Serious Design Flaw - No easy access to vehicle if 12v battery is very low

[DHS]

No, the car was not plugged in. I hadn't noticed that in the manual nor can I find it now. Where does the manual say this? How would plugging it in solve the problem?

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[SergeyIndy]

Is there an internal indicator that tells you the 12-volt battery needs service? Seems like they have tons of other warnings...that one sounds like a useful one? . Not withstanding that, is there a service schedule for the battery? I did not see one in the manual. Maybe Lithium-ion batteries do not need to be checked like lead acid batteries but surely there is a life cycle health check of some sort so you know when you might need to replace it?

I do not know of an instance of a health check for Li-ion 12v battery.
I know that regular lead acid batteries are checked for capacity and then replaced after they reach 50% capacity, that took 8 years in our 2016 Macan.

 

[SergeyIndy]

No, the car was not plugged in. I hadn't noticed that in the manual nor can I find it now. Where does the manual say this? How would plugging it in solve the problem?

This is what the manual says, however, this does not give me assurances that 12v will not go flat without a trickle charger:

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[fubar.droid]

Based on what I'm seeing here, seems the genius engineers over at Porsche designed it so the 12V is only charged if the car is on? Otherwise you have to keep it plugged into a battery maintainer?

This is what the manual says, however, this does not give me assurances that 12v will not go flat without a trickle charger:

Under

Yeah I stupidly assumed keeping the car plugged in meant the car will ensure the 12V is also kept charged.. but it doesn't appear to be the case?

 

[SergeyIndy]

^ Yes, @fubar.droid, that is how it works on the Taycan and makes no sense why it would be engineered that way.

 

[fubar.droid]

^ Yes, @fubar.droid, that is how it works on the Taycan and makes no sense why it would be engineered that way.

I guess the engineers really wanted to make it feel as close to an ICE as possible.

 

[Great_Cookie]

Actually, I had come across the following when wondering about towing implications should battery die in the thread I had started.

In short, there is a way to pop the frunk should be the 12V battery die.

 

[cottony]

the 12V is only charged if the car is on?

if the 12V gets charged when the car is on, and opening the My Porsche app turns the car on, then we can just write a simple automation to open the app every few days to ensure the 12V doesn't die, thereby removing the need to connect trickle charging. is my understanding correct?

 

[shawn]

if the 12V gets charged when the car is on, and opening the My Porsche app turns the car on, then we can just write a simple automation to open the app every few days to ensure the 12V doesn't die, thereby removing the need to connect trickle charging. is my understanding correct?

So in the scenario, were you going on vacation for 2 1/2 weeks ( or some long term period when you’re not using the car and it is not plugged in) Why couldn’t you just open the app up every few days let the battery top up or charge. as long as you turn the car off the HV battery will still maintain more than the minimum level needed. Or am I missing something?

 

[TurboSpain]

Macan EV uses lithium-ion. That is not the issue we are talking about.
The issue is that HV battery does not charge 12v battery properly allowing it to lose charge and lock up. The manual seems to indicate that 6 weeks is the time needed for 12v to discharge:

Are you sure the auxiliary battery is lithium ion type? I don't have my Macan yet, but the manual indicates that it is AGM (lead-acid) type.

 

[Wivenhoe]

I assume that if the 12v battery is flat then putting the key on the windscreen and Pull the door handle on the driver's side firmly 5 times over the first locking position. won’t work as the battery will still be required to unlock.

My Lexus RZ had a manual key in the fob and you could flip a small cover off the lock and insert the key to manually open the doors - I had to resort to that twice. The Taycan ‘cheat sheet’ also refers to an emergency key in the key fob but I can’t see anything about that in the Macan manual. Forgive me if I’m wrong as my car is on its way so I can’t check with the car.

 

[fubar.droid]

if the 12V gets charged when the car is on, and opening the My Porsche app turns the car on, then we can just write a simple automation to open the app every few days to ensure the 12V doesn't die, thereby removing the need to connect trickle charging. is my understanding correct?

There is no way just connecting to the car will trigger the HV to power on. You'd need to do something that requires HV power, like climate control. But at this point, there's no guarantee that just because the HV is connected, the system is going to recharge the 12V, doesn't seem like Porsche applied much common sense to this part of the car.

 

[W1NGE]

Serious Design Flaw is the understatement. No reason for it to be this way. This has been a known problem for Taycans with occasional cases still occurring. Therefore, Macan EV community needs to learn to how to prevent it and how to restart it from the Taycan community as others mentioned.

And Cayenne, 911 etc

 

[Awaz]

We've been told that the main reason for this drainage is the car's easy access system (keyless entry & lock unlock) because when parked it always scans the area to establish connection with the remote key.

Does that mean then that 12V battery drainage is less of an issue for those who didn't option comfort access, like me?

 

[Fly4ever]

Does that mean then that 12V battery drainage is less of an issue for those who didn't option comfort access, like me?

It also crossed my mind, I believe this would be a really nice idea if we could check it out! In fact I can't think of any other reason for a battery to be drained when the car remains unused for some period of time.
Maybe the OP @DHS could inform us if the car is equipped with the comfort access or not?

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