Possibly more than six weeks in the shop with a DC converter Issue

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Paul Rudden

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Over two weeks ago an "electrical system problem pull over when safe" message appeared. Roadside assistance towed the vehicle to the dealer and they provided a rental replacement. The dealer advised that they needed a part/tool to diagnose the problem which took two weeks to arrive and now advise that they think it is a DC converter problem between the electric drive system and 12v system. The best estimate to get a replacement DC converter is six weeks from now and if that is not the problem then an unknown amount of time to further diagnose and fix. We will have the rental for the duration so not a catastrophic issue - while under warranty.

The dealer advised that another local dealer has previously dealt with this issue. Has anyone else on this forum have experience with a DC converter problem?
 
No issues here, either. One year of ownership and about 8K miles, so far so good. (And, BTW, having to regularly buy gas for my wife's car is my reminder how nice the electric option is.)
 
It could be that a sensor fused or something else like that occurred. There aren't any mechanical parts, but unfortunately there's also no way of replacing an internal sensor when it goes. So you end up having to replace the whole inverter.
 
bfd said:
It could be that a sensor fused or something else like that occurred. There aren't any mechanical parts, but unfortunately there's also no way of replacing an internal sensor when it goes. So you end up having to replace the whole inverter.
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Some questions....How much do you think the repair would cost out of warranty? What could cause the failure? Is the failure and and/or the need for a full replacement indicative of a design flaw?

I apologize for the avalanche of questions, but I think they are good ones and the answers may help prepare myself and others for a similar repair, hopefully more down the road at 180K than 2k.





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Lowell_Greenberg said:
Some questions....How much do you think the repair would cost out of warranty? What could cause the failure? Is the failure and and/or the need for a full replacement indicative of a design flaw?

I apologize for the avalanche of questions, but I think they are good ones and the answers may help prepare myself and others for a similar repair, hopefully more down the road at 180K than 2k.





Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
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If the issue was immediately diagnosed and the part available I have the impression that it would take a full day to drop the battery, replace the part and reassemble it. So around 6 hours shop time plus cost of part is my best guess at this point. But, if it were the same circumstance I am in now you may have to add the cost of the rental car at $35/day(Cdn) for up to 45 days = $1575 plus extra gas costs. Not really acceptable.
Based on the lack of other posters with the same problem and delays in repair, I am hoping this is a very rare issue.
 
Lowell_Greenberg said:
How much do you think the repair would cost out of warranty?
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A butt-load! This is the issue with any complex modern car.

One can look at what previous early adopters have done: get a used part and save a ton of cash. A good example is owners of older Prius cars dealing with failed HV batteries. Dealers will quote outrageous sums such as $5,000 for a factory replacement while a cottage industry has developed with solutions from as little as $50 repairs to $900 used packs to $1600 for a set of new cells DIY installed in the original case.

TBH, dc-dc converter failures are extremely rare. One good thing about electronics is they either tend to fail early or last a long, long time.
 
I finally got the car back after 5 weeks in the shop. The DC converter was changed but did not fix the problem so they replaced the drive battery. It was charged at the dealership but is only showing 60km/40 mile range which is very low. I will cycle it through a couple of times to see if it improves. Has anyone else had that battery changed and lost some range?
 
Paul Rudden said:
I finally got the car back after 5 weeks in the shop. The DC converter was changed but did not fix the problem so they replaced the drive battery. It was charged at the dealership but is only showing 60km/40 mile range which is very low. I will cycle it through a couple of times to see if it improves. Has anyone else had that battery changed and lost some range?
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I think you are the first.
Don’t worry yet over your initial low range estimate. I had to disconnect my 12 V battery to install an air horn and that caused a hard reset which lost all my driving data. It took 4 to 5 drive and charge cycles before the EV range estimate returned to its normal (for me) summer range of low 60s.
Please post back and let us know what it came back up to.
I wonder what they did with the old battery pack?
 
Just making sure I have the general timeline right:

Approx. May 20th you got an "electrical system problem pull over when safe" message. The car was otherwise driveable, just the message correct? You pulled over as soon as you could and called a tow. You did the right thing, just confirming you had no prior symptoms and even with the message the car functioned okay? Did they tell you any of the codes it was displaying? (may help future owners with similar message)

They told you (apparently based on the codes) that they needed a diagnostic tool which they had to order and it would take two weeks to get it (presumably coming from Japan).

June 5th the diagnostic tool arrives, and based on the results (or lack thereof) they decided it may be the DC Converter and that the first repair attempt will be to swap it out and see if that fixes it.

June 20? or something the DC converter arrives (from Japan) they swap it out, that doesn't fix the problem. They decide to swap the battery. Presumably a battery was available stateside as they seemed to get it much quicker than the other items?

June 26th battery swapped, that fixed it, correct? Car functioning good as new other than low estimated EV range? Ask them if they ran a capacity test on the battery and if so what was the number. If they say they didn't, ask if they will do one, after what you went through they should be willing to do it for free even it they don't think it's necessary. Did they indicate that they now believe that your original DC converter was okay and that the problem was almost certainly in the battery?

And since we are incessantly curious around here (some say nosey), what was your MFG date? (located on the placard on the driver door jamb) and the mileage. Thanks.
 
KentuckyKen said:
I think you are the first.
Don’t worry yet over your initial low range estimate. I had to disconnect my 12 V battery to install an air horn and that caused a hard reset which lost all my driving data. It took 4 to 5 drive and charge cycles before the EV range estimate returned to its normal (for me) summer range of low 60s.
Please post back and let us know what it came back up to.
I wonder what they did with the old battery pack?
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Thanks for the info and I will post an update.
 
image.webp
2002 said:
Just making sure I have the general timeline right:

Approx. May 20th you got an "electrical system problem pull over when safe" message. The car was otherwise driveable, just the message correct? You pulled over as soon as you could and called a tow. You did the right thing, just confirming you had no prior symptoms and even with the message the car functioned okay? Did they tell you any of the codes it was displaying? (may help future owners with similar message)

Response:
Mostly correct. I am not sure how driveable the car would have been for a long distance or in traffic. It happened near a parking lot so it was only driven a short way once the warning came on but the steering felt heavy and braking was not as good. Likely due to loss of power assist is my best guess. I was able to restart it and the tow driver was able get it on and off the flatbed with no problem.

They told you (apparently based on the codes) that they needed a diagnostic tool which they had to order and it would take two weeks to get it (presumably coming from Japan).

Response:
Yes but that was never confirmed and there is no mention of this in the service report so it is possible that was bs or I misunderstood (photo attached).

June 5th the diagnostic tool arrives, and based on the results (or lack thereof) they decided it may be the DC Converter and that the first repair attempt will be to swap it out and see if that fixes it.


June 20? or something the DC converter arrives (from Japan) they swap it out, that doesn't fix the problem. They decide to swap the battery. Presumably a battery was available stateside as they seemed to get it much quicker than the other items?

Response:
I believe the DC converter was replaced the week of June 5 and the problem persisted so they went with a full battery change which fixed it. Interestingly the dealer advised that the battery was delivered on a flatbed with a special scissor lift to install it.

June 26th battery swapped, that fixed it, correct? Car functioning good as new other than low estimated EV range?
Correct

Ask them if they ran a capacity test on the battery and if so what was the number. If they say they didn't, ask if they will do one, after what you went through they should be willing to do it for free even it they don't think it's necessary.
I will if the range does not come back up.

Did they indicate that they now believe that your original DC converter was okay and that the problem was almost certainly in the battery?
See the photo. It was replaced and the code persisted so I have to assume that was not the problem.

And since we are incessantly curious around here (some say nosey), what was your MFG date? (located on the placard on the driver door jamb) and the mileage. Thanks.
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Mf date is 12/17 car was delivered 2/18. Mileage is 31,790km.
 
Update on the new battery pack. As Kentucky Ken predicted, I am now getting 93km/58 miles on a charge similar to the old battery. The only difference with this new battery and DC converter is the regenerating seems to be much better. It is difficult to quantify but my best guess is that regeneration is twice as fast when braking. I am not sure if the old battery was flawed and regenerated slower than designed or the new battery and converter are more efficient?
 
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