Hi everybody, I recently purchased a Rav4 EV with 126,000 miles. This car had terrible drive unit bearing noise, so I took it upon myself to try to fix it.
The Rav4 uses almost exactly the same drive unit as the model S with the large motor, so it has almost exactly the same issues. This was cross posted in the myRav4EV forums, but I thought you might be interested too.
ALL of the noise was caused by bearing failure, however taking it apart exposed a seal failure as well.
Three bearings were in bad shape. The motor bearings had axial play, and the gearbox pinion bearing had fretting on the outer race, indicative of shaft voltage.
Here is a google doc describing it: Rav4 EV drive unit “Milling” noise repair
Please excuse the crudity of the document, I didn't have time to build it to scale, or to paint it.
Lots more pictures here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fUffopAvPV64R6kBA
This is my first experience working on an EV, and let me tell you, they are so much easier to work on than gas cars.
Since there are no drive unit service manuals or internal parts available from Toyota, or presumably Tesla, I would encourage others to share as much as you can about replacement pieces and procedures.
The Rav4 uses almost exactly the same drive unit as the model S with the large motor, so it has almost exactly the same issues. This was cross posted in the myRav4EV forums, but I thought you might be interested too.
ALL of the noise was caused by bearing failure, however taking it apart exposed a seal failure as well.
Three bearings were in bad shape. The motor bearings had axial play, and the gearbox pinion bearing had fretting on the outer race, indicative of shaft voltage.
Here is a google doc describing it: Rav4 EV drive unit “Milling” noise repair
Please excuse the crudity of the document, I didn't have time to build it to scale, or to paint it.
Lots more pictures here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fUffopAvPV64R6kBA
This is my first experience working on an EV, and let me tell you, they are so much easier to work on than gas cars.
Since there are no drive unit service manuals or internal parts available from Toyota, or presumably Tesla, I would encourage others to share as much as you can about replacement pieces and procedures.