“Six out of ten Porsche Taycan” ever delivered have an issue with battery administration that impacts and damages battery cells, requires substitute of cells and batteries, and is inflicting automobile fires, in accordance with a supply working at Porsche’s headquarters in Zuffenhausen, Germany. Porsche is reportedly hiding the issue from clients and authorities and quietly changing broken battery cell modules with out informing clients to cowl up the issue. Tesla provided to assist Porsche with battery administration via Audi contacts years in the past, however Porsche administration on the time rejected any exterior assist, saying it may deal with all the things internally, the supply famous.
“The issue impacts six of ten delivered autos,” the supply, who could possibly be described as a whistleblower, stated.
A Dangerous Enterprise
The Porsche whistleblower defined that the Taycan’s 800V high-voltage onboard charger used right now doesn’t management the charging course of effectively sufficient and might overcharge some battery cells, inflicting them to overheat. For security causes, overheated battery cells are disabled and remoted from the battery pack, lowering battery capability and thus the automobile’s vary. The issue happens when the batteries are charged at a low AC pace of as much as 7.5 KW, a typical use case for all charging, reminiscent of at dwelling or on low-speed chargers, the supply stated.
The 800V structure of the Taycan, a automobile the German automaker is pleased with, has many benefits, however the robust present requires a really well-controlled charging course of to keep away from charging some cells quicker than others. The battery cells in a BEV are all the time charged in parallel to shorten the charging time, however this carries the danger that some cells shall be charged quicker than others. If one of many many cells in a BEV is charged quicker than the remaining, overcharging and overheating can happen, which might result in automobile fires, if, for example, a further air leak occurs.
About 1% of the 60% of autos affected, or about 360 Taycans out of 36,000 autos delivered, had a preventable automobile, cable, or smoldering hearth attributable to the issue, the whistleblower stated. These are figures from Porsche’s inner statistics, which the corporate updates on an ongoing foundation to maintain monitor of questions of safety. The rationale the whistleblower, who works for Porsche in Zuffenhausen, is speaking about the issue in any respect, risking his job and extra, is that the corporate has determined recently to not substitute the Taycan’s onboard charger, however to proceed delivery autos and all future new Taycan fashions with the problematic system, which can pose a notable security threat.
Porsche makes use of an affordable onboard charger that doesn’t management the method effectively, the whistleblower defined to me intimately. Fires have occurred within the Taycan battery, the supply defined, as a result of drawback described. Porsche is reportedly conscious of the issue and is engaged on it, however the automaker has not solved it or knowledgeable clients or authorities thus far.
As a substitute, the corporate is reportedly hiding the issue for value and reputational causes, the supply said. It’s because if acknowledged, all Taycans would require a recall and the substitute of their onboard charger, and all batteries must be inspected and examined and, if affected, changed. The associated fee, the supply stated, could be within the lots of of tens of millions of euros and the injury to the corporate’s picture could possibly be even better.
A Remarkably Brief Guarantee
An obvious trace of Porsche’s challenges with the Taycan’s battery could possibly be seen within the guarantee for the all-electric sports activities automobile, which occurs to be one of many lowest in the marketplace with simply 60,000 km or three years if following circumstances (Porsche Guarantee Necessities) will not be met:
Autos standing longer than two weeks presupposed to be related to a charger
- Prospects should guarantee that the Taycan’s state of cost stays between 20% – 50%
- Prospects should make it possible for their Taycan is just not uncovered to steady daylight
Autos standing longer than two weeks not related to a charger
- Prospects should cost the Taycan’s battery earlier than to 50%
- Prospects should test each three months and guarantee SoC stays at or above 20%
- Prospects should guarantee that their automobile’s temperature is between 0C – 20C
Whereas 160,000 km is a mean battery guarantee within the business, Porsche confirmed to me the 100,000 km decrease, 60,000 km guarantee and its restrictions.
It’s a well-known threat within the business that when charging BEVs, an imbalance within the battery cells can result in a sealed, encapsulated, and deactivated cell that may then overheat and trigger battery injury and even fires if, for instance, there’s a further leak within the battery field via which air can enter. Porsche’s 800V high-voltage structure is extra susceptible on this regard than a low-voltage structure reminiscent of Tesla’s 400V, or what different producers use. A lot of the BEV battery fire-related issues recorded previously usually occurred in low-cost BEVs that lack refined battery administration techniques or onboard chargers. Porsche has lower prices for its premium Taycan BEV, which poses a threat to clients, in accordance with the whistleblower.
Prices and Financial savings
The cell injury will be repaired at nice expense, however most often, Porsche chooses to not, the whistleblower stated. To compensate for the automobile’s decreased vary resulting from encapsulated and deactivated battery cells, Porsche in lots of circumstances reportedly unlocks unused, reserved battery capability, successfully tricking clients into pondering all the things has been mounted, though the affected cells are now not in use and stay a possible threat, the supply stated. Prospects who don’t know {that a} cell of their battery has an issue could not even acknowledge the decreased vary of their Taycans as a result of Porsche releases unused battery capability and subsequently the issue is just not detected in any respect from them. This might clarify why the variety of the reported battery issues on the Taycan shared by the media is far decrease than 60%.
For all autos Porsche informs needing a restore, the shopper is charged 600 euros/cells module, though the inner labor value is simply 26 euros, the whistleblower stated. Porsche prices clients though no restore has taken place in any respect however only a battery module cell alternate, the supply added. A Taycan has 33 battery modules with 12 cells every including it as much as a complete of 396 complete cells. Points that occur and must be coated by guarantee are, close to labor value, paid by the shopper, creating excessive service and upkeep earnings for Porsche.
Contemplating the battery degradation that every one BEVs expertise ultimately, the 60% Taycan clients who’ve the battery drawback described by the whistleblower may have a decrease complete battery capability than paid for after the so-called “restore” and can expertise an earlier discount in vary and thus a discount in automobile worth. If the issue of overcharging the onboard charging cell happens extra often, the injury can accumulate to the purpose the place an entire battery substitute is required, in accordance with the whistleblower. If what the supply reported is right over time, all 40% Taycans not but affected by the problem could at some point expertise the identical drawback, relying on the charging habits of their homeowners.
To fake to have carried out a restore that by no means occurred and settle for a decrease battery capability attributable to an affordable Porsche onboard charger with out informing the shopper could be deceptive, to say the least. Worse, the changed battery cells and modules are prone to the identical drawback, and homeowners accustomed to charging at dwelling with AC energy as much as 7.5 KW could quickly be confronted with the identical drawback once more after their battery packs have been “repaired.” Disregarding the fee and depreciation is unhealthy, however the security concern is essentially the most major problem of all and must be, based mostly on the data my supply shared, investigated by authorities in all nations the place the Taycan is shipped.
An Invisible Repair
A unique, extra refined charger for an additional 70 euros from the identical provider with a very good status would clear up the issue, however Porsche has thus far determined in opposition to the {hardware} change, in accordance with my sources. What feels like a small further value is just not small within the automotive business, the place goal prices are a vital measure of staff success and on which bonuses rely. The latest choice of Porsche to not use a greater extra refined charger that may clear up the issue for the foreseeable future made the supply a whistleblower who rightly noticed this as an unacceptable threat to clients.
The Taycan autos experiencing the charging issues are divided into three teams by Porsche and sellers, the whistleblower said. Dealerships are beneath strict NDA and face dropping their Porsche certification in the event that they discuss concerning the apply that the automaker is executing for years.
Affected Taycans are categorized as:
(a) Inexperienced – restore
b) Yellow – evaluate with Porsche inner technical division
c) Purple – substitute
All autos that fall into the “Purple” class obtain a brand new battery module or whole battery with spare components which might be accessible inside 24 hours. Not all clients with “Purple” designations are knowledgeable that the cell module had been changed on their Taycan, the whistleblower stated. The newly put in battery is reportedly “learn out” and the info is exhibited to the purchasers who’re knowledgeable, claiming that it’s knowledge from the previous battery after the “restore.” This, in accordance with the supply, successfully offers false proof that all the things has been “mounted”. The brand new battery is then assigned to the previous serial quantity, and that is how Porsche erases all traces that point out fraud, the whistleblower stated. That’s why it’s laborious to show that Porsche is dishonest clients and deceptive the general public, the supply defined to me. Whereas autos designated as “Inexperienced” had been “mounted,” automobiles designated as “Yellow” are nonetheless undecided and have to be investigated.
If the authorities demand a Taycan recall and substitute of all onboard chargers and batteries, the related prices shall be within the lots of of tens of millions of euros the supply said. Supplied that the whistleblower’s data is correct, about 60,000 Taycans delivered thus far must be recalled worldwide, with expensive repairs, testing and {hardware} modifications. The reputational injury could be excessive and, just like the VW Group dishonest scandal, a significant unfavorable for the long-lasting automaker that claims security comes first.
Prior to now, some Taycan battery fires, such because the one in a storage within the US state of Florida in early 2020 that occurred throughout nighttime charging, had been by no means totally resolved after investigations started. My supply stated that Taycan fires had been immediately attributable to the issue with the charger and will have been prevented if Porsche had used a dearer, higher-quality charger, as one would count on from a premium automaker. A small deviation through the charging technique of solely 0.1% can simply trigger a automobile hearth when overcharged by 1%, my supply stated. The provider has a good title, however an affordable charger was chosen to maintain prices down.
Teslarati reached out to Porsche to touch upon the whistleblower’s claims and obtained following suggestions on November 23:
“I checked with our R+D division in Weissach and the entire points addressed lack any foundation. Primarily based on this data we are able to´t affirm any of the problems,” a spokesperson from Porsche stated.
The supply was confronted with the suggestions from Porsche and said in one other cellphone name that solely a really small staff is concerned within the matter, and it’s no shock for him that many inside the automaker have no idea concerning the described points. Many extra particulars had been revealed, however they don’t seem to be included on this article to guard the supply. The supply defined that in earlier circumstances, Porsche made certain that workers who leaked data by no means received a job within the business once more.
Different sources knowledgeable me years in the past that through the improvement of the Taycan, assembly goal prices was a big problem and that this will likely have led to the unwise choice to decide on an affordable charger. At present, the VW Group’s BEVs are lower-margin in comparison with the corporate’s ICE fashions and never all are optimistic, creating robust strain from administration to scale back prices. Given the Taycan’s excessive value and good gross sales figures, it’s affordable to imagine that it’s worthwhile, however it could not generate as excessive margins as the corporate’s iconic ICE fashions.
The whistleblower additionally stated that years in the past, Tesla provided to assist Porsche with its battery administration system, however the German automaker declined the provide. Round three years in the past, Porsche requested Tesla via Audi contacts if they might assist then, however on the time, Tesla declined. My supply stated it was pure conceitedness on Porsche’s half that led to right now’s issues, as Tesla had been prepared to assist them.
Earlier issues with Taycan batteries led to a preliminary investigation by the US NHTSA in early 2021 into the sudden discharge of the 12V battery, which may end result within the automobile coming to a sudden cease. The NHTSA famous 9 official complaints from Taycan homeowners, and Porsche recalled 43,000 Taycans to restore outlets at the moment. Taycan discussion board members report quite a lot of completely different battery issues in addition to the media (e.g. a Taycan burned down in Florida), that will or is probably not associated to what my supply reported. General, if we add all collectively, it seems that battery issues with the Taycan will not be unusual and with extra age of batteries and autos, extra points could also be reported. From what the whistleblower defined, the technique from Porsche appears to be to resolve or isolate technical points with out public discover.
The excellent news for the Audi e-tron GT that’s produced on the identical VW PPE BEV platform because the Taycan and shares many components with it, is that Audi opted for a distinct and higher onboard charger. The described drawback is just not existent with the e-tron GT, the supply instructed me, however it’s unclear why Porsche isn’t studying from the Audi staff in that respect.
A Notice from the Creator
As a author, I do my finest to totally qualify each supply, and I select to not publish a narrative if there’s any doubt concerning the credibility of the data or the supply. I’ve direct contact with the individual that supplied the data on this article, know his identification and occupation, had a number of calls and exchanges with him and know individuals who have met him in particular person.
My intent is to not disseminate deceptive or sensational data, and this can be a guideline for all my work. Since my supply has handed my credibility test via a number of channels and has repeatedly supplied many in-depth technical particulars on the problem, I really feel it’s my obligation to tell the general public with this text whereas I don’t have laborious proof and subsequently can’t affirm the data to be proper. In response to the data supplied by the whistleblower, Porsche has determined to take a giant threat on the well being of its clients for value, revenue and status causes.
As a German who’s pleased with the heritage of the automotive business in my dwelling nation, and as a former Porsche buyer, I’m actually shocked by what the whistleblower has instructed me. The dishonest scandal has modified the tradition within the German automotive business many have instructed me for years, however it appears to be like like the identical structural issues stay and lead the business proper into the subsequent large scandal.
Disclaimer
The Creator, Alex Voigt doesn’t personal or had ever any Porsche or VW Group inventory, derivates or different direct or oblique investments within the firm. There was by no means any enterprise relationship between the writer, Porsche, and the VW Group. The unique and first clues to this unique and disturbing story got here from Christoph Krachten, who got here throughout it whereas researching his German best-selling book about Tesla.
Alex Voigt Patreon Web page: https://www.patreon.com/AlexVoigt
