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Model S had to be towed home

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That sucks. I too was stranded on an on-ramp with co-workers going past, but one of them actually phoned me to see if I was okay.

They did, also. Several stopped/called to make sure I was alright and offered rides. They just know how much I adore the car and thought it was the perfect opportunity to point out the irony in the situation.
 
Can't belive a relatively new car with low mileage has to be towed home because of DU fail!
This proves that Tesla indeed deserves the low reliability score they got from CR!
No offense, but having such an expensive car being towed home because of DU fail in the middle of the road, this is just embarassing.
And we all know this is not just 1 particular case, we all know MS has serious issues with the DU

Actually, the vast majority of drive unit replacements have not been due to failure; the majority have been for the millig sound, clunking, high speed whine, all of which were annoying and rightfully needed to be corrected, but didn't impede use of the car. Drive units failing so you cannot drive the car have occurred, but that are not common (at least by reports here on TMC).
 
Actually, the vast majority of drive unit replacements have not been due to failure; the majority have been for the millig sound, clunking, high speed whine, all of which were annoying and rightfully needed to be corrected, but didn't impede use of the car. Drive units failing so you cannot drive the car have occurred, but that are not common (at least by reports here on TMC).

And they immediately replaced the "clunking" DU's because they knew they were very likely too completely fail (notice that a "clunking" is the first warning that a electronic device is about to crack !
Imagine you buying a LCD TV and the audio starts "clunking" or your screen has dead pixels, it's a clear sign of early degradation.
 
And they immediately replaced the "clunking" DU's because they knew they were very likely too completely fail (notice that a "clunking" is the first warning that a electronic device is about to crack !
Imagine you buying a LCD TV and the audio starts "clunking" or your screen has dead pixels, it's a clear sign of early degradation.

Agreed. We'll see what it actually ends up being, but it's crazy to me that there was absolutely no warning whatsoever. I never heard a clunk, milling sound, or any other strange noise. The more I read about the milling sound and DU replacements, the more paranoid I started becoming that maybe my car didn't sound normal.... but I don't think it ever sounded out of the ordinary.
 
And they immediately replaced the "clunking" DU's because they knew they were very likely too completely fail (notice that a "clunking" is the first warning that a electronic device is about to crack !
Imagine you buying a LCD TV and the audio starts "clunking" or your screen has dead pixels, it's a clear sign of early degradation.

My car clunked for 5k miles without issue. They replaced my drive unit and I was never stranded. I do feel for the Op, but again, many of these are non-catastrophic issues and cannot be lumped in to say most Teslas are falling by the wayside.
 
From your description it's probably a drive train failure. Mine failed at 40,000 miles. Similar scenario. I have an early Model S from 2012. Tesla roadside assistance arranged for a tow truck driver who has been trained to tow Tesla vehicles. Our car was dropped off at Tesla Service at 6pm on a Friday, and the service center called me Monday afternoon to tell us the car was ready to pick up. New drivetrain, car wash and all.
 
Mine gave no warning when it failed. I was accelerating out of our office parking lot and heard a loud bang. Then it felt like the car was in neutral so I coasted to a stop at the side of the road. On a Friday night I waited for 3 hours with the emergency flashers on for a flat bed to show up. I made many calls to Tesla roadside before we were finally picked up. A number of people stopped and offered assistance, others made interesting comments about my car. The next day Tesla delivered a P85+ loaner which improved my mood and a couple of days later I had a new drive unit.
 
My car clunked for 5k miles without issue. They replaced my drive unit and I was never stranded. I do feel for the Op, but again, many of these are non-catastrophic issues and cannot be lumped in to say most Teslas are falling by the wayside.
Mine clunked for almost 15k. Tesla was very clear that there was no cause for concern, that the issue was cosmetic, and it was no more likely to strand me than any other Model S. They did replace it, though, once they got the part in (took many months). If you believe Tesla, the somewhat common clunking noises do not lead complete drivetrain failure.
 
I have to say, Tesla is outstanding in the level of service they provide. As I was picking up a rental this morning, considering they were not planning to initially come get my car, the agent asked who my insurance company was, noting that the daily allowance was substantially higher than most insurance companies reimburse. I informed her that it wasn't being covered by insurance but by the car manufacturer, and she was even more surprised. She then asked what dealership was going to be doing the repairs, how long I thought they would take, etc... all to amazement of the fact that Tesla would send a technician to my house or would transport it to their location for repairs. It really is wonderful. Just trying to be realistic about this, I just don't see this continuing as the status quo. They either need to learn what issues exist and figure out how to correct them, build up a large enough ponzi-esq scheme to where the sales growth is adequate to sustain excessive legacy repair costs, or else.
 
I hate seeing threads like this. Tesla really needs to step up their game on drive unit reliability. If your car is clunking it's not a matter of if it's going to break, but when. As for milling machine noise, it sucks but likely wont cause a failure and Tesla should repair it because your car did not come with noise from the factory. For those who have not heard the "clunking": If you have ever ridden a bicycle it's a very similar feel. You start to pedal and finally the bike starts to move, due to lack of tension in the chain. The clunk is very similar. Turn your radio off, if you can find an area like a parking garage that's actually quiet (so you can hear the noise for yourself because it will echo) and go around 2mph and lightly engage the accelerator, you may hear a light clunking noise, it can happen on regen as well. It may be difficult to grasp the concept but try it a few times to get the feel and you will understand. It's almost like the gear has yet to engage then lightly does.
 
I suspect that once more details are ascertained, part of the confusion is going to be that v7 is reporting an error condition differently. Otherwise, I also have never heard of the PRNDL going red before.

That's been there since the beginning. Mine turned red when the battery contactors failed. I wonder if 7.0 is suppressing warnings that are supposed to be there.

- - - Updated - - -

This issue is not caused by contactors. It's the DU that failed.

In my case, it was the contactors. You felt a "slam", got all the warnings, and drive indicators turned red with "CAR IS SHUTTING DOWN, PLEASE PULL OVER SAFELY".

Just in this case, he's not seeing the errors that should be displayed.
 
Really when is that going to happen?. I paid $1.99 a gallon two days ago. It's done nothing but drop.

That was one of the things I used to convince myself to get the Model S. Gas prices! And now look where they are! lol

Even at $1.99/gal, I'm over $600 in gas savings since the Model S has displaced a 20 mpg SUV.

I love this game!

10,500 miles, wife had a 18-20mpg SUV that we sold for something smaller since we no longer needed a 2nd 7-seater and I had a 18-22mpg car (that required premium) that I sold for the S. So that's 525 gallons @ $2.25/gal - charging costs ~ $800 saved.

Actually, the vast majority of drive unit replacements have not been due to failure; the majority have been for the millig sound, clunking, high speed whine, all of which were annoying and rightfully needed to be corrected, but didn't impede use of the car. Drive units failing so you cannot drive the car have occurred, but that are not common (at least by reports here on TMC).

Everyone sees the term "failure" as a different thing. I see the milling, clunking, high speed whine as a failure. Given, maybe only a design failure, but it's still a DU failure, since the DU is not performing as expected. It's not a catastrophic failure which leaves you stranded.


I have to say, Tesla is outstanding in the level of service they provide. As I was picking up a rental this morning, considering they were not planning to initially come get my car, the agent asked who my insurance company was, noting that the daily allowance was substantially higher than most insurance companies reimburse. I informed her that it wasn't being covered by insurance but by the car manufacturer, and she was even more surprised. She then asked what dealership was going to be doing the repairs, how long I thought they would take, etc... all to amazement of the fact that Tesla would send a technician to my house or would transport it to their location for repairs. It really is wonderful. Just trying to be realistic about this, I just don't see this continuing as the status quo. They either need to learn what issues exist and figure out how to correct them, build up a large enough ponzi-esq scheme to where the sales growth is adequate to sustain excessive legacy repair costs, or else.

Tesla service is amazing, agreed completely. When I had my car repairs, they gave me a Benz C300 loaner and paid for gas. Enterprise (or whomever they use, I forget) said that the only car dealer who pays for gas is Tesla.
 
When the Volt came out I waited a couple years for them to iron out the bugs but even then we still had one issue with a 2014. I also waited until 2015 for my Tesla to make sure the company survived and give a chance for the bugs to be worked out. It's just normal for a new car and a new car company to run into problems and specially with next generation technology. But the important thing is how they deal with it and how their customers feel afterwards.

Both GM and Tesla resolved my minor issue promptly and to my satisfaction. You can't live on the bleeding edge and not expect this sort of thing.
 
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Everyone sees the term "failure" as a different thing. I see the milling, clunking, high speed whine as a failure. Given, maybe only a design failure, but it's still a DU failure, since the DU is not performing as expected. It's not a catastrophic failure which leaves you stranded..

I agree with you Max. Let me requote what got us down this conversation.

No offense, but having such an expensive car being towed home because of DU fail in the middle of the road, this is just embarassing.
And we all know this is not just 1 particular case, we all know MS has serious issues with the DU

This makes it sound like there are numerous catastrophic failures and I was merely pointing out that these multiple failures didn't cause "an expensive car being towed home". That is all. Tesla having a high number of DU failures is indeed troublesome, but it is important to note that the majority of the incidents do not cause the owner to get stuck and need a tow.
 
This makes it sound like there are numerous catastrophic failures and I was merely pointing out that these multiple failures didn't cause "an expensive car being towed home". That is all. Tesla having a high number of DU failures is indeed troublesome, but it is important to note that the majority of the incidents do not cause the owner to get stuck and need a tow.

Gotchya, agreed.