The Consumers’ Foundation yesterday urged a recall of Tesla vehicles manufactured in 2019 to repair a battery defect that causes sudden power outages, sometimes while driving.
Of the 5,819 electric vehicles sold in Taiwan in 2020, the top three models were all made by the US firm, the foundation said.
Owing to repeated battery issues, 338 owners formed a self-help organization to seek redress and approached the foundation with their complaints.
Photo courtesy of Tesla self-help group via CNA
A survey by the organization found that most issues were found in Model X and Model S vehicles made between the end of 2018 and 2019, foundation secretary-general Hsu Tse-yu (徐則鈺) said.
Of the more than 1,400 vehicles in Taiwan fitting this description, at least 122 have had battery defects, he said.
Of these, 16 drivers reported losing power while driving, leaving them stuck on the road, Hsu said.
Owners have also complained that Tesla repair centers do not have enough stock to replace faulty batteries, requiring owners to leave their vehicle at a garage for months until the parts needed arrive, Hsu said.
Tesla often uses refurbished rather than new replacement batteries that are “sometimes older than the vehicle itself,” he added.
However, even after repair, one owner said they still encountered issues.
Tesla owners all know that when driving on the highway, “you have to drive on the outer lane so that when you lose power without warning again, it is easier to pull over,” they said.
Another owner, Hu Ching-yao (胡景堯), said that battery issues arise regardless of mileage and at any time, including after charging, after parking and while driving.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications and agencies responsible for consumer protection should initiate an investigation into the issue, foundation chairman Terry Huang (黃怡騰) said.
Tesla’s Taiwan representative should also issue an explanation and offer a safety guarantee for repaired vehicles to put owners and other drivers at ease, he added.
Tesla Taiwan yesterday said that the company offers repair and replacement services to owners, and has sped up the resupply process.
The wait time for replacements has been shortened to two to three weeks, with plans to reduce it further to one week, it said.
While waiting for repairs, owners are granted a warranty extension equivalent to the wait time, a replacement vehicle or NT$2,000 in daily vouchers for transportation, as well as a discount for future tire replacement, it added.
Additional reporting by Yang Ya-min
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
RSS