I think your oil will come out just fine. Do you happen to have the VOA for that oil, or will you compare the thickness with the specced grade's rangeI am currently planning on doing the gearbox fluids on my my ID.4 at 50k and sending it off to Blackstone for analysis, need to order some jack stands and a few little tools to do the job but figure do it at 50k and see what the analysis says. Guessing 50k is too early but honestly this car needs so little else I am really just finding some reason to wrench on it outside of the easy peasy cabin filter and filling up the washer fluid.
Tesla Maintenance
- Thread starter ecotourist
- Start date
I'll probably send the virgin fluid off as well for testing, planning on using whatever OEM fluid VWAG specs for the gearbox.
If you already know the exact product they did the factory fill with that would be great to see how much that oil has degraded over 50k miles. Though if it was me, I would probably skip the OA all together, and rather use that money to change the oil. A quick google search said the car uses about 2.5 liters of gear oil on AWD, and a mere 1L on FWD versions. OA costs as much as a full gear oil change
But if you do the analysis and share it here with the forum, I am sure it would be appreciated
3 batteries in 5 years?
I've always thought that the battery coolant should be changed on a Tesla due age. Do the coolant passages pass between the battery cells? Brake fluid should be changed whether its an ev, hybrid etc. The fluid does degrade over time. Sure you're probably not taking it to the track every weekend but still.
The 12v battery in our '18 Mid Range lasted about 3.5 years. Tesla tech came out and swapped it in my garage for about $120 as I recall. The tech also did an end-to-end inspection, looking for typical issues, tires, etc. He deemed our car, "one of the good ones". Sometimes you get lucky, I guess.
The biggest issue I had was a Continental tire replacement due to a nail(?) near the sidewall. It was like $400 at Wheel Works (Firestone). Ouch!
Two different Tesla techs have told me that the coolant doesn't need to be changed. That seems to be Tesla's position. They were both so adamant on the subject I'm not sure they would have replaced it if I had asked them to.
I'd hate to replace the OEM coolant with coolant intended for an ICE. That might cause more harm than good.
I did ask them to replace the brake fluid (on my 4 year old Model 3). Did they replace it? Nope, they tested it and said it didn't need changing. I saved a bit of money I suppose but I'll just have to get it tested again in a year or so.
Yeah, I don't know. Our Model 3 was 3 years old when I asked to replace the low voltage battery. Tesla told me no need, but it was the 16v lithium ion version. Maybe that's part of the reason why they switched batteries. Maybe the 12v weren't performing well.
Your car might break if you don't take care of it?
but you push started the GTI, right?
It's worth taking into account that Tesla (Musk himself, really) has a special attitude when it comes to entrenched standards. The same juvenile thinking he uses for other more-public concepts. It's not the customer he prioritises, it's the idea of rebellion, 'no maintenance' included. Tesla's round-cell pack cooling is based on the priority of performance over everything else, and, as well-known, runs coolant through serpentine manifolds around the cells to minimise thermal resistance. There are many cooling tube connections throughout the pack interior, each manufactured at the lowest possible cost. But to be fair, it all appears to work as designed.
But these days EV manufacturers like VW and Hyundai-Kia have recognised that having a single point of failure between coolant and live cell terminals is less than great engineering as it's an obvious weakness that has no gradations in the rare case of failure; there is no warning and it can never end well. Both those manufacturers have now moved the cooling system to outside the pack itself, to the underside and rely on thermal conduction at that flat surface. There is a loss of charge-rate performance as expected but there is also a much-improved safety margin that these relatively-conservative companies quietly put in the bank.
My 2018 Kona also has this single point of failure 'feature' and it's always in the back of my mind. It was manufactured before the Kona battery fire fiasco that was eventually blamed squarely on an internal cell design defect. During that time however, without understanding the cause, they changed the conventional coolant in production to a special "low conductivity" type that has turned out to be another fiasco. The original formulation developed crystals, plugging up the pipework. If that wasn't bad enough, where those crystals formed they corrode the aluminium pipework. I'll just add that the internal battery cooling panels are also made of aluminium. I don't even want to think what the long-term risk is.
So, why not change the coolant and use a conventional type? Traditional anti-corrosive characteristics apply and those will be refreshed. The same applies to brake fluid. Just apply common sense.
DSG. I couldn't push start it.
Musk gets a little charitable with the truth sometimes, his own company lawyers threw him under the bus with some of his claims some that are often repeated on this forum.
I'd be willing to change the coolant all right but it would be nice to know what people's experience (with Tesla products) has been. Especially Tesla products that have been around for a decade or more. I don't want to change the coolant and then find out that has caused a boatload of problems.
What type of coolant did they use? How often did they change it? Who changed it? Procedure? Any problems? Any tear downs of Tesla batteries and cooling systems with (and without) coolant changes?
JHZR2
Staff member
I can’t see how intervals on everything except oil and air filters would be any different.
Rubber parts wear, tires and brakes wear/rust (brakes last longer, sure), cabin filters clog, coolant chemistry gets used up, etc. as I recall, some drivetrain equipment even requires lubricants.
Rubber parts wear, tires and brakes wear/rust (brakes last longer, sure), cabin filters clog, coolant chemistry gets used up, etc. as I recall, some drivetrain equipment even requires lubricants.
The only thing different about coolant is less pressure and heat involved. How much that could potentially extend life I'm not sure.
I always replace my cabin filters, but I would think that's a majorly neglected service item by most consumers.
There have been some coolant damage due to leaky pumps, etc on the early cars. But no coolant issues that I've read of due to lack of maintenance. The cars have been on the road for many years now, but of course time will tell.
I am big on maintenance, and ease of DIY.
This thread makes me thankful I got a more mature platform for my EV.
lol, I have seen enough facebook posts with tires worn to shreds on the back of Teslas due to horrible suspension geometry to look at this claim VERY skeptically.
