Kansas911

My build-to-order 2021 Taycan Turbo S has been sitting in Emden for over a month and now looks like it will depart mid-March. I asked my dealer if something is up/wrong. He mentioned the Porsche Connect issues. That led me to discover the 12v issues. I've owned pretty much every Porsche and most of the other major sports/exotic brands. I don't have a lot of patience for major bugs. It is why I sold all of my McLarens (P1, Senna, etc, etc). Sounds like no fix yet for the 12V issue. Does anyone else have a Taycan sitting in Emden for an insane amount of time? Something is definitely up because I had a 992.1 TTS cab and a Cayenne Turbo hit Emden at the same time and both of those have already been delivered to the dealer.

Am I going to regret buying this Taycan if they haven't resolve these major bugs (in particular 12v)? I've had every Tesla so I know the pros/cons of electric vehicles overall. I just really love Porsche and thought having a Taycan as a daily would be fun. But I am afraid to drive it down to the lake (3 hours away) only to have it dead the next morning and be a total PITA to get it towed, etc. I love my daughter's Model 3 for its simplicity, etc but they are so common that I decided to go with the Taycan instead. Don't want to regret it any more than I will for buying a car nearly 4X the price of the Model 3 :-)

Really hope it is not a widespread issue - I figure if it were there would be a recall/stop sale - but I count on Porsche being reliable. I had a few AMG GTRs but they had so many issues I sold them immediately (after Mercedes wouldn't buy them back). Is it too much to ask for these cars to just work? :-)

I asked the head of sales at the Porsche dealer I bought this car for his honest feedback given he values my business. I so want this car but I don't want to regret it!

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

daveo4porsche

it’s very low frequency but wide spread - I’ve had it happen once since owning the vehicle in July 2020 - 8000 miles driven - I caught it about to happen once and stopped it…

it’s very low frequency, but can strike at any moment if the vehicle is plugged into an L2 charger…there is no known fix at this time, there is also no known way to avoid it, and no know way to ‘cause’ it…

it’s the very defination of a hard to reproduce rare software fault.

you’ll love the car, and frankly if it happens once/twice a year no big deal - as long as you have a 12V booster with you in the vehicle to recover it - it really does seem to _ONLY_ happen while plugged in and charging at L2 chargers - so it’s no entirely random - but your at risk to plug into charge, walk away and find the car dead and charging session interrupted when you return

to date no one has documented a 12V issue with fast charging - so it’s onlyl home L2 charging (or overnight at hotel) where you are “at risk”

make of that what you will - also there are niddly PCM bugs and the OTA module may need replacing, but that’s mostly a 2020 thing.

Booth9999

I haven’t been super impressed with the current Taycan; I would strongly consider the new model S, I don’t think there is a better choice especially with there charging network. The rest or the charging options still seem archaic in comparison and in reality probably why they are so prevalent IMHO.

Kansas911

I've had a couple of Model S. Was tempted by the Plaid but in the end, it is still feels like a big, heavy car, especially compared to the 3. But I agree - Tesla has nailed the minimalist design that is great. The Taycan feels much more nimble/sporty than the S. The thing is really, the 3 or Y is all I really need for a daily but I love cars and the Taycan feels more special/luxurious. But at what cost!

lowpue

Check out my post on "boredom" thread....i am so impressed by my TTS.

jlee504

i agree I was all in on the taycan until the plaid+ was unveiled. I’m sure the taycan is still a better drivers car, but with similar or better accelerate and 520+ of battery range that’s really hard to beat at $50k less. The battery range alone jumps it up to the top in my view.

what I really wonder is given Tesla just threw down the gauntlet again porsche is going to have to close the battery gap which means in the next model year or two they will have to make the same advancement jump.

Kansas911

I'm totally cool with the speed of innovation and the hit I'll take to depreciation. Ultimately I can't imagine NOT buying my Taycan Turbo S whenever it gets in. I was tempted to try out the plaid S, but having owned the S, it is still going to feel big. I don't need more straightline speed than what the Model 3 AWD performance provides anyway. That model 3 really is a fantastic car. You don't need more than that, and yet as a Porsche fanatic I will gladly pony up for the Taycan :-). Fingers crossed I don't get the 12V issue or they fix it before mine arrives!

rewardforsuccess

I don't care if a Tesla was 2000hp and 2000 miles of range. Still a Tesla not a Porsche. I care about quality, not quantity.

daveo4porsche

hardware or software?

cause each manufacturer only does one well - you can pick the one that matters to you and that will dictate your choice.

because based on my experience with my Taycan NO ONE gets to assert to me that Porsche is making high quality software and Tesla in this dimension is light years ahead and better than Porsche…

AhsanU

Apologies for derailing the thread, but @daveo4porsche - I do see you actively post on the Taycan forums, so thank you for the breadth of knowledge you provide. Could you give us a link to a 12v booster that we could possibly use on a Taycan if it ever gets hit with the 12v issue?

I just sold my 911 GT3 and am about to jump into the world of EV's with the Taycan Turbo/4S, and I'm still swaying a bit with some uncertainty as to whether or not I should do it. Range, being left stranded because of the 12v issue, battery technology improving in 2 years to the point where a 2020 Taycan is horribly behind, etc.

daveo4porsche

NOCO 12V boosters are Amazon are a good choice IMHO - YMMV - and just damm useful in general - they are also a powerful flashlight and USB charger for your USB devices - just just a great all around gotta have it device in your vehicle.

Range is _NOT_ an issue for daily driving if you’re charging at home overnight

so far the 12V issue seems to _ONLY_ occur while charging from an L2 charger - so it’s not going to strike you just while out and about -but may impact you in the morning after an overnight - so far it’s only happend to me once since owning the vehicle in July of 2020 - but yeah - but I’ve been impacted by ICE 12V issues at a similar rate

all tech improves at a fantastic rate - denying yourself something good cause tomorrow might be better is reasonable but also bit frustrating me personally - there’s all the chance that you then always kick the can down the road - very very few people don’t buy a 992 Turbo because the 998 (future) Turbo is going to be better…there is a certain balance to satisfying one’s desires without totally going all in on self indulgence, and going cold turkey in never experiencing something really good.

the current Taycan is far from perfect, but it’s still really really good an will ruin you for all other vehicles - just ask @lowpue I think you can get his entire fleet of gas cars for like $2.97 now from him cause EV’s have ruined hiim for even his best ICE vehicle....

make your own decisions, but odds are you’ll be fine, and yes there may be some hick ups - but I think in the end it will be no worse than any other complex mechanical beast and I know you’ll like it.

lowpue

You had me laughing daveo4porsche with your $2.97 comment....that is such an exaggeration....can be had for more like $9.99.

Mac M

So, a jumper pack will solve the 12v issue when and if it happens? In other words, it’ll get you back in the road?

jimshadow

I can’t comment on the Turbo S, but I can on a 4S. WELL WORTH IT so far. I bought mine off a lease (still working through a title issue, but that’s a minor PITA at the end of the day). I’ve put over 3,000 miles on it since November and no issues other than a faulty suspension pump that should be resolved this week. (Parts had to come from Germany....took 10 days). Can’t wait to get back to Taycan Daily Driving and for me it’s about the experience of driving it. It’s just a really cool car to drive. I could not imagine how ridiculous a Turbo S would be as a DD.
FWIW, YMMV

daveo4porsche

@Mac M correct

detailed “recovery” instructions are here - and identical to how Porsche will do it if they send someone out - good to know in general cause 99% of the “road side assistance” people sent out won’t know how to “recover” this car to get it into neutral so they can flat bed it. at a minimum it will save you time if you can instruct the tow truck person as to how to get your Taycan back alive so you can get it to the dealer…

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/th...m….2529/

_IF_ you experience this problem the Taycan is a “brick” when in this state - there is nothing you can do in the vehicle - it is completely inert - you can only physically drag the vehicle - it has shutdown and there is power to _NOTHING_ - you can not get the vehicle in neutral - turn the wheel - release parking brake - NOTHING

therefore it’s my opinion this is a “good to know” for every Taycan owner, even if you do not have a 12V booster or powersource.

knowing these steps will make your life easier - and while the flat bed guy won’t know the steps - they are likely to have a 12V jumper solution with them - and if you know the steps, and the tow truck can provide the 12V power source - they you have all the ingredients to get your Taycan back alive...

_ANY_ 12V power source will do - separate 12V battery, jumper cables from other vehicle, tow truck jumper - etc…but not a trickle charger it will not provide enough power to “reboot” the Taycan’s main computer to power the vehicles recovery process…

when engaging in these steps you are not so much “jump starting” the taycan in the traditional ICE sense, as much as you are providing power to a completely “dead” lap top - once the main computer is awake and begins booting up all the Taycan systems come back online and the Taycan will recovery and charge the 12V battery - the external power source has to be a big enough 12V power source to provide enough power to start the Taycan’s main computer on the 12V bus and keep it powered long enough (1-2 minutes) so that it wakes up all the other Taycan elements - once it’s alive - you are done with your external 12V power source and the car will take over…

detailed discussions with reasonable speculation as to what is actually going on can be found in many many threads in the other forum.

_IF_ these steps do not recovery the Taycan then you’re dealing with a separate issue - and that means it’s time to call porsche - to date there is good news and bad news in this space - few if any people have found a different issue - so far this seems to be the issue you can encounter (bad news), but the recovery steps are straight forward and the vehicle is fine post recovery (good news)

basically while it’s annoying/disappointing this is happening at all (and embarrassing in my opinion that there are software bugs where the Taycan can let the vehicle’s 12V die while plugged into an external power source - seriously think about it the vehicle is letting a 12V battery go dead while it has access to a 240 volt 40 amp external powersource!!! - that’s like dying of dehydration while swimming in a lake).

once “rebooted” the Taycan will notice the 12V battery is “low” and kick in the big battery to charge the little battery - there appears to be no longer term issues in this case…

a small fraction of 12V occurrences seem to be an actual bad 12V battery - which when once replaced things get better, but can still have the occasional death requiring recovery.