It has been found that Tesla owners are waiting an average of more than three weeks to have their Battery Management System (BMS), often referred to as the "brain of electric vehicles," repaired. Despite the number of Tesla vehicles in South Korea exceeding 100,000, there is criticism that the shortage of service centers is causing significant inconvenience for consumers.
According to the "BMS Repair Records" submitted by Tesla Korea to Assemblyman Park Yonggab of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, the average repair period for 4,637 BMS repair cases over approximately five years and one month-from August 2020 to September 17, 2025-was 23.4 days. The BMS monitors the battery's voltage and temperature to ensure optimal performance and alerts users in advance to any signs of malfunction.
Only 1,138 cases (24.5%) of Tesla BMS repairs were completed in less than seven days. Repairs taking 7 to 14 days accounted for 1,103 cases (23.8%), those taking 15 to 29 days were 1,114 cases (24.0%), and repairs lasting one to three months were 1,054 cases (22.7%). Repairs taking three to six months were 124 cases (2.7%), and three cases (0.1%) took between six months and one year.
The longest repair period was 926 days, exceeding two and a half years. This case involved a Model X produced in October 2018 that had driven 123,398 kilometers; it was brought in for repair in March 2022 and returned to the owner in October 2024.
There were 10 cases of BMS errors occurring in new Tesla vehicles with less than 250 kilometers of mileage. In one instance, a Model 3 produced in October 2021 required repair after driving only 5 kilometers. There were also multiple cases where the same vehicle experienced repeated BMS errors and required multiple repairs: 245 vehicles were repaired twice, 19 vehicles three times, and one vehicle four times.
Assemblyman Park emphasized that while the number of Tesla vehicles registered in South Korea has surged, leading to more cases requiring repairs such as BMS issues, the expansion of the service network has significantly lagged behind. The cumulative number of Tesla registrations in South Korea increased from about 15,000 in 2020 to 47,000 in 2022, 93,000 in 2024, and 112,000 by the end of the first half of this year. Accordingly, Tesla Korea's sales also rose from 716.2 billion won in 2020 to 1.0058 trillion won in 2022, and 1.6976 trillion won last year.
However, there are only 14 Tesla Korea service centers nationwide. There are none in eight regions: Daejeon, Ulsan, North Chungcheong, South Chungcheong, North Jeolla, South Jeolla, North Gyeongsang, and South Gyeongsang. Assemblyman Park stated that Tesla Korea has no plans to expand service centers in seven of these eight regions, except for South Gyeongsang (Changwon).
He also pointed out that the battery warranty period for Tesla vehicles is eight years (160,000 kilometers), which is two years shorter than the major electric vehicle battery warranties offered by Hyundai Motor Group, and that owners must bear the repair costs once the warranty period has expired.
Assemblyman Park stated, "Although the number of registered Tesla electric vehicles in South Korea has surpassed 100,000, the service network remains seriously inadequate. The National Assembly will pay close attention to ensure that Tesla Korea establishes a nationwide service network, operates emergency inspection systems during holidays and long weekends, and extends the battery warranty period to improve consumer benefits."
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