2020 Taycan Turbo S Dead after 11 months

[arahman]

Hi all, it is with great disappointment I have to create this post.
My hope with this post is to raise some awareness, get some feedback and hopefully capture Porsche's attention also to help me escalate.

I purchased a brand new fully loaded 2020 Taycan Turbo S, last December 2020. 2 weeks ago as I was leaving the office, the car did not start with the attached (picture) fault error. I left the car overnight at my office and the next day i came back and it started again. I took it to the dealer and upon arrival to the dealer after turning it off, it died and would not start blocking the dealer's service driveway (photo).

The dealer could not resolve the issue and escalated to the Porsche engineers at a more corporate level i guess? they discovered that one of the cells in the battery was faulting rendering the car useless. It took almost 2 weeks for Porsche "corporate" to figure out the battery was essentially gone!

I need an entirely new battery and am being told it may take another month at least on top of the 2 weeks it is already sitting in the shop.

I am so disheartened by this experience, my first porsche ever and what an amazing porsche it was!! I recognise that it is first generation so first generation issues happen but does having the entire propulsion system go out count as first generation issues or is there a bigger Quality Assurance issue here?

I have escalated to porsche customer support who have offered to consider a repurchase of the vehicle . Customer support escalated to Porsche North American Regional division who want 3 weeks to research the repair history, talk to the dealer and create a disposition.

I hope they are not going to determine repurchase based on ......."well, this is one the first time it has completely failed so maybe wait one or two more times for it to completely fail then we will repurchase it??"

The car is leased (thankfully) so I feel like they will still demand the lease payment for a car that is DEAD for all intensive purposes.

open to any of your thoughts and thank you for taking the time to read this thread.

 

[menzz]

Lemon law?

 

[arahman]

Lemon law?

I have thought about engaging a lawyer but really want to give Porsche a chance to help me resolve this amicably! I think Porsche stands for quality and stands behind their product so I am hoping they pull through fast instead of a 3 week period to investigate or another month for a new battery which who knows it if it will work!

I agree with you regarding a potential lemon law issue, this does not seem right for the car's battery to fail the way it did.

 

[arahman]

I have thought about engaging a lawyer but really want to give Porsche a chance to help me resolve this amicably! I think Porsche stands for quality and stands behind their product so I am hoping they pull through fast instead of a 3 week period to investigate or another month for a new battery which who knows it if it will work!

I agree with you regarding a potential lemon law issue, this does not seem right for the car's battery to fail the way it did.

Thank you for the reply

 

[PanameraFrank]

Who have you talked to at PCNA? My advice is to look up email addresses for executives ([email protected]) and send them an email. Polite but emphatic. One will probably take notice and have someone from their team work with you directly, which is MUCH better than going through the many, many steps of a PCNA rep.

I'd wager they'll be willing to buy you out of the lease and get you into a new one, if you like. One note, however, is if they are replacing the entire battery you do mostly end up with a new car. The entire battery comes off and a new one goes on, it's actually a simple process.. it's just shipping the battery over that takes time. So if the car has otherwise been good to you it's worth consideration.

You could consider asking for some other incentive, monetary or what not, while accepting the new battery. The first ask, which they will certainly grant, is having them cover the lease cost while the car is out of order. Not pausing the payment, having them actually make the payment or reimburse you for it.

The unfortunate (and kind of hush-hush) truth is these LG Chem batteries fail sometimes. It's a known issue in all of the cars that use them.

 

[Climax_F82]

We replaced a battery in a Taycan in 2 weeks. 2 weeks from when the car arrived, and when it left. The job itself was done in 1 day. Waited about a week and a half to get the battery from Atlanta to Los Angeles. If you opt to have the battery replaced and keep it, it will essentially be a new car with a new 8 year warranty. I wouldn't mind that if it were me. But like someone else mentioned, I would get Porsche to pay your 1 or 2 month lease payments. Or for however long it's down for.

 

[arahman]

Who have you talked to at PCNA? My advice is to look up email addresses for executives ([email protected]) and send them an email. Polite but emphatic. One will probably take notice and have someone from their team work with you directly, which is MUCH better than going through the many, many steps of a PCNA rep.

I'd wager they'll be willing to buy you out of the lease and get you into a new one, if you like. One note, however, is if they are replacing the entire battery you do mostly end up with a new car. The entire battery comes off and a new one goes on, it's actually a simple process.. it's just shipping the battery over that takes time. So if the car has otherwise been good to you it's worth consideration.

You could consider asking for some other incentive, monetary or what not, while accepting the new battery. The first ask, which they will certainly grant, is having them cover the lease cost while the car is out of order. Not pausing the payment, having them actually make the payment or reimburse you for it.

The unfortunate (and kind of hush-hush) truth is these LG Chem batteries fail sometimes. It's a known issue in all of the cars that use them.

Thank you for this great suggestion.
This car is amazing, it's from the future but the problems are also from the future ?

So yes, it is worth it to keep with the same car or a replacement for a newer model since essentially it needs a heart transplant at a young age!

Will try your suggestions and thank you.

 

[arahman]

We replaced a battery in a Taycan in 2 weeks. 2 weeks from when the car arrived, and when it left. The job itself was done in 1 day. Waited about a week and a half to get the battery from Atlanta to Los Angeles. If you opt to have the battery replaced and keep it, it will essentially be a new car with a new 8 year warranty. I wouldn't mind that if it were me. But like someone else mentioned, I would get Porsche to pay your 1 or 2 month lease payments. Or for however long it's down for.

Thank you for the great pictures and even greater suggestions.

I do like my car and hope they will agree to cover the term of payments that it is down for or just get me in to a newer vehicle.

That is amazing that you were able to get a battery replaced in 2 weeks. It's been a week and no response from Porsche on the eta of the battery.

 

[SwissTaycan]

I can understand the frustration.

I always say that how a company deals with a « crisis » can actually build rather than destroy a customer’s bond. Things go wrong and products fail (hopefully only a very small percentage like in your case or « teething problems » all of us have felt).

I hope Porsche does the right thing and comes up with a quick and acceptable solution. I think the problem is perhaps exasperated as too many layers: you the customer => the dealer (with its own interested and bottom line) => Porsche USA, which in turn might not be able to make a final decision and revert to Porsche Germany.

 

[whitex]

Maybe this is a silly question, but given the long lead time for a new Taycan, why would you even consider the repurchase option? Unless they have the new car you want on the lot, it would be quicker to just replace the battery. And if it is the battery that died, replacing it does not hurt the value of the car at all, heck it could raise it as it shaves off 1 year of battery wear (at the end of a 3 year lease it will be a 3 year old car with a 2 year old battery). Personally, if I was in this situation, the things I would be fighting for is a quickest possible timeline and a decent loaner until it happens (perhaps that new car on the lot you want could become your loaner for a month). Nothing is perfect, batteries do die sometimes, and I absolutely sympathize that this sucks, but a new battery solves the problem 100% in this case, so why not let Porsche just fix it?

 

[Needsdecaf]

A couple of thoughts:

1. If you are happy with the car, a replacement battery is a viable choice.
2. We are still programmed from the historical ICE experience. These cars are basically plug and play. A new battery = new car powerplant, sans new motors.
3. The long wait time (to replace any car) under the current supply chain issue should be considered in this decision.
4. From what I have read it takes over a month to obtain a Tesla service appointment in some parts of the USA.
5. There is no doubt that PCNA or PAG will make you whole on the lease payments made unless you are given an equal car to drive for the repair cycle. Even then because it is an "S" you may be able to obtain some financial consideration.

This.

This isn't something tragic that will long term affect the car or the resale value. I wouldn't worry about a new battery swap in the slightest from a mechanical perspective.

Unfortunately given the state of the global supply chain, especially when it comes to automotive, long lead times are a thing that are real and people are feeling it. I would try to negotiate some goodwill payments and perhaps an extended warranty, such as maybe an unlimited mile warranty for the battery, or a 6/100k bumper to bumper CPO style.

Be polite but firm and they'll give you something. Be a jerk, and they'll tell you "that's what warranties are for". You might qualify for lemon law based on days out of service but I'd also wager that somewhere in the lemon law language (especially here in TX) that there are force majure or "extreme circumstances" clauses, which Porsche and their lawyers would be sure to invoke. Remember, they have lawyers, many lawyers, on staff and retainer. And I don't think this is a fight worth taking on.

Other forum members have had luck being polite but firm and asking for compensation for their trouble, and Porsche has delivered. I'd do the same, enjoy your free loaner miles (presumably) and just keep the faith.

 

[stijnvdl]

Since 2 weeks my 2021 Turbo S is in the garage. (car 2 months old, only 4500km)
I have kind of the same issue, where a high voltage component is broken.
Component is unavailable in Europe and as such no ETA for resolution.

But most shocking is the lack of communication around the problem.

Nerver mind that they are talking about any kind of compensation

so upset with this crappy Porsche service.

 

[im85288]

I read this article the other day where Porsche were bragging that the way they built the battery allows failed modules to be replaced fairly easily rather than needing an entire new battery: https://apple.news/A6cx3aG3IQT2-VfPLK44mjw

 

[baldybot1]

8 weeks and I’m still waiting for a new battery…

 

[RinOC]

My 2020 Turbo I bought used a few months ago showed this same message last week but only briefly a I was getting out of the car. I drove it a few minutes later and it was fine. I know this may sound weird but if I need to get a whole new battery I say COOL! While the battery's out I think they'll be able to add Plug and Charge at the same time. I think I read that it was tough to add because the battery needed to be removed first. Yeah kind. of sucks being without the car but I'd get over it. Not trying to minimize your disappointment with the situation just pointing out that if you plan on keeping the car for a while as I do (I always say that...rarely do) there is an upside. Anyway this too will pass.

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