That very loud and painful "clunk"

[cwerdna]

I am the newest addition to the "clunk" club. I am out of patience with all the problems I had so far ! I just got my car back 10 days ago with the FOURTH drive train and now got completely stranded ! It was really painful as I just floored it and than PUF! My back still hurts ! Fortunately I was not to far away from Tampa service center and they delivered me a loaner in about 30 minutes. Awesome service as usual from the Tampa service center.

For the previous drive trains, did they fail while in motion or were some/all replaced due to excessive/unusual noise(s)? At how many miles was each drive train replaced?

Was anything else significant replaced during those visits?

Have you voted at Drive Unit Replacement Poll and commented in that thread?

 

[nleggatt]

I'm getting my second replacement in a couple weeks ... Would like to see something official about this from elon or team

 

[cwerdna]

I'm getting my second replacement in a couple weeks ... Would like to see something official about this from elon or team

Same questions for you as in post 181. Feel free to answer in km.

 

[nleggatt]

Roughly 58k km for first one and now at 67k km

 

[cwerdna]

Roughly 58k km for first one and now at 67k km

Those numbers convert to ~36K miles and ~41.6K miles, with a delta of 9K km.

9K km = 5.6K miles. So, that means your 1st replacement didn't last 6K miles, right?

 

[Chipper]

I am the newest addition to the "clunk" club. I am out of patience with all the problems I had so far ! I just got my car back 10 days ago with the FOURTH drive train and now got completely stranded ! It was really painful as I just floored it and than PUF! My back still hurts ! Fortunately I was not to far away from Tampa service center and they delivered me a loaner in about 30 minutes. Awesome service as usual from the Tampa service center.

Note to self: Do NOT go for a ride with joer00!!! Sorry for your troubles.

 

[joer00]

For the previous drive trains, did they fail while in motion or were some/all replaced due to excessive/unusual noise(s)? At how many miles was each drive train replaced?

Was anything else significant replaced during those visits?

First replacement at about 8k miles due to HUM noise under power
Second replacement at about 16k miles due to HUM noise under power
Third replacement at about 28k miles due to consistent HUM noise and buzz noise

It was confirmed that those issues start at around 8k miles. Nothing else was replaced due to those problems, but so far I had pretty much ANY issue reported on this board.

 

[dave]

I thought I had the same problem in the Model S. Turns out I has something rolling around in the Frunk...

lol, I had this too!

 

[joer00]

I have my car back with a replaced battery. Like with the others, it was the blown fuse. The Regional Service Manager contacted me to discuss my frequent and serious problems. Tampa service was excellent as usual and things are moving.

 

[JRP3]

Could you clarify? I thought your previous issues were with the drive train, but this time you said you got a new battery, because of a blown fuse?

 

[qwk]

From what I read, he has had 4 drive unit replacements due to noise, and now a battery replacement due to the main fuse blowing in the traction battery. The Service centers don't repair parts assemblies, just replace and send back to Fremont.

 

[Hodginator]

I had my appointment today for the "clunk" noise when going from light acceleration to deceleration (around 30MPH). Tesla service was great. They came to my office, picked up my car, and dropped off a loaner. In the afternoon they called back saying that the noise was normal accel to regen. They said they recorded the sound and had the engineers in CA listen to it. Sounds like they were not concerned. I guess everything is ok and I got my car back the same day.

 

[Hodginator]

Well, it appears my "clunk" was a problem after all. While making a right turn out of an intersection today my car lost all acceleration and I heard what I can only describe as bolts in a blender. I put the car in park and called Tesla. They had me shut the car down and start it up again. When I put it in drive, the same noise occurred. It definitely sounded like shredded gears of some sort. I was pretty disappointed that I had been told previously there was no problem and today I obviously had a catastrophic failure of the drive train.

With that being said, Tesla service/supoort was excellent. They got a tow truck to pickup the car right away and brought me a loaner P85. Very professional job on their part! They called later this afternoon and said the drive unit would have to be replaced, but couldn't provide any further details yet. They said the car would be finished by tomorrow afternoon! Not bad for the equivalent of a complete engine swap. So, I'm bummed about the failure, but I'm happy with the service.

 

[Chipper]

Well, it appears my "clunk" was a problem after all. While making a right turn out of an intersection today my car lost all acceleration and I heard what I can only describe as bolts in a blender. I put the car in park and called Tesla. They had me shut the car down and start it up again. When I put it in drive, the same noise occurred. It definitely sounded like shredded gears of some sort. I was pretty disappointed that I had been told previously there was no problem and today I obviously had a catastrophic failure of the drive train.

With that being said, Tesla service/supoort was excellent. They got a tow truck to pickup the car right away and brought me a loaner P85. Very professional job on their part! They called later this afternoon and said the drive unit would have to be replaced, but couldn't provide any further details yet. They said the car would be finished by tomorrow afternoon! Not bad for the equivalent of a complete engine swap. So, I'm bummed about the failure, but I'm happy with the service.

This is EXACTLY the same thing that happened to me a couple months ago--even to the point of "while making a right-hand turn"! Like you, my service was fanTAStic at the Scottsdale Service Center.

 

[scaesare]

Well, it appears my "clunk" was a problem after all. While making a right turn out of an intersection today my car lost all acceleration and I heard what I can only describe as bolts in a blender. I put the car in park and called Tesla. They had me shut the car down and start it up again. When I put it in drive, the same noise occurred. It definitely sounded like shredded gears of some sort. I was pretty disappointed that I had been told previously there was no problem and today I obviously had a catastrophic failure of the drive train.

This is interesting. there have been many reports of a drivetrain "clunk" (the thread title), which has often been attributed to the drivetrain torque "unloading" when there's been a failure... but not the grinding issue you mention.

I wonder how many actual mechanical drivetrain issues there have been, as opposed to electrical ones.

 

[Chipper]

This is interesting. there have been many reports of a drivetrain "clunk" (the thread title), which has often been attributed to the drivetrain torque "unloading" when there's been a failure... but not the grinding issue you mention.

I wonder how many actual mechanical drivetrain issues there have been, as opposed to electrical ones.

Mine was DEFINITELY mechanical. Not a single screen pop-up. Just crunching and grinding and all stop!

 

[mknox]

Well, I joined the club this afternoon, but with a bit of a twist. Here's what happened:

As I accelerated briskly to enter the freeway after work, there was a very loud "bang" (almost felt like I was rear-ended) followed by a flurry of messages and loss of power. I coasted over to the side of the freeway on-ramp and sat there. I got messages like "Loss of Power - Pull Over Safely", "Contact Tesla Service", "12 Volt Battery Low" and so forth. I could shift the car into Drive or Reverse according to the dash, but there was no power when I pressed the pedal. I also lost heat which wasn't fun at 10 F. Also of note, the Air Suspension warning light came on, and my outside temp display went to "---" for some reason. At this point, the dash and 17" were still on, and Slacker was still playing.

So, I figured I knew what this was and called roadside assistance. They had me try re-booting (to no avail) and so said they would arrange towing and call me back. As I sat there, I figured I'd put the car in Neutral since the 12v was likely to give up the ghost at some point. Eventually, everything shut down and tapping the brake pedal would do nothing.

Here's where it gets interesting. After 30 to 45 minutes Tesla Service called back and said it was going to be at least 2 hours for the tow truck to arrive. I was already freezing cold. The rep asked if I wanted to try to start the car again, so I tapped the brake and nothing. As we spoke, I could hear clicking and banging from under the car and suddenly the dash lit up and said something about systems re-starting. Eventually the 17" came to life and the heater came back on! I put the car in Drive and had power! The rep suggested that I try and make my way to the Service Center and so I did, being extremely gentle on the accelerator.

When I arrived at the SC, they pulled up my car's details on their screen (it connects as soon as you get near the SC) and said they weren't seeing any error codes. They were doubtful that it was the HV contactors in the battery because they said when they fail, they fail for good. It sure seemed to me like I lost high voltage.

Anyway, I have a loaner and they'll let me know tomorrow what they find.

 

[JakeP]

Sorry to hear it MKnox. Not unlike my situation, where I was immediately able to power back up and drive home...but after parking in the garage, it couldn't restart and said Needs Service.

 

[FlasherZ]

Here's where it gets interesting. After 30 to 45 minutes Tesla Service called back and said it was going to be at least 2 hours for the tow truck to arrive. I was already freezing cold. The rep asked if I wanted to try to start the car again, so I tapped the brake and nothing. As we spoke, I could hear clicking and banging from under the car and suddenly the dash lit up and said something about systems re-starting. Eventually the 17" came to life and the heater came back on! I put the car in Drive and had power! The rep suggested that I try and make my way to the Service Center and so I did, being extremely gentle on the accelerator.

That's exactly what happened to me -- after it first happened, I pulled into a parking lot... then after a few minutes it powered back up. Only problem was that just half a mile down the road, I decided to see if I could reproduce it and *blammo* did it again.

Glad you got it limped there. And I take it you haven't gotten the contactor replacement prior to today?

 

[apacheguy]

As I sat there, I figured I'd put the car in Neutral since the 12v was likely to give up the ghost at some point. Eventually, everything shut down and tapping the brake pedal would do nothing.

As we spoke, I could hear clicking and banging from under the car and suddenly the dash lit up and said something about systems re-starting. Eventually the 17" came to life and the heater came back on!

@mknox - Very odd indeed. When the screens go blank that means the 12 V is dead. Ergo, no power for the HV contactors to engage. I'm baffled as to how your car suddenly powered up 30 mins after being "dead."