Drive Unit Replacement Poll

[loganss]

This poll is already getting used for the wrong reasons. I'm purposely not responding to it since its flawed.

1 motor replacement for me at ~33k miles. I was ok with not getting it replaced but the SC went ahead and replaced it since I mentioned hearing a very faint hum during low (30-40 mph) pressing of the accelerator. It just sounded like a quieter version of hard acceleration above 60+ mph.

As with many things Tesla, I think many people are over reacting on this topic. There are over 3-4 symptoms reported in this thread alone about drivetrain replacements. The conclusion can not then be that the ultimate end result would have been a car failure. There's not enough data to support a conclusion from a non-Tesla engineer.

I'm a bit surprised by some of the responses about getting an extended warranty in the event an out of warranty a motor replacement does cost a lot. Is there an option to continually extend the warranty? I never get extended warranties. If the product is designed well, you shouldn't need it. Getting a Tesla was also a stretch for me in the first place. I'll most likely blow through my original warranty in 2 years of ownership. If I absolutely need a motor replacement before 250,000 miles of ownership and Tesla quotes me above $2k, I'll laugh in their face and tell them they lost a customer for life. I love my Tesla but if it turns out the maintenance claims promised are false, my loyalty to them goes right out the window and I'll sell my car for the loss and move on to another EV.

 

[yobigd20]

Getting a Tesla was also a stretch for me in the first place. I'll most likely blow through my original warranty in 2 years of ownership. If I absolutely need a motor replacement before 250,000 miles of ownership and Tesla quotes me above $2k, I'll laugh in their face and tell them they lost a customer for life. I love my Tesla but if it turns out the maintenance claims promised are false, my loyalty to them goes right out the window and I'll sell my car for the loss and move on to another EV.

100% agree and I'm right there with you. Huge stretch for me. And I'm already out of warranty at 52k miles. I did not get the extended warranty for the exact same reasons. If the repair cost on this car is higher than $600 for various items, I'll be forced to sell the car because the maintenance will be too high for me to afford. I've already sent an email to ownership@ a few months ago detailing this and how if their out of warranty repair costs are too high that I won't be able to keep the car and I won't be able to recommend it to anyone either for this reason.

 

[RDoc]

Something to keep in mind though is that if the car has a major fault such as a drive needing replacement, it's likely that the car will be worth very little. My experience buying exotics is that if the car can't be driven, it's very suspect.
Perhaps a good strategy would be to get the extended warranty and then sell the car at year 6 so there's still some warranty left and the car would fetch a good price. By then Tesla likely will be making better and cheaper cars anyway.

 

[qwk]

This poll is already getting used for the wrong reasons. I'm purposely not responding to it since its flawed.

1 motor replacement for me at ~33k miles. I was ok with not getting it replaced but the SC went ahead and replaced it since I mentioned hearing a very faint hum during low (30-40 mph) pressing of the accelerator. It just sounded like a quieter version of hard acceleration above 60+ mph.

As with many things Tesla, I think many people are over reacting on this topic. There are over 3-4 symptoms reported in this thread alone about drivetrain replacements. The conclusion can not then be that the ultimate end result would have been a car failure. There's not enough data to support a conclusion from a non-Tesla engineer.

I'm a bit surprised by some of the responses about getting an extended warranty in the event an out of warranty a motor replacement does cost a lot. Is there an option to continually extend the warranty? I never get extended warranties. If the product is designed well, you shouldn't need it. Getting a Tesla was also a stretch for me in the first place. I'll most likely blow through my original warranty in 2 years of ownership. If I absolutely need a motor replacement before 250,000 miles of ownership and Tesla quotes me above $2k, I'll laugh in their face and tell them they lost a customer for life. I love my Tesla but if it turns out the maintenance claims promised are false, my loyalty to them goes right out the window and I'll sell my car for the loss and move on to another EV.

I very much agree. Just because the drive unit is not silent, doesn't automatically mean failure. How any rational person can think and post that, is beyond me.

As to moving to another EV, well I wish it were that easy. I really don't forsee anything remotely close to a Tesla anytime soon. I wish it weren't so.

 

[brianman]

Has anyone been broken down and towed (car inoperative) owing to a drive train failure? Or do they always get noisy enough to be replaced before that happens?

Yes, my second replacement -- and that replacement had no "noise warning".

- - - Updated - - -

Interestingly, the P85 loaner LMB got had the same noise but much louder. The Watertown (MA) SC manager said he didn't fix it because then it would sell and he would have even fewer loaner cars. This was before the 90-day-loaner-retention policy.

Interesting on its own.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I very much agree. Just because the drive unit is not silent, doesn't automatically mean failure. How any rational person can think and post that, is beyond me.

If it starts out silent and then gets noisier over time, doesn't that mean there is a problem that needs to be addressed? While not technically a failure, it's still a problem.

- - - Updated - - -

FYI, an owner posted over at TM forums that he drives 100 miles per day and took delivery of his car in 2013. He has gone through SIX drive units so far. That is the highest number I've seen anyone mention. It almost seems out of the realm of reality.

 

[qwk]

If it starts out silent and then gets noisier over time, doesn't that mean there is a problem that needs to be addressed? While not technically a failure, it's still a problem.

- - - Updated - - -

FYI, an owner posted over at TM forums that he drives 100 miles per day and took delivery of his car in 2013. He has gone through SIX drive units so far. That is the highest number I've seen anyone mention. It almost seems out of the realm of reality.

I really don't see a 400+ hp AC motor making a bit of noise, a problem. If those six units were replaced because of failure, I could see that being kind of a big deal. My bet is that the guy is super picky, and wants perfection(silence).

Do you guys really think that any other manufacturer would be replacing drive units that make a little noise?

 

[theheff]

Unfortunately, my drive unit just went out. Waiting for the tow truck as I type. I had a feeling it would happen eventually. First time for this vehicle that I know of.

Also, I had no indication of any milling sound leading up to this. Seemed normal until it went out.

 

[yobigd20]

Unfortunately, my drive unit just went out. Waiting for the tow truck as I type. I had a feeling it would happen eventually. First time for this vehicle that I know of.

Also, I had no indication of any milling sound leading up to this. Seemed normal until it went out.

Wow that's like 3 or 4 complete failures in the last 2 days. I feel like this many failures didn't happen in the last 12 months but now there seems to be a surge of total failures. Not good.

 

[InTheShadows]

Wow that's like 3 or 4 complete failures in the last 2 days. I feel like this many failures didn't happen in the last 12 months but now there seems to be a surge of total failures. Not good.

Who else posted complete failure in the last two days. The only one I saw prior to this was chippers a week ago.

 

[yobigd20]

Who else posted complete failure in the last two days. The only one I saw prior to this was chippers a week ago.

They are scattered in different threads. One is Islandbay. I'd need to dig up the other ones but there are definitely a bunch now of the car just completely crapping out.

 

[rlang59]

They are scattered in different threads. One is Islandbay. I'd need to dig up the other ones but there are definitely a bunch now of the car just completely crapping out.

Wasn't Islandbays failure the battery?

 

[wycolo]

. . my drive unit just went out.

Please try to find out what actually failed. I know Denver will try to be coy about details but you just might get some useful (to this thread) info. Like an electric mixer it could be the plug, the cord, the switch, the motor itself, the gears, etc. If any MS component gets way out of spec then the whole shebang gets shut down, usually before the user can pinpoint the weakness.

Meanwhile I'll enjoy my milling sound and rack up as many miles as possible.
--

 

[hiddengems99]

Mine was replaced yesterday - 85KW, delivery in January of 2013, 27K miles, an issue over the past 5K or so - loud hum on acceleration from 50 to 65...This was my 2nd year for annual service - tired were bare on the inner edges - not worn in the middle or outer corners. Also seems to be that the unit that replaced it was remanufactured as "REMAN" was on the part description for the final repair invoice.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I really don't see a 400+ hp AC motor making a bit of noise, a problem. If those six units were replaced because of failure, I could see that being kind of a big deal. My bet is that the guy is super picky, and wants perfection(silence).

Do you guys really think that any other manufacturer would be replacing drive units that make a little noise?

Let me correct you just a little bit. I've had two drive unit replacements due to noise. It's not "a little noise". If you haven't experienced it, you don't know. It's so loud that you have to crank the stereo up to 8 in order to drown it out. It's not a little noise. It's quite loud and objectionable. We're talking about something that sounds like a semi rig driving next to you.

I didn't pay north of $100,000 for that.

 

[xhawk101]

Sounds like a good time for Elon to add drive train warranty update. TM if you are reading please get ahead of this. This bothers me more than the way overblown concern about f!res. Thank you.

 

[theheff]

Please try to find out what actually failed. I know Denver will try to be coy about details but you just might get some useful (to this thread) info. Like an electric mixer it could be the plug, the cord, the switch, the motor itself, the gears, etc. If any MS component gets way out of spec then the whole shebang gets shut down, usually before the user can pinpoint the weakness.

Meanwhile I'll enjoy my milling sound and rack up as many miles as possible.
--

Will do. They've actually had it all day and I haven't heard back yet, except for getting a loaner early this morning. I imagine Saturdays are pretty busy up there. I'm a regular at the SC, so I'm sure I'll get some details.

Edit: After reading some of the other experiences people have had, I might just have a battery pack failure. Seems identical to Islandbay's situation.

 

[apacheguy]

Who else posted complete failure in the last two days. The only one I saw prior to this was chippers a week ago.

They are scattered in different threads. One is Islandbay. I'd need to dig up the other ones but there are definitely a bunch now of the car just completely crapping out.

I have been tracking the early VIN failures:

Main Battery Replacement

 

[EarlyAdopter]

Wow that's like 3 or 4 complete failures in the last 2 days. I feel like this many failures didn't happen in the last 12 months but now there seems to be a surge of total failures. Not good.

Well, also don't forget there are now 45,000+ Model S on the road, so there are 10X more opportunities for failures than a year ago when there were only 4,500.

If the drivetrain failure rate over 1 year was 1%, let's say, then with 45,000 on the road there'd be 450 failures predicted per year, or over 1 a day.

 

[Electroman]

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