On April 25, I wrote about an appeal Jason Hughes made on Twitter. The Tesla Hacker urged people not to reset their Model S units with BMS_u029 or BMS_u018 error codes. That could lead to dangerous situations. Exactly one month later, Hughes confirmed that the worse happened: one of these vehicles caught fire on the driveway of someone who had just bought the BEV.
In my previous text, I said that customers doing that to restore the range of their EVs were at risk of spending money uselessly in the process and getting the error message back a while ago. That was the best-case scenario. The worst one would end up in flames. Some people could also purchase a vehicle that was reset and face the same (criminal) consequences. According to the Tesla Hacker, that was precisely what happened in the situation he shared.
Predictably, Hughes said he would not get into specifics because the victim will sue the seller and the company that reset the car they bought. Anyway, what he was able to tell was more than enough to teach used car buyers to take precautions and used car sellers not to risk other people's lives just to avoid losing money.
Photo: via TMC
According to the Tesla specialist, he was contacted by this Model S buyer because they had experienced a sudden range loss shortly after purchasing the BEV and charging the vehicle to 100%. Hughes "told them about this potential scam, and to park the car outside with climate on HI with keep-on and windows open to drain the battery back down."
This person later reached out to the seller to ask them about what they had done with the Model S. They "admitted via email that they'd 'fixed' a BMS error that was limiting range by having a third party 'reset' it." The Tesla was sold two weeks after that procedure, which suggests the seller knew they would not be able to keep using the car as they had before. Why sell it soon after the "repair?" If it was supposed to fix the BEV for good, there was no need to put it up for grabs.
Photo: ST/John/Ray Johnson/edited by autoevolution
Hughes' recommendations to this Model S buyer did not prevent the worst. As the Tesla Hacker puts it, the person who called him "came back to a pile of smoldering rubble and fire in their driveway.""Fortunately, no one was hurt, but (there) was significant property damage." What if someone had suffered injuries or died due to the reset? There are things that no financial compensation can fix. Luckily, everything this scammed Model S buyer lost can be paid for: Hughes hopes "the seller who scammed along with the shop that reset the error loses their shirt."
Hughes said he "wanted to share this to reinforce my warning for people to stop thinking there is some quick fix for these BMS issues. There is not. Anyone suggesting simply resetting these errors is either scamming you or doesn't know what they're doing." Either way, the possible consequences show that even sheer and genuine ignorance is no valid excuse.
Photo: Gladwyne Volunteer Fire Company
According to the Tesla Hacker, resetting these BMS errors is even worse than he estimated because "it can take the BMS longer than I calculated to re-evaluate the pack and re-detect the issue in some cases, depending on usage patterns." In other words, the BMS will not have time to prevent a thermal runaway if anyone bypasses it.
As Hughes clarified, Tesla's battery management system (BMS)"is extremely well made and is probably the safest in the industry." Vehicles presenting error messages will still be safe to drive until they are repaired. However, anyone who has performed a reset or suspects their cars were subject to one should park "outside, away from anything valuable, discharge to below 50% (state of charge) SoC, and seek a qualified repair." It seems to be crucial not to exceed half of the battery pack's capacity.
Photo: Gladwyne Volunteer Fire Company
Unfortunately, hearing about the first fire caused by a reset does not mean it will be the last case. Several used car buyers consider purchasing an old Model S, trusting that they will be in perfect shape, especially those with low mileage. That is definitely not the case, as Bob Atkins' story with his mother-in-law's BEV recently showed. Any Model S earlier than 2016 may present battery pack issues due to six major failure causes Hughes said they are subject to having. One of them is water ingress.
If you know anyone with such plans or any Model S fan, share this article with them, tell them to join the BMS_u029 error Facebook group, or show them Hughes' tweet about the problems. Follow him there or at Tesla Motor Club (TMC), where the Tesla Hacker usually can be seen sharing information about these BEVs. Spreading the word is the best way to prevent resets and the temptation of an easy solution for a serious problem. Again, this fire could have ended really badly if the Model S buyer had not talked to Hughes and parked their car outside.
Sadly heard the first instance of the inevitable worst case scenario happening after a seller reset one of these BMS errors and scammed a Tesla Model S buyer.
They charged to 100%, and came back to a pile of smoldering rubble and ???????? in their driveway.https://t.co/utUlt3eAgc
Google News