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According to people on the TMC forums (so take with a grain of salt) Tesla's motors only cost $350-400. If that's true, they're basically perfect already. It's
by xxpor 7y ago
According to people on the TMC forums (so take with a grain of salt) Tesla's motors only cost $350-400. If that's true, they're basically perfect already. It's the batteries which drive cost and weight.
- adammunich 7y agoThey are mostly iron so it seems plausible.
- moogly 7y agoIs that the Model 3 motors? I've heard that the Model S motors had a surprisingly high failure rate, many owners of the earlier models having had 5+ drive unit replacements. I'm guessing the Model 3 drive units are more reliable?
- mikeash 7y agoThe early Model S motors had problems like that. They got a lot better over the years. The Model 3's is great, and the Model S/X front motors are now the same as the Model 3's, while the rear motors are something else that's still a lot better.
- londons_explore 7y agoAny clues what exactly within the motors fails?
- mikeash 7y agoThere’s usually a funny noise long before any catastrophic failure, so I think it’s the bearings or the gears, but concrete information is hard to find. I actually had my motor replaced due to this noise. It was a high pitched whining, kind of like a jet engine spooling up. Not real loud, most noticeable in a parking garage with the roof open, and I wasn’t even sure if it was abnormal, but I took it in and they replaced it. It’s easy to swap out, so they just put in a new one and then fix the old one at their convenience and give it to the next victim. Incidentally, I had another weird noise sometime later which was a distinct clunking sound when accelerating from a stop. That turned out to be a bolt that wasn’t tightened properly. Oops!
- moogly 7y agoThanks for clearing it up!