Don Breaks His Taycan - The Saga of the 12v Battery

[PNWTaycan4S]

If you have not yet received your car, I am 99% sure you will already have the newest battery. (Cars with Active Repair Campaigns don't get delivered to Customers, they get held at Port or at the Dealership until everything is up to date)

Also... I'm not sure you can see the part number on the battery without disassembling the front of your car. You can definitely see the top of the Positive Terminal end of the battery. A strut and a wiper arm need to be removed to replace the battery. And I don't quite know where the part number is displayed.

I picked up my 4S last Friday. Dealer assured me it had the updated 12V battery and latest software. Let’s hope that’s true!

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[r553]

I didn't do it myself, my dealer's service adviser did on my behalf. Sorry to get your hopes up.

 

[mike-taycan]

Thanks for sharing all the details! Will be helpful to compare other's experience when they are in the same situation.

 

[glennkreisel]

UPDATE: New ver8.7 car Firmware partially fixes the 12v problem.

So, I received the new firmware last week (ver8.7). But I still have an “old” 12v battery.

Last night at 11pm, my car alarm went off. This normally happens just before the car goes completely dead.

But when I went out to “jump start” the car this morning it wasn’t dead.

So here’s what I think happened: the bug still depletes the battery, but now, with new car firmware, the car does a last-second hail-mary save and wakes up the 800v DC battery systems to recharge the 12v battery.

CONCLUSION: Get your car’s firmware updated, even if the replacement 12v battery isn’t available for you yet.

Can we check our firmware version via the car PCM system?
Thanks!

 

[Miwa]

Can we check our firmware version via the car PCM system?
Thanks!

Nope. You can only see the PCM version. There's no single firmware version for the control systems in the car. Every ECU has it's own firmware version.

 

[ceresma]

If you have not yet received your car, I am 99% sure you will already have the newest battery. (Cars with Active Repair Campaigns don't get delivered to Customers, they get held at Port or at the Dealership until everything is up to date)

Also... I'm not sure you can see the part number on the battery without disassembling the front of your car. You can definitely see the top of the Positive Terminal end of the battery. A strut and a wiper arm need to be removed to replace the battery. And I don't quite know where the part number is displayed.

alas apparently not as I picked up my car last Wednesday and they towed it away Thursday morning with a 12 V issue. So far they can't find anything wrong.

 

[louv]

alas apparently not as I picked up my car last Wednesday and they towed it away Thursday morning with a 12 V issue. So far they can't find anything wrong.

The other possibility is that their “fixes” do not actually fix the problem. I hope it’s something simpler that was overlooked.

 

[ceresma]

The other possibility is that their “fixes” do not actually fix the problem. I hope it’s something simpler that was overlooked.

Are you still having the issue. Did they replace your 12v battery?

 

[louv]

Are you still having the issue. Did they replace your 12v battery?

My 12v battery replacement is still on order.

 

[dnanian]

My 12v battery replacement is still on order.

Yeah, I took my car in last Thursday, and the wrote in on Friday to say that one part (a harness) came in, but the battery did not, so they still have the car.

They say it'll be in on Monday - did you get the same ETA?

 

[louv]

Yeah, I took my car in last Thursday, and the wrote in on Friday to say that one part (a harness) came in, but the battery did not, so they still have the car.

They say it'll be in on Monday - did you get the same ETA?

I have not been given an ETA. But I still have my car. It won’t go into the shop until all the parts arrive.

 

[evanevery]

@louv thanks for all that detail and for your contributions to this process!

Good to hear that the 12V battery issue was partly (mainly?) caused by a hardware issue since those are easier to remedy than some odd software gremlins.

That caught me kinda funny...

As a hardware/software guy, my first thought is "I hope its the software and not the hardware!" Hardware has got to be shipped (and maybe redesigned and remanufactured). Software can just get flashed. Any time I have an issue with one of my PCB design samples, I always hope its with my software/firmware and NOT my PCB layout! I can change the software in a few minutes but hardware takes much longer...

Not looking to disagree - Just illustrating a different perspective!

 

[Dlurker20]

That caught me kinda funny...

As a hardware/software guy, my first thought is "I hope its the software and not the hardware!" Hardware has got to be shipped (and maybe redesigned and remanufactured). Software can just get flashed. Any time I have an issue with one of my PCB design samples, I always hope its with my software/firmware and NOT my PCB layout! I can change the software in a few minutes but hardware takes much longer...

Not looking to disagree - Just illustrating a different perspective!

I agree with you, but laughed for a different reason. It seems Porsche is better at manufacturing and addressing hardware Issues than software!

 

[Reg]

That caught me kinda funny...

As a hardware/software guy, my first thought is "I hope its the software and not the hardware!" Hardware has got to be shipped (and maybe redesigned and remanufactured). Software can just get flashed. Any time I have an issue with one of my PCB design samples, I always hope its with my software/firmware and NOT my PCB layout! I can change the software in a few minutes but hardware takes much longer...

Not looking to disagree - Just illustrating a different perspective!

As a software guy myself, I should have added that when my team says it is the hardware, I am only relieved when they add “and the hardware fix is done and tested and ready to deploy”.

I agree with you on the logistics of deployment, but I have had my share of the software fix that fixed the issue and then introduced other.

I guess in this case the “hardware” fix was the firmware in the battery so it is a blend of both

 

[dnanian]

I have not been given an ETA. But I still have my car. It won’t go into the shop until all the parts arrive.

Yeah, they told me they couldn't order the parts until the car was there (the appointment was made the week before)...so unfortunately it's there, and I have a loaner (a Cayman, which is not Dog Compatible)...

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