Mclaren P1 batteries $50K!!

Mclaren P1 batteries $50K!!

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Kevin-sz0nv

Original Poster:

261 posts

107 months

Monday 14th September 2015
quotequote all
Just read an owners report in Evo magazine of his new P1 he says that the car must be put on a trickle charger (that is built in the car) if it is left for a couple of days, otherwise the batteries go flat and have to be replaced at a cost north of $50,000! So sounds like no warranty on them and makes you worry if while away you had a power cut or a blown fuse, and you cant leave it at Heathrow or wherever for the weekend. I don't think the 918 or the La Ferrari have this problem and I know Tesla don't. I realise anyone with a P1 can afford the costs but wow don't forget to plug in that charger!

Edited by Kevin-sz0nv on Tuesday 15th September 08:26

rjn21

289 posts

165 months

Tuesday 15th September 2015
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LaFerrari warranty on battery pack is voided (so claims a UK dealer) if it's not plugged in for >3 days. YMMV.

h0b0

7,627 posts

197 months

Tuesday 15th September 2015
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Kevin-sz0nv said:
I know Tesla don't.
They certainly did with the roadster. There was a case of a person exporting their car and by the time it arrived the batteries were dead. Tesla used to remotely monitor if you were caring for the batteries properly. They would receive an alarm if the battery was about to die. I don't know if they do this on the S though

red_duke

800 posts

182 months

Tuesday 15th September 2015
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I wonder what the lifespan of these battery packs is when looked after?

The 3yr service bill would be eye watering for most people.

Edited by red_duke on Tuesday 15th September 15:10

stefan1

977 posts

233 months

Tuesday 15th September 2015
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red_duke said:
I wonder what the lifespan of these battery packs is when looked after?

The 3yr service bill would be eye watering for most people.

Edited by red_duke on Tuesday 15th September 15:10
The batteries on the 918 have an 8 year warranty. And the car can be left without being put on a trickle charger for a lot longer than is suggested above for its competitors.

flemke

22,865 posts

238 months

Tuesday 15th September 2015
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rjn21 said:
LaFerrari warranty on battery pack is voided (so claims a UK dealer) if it's not plugged in for >3 days. YMMV.
That is correct for LaF.

For P1, the factory say battery should go unmaintained for no longer than 3-4 weeks, although they reckon it could go for a couple of months before it died. A week is no problem at all.

Cost of replacement in UK is £42,000, IIRC.

I was told that cost of battery replacement for LaF is £80k, although maybe they had the wrong currency. wink

Edited by flemke on Thursday 17th September 07:19

epom

11,550 posts

162 months

Wednesday 16th September 2015
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£50K ?? That all, probably cost you that to paint yours Flemke smile

ilovevolvo

1,832 posts

225 months

Saturday 19th September 2015
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flemke said:
That is correct for LaF.

For P1, the factory say battery should go unmaintained for no longer than 3-4 weeks, although they reckon it could go for a couple of months before it died. A week is no problem at all.

Cost of replacement in UK is £42,000, IIRC.

I was told that cost of battery replacement for LaF is £80k, although maybe they had the wrong currency. wink

Edited by flemke on Thursday 17th September 07:19
Hi Flemke

Now you have had your P1 for a while have you had any problems with it ?

Russ



patch5674

233 posts

113 months

Tuesday 22nd September 2015
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The point made by Stefan about the 918, in my eyes proves exactly why the 918 is the most important car out of the three. It is the only one who's purpose is to genuinely move the automobile into the next stage of it's advancement through being a rolling test bed for the technology you will see in your average VAG models in 5 years.


crostonian

2,427 posts

173 months

Tuesday 22nd September 2015
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patch5674 said:
The point made by Stefan about the 918, in my eyes proves exactly why the 918 is the most important car out of the three. It is the only one who's purpose is to genuinely move the automobile into the next stage of it's advancement through being a rolling test bed for the technology you will see in your average VAG models in 5 years.
Wonder if they're using it to test new emissions software?

flemke

22,865 posts

238 months

Tuesday 22nd September 2015
quotequote all
ilovevolvo said:
flemke said:
That is correct for LaF.

For P1, the factory say battery should go unmaintained for no longer than 3-4 weeks, although they reckon it could go for a couple of months before it died. A week is no problem at all.

Cost of replacement in UK is £42,000, IIRC.

I was told that cost of battery replacement for LaF is £80k, although maybe they had the wrong currency. wink

Edited by flemke on Thursday 17th September 07:19
Hi Flemke

Now you have had your P1 for a while have you had any problems with it ?

Russ
Everything has been fine, apart from the wiper blade (not the mechanism, but the metal backing strip of the £10 blade) which weirdly would not press the rubber blade against the glass properly. Otherwise I think it's been operationally flawless.

flemke

22,865 posts

238 months

Tuesday 22nd September 2015
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patch5674 said:
The point made by Stefan about the 918, in my eyes proves exactly why the 918 is the most important car out of the three. It is the only one who's purpose is to genuinely move the automobile into the next stage of it's advancement through being a rolling test bed for the technology you will see in your average VAG models in 5 years.
I'm not knocking the 918, which is beautifully made, but your description of its relevance is exactly what one could have said about the 959 30 years ago. The problem with such things is that they tend to be a demonstration of technological advancement, rather than a demonstration of the enjoyment of driving.

andrew

9,972 posts

193 months

Tuesday 22nd September 2015
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crostonian said:
patch5674 said:
The point made by Stefan about the 918, in my eyes proves exactly why the 918 is the most important car out of the three. It is the only one who's purpose is to genuinely move the automobile into the next stage of it's advancement through being a rolling test bed for the technology you will see in your average VAG models in 5 years.
Wonder if they're using it to test new emissions software?
:slight snigger:

DeltonaS

3,707 posts

139 months

Tuesday 22nd September 2015
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patch5674 said:
The point made by Stefan about the 918, in my eyes proves exactly why the 918 is the most important car out of the three. It is the only one who's purpose is to genuinely move the automobile into the next stage of it's advancement through being a rolling test bed for the technology you will see in your average VAG models in 5 years.
??

Nonsense, all three have similar technology, just partly used in slighly diff. ways.

patch5674

233 posts

113 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2015
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DeltonaS said:
patch5674 said:
The point made by Stefan about the 918, in my eyes proves exactly why the 918 is the most important car out of the three. It is the only one who's purpose is to genuinely move the automobile into the next stage of it's advancement through being a rolling test bed for the technology you will see in your average VAG models in 5 years.
??

Nonsense, all three have similar technology, just partly used in slighly diff. ways.
No the 918 uses it in a significantly different way, particularly to the LaF, which can not be plugged in at all and can not be driven in electric only mode.

Alfa numeric

3,027 posts

180 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2015
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patch5674 said:
No the 918 uses it in a significantly different way, particularly to the LaF, which can not be plugged in at all and can not be driven in electric only mode.
The LaF can be plugged in. The one I saw at Graypaul in Birmingham was plugged in while I was looking at it.

patch5674

233 posts

113 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2015
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Alfa numeric said:
The LaF can be plugged in. The one I saw at Graypaul in Birmingham was plugged in while I was looking at it.
Plugged into a battery conditioner/ trickle charger that if it is not plugged into for more than 3 days then the warranty is void - No such necessities are required with the 918, it can be left parked for weeks on end without hassle, unlike the far more highly strung LaF.

Which brings me back to my original point of it being the far more important car for the future of the automobile. I make no claim as to which is objectively the better car, just that in my opinion the 918 is a real testbed for the future of Porsche, something that is alluded to by Chris Harris who has written about how the 918 is constantly evolving through software updates and ECU recalibration. The recently unveiled Mission E, is also clearly something learnt from the 918/919 projects...

woppum

1,135 posts

187 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2015
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I have been away on business for a week and a half it will be interesting to see how much life the battery in the 918 has. I'm looking at buying a P1 but a lot will depend on the Managment of the battery...

rodericb

6,772 posts

127 months

Monday 9th November 2015
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h0b0 said:
They certainly did with the roadster. There was a case of a person exporting their car and by the time it arrived the batteries were dead. Tesla used to remotely monitor if you were caring for the batteries properly. They would receive an alarm if the battery was about to die. I don't know if they do this on the S though
They do. They all phone-home apparantly and will go to the car and plug it in for you if you leave it unplugged and it goes below some threshold.

Anjum

1,605 posts

285 months

Monday 9th November 2015
quotequote all
woppum said:
I have been away on business for a week and a half it will be interesting to see how much life the battery in the 918 has. I'm looking at buying a P1 but a lot will depend on the Managment of the battery...
turncoat! wink