P3D / AWD get EPA Ratings! Is AWD worth it?

[ℬête Noire]

What’s the ballpark cost of replacing a drive unit, if one were to fail outside of warranty coverage? I know we don’t need to worry about this for years, but I’m hoping to keep my AWD M3 for 10+ years like I have with my previous cars.

Minnesota future M3 owner here looking for great AWD snow performance, as we are replacing my wife’s Subaru Outback.

A lot is going to hinge on how well and to what extent Tesla enables 3rd party repairs. Right now it is VERY difficult for 3rd party repair shops to operate and get parts for any Tesla. Basically 3rd party are relegated to salvage and received nearly no access to technical info support, diagnosis tools, and configuration tools. There is some local law that forces them to provide some of this to owners but that's very limited number of jurisdictions (the one I know about is Massachusetts).

It's something that Tesla needs to get on, as they are about to operate at a different scale and will have difficulty handling it all themselves. They've even acknowledged it's something they need to do but haven't really made any visible progress on it so far.

 

[brianman]

Hhmmm. I’ve seen Tesla’s being towed, but mostly for things other than the actual motor.
Have there been that many failures of one motor and the other not kicking in ?

I can tell you about one them. My P85D. Front motor failure, car not drivable.

 

[Cloxxki]

You mean the same ones that come on the RWD?

Can be had on the base RWD model, yes. But do you think these D and P tests were with 18" aero cap? I may be over-estimating the relevance of bench testing, of course.

 

[commasign]

Can be had on the base RWD model, yes. But do you think these D and P tests were with 18" aero cap? I may be over-estimating the relevance of bench testing, of course.

Here's a chart of ranges with the various wheel options and aero covers on and off:

Range of the Tesla Model S/X/3 at 65/70/75/80 mph

 

[Moderatefan]

I can tell you about one them. My P85D. Front motor failure, car not drivable.

Why is it not drivable if it's a D? Elon stated in 3 motors are independent and you can drive on one if another one fails.

 

[Cloxxki]

Why is it not drivable if it's a D? Elon stated in 3 motors are independent and you can drive on one if another one fails.

Nice theory. When something fails, other the car freaks out. Could be a tiny wire that was incorrectly placed in assembly that rubbed itself open. 3 motors, in which car on sale?

 

[bradl]

I interpreted it to mean "in [Model] 3, motors are independent" ...

 

[brianman]

Why is it not drivable if it's a D? Elon stated in 3 motors are independent and you can drive on one if another one fails.

In case it wasn't obvious, for "P85D" I was referring to Model S. For the Model S, my understanding from Tesla service was "it depends on why the motor failed" whether the car will limp with the remaining motor or just block driving entirely.

They ended up replacing the front drive unit and the HVIL (high voltage interlink, which I was told connects the battery with both motors).

Also, regarding Elon statements on 3 vs. S he made the same statements about limp for both vehicles. At least for the S, it turned out to not be "for all cases".

 

[Moderatefan]

In case it wasn't obvious, for "P85D" I was referring to Model S. For the Model S, my understanding from Tesla service was "it depends on why the motor failed" whether the car will limp with the remaining motor or just block driving entirely.

They ended up replacing the front drive unit and the HVIL (high voltage interlink, which I was told connects the battery with both motors).

Also, regarding Elon statements on 3 vs. S he made the same statements about limp for both vehicles. At least for the S, it turned out to not be "for all cases".

I understand it was S. I assume dual motors would work the same.
Elon Musk on Twitter

He was pretty confident in that tweet: "Car drives fine even if a motor breaks down"

 

[brianman]

I understand it was S. I assume dual motors would work the same.
Elon Musk on Twitter

He was pretty confident in that tweet: "Car drives fine even if a motor breaks down"

/shrug
The data is what it is. There's quite a few witnesses of me getting towed from ORP when it happened. I even had a passenger in the vehicle for the lapping session when it happened (car told me to pull over and that it likely wouldn't be drivable, though I forget the exact phrasing) after which it wouldn't re-engage D after being put into P.

 

[Knightshade]

Can be had on the base RWD model, yes. But do you think these D and P tests were with 18" aero cap?

Yes- otherwise it'd be impossible for the P and D to end up with the same range since the 20s don't exist for the D (from the factory).


Commasigns chart has additional explanation of why it appears the EPA tests on the D and P were done with the aeros too