Expensive Mandatory Drainage Checks

[Xsquid]

Apparently according to Porsche GB this is required when the car is serviced. It is not part of the service and it is not cheap.
I had asked for an explanation as between the cost of the first 2 services at about £1150 and the 4 yr service plan at around £2300. The original 4yr service plan was £864 which some people have taken out:

This was the response:

“The prices were updated shortly after launch following queries from several centres that it should include the mandatory drainage checks which are required at the same time as the service. Otherwise you as a customer would still be faced with a huge bill when your Taycan is in for servicing which simply isn’t acceptable.”

I cannot help but sense something is not quite right here and am quite willing to have those concerns allayed.

Any thoughts? A somewhat expensive battery diagnostics. Also why is this not referred to in the servicing schedule?

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[NC_Taycan]

Drainage diagnostics - as in charge drainage (the dealer will do something to perhaps evaluate the actual chargeholding capability of the battery)? Or drainage of the battery cooling fluid? Or the HVAC condensate drain hoses? Or the drainage beneath the windscreen exterior?

Considering that EVs require significantly less maintenance (and therefore represent significantly less after-sales revenue for the dealer) I would question anything a dealer tells you is needed if Porsche hasn't said the same is required. Next thing you know they will send you a bill for replacing your turn signal fluid because it has aged past the specifications applicable for EVs...

 

[porsche_coyote]

Drainage diagnostics - as in charge drainage (the dealer will do something to perhaps evaluate the actual chargeholding capability of the battery)? Or drainage of the battery cooling fluid? Or the HVAC condensate drain hoses? Or the drainage beneath the windscreen exterior?

Considering that EVs require significantly less maintenance (and therefore represent significantly less after-sales revenue for the dealer) I would question anything a dealer tells you is needed if Porsche hasn't said the same is required. Next thing you know they will send you a bill for replacing your turn signal fluid because it has aged past the specifications applicable for EVs...

Hey, blinker fluid is real:

 

[NC_Taycan]

The fine print at the bottom is priceless...

 

[chrisk]

drainage

Drainage of your bank account? ?

 

[daveo4EV]

I call BS on this - EV battery cooling fluids while the same as existing vehicle cooling fluids are subjected to much much less thermal stress than an ICE motor with maximum temps being far less than 150F (commonly less than 90F even in summer) vs. temperatures in excess of 200F for ICE motors - the lower thermal stress means the fluids maintain their thermal absorption effectiveness much much longer…

ICE cooling fluids are also subject to contamination from leaking seals and have have gas and oil and exhaust particles that can accumulate over time in the fluid do to the reliable but inprecise nature of engin sears - and their proximity to all the complexities inside a modern ICE engine block…

EV's have far less "going on" and I'm not even sure how the cooling system fluids would become contaminated or even what they would be contaminated with…

Chevy recommends the Bolt battery cooling fluids are flushed once every 150,000 miles - 150,000!!!! - my local chevy deal says it’s a $75 sevice.

The Taycan's service schedule published in the manual calls out _NO_ such issue.

Tesla’s in service since 2012 have no recommended maintenance to change the battery cooling fluid - as a sealed system with limited thermal range the fluids longevity is impressive.

dealers are going to feel immense pain and distruption to their service based revenue models with the rising tide of EV’s - some may not respond with entirely ethical recommendations.

I would consult with Prosche directly before undertaking any such service - as it smells to high heaven of revenue enhancement activities for the dealer, and not for the benefit of the vehicle owner or vehicle itself.

There are a few services that I consider reasonable for EV's:

• repaired of items that fail or are broke - EV's are mostly maintenance free _NOT_ repair free
• brake fluid flushes - brake fluid is hydroscopic - it's absorbs moister from the air - the shelf life for high quality brake fluid is 2-3 years at most
  • brake fluid flushes ever 2 years is not unreasonable
  • EV's are not magic or different in this space (at least not yet)
• Tires wear
• windshield wipers wear
• maybe air-conditioning coolant every 4 years??? can someone weight in here?
• 12V battery might need replacing - although demand on them is "low" - they still have an expected life and do fail
• suspension alignment
• any maintenance of air suspension
• any maintenance of rear wheel steering (if you have it)
• software update done by the dealer because Porsche has a warped view of OTA - they send you an eMail saying you need an update

I honestly can't think of any other items - but would love people to share their thoughts.

 

[NC_Taycan]

Well the question a few posts back was on what exactly does the dealer want to test drainage...?

 

[faroutinNM]

Other potential regular-wear items:
-Bearings (wheels, motor/shafts)
-Bushings (motor/axle mounts, suspension/steering links) , cv joints, etc.
-Control actuators/valves (not many, because solid state devices control electrical power for speed regulation, but maybe air damper/spring valves, brake hydraulic valves/pressure sources, etc)
-Coolant pumps/valves, airflow adjusting vane actuation parts

Just trying to think of moving parts, any of which (or their related contact-bearing surfaces) will wear with enough use, though for some of them one might imagine a part withstanding centuries and trillions of cycles/miles. Many of these could indeed have lengthy maintenance/service intervals, depending on engineered (or over-engineered) lifetimes/cycle count specifications. Some of these are covered as elements of the services mentioned above (like wheel alignment, for instance).

 

[NC_Taycan]

To add to your list, IIRC, Porsche is recommending brake pad replacement at 6 years - not expecting them to wear out before them due to the regen capability of the car.

But how about that original question about drainage...?

 

[daveo4EV]

@faroutinNM I agree with those items - but they are common with ICE vehicles and my experience those are all 150,00/250,000 mile items - i.e. really really long term.

 

[wemct]

The scheduled service interval for the US Taycan is 2 years which means that realistically my car will have only 1 visit for factory scheduled maintenance. I will be in another car before year 4 rolls around. If the maintenance item isn't listed in the factory service booklet, I do not let the dealers add any of their extras.

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