Who is currently waiting for a drive unit replacement?

[michael]

Right, but are Tesla's own motors so undependable? Or are they OK? I know they have a great reputation for servicing the cars, so I don't know whether they are failing and getting replaced? Or working OK?

 

[co2112]

My understanding of the Tesla motors is they were rated for 200k miles but were only lasting 100k+ real world miles. They changed the design and now are supposed to last 1 million miles. The design change occurred in 2015 so we most likely have the old unit.

 

[fromport]

My understanding of the Tesla motors is they were rated for 200k miles but were only lasting 100k+ real world miles. They changed the design and now are supposed to last 1 million miles. The design change occurred in 2015 so we most likely have the old unit.

And the refurbished units are not brought up to the new design ?

 

[davewill]

I just tried to search on teslamotorsclub but couldn't find it.
Do you happen to have the URL handy ?

You can look here: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/drive-unit-replacement-poll.29834/page-25#post-1398652

The thread is really long, and you have to read the last dozen pages or so to glean much from it. Some of those guys have had 5 or 6 replacements. They talk about a rev "Q" and "P" of the replacements as being OK, but nobody has had one long enough to really judge.

Of course, your guess is as good as mine whether any of it means our RAVs are getting the same fix, but I ran into Tony the other day and he hinted that the long delays for getting replacements for a while had to do with rolling the fix out.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I am so astonished that a car company with Tesla's reputation can't make a dependable motor. Are models S similarly afflicted? Or is it just the motor used in the Rav?

We share the motor with the "large" motor rear drive Tesla Model S, with a few small changes:

1) Parking brake pawl. Tesla doesn't use this, but ALL other auto manufacturers do, as does the Tesla powered 2012-2014 Toyota RAV4 EV and Mercedes B-Class ED.

2) Probably less copper windings in the motor (just a logical guess on my behalf)

The non-performance all-wheel drive cars, like my Tesla Model S-70D, uses the very quiet "small" motor front and rear. That motor will be in Model 3, and should have been in our car (but it obviously wasn't even available in 2012-2014).

 

[miimura]

I am so astonished that a car company with Tesla's reputation can't make a dependable motor. Are models S similarly afflicted? Or is it just the motor used in the Rav?

We share the motor with the "large" motor rear drive Tesla Model S, with a few small changes:

1) Parking brake pawl. Tesla doesn't use this, but ALL other auto manufacturers do, as does the Tesla powered 2012-2014 Toyota RAV4 EV and Mercedes B-Class ED.

2) Probably less copper windings in the motor (just a logical guess on my behalf)

The non-performance all-wheel drive cars, like my Tesla Model S-70D, uses the very quiet "small" motor front and rear. That motor will be in Model 3, and should have been in our car (but it obviously wasn't even available in 2012-2014).

It has been reported that the motors in the Model 3 are a completely new generation design.

 

[TonyWilliams]

That motor will be in Model 3, and should have been in our car (but it obviously wasn't even available in 2012-2014).

It has been reported that the motors in the Model 3 are a completely new generation design.

Interesting, and not surprising. Optimize the tool for the job.

 

[cwerdna]

My understanding of the Tesla motors is they were rated for 200k miles but were only lasting 100k+ real world miles. They changed the design and now are supposed to last 1 million miles.

Source?

As https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/low-speed-high-pitch-whine.47379/page-2#post-1088221 put it ""Tesla's goal of a 1 million mile powertrain", well they are 20k down, and 980k of reliability left to go... "

I am so astonished that a car company with Tesla's reputation can't make a dependable motor. Are models S similarly afflicted? Or is it just the motor used in the Rav?

Yes. They've been suffering from DU developing noise for a long time. Complete failures don't happen that often but they still seem to, as well.

These guys were past 7 DU replacements. Not sure of their latest status.
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/drive-unit-replacement-poll.29834/page-27#post-1603011
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/drive-unit-replacement-poll.29834/page-27#post-1653580

I have tons of pointers to folks who've had DUs replaced, some multiple times besides the above. You can find more just by Googling for stuff like
site:teslamotorsclub.com du replaced
site:teslamotorsclub.com "drive unit" replaced

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/tesla-model-s-survey-by-plug-in-america.16813/page-2#post-1272883 has some PIA DU survey raw numbers from Dec 2015. In contrast, look at average problem rates for each system in the table at http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/04/reliability-histories/index.htm for a 12-month window of time for each model year (shorter for the latest model year).

Examples of recent failures involving the DU:
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/model-s-technical-mechanical-issues.10398/page-142#post-1811020
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/new-p100d-model-s-failed.78593/page-3#post-1774189

My guess is that given results like https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/consumer-reports-model-x-least-reliable-car.79793/page-2#post-1798860, the repair records at https://www.edmunds.com/tesla/model-s/2013/long-term-road-test/wrap-up.html and the notoriously bad front and rear doors Model X (developing problems within the first few weeks of ownership), they're not doing sufficient long-term reliability and durability testing of their parts (e.g. https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/automotive-reliability-and-durability-testing.56176/) or their manufacturing or that of their suppliers isn't able to consistently produce parts that can pass such tests, assuming they have passed similar tests.

 

[plgnsuv]

4-5 weeks in L.A.

 

[tridub]

I'm still waiting for official recognition of my loud 2012 Drive Unit by Toyota. My local (Georgia) dealer tried to run it up the flagpole to corporate months ago, to no avail. I finally emailed our guardian angel, Kevin Spillane, for help, and he put me in the system for a diagnostic visit by a field tech. However, Kevin also said that today would be his last day in this job at Toyota. He's movin' on up, so gods help us all now...

 

[smkettner]

Had mine in for charging issues last February. We talked a bit about the gear noise and I understood it would take some time.
Now 11 months later the dealer calls up and we schedule the repair for next week.

Was not going to push the issue until maybe 2018 but I am pleasantly surprised and a bit excited to get it done

 

[kingkos]

Had a field tech come out to Buffalo and confirm noise back in December. Kevin called me in early January to confirm I'll be eligible for a DU replacement despite being (barely) out of warranty. Sound is annoying, but not unbearable.

Kevin's replacement (Thorn) has sent me a "hello" email, but I haven't actually spoken to him. Hopefully he advocates for us as well as Kevin did.

Now, I wait.

 

[tridub]

On 8 February, my local (Georgia) dealer said:

"Just talked to Danny [Toyota corporate?]. It seems they were able to verify the noise is coming from the drive unit from the video [that I made myself] and they are building you a new one. He said the lead time is about 3 weeks and they will be flying out a specialist to install. Toyota will be contacting you on setting up the repairs." [my comments added]

So, I hope my 2012 is about to get a lot quieter...

I assume this "new" DU will really be a rebuild. How can I tell? Is there an original serial number somewhere?

 

[TonyWilliams]

I assume this "new" DU will really be a rebuild. How can I tell? Is there an original serial number somewhere?

Yep, there is a serial number on the bottom. You'll have to pull the underbody plastic cover off to see it (easy).

My original motor in my 2012 was serial # 331. The new one (three years ago) has 4 digits.

 

[toddh]

Houston Texas. Local Toyota dealership Fred Haas send a video into Toyota corporate and they said the drive unit needs to be replaced. They said it'll be a three-month wait before the Drive Unit is here.

Right now at 30k but it's been making the noise since 20K and just getting worse.

Mine is a 2014

.

 

[davewill]

FINALLY! I got my second replacement done yesterday. It's been an ordeal. I took it in last August, waited and when I called in to check, they had dropped the order for my new motor on the floor someplace. I had to go through the process again, waiting 6 weeks this time for it to come in. You can bet I was bugging them every couple of weeks to make sure nobody "forgot" again. The noise kept getting worse, too.

The sound of silence is sure nice. May this be the last one I need. :|

 

[kingkos]

Just got a call. Mine is in and scheduled to be installed on Wednesday.

As an aside, when they originally checked mine in December, it had a "check ev system" light on and it was caused by the battery coolant pump. The tech cleared the code and it hasn't come back. He recommended changing out the pump anyways and the price seemed reasonable enough ($300) since they'll do it at the same time as the DU. Not sure if anything is actually wrong with the pump, but I figure the $300 spent on a new one is probably good insurance.

 

[miimura]

Just got a call. Mine is in and scheduled to be installed on Wednesday.

As an aside, when they originally checked mine in December, it had a "check ev system" light on and it was caused by the battery coolant pump. The tech cleared the code and it hasn't come back. He recommended changing out the pump anyways and the price seemed reasonable enough ($300) since they'll do it at the same time as the DU. Not sure if anything is actually wrong with the pump, but I figure the $300 spent on a new one is probably good insurance.

There is more than one Tesla coolant pump. A guy in Norway imported one and quickly found out that the car would not charge properly in cold temps because either the battery heater or the pump in the battery coolant circuit was not working. The car was severely restricting the charging current due to the low temps.

 

[ddoxey]

As explained below, I think my current status is "waiting to get on the waiting list..."

... He also said this motor costs $40,000! ...

$40,000? Holey Toledo!

I just bought mine used, with 25k miles and 4 years in service. Yes, it makes a whine noise when it runs. To me it sounds like an awesome futuremobile!

But if this is the beginning of a noise that's going to become so loud that it's annoying and embarrassing, then that's another matter. Am I hopelessly unable to replace this motor as a second-hand owner out of the 36k/3y window?

This might be why Toyota bought back TeCKis300's neighbor's car.

 

[ddoxey]

I'm considering the odds that I might dodge this bullet.

There are 29 individuals taking an interest in this thread. If each one represents 10 others who are not on the forum, then that could be around 300+ affected. If the odds are 300 out of 2,000 then maybe there's a chance. If everyone active here represents 100 silent others, then I should probably be getting friendly with Thorn right about now.