Motor damage following accident

[Andy L]

Following a major accident I would like to know if the tri motor on my plaid can be damaged if the tow truck operator drags the car with motors locked as battery is non operable due to tripped fuse.
the car is being repaired before battery is tested, electronics assessed nd computer is assessed. (Cart before the horse). Car is still not ready due to parts backlog after 5 months. Repair at bout $60,000.00 at this point. Any opinion would be appreciated.
AJL

 

[Yelobird]

If by dragged you mean onto a flatbed you should be fine. If by Towed with motors locked it will be damaged.

 

[zoomer0056]

Repair at bout $60,000.00

Maybe I'm missing something. You can buy a brand new car for that price, right?

 

[Andy L]

It is a plaid. The price is $195000.00 Canadian dollars

 

[Mr.S3XY]

I had to have my MSP pulled onto a flatbed, when the main computer failed. The service used "skates" under the wheels to minimize dragging. I had them use 2 layers of cardboard under the front wheels, until they were on the flatbed. Then they put the "skates" under them. The tech at Tesla said that dragging them a small distance (like onto a flatbed) wouldn't damage the motors. I still insisted in the driver using the cardboard. He said he's keeping that as an option when there isn't room for the skates.

 

[vcor]

The motors are never "locked" when parked. Of course, the parking brakes are on, and that could be bad if towed with them engaged. Tow mode (if enabled) will release the brakes. My understanding is the main problem with turning the wheels is sending generated power back into the electronics that are unpowered. I doubt a few feet will matter, but driving miles might damage the electronics. The motor itself would not be damaged. I'd also not expect heat to be an issue, as the heat is caused by powering the motor. Unpowered free-running should not cause any heat issues.

Perhaps another concern might be if the car is powered, dragged, and the turning motors are generating electricity, it would put that energy into the battery. Since the pyro fuse has blown, there isn't a worry about overcharging the battery. With a good pyro fuse, it might be an overcharging issue, but I suspect the software would drop the contactors before any battery damage could occur.

Anyway, I expect if the inverter in the motor was damaged, it would be an all-or-nothing. The motors would either run fine or not.

 

[Andy L]

Thank you everybody for the info

 

[AMPd]

Maybe I'm missing something. You can buy a brand new car for that price, right?

A new plaid for 60k? Highly unlikely.