(TRUNDER-AVISA) This spring, Espen Petersen from Levanger in Trøndelag had problems with the battery in his 2015 Tesla Model S. Then the good advice was – in the literal sense of the word – expensive, because at Tesla the car owner received two price estimates, the most expensive of which was approximately NOK 220,000.
Ragnar Hallem and the team at the Levanger car workshop Bilelektro, part of the Meca series, came to the rescue. The bill there ended up at NOK 52,000.
– I am very satisfied with the work carried out, and it is absolutely amazing that a car workshop can carry out this kind of work at a much cheaper price, says the car owner to Trønder-Avisa.
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Defective battery
Espen Petersen says that when he had battery problems, he first contacted Tesla in Steinkjer. The car was inspected and it was discovered that there was a defect in the battery.
-The alternative I got from Tesla is to replace the entire battery pack. The first option was a used package for around NOK 187,000, but then the battery had to be sent to Germany. The other option, he says, was a brand new battery pack worth around NOK 220,000.
The electric car owner thought it would cost a lot of money to repair a nine-year-old car, so he thought about alternatives. But then an acquaintance reached out to Levanger Bilelektro, Ragnar Hallem and the mechanic Kent Are Hårberg and he didn't have much to ask.
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– The customer received a price of more than NOK 200,000 from Tesla, but that is not equal to the 2015 model. That's why I said we could look at it and then suggested the price would be between NOK 40,000 and NOK 50,000, says Halim.
Trønder-Avisa attempted to contact Tesla by phone and email, both locally and centrally. Inquiries were not responded to.
a fourth
As one of two in the auto shop, mechanic Kent Ari Harberg has trained to be able to work on electric vehicles. He describes the task as relatively simple, but time-consuming.
-We were told the battery pack was faulty, so we removed the battery, but just removing the cover took about a day. He says there was a pile of screws and a lot of super glue.
Although Harberg had repaired electric cars before, this was his first time encountering the battery pack in a Tesla.
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The faulty battery pack turned out to be a small circuit board placed on one of the dozens of cells in the battery pack. According to Harberg, the card was torn into pieces.
– It was easy to take the battery out, but it took longer to put it in, he laughs.
Since the job was a bit time consuming, the repair price was NOK 52,000. A quarter of what a brand name dealer would charge for a new battery pack.
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Much nicer for the wallet
The car's owner, Espen Petersen, is very satisfied with the amount and work done in the workshop, which has been based in Port Levanger for many years.
-I believe that replacing a circuit board that has failed should be more environmentally friendly than replacing the entire battery. Plus, it was much nicer on the wallet, says the Tesla owner.
Hallem and Hårberg were also satisfied with solving the problem for the customer, but workshop owner Ragnar Hallem has to admit one thing:
– We are initially not very enthusiastic about Tesla, because the problem is obtaining the necessary software to encrypt the car and delete the messages afterwards, he says, adding that the customer had to go to Tesla after the repair to clear the error. Symbols.
Although in this case the circuit board had to be replaced, Hallem is concerned that electric cars are generally very good cars. Which, with his 45 years of experience, he has a good basis for making a statement about.
– A number of electric cars are starting to arrive here, but most of them are for service. It is very rare for any faults to occur in a car's electrical systems, except in exceptional cases. He says there are many disadvantages to the diesel engine.
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