rouxeny

It seems unreasonable to have to put the car on a trickle charger if you are not going to be driving it for a day or two.

What are you supposed to do if you go on a trip and leave it at the airport?

I could see 2-3 weeks or so. But a few days? Or even trickle charge it every day?

rhr992c4s

My experience is 2 to 3 weeks is fine, 2 months … and you should definitely be on battery tender. There is no harm in always plugging in. I suspect dealership may help with warranty coverage , but some members here are making assertions that it has to be covered and you should lawyer up. The fastest way to get nowhere is to threaten your dealership with lawyers.

CodyBigdog

Nice try, but never said to “lawyer up”. Watching too many detective shows? Geez, get your facts right.

The progression should look something like this;

(1) So far, all of I’ve seen on here are Porsche’s “recommendations” on how to avoid a depleted battery. Nevertheless, if the dealership is insistent that the battery warranty is voided, have the dealership show you specifically, in the warranty, where it says the battery warranty is voided if not driven 6K miles per year, or whatever? If they can’t, and the dealership won’t cover the cost of a new battery, then…

(2) Call Porsche of North America to get further assistance. If that goes nowhere, and they too can not show the clause that stipulates the conditions under which the battery warranty is voided, then…

(3) Contact a lawyer, as I would be willing to bet that, at the bare minimum, the 4 year/50K mile, bumper to bumper, warranty applies to the battery and considered part of the car’s electrical system….and matters not whether you keep it fully charged, or not.

There are numerous examples/reasons why someone might not be able to put their battery on a battery tender, or even drive their car every month..that has nothing to do with owner negligence.


Finally, pretty sure the LiPO4 battery has protective circuitry that disconnects the battery from the car’s electronic systems, when the charge level drops to about 10% of capacity. That is all part of the battery. So while you won’t be able to start the car at such a low capacity, the battery is not damaged, and is protected from depleting further. If it were to drop below 10%, that strongly suggests something is wrong with the battery (ie, internal short)….and that’s no different than a defective component covered under warranty.

rhr992c4s

Can the OP comment on whether or not a battery tender was used?

BigDog, the cut-off protection circuit is not any guarantee that the battery will re-take a charge if it has been run low for a long period of time.

The mileage on the car is not enough to maintain the battery based on the documented guidelines. I am not a consumer protection lawyer, I just go by what the guidelines say.

We can argue until we are blue in the face over what Porsche and the dealership can prove or not prove.

You could not change your engine oil for 3 years, and then complain that your engine fault should be warranty too.

Maybe Porsche should communicate the battery tender requirements for a car with this much technology , my dealership gave me a battery tender on delivery.

I maintain a constructive and polite attitude is much more likely to get progress than mentioning the “lawyer” word.

CodyBigdog

Not what I read….and, heard essentially the same thing from my Porsche service advise. So sorry, I believe what he said, and what I read.

“1)Almost all LiIon/LiPoly batteries have a protection chip inside them that no-longer lets the battery power devices when the Cells voltage reach a certain level. The most common cut-off voltage is 2.8V but can be much higher in certain applications.

2) Even after the protection chip cuts the cell off due to low voltage the CELL will continue to discharge at ~1-10uA. As a result eventually the CELL's voltage can reach 0V if not charged.

** 3) Unknown to most is that if the cell reaches 0V it CAN be recharged.”

{One of the advantages of li batteries…they can be discharged to zero and still be recharged/function..although some capacity may be lost}


Me too, but “guidelines” are just that, recommendations for the consumer, and if push came to shove, in a court of law… I expect guidelines are not enforceable as it pertains to warranties.


I think I remember reading something in the Porsche manual that requires that the owner, to maintain the warranty, has to have annual service at an authorize Porsche dealership. Lest the warranty “could be voided”.

I’ll say it again - not everyone has access to putting their battery on a tender. Many who park their cars in a parking garage, for example, don’t have easy access to an outlet…let alone being allowed to monopolize an outlet for weeks, or months at a time. There are numerous situations that come to mind where an owner may not be able to meet these “recommendations”, and as such would be unfair to void the warranty because they were on travel, or had to take care of a dying parent for weeks, or months at a time.

I don’t disagree with this…but not all dealerships are ethical or fair. I’ve run into a few that were pretty shady. My point was, per what the OP told us about his 88 yo friend with this problem - just because someone from his dealership said that the warrant was void, doesn’t mean you have to roll over and believe him. There are other avenues to get justice.

westcoastj

I would think that it also depends on what the underlying issue is? If it's due to not driving enough/charging and battery has died, I can see the 6000 mile clause kicking in. But if due to other defect, I would think it should be covered regardless of mileage (e.g. my 2016 Golf R had battery replaced under warranty due to faulty cells which is a known issue)

aggie57

I regularly leave my cars for weeks at a time, never had an issue starting any of my Porsches afterwards including this 992. I recall my last 997 would go to sleep after a few days and you needed to put the key into the ignition within a few seconds of unlocking it to wake it up. After a while you also needed to use the key to open the door, the remote access also went to sleep. But it always started 1st time.

Maverick787

I think we can all agree plugit up to reduce the risk. My 2019 GT3RS, my track days got limited due to many other commitments so I did leave it parked for several months and never thought to use a tender. However, I did take it out for 30-45 minute drives to allow the battery to charge. By the way if anyone does this one of the worse things to do is start the car, and let it idle which actually drives more battery degradation. The charger will just prolong the life, and as I said in a earlier post my 675LT meter is at 97% life ………not sure the 992’s tell you the % of battery life as I know my Speedster doesn’t. It’s really a good feature because you’re being alerted when you use the car, and allows you to act.

Maverick787

Basically what your car was doing was shutting down functions not needed, but it still draws power ……think about your clocks, radio settings things that use memory still draws power of course minimal. Over time it reduces battery life ……..the exotics manufacturers, Ferrari, Lambo, MAC push charging really hard because of the issues with waking up a dead car can cause some reprogramming issues. A sitting car for a month will be zero issues starting, but charging takes 2 seconds and avoids what we’re all talking about.

BudFox6

Coolwnc- Thanks for starting this discussion. The many constructive comments opened my eyes to potential 992 battery issues. My car has RAS, and apparently, a battery susceptible to leaving me stranded.

I have noticed a PCM message saying, in effect, "turn your radio off to avoid battery damage" when sitting in the vehicle with the ignition off and the radio on. I get the same general message in my wife's Macan Turbo. (I wonder if the Macan has the same battery issues?)

I will call the dealer and order a battery charger today. In my brief time on this board, this is the first post causing me to take action concerning my car.

Thanks again for kicking this anthill, Coolwnc.

Maverick787

order from Suncoast and many times cheaper than the dealer same parts.

https://www.suncoastparts.com/
https://www.suncoastparts.com/product/CHARGER2.html

mksz51

Order a CTEK battery maintainer off Amazon - less expensive, same product / functionality.

Maverick787

I’d actually spend the extra 20.00 to 30.00 dollars if that’s the number because it’s a certified Porsche product. Not worth the hassle if you have a problem being told it’s not their product, and you got if from Amazon which can send you weird stuff at times.

mksz51

Sure - but to be honest, the differential is more like $100. Not that big a deal - or, a waste of money depending on your perspective. Have a good one.

Maverick787

I agree, my POV only may not be worth the argument if something fails and they blame the charger. Amazon has pricing from 100-150 and a slew of products, sorry I just don’t trust manufacturers when they what to blame the customer for some electrical problem.