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Drive Unit Replacement Poll
- Thread starter nleggatt
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- Driving Dynamics Model S
At this time last year, there were probably in excess of 12,000 Model S in customer hands. Mine arrived around August 23, 2013 and my VIN is 16186.
Mike_Schlechter
Model S - P457
Interestingly, I'd had no noises / issues until about two weeks ago. Car is in today (vin xxx1590 - you could call it "early") and it needs the drive inverter replaced. I'm surprised it, as this is basically the first thing to go wrong with the car despite my low vin. At least it is easily fixed.
Got my P85 back today with a new D-Pack battery. The drive unit was fine. My service paperwork says "found high voltage battery to have internal fault". Service experience was top notch. Had an S85 loaner for the entire time.
Shouldn't this poll have a choice for "no unit replaced". Meaning that of the actual owners on this forum how many were replaced? The way the poll is set up it makes it look like more that 80% of all cars had their drive units replaced, and that's clearly not the case.
Yes. But there should also be a mileage floor, so you should only respond if your car has X number of miles on it. Having people (like me) with 5K miles on their car weigh in and say "no replacement yet!" doesn't add much.
What @lorih said. Not that this is a scientific poll, but at least it would be nice to know how many of the readers of this thread still haven't had a drive unit replaced. Probably a much larger number than the 90 drive replacements noted so far (including mine a few weeks ago).
So, this came up in earnings Q&A today. Basically, Elon said there is no major flaw with the drive units. Part of the reason for the high number of replacements is they did not do a good job of diagnosing the root cause and replaced the drive units when they were not at fault. He specifically mentioned that two of the Edmunds replacements fell into this category.
He further called out two examples of noise issues:
1) A wiring harness worked its way loose and created a mechanical bridge between the motor and the body allowing a path for transmission of noise--he called this a pernicious problem as the wiring harness would be tucked into place with a drive unit replacement, then eventually work its way loose again.
2) Apparently, the differential needs a small shim, did not dig into the entire scenario, but he did mention that a lot of existing cars will need the shim retro-fitted, so expect a service campaign around that.
As part of the discussion, Deepak (CFO) pointed out that the actual fixes had a trivial cost and had no impact on warranty reserves.
He further called out two examples of noise issues:
1) A wiring harness worked its way loose and created a mechanical bridge between the motor and the body allowing a path for transmission of noise--he called this a pernicious problem as the wiring harness would be tucked into place with a drive unit replacement, then eventually work its way loose again.
2) Apparently, the differential needs a small shim, did not dig into the entire scenario, but he did mention that a lot of existing cars will need the shim retro-fitted, so expect a service campaign around that.
As part of the discussion, Deepak (CFO) pointed out that the actual fixes had a trivial cost and had no impact on warranty reserves.
No, he didn't say that at all.
He said they have a variety of issues, at least 2 of which are very minor.
He also noted that many drive trains were replaced as they tried to diagnose what was happening. They did this to get the customer back on the road ASAP.
Please note, I am not saying there is a major flaw, just that Elon didn't say there wasn't.
I guess we will have to go to the transcript. 
He got a direct question about build quality and the "drive train issue" and I believe his initial response was that no drive train issue and that it ended-up being a lot of smaller things.
Remember, he is an officer for a publicly traded company--if there is a known systemic issue with the drive units and it will have material impact on the company's finances, he has to disclose or the SEC and the lawyers will be all over him. Deepak also when out of his way to say that the fixes were not having a material impact on the warranty reserves.
He got a direct question about build quality and the "drive train issue" and I believe his initial response was that no drive train issue and that it ended-up being a lot of smaller things.
Remember, he is an officer for a publicly traded company--if there is a known systemic issue with the drive units and it will have material impact on the company's finances, he has to disclose or the SEC and the lawyers will be all over him. Deepak also when out of his way to say that the fixes were not having a material impact on the warranty reserves.
I guess we will have to go to the transcript.
He got a direct question about build quality and the "drive train issue" and I believe his initial response was that no drive train issue and that it ended-up being a lot of smaller things.
Remember, he is an officer for a publicly traded company--if there is a known systemic issue with the drive units and it will have material impact on the company's finances, he has to disclose or the SEC and the lawyers will be all over him. Deepak also when out of his way to say that the fixes were not having a material impact on the warranty reserves.
Agreed. I think no matter what the actual transcript says, his answer implied forcefully that there was no known, complex and expensive systemic defect.
If I were to guess based on prior actions, if they do this, I think they will tackle it holistically: 1) Identify the primary failure vectors, 2) develop the SvC level fixes (to minimize drive unit swaps and repair time), 3) extend the drivetrain warranty.
I don't think you will see the infamous "Elon bog" until they can do all three. It seems like they have a handle on #1 and are working on #2.
O
I don't think you will see the infamous "Elon bog" until they can do all three. It seems like they have a handle on #1 and are working on #2.
O
Infinite within 8 years for 85 kWh models but 125K miles for 60 kWh models per Tesla Includes the Model S Drive Unit in Its Battery Warranty and Model S Specs | Tesla Motors.
Still very good though.
Unfortunately, I'm the newest member of the drive unit replacement club. While driving down the highway, my S60 accelerator's became unresponsive and I was stranded on the highway's shoulder without any warning messages on either display. Luckily Tesla sent a towtruck within 30 minutes and brought a loaner car to me on the side of the highway within 45 minutes. The drive unit is being replaced as we speak.
If only they could throw in a discounted upgrade to the 85kwh battery pack as an apology for my troubles
If only they could throw in a discounted upgrade to the 85kwh battery pack as an apology for my troubles
cgiGuy
Active Member
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