Plaid Front Motor Failure

[nmsno]

Hello,

I purchased my Plaid new Dec. 29, 2022. I have 3,728 miles on the vehicle. On 4/21/23, the vehicle coded with a front motor failure and lost full power on the freeway. The vehicle was towed and repaired. Today, the same issue happened and the vehicle has been towed again. Has anyone else had issues like this? I’ve added the notes from the first service.



Verified customer concern. Technician found alerts present for the front drive inverter. Technician found vehicle disabled front motor and entered limp mode due to an issue with the oil pump. Technician checked drive unit oil level by, removing oil pump, removing oil filter, then draining and measuring the gearbox fluid. Technician found oil level was correct and found no metal shavings present. Technician refilled driver unit to specifications and installed a new oil filter. Technician checked wiring harness from front drive unit oil pump to front body controller for damaged or soft-set connectors. None found. Technician performed diode and isolation test on front drive unit. No issues found. Technician checked power, ground, and resistance for the front drive unit oil pump. No issues found. Technician recommends replacing the front body controller due to an internal issue. Technician removed and replaced the front body controller then performed an extended test drive. No alerts are present at this time.

Correction: General Diagnosis
Correction: Gearbox Fluid - Front Drive Unit (Drain and Refill)
Parts Replaced or Added
Part Quantity
OIL 1.00 FILTER,SYNTHETIC,3DU,NA. (1618882-00-A)
Correction: Low Voltage Circuit Integrity Check Correction: High Voltage Circuit Integrity Check
Correction: Module - Body Controller - Front (Remove & Replace)

Quantity
ASY. FRONT 1.00 CONTROLLER GEN



Also, the guy who towed the vehicle said the tire was ok the way he has it tied down in the picture. Is this true?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

[canasion35]

I’d be annoyed with how they strapped that tire down.

 

[jebinc]

I’d be annoyed with how they strapped that tire down.

Me too. Never saw so much disregard for another’s property.

 

[AMPd]

I’d be annoyed with how they strapped that tire down.

That poor wheel. Hopefully it wasn’t damaged, but that’s just shoddy Securement.

 

[Gumball]

Tire will be ok, but that is simply the wrong kind of strap for the job.

 

[fholbert]

If that strap is causing damage to the tire you have some really cheap tires.

Ever hit a pot hole?​

Park against a parking bumper?​

Cross the curb from street to driveway?​

​

Agree it’s the wrong type of strap but it’s not hurting anything.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Me too. Never saw so much disregard for another’s property.

You should watch the YT videos of tow truck drivers dragging cars that have the wheels locked in park out of parking spots, and also using their forks to lift cars up in the air while scraping the crap out of the undercarriage and doing who knows how much damage. That breed absolutely does not care.

 

[nmsno]

I wasn’t happy with the wheel but the guy kept insisting it’s fine and at that point, what more can I do/say… as for the actual motor failure message, this is the second one in less than 300 miles of driving it. Anyone else have experience with this?

Coming from a 2017 P100D, I’m shocked how many issues I’ve had with the vehicle… The P100D rarely had any problems and only went in for a battery coolant leak at 60k miles

 

[etekberg]

Don't know crap, so this is worth what you paid, but that write-up doesn't sound to me like they actually diagnosed and fixed anything. Seems like you are just experiencing another symptom of the same problem.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

This is more what I would have like to have seen if it was my car:

 

[maytaurustiger]

Model X Plaid - Rear left motor disabled - Vehicle shutting down

^It seems some people with MXP had similar or same issues too (not sure if it'll help).

 

[THX723]

@nmsno What was the fault code(s) or prompt(s) on the dash when the motor/power was cutoff on the freeway?

 

[nmsno]

@nmsno What was the fault code(s) or prompt(s) on the dash when the motor/power was cutoff on the freeway?

Unfortunately I’m not sure; didn’t take a picture and don’t remember

 

[nmsno]

Heard back from service today and was told the front drive unit needs to be replaced. I was also told that one of my rear tires needs to be replaced too. I’ve sent the pictures to the tow in given that the tires were fine prior to service

 

[nmsno]

Model X Plaid - Rear left motor disabled - Vehicle shutting down

^It seems some people with MXP had similar or same issues too (not sure if it'll help).

This was extremely helpful, thank you!

 

[Maaz]

Wow , sorry to hear.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

was also told that one of my rear tires needs to be replaced too.

What did Tesla say is wrong with the tire?

 

[nmsno]

What did Tesla say is wrong with the tire?

Haven’t heard back yet but I’ve asked and sent pictures of how they towed it

 

[sup08]

arrrrg, same problem (2023 MXP) but I still can drive. 600mi on the car and so it starts :-(

 

[phaphaphooey]

When I had about 5k miles on my Plaid as I shifted it into reverse to back out of my garage to take my son to school one morning the whole car shook violently and a litany of errors popped up. I put it back in park and it shook again. We hopped into another car so he wouldn't be tardy and when I got back called Tesla for a tow. I was able to drive the car down my driveway to the street. There was no regen and it had very little power. Diagnosis was a failed front power unit. It was replaced in about a week and I have 15k more miles on the car now with no problems. Hopefully you will have a good resolution.