[News Bot]

Michael Degusta, who has a $5000 deposit on a Tesla Model S, uncovers a potentially serious flaw in the company's battery design that could leave inattentive Roadster owners with a $40,000 bill or a useful vehicle.

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[gyronut]

That's really a killer....

Follow the warranty rules and you will have no problem. I have a Leaf and it is stated not to leave my vehicle for more than two weeks unplugged if you have less than a full charge. If you have an electric vehicle you NEED to USE it. So sad too bad to those that don't follow the rules. I use mine daily and will not have that issue. If you leave for an extended period you charge it up and leave it plugged in with a proper charge station. No extension cords or leaving it for months un-plugged while taking the slow boat to Japan. Sorry it is not a killer deal. If your not going to drive it don't buy it. Simple.

Pete

I left mine for two weeks unplugged with a full charge. Guess what? I still had a full charge when I got home.

[Ziggythewiz]

Isn't the leaf smart enough to have a maintenance mode too? It seems like 1/2 the price gets you 2x the engineering.

With a $40K battery pack they should have:
electronic switch to engage storage mode, user selectable and software triggered at 10% SOC.
physical switch, manually activated or triggered at 5% SOC.

No maintenance mode that I am aware.

[Ziggythewiz]

Originally Posted by gottdi

Follow the warranty rules and you will have no problem.

That's fine if the warranty is reasonable, not always plugged in when parked.

Sir, our gps records (you know we're tracking you, right?) indicate that you stopped at a 7-11 2 years ago and bought a twinkie without plugging in to charge. We have tracked your current battery issues back to that event and can, regrettably, offer you no warranty coverage.

[Ziggythewiz]

Originally Posted by gottdi

No maintenance mode that I am aware.

ok, thanks. Guess I heard wrong. Any idea what the resting draw on the leaf is? At least you're not running coolant pumps.

[rochesterricer]

I guess a guy had his plugged in with a 100 ft extension cord and the length of the cord was enough to reduce the power to below what was needed. Is it just me, or does that seem like a rather large resting draw?

[Ziggythewiz]

Yeah, I don't buy that one. There must have been something wrong with the cord or a tripped breaker or it's just a cover to shift blame from some other issue.