A Tesla owner says he was locked out of his EV after its 12-volt battery died amid the Texas heat - eviltoast

The Tesla owner said getting stuck in his driveway was “annoying as hell,” and he tried everything from hosing the car down to jumping the battery.

  • sky@lemmy.codesink.io
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    1 year ago

    If he ever read the manual for the car (no one ever does! they should!) he’d know you can remove the tow hook cover and connect a battery to the wires to open the frunk, then replace the 12v battery yourself if you’d like. Or if that’s too complicated, have it towed to a service center or mobile service fix it for you.

    It’s just a car! Fix it yourself or take it to service! Why is this news?

    • deliverator@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      That sounds needlessly more complicated than just having a regular lock mechanism like in most non-Tesla cars.

      • sky@lemmy.codesink.io
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        1 year ago

        Either way you’re replacing the 12v battery before you’re driving anywhere, Tesla or otherwise. Having a manual lock may be nicer for easier access under the hood in this case, but that’s really it. Other automakers EVs also have issues with their 12v systems dying and bricking the cars until replaced, Hyundai’s come to mind specifically. Newer Teslas have a lithium-ion low voltage battery (it’s like 15v or something i think?) that shouldn’t fail for the life of the car, so this is a non-issue.

        • PottedPlant@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I’ve had the exact same situation happen to me as in the post however Tesla’s service has always replace the battery for free which really makes up for the hassle. It appears also that they are transitioning people to the new lithium ion 12 volt battery, even if your current never came with it originally.

          My frustration with this process is that Tesla uses a 12 volt battery that is not easy to come by unless you go through Tesla service. Sometimes you just need your car immediately and will replace the 12 volt when it dies but you can’t find this bastard at your local auto parts store.

    • Zeroized@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I’ve seen this exact issue end up as a mainstream news story more than once now. I don’t completely understand it either. The process to unlock if the battery is dead takes maybe 10-20 seconds, and from there you charge or replace the battery just as you would if your battery was dead in a standard car. This would be the equivalent to someone with a standard vehicle that has a FOB with the backup key hidden inside. If that person didn’t know that key existed and complained that they were locked out of their vehicle because the FOB had a dead battery, it would be just as odd if it made it to the news.

      Hate the car/brand if you choose to, you do have that right. Just don’t hate based on misinformation.

      • sky@lemmy.codesink.io
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        1 year ago

        Some of it is that a 12v failure is much more of a pain in an EV, since you need low-voltage to trigger the high-voltage battery contactors in order to recharge the low-voltage battery. Many people don’t know this, and then panic when their car appears very broken. Some non-Tesla EVs will throw downright bizarre errors and lights at you in this condition.

        I’m optimistic we’ll all learn about EVs and their common failure modes like we have with ICE vehicles over time.

    • atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      This is the great thing about Tesla. There’s always a simple solution to the problems nobody else has!

      • sky@lemmy.codesink.io
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        1 year ago

        Ah yes, the completely unique to Tesla problem of checks notes a dead 12v battery and an owner who doesn’t know how or care to service their vehicle.

        • atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          Just completely missed the point? My battery has died numerous times. I’ve always been able to get into my vehicle when it does.

          • sky@lemmy.codesink.io
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            1 year ago

            Likewise! The order of operations is just slightly different:

            Most Cars: Open Car > Pop Hood > Jump/Replace Battery > Drive Car

            Tesla: Pop Hood > Charge/Replace Battery > Drive Car

            If you know this can happen to your car and are prepared for it (the equivalent of being ready to get a jump in a gas car) it’s not a big deal. Of course, many people opt to just contact Tesla roadside and have them handle it, which is completely fine.

            Different cars function differently! EVs from other manufacturers are not universally immune from this either. Meanwhile Mercedes literally tells you not to open the hood on their EVs, much less replace a dead 12v battery.

            • atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
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              1 year ago

              You realize being able to simply enter a car with a dead battery is useful right? Without needing to replace the friggin battery first?