PHEV Battery Fault - Write off?
Discussion
Incorporating situation, my partners MK7 GTE has an issue with the battery pack and is currently at a specialist. They are saying it needs a new battery pack which is £11k in parts alone + labour.
We bought the car 6 months ago from an EV specialist and paid for a 12 month warranty, turns out the warranty they supply doesn’t cover anything to do with the battery… excellent.
By the time the parts and labour bill is tallied up, it’s more than the car is worth. Would the insurance company get involved as it’s not driveable?
We bought the car 6 months ago from an EV specialist and paid for a 12 month warranty, turns out the warranty they supply doesn’t cover anything to do with the battery… excellent.
By the time the parts and labour bill is tallied up, it’s more than the car is worth. Would the insurance company get involved as it’s not driveable?
rix said:
What were you told re the warranty? Sounds pretty shady not covering the battery on an EV! Sale of goods may well apply - not of merchandable quality etc. insurance won't cover it I'd assume unless is as a result if accident damage etc.
I called the warranty company and straight off the bat they said the battery of any EV or PHEV is not covered for anything! I was quite shocked too. Insurance company won't get involved unless the battery was damaged by e.g. a collision, vandalism. Not for a component failure.
I'd be inclined to suggest that the car wasn't of satisfactory quality when you bought it (as per the Consumer Rights Act 2015), and ask the selling dealer what they are going to do about it.
The other avenue would be to ask VW what support they provide. What age/mileage is the car? As above, it might still be under battery warranty.
I'd be inclined to suggest that the car wasn't of satisfactory quality when you bought it (as per the Consumer Rights Act 2015), and ask the selling dealer what they are going to do about it.
The other avenue would be to ask VW what support they provide. What age/mileage is the car? As above, it might still be under battery warranty.
VW said:
The batteries for Battery electric vehicles (BEV) and Plug in hybrids (PHEV) are warranted against all defects in materials and workmanship for eight years or up to 100,000 miles, whichever comes first.
https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/en/owners-and-service...Edited by samoht on Monday 18th December 22:26
September 2015, 65,000 miles so it is just out of the VW warranty, however I am waiting on the local VW garage to call me back to confirm.
I’ll speak to the garage where we bought it tomorrow, their stock is EV’s so I am very surprised their warranty offering is not right.
Purchased from them late July so it’s within 6 months etc. I’ll call them first thing and see what they say.
I’ll speak to the garage where we bought it tomorrow, their stock is EV’s so I am very surprised their warranty offering is not right.
Purchased from them late July so it’s within 6 months etc. I’ll call them first thing and see what they say.
You say it's at 'a specialist'. An actual EV specialist?
Have a look for a HEVRA member for possibly a second opinion.
https://hevra.org.uk/garages.html
Have a look for a HEVRA member for possibly a second opinion.
https://hevra.org.uk/garages.html
agent006 said:
You say it's at 'a specialist'. An actual EV specialist?
Have a look for a HEVRA member for possibly a second opinion.
https://hevra.org.uk/garages.html
Not on that list, they are a VAG specialist who we have used for years and years and a few years ago spent thousands on all the correct training and equipment for electric cars. I don’t doubt their knowledge. Have a look for a HEVRA member for possibly a second opinion.
https://hevra.org.uk/garages.html
sixor8 said:
Will the car still work on fuel alone? Or does the battery fault prevent it's use? If so, that's a bit daft. 
Believe so, will need to double check. Warranty inclusions and exclusions below. I am assuming anything on the right is excluded regardless of miles? Seems overly keen to list the battery pack and the clutch in the same list. I get the clutch not being covered!
I would probably follow this order
1. Selling garage - within six months it's legally assumed that the fault is present at the point of sale and the seller's responsibility to repair or refund the car.
2. VW - it's just outside the battery warranty, but it's always possible they might acknowledge a manufacturing issue and/or offer a contribution to a repair, especially if the car has service history with them
3. A HEVRA specialist. There's a big difference between being trained to work on EVs without electrocuting yourself, and actually having the know-how to open up a battery pack and replace the faulty cells or other components. It's a specialist niche. There's also a big difference in price between a whole new battery pack and replacing a few cells! There was a case mentioned in Autocar (or on their pod) with a Range Rover hybrid owner in a similar situation, ten grand battery pack replacement, but a specialist rang in and offered a far cheaper repair.
1. Selling garage - within six months it's legally assumed that the fault is present at the point of sale and the seller's responsibility to repair or refund the car.
2. VW - it's just outside the battery warranty, but it's always possible they might acknowledge a manufacturing issue and/or offer a contribution to a repair, especially if the car has service history with them
3. A HEVRA specialist. There's a big difference between being trained to work on EVs without electrocuting yourself, and actually having the know-how to open up a battery pack and replace the faulty cells or other components. It's a specialist niche. There's also a big difference in price between a whole new battery pack and replacing a few cells! There was a case mentioned in Autocar (or on their pod) with a Range Rover hybrid owner in a similar situation, ten grand battery pack replacement, but a specialist rang in and offered a far cheaper repair.
Danm1les said:
Incorporating situation, my partners MK7 GTE has an issue with the battery pack and is currently at a specialist. They are saying it needs a new battery pack which is £11k in parts alone + labour.
We bought the car 6 months ago from an EV specialist and paid for a 12 month warranty, turns out the warranty they supply doesn’t cover anything to do with the battery… excellent.
By the time the parts and labour bill is tallied up, it’s more than the car is worth. Would the insurance company get involved as it’s not driveable?
Why do people buy complex technology and not read the terms and conditions of the warranty before handing their money over? We bought the car 6 months ago from an EV specialist and paid for a 12 month warranty, turns out the warranty they supply doesn’t cover anything to do with the battery… excellent.
By the time the parts and labour bill is tallied up, it’s more than the car is worth. Would the insurance company get involved as it’s not driveable?
An EV/PHEV 'specialist' should be able to fix any battery pack with a combination of spare parts and skills/experience.
What are the car error codes? Can the OP get a proper diagnostic tool printout from the dealer. Then we can advise.
Buying another pack from a crashed/damaged car is also an option.
Throwing a brand new pack in is a complete cop out.
What are the car error codes? Can the OP get a proper diagnostic tool printout from the dealer. Then we can advise.
Buying another pack from a crashed/damaged car is also an option.
Throwing a brand new pack in is a complete cop out.
I was chatting to a chap doing my MOT a while ago and he said that there are places starting to pop up that will take the battery packs apart and repair individual elements.
Mind you, he was the same guy who told me Tesla services needed 4 people at all times... 1 to do the service, 2 with big bits of wood to hit the guy away from the tesla when it started to electrocute him and the 4th to call the emergency services when it got to this stage.
On another note RE warranties, so many are not worth the paper they're written on. A stepson of a workmate bought a warranty for £999 on a second hand car. Went to claim... The limit was £999. And expensive bit of paper effectively.
Good luck OP
Mind you, he was the same guy who told me Tesla services needed 4 people at all times... 1 to do the service, 2 with big bits of wood to hit the guy away from the tesla when it started to electrocute him and the 4th to call the emergency services when it got to this stage.
On another note RE warranties, so many are not worth the paper they're written on. A stepson of a workmate bought a warranty for £999 on a second hand car. Went to claim... The limit was £999. And expensive bit of paper effectively.
Good luck OP
Danm1les said:
Not on that list, they are a VAG specialist who we have used for years and years and a few years ago spent thousands on all the correct training and equipment for electric cars. I don’t doubt their knowledge.
Not sure where you are in the UK Dan, but I would get the car assessed by someone like https://www.cleevelyev.co.uk who do repair / rebuild battery packs - among other things.Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff