Official Tesla Model S thread

[donald]

Turns out the "humming" issue was due to a wiring harness that had worked loose and was vibrating against the motor. Solution? Zip tie. Nothing to do with the drive unit itself.

Is that true for all the replacements, though.

I first read of the transmission replacements being due to 'milling' noises. That's a pretty specific description and, I think, discounts loose wiring.

 

[Zythryn]

Turns out the "humming" issue was due to a wiring harness that had worked loose and was vibrating against the motor. Solution? Zip tie. Nothing to do with the drive unit itself.

Is that true for all the replacements, though.

I first read of the transmission replacements being due to 'milling' noises. That's a pretty specific description and, I think, discounts loose wiring.

Actually, the vibration set up was exactly the "milling noise".
However, that is not all of the drive issues. There is another one that is solved by an inexpensive shim.
These are most of the issues, not quite all though.

No increase in warrantee costs have been seen which seems to back up the idea this isn't an expensive fix in the vast majority of cases, they just had trouble nailing down what the causes were.

Basically, mountain, meet molehill.

 

[mkjayakumar]

well then, there should be no problem Tesla offering a 100K miles Powertrain coverage with their basic warranty, right ?

 

[KJD]

well then, there should be no problem Tesla offering a 100K miles Powertrain coverage with their basic warranty, right ?

Yes this will happen about the same time as Nissan offers a 100k mile coverage on the battery pack.

 

[RegGuheert]

Yes this will happen about the same time as Nissan offers a 100k mile coverage on the battery pack.

All LEAFs have 8 years and 100k mile coverage on the battery packs.

(Of course, it doesn't cover capacity loss!)

 

[apvbguy]

well then, there should be no problem Tesla offering a 100K miles Powertrain coverage with their basic warranty, right ?

Yes this will happen about the same time as Nissan offers a 100k mile coverage on the battery pack.

{DOH!}

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Yes this will happen about the same time as Nissan offers a 100k mile coverage on the battery pack.

All LEAFs have 8 years and 100k mile coverage on the battery packs.

(Of course, it doesn't cover capacity loss!)

Which really is the only way a battery ever fails, except maybe bursting into flames.

 

[KJD]

OK I should have said capacity warranty at 60k is lame and it should be 100k. my bad.

Back OT what is up with starting and then stopping work on the Giga factory site ?
http://transportevolved.com/2014/08/01/transport-evolved-news-panel-show-209-breaking-ground/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[dgpcolorado]

Consumer Reports' Tesla Model S has more than its share of problems

For its impressive performance in our tests, strong safety marks, and decent reliability so far, the Model S earned Consumer Reports’ recommendation. But over the last 15,743 miles, our test car has developed many minor problems that merit some reflection.

 

[Zythryn]

well then, there should be no problem Tesla offering a 100K miles Powertrain coverage with their basic warranty, right ?

How about 8 year, 125,000 miles for the 60s and, unlimited mileage for the 85s?

http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/infinite-mile-warranty" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[cwerdna]

well then, there should be no problem Tesla offering a 100K miles Powertrain coverage with their basic warranty, right ?

How about 8 year, 125,000 miles for the 60s and, unlimited mileage for the 85s?

http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/infinite-mile-warranty" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bravo!

 

[GeekEV]

Impressive.

 

[DaveEV]

Once again Tesla steps up and does the right thing and without unnecessary delay. Good job, Tesla!

If only Nissan could learn something from them...

 

[TomT]

EVERY auto manufacturer could learn something from them!

If only Nissan could learn something from them...

 

[donald]

Does that include the power electronics too? If so, I'm gob-smacked. That looks like either one of the most fool-hardy warranty offer in automotive history, or a demonstration of outstanding confidence and commitment to a company's product.

From a reliability engineering point of view, I can't see how the latter can be logically arrived at as they don't yet have the data to back that reliability calculation up, so it looks to me like the former, which would imply they are either going to be very lucky and have a load of extremely happy customers indeed, or they won't be around to honour an unlimited mileage 8 year warranty.

I guess another possible scenario is that they have pushed the component suppliers into agreeing to that warranty, so it's no cost (other than labour) for Tesla.

From a commercial point of view, they appear to have lost money in that singular statement. No-one would've thought any less of them whatsoever if they had said that warranty is only for private use up to 100,000 miles, and/or direct purchases from a Tesla dealer, which would have then guaranteed residual value only if sold back into Tesla, which would then give them a chance to make bigger profits on resales. They have created quite some liability for themselves if they include unlimited commercial usage.

But again, one other outcome is that if the component suppliers have agreed to warranty the parts, and the customer's warranty only lasts while they pay the rather large annual service costs, then they will claw back money on ongoing servicing when it might otherwise be dropped.

They could be playing a very clever game if they have managed to offload the liabilities to their suppliers. I sure hope they know what they are doing - I want to see them bring out a reliable car I can afford, in the future!

 

[donald]

EVERY auto manufacturer could learn something from them!

Time will tell if they do or not. If Tesla go bust, other VMs may yet learn how badly things can go wrong if you make fool-hardy warranty promises.

 

[DaveEV]

Does that include the power electronics too?

They explicitly say drive unit and the drive unit has both the motor and power electronics in it.

From a reliability engineering point of view, I can't see how the latter can be logically arrived at as they don't yet have the data to back that reliability calculation up

If Tesla hasn't had a good idea of the reliability of their drive-units for at least 2 years now, they would be in severe trouble regardless of this warranty extension.

From a commercial point of view, they appear to have lost money in that singular statement.

Well, the announcement clearly indicated that warranty reserves would have to go up to compensate. How much is "moderately negative effect" is the real question.

 

[donald]

If Tesla hasn't had a good idea of the reliability of their drive-units for at least 2 years now, they would be in severe trouble regardless of this warranty extension.

I'm not sure about that. With such small volumes, failure rates that would give large VM's accountants sleepless nights would not even be noticed in the relatively small fleet. That such failures are being picked up in such a small fleet suggests to me that Tesla aren't taking the financial hit for these transmission failures and are passing most of the cost to the supplier (who probably agreed to give Tesla that sort of warranty on the drive units).

There may even be penalty clauses in place, and Tesla is actually 'making money' on the transmission failures, albeit with some loss of reputation and workshop time.

 

[TomT]

Hyundai/Kia's 10 year, 100k warranty has been very successful for them and driven a large number of customers in their direction, as well as inspiring greater consumer confidence in their vehicles. I'm sure that Tesla has run the numbers, just as H/K did, and determined that the ROI is there.

EVERY auto manufacturer could learn something from them!

Time will tell if they do or not. If Tesla go bust, other VMs may yet learn how badly things can go wrong if you make fool-hardy warranty promises.

 

[apvbguy]

If Tesla hasn't had a good idea of the reliability of their drive-units for at least 2 years now, they would be in severe trouble regardless of this warranty extension.

I'm not sure about that. With such small volumes, failure rates that would give large VM's accountants sleepless nights would not even be noticed in the relatively small fleet. That such failures are being picked up in such a small fleet suggests to me that Tesla aren't taking the financial hit for these transmission failures and are passing most of the cost to the supplier (who probably agreed to give Tesla that sort of warranty on the drive units).

There may even be penalty clauses in place, and Tesla is actually 'making money' on the transmission failures, albeit with some loss of reputation and workshop time.

try to keep up, the failures amounted to a loose wire, fixed by a tie wrap, there is no massive failures and there are no massive financial issues