I’ve had the car since new, June 2018.
While doing a routine installation of my bike carrier this past spring, I noticed a trail of some sort of fluid that began at the aft end of the battery, where it meets the aero trim that hides the motor/transaxle assembly.
After cleaning it all up and driving for a few weeks, I checked once again and the trail of insoluble fluid had returned.
Fast forward to last month: took it into a Tesla service center and showed the chap at the front desk what the underneath of the rear end looked like and he agreed something was leaking.
Brought it in the following week to have it put on a hoist for a look; the result was the seal for the “oil” filter that is attached to the motor assembly had a weep and they swapped it out (free, under drivetrain warranty).
Since that visit, there has developed a noise “like two empty beer bottles clinking against each other once” when, under certain conditions I’m not fully understanding, the car moves from a full stop…it’s only happening perhaps 25% of the time when I first move (in an underground parking garage environment) and sometimes when coming to a full stop.
Also, I just completed a 1900 km trip and sure enough, the insoluble film has sowed up again:
For some sort of troubleshooting, I checked the coolant/antifreeze level and it is below the “normal” indicator (but there is fluid in that bottle).
Anyhow, I have a service appointment for a week from Thursday to see what may be causing the intermittent clinking as well as to sort out what is leaving this trail of insoluble film of fluid.
Full disclosure: when the car was new, I removed all the chassis aero trim pieces and sprayed the chassis with a rust spray. I drove the car four years before seeing the pattern as shown in the above photo.
AFAIK, there are only three fluids this could be: coolant; brake; transaxle.
While doing a routine installation of my bike carrier this past spring, I noticed a trail of some sort of fluid that began at the aft end of the battery, where it meets the aero trim that hides the motor/transaxle assembly.
After cleaning it all up and driving for a few weeks, I checked once again and the trail of insoluble fluid had returned.
Fast forward to last month: took it into a Tesla service center and showed the chap at the front desk what the underneath of the rear end looked like and he agreed something was leaking.
Brought it in the following week to have it put on a hoist for a look; the result was the seal for the “oil” filter that is attached to the motor assembly had a weep and they swapped it out (free, under drivetrain warranty).
Since that visit, there has developed a noise “like two empty beer bottles clinking against each other once” when, under certain conditions I’m not fully understanding, the car moves from a full stop…it’s only happening perhaps 25% of the time when I first move (in an underground parking garage environment) and sometimes when coming to a full stop.
Also, I just completed a 1900 km trip and sure enough, the insoluble film has sowed up again:
For some sort of troubleshooting, I checked the coolant/antifreeze level and it is below the “normal” indicator (but there is fluid in that bottle).
Anyhow, I have a service appointment for a week from Thursday to see what may be causing the intermittent clinking as well as to sort out what is leaving this trail of insoluble film of fluid.
Full disclosure: when the car was new, I removed all the chassis aero trim pieces and sprayed the chassis with a rust spray. I drove the car four years before seeing the pattern as shown in the above photo.
AFAIK, there are only three fluids this could be: coolant; brake; transaxle.
