Thought some might be interested in this. I’ve been working on electric Vauxhall Amperas for 8 years and up till now never had any major high voltage problems until now. So after doing a lot of swatting up on stuff I trained on 9 years ago I took a battery out. 250 kg and about £20k.
Suspect the battery coolant heater has corroded. It’s a non serviceable part sealed inside the battery. Luckily just inside the 8 year warranty.
Nobody has had to buy one before. 8 year warranty. Factory just send one out. The checks and paperwork involved are horrendous. The cars were 40k nearly ten years ago. We were told half of that was for the battery. I don’t think this will be the last one I see now that they are getting on a bit.
Some clips on YouTube of nutters in America buying parts from the scrap yard and stripping them down in their sheds
My MX5 seats for the baja have airbags in them. Would love to remove them and hook them up to a battery!
will the old battery go back to the manufacturer as part of that £20k deal? I know there are lease agreements on batteries with other manufacturers and Tesla want all of their car batteries back to make Powerwalls
I'd be really interested in the carbon offset of that compared to a petrol burner. I know electric is the way we are going but I not sure the maths add up and we are just moving the pollution to a different part of the world. *Vinnyboy how many hours labour to get that out lol
No one has asked the most obvious question Which is who in their right mind spends 40k on a Vauxhall?
The battery has to go back. Had to fill out a 7 page transportability form. A paper copy and a copy sent to Tech centre with photos and a battery request form. Many hours spent following protocol to the letter and doing it all in paper form signed and dated. Several phone calls from somewhere in Eastern Europe as well.
Would the car drive with a defective battery? I've heard about someone buying a second hand hybrid only for the battery to go, the car was undriveable and a replacement battery was more than what the car was worth. It could be a mine field for second hand electric/hybrids.
it depends on the car and the fault. In this case the car would not drive. I guess when they get old it’s a big risk buying one.
I was about to say the same. Who on earth would buy a used one, given the potential cost of battery replacement?
I know a cabbie that leased one of the new generation all electric London cabs, the battery system threw up a fault that caused the starter circuit to malfunction. The rescue service didn't have a clue what to do and initially couldn't even work out how to 6recover it. The manufacturer came down to inspect it and initially denied a battery issue was to blame, even though the vehicle was still in its initial warranty period. They fixed it to avoid adverse publicity within the taxi community, but everything from poor rescue/recovery knowledge to the potentially significant battery replacement costs left a bad impression.