EU-based electric vehicle repair specialist EV Clinic has issued a warning about a specific type of battery pack used in some Tesla Model 3 and Model Y units, especially those shipped to Europe and parts of Asia. The issue centres on LG Energy Solution’s NCM811 battery cells made in Nanjing, which are used in certain Long Range and Performance variants.
According to the repair shop, these LG packs are failing far earlier than expected. The workshop’s data indicates that US-made Panasonic NCA packs typically last around 400,000 km before a cell breaks down, while the LG equivalents drift toward end-of-life at roughly 240,000 km. EV Clinic describes the failure rate as “catastrophic” and says the packs show widespread cell degradation rather than isolated faults.
The shop notes that Panasonic cells usually start at about 10 milliohm and only hit 28 milliohm when they are failing. The new LG cells, EV Clinic notes, already measure around 28 milliohm out of the box.
In the failing packs they examine, many modules contain dozens of cells with resistance values far beyond 50 milliohm, making repairs largely unviable. Because the degradation is uniform, replacing a single module doesn’t extend the pack’s lifespan and may trigger further failures soon after.
The shop says it loses over EUR20,000 (~RM95,812) a month trying to salvage these units and has begun charging a “feasibility fee” just to inspect them. EV Clinic is advising affected owners to replace the entire pack, ideally with a used Panasonic unit, or go directly to Tesla for a full swap.
Tesla’s multi-supplier battery strategy has generally worked in its favour, particularly its use of CATL LFP packs and Panasonic NCA units. But the findings on LG’s NCM811 cells highlight a notable quality gap that could affect thousands of vehicles, including those shipped from Tesla’s Shanghai factory.
As Malaysia also receives Model 3 and Model Y units from the same production source, some local cars may carry these LG NCM811 batteries. For now, local owners have not publicly reported any related battery failures.
