Bizarre 'whistleblower' claims “60% of all delivered Taycan have battery issues that caused replacements, damages and fires”

[RickDC]

Why would someone with serious info like this whistleblower contact a Tesla orientated site (I'd never heard of it) and not something like Financial Times or similar. They'd have the resources and processes to verify this.

The article mentions that the motivation for the whistleblower is to highlight the safety issues that they are bringing to light.

It just seems like a strange publication to do this with – unless other publishers rejected the story.

Are you surprised of diselgate VW cheating ??

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[tigerbalm]

Wow, not sure I've seen someone talk for that long without saying anything before. He sounds like every pathological liar I've ever met, coming up with flimsy excuses to explain his was out of any problems he runs into.

Thank you for giving me 18 minutes and 46 seconds of time back to my life!

 

[tigerbalm]

Are you surprised of diselgate VW cheating ??

All the more reason a major publication would pick this up – given the historical context – if there was anything other than "anonymous hunches" to go on.

 

[Reg]

Are you surprised of diselgate VW cheating ??

Sure was surprising.

That is why it would be far more than just surprising that his allegation that they committed fraud by changing serial numbers on parts has any merit at all.

 

[jvdsanden]

Christ! That statement is absolutely the low mark I have seen on this Forum.

Sorry, you are right. My deepest apologies. Was not meant as it has been written. No respect, so I have corrected it.

 

[buhhy]

Are you surprised of diselgate VW cheating ??

There was an entire empirical published study about dieselgate before accusations started flying out.

WVU had a whole test rig:

And had very detailed analyses:

(A is Jetta, B is Passat, C is BMW)

Comparing the current accusation to Dieselgate is an insult to the work the WVU team did to uncover the scandal. I will reserve judgement until something more credible comes along.

 

[tigerbalm]

This idea the Taycan owners/forum members are in denial is just not backed up by evidence on this thread.

Like many here, I am a Porsche enthusiast. When I purchased my Taycan, I wasn't thinking – what EV will I purchase – I was thinking – what is my next Porsche ?

This surprises many people I meet or speak to – at public chargers, etc. I often get asked, why did I pick a Taycan over a Tesla ? My answer, often surprises: I didn't even think about a Tesla or any other EV. I was weighing up various Porsche's regardless of propulsion technologies.

However, the fact I am a Taycan owner, does not mean, I have a little bit of my personality or whatever, tied up in the decision. I've experienced people telling me that the Taycan just isn't as good as a Tesla. They seem ready for a heated argument. It never happens – I just say, that's very possible. I am not trying to own – the best car/EV in the world.

Sometimes it feels like the fact I don't have a Tesla seems to almost upset strangers/other people. It is a phenomenon I have not experienced owning any other car. And it always seems to come from Tesla owners. I have not experienced this talking to Audi etron (SUV), ID.4 or other EV drivers.

Here is an online example of the phenomenon that I describe – same username as here: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117389727/#Comment_117389727

As someone that prides themselves on knowing as much as possible on Porsche vehicles and culture and admits easily to knowing nothing about Tesla's – I couldn't from memory even list out their various models – it still does not upset me whatsoever, if someone doesn't like the car I happen to be currently driving.

Parts of this thread on Taycan Forums give me the same vibe as I sometimes experience talking to Tesla owners.

All Taycan owners are still in their warranty period – now is the time we want to hear if there are major issues with 60% of our cars. This is the time that our cars carry the least financial risk. If what Alex Voigt says is true – he'll have done a major service to us owners.

But the way he has gone about it is so amateur and haphazard that it feel effectively useless. Not only is their no shred of evidence – but there isn't even consistency or truth within the article itself. Major parts of it are provably false.

I think where others – non owners mostly – are seeing denial – is really frustration at the poor competency shown by the author to bring this issue – if true – forward – to help us.

 

[Arjan_]

THIS STORY IS TOTAL BULLSHIT.

Lets move on to something more productive (like when does the boat arrive with my car).

200% agree. I noted that somebody suggested to start a poll to determine how many Taycan's went up in flames. Maybe we should do that and then we can close this topic (the only thing that is burning on my tts are the tires when I do a launch control without traction control ).

Also when we get statements " where there is smoke there is fire" to proof the truth of a statement, this forum degrades 1000 times faster than our taycan batteries!

 

[PorscheCH]

Well said. Some of the Tesla drivers get very defensive. Some others own many other cars as well, enjoy what they drive and don't care.

The article is biased and facinorous, to be kind.

Tesla quality (mechanics, assembly, handling, brakes, finishes outside of software) is what it is. Personally I wouldn't buy it but I understand the fascination.

I don't understand the obsession with looking like the coolest guy on the block.

The 7.30 at the Nurburgring with a fantastic driver and an unstable car. The same time as a Giulia Quadrifoglio or a panamera turbo with half the horsepower, years before. I'd like to be the coolest but I make a fool of myself.

There are an awful lot of Teslas here for such a small country (8 million inhabitants). It's considered a convenient and pleasant car for commuting. Fun cars are different.

This idea the Taycan owners/forum members are in denial is just not backed up by evidence on this thread.

Like many here, I am a Porsche enthusiast. When I purchased my Taycan, I wasn't thinking – what EV will I purchase – I was thinking – what is my next Porsche ?

This surprises many people I meet or speak to – at public chargers, etc. I often get asked, why did I pick a Taycan over a Tesla ? My answer, often surprises: I didn't even think about a Tesla or any other EV. I was weighing up various Porsche's regardless of propulsion technologies.

However, the fact I am a Taycan owner, does not mean, I have a little bit of my personality or whatever, tied up in the decision. I've experienced people telling me that the Taycan just isn't as good as a Tesla. They seem ready for a heated argument. It never happens – I just say, that's very possible. I am not trying to own – the best car/EV in the world.

Sometimes it feels like the fact I don't have a Tesla seems to almost upset strangers/other people.

 

[Xenophon Christodoulou]

Bizarro world.

Took only seconds to find this. "The 800V architecture of the Taycan, a vehicle the German automaker is proud of, has many advantages, but the strong current requires a very well-controlled charging process to avoid charging some cells faster than others."

800v requires LESS current for the same power. That's the whole point of 800v.

There is a bullshit cottage industry out there of misinformation, deception and dumbness.

I am not intending to justify a clearly biased article here BUT you need to note that a motor capable of operating at 500Kw (depending on model of course) even at 800V it will be pulling around 650A (That is a lot of current). It is certainly Half of what an equivalent 400V car would pull (like a Tesla) BUT you need to have excellent software to manage the delivery of current to the motors for best performance and at the same time manage the rate of charge/discharge for the battery to avoid damage to the battery and control electronics that will be susceptible to EMI from such changing currents!

 

[Xenophon Christodoulou]

As I said in a previous response the article is clearly biased and contains a lot of inaccuracies that will please Tesla funboys! Personally I do not give a shit about Tesla or any other brand (including Porsche) whether it is Cars, football Teams or clothes. I just pay my money to obtain goods and services that interest me and I expect a certain quality and enjoyment commensurate with the price I have paid. BUT the fact is the article is onto something here that is not right as far too many people have been having problems with their 12V Battery resulting in failure and replacement of the Onboard Charger or even the HV Battery. My MY21 Turbo has been at the dealership garage for 4 weeks now. It was parked for 2 months while I was away on business. I have received advice on the state I should have left the car in by the OPC Specialist and followed it to the letter. On my return the 12V battery was dead and the car unresponsive. Called Porsche assist who turned up and tried to apply external 12V to wake the car up. The Car came up with myriad with faults and could not engage Forward or Reverse. The Car was towed to the garage and after 4 weeks investigation the advice from Porsche is to replace the E-Box above the Battery and onboard charger. Here is where the article is striking a chord. How do I know that the faulty onboard charger has not reduced the capacity of my battery?? Why shouldn't I have a new battery if the solution was to use unused capacity which means I have now no spare. And why has it taken FOUR WEEKS (and counting)to fault find?? Of course the Main Battery has an 8 year warrantee BUT all this is not very good news for future residuals. Hence we need to demand Porsche Publish Reliability Data for the Car and make public their Product Development Plan to improve on these issues? Otherwise we, the consumers, are getting ripped off. Of course Porsche are not alone in this. My understanding other Electric Vehicle manufactures are having the same problems.

 

[jvdsanden]

As I said in a previous response the article is clearly biased and contains a lot of inaccuracies that will please Tesla funboys! Personally I do not give a shit about Tesla or any other brand (including Porsche) whether it is Cars, football Teams or clothes. I just pay my money to obtain goods and services that interest me and I expect a certain quality and enjoyment commensurate with the price I have paid. BUT the fact is the article is onto something here that is not right as far too many people have been having problems with their 12V Battery resulting in failure and replacement of the Onboard Charger or even the HV Battery. My MY21 Turbo has been at the dealership garage for 4 weeks now. It was parked for 2 months while I was away on business. I have received advice on the state I should have left the car in by the OPC Specialist and followed it to the letter. On my return the 12V battery was dead and the car unresponsive. Called Porsche assist who turned up and tried to apply external 12V to wake the car up. The Car came up with myriad with faults and could not engage Forward or Reverse. The Car was towed to the garage and after 4 weeks investigation the advice from Porsche is to replace the E-Box above the Battery and onboard charger. Here is where the article is striking a chord. How do I know that the faulty onboard charger has not reduced the capacity of my battery?? Why shouldn't I have a new battery if the solution was to use unused capacity which means I have now no spare. And why has it taken FOUR WEEKS (and counting)to fault find?? Of course the Main Battery has an 8 year warrantee BUT all this is not very good news for future residuals. Hence we need to demand Porsche Publish Reliability Data for the Car and make public their Product Development Plan to improve on these issues? Otherwise we, the consumers, are getting ripped off. Of course Porsche are not alone in this. My understanding other Electric Vehicle manufactures are having the same problems.

Thanks, this is the response I was hoping for. Just awareness..

 

[epirali]

I am not at all picking on your post, but I want to illustrate some things if its ok.

BUT the fact is the article is onto something here that is not right as far too many people have been having problems with their 12V Battery resulting in failure and replacement of the Onboard Charger or even the HV Battery.

My MY21 Turbo has been at the dealership garage for 4 weeks now. It was parked for 2 months while I was away on business. I have received advice on the state I should have left the car in by the OPC Specialist and followed it to the letter. On my return the 12V battery was dead and the car unresponsive. Called Porsche assist who turned up and tried to apply external 12V to wake the car up. The Car came up with myriad with faults and could not engage Forward or Reverse. The Car was towed to the garage and after 4 weeks investigation the advice from Porsche is to replace the E-Box above the Battery and onboard charger. Here is where the article is striking a chord.

First the 12v battery has nothing to do with the traction battery. If you have any experience with EVs for reasons even engineers shake their heads at NO manufacturer seems to get charging the 12v battery from the traction battery right initially. I mean they are all used to alternators, etc, and a DC-to-DC step down charger is trivial, and yet they all mess it up. It results in a lot of pain and hassle but its very minor and causes no "damage."

How do I know that the faulty onboard charger has not reduced the capacity of my battery?? Why shouldn't I have a new battery if the solution was to use unused capacity which means I have now no spare. And why has it taken FOUR WEEKS (and counting)to fault find?? Of course the Main Battery has an 8 year warrantee BUT all this is not very good news for future residuals. Hence we need to demand Porsche Publish Reliability Data for the Car and make public their Product Development Plan to improve on these issues?

This is what I say is the exact why the tactic of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt works so well. Its all fear and supposition. "How do I know this is not true?" Well you can't prove a negative. IF you battery capacity degrades FASTER than design you WILL know. Its NOT subtle. Failure in one cell in a group results in loss of capacity ACROSS the group and it will show. This is not the same as the slow long term even loss of capacity. And the battery warranty is there EXACTLY for that. Its like the drivetrain warranty of an ICE, if a strange issue crops up and your engine suddenly loses compression it gets fixed or replaced.

Otherwise we, the consumers, are getting ripped off. Of course Porsche are not alone in this. My understanding other Electric Vehicle manufactures are having the same problems.

Is this a statement of fact? I mean I have had many EVs, a few early ones had actual issues (not made up), but I never felt "ripped off." Manufacturers addressed the issue, and being an early adopter on those I knew there was some risks. Now with the current batch I do not believe there is any risk, I know from experience that Porsche/Audi has great design AND will stand behind early issues. But they articles like that POS start creating this kind of talk on purpose. And then we have FUD succeeding.

Because truth is it HAS been shows Tesla pushes their batteries past good engineering limits. They had to throttle performance and charge speed in order to prevent dangerous fires, yet Tesla fanboys forget that. It is a "baked" in factor of Tesla, engineering for the short term. I have not found this to be the case with Jaguar, Porsche or Audi because they are serious car makers.

BTW I am NOT a Porsche fan, I became a Porsche owner because of the Taycan. I no longer own it. I have no dog in this hunt as they say. But I sure as heck have a LOT of experience with EVs and manufacturers and the ONLY one I would NOT trust until something serious changes is Tesla.

 

[rs38]

Fremont Fire? WTF?

They probably have a lot of experience to extinguish burning Teslas in that area. I heard they asked to help Porsche a few years ago, but Porsche declined.

 

[Kingske]

This idea the Taycan owners/forum members are in denial is just not backed up by evidence on this thread.

Like many here, I am a Porsche enthusiast. When I purchased my Taycan, I wasn't thinking – what EV will I purchase – I was thinking – what is my next Porsche ?

This surprises many people I meet or speak to – at public chargers, etc. I often get asked, why did I pick a Taycan over a Tesla ? My answer, often surprises: I didn't even think about a Tesla or any other EV. I was weighing up various Porsche's regardless of propulsion technologies.

However, the fact I am a Taycan owner, does not mean, I have a little bit of my personality or whatever, tied up in the decision. I've experienced people telling me that the Taycan just isn't as good as a Tesla. They seem ready for a heated argument. It never happens – I just say, that's very possible. I am not trying to own – the best car/EV in the world.

Sometimes it feels like the fact I don't have a Tesla seems to almost upset strangers/other people. It is a phenomenon I have not experienced owning any other car. And it always seems to come from Tesla owners. I have not experienced this talking to Audi etron (SUV), ID.4 or other EV drivers.

Here is an online example of the phenomenon that I describe – same username as here: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117389727/#Comment_117389727

As someone that prides themselves on knowing as much as possible on Porsche vehicles and culture and admits easily to knowing nothing about Tesla's – I couldn't from memory even list out their various models – it still does not upset me whatsoever, if someone doesn't like the car I happen to be currently driving.

Parts of this thread on Taycan Forums give me the same vibe as I sometimes experience talking to Tesla owners.

All Taycan owners are still in their warranty period – now is the time we want to hear if there are major issues with 60% of our cars. This is the time that our cars carry the least financial risk. If what Alex Voigt says is true – he'll have done a major service to us owners.

But the way he has gone about it is so amateur and haphazard that it feel effectively useless. Not only is their no shred of evidence – but there isn't even consistency or truth within the article itself. Major parts of it are provably false.

I think where others – non owners mostly – are seeing denial – is really frustration at the poor competency shown by the author to bring this issue – if true – forward – to help us.

Might the remarkable visceral repulsion of anything that does not confirm Tesla's superiority also be driven by the fact that many Tesla devotees seem to be financially invested in TSLA? Or is the stock ownership a result of that devotion rather than a driver? Tesla has its strengths and weaknesses, like any other car manufacturer, including Porsche/VAG (as Dieselgate illustrated). Personally, I wish all EV manufacturers a lot of success as it is important that ICE cars get replaced by EVs for sustainability reasons. The more brands, shapes, flavors, and colors EVs come in, the better...

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