Is it okay to drive the Model 3 hard?

[Mr X]

You can go as hard as you want as long as you have plenty of rubber

 

[cwerdna]

I seem to fit in here. So I've talked to service about my habits as I've read about past gear case oil changes and drain plug metal filings on some MS owners who did their own maintenance. Service says M3 gear cases are built better, so is the A/C pump, no need to change after break-in and I seem to recall them considering no oil changes needed on the gear cases EVER pending more data. Brake fluid yes due to moisture even though they're not used (why right?). Seems that of the few parts that could or did fail in the past, .

The beauty of EVs is that there's very little to break, leak, crack, or bend, unlike ICE cars. You can drive them hard with little wear and tear to worry about. Sure you might chew through some tires and maybe impact battery life, but it's a bit like drinking, you have fun and maybe pay for it later in life...or maybe not.

Guess you guys haven't been here long enough to see how bad it was in terms of Model S drive units in the first few years. IIRC, revision -Q is the latest for RWD models, but we still see some complete failures every now and then (loss of propulsion) instead of just replacement for noise and not many failures. These are probably the worst I know of here in TMC.

6th drive unit replacement and more
Drive Unit Replacement Poll
Drive Unit Replacement Poll

Some folks have been thru a couple DUs, just not as many. Edmunds had their S DU replaced 3 times (search for drive unit at 2013 Tesla Model S Long-Term Wrap-Up | Edmunds).

Two Thirds of Early Model S Drivetrains May Fail By 60,000miles

Or, half shafts: Clunking sound is costing me a bundle to fix out of warranty

Maybe watch from 0:25 to 1:20 of Rich Rebuilds Takes Us Inside A First-Gen Tesla Model S Motor. At about 4:40, he talks about how the bearings are shot and the splines are becoming worn.

At Toyota RAV4 Electric (unfortunately, a closed group), Tony Williams talks about some of the problems w/the Tesla-supplied drive units (e.g. bad bearings (which can destroy the seals and thus the inverter) and damaged or destroyed splines). Tesla supplied the drive unit, battery pack + some other parts for the gen 2 (model yeas 2012 to 2014) Rav4 EV, a CA ZEV compliance car.

And earlier (haven't had time to monitor), I found all these 3's who needed new drive units, so far:
Tesla Model 3 Down: Won't Power Up, and is Inaccessible
Rear motor disabled
Delivery Problems
My So my M3 broke down 2 days after delivery
Model 3: Breakdowns
1 Week into Model 3 ownership and had to get Towed
I miss my car.

In contrast, on mynissanleaf (I've been there since mid-2011), the number of motor/gearbox assembles replacements for any reason (e.g. noise) is virtually nill. I can't even think of 5 instances between MNL and a couple Leaf FB groups I'm on. I can't think of a single one for loss of propulsion.

 

[brianman]

I'm probably not a good person to ask....
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Our M3P+ has been to two tracks for lapping already and she doesn't even have plates on yet.

 

[brobinson]

Don't drive it hard for the first 500 miles. You need to keep it under 65 mph, try to vary your speed between 30's and 50's. Do not go over 3000 rpm and change your oil after the first 500 miles and you are go to go! Oh wait... wrong forum.

The thing is that it was really how I drove to work on my first car that I bought over 20 years ago. For the first few weeks.. I go between the slow and one middle lane driving between 35 to 65 every 5 miles to break in the car. When I got the Tesla, I set autopilot to 85 all the way to work on the first day.

haha. I was flabbergasted with the internets suggested break in period for my WRX. 'Try not to drive the same speed for too long for the first 1000 miles.' For real? I have to drive to work on the highway, what do you want me to do? If they can't manage to build a car that can be driven normally, then they can foot the bill to replace the engine under warranty.

 

[TheLocNar]

You can go as hard as you want as long as you have plenty of rubber

That’s what she said.

 

[bbapties]

First ~600 miles on my P3D+ and im getting ~300wh/mile ...

I'm assuming a combo of it still being 95 Degrees here in Tampa and me spending the least amount of time possible going from stopped to speed limit is causing me to not get optimal range.... However, I have a grin on my face every time I'm in it.

 

[SOULPEDL]

Curious, did this happen to you or are you just hating Tesla in general?

how bad it was in terms of Model S drive units in the first few years

Fully aware. As stated, I was talking about M3 compared to past probs on MS, and so was service.

I found all these 3's who needed new drive units, so far:

They appear to be cases of infant mortality and unfortunate for owners for sure. It's not clear in all cases, but most imply or say it was a power issue (as in the inverters) which are the electrical part of the drive unit. I don't see any discussion of noises or chewed up gears, but I'm sure you'd be the first to point one out. I would bet these cases are in decline unless you think Tesla doesn't understand 6 sigma, and I doubt you're having any effect on sales if that's your ultimate concern.

I've got 5,000 mi now in the heat of Arizona at 110 F, rippin it up and a lot of short trips. Good to go and nicely worn in. I'm still tempted to at least sample the fluid or do a changeout. Just a habit though, like wanting to bring my tools and fluids on a road-trip. Air pump and the charging cable (which I haven't used yet) is all you need.

'Try not to drive the same speed for too long for the first 1000 miles.'

Do they still do this on ski boat motors too? I used to tournament slalom. I hate it when drivers change speeds!

 

[corduroy]

I would consider driving your Tesla too slow as a personal insult to Elon.

 

[MXWing]

yeh, just make sure you realize that other people still have their whole life in front of them and deserve to live their life to the fullest in the same way you did and do.

Every man dies. Not every man really lives.

I want to be like @Lasttoy and go out breaking the speed of light in my 2080 Roadster or something.

 

[MXWing]

I would consider driving your Tesla too slow as a personal insult to Elon.

I wonder why he listened to his Grandmother and implemented chill mode as an option then??

 

[drawfour]

No, no, no. You need to be careful, let the car breath and prepare itself. Attached is the full map of the meticulous route I took from getting in at pick-up until I felt the car was truly ready for it's first stoplight launch.

View attachment 337947

I agree. It's very important to be very careful until the car is ready. Here is the route I took:

 

[UnknownSoldier]

Fun cars are meant to be beat up on the roads every day. But yeah, check and replace your tires often when you do. Bald tires are really bad.

Let's just say that I've had my AWD 3 a week and I have already had the chance to check exactly what happens when the car reached the software capped top speed of 145.

Spoiler

Nothing. The car just stops accelerating. Although I did discover that the stock Michelin MXM4's on the 18" aeros get really squirrelly over 120-ish. I definitely need to put some Pilot A/S 3+ on this thing.

 

[voip-ninja]

I know this is probably a silly question, but I've never had a car that's as sporty as this one!

I love throwing it around corners and feeling the G's as the tires do their best to hold on and then pull out of the turn with all the torque possible. It's such a fun car to drive, but it always makes me wonder if I'm being to rough on the car. (I do realize it will cost me more in tires!)

Do any of y'all worry about driving the car too hard??

No, make sure to drive it like a Prius so that we can get around you more easily.

 

[sidsharma97]

I just worry about the wear and tear long run. I know these cars haven't been tested and been on the roads for years. So I want to keep it as good as I can. I drive it hard but in the back of my mind I guess im always worrying ??

 

[voip-ninja]

I just worry about the wear and tear long run. I know these cars haven't been tested and been on the roads for years. So I want to keep it as good as I can. I drive it hard but in the back of my mind I guess im always worrying ??

That's poppycock. These cars have been tested hard for long periods of time. The oldest S cars have over 200,000 miles on them and are 7 years old. What more proof do you want?

If you want to baby it, that is fine, but it seems like you are looking for validation that you should.

Pretty much any piece of hardware will hold up better if you handle it with kid gloves, so there's your validation.

 

[sidsharma97]

That's poppycock. These cars have been tested hard for long periods of time. The oldest S cars have over 200,000 miles on them and are 7 years old. What more proof do you want?

If you want to baby it, that is fine, but it seems like you are looking for validation that you should.

Pretty much any piece of hardware will hold up better if you handle it with kid gloves, so there's your validation.

Your right! very solid point

 

[SomeJoe7777]

Guess you guys haven't been here long enough to see how bad it was in terms of Model S drive units in the first few years. IIRC, revision -Q is the latest for RWD models, but we still see some complete failures every now and then (loss of propulsion) instead of just replacement for noise and not many failures. These are probably the worst I know of here in TMC.

In contrast, on mynissanleaf (I've been there since mid-2011), the number of motor/gearbox assembles replacements for any reason (e.g. noise) is virtually nill. I can't even think of 5 instances between MNL and a couple Leaf FB groups I'm on. I can't think of a single one for loss of propulsion.

But compare the failure rate. There's less than 200,000 Model S+X combined out there, and there's been hundreds or thousands of drive unit replacements for failure or noise. There's also been up to rev -Q (17?) revisions of the large drive unit.

But we have tens of thousands of Model 3s delivered now, and we have what -- a small handful of reports of drive unit failure? And no revisions to the drive unit yet that I know of. Way lower failure rate.

Sounds to me like Tesla learned from their mistakes and redesigned things.

 

[drawfour]

Your right! very solid point

We look forward to hearing your complaints about the number of speeding tickets you get as a result!

 

[brianman]

The oldest S cars … are 7 years old.

I think you mean over 6 years old.

My Sig has 2 months to go until the 6 year mark. The earliest ones were June, 2012 IIRC.

 

[Nocturnal]

haha. I was flabbergasted with the internets suggested break in period for my WRX. 'Try not to drive the same speed for too long for the first 1000 miles.' For real? I have to drive to work on the highway, what do you want me to do? If they can't manage to build a car that can be driven normally, then they can foot the bill to replace the engine under warranty.

Yeah, who knows if that really matters. On my 3 series I tried to vary it a little extra for the first few hundred miles but no way was I going to drive like an idiot for 1k miles. I mean, I drove like an idiot, but the fun kind.