autoevolution
 

Tesla Halts Deliveries of German Model Y Performance Due to Rear Motor Defect

Tesla was supposed to attain a few firsts with Giga Grünheide in Germany. It would have been the first factory to make a vehicle with massive casting parts in its structure, the first to use 4680 cells… There are a few firsts indeed, but not the ones Tesla planned. The Model Y Performance made in Germany is the first Tesla recognizes can’t be fixed with an over-the-air (OTA) update, so the EV maker is postponing deliveries indefinitely.
Tesla Model Y Performance made at Giga Gruenheide is having rear motor failures 12 photos
Photo: Munro Live/TFF/edited by autoevolution
Tesla Model 3 rear motor inverter has a massive recall in China that explains a lotTesla Model Y electric crossoverTesla Model Y electric crossoverTesla Model Y electric crossoverTesla Model Y electric crossoverTesla Model Y electric crossoverTesla Model Y electric crossoverTesla Model Y electric crossoverTesla Model Y electric crossoverTesla Model Y electric crossoverTesla Model Y may have serious issues with its rear motors
Joking aside (and you'll get the joke further ahead), this is what several owners are reporting at the TFF forum. The thread was started on June 25, and it already has 143 responses from people either affected by the issue or curious about the problem. As usual, Tesla apologists wrote there to praise the responsible attitude the company had in halting deliveries. Regular customers were just disappointed to pay in full for a car they had no idea when they would be able to drive. Some of them had to cancel their summer vacations.

The first reports in the thread gave us the impression that the cars were built and sent to the Tesla Service Centers before the defect was discovered. In fact, it is a bit more complicated than that.

User gangster said he received his Model Y Performance produced at Giga Grünheide on April 6. He only drove it for 351 kilometers (218 miles) before it stopped working, luckily when he was leaving the garage, not with the car on the road. The car showed some red lights and some warnings on the dashboard. After that, the 12V battery died before he could set the towing mode. According to him, the problem is with the inverter or the drive unit.

Tesla Model Y may have serious issues with its rear motors
Photo: via TMC/Sandy Munro
That reminds us of previous issues with the Model Y and Model 3 related to the rear motor inverter. In April 2022, ConsumerAffairs wrote that the Model Y rear motors were failing at a worrying pace. In the same month, China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) recalled 127,785 units of the Model 3 due to a rear motor inverter defect. The Model 3 and the Model Y use the same motors. Surprisingly, Tesla said the repair was an OTA update (got the joke?).

User RedQ said the defect in the Model Y Performance must be similar to the failures in the Model Y Long Range drive unit, even if they use different motors. RedQ also seems pretty disappointed with Tesla’s quality control and asks how a company can build hundreds of cars and days later realize they have a safety-relevant defect. As we have said, Tesla may have known about the defect since April, if not earlier.

According to the user hello solar, cars with VIN 68XX up to 98XX are involved with the issue, meaning more than 3,000 German units have the problem. The user quizm wrote that their Tesla Service Center said the issue was with the voltage converter on the drive unit. Most other reports referred to the inverter and discussed if it would require replacing only this part or the entire drive unit.

Tesla Model 3 rear motor inverter has a massive recall in China that explains a lot
Photo: via TMC/eBay
If the problem is with the inverter, the Model Y Long Range drive unit may use the same component, which would explain why RedQ said some of these drive units are also having issues. In another thread about the 3D7 motor, most users also refer to problems with the inverters.

Considering that Tesla usually prefers to replace entire components instead of only the defective elements they present, it is very likely that all the electric motors with the problematic inverters will have to be exchanged to fix these vehicles. With Tesla fighting to have enough of them in production lines, people may be without their cars for quite some time.

The user joloB would get his Model Y Performance on June 29, but the delivery was postponed to sometime between August 17 and October 1.User Lagerfeld54 expressed that his confidence in Tesla’s product quality is fading day by day and that he is now concerned about trading his trusty Mercedes-AMG for a Model Y Performance. According to this Tesla client, he likes bananas, but not the banana principle that the product matures with the customer. Unfortunately for Tesla, many more customers are justifiably on the same boat as Lagerfeld54.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
Gustavo Henrique Ruffo profile photo

Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories