A new video posted by Gruber Motor Company warns against owning a Tesla while living in a coastal city, as rust has proven to become a big problem. The rust present wasn’t found on the actual body of the Tesla vehicle, but on its battery pack. So much rust that Pete Gruber and his team of mechanics had a difficult time removing the battery pack cover from the Model S, as almost all the bolts would hardly move after the vehicles nine years of life.
According to the company, the 2012 Model S arrived from San Diego, CA with a main battery pack problem. The Model S had a range of just 17 miles when it arrived at the company’s facility, a huge drop from the 200 miles it originally was capable of. According to the video’s description, upon the removal of the battery pack, they discovered how badly the cover bolts were rusted.
Pete Gruber thought it was odd considering the bolts were under an intumescent fire suppression blanket. A device that, when exposed to flames or high temperatures, is meant to expanded in order to reduce fire risks in battery packs. In this case, it should’ve also been a preventative measure in protecting the bolts from salt air, thus eliminating the chances of rust. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
This led Pete Gruber to go public with this information and speak out on the safety risks Tesla battery packs could potentially face when being frequently being driven in coastal cities. An unusual claim against an automaker that is based in California.
According to Gruber the salt air consists of chloride ion migration, which is the cause of rust in iron components. He also mentioned that considering half of the population lives in a coastal area, Tesla should have opted for stainless steel bolts in the battery pack.
Gruber’s concern now lies with the thousands of other Tesla vehicles being driven in coastal cities, worried they might turn up in the same situation as the 2012 Model S.