A Tesla owner says he was locked out of his EV after its 12-volt battery died amid the Texas heat

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[–]Musky 3 insightful - 3 fun3 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 3 fun -  (0 children)

Better than being locked in when they catch fire.

[–]Alienhunter 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

This is a problem with tying a bunch of superfluous stuff to unnecessary electric systems. Touch based auto unlock is great. Especially when it's cold, but if there isn't a manual failsafe then it's stupid.

Like most newer cars I see these days have a push button start. Again it's nice to not to fiddle with the key. But they have an actual key ignition under the button just in case the battery in your key dongle fails. Which they absolutely need.

But if the battery fails on an electric car you ain't driving anywhere anyway.

I suspect Toyota is correct with it's hydrogen gamble if these anti-gasoline environmental policies stay. Hydrogen works now. Electric cars have their situational benefits but they are in no way a good replacement for gasoline in many situations.

Plus it's not like there is any real financial benefit to the electric car unless we go full nuclear and power is cheap. If you're still using fossil fuels to get the electricity there is little to no point.

[–]iDontShift 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

yup. fuck not having physical keys

[–]cant_even 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (3 children)

Must be a really "special" version of 12V battery in those Teslas; considering the number of prole-grade units in "the Texas Heat™" that haven't died.

Also; consider that those functioning batteries are almost all surrounded by a non-Modern© internal-combustion engine that raises under-hood temperatures to triple-digits all the time.

[–]iamonlyoneman 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Six year old car. It's been through two severe freezes AND lots of 110+ days. Some batteries last longer than others, this ins't a particularly short lifetime for one.

[–]cant_even 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

OK; then I'll chalk it up to "Electric Cars Don't Need Maintenance" brainwashing, because in 55+ years of car ownership I've never even kept a four-year-old battery.

[–]iamonlyoneman 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I'm not sure what you mean by the last sentence, but as a Texan I've had a 9-year Optima and in pleasant-always southern California I had a 1-ish year OEM battery . . . in the same car.

[–]jerkwad152 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

If only they could make use of, oh, I dunno, keys and locks.

[–]Myocarditis-Man 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Electronic door locks are probably the dumbest shit ever. Well maybe Internet connected door locks take the cake, but still.

[–]notafed 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I have electronic door locks, but the driver's door has this weird feature where I can put a physical key into a physical locking mechanism and unlock that door. From there, I can pop the hood. It's freaking amazing. What technology will 2013 bring us next.

[–]twolanterns 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

battery replacement schedules would be something you'd expect for a EV vehicle

[–]notafed 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

This isn't even the drive battery. This is the auxillary battery used to operate stuff like the locks. Tesla should be including a physical key lock so that you can access the car in the event this battery dies.

[–]twolanterns 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

yes I assumed that, but you would think such electrics would be something part of the standard checks. The lack of access on dead battery does sound remiss in the design