ready for collection!

From this I dont feel comfortable collecting the car as basically i have been told the car show a yellow error which could mean there is a risk of "thermal runaway", however it would not state to leave the car etc. This is apparently normal practice for the Taycan and only once in the workshop would the car state this to protect OPC staff and property. Also I have been told zero in terms of why I am not on my 4th set of components.

When this first occurred I started the VWFS complaint procedure that the car is not fit for use, as I have no faith driving it anywhere for risk of breakdown yet again, now I have a concern of putting my daughter in the car or keeping it in the garage due to this apparent fire risk. VWFS have 8 weeks which is up tomorrow and I know they have stated it will take longer.

OPC Exeter have stated :

"The factories findings from the data given to them from our high voltage technician were pointing to replacement of the three components and NOT a replacement of the cells or the battery itself.
With the work carried out this has cleared the faults and repaired your Taycan.
Any other issue’s you have had other than this visit to our centre, I would advise calling PCGB
On 03457 911911 with your concerns."

Therefore due to the fact apparently OPC Exeter are paying for my courtesy car (Enterprise E Class), they want me to collect my car, however providing no report or information of why the car is not fit for use. Apparently OPC Exeter pay even through my warranty is with Porsche GB. OPC Exeter refuse to contact Porsche GB on my behalf and said its up to me? They seem to want to just shove me away with no reassurance of thier repair etc.

Any advice from anyone would be appreciated. Currently I have a 150k plus car paying £1999 per month for the lease which I really dont feel comfortable having in my garage or driving, attached is the original mid way report from the engineer.

Many Thanks.

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[chun]

Since it's leased, I would have long since requested a lease contract cancelation. 100 days in service in 2.5 years? Either cancel the contract or ask for those 100 days money back.

I am pretty sure any lawyer can get you out of that contract within a day...

This car is 100% a lemon; cancel the lease contract, and lease another one from a different dealer. Maybe lease a MY25

 

[Murph7355]

What did Exeter say the other 3 times those components were changed?

And how long between replacements?

I'm not sure you can refuse the car after 3yrs...writing to all three parties (VWFS, Exeter and Porsche GB) at the same time seems to be your best course of action. But you have to keep emotion out of it.

Ask all of them what the fire risk was about, why what they've done has solved that and tell them you'll collect the car as soon as you receive a full response. Also ask them what they will do if they fail a 5th time.

 

[DaveHockton]

Hi Matthew,

Firstly sorry to hear of your issues. I feel your pain. I have a slightly less than two year old Taycan that has been off the road for 6.5 months ! (two battery failure issues). Mine purchased on a business lease from Porsche Leicester and financed through VW Finance. Porsche GB, Porsche Leicester and VW Finance will not talk to each other, you have to do it yourself !! Push hard though with VW and Porsche GB for compensation. I am in the middle of this and am getting somewhere but still in final negotiations. My position all along has been I want my lease payments back for the period the car has been unavailable to me and also some compensation for the inconvenience ! I like you do not trust the vehicle now and my view is it is likely to happen again. the first time my vehicle was off the road, 1 dead cell ! No one trained to fix it, no parts and no equipment ! How can you sell a product you cant support ??

 

[alexsas]

Am I the only one finding this at best worrying, and worst ridiculous that the alleged car professionals can't tell what they do and why?..

As if EVs with their "simplicity and low maintenance" are not bashed enough, how can I own the asset that is essentially a black box and some computer from Germany dispenses seemingly random answers?.. I guess it's fine while warranty is in place, but what would we all do with these cars when we are on our own??? I just can't imagine a situation that instead of some concise logical explanation of what was wrong and why some parts needed replacing we are presented with some smoke screen

 

[Gino]

Has anyone ever had their car rushed to "Fire Quarantine"?

To give some background, I purchased my car in 2021 through PCP through VWFS from OPC Glasgow, however it was shipped down to Devon and OPC Exeter look after the car. Since ownership I have not had a smooth experience with constant yellow error messages and December 2023 I had my third HV Charger, HV converter and HV heater (all 3 have been replaced 3 times). The car was off the road for over 100 days in just over 2.5 years.

Easter Sunday I parked in my parents Garage with my 5 year old daughter, when we parked I got the messaged im used of the yellow ring and "Inspection Necessary", however this time the car would not drive, it would not go into gear. I left it 30minutes and still the same, so yet again Porsche Assistance called. They took over 48hours to collect the car. Nonce collected and taken to OPC Exeter they plugged the diagnostic reader in and immediately had it transported offsite to a specialist "fire Quarantine", this was to stay for 5 days, however upon inspection after 5 days it was still stating not safe and it took over 8days until it could then be worked on. Following this it was 4 weeks of them going back and forwards to Porsche Germany, the technician stated that there was bad cells and suspected a battery replacement. However after time I was then simply told that yet again the HV Charger, HV converter and HV heater were all replaced for the 4th time, now the car was taken on a 60mile road test and from last week the I was told the car was ready for collection!

From this I dont feel comfortable collecting the car as basically i have been told the car show a yellow error which could mean there is a risk of "thermal runaway", however it would not state to leave the car etc. This is apparently normal practice for the Taycan and only once in the workshop would the car state this to protect OPC staff and property. Also I have been told zero in terms of why I am not on my 4th set of components.

When this first occurred I started the VWFS complaint procedure that the car is not fit for use, as I have no faith driving it anywhere for risk of breakdown yet again, now I have a concern of putting my daughter in the car or keeping it in the garage due to this apparent fire risk. VWFS have 8 weeks which is up tomorrow and I know they have stated it will take longer.

OPC Exeter have stated :

"The factories findings from the data given to them from our high voltage technician were pointing to replacement of the three components and NOT a replacement of the cells or the battery itself.
With the work carried out this has cleared the faults and repaired your Taycan.
Any other issue’s you have had other than this visit to our centre, I would advise calling PCGB
On 03457 911911 with your concerns."

Therefore due to the fact apparently OPC Exeter are paying for my courtesy car (Enterprise E Class), they want me to collect my car, however providing no report or information of why the car is not fit for use. Apparently OPC Exeter pay even through my warranty is with Porsche GB. OPC Exeter refuse to contact Porsche GB on my behalf and said its up to me? They seem to want to just shove me away with no reassurance of their repair etc. The car has now been off the road for a total of 160days plus in 2.5years.

Any advice from anyone would be appreciated. Currently I have a 150k plus car paying £1999 per month for the lease which I really dont feel comfortable having in my garage or driving, attached is the original mid way report from the engineer.

Many Thanks.

That is absolutely terrible. I have a 2021 CPO with 33K on it. I bought it with 30K and have driven it only 3K since the end of November.
I hope I don’t experience what you are going through. It sounds like VW is not taking full responsibility for a bad situation. Hopefully my Porsche dealer will treat me better if I have these safety issues but who knows. It does have me concerned about fire risk for these LG batteries…

 

[Matutu]

Thanks for the replies.

The car has only done 19k as I simply cant do the miles as I dont have the trust in the car.

I started the complaints procedure with VWFS 8 weeks ago tomorrow, however I know they will not respond tomorrow as they have stated the case handler is on leave. So I am stuck there.

I am more disappointed that OPC Exeter literally can provide no reassurance of help with this matter. It is a serious concern to me that alot of us get these yellow errors, the technician stated that that could be the battery stating there is a serious error and thermal runaway event could be occurring, however they car would say nothing else. How many of us have these messages! Alot.

The last set of high voltage components lasted only 3 months and 1500miles. No explanation as to why.

 

[Matutu]

Hi Matthew,

Firstly sorry to hear of your issues. I feel your pain. I have a slightly less than two year old Taycan that has been off the road for 6.5 months ! (two battery failure issues). Mine purchased on a business lease from Porsche Leicester and financed through VW Finance. Porsche GB, Porsche Leicester and VW Finance will not talk to each other, you have to do it yourself !! Push hard though with VW and Porsche GB for compensation. I am in the middle of this and am getting somewhere but still in final negotiations. My position all along has been I want my lease payments back for the period the car has been unavailable to me and also some compensation for the inconvenience ! I like you do not trust the vehicle now and my view is it is likely to happen again. the first time my vehicle was off the road, 1 dead cell ! No one trained to fix it, no parts and no equipment ! How can you sell a product you cant support ??

Thanks for the responce, how long did you wait for the VWFS responce? Is your OPC talking to Porsche GB?

Thanks,.

 

[Boss Hogg]

sounds awful, I'd speak to a lawyer to seek compensation and get out of the lease, your situation is extreme.

 

[Taycan2020]

Can’t believe they are replacing the components again, for a fourth time. Their failure is surely a symptom of a larger underlying fault. The probability of the components themselves being faulty each and every time is impossibly small.

Terrible experience, Porsche really need to step in with a situation like this and give you a good resolution. It does their brand a lot more damage than the cost of making it right properly.

 

[DaveHockton]

Thanks for the responce, how long did you wait for the VWFS responce? Is your OPC talking to Porsche GB?

Thanks,.

It took a good number of weeks to get a response but once I got a case number an appointed a case handler the comms got better. You really have to be all over it and chase emails etc. very frustrating as you would think the dealer ( who your contract is with) would take charge and make contact with Porsche GB and VW finance on your behalf! They only seem interested in talking about your next purchase and not resolving serious issues for you. Good luck !

 

[Murph7355]

Am I the only one finding this at best worrying, and worst ridiculous that the alleged car professionals can't tell what they do and why?..

As if EVs with their "simplicity and low maintenance" are not bashed enough, how can I own the asset that is essentially a black box and some computer from Germany dispenses seemingly random answers?.. I guess it's fine while warranty is in place, but what would we all do with these cars when we are on our own??? I just can't imagine a situation that instead of some concise logical explanation of what was wrong and why some parts needed replacing we are presented with some smoke screen

That bit is just really poor service and communication between the mothership and the dealers. I suspect the former being most at fault here, as I sense the dealer network is as exasperated as owners.

They have around 4yrs to get their shit together on the battery front. And with EVs being the direction moving forwards, I think they have to - it's an existential problem if they don't IMO.

For the rest of the car, there's 11yrs to go until that becomes a problem as warranty can be extended that far out (in the UK at least - can extend to its 15th birthday).

I've always not bothered with extended warranties on my cars (and have owned some where the scare stories on costs have made the Taycan look sensible )....but will be extending on the Taycan. Despite never being on the downside previously, that luck can only last so long. And the warranty cost and parts prices on the Taycan make the risk/reward balance favourable to my eyes.

 

[Gino]

Thanks for the responce, how long did you wait for the VWFS responce? Is your OPC talking to Porsche GB?

Thanks,.

I have similar concerns with long service times such as the replacement of the wiring harness, connectors & cameras which I’m told will take 8 weeks. I only have 7 months left of free charging at EA and if the loaner they give me does not have the ability to charge for free at EV or if they give me an ICE vehicle as a loaner then I would hope they reimburse me for the charging or fuel costs until I get it back.
I guess I’ll find out on Monday…

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