I've had my share of, um, "bad luck" when it comes to drive units. Never have I had any real say in "new" vs. "refurbished" (all of them were refurbished). It wasn't for a lack of trying. But I also didn't "refuse delivery" to fight for "new" either.
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Andyw2100
Well-Known Member
I'm guessing, though, (or at least hoping, for your sake) that none of that bad luck involved a new Model S with 175 miles on it, and that if it had, you actually would have been more strident in your request for a new drive unit.
HyperMiler
Member
I remember reading in the CAN bus thread that front and rear motors on non P cars are used alternatively at times, so in theory there could be rear motor defects which would not have to disable the front?
So a quick update. For folks saying I'm handling this well for a car with only 175 miles, I'm actually finding the whole experience sort of humorous. But that was my point regarding the Model 3: if this were someone's commuter car, or a true reach vehicle that was really their baby -- Tesla, get your *sugar* together. For me, it's an awesome car that I'm just a bit disappointed I'm not driving right now. My loss: a couple of days of downtime with a fun car. No big whoop. As long as it all gets put together in a satisfactory way, I don't really care. I'd probably be more upset if it were a cosmetic ding, or if the car weren't so modular that I'd be unsure about the quality of the repair.
In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to make do driving my M3 in this beautiful weather we're having in DC ...
And it's funny, but I would be livid if this happened with a new BMW, because based on my experience they'd probably try to blame me.
Instead, this is what I got from Tesla -- the service advisor at Tesla of Tysons Corner has been apologetic to a fault (not your fault, dude ... what the hell could you have done?). They sent this truck over to my house to flatbed it away. Fanciest break down ever.
That's my daughter watching the fancy new blue car get hauled away.
Anyway, they called me yesterday evening to let me know they had the car and had it hooked up to diagnostics. They got back to me today, and their assessment is that the front drive unit failed. That's consistent with the error messages, but looking at older posts here, the messages in other cases were caused by a sensor failure in the best case, or a rear drive unit failure in the worst case (because of signaling issues from rear to front).
He told me he thinks they have a front drive unit in stock for replacement. I asked if it would be new or remanufactured, and he said it would probably be remanufactured. For something like this (non cosmetic, under warranty)? I'll take remanufactured any day.
Anyway, I'm hopeful that will fix the problem, since my sense is diagnosing a Tesla is a much more precise matter than diagnosing any other car under strict shop time turnarounds. They're not going to know what exactly failed, since they'll just ship the busted unit back to California. So sadly I won't learn anything more.
I'll keep folks updated once I get the car back and hopefully throw it around a bit in ludicrous speed to test things out.
In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to make do driving my M3 in this beautiful weather we're having in DC ...
And it's funny, but I would be livid if this happened with a new BMW, because based on my experience they'd probably try to blame me.Instead, this is what I got from Tesla -- the service advisor at Tesla of Tysons Corner has been apologetic to a fault (not your fault, dude ... what the hell could you have done?). They sent this truck over to my house to flatbed it away. Fanciest break down ever.
That's my daughter watching the fancy new blue car get hauled away.
Anyway, they called me yesterday evening to let me know they had the car and had it hooked up to diagnostics. They got back to me today, and their assessment is that the front drive unit failed. That's consistent with the error messages, but looking at older posts here, the messages in other cases were caused by a sensor failure in the best case, or a rear drive unit failure in the worst case (because of signaling issues from rear to front).
He told me he thinks they have a front drive unit in stock for replacement. I asked if it would be new or remanufactured, and he said it would probably be remanufactured. For something like this (non cosmetic, under warranty)? I'll take remanufactured any day.
Anyway, I'm hopeful that will fix the problem, since my sense is diagnosing a Tesla is a much more precise matter than diagnosing any other car under strict shop time turnarounds. They're not going to know what exactly failed, since they'll just ship the busted unit back to California. So sadly I won't learn anything more.
I'll keep folks updated once I get the car back and hopefully throw it around a bit in ludicrous speed to test things out.
(didn't see a way to edit posts, sorry)
A couple more things:
- They estimate having it back to me Monday or Tuesday. Let's see how that goes.
- The only negative I've had in this experience is that the service advisor left me a message saying that the front drive unit needed to be replaced ... AND that my rear diffuser seemed to have come off, probably because I had bottomed out, and that it would be $250 + 0.5 shop time to fix. When I called back about to complain, he told me off the bat that he had confused my car with someone else's on that (I hadn't said anything yet) and that my car was fine.
- These guys must deal with a lot of angry a-holes ... guys, don't be dicks to the service advisors. It's taking a lot of effort to get them to come out of their shells. These are some of the nicest techs I've met anywhere.
A couple more things:
- They estimate having it back to me Monday or Tuesday. Let's see how that goes.
- The only negative I've had in this experience is that the service advisor left me a message saying that the front drive unit needed to be replaced ... AND that my rear diffuser seemed to have come off, probably because I had bottomed out, and that it would be $250 + 0.5 shop time to fix. When I called back about to complain, he told me off the bat that he had confused my car with someone else's on that (I hadn't said anything yet) and that my car was fine.
- These guys must deal with a lot of angry a-holes ... guys, don't be dicks to the service advisors. It's taking a lot of effort to get them to come out of their shells. These are some of the nicest techs I've met anywhere.
twonius
Member
So a quick update. For folks saying I'm handling this well for a car with only 175 miles, I'm actually finding the whole experience sort of humorous. But that was my point regarding the Model 3: if this were someone's commuter car, or a true reach vehicle that was really their baby -- Tesla, get your *sugar* together. For me, it's an awesome car that I'm just a bit disappointed I'm not driving right now. My loss: a couple of days of downtime with a fun car. No big whoop. As long as it all gets put together in a satisfactory way, I don't really care. I'd probably be more upset if it were a cosmetic ding, or if the car weren't so modular that I'd be unsure about the quality of the repair.
In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to make do driving my M3 in this beautiful weather we're having in DC ...
Instead, this is what I got from Tesla -- the service advisor at Tesla of Tysons Corner has been apologetic to a fault (not your fault, dude ... what the hell could you have done?). They sent this truck over to my house to flatbed it away. Fanciest break down ever.
View attachment 172521 View attachment 172522
That's my daughter watching the fancy new blue car get hauled away.
Anyway, they called me yesterday evening to let me know they had the car and had it hooked up to diagnostics. They got back to me today, and their assessment is that the front drive unit failed. That's consistent with the error messages, but looking at older posts here, the messages in other cases were caused by a sensor failure in the best case, or a rear drive unit failure in the worst case (because of signaling issues from rear to front).
He told me he thinks they have a front drive unit in stock for replacement. I asked if it would be new or remanufactured, and he said it would probably be remanufactured. For something like this (non cosmetic, under warranty)? I'll take remanufactured any day.
Anyway, I'm hopeful that will fix the problem, since my sense is diagnosing a Tesla is a much more precise matter than diagnosing any other car under strict shop time turnarounds. They're not going to know what exactly failed, since they'll just ship the busted unit back to California. So sadly I won't learn anything more.
I'll keep folks updated once I get the car back and hopefully throw it around a bit in ludicrous speed to test things out.
Yeah if you're ever feeling bad about the Tesla ownership experience, look up "Panamera Oil Consumption". Porsche just changed the manual so that 1.6 quarts / 600 miles is now considered normal. Alternatively you can look up the Nikasil issue on old BMW V8s, which resulted in a class-action lawsuit, not a flatbed and a phonecall.
With a model 3 on pre-order I have to say I am both dissapointed and worried to hear about quality issues with Tesla's flagship.
I can tell you a mojority of Model 3 owners will not put up with an unreliable car. Not that they are a more demading group but because most Model 3's will end up as everyday workhorses. I will be coming to Tesla from a Toyota hybrid which also has electric drivetrain components but in my seven years of ownership its had zero issues. Yes Tesla drivetrain will encounter much higher power transients but thats no excuse for unreliability especially as EVs are marketted as being simpler and therefore more reliable than ICE. Also I am sorry but there is no point in comparing with other unreliable brands and feeling good somehow. Yes Tesla is a niche car and yes its a small company but we will still expect nothing short of Honda/Toyota reliability especially with Model 3
I can tell you a mojority of Model 3 owners will not put up with an unreliable car. Not that they are a more demading group but because most Model 3's will end up as everyday workhorses. I will be coming to Tesla from a Toyota hybrid which also has electric drivetrain components but in my seven years of ownership its had zero issues. Yes Tesla drivetrain will encounter much higher power transients but thats no excuse for unreliability especially as EVs are marketted as being simpler and therefore more reliable than ICE. Also I am sorry but there is no point in comparing with other unreliable brands and feeling good somehow. Yes Tesla is a niche car and yes its a small company but we will still expect nothing short of Honda/Toyota reliability especially with Model 3
amallah
Member
Every car I've ever owned, reliable brand or not, the REASON I get stressed about failure is because they always blame the owner. From family, friends and colleagues - the story is always the same. I have <whatever brand> and it broke just out of the blue, I wasn't doing anything. Dealer said it was thousands and either (1) I paid or (2) after arguing they admitted it was covered under warranty.
Tesla is very frequently doing (3) our bad, we're sorry, we'll fix it. Maybe when the Model 3 rolls out they will finally be beaten into submission and start getting defensive like the others, but right now I actually am encouraged by how frequently one of these problem posts is met by great customer service. *My* fear is that when the Model 3 comes out they'll have to be more defensive to stay profitable.
I've never had this experience w/the Toyotas and Nissans I've owned while under warranty. This spans almost 15 years of cars under warranty. I haven't ever heard of this w/the same makes that my parents have owned while under warranty either, going back much further.
Sounds like you and those folks went to the wrong dealers.
Car is back in commission and driving great. Was ready yesterday but couldn't pick it up until this morning due to a meeting. All-in-all it was in their service department about three business days (including Saturday but not Sunday).
The mechanic said that if it had been a rear drive unit, I might have had the car back the same day, but front drive units are a bit more complicated to access and replace. It was the first one they'd seen at the Tyson's Corner location, so that should tell you all that I was more likely unlucky than a statistic. And apparently they service most cars from across Virginia given the lack of service departments elsewhere in the area.
Runs great, and I'm thrilled to have it back!
As a suggestion to Tesla, please give us the option to disable the front drive unit manually, assuming that's feasible. Sure, we lose some power, but sometimes RWD is fun.
The mechanic said that if it had been a rear drive unit, I might have had the car back the same day, but front drive units are a bit more complicated to access and replace. It was the first one they'd seen at the Tyson's Corner location, so that should tell you all that I was more likely unlucky than a statistic. And apparently they service most cars from across Virginia given the lack of service departments elsewhere in the area.
Runs great, and I'm thrilled to have it back!
As a suggestion to Tesla, please give us the option to disable the front drive unit manually, assuming that's feasible. Sure, we lose some power, but sometimes RWD is fun.
That's what kept me from starting it the next day. Screens came on, new messages saying 12V battery service needed / 12V battery depleted, then it all shut down.That's odd that the 12v battery drained simply because of a fault with the drive unit.
When the tow truck came, they had to splice in a different battery just to get to the screens and put it into tow mode. Couldn't jump it.
