Error: Electrical System. Stop!

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Karls9er

***
Joined
Mar 5, 2019
Messages
3
I want to start by saying I love my 2018 E golf. I absoutley did not think I would feel this way about an electric vehicle. HOV lane solo, no more gas!!!! It was good while it lasted. Recently my EGolf decided to not start after a full charge. I recieved the error message I added to the title of this discussion. I am concerned and have seen similar issues with the 2015-2016 EGolfs. So I called vw roadside assistance and they towed my Golf to the local dealer. It has been there since Feb 26TH.... They had to call in experts that deal with "problem vehicles" finally yesterday they called to advise one of the connectors that lead to a battery cell is faulty. This caused the error. The part has an unknown ETA and they are unsure as to how long it will take to repair. They have to send in specialists to remove the battery and replace the defective parts. This will take up 3 of their service bays. The local VW dealer is not allowed to work on the battery hence the techs who are coming in to replace the components.... I am beside myself as now I am in a rental and super unhappy. It takes longer to travel to and from work and I am filling this vehicle with gas! I am keeping receipts and am hoping to submit them for reimbursement. I also will ask for the car payment for this month and any others going forward... Super dissapointing, the one only thing I am grateful for is the fact I was not driving when this happened. Similar stories from older models have EGOLFs shutting down while driving.... If you have any similar issues and or have any advice for me I would really appreciate it!
 
Karls9er said:
I want to start by saying I love my 2018 E golf. I absoutley did not think I would feel this way about an electric vehicle. HOV lane solo, no more gas!!!! It was good while it lasted. Recently my EGolf decided to not start after a full charge. I recieved the error message I added to the title of this discussion. I am concerned and have seen similar issues with the 2015-2016 EGolfs. So I called vw roadside assistance and they towed my Golf to the local dealer. It has been there since Feb 26TH.... They had to call in experts that deal with "problem vehicles" finally yesterday they called to advise one of the connectors that lead to a battery cell is faulty. This caused the error. The part has an unknown ETA and they are unsure as to how long it will take to repair. They have to send in specialists to remove the battery and replace the defective parts. This will take up 3 of their service bays. The local VW dealer is not allowed to work on the battery hence the techs who are coming in to replace the components.... I am beside myself as now I am in a rental and super unhappy. It takes longer to travel to and from work and I am filling this vehicle with gas! I am keeping receipts and am hoping to submit them for reimbursement. I also will ask for the car payment for this month and any others going forward... Super dissapointing, the one only thing I am grateful for is the fact I was not driving when this happened. Similar stories from older models have EGOLFs shutting down while driving.... If you have any similar issues and or have any advice for me I would really appreciate it!
Assuming you are in the USA, open a case with VW Customer Service at 800-822-8987 and get an e-Golf specialist assigned to your case. You can request reimbursement against your lease payment if that applies. If not, your gas receipts would be a reasonable proxy for your added expenses, even though they are providing a rental.
Keep track of the days in service and educate yourself on your state's lemon law thresholds.

As with any complex system involving power electronics, it's very difficult to assure 100% reliability. I hope they complete the repair in a reasonable period of time.
 
Thank you for the advice I will deffenetly be calling vw customer care in regards to reimbursement. I am located in B. C. Canada.
 
My 2019 eGolf got crippled by the same error. Fortunately I wasn't driving then but instead it happened when parked in my garage. I got it towed to the dealership and their diagnostics showed that multiple cells failed to charge. I was told by the service advisor that VW wanted to keep my car for analysis and it could be 'several weeks' before it is fixed (either replacing cells or the whole pack). They said this is the first time they see this situation (made me feel lucky :roll: )

The dealership had to wait from a tech from VW to come to do further diagnostics and they are now waiting on replacement cells shipped from Germany to install before they can do further testing. Nothing was shared by the VW tech on possible causes for the cell failures, I was told they just do their testing then leave without explaining what they are doing..

It's been almost two weeks since this happened. I was told VW didn't give an ETA on when the parts would arrive and I just had to wait for when they arrive :(
 
At least it happened while parked. I hope you got a loaner car.

Do you live somewhere really hot and also keep the pack charged to 100% for weeks at a time? Do you regularly perform back to back DC fast charging on long road trips?

Since you have a 2019, even if you kept the pack at 100% SoC in a very hot climate, it seems way too soon to have a bad cell due to misuse.

Best of luck and please keep us informed. Thanks!
 
FWIW I have read several cases of the same thing happening to the newer (2019) eGolf's, all in the UK forums. Same issue, failed cells in the pack that required pack replacements, along with extended wait times for the procedure to be completed.

https://www.speakev.com/threads/error-electrical-system-red-icon-e-golf.147003/
 
Just happened to my 2019 E-golf, less than 20k mileage. wanted to start but the error message appeared "Error: Electrical Sysytem. Stop!" I'm wondering if VW already know how to fix this problem.
 
Thanks for the follow up replies - sorry I didn't get notifications of those so I just saw them.

29 days after I had sent my car into the dealership I got my car back after some VW tech flown in from another state diagnosed and then returned later to replace 3 cells shipped from Germany. That was four months ago.

Today I hit the exact same issue, and just got it towed to the dealership...

This time, it was a perfectly nice day in the 70s. Drove fine. Parked somewhere for a couple hours, and this error showed up when I came back to start it. The thought that this could possibly happen while driving on the highway is disconcerting to say the least...
 
It so happens that the first time it died, I had almost drained the battery (maybe 5 miles range left) and it was around 100 outside when I plugged it into my 120V portable charger at home. I only twice ever used a DCFC on this car, and no it hasn't been sitting parked for weeks.

Since then, I've gone through a few other days around 100 degrees, but it has been several days since the last time. The dealership didn't make any mention of heat being related to the issue, but it's possible that it is heat related but VW is keeping that info to themselves (the dealership techs basically stand back and the VW engineers do their testing without explaining what they are doing).

Will be interesting to see what the dealership says now...

f1geek said:
At least it happened while parked. I hope you got a loaner car.

Do you live somewhere really hot and also keep the pack charged to 100% for weeks at a time? Do you regularly perform back to back DC fast charging on long road trips?

Since you have a 2019, even if you kept the pack at 100% SoC in a very hot climate, it seems way too soon to have a bad cell due to misuse.

Best of luck and please keep us informed. Thanks!
 
Weird. Clearly your car has issues. Bad cells and now a bad voltage sensor or software problem? Best of luck getting it repaired.
 
BayAreaeGolf said:
29 days after I had sent my car into the dealership I got my car back after some VW tech flown in from another state diagnosed and then returned later to replace 3 cells shipped from Germany. That was four months ago.

It's weird to me they would replace individual cells instead of the whole module.
 
I'm guessing if 3 bad cells were identified, VW spends less money by replacing three cells instead of the whole pack.

It is interesting that a dealer can replace three cells, suggesting VW has trained at least some technicians how to do this work.
 
f1geek said:
I'm guessing if 3 bad cells were identified, VW spends less money by replacing three cells instead of the whole pack.

I wouldn't expect them to replace the whole pack, but pulling a module, dissembling it, swapping 3 cells, and reassembling it at HV tech hourly rates seems way more expensive than just swapping a whole module. Especially since the supplier normally makes the modules for VW (Panasonic or Samsung depending on year), I'm surprised the techs are even trained to do so. I think there are 16 modules in the pack.
 
Maybe. It could also be the cells used in the e-Golf are already obsolete and not easy to acquire. I believe VW makes modules and supplier normally only makes cells. There are 27 modules in the pack. Maybe modules, not cells were actually replaced?
 
f1geek said:
I believe VW makes modules and supplier normally only makes cells. There are 27 modules in the pack.

According to this: https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/journals/the_supply_chain_for_electric_vehicle_batteries.pdf
Modules are assembled in Hungary, which would be Samsung's plant: https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/1996257-samsung-sdi-to-expand-hungary-ev-battery-plant
Also if you look at a picture of the module labels it's clearly Samsung branded.
I forgot they had different sized modules, you're likely correct about the number but I couldn't find any references.

f1geek said:
Maybe modules, not cells were actually replaced?

That was kind of my point from the get go.
 
Yes, I missed your comment. Good sleuthing! It does look like Samsung manufactures the modules for VW.

Here is the link for 27 modules (this link says 25 Ah, the capacity of the 24.2 kWh pack, but packaging is identical for 35.8 kWh, 37 Ah cells):

https://pushevs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/2015-volkswagen-e-golf-battery.jpg

Based on my calculations here are the module configurations:

10 x 6 cell modules
17 x 12 cell modules

This adds up to a total of 264 cells, which is what the 88s3p VW e-golf pack contains.
 
Good sleuthing indeed! You were right on the cell modules. The service tech didn't mention cell modules and just said 'cells'. I scanned the parts list and noticed CELL MOD, and there are 2 not 3, unless he meant 3 cells were determined to be bad and they happen to be in the 2 modules replaced.

Here is the full repair parts list:
1 5QE-804-841-AB-NVB HOUSING
1 12E-010-001-B STICKER
1 12E-010-006-Q WARN. SIGN
1 12E-010-006-A WARN. SIGN
1 12E-010-006 WARN. SIGN
1 5QE-915-599-AH CELL MOD.
1 5QE-971-226-M HARNESS
1 1EA-010-505 WARN. SIGN
3 D-004-660-M2 2K GLUE
1 D-181-220-A1 PRIMER
1 5QE-915-599-AK CELL MOD.
3 D- 00950025 APPLICATOR
8 N- 10788401 SCREW
2 N- 10560702 BOLT
2 N- 10785401 SCREW
6 N- 10653103 BOLT
14 5QE-915-359-E BOLT
8 N-107 - 884-01 SCREW
14 N- 91147202 BOLT

I was told by the dealership tech that in total the service cost around $8000 which was covered under warranty.
 
My 2019 EGOLF has same issue. It has been 2 months but it does not fix yet. Deal always told me waiting for the part. It is no schedule to fix. :oops:
 
Check with a lemon law attorney, being 2 months in the shop in one stretch seems like a crazy long time. You may be able to return the car and get a refund.

shyhchien said:
My 2019 EGOLF has same issue. It has been 2 months but it does not fix yet. Deal always told me waiting for the part. It is no schedule to fix. :oops:
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