Class action for Model S drive unit failure?

[jmmcalpin]

Anyone find out if this was a new or reman bypass drive unit that failed?

I just had mine replaced last week and the technician told me Tesla has not been making new units for our model for years, so all are reman.
I did get a U model so I am hoping that is more reliable.

 

[jmmcalpin]

Anyone find out if this was a new or reman bypass drive unit that failed?

I just had mine replaced last week and the technician told me Tesla has not been making new units for our model for years, so all are reman.
I did get a U model so I am hoping that is more reliable.

 

[Renown]

I've been informed that the issue with my LDU was the diff, which is one I've not heard before. Something different I suppose! The service centre said I must have just been very unlucky, as it's not a common failure

 

[denonbike]

I too have had 3 failures on my p85d in the first 100,000 miles. It’s extremely worrisome. Why hasn’t Tesla fixed this issue?. It’s obviously a design flaw. I read somewhere of a temporary fix to allow leaking seal to drain onto the floor so it prevents failure by drilling a tiny hole in a specific spot thru the housing.
I’m trying to locate that. I like you have wondered why there has not been a class lawsuit over this. It totally sucks. I love my car but it’s like a ticking time bomb since it’s not a matter of if it will fail, but when.

So I have an idea.. maybe a bit crazy but hey, at this point why not try..
So, as you said there are some videos on YT about making the drain holes on the rotor side of the housing. But seems like you have to take apart the motor first in order to do that. I also learned that QC charge offers “storm drain” on the inverter side to prevent the moisture from building up and damaging the electronics, also done by taking apart the motor. I watched some videos where it’s clear that coolant accumulates on the bottom of inverter housing and just evaporates onto electronics.
Here is an idea - why not carefully make a couple of holes in the bottom of the inverter housing without taking the motor out? Can stick two tubes there so no dust gets in. The effort to get that motor out is massive and can’t be done on your own for most of us. But to get access to the bottom of the motor housing is super easy.
The downside is that leaking coolant will still be impacting the bearings and the stator, which could lead to an eventual failure due to rust. But I think the inverter damage is the main reason of the LDU fails.

I got 2014 85 with 150k on the original LDU motor and the seal is definitely leaking (based on the condition of speed sensor). No noise or any issues while driving so far.

 

[blodg1]

I got 2014 85 with 150k on the original LDU motor and the seal is definitely leaking (based on the condition of speed sensor). No noise or any issues while driving so far.

Did you buy the car new? It is highly unlikely that a 2014 era LDU made it to 150k miles.

 

[denonbike]

Did you buy the car new? It is highly unlikely that a 2014 era LDU made it to 150k miles.

I know, I get that a lot. Owned it since 2018, got it from Tesla used with around 50k mi. Pretty sure the motor is original. I'm just a pretty gentle driver - always on "Chill" mode, extremely rarely driven in the rain, not a lot of hard pulls, rarely drive faster than 80mph. No indication of repair/replacement in the car's history or on the motor's sticker. Driving on borrowed time right now - the metal behind speed sensor shows quite a bit of rust..

 

[denonbike]

I know, I get that a lot. Owned it since 2018, got it from Tesla used with around 50k mi. Pretty sure the motor is original. I'm just a pretty gentle driver - always on "Chill" mode, extremely rarely driven in the rain, not a lot of hard pulls, rarely drive faster than 80mph. No indication of repair/replacement in the car's history or on the motor's sticker. Driving on borrowed time right now - the metal behind speed sensor shows quite a bit of rust..

 

[howardc64]

@denonbike (can't get quoted msg to work at the moment for some reason) I'd get that fixed right away. That much rust means rotor shaft is all rusted and coolant has been leaking a long time. Likely have made it into the stator, the bearing on the other side of rotor, and possibly the inverter. A lot depends also on the grade level the common parking spot.

There are no easy way to repair the shaft in US. You need to know shop owners who is willing to care about your application and required precision. Machining, sleeving/plating and finish off in micron scale are whats involved.

Alternative is to do a coolant delete which is picking up steam in DIY threads here and aftermarket service providers. Again, very few shops in US compared to EU. Closest to you in Sac that I know of are the 2 QC Charge shops in San Diego and Portland.

 

[denonbike]

@denonbike (can't get quoted msg to work at the moment for some reason) I'd get that fixed right away. That much rust means rotor shaft is all rusted and coolant has been leaking a long time. Likely have made it into the stator, the bearing on the other side of rotor, and possibly the inverter. A lot depends also on the grade level the common parking spot.

There are no easy way to repair the shaft in US. You need to know shop owners who is willing to care about your application and required precision. Machining, sleeving/plating and finish off in micron scale are whats involved.

Alternative is to do a coolant delete which is picking up steam in DIY threads here and aftermarket service providers. Again, very few shops in US compared to EU. Closest to you in Sac that I know of are the 2 QC Charge shops in San Diego and Portland.

Thanks. My plan is to find a buyer for this LDU while it’s still working, and then get a new unit from Tesla with coolant delete implemented already. The net cost should be around 3-4k and I’ll get 4 year / 50k warranty.

 

[geordi]

How do you plan to get the drive unit back from Tesla exactly? They don't like handing back old parts even though they are supposed to, and the LDU isn't exactly lightweight enough to just toss in the back.

 

[blodg1]

How do you plan to get the drive unit back from Tesla exactly? They don't like handing back old parts even though they are supposed to, and the LDU isn't exactly lightweight enough to just toss in the back.

As long as you have a truck, it's easy. All SC's have a fork lift.

 

[MP3Mike]

As long as you have a truck, it's easy. All SC's have a fork lift.

Or you find a person to sell it to that has a truck before you get the work done and they can pick it up directly.