given all the attention to the Model S reliability recently (thanks CR), I thought it might be interesting to point this out:
take a look at the data here Plug In America if you click on the top 25 highest mileage drivers, ALL of them have had drive unit swaps, and almost every one of them have had multiple swaps. this surely seems to indicate a 100% failure rate. that is VERY BAD. is it biased based on the sample group? owners voluntarily posting reports? maybe. BUT, you'd think even in an enthusiast group, there should be more than zero good motors out there.
also, personally, when i do hear someone say 'i haven't had a drive unit swap yet', my next immediate question is 'how many miles do you have?' and the answer is usually pretty low. the drive unit issues appear over time. given the data points that all high mileage units seem to fail, its just a matter of time until that unit will fail too.
I have no idea how Tesla is able to keep in business. I know they use remanufactured units in most swaps to keep those costs down, but even those fail, and of course there's the cost of shipping them around to service centers and the time it takes to do the swaps, etc etc. seems like Tesla has a very very serious issue on their hands.
and FWIW, i'm on my 4th DU and the milling noise is getting louder. so i'll need a 5th drive unit probably within the next few months (whenever it gets loud enough to annoy other people that's usually when I bring it in, lol).
take a look at the data here Plug In America if you click on the top 25 highest mileage drivers, ALL of them have had drive unit swaps, and almost every one of them have had multiple swaps. this surely seems to indicate a 100% failure rate. that is VERY BAD. is it biased based on the sample group? owners voluntarily posting reports? maybe. BUT, you'd think even in an enthusiast group, there should be more than zero good motors out there.
also, personally, when i do hear someone say 'i haven't had a drive unit swap yet', my next immediate question is 'how many miles do you have?' and the answer is usually pretty low. the drive unit issues appear over time. given the data points that all high mileage units seem to fail, its just a matter of time until that unit will fail too.
I have no idea how Tesla is able to keep in business. I know they use remanufactured units in most swaps to keep those costs down, but even those fail, and of course there's the cost of shipping them around to service centers and the time it takes to do the swaps, etc etc. seems like Tesla has a very very serious issue on their hands.
and FWIW, i'm on my 4th DU and the milling noise is getting louder. so i'll need a 5th drive unit probably within the next few months (whenever it gets loud enough to annoy other people that's usually when I bring it in, lol).