Very strange experience I've just been through...........

[JerShanMan39]

So I was one of the first to take delivery of the new Macan EV Turbo at my dealership. Picked it up in late September 2024 (after it sat there for 2.5 weeks while waiting for a software update to be done). I've had what I would call "minor inconveniences" that needed attention throughout. Mainly, the clunking/rattle sound coming from the back, and the more frustrating one, where the batteries in both my key fobs die every 2-3 weeks. They ordered a new one from Germany and recently programmed it so we will see if that does the trick. Changing the batteries every 3 weeks has been frustrating.

The latest saga saw me head out on vacation for 5 days. I got home from work and parked my car in the garage on Thursday night with the battery at about 35% state of charge.

When I returned from vacation and left for work on Wednesday morning, when I approached the car, it didn't automatically unlock. I tried the key fob........no luck. So I figured the new fob battery was dead so I ran down to the basement to change it. Went back to the car................nada. Tried the app (which was showing the car at 31% state of charge), nada. I literally could not get into the car. There was no way to unlock it and get in, and of course, I decided to get the electric charge port doors thinking they were "cooler". Bad decision. Couldn't open the charge port door to plug the car in and see if that helped. I literally had a $200,000 paper weight.

Livid, I took an Uber to the office and immediately reached out to my service advisor and sales associate. They told me that somehow the battery must have died and I should call Porsche Roadside Assistance to have them come boost the battery. I asked, how could it possibly be that the battery lost 35% charge in 5 days (temperatures were well above zero) just sitting in my garage? So much so that there wasn't even enough battery to unlock the doors??

They said EV cars don't like to be sitting idle for long periods of time (not that 5 days should be considered long) when at 20-30% charge. Never had that issue with my Tesla.

Roadside Assistance showed up and apparently there is an emergency power supply behind some little door in the front bumper. After a few minutes attached to this, there was enough charge to pop the frunk, which allowed him access to the battery. A few minutes plugged into the battery terminals in the frunk finally allowed for the doors to be unlocked and eventually the displays came on (still showing the battery at 31% and many settings like time, driver assist features reset). We decided to let it charge overnight and hope for the best.

When leaving for work this morning, the battery was at 80% and I got in and was able to head off to work. It was raining, so I turned the windshield wipers on..........only problem, THEY NO LONGER WORK!! They do nothing when I do a courtesy swipe or turn them on. Was lots of fun driving to work in the rain and not be able to clean the windshield.

My dealer sent someone over with a courtesy car and took mine into the dealership, yet again.

Very weird indeed. I can't understand how so many things could have gone wrong just by leaving the car in the garage for 5 days with 35% battery left.

Word to the wise, if you go away for more than a few days, best to leave the car plugged in while you are gone.

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[MFitz]

I wonder if it was a 12 volt issue. Let us know how this resolves. First time hearing of this exact problem.

 

[rcomeau]

The tech that said it was not good to leave the car idle did not know what they were talking about (lots of EV ignorance, even at the dealers). It is certainly acceptable to leave the car for extended periods otherwise, they'd be useless as a car.

I think you are conflating the HV battery and the 12v battery. Clearly, the 12v battery went dead. This is of course not supposed to happen (CERTAINLY not after 5 days idle). If your HV battery went from 35% to 31%, then there was a serious phantom drain on the 12V batty and the car used the HV battery to try to keep the 12v going (and either could not keep up or gave up for some reason). Something electronic that draws current that would have normally shut down must have hung (software-wise) so it stayed on and continued to draw from the 12v (all electronics on he car are fed from the 12v battery, which I'm turn is fed from the HV battery.

 

[W1NGE]

So I was one of the first to take delivery of the new Macan EV Turbo at my dealership. Picked it up in late September 2024 (after it sat there for 2.5 weeks while waiting for a software update to be done). I've had what I would call "minor inconveniences" that needed attention throughout. Mainly, the clunking/rattle sound coming from the back, and the more frustrating one, where the batteries in both my key fobs die every 2-3 weeks. They ordered a new one from Germany and recently programmed it so we will see if that does the trick. Changing the batteries every 3 weeks has been frustrating.

The latest saga saw me head out on vacation for 5 days. I got home from work and parked my car in the garage on Thursday night with the battery at about 35% state of charge.

When I returned from vacation and left for work on Wednesday morning, when I approached the car, it didn't automatically unlock. I tried the key fob........no luck. So I figured the new fob battery was dead so I ran down to the basement to change it. Went back to the car................nada. Tried the app (which was showing the car at 31% state of charge), nada. I literally could not get into the car. There was no way to unlock it and get in, and of course, I decided to get the electric charge port doors thinking they were "cooler". Bad decision. Couldn't open the charge port door to plug the car in and see if that helped. I literally had a $200,000 paper weight.

Livid, I took an Uber to the office and immediately reached out to my service advisor and sales associate. They told me that somehow the battery must have died and I should call Porsche Roadside Assistance to have them come boost the battery. I asked, how could it possibly be that the battery lost 35% charge in 5 days (temperatures were well above zero) just sitting in my garage? So much so that there wasn't even enough battery to unlock the doors??

They said EV cars don't like to be sitting idle for long periods of time (not that 5 days should be considered long) when at 20-30% charge. Never had that issue with my Tesla.

Roadside Assistance showed up and apparently there is an emergency power supply behind some little door in the front bumper. After a few minutes attached to this, there was enough charge to pop the frunk, which allowed him access to the battery. A few minutes plugged into the battery terminals in the frunk finally allowed for the doors to be unlocked and eventually the displays came on (still showing the battery at 31% and many settings like time, driver assist features reset). We decided to let it charge overnight and hope for the best.

When leaving for work this morning, the battery was at 80% and I got in and was able to head off to work. It was raining, so I turned the windshield wipers on..........only problem, THEY NO LONGER WORK!! They do nothing when I do a courtesy swipe or turn them on. Was lots of fun driving to work in the rain and not be able to clean the windshield.

My dealer sent someone over with a courtesy car and took mine into the dealership, yet again.

Very weird indeed. I can't understand how so many things could have gone wrong just by leaving the car in the garage for 5 days with 35% battery left.

Word to the wise, if you go away for more than a few days, best to leave the car plugged in while you are gone.

Nightmare!

12v battery issue most likely root cause.

Not uncommon on EVs and Porsche have had a poor record with this item unfortunately.

Taycan was plagued with this issue and a shock to see this now appearing on the Macan.

Could be a failing 12v and you were unlucky or something is draining it - keyfob related (?) need to store > 6m away or in a Faraday pouch.

HV battery won't top up 12v when the car is not powered on. There are certain scenarios where it might.

Leaving for 5 days is not a long time and there is layup guidance in the owners manual for extended periods (months).

Leaving thr car connected to your EVSE might be a help and should act as a trickle charger - again see guidance in owners manual.

There is also a documented procedure for unlocking which entails holding the keyfob to the front lower windshield- again ser owners manual.

Emergency key?

 

[Wivenhoe]

I would think it’s more than a coincidence that your keys discharged at an exceptional rate and your 12v battery was also flat. Sounds like the system and key are constantly searching rather than shutting off. Changing the battery in the key wouldn’t sort it as the new one would just carry on where the last one left off.

 

[W1NGE]

I would think it’s more than a coincidence that your keys discharged at an exceptional rate and your 12v battery was also flat. Sounds like the system and key are constantly searching rather than shutting off. Changing the battery in the key wouldn’t sort it as the new one would just carry on where the last one left off.

Has been a widely reported issue with the Taycan and obviously when the led on the fob periodically flashes - if it is then it is too close if not intended to use the car.

Not the only explanation clearly burnt is a 'feature'.

 

[dgkhn]

Not really helpful, but agree with the observation that the key fob problem and this one are likely related. It certainly sounds as if the 12v went dead. What are the odds that both your key fobs are defective such that they drain in three weeks (in isolation). (Have you tried keeping one of the fobs distant from the car to see if it still drains?) It certainly seems as if something related to the comfort access is not shutting down as it should.

 

[henrus]

How close is the car to your keys when you’re at home? It does sound like perhaps they are close enough to be repeatedly talking to it and ultimately draining the 12v. My friend had a 12v drain issue in his Model 3 the other day. Even Tesla does not do a good job to alert you when the 12v battery is having problems. Not sure why the app or car doesn’t send out an alert when it’s getting low for whatever reason.

 

[themacnut]

Hopefully they figure it out. Very frustrating.

I had low 12V battery issues when I had my Turbo in the PPF and stereo shop for an extended period of time. Nothing to your level, but various errors that eventually cleared themselves. Think you might have a bad 12V battery.

Key fobs batteries dying in short order is very odd.

Once they get you back up and running, it has been advised in other threads here to leave the car plugged into the charger if you will have it sit for an extended period of time. Keeps the 12V battery charged. My last vacation we followed this advice and were gone for 10 days, and everything was good.

Share back when they work through it and hope you get back on the road soon.

 

[shawn]

So I was one of the first to take delivery of the new Macan EV Turbo at my dealership. Picked it up in late September 2024 (after it sat there for 2.5 weeks while waiting for a software update to be done). I've had what I would call "minor inconveniences" that needed attention throughout. Mainly, the clunking/rattle sound coming from the back, and the more frustrating one, where the batteries in both my key fobs die every 2-3 weeks. They ordered a new one from Germany and recently programmed it so we will see if that does the trick. Changing the batteries every 3 weeks has been frustrating.

The latest saga saw me head out on vacation for 5 days. I got home from work and parked my car in the garage on Thursday night with the battery at about 35% state of charge.

When I returned from vacation and left for work on Wednesday morning, when I approached the car, it didn't automatically unlock. I tried the key fob........no luck. So I figured the new fob battery was dead so I ran down to the basement to change it. Went back to the car................nada. Tried the app (which was showing the car at 31% state of charge), nada. I literally could not get into the car. There was no way to unlock it and get in, and of course, I decided to get the electric charge port doors thinking they were "cooler". Bad decision. Couldn't open the charge port door to plug the car in and see if that helped. I literally had a $200,000 paper weight.

Livid, I took an Uber to the office and immediately reached out to my service advisor and sales associate. They told me that somehow the battery must have died and I should call Porsche Roadside Assistance to have them come boost the battery. I asked, how could it possibly be that the battery lost 35% charge in 5 days (temperatures were well above zero) just sitting in my garage? So much so that there wasn't even enough battery to unlock the doors??

They said EV cars don't like to be sitting idle for long periods of time (not that 5 days should be considered long) when at 20-30% charge. Never had that issue with my Tesla.

Roadside Assistance showed up and apparently there is an emergency power supply behind some little door in the front bumper. After a few minutes attached to this, there was enough charge to pop the frunk, which allowed him access to the battery. A few minutes plugged into the battery terminals in the frunk finally allowed for the doors to be unlocked and eventually the displays came on (still showing the battery at 31% and many settings like time, driver assist features reset). We decided to let it charge overnight and hope for the best.

When leaving for work this morning, the battery was at 80% and I got in and was able to head off to work. It was raining, so I turned the windshield wipers on..........only problem, THEY NO LONGER WORK!! They do nothing when I do a courtesy swipe or turn them on. Was lots of fun driving to work in the rain and not be able to clean the windshield.

My dealer sent someone over with a courtesy car and took mine into the dealership, yet again.

Very weird indeed. I can't understand how so many things could have gone wrong just by leaving the car in the garage for 5 days with 35% battery left.

Word to the wise, if you go away for more than a few days, best to leave the car plugged in while you are gone.

Just curious. Do have a dash cam? Others have reported 12v battery drain in some instances so I thought I would ask if that was a factor.

 

[JerShanMan39]

How close is the car to your keys when you’re at home? It does sound like perhaps they are close enough to be repeatedly talking to it and ultimately draining the 12v. My friend had a 12v drain issue in his Model 3 the other day. Even Tesla does not do a good job to alert you when the 12v battery is having problems. Not sure why the app or car doesn’t send out an alert when it’s getting low for whatever reason.

I keep the key in a faraday box by the front door (probably 25-30 feet away). I would think the faraday box will prevent any unintended communication with the car.

 

[JerShanMan39]

Just curious. Do have a dash cam? Others have reported 12v battery drain in some instances so I thought I would ask if that was a factor.

No. I don't have a dashcam.

 

[henrus]

I keep the key in a faraday box by the front door (probably 25-30 feet away). I would think the faraday box will prevent any unintended communication with the car.

so crazy

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