Drive Unit Problem / Fixes

[Oyvind.H]

the fix is a drive unit replacement with a refurbished one, and the refurb'd one should be shimmed/repaired so the noise doesn't occur anymore. plus during the reinstall they reroute some of the power cables and dampen the sound so that any noise that returns is muffled and almost completely inaudible (particularly the balloon squeal).

Ok. My service-bill from september states: "ASY,P-TRAIN,MECH,COMPLETE,RC (1002633-00-H)"and "side Motor Mount Assembly (1028034-00-B)". Both the humming-noise and the clunk went away after service. But after about 2000km the clunk noise has reappeared. The humming-noise is still gone, but i fear that the clunk will become louder and louder.

By the way - the baloon-squeek that appeared in my car sometime last winter disappeared by itself long before the DU was swapped.

 

[yobigd20]

Ok. My service-bill from september states: "ASY,P-TRAIN,MECH,COMPLETE,RC (1002633-00-H)"and "side Motor Mount Assembly (1028034-00-B)". Both the humming-noise and the clunk went away after service. But after about 2000km the clunk noise has reappeared. The humming-noise is still gone, but i fear that the clunk will become louder and louder.

By the way - the baloon-squeek that appeared in my car sometime last winter disappeared by itself long before the DU was swapped.

I think the reason the balloon squeal comes and goes is temperature related. I don't have data to back that up though. By "clunk" if that's the click that occurs every time you cross for 0kW line for going back and forth between REGEN and power, my returb'd unit had this on day 1 (my original one with the whirring noise didn't have the click), but this seems to have gone away after a few thousand miles now too. I wish we had solid detailed answers and explanations for all of these noises.

 

[Oyvind.H]

I think the reason the balloon squeal comes and goes is temperature related. I don't have data to back that up though. By "clunk" if that's the click that occurs every time you cross for 0kW line for going back and forth between REGEN and power, my returb'd unit had this on day 1 (my original one with the whirring noise didn't have the click), but this seems to have gone away after a few thousand miles now too. I wish we had solid detailed answers and explanations for all of these noises.

Agreed. Tesla should be open and honest about this issue. Here in Norway several customers are complaining in forums and on Facebook, and it`s creating a negative focus. The complaints are about lack of communication, denied repairs of DUs until breakdown, the wait for all repairs has risen to about 3 months, and when you do hand in your car they often leave it for days before they start working on the car. I fear that the media will get a hold of this info soon.

Even if there`s a basic flaw with the drivetrain design that in the long term results in swapping/repairing 50-60.000 drive units, I still believe Tesla will survive and stay an important manufacturer in the future. I don`t really care how Tesla get funds to perform necessary repairs for all produced cars, because the long term goal is extremely important. But Tesla needs to treat their customers better than they do at the moment, at least here in Norway.

I`m have a Model X reservation, and love my Model S. I will never ever buy another gasoline car, and Teslas supercharger network makes it impossible to switch to another brand B However –in Norway no one gets a plausible explanation. Meanwhile people post breakdown pictures at the Norwegian Facebook-page almost weekly (guesstimate because at some occasions there`s been two pictures a day, but now I haven`t seen one in a while.) People start to argue that they don’t trust their cars anymore on long trips.

In my opinion it doesn’t help that the warranty is 8 years if you need to wait for a breakdown before the problem is fixed. Hopefully Tesla will provide more detailed info soon, and hire more mechanics in Oslo. A while back they flew in people from both USA and Netherlands to help out at the service center. Those guys are still needed here…..

 

[Johan]

Agreed. Tesla should be open and honest about this issue. Here in Norway several customers are complaining in forums and on Facebook, and it`s creating a negative focus. The complaints are about lack of communication, denied repairs of DUs until breakdown, the wait for all repairs has risen to about 3 months, and when you do hand in your car they often leave it for days before they start working on the car. I fear that the media will get a hold of this info soon.

Even if there`s a basic flaw with the drivetrain design that in the long term results in swapping/repairing 50-60.000 drive units, I still believe Tesla will survive and stay an important manufacturer in the future. I don`t really care how Tesla get funds to perform necessary repairs for all produced cars, because the long term goal is extremely important. But Tesla needs to treat their customers better than they do at the moment, at least here in Norway.

I`m have a Model X reservation, and love my Model S. I will never ever buy another gasoline car, and Teslas supercharger network makes it impossible to switch to another brand B However –in Norway no one gets a plausible explanation. Meanwhile people post breakdown pictures at the Norwegian Facebook-page almost weekly (guesstimate because at some occasions there`s been two pictures a day, but now I haven`t seen one in a while.) People start to argue that they don’t trust their cars anymore on long trips.

In my opinion it doesn’t help that the warranty is 8 years if you need to wait for a breakdown before the problem is fixed. Hopefully Tesla will provide more detailed info soon, and hire more mechanics in Oslo. A while back they flew in people from both USA and Netherlands to help out at the service center. Those guys are still needed here…..

Agreed. I startet experiencing the "clunk" two weeks ago. I already hade a service appointment in the beginning of January, for another small fix, so I contacted my service advisor and asked to reschedule to a sooner date, fearing this would be that start of something leadin to a DU failure. I was told not to worry and that they couldn't service me sooner anyway. So I asked her back directly what the chance of my DU failing between now and January actually is, based on their experience. I was told that they wouldn't give me any assurances but at the same time they believe the risk is low. I just don't want to get stuck along the road on Christmas eve or New Years eve. So yes, there is a communications problem: they say the want the car for service when you get the clunk, but since they can't offer you a quick service appointment they will also tell you "not to worry" which I think is only half correct... They haven't been able to scale quickly enough at least here in Norway when it comes to service. But just as with all other aspects (such as ramping up production) it's also very important to maintain quality while growing/ramping up... Kind of an impossible dilemma.

On a related note I read a rumor saying that some techs in Norway had now been trained on repairing/fixing the commonest issues with the DU so that they don't have to be sendt to California. I still wonder if it's that mythical shim Elon has talked about?

 

[Oyvind.H]

The Norwegian Tesla owners club has sent an email to Elon, and the response is now posted in the norwegian EV forum and on the EV page elbil.no

In short – Tesla states that too little grease on a vital part (driveshaft that goes from the motor into the gearbox) makes the teeth wear down and break. Tesla is sending 300 motors to Norway every week, and redistributing motors from new vehicle production over to repairs. Also extra help will be flown in, in adition to regular staff working maximum overtime.

Not sure if this works:
DU Problem article via Google translate

 

[Lump]

I have had the "KiunK" for several months but today I go in for service, the Norway corrispondence with Elon will help if they want to "fix it" with a shim or a refurbished DU.

 

[Oyvind.H]

Today the DU problem news exploded in Norwegian media. The biggest online newspaper (VG.no) has "Tesla extensive motor problems" as their top story, and push notification of "Tesla motor problems" to all norwegians with the VG.no app.

 

[yobigd20]

Today the DU problem news exploded in Norwegian media. The biggest online newspaper (VG.no) has "Tesla extensive motor problems" as their top story, and push notification of "Tesla motor problems" to all norwegians with the VG.no app.

yea I saw a news ticker stream by about it.

Tesla to Replace Defective Drive Systems in Norway - NASDAQ.com

Tesla to Replace Defective Drive Systems in Norway

 

[nwdiver]

Back in the news again....

Here's how to tell if your drive unit 'failed' or if it was just a little noisy... if you have to ask if your drive unit needs to be replaced then it didn't 'fail'.