What to do when Tesla refuses to make warranty repair

[msentesy]

I have a '14 S85. Drive unit #1 failed and left car inoperable. Tesla replaced with drive unit that makes humming sound above 38 mph. Been to SC 4 times. One tech hears it. another claims he hears nothing. Diagnosis was I need new tires. $1400 later sound is still there. Went back again today. They recorded the sound and "sent it to engineering to see if it was a operating within design". I find it impossible to believe that they will come back and say anything but that it's fine.

Their drive unit is notoriously defective. They have given me a defective replacement after my first one failed, and they try to act like nothing is wrong, like I'm crazy.
Does this company only respond when you sue/get the media involved like the recent settlement with the Model X owner? I would rather not go to that extreme. I'd rather they just give me a non-defective drive unit. I used to think these guys went over and beyond for customers. I now think it's like any other company watching their numbers for Wall Street.

Looking for any advice from the great members of TMC. Thank you.

I know it's been a while, but do you have a recording of the sound it made? I sent in recordings, but the in-person engineer said it wasn't loud enough.

I wonder if I can ask them to send it to higher-up engineers.

 

[msentesy]

You have a defective drive unit. "Humming" should not happen. (It's also possible that something's not attached properly. There are several different failures which cause noises.)

I'll say this... it'll get worse, and it won't break until it gets worse. Mine started going bad with the "milling sound"; I just kept driving until it was loud enough that they couldn't deny it. There were at least three different types of defects. This noise doesn't cause sudden failure, it dies slowly. I think the "clunk" was the only one which caused sudden failure.

What is the revision letter of your current drive unit? It should be in the paperwork from when the first drive unit failed. This is important! If it's a Q revision, you're the first to report trouble. If it's before Q, you have a known-defective design. You then have a pressure point to escalate with.

Is there any way to find out what drive unit revision is currently in the car? I asked the Service Center to check, or at least to let me know if it had been replaced (I'm pretty sure the previous owner said it has not), but I'm not super confident they will tell me.

Is there some app that would let me check? Or would I have to open up the car?