Out of warranty drive unit failure: Service Center recommends to scrap the car

[umuff71]

I'm an early Tesla supporter, and my 9 year old Model S is out of warranty. My drive unit failed about 3 years in, and Tesla took care of it under warranty, which was great. We love our car, and we loved how Tesla used to take care of customers. We own one of the largest Tesla Solar installations in Colorado, a second Tesla Model 3 and even multiple PowerWalls as well as Tesla shares. We have recommended Tesla to all our friends and we know of multiple people that bought one through our high praise and recommendations.

Now, 9 years in, my drive unit failed with error code Dl_w126, and is no longer drivable. The Colorado Aurora Service Center manager recommended for me to scrap the car, and he gave me the option to replace the drive unit for $7500 out of pocket, with a 1 year parts warranty, however is strongly recommended against that, since "something else most likely will break, and it won't be worth it".
As a Tesla shareholder and supporter that is concerning on multiple levels, if the official message to customers is to scrap the car after 8 years when it is out of service.

What should I do? What is this community's view about Tesla's stance, and does this change your view on your ownership and if you would recommend a Tesla to a friend?

 

[KJD]

I'm an early Tesla supporter, and my 9 year old Model S is out of warranty. My drive unit failed about 3 years in, and Tesla took care of it under warranty, which was great. We love our car, and we loved how Tesla used to take care of customers. We own one of the largest Tesla Solar installations in Colorado, a second Tesla Model 3 and even multiple PowerWalls as well as Tesla shares. We have recommended Tesla to all our friends and we know of multiple people that bought one through our high praise and recommendations.

Now, 9 years in, my drive unit failed with error code Dl_w126, and is no longer drivable. The Colorado Aurora Service Center manager recommended for me to scrap the car, and he gave me the option to replace the drive unit for $7500 out of pocket, with a 1 year parts warranty, however is strongly recommended against that, since "something else most likely will break, and it won't be worth it".
As a Tesla shareholder and supporter that is concerning on multiple levels, if the official message to customers is to scrap the car after 8 years when it is out of service.

What should I do? What is this community's view about Tesla's stance, and does this change your view on your ownership and if you would recommend a Tesla to a friend?

If the car is still in good shape other than the drive unit, I would fix it and keep on driving it. You really need to read this thread before you go back to that Tesla service center though.

Out of Warranty Drive Unit Replacement and Cost

@ajbessinger : Do you mean that coolant can flow from the motor cavity into the inverter cavity along the three AC current conductors shown here?: Courtesy Yes, that's correct. One of the modifications when we rebuild them is we try to seal up that passage as well as possible, as well as add...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[HankLloydRight]

Paging @wk057 to the red courtesy phone.

 

[Watts_Up]

Try to find a salvage Model S and search for shops fixing olders Tesla.

 

[Unclepaul]

Financial response would to see what you could sell your car for as scrap, and compare that to what you could sell your car for after getting the repair done.
This is the same issue you get with an older ICE car car as well. Need to decide if you want to put a lot of money into a new engine or transmission, or simply let it go.
Nothing last forever, so if you drive any vehicle long enough, this decision will need to be made. No real way of knowing which way is the best to go.

Might even check with Tesla to see what they would give you for it on a trade in.

There are also other, independent Tesla repair people that could, for less money, replace your parts from a doner car. They might even reach out to you if they see your posts.

It might be that your drive units do not need to be replaced at all, but just the defective part replace...much lower cost.

 

[wk057]

The drive units weren't really a solid item until pretty late in the game.

Unfortunately, due to them having minimal value in non-working condition, we can't even really beat Tesla's drive unit replacement pricing by much, especially when shipping from out west. They're not drop-in replacements, either, so not like it's something any shadetree mechanic can do.

If they're offering a final revision new unit (-Q for non-performance, -T for performance) installed for $7500... I'd probably go that route. If it's a remanufactured one at that price, probably not worth it.

If that's not doable, I buy Teslas all the time from all over the world, and we can probably make a half-decent as-is offer on it with a little more info about the car. Just drop me a PM with the VIN.

 

[m5james]

Rich Rebuilds mentioned this in some of his videos...we're in a throw away society. There has to be shops local, even a state or two away, who could do the work. Did it make a howling/groaning noise before the code? Ive seen a few videos from Rich and random others taking apart the drive unit and replacing the inner bearing, which apparently is the common issue...drop subframe, take motor outta subframe, split case, R&R bearing, everything is good to go after that.

 

[Rottenapplr]

Subscribing to the thread. 7500k isn’t a whole lot given the price of cars. Plus less moving parts on a Tesla I say keep it and good luck.

 

[MX100DM3P2017]

Responding to: "What should I do? What is this community's view about Tesla's stance, and does this change your view on your ownership and if you would recommend a Tesla to a friend?" I own 2017 MX 100D and 2018 Performance M3 with perfect service and support with Tesla for 5-years. No other OEM can compare to excellent service provided by Tesla. While recognizing your situation is unique to yourself, for me, time and peace of mind are the deciding factors I would consider. No ICE vehicle comes with a 8-year engine and transmission warranty so Tesla is way ahead with the 8-year drive unit/battery warranty. I owned Mercedes Benz and Audi before Tesla and was paying $3k - $8k a year in maintenance after 4-year warranty and I have paid $0 for Tesla maintenance, another win for Tesla. Paying $0 in charging (have solar on home, free charging from Sun and free destination charging at hotels) vs buying gas for any ICE vehicle, another Tesla win. Most OEMs only provide a 1-year warranty for repairs (Porsche offers 2-years) so Tesla is the same. Unless you have been unhappy with Tesla for some other reason, I'm not sure why someone would ask such a negative reinterpretation of Tesla? Another thought to consider are all the technical improvements made to all Teslas since your 9-year old MS was made. New car, new and better tech, full new 4-year warranty, full new 8-year drive unit/battery warranty that gives you peace-of-mind which is priceless. Remember, your old MS is not going to be trashed, most of it will be recycled including the critical battery pack which will provide materials for new batteries. If price of new Tesla is a concern, consider the MY. I got my Supercuts Mgr to buy a MY 2-years ago. Her and her husband loved it so much they now own two. I vote for a new Tesla. I backup this opinion by ordering a new MX to replace my 2017 MX. I look forward to receiving my 3rd Tesla. Good luck, I hope you are happy with your final decision.

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[ucmndd]

There has to be shops local, even a state or two away, who could do the work.

@ajbessinger 's shop in Southern California seems to be the go-to place for drive unit work.

 

[Den3pd]

Where else can you get a EV w/ new batteries for $7500? Seems like a deal if the car is looking good otherwise. What else will go wrong? No transmission--a likely problem with my hybrid when the batteries quit. That car was worth about the same as the replacement batteries. I gave it to charity, but a Tesla seems like a keeper or re-sell option after the replacement.

 

[meomyo]

7500 is alot for sure but whats the option? Wish tesla discounted things they know will fail out of warranty for buyers but they dont.

 

[jmmcalpin]

It is very unfortunate that a lot of owners are seeing the rear motor fail, it is a known design problem where the coolant leaks through the seals and kills the motor. I just had mine replaced for $6,500 and am very unhappy Tesla is not recognizing this design problem and recalling it. I used to be an avid Tesla supporter , I own a 2014 Model S P85D and 2 2017 model 3s. I will not recommend Tesla to anyone in the future given their position on this.

 

[LarryClay]

You have shops around the world doing preventive rebuilds of those units for the fraction of the price of new. But you need to do it before it fails.

For example EV Clinic in EU:

https://evclinic.eu/2023/07/27/real-tesla-multimilionaire-is-p85-with-1-800-000-km-under-the-belt/