Thump! Complete Loss of Power on Freeway. Went into Neutral

[user 688]

I just now stumbled on this thread. I bought a 2014 lease-back in January of 2016 with 3000 miles, but without the paddle shifters or the range-plus. 13,000 miles later, I've not experienced any of these drivetrain problems, but the dealer said that they had installed the new firmware before selling to me.

I am, however, experiencing the windshield fogging mentioned earlier in these humid maryland summers. So, it it safe to assume that I am good to go?

 

[TheStig]

If the software / firmware was upgraded as it probably had to be under the recall before they could deliver the car you are fine. Don't be concerned at all. Drive on.

 

[SheEV]

Hi Everyone

First post here.

I've owned my B class for 25 months now (already 32,000+ miles) and never had any issues. Honestly - never. Very seriously contemplating purchasing after the lease is up if the numbers are low enough.

Yesterday I experienced power loss on the way home. Thankfully two stop signs away and somehow managed to coast into the driveway. Absolutely no luck in restarting to reset the issue. Charged overnight and tried again in the AM. Again, no luck. Towed into the dealer today.

Anyone have the issue AFTER the software update a couple years back?

 

[GlennD]

Well my B worked flawlessly before it was totaled. I am sure the eGolf has its own problems but for a year now it has been flawless. With my low miles any EV would have few problems. I have just over 6K miles on my eGolf after a year. The ending mileage on my B with 14 months left was 8023. The gap covered the payoff but I lost the 6K I put down, ouch! That is why I am now driving a VW

 

[JeffRay]

SheEV,

Others on this forum had their motor crap out after software upgrade. MB reportedly honored warranty, provided loaner car and maybe a courtesy payment (for gas), while they kept car until motor was replaced.

Good luck. With a new motor, maybe you can consider keeping it again.

 

[SheEV]

Thanks JeffRay

Quick update - dealer told me they had a warning for a engine (har har) position sensor. Part was to arrive the next day. They've since replaced and realized that didn't fix the problem. Back to the drawing board.

I imagine it's a scene from a Dilbert clipping.

For those who have had their motors replaced, how long did it take? I saw a reference to 3 months, but wondering what is more realistic. I live in SoCal.

 

[JeffRay]

SheEV,

You can also PM those to get a faster response. It takes a while to:

1. Get dealer to agree to replace the motor (for excessive noise)

2. Get authorization from MB Germany.

3. Get the part shipped to dealer with instructions.

4. Make swap and test before releasing.

3 months seems reasonable (not for you of course given short lease)

 

[Joe]

SheEV - you can see my motor replacement experience in the thread titled "Without restarting, consult workshop"...
I am also in SoCal and the dealership is Rusnak of Arcadia.

 

[Xkpmg]

Haven’t seen any updates in a while but here’s my latest similar event. Car thudded on freeway under acceleration and when into no power with fault on dash. Coaster to a stop on the shoulder and couldn’t restart it. Towed to the dealership in norcal in mid November 2019, got it back day before Christmas 2019. They installed a new main battery. Here’s the RO line “Internal fault of high voltage battery. Performed initial diag of veh. DTC read found fault for high voltage battery. Perf. SDS guided test. Found internal fault of high voltage battery cause concern. Verif. and auth to repl. high voltage battery.

This is 5 months before it’s 3-year lease end. Ironically I had a Rav4EV with the same Tesla drivetrain. It also had the dreaded similar main traction battery failure at 3 months prior to its 3-year lease end. That took 3-4 weeks to get it fixed...2 weeks of Toyota vs Tesla back and forth “discussions”. Seems like these all drivetrains have the same problem.

A week prior I drove by the dealership (near my work) and I saw a grey b250e being flat bedded into the dealership. I can guess why.

 

[JeffRay]

XKpmg,

Losing power on highway is pretty scary. Glad you were able to safely roll the car to the side lane. In my driving lifetime, this sort of thing happened to me with two ICE cars, once when the fuel pump failed and the other when a tire blew out. The latter was more scary.

Did the dealer describe what might have caused the HV battery failure? Coolant leak perhaps? Since you are in a lease, assume that this was covered by the warranty. Also assume you did your annual battery required test to validate the battery warranty.

This is the kind of incident that deters me from buying my leased 2017 in 2020 even if I was able to get an extended warranty to cover the battery and motor. Given my local driving habit, my ICE cars don't have these problems so the big expense is not a worrisome factor for me.