StealthP3D
Well-Known Member
We know that. Tesla solved that. What are you going to harp on now?
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Rear Drive Unit Failed
- Thread starter ummagawd
- Start date
We know that. Tesla solved that. What are you going to harp on now?
I'm waiting for the Y. And when the time comes to replace the bearings in my drive unit I am very comfortable doing just that as I am a mechanic.
You? Not so much........
StealthP3D
Well-Known Member
You are the only person on planet earth that plans out the replacement of the bearings in their EV. LOL! 
I've bored and rebuilt motors, replaced wheel bearings, bottom end bearings, output shaft bearings, brakes, clutches, transmissions, etc. I think I could handle some simple drive unit bearings. But I'm not expecting to have to do that, they have been tested to over a million miles. I replace my cars before they need new bearings, LOL!.
I've bored and rebuilt motors, replaced wheel bearings, bottom end bearings, output shaft bearings, brakes, clutches, transmissions, etc. I think I could handle some simple drive unit bearings. But I'm not expecting to have to do that, they have been tested to over a million miles. I replace my cars before they need new bearings, LOL!.
Given that Elon is claiming the Model 3 motor should last 1million miles, I assume they have confidence the bearings will last and have test data to back it up. Even if you include the Elon over-exaggeration factor (50%), a 500k mile motor is better than anything in the ICE world.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
You are the only person on planet earth that plans out the replacement of the bearings in their EV. LOL!
I've bored and rebuilt motors, replaced wheel bearings, bottom end bearings, output shaft bearings, brakes, clutches, transmissions, etc. I think I could handle some simple drive unit bearings. But I'm not expecting to have to do that, they have been tested to over a million miles. I replace my cars before they need new bearings, LOL!.
I've never ran a boring bar or a deck mill. We send blocks out for that, and clearance for sleeving. What kind of garage has a boring bar in house? NASCAR I guess and others.
I guess you would know what your deck height is on the spot. The rest of us have to measure and measure again.
Probably not true. It will depend on the exact nature of the failure.
Because the rear motor is made with permanent magnets, there may be more failure modes which disable the whole car than there are for the front motor, but I doubt it's an absolute "this works and that won't" kind of thing.
Do you have any detail on exactly what parts failed in the rear drive unit? Does it include the motor or just the gears?
Futuresystem
Member
“I've been on the Jeep forums for 5-6 years. I don't recall one blown engine post. Plenty of lemons and buy backs but no blown engines.”
What forums do you or don’t you visit? No engine failures in Jeeps?
(And that’s ignoring, gearbox, diffs, etc etc etc.)
Only one word! Hmmmmm.
Rubbish!
Or perhaps you just have a lousy memory.......
What forums do you or don’t you visit? No engine failures in Jeeps?
(And that’s ignoring, gearbox, diffs, etc etc etc.)
Only one word! Hmmmmm.
Rubbish!
Or perhaps you just have a lousy memory.......
I didn’t say no engine failures. I said no blown engines (where you take the engine out and put in a new one) that is almost unheard of.
I’ve had Jeep’s for 30 years, most common problems were seals and HVAC. I beat the hell out of them launching boats on a sandy beach. These are not wranglers which I hate. These are GC’s. I’ve had great luck with them. I’ve had 3 generations 5 GC’s. First two both had inline 6 cylinders except they get clicky after 150k. All sold in pretty good working order. Still have a 2017 Summit. I tow 4500 lbs with it.
Jeepgarage is probably one the most popular forums. Just did a search. A few blown engines did pop up. Couple I read were covered under warranty. All diesels (POS, lots of problems with those) they don’t even offer the lifetime warranty on those. Never payed much attention to the diesel subform. Been in that forum for like 6 years. I’d notice if folks were blowing engines. I certainly noticed the half dozen Tesla drives. I also don’t know a single person that has ever had to replace their ICE engine. I already know one that is on their 3rd.
Grand Cherokee - WK2 - - Jeep Garage - Jeep Forum
*sugar* happens. It’s all how any company handles it. And plenty of things do go wrong on Jeeps. Water pumps are a big issue on Hemi’s. Lots of problems with new 8 speed transmissions. Mostly firmware, which could damage the transmissions. And yeah you could get stranded. Same transmission used in some Audi’s. Air suspension systems have had issues. Blown (gasoline anyway) engines nope. There are very few Diesel Jeeps. There has been a hold on them since Dieselgate. Not sure they will ever come back. Hope they don’t.
I would not own a Jeep without the lifetime warranty. Even though I never use it (yet). My Summit is pretty loaded.
I’ve had great luck with VW’s too. Also bought extended warranties. Been on vwvortex.com forever. Don’t recall blowing engines there either. Plenty of other issues (like gummed up intakes on every direct injection motor). Sold the VW for the Model 3. Wont buy another VW or Audi because of Dieselgate.
To be clear (and Az_Rael had it right), the 8 year warranty you refer to is on battery and drive unit, not the "drivetrain" and not the "powertrain". See Vehicle Warranty
People have run into problems and confusion (plenty of argument here on TMC about "drivetrain" warranty when there isn't one beyond the basic warranty) when they have half shafts fail (e.g. Clunking sound is costing me a bundle to fix out of warranty) past the basic warranty. Half shafts aren't covered by the drive unit warranty.
Sounds like you might spend as much on warranties and maintenance on gas cars as you'd spend on repair of electric. Half dozen of one six of the other...
This logic is how I self-justified not buying the extending warranty on my model S. And the gamble paid off for me..
Now my car is at mileage that exceeds the extended warranty period, if I had bought it. I have spent far less on parts than the extended warranty would have cost, so I won that game. Got a free new drive unit. Got a free new MCU. Got some free door handle repairs... (now I do those on my own and have all held since).
It's comforting knowing my drive unit is covered for another 3 years, as base warranty.
After that, I'll begin to let minor things break and repair them only if I find them necessary...
e.g. if the sunroof gets stuck shut, meh, leave it be.
And if the car takes out me 10 years in total... that's all I'd expect from Tesla's first try at a family car.
It's done and "free" for every extra year from then on.
If I go five more years after than.. the car has paid for itself with its free supercharging that I use weekly.
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OK... let's talk about bearings and rotors and VW.
If you were all places on vwvortex ... you are selectively forgetting the VW 1.8T engines (circa 2000) fiasco with it's oil frothing, starvation of main bearings, and game over.. ? Triggered a class action.
This bit me. I got the low oil pressure light one day, 6 years in on a very well maintained and oil changed engine... and the bill would have been $5K to fix the car (new engine). Instead, I dumped the car on a used car lot, took cash in hand, and will never by another VW again... even if they are electric.
There you go, blown bearings, scored rotor (crankshaft), and host of other shot things due to an oiling design issue.
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What people might be jumping to conclusions on there is assuming failure of DU's are a mechanical problem, like a bearing.
One blown little electronic part, like a high-power FET driver, in the motor controller can bring the DU down. Or a fuse.
These are small electronic things that can be easily repaired without touching the mechanics.
Tesla finds it easier to do a whole swap. Refurb on their time rather than yours, makes your exit faster out of the service center. More convenient for customers. Refurbs that pass go back to the field for warranty replacements, and around it goes.
The fact that a whole DU can be swapped in less than a half-day of work is amazing step up over any ICE.
One blown little electronic part, like a high-power FET driver, in the motor controller can bring the DU down. Or a fuse.
These are small electronic things that can be easily repaired without touching the mechanics.
Tesla finds it easier to do a whole swap. Refurb on their time rather than yours, makes your exit faster out of the service center. More convenient for customers. Refurbs that pass go back to the field for warranty replacements, and around it goes.
The fact that a whole DU can be swapped in less than a half-day of work is amazing step up over any ICE.
ceekz
Member
Me. I had my rear drive unit replaced at 6500 miles. Actually, I was never able to confirm that the unit was bad as it could have been the sensor, but regardless it was replaced.
Parked the car in the garage one night and the screen came up with a "Car needs service. Car may not restart." notification. Sure enough, it was not going to start. Called Tesla service and they speculated it was the battery pack and said I would need a tow. It turned out that the sensor monitors the drive train, including the battery and drive units. Since the car was in the garage, it was not an emergency situation.
Tesla service didn't schedule the tow as they indicated they would, so I had to call again in the morning. The rest of the service was Tesla-worthy. Loaner Model S, two days for the new unit and things are fine so far!
One ball bearing can take a ICE engine out. The fact one little FET takes out a DU is no different.
They can both be expensive.
The fact a DU can get swapped out in half a day doesn't mean a whole lot until we know what Tesla would charge for it.
All dealers have very high labor rates. And high parts costs. Problem is historically Tesla has been 2-3x that.
What will the cost (the customer) be on these types of things going forward is the problem.
And nobody knows, probably not even Tesla at this time.
And as was mentioned in a previous post. The DriveTrain is not covered for 8 years 120K. The Drive Unit and Battery.
There is a whole bunch of stuff that can fail outside the drive unit and battery. Extended warranties can't come soon enough for me.
I had 2.8L 6 around that time frame, awesome engine. My favorite VW engine of all time. Not the stupid traverse mount narrow V6 Same engine that Audi A6 had at the time. I had so few issues with that car I didn't visit vwvortex all that often, sorry. I did have later 2.0T (with gummed up intakes). Other than that car good reliability.
6 years in Tesla world is a near eternity. Your VW was near worthless after 6 years even with a good engine, that's why you dumped it.
We are talking a lot of drive unit failures that span a full range of age. There was a poll taken (this site I think). 200 members with a drive unit replaced !!
Uhmm... half day swaps is ALL that matters to me. If I can drop my car off in the a.m. and pick it up in the p.m. and NO CHARGE to me for 8 years... they can put a DU in each month like oil changes for all I care while the car is on warranty. If the car can go 2 more years after its last motor change at year 8 then I'm a happy camper, car is paid for itself.
Tesla parts are actually cheap or very reasonable compared to similar car class manufactures. Don't know what your experience is, but mine has been "wow, that was less than I expected"... I've paid for parts out of warranty and paid Tesla service, and also do my own service.
And as time goes on, aftermarket / used parts are popping up.
DU is practically the same thing as the whole drive train on my RWD model S. If rear half axles aren't covered in warranty, fine.. but these things are not showing any signs and there's been no history of rear axles as being an issue. (Fronts are different story I know).
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StealthP3D
Well-Known Member
The traction battery should be good for longer than you can expect the engine/transmission of a gasoline car to last and the motor/gear reduction will probably last through two or more traction batteries.
Enjoy the new car!
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