Please Help! Drive unit seal not covered under warranty as part of drive unit??

[OhioKG1987]

Moderator note (bmah): The first (approximately) 40 posts in this thread are a combination of posts from two different threads on the same topic.

Went to have a door handle serviced today. Had noticed some oil on the back of my car. Upon inspection they tell me it’s the drive unit seal. In order to replace remove wheels drop axle etc. $700 for two or three seals. My question: is this not a warranty claim on drive unit which is valid for 8 years or 125k?? A properly installed and manufactured seal should last for a long time on a sealed unit. This being a non serviceable item should not be considered a wear item by tesla. Any advice? Has anyone had luck pushing back on service center?

 

[OhioKG1987]

Somebody please help ASAP! Follow up appt tomorrow

 

[SoCal Buzz]

I can’t help with real warranty example. But on the surface it seems crazy to exclude the drive unit seal from the 8-year warranty. If it were me, I would have friendly conversation with the service manager and ask for support. Ask he/she to escalate if they cannot offer goodwill. Play nice and see how far you can get.

 

[OhioKG1987]

Went to have a door handle serviced today. Had noticed some oil on the back of my car. Upon inspection they tell me it’s the drive unit seal. In order to replace remove wheels drop axle etc. $700 for two or three seals. My question: is this not a warranty claim on drive unit which is valid for 8 years or 125k?? A properly installed and manufactured seal should last for a long time on a sealed unit. This being a non serviceable item should not be considered a wear item by tesla. Any advice? Has anyone had luck pushing back on service center?

 

[OhioKG1987]

I can’t help with real warranty example. But on the surface it seems crazy to exclude the drive unit seal from the 8-year warranty. If it were me, I would have friendly conversation with the service manager and ask for support. Ask he/she to escalate if they cannot offer goodwill.


My thought as well. Two different guys there one is great other is a challenge. I like the term escalate nice way of using their jargon vs asking for a manager lol. Thank you! I think the fact u can’t service that seal makes it part of drive unit and a non serviceable part. Gotta be covered under warranty

 

[Ostrichsak]

Talk to someone else. It's not like that seal is a wearable part that you're expected to replace. In fact, their new stance on maintenance intervals (they no longer exist) suggest that that part is part of the motor and therefore covered under warranty. Sounds like the person you spoke with doesn't know what they're talking about.

 

[chargeshare]

What did Tesla say?

 

[Ostrichsak]

Why did you start two different threads for this?

 

[SoCal Buzz]

Asking for “help” often gets more results than getting angry or stating you will call a lawyer. Discussing with service manager and requesting they escalate to corporate for consideration if necessary, demonstrates that you are not just going to let it go and pay.

Depending on the results, if not covered under warranty or outright goodwill, they will sometimes offer reduced cost if you have been pleasant.

 

[OhioKG1987]

Why did you start two different threads for this?

didn’t think the first one posted lol tesla said it was three bad seals on the drive unit leaking oil and that it would be $700 as the seals weren’t covered under warranty

 

[MP3Mike]

This being a non serviceable item should not be considered a wear item by tesla.

While I think it should be covered as part of the drive unit warranty, I have to disagree with you on saying that they are non-serviceable. If it was non-serviceable they would have to replace the entire drive-unit to resolve the issue. The fact that they can replace them for $700 means that they are serviceable.

 

[Akikiki]

So if a majority of the votes here are "Yes", then Tesla will fix it under warranty?

 

[OhioKG1987]

So if a majority of the votes here are "Yes", then Tesla will fix it under warranty?

Right! Why do they have that lol

 

[Rockster]

I recently had to pay this for a failed seal. I would have preferred that it be included in the warranty on the motor, but I got the same response.

 

[eye.surgeon]

Ask your local service advisor to show you where in the Tesla service manual it recommends replacing those seals. If there is no recommended replacement interval, it is not a serviceable item. Just because you can do it doesn't make it a service item. I can do an engine swap, that doesn't make it a service item.

I had a failed seal on my in-warranty Range Rover that was leaking oil and they fixed it no questions asked and it was a whole lot more than $700, they pulled the engine and the final bill to Land Rover was over $10k.

 

[OhioKG1987]

While I think it should be covered as part of the drive unit warranty, I have to disagree with you on saying that they are non-serviceable. If it was non-serviceable they would have to replace the entire drive-unit to resolve the issue. The fact that they can replace them for $700 means that they are serviceable.

Your correct, I guess I meant, not recommended by tesla to service. Not a basic service item. Gotta drop the axle to replace not very easy

 

[sorka]

It's integral to the drive unit. It has to be covered under warranty unless it's specifically excluded. Otherwise just drive it until the gear fails.

 

[sorka]

I've asked the mod to merge the two duplicate threads.

 

[Tam]

Drive unit seals are required parts of Drive Unit to keep it sealed so if it is not covered, that should be specifically specified.

 

[Chaserr]

Drive it to destruction as aggressively as possible to make them fix the drive unit (and seal)