Model S With 424,000 Miles Still Drives Like A Dream
High-mileage hero in the form of a 2015 Model S proves that EVs can be long-lasting and trustworthy vehicles without skipping a beat.
Though the long-term reliability of electric vehicles is a hotly debated subject, there are a handful of examples that make an excellent case for their durability. When a friend named Alex asked if I’d like to check out his 2015 Tesla Model S, I told him I’d love to. After all, he is quite an EV enthusiast, so it only made sense for him to finally land himself in a Tesla. However, given his past ownership of crazy EVs like the incredibly rare Ford Ranger EV from the early 2000s, I knew there had to be a catch. There certainly is.
This 2015 Tesla Model S 70D has 424,000 miles on it. For those who don’t want to do the math, that is over 70,000 miles a year. As one might expect, the original owner of this Tesla purchased it with the intent of using it for driving for Uber. Drive for Uber, he certainly did. It seems that “full-time” may be an understatement for this dedicated rideshare captain. We certainly salute him!
What Toll Does 424,000 Miles Take On A Tesla Model S?
Naturally, my first instinct was to ask if I could borrow the car for a couple of days and take it back to its roots to some extent. Alex happily let me take the car for a bit, and I put it to the test by taking it on a 12-hour Doordash delivery shift to see if the old girls’ still got it in her. After nearly 300 miles of driving in the short timeframe, it was in my possession; I can safely say that had I not known the mileage ahead of time, I wouldn’t have had any sort of intuition that this Model S was approaching on the half-million-mile mark.
Now, this Model S did not have a perfectly happy sprint to this insane mileage. However, for the number of miles on this car, it is surprisingly original. When interacting with other Tesla owners at the superchargers, the first thing many wanted to know was if the car had its original battery. Unfortunately, I can not report that it does. However, given that it is a 2015, this Model S has an unlimited-mileage powertrain warranty. Tesla replaced the battery around 250,000 miles. So, the current battery installed in the car still has 180,000 miles on it. According to the owner, it only has lost about 40 miles worth of range when fully charged. That seems pretty reasonable for nearly 200,000 miles.
A Staple of Reliability
It has had a few other items replaced, too. The front drive unit (front motor), rear axles, front upper control arms, rear upper links, front lower fore links, and front aft links were replaced around 375,000 miles.
The Media Control Unit was replaced at around 335,000 miles. It also had a new AC compressor around 300,000 miles. As one might expect, it has new brake pads and rotors, too.
Minor repairs include door handle replacements/repairs and a faulty window regulator that needed replacing. OF course, the front end also wears an uncountable amount of rock chips.
Many of these issues are consistent with any vehicle with this mileage. This is especially true in rideshare vehicles. Just think of all the times those handles and windows have seen use!
Finally, the adhesive in the instrument cluster is failing, causing a leaking-like appearance in the gauges.
Ultimately, this Model S proves what everyone has always known about vehicles of any type. Take good care of them, and they’ll take good care of you. Still, this is an insane amount of miles for any car from 2015.
So, if you’re currently driving a Tesla and have any concerns about what the future may hold, breathe a sigh of relief. If this icon of high-mileage EV excellence is any consistent point of reference, you have nothing to worry about.
Photos by Braden Carlson for Electric Vehicle Forums