Photo: MotorBiscuit
According to a whistleblower working for Porsche in Zuffenhausen, the brand is covering up major issues with the charging system in the Taycan. Some of those issues include but are not limited to vehicle, cable, or smoldering fires. Here's everything we know.
The whistleblower tells Teslarati that they're only speaking out now because instead of opening up about the issue and changing the way the Taycan is produced, Porsche has decided to simply continue selling the vehicle as is.
Apparently, the issue comes down to an inexpensive onboard charger that, according to the whistleblower, cannot control the charging process properly. As a result, some battery cells charge too quickly. When that happens, the cells often overcharge and overheat and many times are disabled altogether by the system.
That ends up lowering overall range but can also result in fires if, for instance, an additional air leak occurs. According to the whistleblower, the problem affects 60% of all Taycans. 1% of those cars have apparently been damaged due to fire. These statistics are reportedly from internal Porsche documents themselves.
What might be even more shocking are allegations that Porsche is "tricking customers into thinking everything has been fixed." When a battery issue pops up, and the customer takes the Taycan in for service, the actual repair process is incredibly expensive.
Instead of actually replacing these damaged and non-functioning cells, evidently, Porsche is simply unlocking reserve cells to return the car to its normal range. While we wait for further details, it does seem that there's something Taycan owners can do.
Charge on fast chargers and nothing else if possible. The problem is only known to the whistleblower to occur when using a low AC speed charger up to 7.5 KW. We have reached out to Porsche for comment and, of course, will keep up to date with this story and report any further information.
Apparently, the issue comes down to an inexpensive onboard charger that, according to the whistleblower, cannot control the charging process properly. As a result, some battery cells charge too quickly. When that happens, the cells often overcharge and overheat and many times are disabled altogether by the system.
That ends up lowering overall range but can also result in fires if, for instance, an additional air leak occurs. According to the whistleblower, the problem affects 60% of all Taycans. 1% of those cars have apparently been damaged due to fire. These statistics are reportedly from internal Porsche documents themselves.
What might be even more shocking are allegations that Porsche is "tricking customers into thinking everything has been fixed." When a battery issue pops up, and the customer takes the Taycan in for service, the actual repair process is incredibly expensive.
Instead of actually replacing these damaged and non-functioning cells, evidently, Porsche is simply unlocking reserve cells to return the car to its normal range. While we wait for further details, it does seem that there's something Taycan owners can do.
Charge on fast chargers and nothing else if possible. The problem is only known to the whistleblower to occur when using a low AC speed charger up to 7.5 KW. We have reached out to Porsche for comment and, of course, will keep up to date with this story and report any further information.
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