6th drive unit replacement and more

[scottm]

My car is August 2014 built S85, I started noticing the noise at less than 30K km.

It was during a long haul trip through the mountains, lots of steep grade up / down, cold temps / swings, fully loaded car... the fairly soft noise took a marked jump up in volume. I distinctly remember the new volume level after a long stretch of steep incline..

Eventually had the original DU replaced when car was nearing 47K km on it, around Nov. 2015.
Got the -Q level DU as the replacement. This was the newest level available at the time, and there had been a rapid succession of ever increasing -dash level drives, seemed like every week people reported incrementally higher versions. I think Tesla was doing a full-on attack of this noise problem then, doing lots of little changes... and pushing them out to the field. In a way, probably using the live fleet of sold cars as the test bed.

No issues since, after having put about 20K km on the replacement unit. The car is sitting at about 67K km now.

 

[ChadS]

I wish I had some way to explain why a few cars have so much trouble and many cars have none at all. My car was delivered in late Sept (end of quarter!) 2012, has almost 70k miles and we have had no replacements, no noise, no vibration, nothing.

I have seen people propose manufacture year, end-of-quarter manufacture date, driving style, D or not, front or back motor, large or small motor, P or not, drive unit revision...but there seem to be counterexamples to every theory. Stress from something else misaligned is a very interesting idea that has the advantage of explaining the seeming randomness, but the disadvantage of being very hard to prove - and, as Ingineer noted above, not a likely-sounding scenario.

Really odd. It must be very frustrating for those that experience repeated failure.

 

[wdolson]

There is something with the older drive units and I think something about the grounding on the older cars that is different. I've noticed the drive replacements seem to be much more common with the large motors. I've only heard of a couple of replacements of the smaller motors used on the dual drive cars.

There was a thread and poll running on DU replacements. They were much less common with dual motor cars and I only recall two people saying they had to have a small motor replacement. I believe there were a couple of P85Ds that had rear motor replacements which are the large motor.

It's odd because some of the earliest cars have had no DU problems and others have needed many. That tells me the root of the problem is in the car and the only way I can think of that could cause a problem is a grounding issue.

 

[David99]

It's odd because some of the earliest cars have had no DU problems and others have needed many. That tells me the root of the problem is in the car and the only way I can think of that could cause a problem is a grounding issue.

Interesting thought. I always thought since replacing the drive unit fixed the problem, the problem must be with the drive unit. But then what you say makes sense. If 6 different drive units developed the same problem while other cars have no issue, maybe there is an issue with the car itself that causes the drive unit to go bad again and again.

But frankly, I'm tired of speculating and investigating. I'm expecting Tesla to do that and get to the very bottom of it and fix it. Every time I had the DU replaced the service center told me it wasn't a serious issue, just a cosmetic thing and they only swap it out as a courtesy. Kind of saying, there is nothing really wrong with it, we are just being nice. I don't think that is fair, though. An EV that makes so much noise at low speeds that people on the sidewalk turn their heads isn't a cosmetic issue. Especially where the very same car started out absolutely quiet.

 

[scottm]

I put my money on a grounding issue as well. Just a hunch.

Eddy currents eating away at bearing surfaces due to grounding (or maybe better said as conductive path between adjoining moving metal parts). It may not be at ground potential. Whose knows that...? not me.

 

[apacheguy]

Early Sig owner here and only on 2nd DU. Will be due for another DU within a year, but I have faith in the build quality of the newer revs and don't expect anymore replacements. Sorry to hear your story.

 

[KJD]

I'm really getting frustrated. I fully expected some issue buying my Model S but I'm at a point where I lost my faith. I'm on my 5th drive unit and the exact same problem keeps coming back again and again. It gets this annoying buzzing sound at low to medium acceleration. It's so noisy that people are turning their heads when I drive by. What an embarrassment for a high class EV!
If this happened once I'd be fine, but now it's due for it's 6th drive unit for the same problem over again? Tesla obviously can't fix it. They keep putting a bandaid on it and 15k miles later it's making the same noise again.

As a TSLA stock holder I really hate to say this but if that car were mine I would ask Tesla to buy it back and look at the 90D to replace it. I really think that 2 small motors is better than 1 large motor. Like you say if they can not fix the car, (and it is obvious they can not fix it) they should help get you into a newer car that will not have that problem again.

 

[David99]

As a TSLA stock holder I really hate to say this but if that car were mine I would ask Tesla to buy it back and look at the 90D to replace it. I really think that 2 small motors is better than 1 large motor. Like you say if they can not fix the car, (and it is obvious they can not fix it) they should help get you into a newer car that will not have that problem again.

Obviously I would like to keep my car and have it running fine, but I'm open to any alternative at this point. I'm just not willing to lose money on that deal.

 

[KJD]

Obviously I would like to keep my car and have it running fine, but I'm open to any alternative at this point. I'm just not willing to lose money on that deal.

Well the lowest cost solution is too just keep driving the car and make Tesla replace the drive units every time they get noisy.
From your signature I can see that your car is a 2014 and that means the powertrain warranty is good until around 2022.

When I have taken my car in for service they give me another Tesla as a loaner while they work on my car. I would hope that Orange County is doing the same for you.

A few posts back Ingineer said you should demand a complete "new" drive unit, instead of a refurbished unit. I think that is an excellent idea. I would add to that you might get better results by calling the corporate office with this request instead of dealing the with local service center. Anyhow I really hope that Tesla finds a solution to this problem, because as you say it must be frustrating as hell to take it back every 15,000 miles.

 

[wdolson]

As a TSLA stock holder I really hate to say this but if that car were mine I would ask Tesla to buy it back and look at the 90D to replace it. I really think that 2 small motors is better than 1 large motor. Like you say if they can not fix the car, (and it is obvious they can not fix it) they should help get you into a newer car that will not have that problem again.

If I was Tesla, I'd do a quiet recall of the high DU replacement cars by buying them back and offering the owners a discount on a new car. Then study those cars to figure out why those particular cars are having problems. Finding current path problems can be very difficult, but if there is a problem, analyzing a number of cars with known problems might lead to a solution.

 

[KevinMS]

My experience with the SC regarding my DU noise (and other issues) has been less proactive than yours. I was told early last year that the DU on my 12/12 S85 would need to be replaced due to bearing noise at my next annual service. I could barely hear it at that time. At the next service, they replaced a leaking shaft seal and said the DU was fine. At the fourth annual service this Spring, the car was said to be in very good condition. The noise is now loud enough to turn heads on the street from over 200 ft away. On the rare trips through a parking garage, it echos off the walls, and people are looking to see where the noise is coming from. Currently at 53k miles.
I've only been to one SC for the srevice. Will try a different one next time. Looking forward to having a quiet car again. Good luck on yours, David99.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

My car is in for annual service right now, my third DU is now buzzing at low power. It sounds like an electrical buzz that is audible inside the vehicle and can hear it reflect off of outside surfaces when my window is open. It sounds electrical in nature and the pitch increases proportionally as more power is applied and becomes less audible. I don't know if they are going to offer me another DU, but this third one was brand new from the factory and it was either revision L or M.

I also experience what feels like "wind" moving my car around on the freeway even though I can see no moving foliage along the freeway, so not much wind. Service has closely inspected my suspension components several times, and every time they say it's fine and no issues. The first time they added the camber bolts, no change. The second time they increased front wheel caster, no change. I feel as though my car sways slightly from side-to-side when it's on the freeway, that's the best way I can explain it. I have 19" wheels and Tesla says what I'm feeling is likely the difference in stability between the 19" and 21" wheels.

 

[David99]

I also experience what feels like "wind" moving my car around on the freeway even though I can see no moving foliage along the freeway, so not much wind. Service has closely inspected my suspension components several times, and every time they say it's fine and no issues. The first time they added the camber bolts, no change. The second time they increased front wheel caster, no change. I feel as though my car sways slightly from side-to-side when it's on the freeway, that's the best way I can explain it. I have 19" wheels and Tesla says what I'm feeling is likely the difference in stability between the 19" and 21" wheels.

Go on the free way, and accelerate, then let go of the pedal to get full regen. See if it pulls to one side or another

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Go on the free way, and accelerate, then let go of the pedal to get full regen. See if it pulls to one side or another

A tiny bit, yes. Sometimes one way, sometimes another. I chalked it up to road crown.

 

[James Anders]

I would sit down with them and say....OK, this is the last time for you guys to fix it. I appreciate all your efforts to date, but if this doesn't fix the problem then I expect some kind of resolution involving a buy back, discount on new model, something.

 

[docrice]

I didn't read every post on this thread, but it sounds like some Service Centers are still replacing DUs with versions P or earlier. I got a Q version as a replacement a few months back and the general consensus seems that this is the revision that solves the noise.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I received my fourth DU yesterday due to buzzing sounds. The previous DU was a brand new DU from the factory that was ordered and installed about 18 months ago. The replacement is a remanufactured P revision unit. I asked for a Q or later, but was told that Q may not be appropriate for my P85 and that I can rest assured that I will receive the latest for my model of vehicle. If it is true that Tesla solved the issues with Q and later, I'm probably looking at another swap down the road. Here's hoping not.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Another followup... After my third DU swap about 18 months ago my acceleration has been slower than usual on my P85. I've posted about it in another thread about how my P85 felt like a non-P after the DU swap last year, but figured it was just in my head. I told Service but they pretty much said (in their own tactful way) also that it was in my head and that there would be nothing for them to check in terms of logs, connections, etc. to test such a thing. Other than making sure they used a P drive unit, which they did. I resigned myself to assuming it had to do with updated pedal mapping in version 7. But that hypothesis never satisfactorily answered the question as to why the loaner P85s all felt "snappier" than my P85 on the same software.

Lo and behold after my fourth DU swap yesterday the drive unit noticeably peppier and has restored my snappier acceleration. I have no data to show, no comparison 0-60 runs or anything like that. This is based on my own feelings after getting to know my car and how it performs. You know how the P85 gives you that "neck snap" feeling? I haven't enjoyed that feeling in over a year and now it's back again!

The swapped DU was exhibiting electrical buzzing, I wonder if the slower acceleration was due to some internal electrical resistance issue related to the buzzing?

 

[Super_Popular]

Another followup... After my third DU swap about 18 months ago my acceleration has been slower than usual on my P85. I've posted about it in another thread about how my P85 felt like a non-P after the DU swap last year, but figured it was just in my head. I told Service but they pretty much said (in their own tactful way) also that it was in my head and that there would be nothing for them to check in terms of logs, connections, etc. to test such a thing. I resigned myself to assuming it had to do with updated pedal mapping in version 7. But that hypothesis never satisfactorily answered the question as to why the loaner P85s all felt "snappier" than my P85 on the same software.

Lo and behold after my fourth DU swap yesterday the drive unit feels peppier and has restored my snappier acceleration. I have no data to show, no comparison 0-60 runs or anything like that. This is based on my own feelings after getting to know my car and how it performs. You know how the P85 gives you that "neck snap" feeling? I haven't enjoyed that feeling in over a year and now it's back again!

Maybe it's time for a new car.

 

[Super_Popular]

Lemon Laws apply?

They would in Oregon. 3rd replacement you would score big time....cha ching!