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Hey everyone,
As I am nearing the end of my initial warranty period due to miles, I began thinking about the MS Powertrain and it's utter simplicity in terms of moving parts and lack of items to service.

As we have seen here stuff like the main bearings have to be re packed with graphite @ 500k and such hints at the durability of the drivetrain got me to wondering if it wasn't time for Elon and Jerome to trot out the next nail in the coffin of the ICE.

As with the upgrade to the battery warranty perhaps it's time for the drivetrain warranty upgrade. With all the miles racked so far and the seemingly low numbers of outright failures of drive trains coupled with the crazy simplicity of swapping out the unit it just makes sense to wreck the rest of the industry on the drivetrain warranty front!

whaddya think?

Fire Away!:smile:
 
I'd love this -- my biggest fear once the initial warranty expires is a drivetrain failure (and the estimated cost of repair to be $15k-25k, based on what rumors I've read on this forum).

Having 8 years unlimited miles on the battery is reassuring.
 
Yep, refurbished will be much less $$$. Same with batteries. People obsess over the tens of thousands of dollars for a new battery, but Tesla will have refurbs available for much less once our batteries are out of warranty. That's what's happened for the Prius. If you need a new battery, you just send your old one in as a core and they send you a refurb.
 
A 100k powertrain warranty would be a game changer. A 200k powertrain warranty would be a massive game changer and huge selling diffetentiator. I too believe this is essential for Tesla to mitigate long term repair concerns particularly in light of the drive unit replacements especially as they sell into more of a mainstream customer base. I am on my second drive unit at 14k miles and share these concerns. Tesla has redefined the service experience and the next logical step is to make a big splash around their belief in and conviction for their powertrain quality. They are long overdue for some proactive press release materiel. Let's get this going Tesla and keep the competition on their heels! I'll help write the press release. :biggrin:
 
I think the OP has a great idea, and for exactly the right reasons. However, there have been quite a few "drive unit" failures already. Tesla may have a design issue to fix. I do not mean they should not lengthen the warranty, but they probably need to focus on fixing the problem first, otherwise the long warranty will be criticized as papering over a flaw. I suspect that, just like the pre-production Roadsters, the problem is the enormous loads on the gearbox. I bet the motor and inverter are mostly fine.

Those who will immediately ask for supporting data, wait for Tom Saxton to publish his white paper on Plug-In America's web site soon. He presented the preliminary data at TMC Connect, and it is a little cringe-worthy.

- - - Updated - - -

That is, the drive unit replacement data are worrying. The battery longevity projections are REALLY encouraging!
 
A longer warranty comes down to a higher cost on the manufacturer side. The longer the warranty period the more cases they have to cover. Sure Tesla could offer a longer warranty but they would have to factor in the increased cost in the sale price. Offering a warranty that matches what other car manufacturers offer is plenty to sell the cars. I doubt anyone is holding back on buying a Model S because it doesn't offer a longer warranty so extending it would just increase the initial price but not generate more demand.
If someone wants a longer warranty they can buy it for a realistic/reasonable price. I think it's a fair compromise to offer a longer warranty time but not forcing everyone to buy and pay for it. Many don't drive much and are fine with the 50k miles.
 
Most of the drive unit replacements have been due to noise... hopefully they can find a fix that doesn't require messing with the drive unit... some kind of sound dampening. It might be a placebo but I swear my cars inverter is quieter after it's rained... some sort of sound attenuation perhaps?
 
I'm really waiting for this to be announced, unless there is a 100K or 200K powertrain guaranteed I'll exercise the resell value guaranteed and resell the car to Tesla when reach month 36th - 39th.

I'm less than a year (11 months) and my car was already 12 times on the Service Center, I didn't have a powertrain failure yet (crossing fingers)

I have only 4 years warranty since Tesla told me that I can't get extended warranty on Washington by law.

so I'm stuck only with 4 years warranty, and for the problems I'm commenting below looks like I won't be able to afford fix this car if the trends of breaking things continue.

I'm sure there are more but this is what I remember the issues I had so far:

Brake rotors squeal noise for 3 weeks (rotors changed)
Keys not detected (keys changed)
Rain sensor not working property (sensor changed)
Condensation on the lights (lights changed)
Dashboard cracking noises (3 visits to the service center and a lot of time from the techs and many anti-noise tapes everywhere and the problem basically is unfixable, my Honda Civic after 10 years makes less dashboard cracking noise that my Model S)
12V battery (battery changed)
Dashboard silver frame locking tabs broke (frame changed)
Tire pressure sensors problems (sensors changed)
Battery cooling pump problems (replaced the cooling pumps)

A powertrain failure would be the cherry on the cake.
 
A longer warranty comes down to a higher cost on the manufacturer side. The longer the warranty period the more cases they have to cover. Sure Tesla could offer a longer warranty but they would have to factor in the increased cost in the sale price. Offering a warranty that matches what other car manufacturers offer is plenty to sell the cars. I doubt anyone is holding back on buying a Model S because it doesn't offer a longer warranty so extending it would just increase the initial price but not generate more demand.
If someone wants a longer warranty they can buy it for a realistic/reasonable price. I think it's a fair compromise to offer a longer warranty time but not forcing everyone to buy and pay for it. Many don't drive much and are fine with the 50k miles.

I don't agree. Tesla extended its battery warranty when there was concern over battery fires. That didn't result in any increased costs. If you're saying that giving a basic 100,000 mile powertrain warranty as many other manufacturers do on the ICE side (Tesla does not) will cost Tesla too much money in drive unit replacements, then I think we have a lot to worry about. I spent over $100,000 on this car, I couldn't care less about Tesla's bottom line if it comes to the possibility of facing an expensive out of warranty repair. I am a customer who expects long term reliability and low cost of repair. That is why I bought an EV in the first place, and that is one of the selling points, right?

If Tesla is worried about cost of a powertrain warranty, then there is an expensive flaw that we should all be worried about. You can't have one without the other.
 
I don't agree. Tesla extended its battery warranty when there was concern over battery fires. That didn't result in any increased costs. If you're saying that giving a basic 100,000 mile powertrain warranty as many other manufacturers do on the ICE side (Tesla does not) will cost Tesla too much money in drive unit replacements, then I think we have a lot to worry about. I spent over $100,000 on this car, I couldn't care less about Tesla's bottom line if it comes to the possibility of facing an expensive out of warranty repair. I am a customer who expects long term reliability and low cost of repair. That is why I bought an EV in the first place, and that is one of the selling points, right?

If Tesla is worried about cost of a powertrain warranty, then there is an expensive flaw that we should all be worried about. You can't have one without the other.

Totally agree. I was pitched on the uber simplicity and reliability of the drivetrain and do believe that is fundamentally true despite some of he hiccups with the recent drive unit replacements. Fix any issues and back that with a long term warranty statement given the recent issues and I and many others will keep hard selling friends and remain fanboys. I believe we (collectively:Tesla and customers) can have it all in this case without driving up costs.