[Panda]

More problems with my 22kwh Zoe I am afraid.

It has stopped charging consistently, sometimes up to 50% or 70%. It is a 2015 model with 22k miles and Renault Extended Warranty. It is in the garage for something else (another spring gone - being replaced on extended warranty) and I asked them to check it.

They also have found that it stopped charging at 50%, so they checked with the extended warranty company and they said; update the software first and if this fixes it, they will cover the cost, if it doesn't then I will have to pay.

Is this right? Isn't the charging/battery covered by the 8 year battery warranty?

Any advice will be helpful to avoid paying for the BMS update.

 

[cah197]

Does this happen on all AC chargers or just your one at home?

 

[80698]

When you say it stops charging, is it that weird issue where it will suddenly start again if you unlock it and open the door to wake it up and it will continue as if nothing is wrong?

My old Zoe started doing that. For me it was always 65% but only on 7kW chargers. Spent ages trying to find the cause but ultimately never managed to get to the bottom of it.

 

[Panda]

Does this happen on all AC chargers or just your one at home?

At home I have a 7 kWh charger and the one at work is a 22 kWh charger. I am not sure what they have at the dealership, but they got to 50%. I also charge our Ioniq on these chargers with no issue and the one at home is a tethered lead, so it can't be an issue with the lead.

 

[Panda]

When you say it stops charging, is it that weird issue where it will suddenly start again if you unlock it and open the door to wake it up and it will continue as if nothing is wrong?

My old Zoe started doing that. For me it was always 65% but only on 7kW chargers. Spent ages trying to find the cause but ultimately never managed to get to the bottom of it.

Not sure as only noticed the issue recently.

I am also concerned about the charge for the BMS update as I don't expect that this will fix things and it will be £130 for very little.

 

[cah197]

At home I have a 7 kWh charger and the one at work is a 22 kWh charger. I am not sure what they have at the dealership, but they got to 50%. I also charge our Ioniq on these chargers with no issue and the one at home is a tethered lead, so it can't be an issue with the lead.

I had issues with a home charger that only affected the Zoe. Changing the RCBO for £20 fixed it.

Maybe see if you can get the problem to replicate at work?

 

[Panda]

Do you think that I should be paying for a BMS update?

 

[cah197]

Do you think that I should be paying for a BMS update?

Like you, I doubt this will help to solve your problem.

I’d spend a bit more time checking the charge points first. I think you need to find the consistent failure mode.

 

[Panda]

Like you, I doubt this will help to solve your problem.

I’d spend a bit more time checking the charge points first. I think you need to find the consistent failure mode.

It looks like in the past 2 weeks, it has failed on three chargers: 7kw home, 22kw work and whatever they have at the dealer.

 

[cah197]

Can you test another Type 2 cable to rule that out?

 

[Panda]

Can you test another Type 2 cable to rule that out?

Thanks for being so quick with responses, my home charger is tethered and is fine with the Hyundai. Also the dealer tried with their own cable.

Is the charging unit part of the 8 year warranty and will this cover the BMS update?

 

[Sandy]

🤦‍♂️ Renault customer care strikes again. They sell you piece of mind extended warranty and then try to wriggle out of it as soon as you need to claim. 🤦‍♂️

 

[cah197]

Is the charging unit part of the 8 year warranty and will this cover the BMS update?

I don’t think so, no.

The BMS update only applies if you have SOH at less than 75% (from memory).

 

[Spike]

When our R240 exhibited this sort of behaviour, it needed the PEC replacing. This is the DC to DC convertor I think. If yours is a 2015, you may have the Q version, in which case there’s a module which may need replacing instead. As it’s under the 8 year warranty for the EV part, charging hardware should fall under this cover. You may need to stand your ground a bit with Renault CS, but they should pay. The BMS update should be done FOC as it’s a fix, not a comfort upgrade, again on the EV side. As you're probably leasing the battery, it should also be covered by Renault as it’s their battery the BMS update is protecting.

 

[Panda]

Thanks for your advice on this.

The garage have got back to me with the following regarding the charging issue:

"I looked into the 8 year warranty on the battery – this is of course correct however they don’t include reprogramme or updates. We do need to do this reprogramme first in order to see if this rectifies the faut. If this does correct the charging fault then your extended warranty would look to cover this. However if not this would fall to yourself to cover. The total cost for this would be £218.86 inc vat and initial diagnostic."

Is this right? So, the car is not charging to full on three different chargers and I have a battery warranty and an extended warranty, but if the software update doesn't work, they will charge over £200?

As I mentoned before this car only has 22K miles on it.

Any advice would be helpful.

 

[proddick]

In your shoes, I would go back and say the car has a fault in a component that is covered by the extended warranty and I will not be paying anything. I would say that if the dealer and warranty company believe reprograming will fix, there are welcome to do that otherwise replace the part.

If they didn't agree, I would raise a formal complaint with both Renault customer service and the extended warranty provider - details are in the policy document.

 

[Kingpleb1]

As above and maybe get onto the finance company, as you know, they want their car to work and dont want you to reject it as its not upto basic standards...

 

[Big277wave]

This sounds like a load of tosh to me. I've never heard of the BMS update correcting a charging issue where the battery fails to fully charge. The BMS update was all about correcting the car indicating the wrong state of charge and the battery taking a long time to balance. If the firmware in the BMS has become corrupted and is cause of the charging failure this is a fault. Firmware does sometimes become corrupted in devices but you usually get a check sum error which the main processor detects and throws up an error message. If RCI want to do a BMS update to eliminate it from the possible causes then they should pay not you. It's not you asking to do the BMS update so why should you have to pay to cover their fault diagnosis process. The BMS update was not done to enhance the features for the user, it was done to stop battery warranty claims. As far as I can see the only user improvement was that when rapid charging it the car displays the correct battery state of charge so the battery level doesn't drop as soon as you set off.

 

[Panda]

Thanks for the reply so far. I have sent a polite email to the dealership, it is not their fault and they are very good, but don't have a lot of experience with Zoe's. I think they said I am one of two Zoes which they say and they are a family run business (10x better than the national dealer which is close to me).

Will let you know where this goes.

 

[cah197]

It might be worth giving Renault Customer Service a ring, as they can also provide support and authorisation for repairs.

Not sure if this is the case with the extended warranty, but worth a try.