Model X Plaid Half-Shaft Shudder

[jkahwaty]

Hello! I took delivery of my X Plaid in February. It always had a tiny bit of wobble in the morning when I first took the car out on a hard left turn. Fast-forward a few months to June and my car started making grinding noises. I took it in and they said the half shaft was worn and needed to be replaced. They did that and I took it home. The next day a huge clunk sound came and the car went into emergency error mode. I had it towed back to service and they said the half shaft fell out? Or something. I took it home and now a few weeks later the shudder is back in the mornings. I have a feeling they will say the half shaft is a problem again.

Is anyone else with a refresh x having problems with their half shafts? Where did you get it fixed? I'm starting to think Burbank isnt capable of fixing the problem correctly...

 

[shingles]

There's a thread on this:

Plaid X Vibration at beginning of each drive: Who is experiencing this?

I've determined that a bunch of Plaid X owners are experiencing some sort of vibration that you can feel in the pedal during the first few mins of every drive. I don't know if any Refresh LR owners are experiencing this but if so please reply. The vibration usually lasts for a few mins or miles...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[pyreegue]

Yeah, that's why I will be selling my MS. A decade old issue that they're not even thinking about fixing.

 

[sorka]

There's a thread on this:

Plaid X Vibration at beginning of each drive: Who is experiencing this?

I've determined that a bunch of Plaid X owners are experiencing some sort of vibration that you can feel in the pedal during the first few mins of every drive. I don't know if any Refresh LR owners are experiencing this but if so please reply. The vibration usually lasts for a few mins or miles...

teslamotorsclub.com

But this is NOT the same problem. That is the grind we all feel for 1 minute in the morning even if you're just driving slow and straight. It's a mechanical vibration that is not related to speed that sounds like some sort of pump like an abs calibration routine or something. I've had the dreaded half shaft problem on my P85D and had them replaced 4 times. This thread is not about that issue.

 

[MobileClimate]

The half shaft fell out because it was either the wrong one meaning too short in length or they didn’t push it in all the way so the snap ring wasn’t in the groove ….if you drove it that way the front motor would need replacement because of damage on the spider gear splines

 

[Kirtlye]

Hello! I took delivery of my X Plaid in February. It always had a tiny bit of wobble in the morning when I first took the car out on a hard left turn. Fast-forward a few months to June and my car started making grinding noises. I took it in and they said the half shaft was worn and needed to be replaced. They did that and I took it home. The next day a huge clunk sound came and the car went into emergency error mode. I had it towed back to service and they said the half shaft fell out? Or something. I took it home and now a few weeks later the shudder is back in the mornings. I have a feeling they will say the half shaft is a problem again.

Is anyone else with a refresh x having problems with their half shafts? Where did you get it fixed? I'm starting to think Burbank isnt capable of fixing the problem correctly...

Having the same problem in my 2017 model X…have had the half shafts replaced twice in 1 year 3 mo of owning it! First time covered under warranty, second time $1200 on me. This time a control arm too. Also had to have the A/C totally replaced at $4K. Switching to Rivian as soon as it’s available. Tesla doesn’t stand behind their cars. All my gas savings gone and some. Totally disappointed…even with a “Service Bulletin” they won’t cover it. Should be a recall. A great company called N2itive makes a kit that will prevent the shafts from breaking for around $3K installed, but will ride lower than original setting as the existing angles are the problem. Keep it in the “low” position and it’s better. Doesn’t help where I live in the mountains…bought it for its high clearance.

 

[sorka]

Having the same problem in my 2017 model X…have had the half shafts replaced twice in 1 year 3 mo of owning it! First time covered under warranty, second time $1200 on me. This time a control arm too. Also had to have the A/C totally replaced at $4K. Switching to Rivian as soon as it’s available. Tesla doesn’t stand behind their cars. All my gas savings gone and some. Totally disappointed…even with a “Service Bulletin” they won’t cover it. Should be a recall. A great company called N2itive makes a kit that will prevent the shafts from breaking for around $3K installed, but will ride lower than original setting as the existing angles are the problem. Keep it in the “low” position and it’s better. Doesn’t help where I live in the mountains…bought it for its high clearance.

Why did they charge you the second time if you were still in warranty?

 

[X Fan]

Why did they charge you the second time if you were still in warranty?

first post with a 2017?

 

[jkahwaty]

Having the same problem in my 2017 model X…have had the half shafts replaced twice in 1 year 3 mo of owning it! First time covered under warranty, second time $1200 on me. This time a control arm too. Also had to have the A/C totally replaced at $4K. Switching to Rivian as soon as it’s available. Tesla doesn’t stand behind their cars. All my gas savings gone and some. Totally disappointed…even with a “Service Bulletin” they won’t cover it. Should be a recall. A great company called N2itive makes a kit that will prevent the shafts from breaking for around $3K installed, but will ride lower than original setting as the existing angles are the problem. Keep it in the “low” position and it’s better. Doesn’t help where I live in the mountains…bought it for its high clearance.

Agreed. They just don't care anymore. Two half shafts replaced and the the falcon doors had to be replaced twice. Over two months in the shop for a car I've only had for 10 months. It's falling apart and the worst purchase I could have made. On top of that it's already outdated and not getting software support because of a smaller drive and ram. I reserved a Volvo EX90. Let's see how that goes.

 

[sorka]

Agreed. They just don't care anymore. Two half shafts replaced and the the falcon doors had to be replaced twice. Over two months in the shop for a car I've only had for 10 months. It's falling apart and the worst purchase I could have made. On top of that it's already outdated and not getting software support because of a smaller drive and ram. I reserved a Volvo EX90. Let's see how that goes.

Why did your FWDs have to be replaced? I haven't even heard of that being a thing.

 

[jkahwaty]

They didn't seal. And water got into the electronics and damaged all the components. Both controllers and the windows and their seals had to be redone. Then I got the car home and they stopped working again the same day and they had to do it all over again.

 

[sorka]

They didn't seal. And water got into the electronics and damaged all the components. Both controllers and the windows and their seals had to be redone. Then I got the car home and they stopped working again the same day and they had to do it all over again.

OK, but they replaced the actual FWDs? That still doesn't make sense. The seals are replaceable. The seals that prevent water intrusion aren't even on the doors themselves. They're on the frame. The glass roof seals are just cosmetic but even if they weren't the glass roof is replaceable. They replaced one of mine shortly after delivery because the seal broke due to horrible adjustment causing it to pinch badly on the spine. They also replaced the spine. But I can't imagine any scenario where they'd replace the actual FWDs other than collision.

 

[jkahwaty]

It was the internals of the doors inside the spine and the glass panels with the seals. The actual metal door itself is the same. But everything else around it went. I know the glass was replaced because they didn't remove the giant QR code sticker and I had to remove it and the residue myself

 

[DaveTilly]

Hello! I took delivery of my X Plaid in February. It always had a tiny bit of wobble in the morning when I first took the car out on a hard left turn. Fast-forward a few months to June and my car started making grinding noises. I took it in and they said the half shaft was worn and needed to be replaced. They did that and I took it home. The next day a huge clunk sound came and the car went into emergency error mode. I had it towed back to service and they said the half shaft fell out? Or something. I took it home and now a few weeks later the shudder is back in the mornings. I have a feeling they will say the half shaft is a problem again.

Is anyone else with a refresh x having problems with their half shafts? Where did you get it fixed? I'm starting to think Burbank isnt capable of fixing the problem correctly...

Firstly thank you for posting! I will now cancel my plaid order!
Have. 2018 model x, currently needing the 6th set of half shaft replacements. So after giving me a car that has never worked, they now claim its down to abuse, when my wife drives it 99% of time on chill mode.
Fundementally these cars are flawed in design. Get rid asap! Tesla are a total bunch of ass holes!!!!

 

[oldsport]

wow i just don t understand how y all can have so much problem w ur mx... mine shows zero problem except for one dead fob...

i know of many o owners locally w mx and zero issues after many years of ownership...

 

[strider]

Front shaft issues on the Refresh models seem to be hit or miss but maybe just because they are still new. I am 1 year and 13k miles into my MXP ownership and so far no issues. I always drive in Low and try to switch to Very Low whenever on the freeway (wish there was a setting to do that automatically at a certain speed).

I am glad to see more 3 row EV options on the market. None as quick as the MXP though but there are some solid options out there now. Plus in 4 years my oldest will start driving so may not need the 3rd row after that.

 

[xmax]

I purchased my first Tesla (MXP) in April 2023. After reaching around 10,000 miles, I encountered three recurring issues mentioned in related discussions:
1. Acceleration shudder
2. Vibrations in the accelerator pedal at 35-50 mph
3. A loud metal clanging noise from the front unit / shafts when going down the steep driveway at 10-12 mph.

After two service visits where they claimed to have resolved the problems by torquing the axle shafts. However all three issues are still there. They claim they can not reproduce it, because they don’t hear the shudder and don’t feel the vibration, and there’s no hills in the area

Has anyone successfully convinced Tesla to address these issues or buy back their car in similar situations? I've had 6 service visits over the past year, addressing the mentioned problems as well as other less critical issues like falcon door paint, replacing the bent hitch receiver, replacing buzzing speakers, and fogged-up taillights (they refused to acknowledge the issue)

I’m not asking for a legal advice here, but trying to understand what to do next. Should I try another SC?

I hate this car, but I don’t want to just sell it losing ~$30k in less than 1 year after taxes, depreciation and recent price drops.

Would appreciate any advice


Max

 

[sorka]

I purchased my first Tesla (MXP) in April 2023. After reaching around 10,000 miles, I encountered three recurring issues mentioned in related discussions:
1. Acceleration shudder
2. Vibrations in the accelerator pedal at 35-50 mph
3. A loud metal clanging noise from the front unit / shafts when going down the steep driveway at 10-12 mph.

After two service visits where they claimed to have resolved the problems by torquing the axle shafts. However all three issues are still there. They claim they can not reproduce it, because they don’t hear the shudder and don’t feel the vibration, and there’s no hills in the area

Has anyone successfully convinced Tesla to address these issues or buy back their car in similar situations? I've had 6 service visits over the past year, addressing the mentioned problems as well as other less critical issues like falcon door paint, replacing the bent hitch receiver, replacing buzzing speakers, and fogged-up taillights (they refused to acknowledge the issue)

I’m not asking for a legal advice here, but trying to understand what to do next. Should I try another SC?

I hate this car, but I don’t want to just sell it losing ~$30k in less than 1 year after taxes, depreciation and recent price drops.

Would appreciate any advice


Max

How many unresolved issues have you had and how many days has it been in service?

 

[xmax]

Around 2 weeks in total so far.
3 issues mentioned above are not yet resolved, and I had 2 related visits already. Will try once again in Jan (3rd time). But they already told me twice that they can’t fix it because they don’t see/can’t reproduce an issue. And they assured me that there’s no safety concerns and reasons to worry (prob referring to Lemon Law) . They even told me to try to go to San Francisco (I live in Santa Cruz), because there’s more chances they can reproduce issue 3 there…..

 

[sorka]

Around 2 weeks in total so far.
3 issues mentioned above are not yet resolved, and I had 2 related visits already. Will try once again in Jan (3rd time). But they already told me twice that they can’t fix it because they don’t see/can’t reproduce an issue. And they assured me that there’s no safety concerns and reasons to worry (prob referring to Lemon Law) . They even told me to try to go to San Francisco (I live in Santa Cruz), because there’s more chances they can reproduce issue 3 there…..

You need to go on a ride with the tech. If they say a tech isn't available at the moment, remind them that it's your right legally to reproduce the problem for the tech and ask them when you can come back and schedule a ride to show the issue.

Them claiming they can't reproduce it doesn't count as a failed repair attempt unless you insisted on reproducing it for them and they refused to let you do so.