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Tesla Recalls Almost 13,000 EVs over Risk of Battery Power Loss

bloomberg.com

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Re: Tesla Recalls Almost 13,000 EVs over Risk of Battery Power Loss

#101

Post by ajross »

waffletower wrote: post #93
ajross wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tesla brakes are conventional. Yes, the driver has to push harder if the hydraulics fail, same as any car. There's nothing unique to the failure here, normal cars run their boosters off of the power train too (via belts or vacuum usually, also some have 12V pumps and would be subject to exactly this kind failure). As to whether the booster is run off of the 400V or 12V bus I don't actually know. My guess would be the…

Seems really odd to me to have 400V brake regeneration and run the brake booster off of 12V, but quick searches don't reveal the answer for a Tesla or even a Prius.

"Regenerative braking" is a feature implemented by the drive motor and controller, it's got nothing to to with the brakes.

Again, Tesla brakes are very conventional hydraulic devices and they work (and fail) like brakes in any other car you're going to drive.

Re: Tesla Recalls Almost 13,000 EVs over Risk of Battery Power Loss

#102

Post by wstrange »

CaptainOfCoit wrote: post #33
azinman2 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s a physical mechanical open mechanism for doors.

Curious how it worked, I found https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_us/GUID-A7A60DC... > At the bottom of the rear door pocket, there is a slot in front of the release cover. Slide your finger into the slot and lift to remove the cover. Pull the mechanical release cable forward. I wonder how people are supposed to be able to find that when in an emergency sitting in the backseat of someone else's car.

For the back seats you can order webbing strips from Temu for five bucks. They are easy to spot (bright yellow).

I point them out to any passengers in the back seat.

If you have kids that are likely to pull them ... different story.

Re: Tesla Recalls Almost 13,000 EVs over Risk of Battery Power Loss

#103

Post by rconti »

briandw wrote: post #22
dncornholio wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this even a fair comparison when Ford and Chrysler offer a lot more models than Tesla does?

Fords recall numbers have skyrocketed in recent years. So Fords real comparison to its previous self, 2015 they had 68. Why isn’t Fords roughly doubling of recalls news?

It's reasonably well known that Ford has had a very bad year for recalls; it's definitely made the rounds in the auto world, and breaks through to the mainstream news from time to time.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2024-2026-ford-ranger-recall...

https://247wallst.com/investing/2025/10/17/ford-recall-recor...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/cars/recalls/2025/09/24/ford-...

https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/ford-issues-more-saf...

Re: Tesla Recalls Almost 13,000 EVs over Risk of Battery Power Loss

#105

Post by spullara »

aranw wrote: post #98
josephcsible wrote: post #92

Other automakers have recalls all the time too. Why is it that every single Tesla recall becomes national news, but virtually no recalls by other automakers ever do? (I can only think of two exceptions in recent history: Takata airbags and Chevy Bolt batteries.)

I've owned three Audis over the last decade with no recalls Tesla deliberately pushes boundaries and breaks from tradition. That's admirable, but traditional manufacturers have decades of engineering knowledge behind their approaches for good reasons. Push the envelope enough and you'll have more misses and in Tesla's case more recalls

Guess you are constantly dodging them, so lucky.

https://www.kbb.com/audi/recall/

Re: Tesla Recalls Almost 13,000 EVs over Risk of Battery Power Loss

#106

Post by xxs »

ajross wrote: post #28
bob1029 wrote: post #6

What happens in the edge case of losing HV during heavy braking on the freeway? Does the brake booster still function independently of the HV system, or is the driver going to have to push the pedal a lot harder?

Tesla brakes are conventional. Yes, the driver has to push harder if the hydraulics fail, same as any car. There's nothing unique to the failure here, normal cars run their boosters off of the power train too (via belts or vacuum usually, also some have 12V pumps and would be subject to exactly this kind failure). As to whether the booster is run off of the 400V or 12V bus I don't actually know. My guess would be the…

>12V battery is tiny and would probably not provide enough power

LiFePO4 is capable of providing massive amounts of current for its size (way higher than a conventional acid one). 100A is not that high amount of current to run even with 4s4p setup. A 10kg battery would be beyond sufficient (should be able to fully power the brake system for 1h use).

Note: jump on the brakes is expected to consume around 1200W

Re: Tesla Recalls Almost 13,000 EVs over Risk of Battery Power Loss

#107

Post by AlotOfReading »

xxs wrote: post #87
lotsofpulp wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder why all electric cars aren’t designed from the start to use 48v.

What would be the exact benefit for 48V? Virtually all electronics need a step down (buck) converters as they run at lower voltages 5, 3.3, 1.8. 12V > 3.3- 1V would a single step. 48V ones would likely require an intermediate step. The only exception would be running some power systems where it'd require less current.

You're going to need the expensive bits of a power supply anyway to meet transient requirements, so it's not much of a savings to run at native voltage and it gives a lot of design freedom/reusability to have one voltage for everything.

The main savings is current though, because the wiring harness is one of the most expensive parts of a car.

Re: Tesla Recalls Almost 13,000 EVs over Risk of Battery Power Loss

#108

Post by bob1029 »

xxs wrote: post #87
lotsofpulp wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder why all electric cars aren’t designed from the start to use 48v.

What would be the exact benefit for 48V? Virtually all electronics need a step down (buck) converters as they run at lower voltages 5, 3.3, 1.8. 12V > 3.3- 1V would a single step. 48V ones would likely require an intermediate step. The only exception would be running some power systems where it'd require less current.

Less copper and thinner wires throughout the vehicle.

Re: Tesla Recalls Almost 13,000 EVs over Risk of Battery Power Loss

#109

Post by reaperducer »

mildconcern wrote: post #80
gamblor956 wrote: post #74

For comparison, the level of seriousness compared to an ICE vehicle: this would be like if the fuel tank stopped working.

Who else thought this post referred to border patrol vehicles? I try to avoid political news but am apparently failing at some level.

Who else thought this post referred to border patrol vehicles?

There were millions of Americans who were very confused in 2020 when BLM protests popped up in other parts of the country.

"Why do they hate the Bureau of Land Management?"

Re: Tesla Recalls Almost 13,000 EVs over Risk of Battery Power Loss

#110

Post by Meegul »

reaperducer wrote: post #100
Meegul wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The battery pack contactor is one of the only, if not actually the only, moving pieces in a battery pack. A solenoid connects or disconnects the battery pack from the rest of the car's electronics. In this case, it seems to fail in the open state, meaning the battery was not able to power the car. Either there was simply a bad production batch of these particular solenoids or a change in supplier for this part. Model…

one of the only, if not actually the only, Pet peeve: The phrase is "one of the few," not "one of the only." If something is "only," it can't be "one of" something.

Ha, good catch. I stared at that sentence for a few too many minutes as I wrote it because I knew it just didn't sound right.
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