Electrical system failure: Stop!

[cnc]

I wonder about pack manufacturing as well. This is definite anecdata, but in searching around on this issue, I see a few references to 15-16's, a lot (relatively) of 19s and maybe one 17 or 18. Makes me wonder if something changed with the pack in 19. Once the work is done, I'll post any relevant info that I can. Last time the vehicle was in, the report was relatively detailed.

 

[Tom2018egolf]

I just got this error (Error electrical system. stop!)today and am waiting for a tow truck. Car has been having low 12v warnings for a week or 2 and just happened to have an appt for tomorrow to have it looked at. My car is a 2018 e-golf. I've been doing more fast charging lately (with frequent disconnect issues), not sure if related. I've been monitoring my 12v with obd11 and multimeter, the numbers were always looking OK (12.5 or so at rest, 14 or so while driving). Today it was 8.7 when I tried to start car and then got all the error messages. it's now at 11.8v but still errors.

 

[f1geek]

This could be due to a bad 12 V battery. I have had AAA replace my 12 V battery (on ICE cars) at home before - no tow truck needed.

 

[DeafEyeJedi]

Hello team eGolf,

Been drivIng those eGolfs for the past 6 years. Leased a brand new 2016 SE until 2018 (no issues whatsoever) thus I decided to buy a CPO 2015 SEL w 31K on it for a decent deal. Three months ago I got the first warning message about the 12V battery not taking charge. It would go away after power cycle. Didn’t come up again until about a month ago for the second time. Went away again after power cycle.

Then this past Sunday I was just finished up using a CCS fast charge and upon turning on the car I got the message on dashboard w “electrical system failure and needs to be inspected” which won’t go away after power cycle. Called Pacific VW to make an appointment and I’ve dropped it off this morning thinking it’ll done by late afternoon. Sure enough I got a call from them saying they need to inspect it another day so they are keeping it overnight. Should I be surprised?

No, because this bad boy has already amassed over 131,100 miles (drive 300 miles a week for work commute) and I absolute love this car. No, it isn’t perfect (as all cars aren’t) but it has exceeded my expectations especially coming from VW.

I’ll update as I learn more about my eGolf (they texted me tonight saying that the technicians found a leakage coming from the AC) so not sure if this will ring any bells. I’m still hoping it just needs a new 12V battery.

Stay strong, team eGolf!

 

[f1geek]

Wow, 131,000 miles is very impressive. How is the pack degradation? Do you live in a mild / cool climate?

 

[DeafEyeJedi]

Alright guys...

I went by VW Pacific (near Torrance) this morning before work and they mentioned besides the AC leak, one of the two main modules from the battery pack apparently fried.

They suggested I should leave it to them for another two days (12-18 hours of labor @ $183 per hr plus the module) in order for them to replace one of the modules. Estimation total up to $2,320 or more. Does this all sound reasonable?

To top it off, I had the odometer wrong (it was 109,800mi and not 131K) must’ve had a brain fart yesterday as I drive daily from Burbank to El Segundo during the week. Yes, I usually take the 5/110 and/or 405/101 freeways depending on traffic. Even with the 70-80 mile range it is completely doable as I have L2 charger at work that I charge with before driving home. I use L1 charger overnight. Simple as that.

Nonetheless, all of this is making me a bit disappointed as I’ve missed out the 100,000/8-year warranty window. To make things worse, VW initially offered to buy back my eGolf yesterday before this **** hit the fan so I doubt their offer is still on the table.

Now, I’ve got a nice salesperson who’s going to break down the actual cost plus I also have 19 months left of payments worth $340 each (total $7,321) and see if it’s STILL worth on their end to buy back this bad boy and in exchange for another used 2017-2018 eGolf. They tried talking me into a brand new ID.4 which is completely out of my budget.

Chime in your thoughts as I’m curious what should the next step be more in favor of me than VW. As I’ll hear more back from Pacfic VW, will definitely update this. Thanks y’all!

 

[f1geek]

Sorry to hear your car has battery problems and you missed the warranty. My 2017 has ten 6-cell modules and seventeen 12-cell modules (for a total of 264 cells) and I'm pretty sure this is the same arrangement for the 2015 pack - not sure what the dealer means by "main". I've never had this work done but 18 hours seems way too long, in my opinion, to do this job. It seems they have the module on hand - sort of interesting there is no wait to get it from Germany. As I just paid over $1000 to keep a 20 year old car running for my teenagers, I know it is cheaper to keep the car you have than pay for a newer one, especially when you take insurance into account. It seems you like the 2015 and it is doing the job you need, so you might want to keep it. FYI if you drive at night, the LED headlamps on the SEL are much better than the halogens on the SE trim. Best of luck!

 

[Noyoulisten]

Got the ‘Error: Electrical System. Stop!’ warning last night ( 11/29 ) Mine is a 2018 SEL Premium with tech and driver assist pkg. It has 44K km (27K miles). Towed to dealership at 01:00. Will see what they have to say today and leave another comment. I’m in Vancouver BC Canada

What was the end diagnosis for your car?

 

[flyboy320]

Got the ‘Error: Electrical System. Stop!’ warning last night ( 11/29 ) Mine is a 2018 SEL Premium with tech and driver assist pkg. It has 44K km (27K miles). Towed to dealership at 01:00. Will see what they have to say today and leave another comment. I’m in Vancouver BC Canada

What was the end diagnosis for your car?

A couple of people in the GTA (just outside Toronto actually) posted they had this same issue and it was a bad cell. Was fixed in the end, but took about 10 weeks start to finish.

 

[csbj1980]

SInce the beginning of May 2022 (it is now Oct 1 2022), I have had my 2017 Egolf taken 4 times ( towed 3 times at my expense) to the dealer after getting this Electrical System Failure code STOP! message. THe first time they changed the 12 V battery and returned it in 5 days. That lasted 3 days. The next time it was in 2 weeks and they returned it saying they couldn't find anything wrong. That lasted 1 week. Then it was in for 7 SEVEN! weeks in July/Aug. They "dropped" the main battery and waited weeks for "parts". They never said what the parts were but the invoice says something about "chargers". I was then away for 3 weeks. On my return in Sept the car ran for 2 weeks and then I got the red STOP message again. The car has now been in the dealer for 2 weeks and all that I have been told is they will have to drop the main motor again and await parts if needed. I have lost all faith in the car and the VW repair system, though I have enjoyed driving it for 4.5 years when it worked. They do not seem to have any idea what is wrong and clearly do not carry the parts. I live in Ottawa, Canada. I contacted VW headquarters in Toronto and all they did was encourage the dealership to arrange a rental car for me at a "discount" rate of $39 per day. GIven the car has been in the dealer for close to 18 weeks, you can do the math on how much that would have cost me. I have called the service manager at the dealership on several occasions and asked for a call back. Never got one. I do not find that VW is taking customer service seriously and will caution anyone I know about the situation.

 

[f1geek]

Yikes! Is there a lemon law in Canada that you can use to get satisfaction? It sounds like your car has a bad group of cells. Best of luck.

 

[Firewired]

SInce the beginning of May 2022 (it is now Oct 1 2022), I have had my 2017 Egolf taken 4 times ( towed 3 times at my expense) to the dealer after getting this Electrical System Failure code STOP! message. THe first time they changed the 12 V battery and returned it in 5 days. That lasted 3 days. The next time it was in 2 weeks and they returned it saying they couldn't find anything wrong. That lasted 1 week. Then it was in for 7 SEVEN! weeks in July/Aug. They "dropped" the main battery and waited weeks for "parts". They never said what the parts were but the invoice says something about "chargers". I was then away for 3 weeks. On my return in Sept the car ran for 2 weeks and then I got the red STOP message again. The car has now been in the dealer for 2 weeks and all that I have been told is they will have to drop the main motor again and await parts if needed. I have lost all faith in the car and the VW repair system, though I have enjoyed driving it for 4.5 years when it worked. They do not seem to have any idea what is wrong and clearly do not carry the parts. I live in Ottawa, Canada. I contacted VW headquarters in Toronto and all they did was encourage the dealership to arrange a rental car for me at a "discount" rate of $39 per day. GIven the car has been in the dealer for close to 18 weeks, you can do the math on how much that would have cost me. I have called the service manager at the dealership on several occasions and asked for a call back. Never got one. I do not find that VW is taking customer service seriously and will caution anyone I know about the situation.

wow .... are you allowed to say which dealership? East, Center ish or West? I've had good luck with the guys in the east end. They've been good to me and a bunch of other people I've referred

 

[DannyEgolf]

All Egolf owners should keep an OBDeleven or Autel AP2000 bluetooth dongle in their car so they can reset that STOP problem and be able to drive their car again.

I took my car in and they said they should replace the JX1 model for $3,000. I just keep resetting it and keep on driving. it's been working for the past 7k miles.

 

[f1geek]

All Egolf owners should keep an OBDeleven or Autel AP2000 bluetooth dongle in their car so they can reset that STOP problem and be able to drive their car again.

I took my car in and they said they should replace the JX1 model for $3,000. I just keep resetting it and keep on driving. it's been working for the past 7k miles.

Sounds good. What was the error code and in which module within OBDEleven did you clear the error code?

 

[DannyEgolf]

Sounds good. What was the error code and in which module within OBDEleven did you clear the error code?

OBD scans from the start trouble codes then asks if you want to erase them. I believe it was 19.
i beleve it was electrical system STOP error.

 

[DannyEgolf]

Upon re-readig this thread, I think My A/C might have a voltage leak.. I wonder if i can disconnect it for diagnosis.. I guess I could.. now i have to find out where it is located..

 

[DannyEgolf]

BTW I think I like the AP2000 better than OBD11... for anyone wondeering what to get. OBD11 wants to charge you more to use more features in it like battery programming. It also has "quick erase" unlike ODBeleven which wants to scan for codes first. Both make you log in to their server first, so I reasearching getting a code scanner that is old style hand held plug in vs these bluetooth ones..