How long did you wait for a motor replacement?

[Allen]

I asked about a year ago whether I should take it in. Forums recommended yes but I waited till the sound was undeniable. Took it in almost 2 months ago. They gave me a rental car for about a month and a half but then called me back and said "the specialist said it's drivable and the motor is on back order, come pick it up."

Still waiting for a new motor. How long should I expect to wait? What happens if they never get a new motor? I have the extended warranty. Bought it 2014 around October.

 

[davewill]

As I recall, I waited for 3-5 weeks each time, but that was a long while back. The replacements are all previously failed motors that have been reworked. So your wait will depend on how many motors they have, how much rework they need, and whether they can get anyone at Tesla to pay attention long enough to get one out.

If they were to hang you out to dry, you'd have to either sue or go to arbitration to get satisfaction.

QuickChargePower in San Diego is able to do repairs on Rav4EV motors, if anyone is forced to deal with this outside of the warranty.

 

[geo]

Over 4 months for me. But to be fair, the dealer had the motor for a while but didn't think to call me when it arrived. Probably sat there for a month or two before I called and they 'discovered' the part was in stock.

 

[user 340]

I didn't have to wait at all for a drive unit replacement this past July. The drive unit arrived at the dealership (Toyota of Palo Alto) within about a day of Toyota authorizing a warranty replacement. This was one of the rare times I got lucky with this car - Tesla must have had an extra one sitting around, and it was probably at their Palo Alto location which is quite close to the dealer.

 

[miimura]

I didn't have to wait at all for a drive unit replacement this past July. The drive unit arrived at the dealership (Toyota of Palo Alto) within about a day of Toyota authorizing a warranty replacement. This was one of the rare times I got lucky with this car - Tesla must have had an extra one sitting around, and it was probably at their Palo Alto location which is quite close to the dealer.

Almost the same for me. I took it to Palo Alto, they evaluated it, got it approved, and it was installed less than 2 weeks later. This was April 2018, just barely less than 5 years after I got the car, so it was covered on the Powertrain Warranty. I still haven't made a claim on my Platinum Warranty. It's good for another 36k mi and until April 2021 (8yr/100k plan).

 

[smkettner]

Been a while now but mine was close to a year.

 

[asavage]

Still waiting for a new motor. How long should I expect to wait?

On mine, in May2018, it took five weeks for the rebuilt DU to arrive at the dealer, and one day to swap out.

OTOH, the same dealer took two weeks last month to get back to me and tell me that I am responsible to get the car to California to have the battery replaced with a repaired unit Oh, they confirmed it needed battery replacement within two days, but it took another twelve days and several inquiries for status update before the service writer got around to giving me the info I needed to proceed. Wasted time: I had it on a truck the next day, and it was in Auburn, Calif. in two days.

 

[Allen]

Was about 3-3.5 months but I have my new motor and it's whisper quiet.

However, during the process they bent my driver side door window frame. I didn't discover it for a few days. I actually suspected my car had been broken into in the dealer but they said maybe they closed the door on a diagnostic tool.

They had it for a month that time before they found out that the motor was not coming any time soon. To their credit they had their body guy bend it back while I waited.

When it was ready they mentioned a $550 breaker cover or something that was broken. Ok, I'm assuming it's covered cause I don't know where it is, haven't ever touched it, the only people who could have touched it was them. When I went to pick up the car they charged me for it because "broken parts" are not covered under warranty. Yeah, but you probably broke it... But I don't begrudge them making money and they worked on my motor despite having Tony's quick charger in it. They charged me around $330 or so for working around it I believe.

So I would have been happy, I mean the car is quiet. I had probably been losing hearing before cause it was so loud. But that wasn't it. I had walked my whole car this time looking for bends or dings. Didn't notice anything. I get it home and there are 2 scratches on the fairing over the rear door. Like they drove it into something low. The scratches go through the paint to the plastic. They are aware but haven't told me what they are going to do.

That's 3 things they broke on my car and didn't fess up to. I'm a little pissed.

 

[davewill]

... When it was ready they mentioned a $550 breaker cover or something that was broken. Ok, I'm assuming it's covered cause I don't know where it is, haven't ever touched it, the only people who could have touched it was them. When I went to pick up the car they charged me for it because "broken parts" are not covered under warranty. Yeah, but you probably broke it... But I don't begrudge them making money and they worked on my motor despite having Tony's quick charger in it. They charged me around $330 or so for working around it I believe. ...

I believe that they are referring to the HV battery disconnect. It has to be removed whenever the HV system is touched. QCP would have had to disconnect it when they put in the Jdemo. Apparently, it is fairly easy to damage when removing/reinstalling. My understanding is that the damage is usually not to the disconnect itself, but to the mechanical part that helps lock it in place. So you can drive around with it broken usually with no problems.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I believe that they are referring to the HV battery disconnect. It has to be removed whenever the HV system is touched. QCP would have had to disconnect it when they put in the Jdemo. Apparently, it is fairly easy to damage when removing/reinstalling. My understanding is that the damage is usually not to the disconnect itself, but to the mechanical part that helps lock it in place. So you can drive around with it broken usually with no problems.

There are two plastic tabs on the battery disconnect plug. One is orange, and one is black.

The black one is normally broken to remove the plug. The orange one is to prevent people who don’t know what they are doing from reinserting the plug. It never breaks.

Neither tab are required for proper or safe operation.

 

[davewill]

There are two plastic tabs on the battery disconnect plug. One is orange, and one is black.

The black one is normally broken to remove the plug. The orange one is to prevent people who don’t know what they are doing from reinserting the plug. It never breaks.

Neither tab are required for proper or safe operation.

Interesting. So does Toyota expect it to be replaced each time service has to remove it, or is it not normally removed by Toyota service when working on the HV system?

So, if this ever comes up, We should simply refuse replacement if Toyota wants to do it?

 

[TonyWilliams]

There are two plastic tabs on the battery disconnect plug. One is orange, and one is black.

The black one is normally broken to remove the plug. The orange one is to prevent people who don’t know what they are doing from reinserting the plug. It never breaks.

Neither tab are required for proper or safe operation.

Interesting. So does Toyota expect it to be replaced each time service has to remove it, or is it not normally removed by Toyota service when working on the HV system?

So, if this ever comes up, We should simply refuse replacement if Toyota wants to do it?

The dealers make money selling you parts. It’s as simple as that.

We have quite literally taken a plug with the black tab to the Toyota dealer to get them to do warranty work, and then put the original back in.

 

[Allen]

Ouch, if I had realized it wasn't covered under warranty I think I might have thought about it harder but it wasn't clear until after it was replaced.

 

[Luckyduckie]

Currently our 2014 has been at Piercey Toyota since 10-9-2019, waiting for motor 2nd replacement! There wasn't any motor noise but the car was driving irregular after complete stop; felt like the shaking when driving a manual transmission and engine was about to die from dropping the clutch too quickly (That's the only way I can describe it). They initially couldn't replicate the problem with multiple attempts until they backed up on a slight uphill. I don't know how that's related to the DU, but don't know what else to say. Still waiting after three weeks! PITA!!!

They wanted two hours labor for moving the JdeMo, but I talked it down to one hour ($190).

 

[TonyWilliams]

The motor can be removed without removing the JdeMO™ inlet assembly, but it is slightly more difficult. There are three bolts on the top of the motor that need to be accessible. The dealer needs to remove the 6 small bolts that that hold on the JdeMO™ inlet assembly. This requires an 5mm “Allen wrench” and about 5 minutes of time.

The assembly swings out of the way. Re-installation also takes 5 minutes.

 

[gmcmurry]

I found this old thread...

I have a Blue 2014 #3040 and it is starting to really whine... It has 60K miles and I have the extended Platinum Warranty.

I am in Los Angeles. Thinking of taking it to Culver City Toyota and hoping to get a new drive unit out of my Warranty.

How long is it taking these days? I am getting ready to go on a couple week trip so I might want to schedule it then. I guess my Platinum will get me a loaner anyway.

Anything to look out for during this process? Do I just say "it makes a lot of noise"?

Greg

 

[ggodman]

Just had mine done, took them a week to get approval, then they said it would be two weeks to get new motor but it actually got there in two days (Hamer Toyota, Mission Hills) the I picked it up the next day.

 

[gmcmurry]

ggodman,

Was yours done under Platinum Warranty?
What did you say to them? "The motor has been making a lot of noise?"

I am going to take mine in in a couple of weeks, hope I have as easy a time as you did.

I suppose any of the big Toyota dealers will be as good as any other. Hopefully there is a rebuilt unit somewhere they can get their hands on it.

Thanks
Greg

 

[ggodman]

Asked them to check speed sensor for moisture and was making noise. They found moisture and recorded video of the noise.

 

[ggodman]

Asked them to check speed sensor for moisture and was making noise. They found moisture and recorded video of the noise which they presumably send to toyota/tesla and yes it was under the platinum warranty.