"Gearbox fluid recommended" warning

[Paul8810]

A member in our local Facebook group received the following when he contacted service about this error:

“Good afternoon, I have spoken with our engineering team and this seems to be a firmware issue that is currently under investigation. Once resolved a firmware will be sent to the vehicle over the air. At this time you vehicle does not require a service visit. Thank you.”

Of course this is just for this car, I wouldn’t want to suggest everyone ignore this warning.

 

[tommytank]

Update: Drove it 3 hours to the nearest Tesla center to me. Technically Montreal is closer at only 90 minutes but I didnt want to cross border for stuff like this. They had the car for a couple of days and yes, there was a leak in the front motor. They took it apart and it was a simple rubber O-ring that was not seated properly. Then it took another week or so for parts to come in and the car to be put back together.

 

[wilbertcox]

We just got the gearbox oil warning yesterday... Long highway drive in cold weather -15 celsius. MX new in Dec 2019... Only 2500 km. I read another post from someone also saying they got the warning after a long cold highway drive -20 celsius. We'll see if it's still there for the drive home tomorrow... It's supposed to warm up a bit. I'll report back.

Update... Since we got home and are only doing shorter trips <50kms and the weather has been warmer .. we have not seen the gearbox oil warning. We did not take it in for service. From recent posts it sounds like a few problem... Hope so.

 

[vimarsh]

I’ve a Model X 2019. same message came 1M back while driving on highway. Came again after driving on highway for 1 hr.
on my way to service center today. past 1 month car was driving short distance and no error.
today on highway for 1 hr and error is back. Let’s see what tesla says today.

 

[Dolemite]

Does anyone know what the message actually means? Typically, there are triggers that set these things off. Does it think it's low? Is there a fluid flush indicator somewhere that we don't know about? The message is very ambiguous.

 

[MarcG]

Does anyone know what the message actually means? Typically, there are triggers that set these things off. Does it think it's low? Is there a fluid flush indicator somewhere that we don't know about? The message is very ambiguous.

From what I've been told (by a tech at the SC) is that recent firmware updates have been more sensitive about the minimum fluid level, so the message comes on more often than it used to. My personal theory is that because most fluids tend to take up less volume when cold, the levels are dropping below that newly-imposed threshold, thereby causing the message to appear even more often when ambient temperatures are low.

 

[TaskMaster]

My personal theory is that because most fluids tend to take up less volume when cold, the levels are dropping below that newly-imposed threshold, thereby causing the message to appear even more often when ambient temperatures are low.

Seems to me that the messages are coming up after a good amount of driving, I would think the fluid temperature is going to be similar whether it's cold or not. The ambient temperature is not going to affect it that much after it has been driving for a while.

 

[MarcG]

Seems to me that the messages are coming up after a good amount of driving, I would think the fluid temperature is going to be similar whether it's cold or not. The ambient temperature is not going to affect it that much after it has been driving for a while.

It's also possible that the fluid level is being sensed in a reservoir of sorts, and after extensive driving there is less volume in the reservoir as more of it is being moved around the various parts it is lubricating.
From my personal experience, the message has only come up when driving in close to freezing temperature AND during long drives, but not on long drives where ambient temps are higher.

 

[vimarsh]

I’ve a Model X 2019. same message came 1M back while driving on highway. Came again after driving on highway for 1 hr.
on my way to service center today. past 1 month car was driving short distance and no error.
today on highway for 1 hr and error is back. Let’s see what tesla says today.

so, I come back from Tesla after a long full day service - they changed the pump. Their explanation was that the car sensed an error and maybe these pumps have been flagged - so as soon as Tesla gets an error it flags it for a change.
Well I come back home after a long drive. Today driving on highway at 80mph for 30mins and the same warning is up again.
also to mention - it’s very cold -15F
So, tesla does not know what’s going on either.

 

[kingston-ont]

Tesla service in Toronto told me that the firmware has narrowed the range of acceptable fluid volume, and that some cars were coming out of the factory filled to levels not within the new band of tolerance. They emptied and refilled the gearbox to the correct level. (M3LR, delivered Dec 2019.) That was two weeks ago and I have not been on a long highway drive in cold weather since, so I do not know if this has fixed the issue. I am not that hopeful. The explanation is hard to square with the fact that the warning only appears during lengthy highway drives in cold weather.

 

[Handerso]

Similar post with several people saying they got that particular message.
7k miles. New motor put in and now need gear box fluid service. Anyone had similar experiences?

This is my post, they just topped off the fluid -computer determined out of optimal level- (possibly relating to new motor) but also replaced a pump as a precaution.

 

[WaffleAndTim]

I hadn’t seen the warning in a month or so (2x service trips in December, fluid changed but told it was likely a software issue), but a long cold road trip tonight popped it back up. Hopefully none of this is hardware and it can eventually be fixed.

 

[MarcG]

Just took a relatively short trip on the highway in close to freezing temperatures, and the warning came back after only about 25 miles of driving.
This is just a day after I drove much longer distances, but at higher temps (around 10ºC or 50ºF on average), and the warning didn't come on for those first 500 miles or so.
Yeah, there is definitely a temperature component to this. I still stand by my theory of fluid volume decreasing at cold temps, causing the warning to come on thinking it's too low.

 

[MarcG]

One more piece of data: the warning message went away for a while, then I drove less than 2 miles on local roads at low speeds in pretty cold weather (-7°C, or 19°F) and the message came right back.

So I don’t think driving on the highway or at high speeds has anything to do with it. Temperature definitely does, however.

 

[MarcG]

Reviving this thread as the warning message has started to come back for me. I was in Yosemite and temps were below freezing.

How have various service centers been dealing with this? Mine has sent me an estimate of over $100 as “customer pay”, but I would hope this is covered by warranty, no?

 

[SeasonedTech]

I had this twice, both covered by Tesla.

 

[Rothmog]

I got this yesterday driving my new MSLR home from initial pickup in Orlando. The car had less than 200 miles (mostly interstate travel) on it when the message popped up. It came back this morning while driving to work, but it was cold (for Florida). Scheduled service for the end of the month. Hope nothing serious happens before then.

 

[nickboards]

2020 Model Y with about 11.9k miles just happened to me. Have had it since March/first batch of Y's. It was cold out today (sub 15F) . Made appointment and will update as I learn more.

 

[RiknChar]

Happened to me too, on my 2020 Model S LR w/8k miles. I just dropped it off at the Tesla Service Center. They said they would be replacing a pump today. I'll post results after the work is done.

 

[RiknChar]

Hmmm... The Tesla Service Center just send me an email saying that they had to order additional parts to fix my problem. Here's what they ordered:

1. HEAT EXCHANGER,RAVEN
   Part #: 1478201-00-B
   Order Date: February 2, 2021

Has anyone had their Heat Exchanger replaced to resolve the Gearbox Service malfunction repaired?