Fluid Replacement Intervals have changed

[SpiceWare]

Just downloaded the May 16, 2019 version of the manual. Last one I'd downloaded was November 12, 2018.

Brakes are now check every 2 years, replace if necessary.

Battery coolant should now last life of the car.

 

[rhaekar]

That's good to know. They probably started doing checks on their long term fleet vehicles and realized they were too conservative in their original estimates.

 

[Knightshade]

Yeah, this changed a couple months ago- there were several threads about it at the time

 

[Silicon Desert]

Good info. I hadn't noticed the change. I wonder how often FARTS need to be refilled.

 

[RayK]

Good info. I hadn't noticed the change. I wonder how often FARTS need to be refilled.

Just throw a new can of this into the frunk every 50,000 miles:

 

[swaltner]

I missed the previous discussion on those change intervals. I am at 25k miles in 13 months. I was not planning on doing anything with the brakes. Good to know that’s “supported” now.

 

[Grant]

Is this for all Model S vehicles or just recent (2019) ones?

 

[bedoig]

Is this for all Model S vehicles or just recent (2019) ones?

 

[Grant]

Is this for all Model S vehicles or just recent (2019) ones?

To answer my own question, I just checked my account on the Tesla website and the new MODEL S OWNER'S MANUAL (2019.16.1.1 dated May 16, 2019) is showing up under My Documents, so I assume this applies to my 2015 Model S.

 

[Grant]

View attachment 431640

Didn't even realize I was in the Model 3 forum. This was a highlighted thread in the "Trending posts on Tesla Motors Club!" email.

 

[bedoig]

Didn't even realize I was in the Model 3 forum. This was a highlighted thread in the "Trending posts on Tesla Motors Club!" email.

Trending must be a pretty low bar considering you were post 7, lol. I've found myself in a different forum than I was thinking plenty of times too.

 

[sush88]

Didn't even realize I was in the Model 3 forum. This was a highlighted thread in the "Trending posts on Tesla Motors Club!" email.

Ha ha lol me too, I came here from the email digest.

 

[pdq]

Just downloaded the May 16, 2019 version of the manual. Last one I'd downloaded was November 12, 2018.

Brakes are now check every 2 years, replace if necessary.

Battery coolant should now last life of the car.


Regarding brake fluid, if you don't plan to own your car for very long, checking it in 2 years -- not replacing -- is an acceptable path. Be aware however that brake fluid is hydroponic, absorbing moisture out of the air, which is what also cause it to turn from the color of ginger ale to that of Coca Cola. If it becomes saturated with moisture it can cause brake calipers to corrode and bind, with their replacement being very expensive. It can also cause the brake lines to rust and leak, which could cause a loss of braking power.

Brake fluid is really cheap, and the replacement process is straightforward, so if you plan to own your car longer term, consider replacing the fluid every 2 years. An ounce of prevention...……...

 

[Mikedrives]

Trending must be a pretty low bar considering you were post 7, lol. I've found myself in a different forum than I was thinking plenty of times too.

I thought this was my cross-stitch forum. No wonder nothing made any sense.

 

[Mikedrives]

So, brakes and fluids ought to be checked, but how long will the brakes last? I almost never touch mine until I'm going creep speed.

Found a thread, where the answers are: double ICE break lifespan; up to 200K miles; replace every 5 years as adhesive behind the friction element may fail; also, "Exactly 13.752 times longer."

Some guy Elon Musk tweeted:
Vast majority of vehicle motion is returned to the battery, as the electric motors act like a generator in reverse. Brake pads on a Tesla literally never need to be replaced for lifetime of the car.
7,346
2:31 PM - Dec 26, 2018

Any personal testimonials to share?

 

[SageBrush]

So, brakes and fluids ought to be checked, but how long will the brakes last? I almost never touch mine until I'm going creep speed.

Until the rotors rust.
Do yourself a favor and apply friction brakes every once in a while during the winter. I shoot for one a month but weekly would probably be better in a road salt location

I wonder if the brake check can be a DIY

 

[pdq]

So, brakes and fluids ought to be checked, but how long will the brakes last? I almost never touch mine until I'm going creep speed.

Found a thread, where the answers are: double ICE break lifespan; up to 200K miles; replace every 5 years as adhesive behind the friction element may fail; also, "Exactly 13.752 times longer."

Some guy Elon Musk tweeted:
Vast majority of vehicle motion is returned to the battery, as the electric motors act like a generator in reverse. Brake pads on a Tesla literally never need to be replaced for lifetime of the car.
7,346
2:31 PM - Dec 26, 2018

Any personal testimonials to share?

Mikedrives:

You are talking about 2 different parts of the braking system. Brake pads and rotors get used very little due to regenerative braking, si they may not need to be replaced for many years. But as I stated in a prior post, brake fluid is hydroponic and it absorbs moisture from the air, and this is constantly happening whether you are driving or not. If it becomes too saturated with moisture it can damage brake calipers and brake lines and you are suddenly in for an expen$$ive repair bill. Unless you plan to dump the car and have it be someone else's problem, best to change the brake fluid every 2 years.

BTW -- this isn't limited to Tesla -- it is good preventive maintenance practice on all vehicles.

 

[SpiceWare]

Trending must be a pretty low bar considering you were post 7, LOL.

Trending's most likely a combination of replies + views + ratings during a a specific time frame such as the past 4 hours.

But as I stated in a prior post, brake fluid is hydroponic and it absorbs moisture from the air, and this is constantly happening whether you are driving or not.

Looks like your reply got sucked into the quote block, I had to use the Click to expand... to see it. Since it's in the quote block it looks like I said it. Seems probable that when they check in humid areas, such as here in Houston, they'll see it needs to be replaced while drier climates like Arizona may not always need it.

 

[A.N. Gineer]

Shitty photoshop to show an alternate seam

View attachment 430920

So, brakes and fluids ought to be checked, but how long will the brakes last? I almost never touch mine until I'm going creep speed.

Found a thread, where the answers are: double ICE break lifespan; up to 200K miles; replace every 5 years as adhesive behind the friction element may fail; also, "Exactly 13.752 times longer."

Some guy Elon Musk tweeted:
Vast majority of vehicle motion is returned to the battery, as the electric motors act like a generator in reverse. Brake pads on a Tesla literally never need to be replaced for lifetime of the car.
7,346
2:31 PM - Dec 26, 2018

Any personal testimonials to share?

Until the rotors rust.
Do yourself a favor and apply friction brakes every once in a while during the winter. I shoot for one a month but weekly would probably be better in a road salt location

I wonder if the brake check can be a DIY

The rotors rusting is a vanity issue.

An even bigger vanity issue is your car becoming a pile of melted aluminum from not using the friction brakes occasionally.

It's not the rotors getting rusty that are of concern to anyone but a prissy boy, it's the fact that the aluminum pistons in the brake calipers will seize from non-use. Perhaps "hydroponic" (lol) brake fluid is the carrier of moisture, or it's road or atmosphere originated, but it doesn't matter. Friction brakes seize up from non-use. And I'm not sure that creep counts in preventing seized calipers...

If they do seize in an applied position, which will happen when they're "almost seized" and you apply the brakes that one lucky time they don't return, that wheel's brake will be constantly applied. That means, if they're seized to the point of applying enough pressure on the pads, you could get into a situation where the rotors get to glowing red hot and then setting fire to surrounding components. I've seen this in a few of the totaled, burned, cars I was shopping for. The fire started in the wheel well, not the battery as everyone assumes with a Tesla - not that it matters when that initial fire lights off the battery pack.

TLDR: use your friction brakes often -- you're not saving any money on replacing $60 worth of pads if you set your car on fire.

 

[acarney]

The rotors rusting is a vanity issue.

An even bigger vanity issue is your car becoming a pile of melted aluminum from not using the friction brakes occasionally.

It's not the rotors getting rusty that are of concern to anyone but a prissy boy, it's the fact that the aluminum pistons in the brake calipers will seize from non-use. Perhaps "hydroponic" (lol) brake fluid is the carrier of moisture, or it's road or atmosphere originated, but it doesn't matter. Friction brakes seize up from non-use. And I'm not sure that creep counts in preventing seized calipers...

If they do seize in an applied position, which will happen when they're "almost seized" and you apply the brakes that one lucky time they don't return, that wheel's brake will be constantly applied. That means, if they're seized to the point of applying enough pressure on the pads, you could get into a situation where the rotors get to glowing red hot and then setting fire to surrounding components. I've seen this in a few of the totaled, burned, cars I was shopping for. The fire started in the wheel well, not the battery as everyone assumes with a Tesla - not that it matters when that initial fire lights off the battery pack.

TLDR: use your friction brakes often -- you're not saving any money on replacing $60 worth of pads if you set your car on fire.

I feel like Tesla could have written in a software program to apply some brake pressure every now and then to keep the condition of the brakes up, or cycle the pistons every X amount of days when parked and plugged into a charger...

In fact, if this is in fact an issue, it sounds like something we should be tweeting Musk. Can't be that hard to dump a code to every 60 days cycle the pistons ten times upon next Supercharging event and probably would be done in a few seconds.