Updated: Crazy Repair Cost after minor incident- Car is totaled

[Kmajor]

Last week I was coming around a curve and saw a piece of metal (maybe a piece of a muffler) in the road. I couldn't avoid it but I was able to avoid running over it with my tire. I thought I would be able to clear the object because it wasn't that high off the ground. For the most part I did clear it but I guess maybe it flipped up and hit the underside of the car. My car immediately shut off completely and gave a warning to service the vehicle immediately. I coasted safely into a parking lot. I tried restarting the car but it would not start back up. I looked around the car to survey the damage and I couldn't see any physical damage to the front of the car or even when I looked underneath. I had it towed to the local Ford dealership for them to diagnose the problem. After a few days they called and said that there was an electrical connector that was ripped out (not a huge deal) which caused the car to shut down but the other problem is that it dented the casing of the fans that cool the battery. They said there is no way to repair this without replacing the entire battery, which they said costs $24,000. This seems like a design flaw if you can't repair minor damage like this without replacing the entire battery system. I will be filing insurance but I'm sure the insurance company isn't going to be too happy with this situation. Ford also mentioned that they aren't sure how long it will take to get the battery in. So I could be driving a rental car for a month or more. The service guy did say I might be able to get away with just repairing the cable and see what happens with the battery. He said in that case we would just have to worry about the fans not working properly and the battery overheating. The problem is I don't want to do that for fear of voiding my warranty and possibly having an issue down the road that the insurance company won't cover.

Update: I finally got a call from my insurance company today and they decided to total the car. I really loved this car and I want to get another EV but I'm a little nervous about it after this experience.

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[breeves002]

The fans? There aren't fans in the battery pack....Only fan is the interior blower motor and the radiator/condenser fan at the front of the vehicle. They're both sub $300 parts.

So did it actually dent the battery pack casing? Get a picture.

 

[Luke]

Do you have pictures of the damage? It seems to be an overkill approach to replace the entire battery because of a fan cable/housing issue.
If that is the case, I would recommend you file an insurance claim and keeping the battery for your house or something

 

[zvez]

Last week I was coming around a curve and saw a piece of metal (maybe a piece of a muffler) in the road. I couldn't avoid it but I was able to avoid running over it with my tire. I thought I would be able to clear the object because it wasn't that high off the ground. For the most part I did clear it but I guess maybe it flipped up and hit the underside of the car. My car immediately shut off completely and gave a warning to service the vehicle immediately. I coasted safely into a parking lot. I tried restarting the car but it would not start back up. I looked around the car to survey the damage and I couldn't see any physical damage to the front of the car or even when I looked underneath. I had it towed to the local Ford dealership for them to diagnose the problem. After a few days they called and said that there was an electrical connector that was ripped out (not a huge deal) which caused the car to shut down but the other problem is that it dented the casing of the fans that cool the battery. They said there is no way to repair this without replacing the entire battery, which they said costs $24,000. This seems like a design flaw if you can't repair minor damage like this without replacing the entire battery system. I will be filing insurance but I'm sure the insurance company isn't going to be too happy with this situation. Ford also mentioned that they aren't sure how long it will take to get the battery in. So I could be driving a rental car for a month or more. The service guy did say I might be able to get away with just repairing the cable and see what happens with the battery. He said in that case we would just have to worry about the fans not working properly and the battery overheating. The problem is I don't want to do that for fear of voiding my warranty and possibly having an issue down the road that the insurance company won't cover.

this sounds really fishy to me.

 

[zvez]

The fans? There aren't fans in the battery pack....Only fan is the interior blower motor and the radiator/condenser fan at the front of the vehicle. They're both sub $300 parts.

So did it actually dent the battery pack casing? Get a picture.

even if it dented the casing, it would seem just replacing that particular cell would be sufficient.

 

[syberghost]

The potential downside of "just ignore it and hope the battery overheating isn't an issue" is the sudden ignition of the most energetic fire you'll ever see in your life directly under your balls.

 

[breeves002]

even if it dented the casing, it would seem just replacing that particular cell would be sufficient.

Well there's modules inside the battery pack, if the casing was dented but didn't damage the modules...maybe its ok? Ford doesn't support replacing modules yet...though they should in the future if one was damaged. Edit: apparently they have started replacing individual modules.

Plus you worry about decreased structural integrity of the pack. I find it hard to believe it could dent the casing that bad but I would love to see pictures.

 

[Kmajor]

The fans? There aren't fans in the battery pack....Only fan is the interior blower motor and the radiator/condenser fan at the front of the vehicle. They're both sub $300 parts.

So did it actually dent the battery pack casing? Get a picture.

Honestly I don't know anything about the design/Parts but the service guy I talked to at first said the casing for the fans and then when I spoke to him today called them coolers. I guess there is some sort of system that cools the batteries and that is on the underside of the car and the casing for that is dented. I did get the total repair cost and it is $27,505 with parts and labor. I will try to get a picture of the damage.

 

[Kmajor]

The fans? There aren't fans in the battery pack....Only fan is the interior blower motor and the radiator/condenser fan at the front of the vehicle. They're both sub $300 parts.

So did it actually dent the battery pack casing? Get a picture.

I'm not sure. He said the casing for the fans that cool the battery and then today he called them coolers. I will try to get more clarity and try to get some pictures.

 

[Kmajor]

Well there's modules inside the battery pack, if the casing was dented but didn't damage the modules...maybe its ok? Ford doesn't support replacing modules yet...though they should in the future if one was damaged.

Plus you worry about decreased structural integrity of the pack. I find it hard to believe it could dent the casing that bad but I would love to see pictures.

I'm going to try to get some pictures. I will update soon. Total repair cost with parts and labor is $27,505. My question to the service guy was how does Ford make any money on these cars if the battery alone is $24,000.

 

[ZuleMME]

Sounds like the battery tray. Coolant runs through it via grooved channels if you watch Sandy's videos you can see them. Perhaps you blocked a channel with a huge dent? That would require replacement of the tray I'd think, but they sure do per module work when it's on their cost but apparently not on our cost... lol.

 

[jojomontag]

Well there's modules inside the battery pack, if the casing was dented but didn't damage the modules...maybe its ok? Ford doesn't support replacing modules yet...though they should in the future if one was damaged.

Plus you worry about decreased structural integrity of the pack. I find it hard to believe it could dent the casing that bad but I would love to see pictures.

My Mach E is currently at a dealership. They ordered and received two battery modules for replacement. I'm hoping to get the car back this week (they had to order Thermal material and two frame bolts, too). So Ford does support replacing modules.

 

[balby]

Sounds similar to what happened to this Telsa owner but unfortuntely he didn't have a warranty or insurance to cover the repairs.

 

[agoldman]

ouch. I wonder if this gets worse when they start incorporating batteries into the structure of cars as has been reported in development for some models.

 

[Chuck]

Your insurance rate will definitely increase.

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