Last month, several Cybertruck owners reported that Tesla offered them a free drivetrain replacement during their next service visit. Tesla explained the offer as part of a study of early Cybertruck vehicles. However, some Cybertruck owners have recently experienced drivetrain failures, leaving many wondering if Tesla was, in effect, conducting a silent voluntary recall.
The Cybertruck is Tesla’s riskiest bet yet, with many cutting-edge technologies still in their infancy. Nearly everything about the Cybertruck is different from other vehicles, from the manufacturing process, body structure, materials, and all the unproven underlying technologies. The Cybertruck features a 48-volt electrical system, Gigabit Ethernet interconnect, and steer-by-wire, to name a few.
Given all the new technology, the Cybertruck is mostly a technology showcase, and anyone who bought one must have been aware that some things might not be commercial grade yet. In fact, early adopters reported many problems with the Cybertruck, although Tesla has since fixed most of them. However, not all early issues were caught and fixed during development, and some have come back to haunt early Cybertruck owners.
In the past month, several owners have reported transmission failures. In most cases, it started with what was described as a noise in the rear or a jolt. Soon after, the truck emitted several rear transmission error codes and went into turtle mode. So far, only All-wheel drive the models appear to be influenced by it.
A Cybertruck owner was pleased that Tesla Service Center employees had reviewed the vehicle’s logs, despite it being a Sunday. Based on the logs, they speculated that it could be the rear inverter or the rear drive unit. They explained that the rear inverter has a pyroelectric fuse that blows to protect the drive unit. This blew on his truck, causing the rear motor to disable. However, it was unclear at the time whether the drive unit was affected.
Owners with similar issues have reported waiting more than two weeks for Tesla to find a replacement rear inverter. Others have had better luck, with some saying their issues were resolved in just two days. Some have gone straight to a service center when this happened and were immediately offered a replacement car, with the drive unit inverter replaced within a few days. This shows that Tesla is aware of this issue and has already built up inventory.
The issues have reminded everyone of last month’s free transmission replacement that Tesla offered to early Cybertruck owners. Tesla explained that the offer was part of a survey to gauge the reliability of the transmission unit on early Cybertruck vehicles. However, people believe that Tesla has been proactive in replacing the faulty transmission units, similar to a silent voluntary recall. However, if more Cybertrucks suffer transmission unit and inverter failures, Tesla may be forced to issue a recall. And unlike others, this one won’t be a software recall.
Well…our Cybertruck rental company contacted us to let us know that they had received some warnings suggesting a rear engine failure. Speed is limited to 65 MPH.
Luckily, his week-long trip ends tomorrow, so he was able to spend most of the journey in a working truck.
Consequentially… photo.twitter.com/n5nXUOqYSi
— Ethan (@EZebroni) August 11, 2024