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What sort of maintenance are performed on these cars?? Seems like there is nothing to be maintained, given the all steel, aluminum, glass stuff everywhere. Do

What sort of maintenance are performed on these cars?? Seems like there is nothing to be maintained, given the all steel, aluminum, glass stuff everywhere. Does it have any oil changes required, like in brakes or transmission?

narrator 9y ago
There is no transmission. The electric motor has 100% torque at 0 rpm and easily runs in reverse.
- stepik777 9y ago
  There is a transmission. At least in Model S: 1-speed fixed gear (9.73:1).
olex 9y ago
Brake fluid needs to replaced eventually, same as in ICE cars. But that's only once in several years. No oil, no transmission fluid. And yeah, you need to refill windshield washer fluid every once in a while too :) Other than that, since there are much fewer moving parts, there is much less regular maintenance necessary. Brake pads and discs survive much longer thanks to regenerative braking.
- biehl 9y ago
  It has electric brakes, right?
  - sliken 9y ago
    It has regen, which is basically energy capture via electric brakes. But it also has regular breaks, most drivers don't use them much so they last a really long time.
    - jabl 9y ago
      How does it work? Does it use regen exclusively if you press the brake pedal lightly, and then the mechanical brakes are only engaged when you stomp on the pedal, or?
      - martin_bech 9y ago
        It depends on settings, state of charge and temperature of the batterypack. On normal it stars a slow regen as soon as you let go of the "gas". And brakes are only deployed if you hit the brakes. However if you already have a full battery (very rare) or the battery is cold (very often in cold winter) the battery cant absorb the charge, so regen is disabled. This means the car brakes very differently, with or without regen, but this is also indicates on the dash.
        lucaspiller 9y ago
        I have a Gen 3 Prius and it works the same. The only think I'll add is the Prius uses the brake pads at low speed (<10mph) and when you come to a full stop as well.
      - mixmastamyk 9y ago
        Connects the wheels to a generator to recapture some of the energy. Slows the car down too. Good as a "first level" brake.
    - martin_bech 9y ago
      Yes and no. The low use of the brakes can be bad in non optimal weather, and can lead to the brakes getting stuck, uneven etc. There has been some problems with this in Denmark and Norway. So you still need to service the brakes.
    - elmar 9y ago
      they should have a small supercapacitor to capture the instant energy spikes of regen.
      - 9y ago
prostoalex 9y ago
Break fluid, battery coolant, drive unit fluid, tires when necessary, wheel alignments when necessary, wiper blades when necessary, key fob batteries. https://www.tesla.com/support/maintenance-plans https://www.tesla.com/support/maintenance-plans
- Matt3o12_ 9y ago
  Funnily enough, there is no key fob on a Model 3. You are supposed to use your phone to unlock your car (using Bluetooth) or a key car (using NFC) in case your phone is dead or you do not wish to couple your phone with the vehicle. I personally like the idea because I hate carrying my keys with me and a credit card sized car would be much better for me. But I think Tesla should offer to sell normal key fobs for people who which to use those instead.
  - narrowtux 9y ago
    Key card* (?)
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
From what I've heard Telsa vehicles rare in for warranty repairs at a higher rate than most other new vehicles. "The main problem areas involved the drivetrain, power equipment, charging equipment, giant iPad-like center console, and body and sunroof squeaks, rattles, and leaks." The most common problems involve replacement of the electric motors, warped brake rotors, door handles that fail to slide out as a driver approaches, and numerous squeaks and rattles, which may be more apparent given the very quiet nature of electric propulsion. Other problem areas cited by Tesla owners are leaking cooling pumps for the battery pack, dead windshield wipers, persistent alignment issues with the wheels, and misaligned latches for the front trunklid and the rear liftgate. Thus far, all such problems have been handled under Tesla's four-year/50,000-mile warranty (it's eight years and unlimited mileage on the powertrain)--and owners appear to be pleased with the level of attentiveness and customer service they have received. But Consumer Reports notes that once the car is out of warranty, such problems could become expensive for owners of older Teslas to fix. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100561_tesla-model-s-too-many-problems-to-recommend-consumer-reports-says http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100561_tesla-model-s-to...
- kumarvvr 9y ago
  Electric motors are one of the most rugged pieces of equipment in the world. Coming from a state run engineering enterprise, where every motor is purchased from the lowest bidder, even the worst quality motors run for decades before even showing signs of any trouble, including mechanical. For a car like the Tesla, it's hard to believe that the motor will give any sort of trouble. Also, most electric motors, even those driven by variable frequency drives, are extremely simple in construction and are extremely resilient to shocks and prolonged use. Almost all modern motors have efficiencies upwards of 97.5%, so you have very less heating losses and mechanical losses even in the most demanding conditions.
  - robterrell 9y ago
    It may be hard to believe, but read the forums (especially of other cars with Tesla drivetrains, like the Mercedes-Benz EV or the Toyota RAV 4 EV) and you'll see many tales of woe regarding the motors. Tesla makes their motors in-house, so it's not surprising they've been working out the kinks for years, given their sales volume (until recently).
mach5 9y ago
i can't speak for the Model 3, but i own a Bolt, here's the service schedule for that: * every 7,500mi: rotate tires * every 22,500mi: change cabin air filter * every 5 years: replace brake fluid * every 150,000mi: replace battery cooling fluid that's it. crazy!
- izacus 9y ago
  > * every 7,500mi: rotate tires What's that?
  - seren 9y ago
    Change the wheel a given tire is attached to. This is to have a regular "wear" on your tires. Incidentally, you can also regularly rotate your mattress to have a better sleep.
    - hoorayimhelping 9y ago
      >Change the wheel a given tire is attached to. I don't think I've ever had this done when getting my tires rotated. They just move the wheels and tires from front to back and sometimes from left to right.
      - seren 9y ago
        That what I wanted to convey, I am not a native speaker and sometimes I tend to be somewhat unclear.
  - kumarvvr 9y ago
    You change the position of the tires. The front ones are removed and fixed at the rear and the rear ones are removed and fixed at the front. Allows for uniform wear and tear for the tires. Some even interchange the left and right tires.
    - skoocda 9y ago
      Left <-> right interchange doesn't really happen anymore since radial tires have become standard on most vehicles. Radial tires are unidirectional, so if you go left -> right your tires will be rotating backwards, and then they won't be able to channel water out from the treads.
elihu 9y ago
With a mass-market car, I hope that Haynes or Chilton put out a repair manual if Tesla doesn't make their shop manual available to the public at low cost.

narrator 9y ago

There is no transmission. The electric motor has 100% torque at 0 rpm and easily runs in reverse.

stepik777 9y ago
There is a transmission. At least in Model S: 1-speed fixed gear (9.73:1).

olex 9y ago

Brake fluid needs to replaced eventually, same as in ICE cars. But that's only once in several years. No oil, no transmission fluid. And yeah, you need to refill windshield washer fluid every once in a while too :) Other than that, since there are much fewer moving parts, there is much less regular maintenance necessary. Brake pads and discs survive much longer thanks to regenerative braking.

biehl 9y ago
It has electric brakes, right?
- sliken 9y ago
  It has regen, which is basically energy capture via electric brakes. But it also has regular breaks, most drivers don't use them much so they last a really long time.
  - jabl 9y ago
    How does it work? Does it use regen exclusively if you press the brake pedal lightly, and then the mechanical brakes are only engaged when you stomp on the pedal, or?
    - martin_bech 9y ago
      It depends on settings, state of charge and temperature of the batterypack. On normal it stars a slow regen as soon as you let go of the "gas". And brakes are only deployed if you hit the brakes. However if you already have a full battery (very rare) or the battery is cold (very often in cold winter) the battery cant absorb the charge, so regen is disabled. This means the car brakes very differently, with or without regen, but this is also indicates on the dash.
      - lucaspiller 9y ago
        I have a Gen 3 Prius and it works the same. The only think I'll add is the Prius uses the brake pads at low speed (<10mph) and when you come to a full stop as well.
    - mixmastamyk 9y ago
      Connects the wheels to a generator to recapture some of the energy. Slows the car down too. Good as a "first level" brake.
  - martin_bech 9y ago
    Yes and no. The low use of the brakes can be bad in non optimal weather, and can lead to the brakes getting stuck, uneven etc. There has been some problems with this in Denmark and Norway. So you still need to service the brakes.
  - elmar 9y ago
    they should have a small supercapacitor to capture the instant energy spikes of regen.
    - 9y ago

prostoalex 9y ago

Break fluid, battery coolant, drive unit fluid, tires when necessary, wheel alignments when necessary, wiper blades when necessary, key fob batteries. https://www.tesla.com/support/maintenance-plans https://www.tesla.com/support/maintenance-plans

Matt3o12_ 9y ago
Funnily enough, there is no key fob on a Model 3. You are supposed to use your phone to unlock your car (using Bluetooth) or a key car (using NFC) in case your phone is dead or you do not wish to couple your phone with the vehicle. I personally like the idea because I hate carrying my keys with me and a credit card sized car would be much better for me. But I think Tesla should offer to sell normal key fobs for people who which to use those instead.
- narrowtux 9y ago
  Key card* (?)
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago

From what I've heard Telsa vehicles rare in for warranty repairs at a higher rate than most other new vehicles. "The main problem areas involved the drivetrain, power equipment, charging equipment, giant iPad-like center console, and body and sunroof squeaks, rattles, and leaks." The most common problems involve replacement of the electric motors, warped brake rotors, door handles that fail to slide out as a driver approaches, and numerous squeaks and rattles, which may be more apparent given the very quiet nature of electric propulsion. Other problem areas cited by Tesla owners are leaking cooling pumps for the battery pack, dead windshield wipers, persistent alignment issues with the wheels, and misaligned latches for the front trunklid and the rear liftgate. Thus far, all such problems have been handled under Tesla's four-year/50,000-mile warranty (it's eight years and unlimited mileage on the powertrain)--and owners appear to be pleased with the level of attentiveness and customer service they have received. But Consumer Reports notes that once the car is out of warranty, such problems could become expensive for owners of older Teslas to fix. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100561_tesla-model-s-too-many-problems-to-recommend-consumer-reports-says http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100561_tesla-model-s-to...

kumarvvr 9y ago
Electric motors are one of the most rugged pieces of equipment in the world. Coming from a state run engineering enterprise, where every motor is purchased from the lowest bidder, even the worst quality motors run for decades before even showing signs of any trouble, including mechanical. For a car like the Tesla, it's hard to believe that the motor will give any sort of trouble. Also, most electric motors, even those driven by variable frequency drives, are extremely simple in construction and are extremely resilient to shocks and prolonged use. Almost all modern motors have efficiencies upwards of 97.5%, so you have very less heating losses and mechanical losses even in the most demanding conditions.
- robterrell 9y ago
  It may be hard to believe, but read the forums (especially of other cars with Tesla drivetrains, like the Mercedes-Benz EV or the Toyota RAV 4 EV) and you'll see many tales of woe regarding the motors. Tesla makes their motors in-house, so it's not surprising they've been working out the kinks for years, given their sales volume (until recently).

mach5 9y ago

i can't speak for the Model 3, but i own a Bolt, here's the service schedule for that: * every 7,500mi: rotate tires * every 22,500mi: change cabin air filter * every 5 years: replace brake fluid * every 150,000mi: replace battery cooling fluid that's it. crazy!

izacus 9y ago
> * every 7,500mi: rotate tires What's that?
- seren 9y ago
  Change the wheel a given tire is attached to. This is to have a regular "wear" on your tires. Incidentally, you can also regularly rotate your mattress to have a better sleep.
  - hoorayimhelping 9y ago
    >Change the wheel a given tire is attached to. I don't think I've ever had this done when getting my tires rotated. They just move the wheels and tires from front to back and sometimes from left to right.
    - seren 9y ago
      That what I wanted to convey, I am not a native speaker and sometimes I tend to be somewhat unclear.
- kumarvvr 9y ago
  You change the position of the tires. The front ones are removed and fixed at the rear and the rear ones are removed and fixed at the front. Allows for uniform wear and tear for the tires. Some even interchange the left and right tires.
  - skoocda 9y ago
    Left <-> right interchange doesn't really happen anymore since radial tires have become standard on most vehicles. Radial tires are unidirectional, so if you go left -> right your tires will be rotating backwards, and then they won't be able to channel water out from the treads.

elihu 9y ago

With a mass-market car, I hope that Haynes or Chilton put out a repair manual if Tesla doesn't make their shop manual available to the public at low cost.