Tesla Model S hits 3 million km: EV Clinic's rebuilt motor did 1.2 million km on a single oil change
Hansjörg von Gemmingen-Hornberg's Model S has passed 3 million km. EV Clinic says the motor it rebuilt covered 1.208 million km with one liter of oil changed, and the battery bought at 1.75 million km has lost only 14.1% of its capacity.
Europe's best-known Tesla has passed 3 million kilometers. It's the 2013 Model S of German driver Hansjörg von Gemmingen-Hornberg, who made a photo of its 3,000,000 km odometer card his X profile picture, according to "EVwire". Now the Croatian shop "EV Clinic", which rebuilt its motor, has opened the car up and published what it found.
The motor: 1.2 million km on €8 of oil
By the time the car reached EV Clinic in 2023, at about 1.8 million km, its rear motor had been replaced 13 times, mostly by Tesla under warranty. The cause, "EV Clinic" says, was the same every time: the rotor's coolant seal. When it fails, coolant gets into the stator and kills the motor.
The shop fitted a graphite seal and made a few modifications. The result, according to "EV Clinic":
- the motor already had 155,000 km and then covered another 1,208,000 km;
- the only service was one liter of Dexron VI gearbox oil, changed at around 600,000 km, for €8;
- on teardown, every bearing was fine after roughly 5.43 billion rotations;
- the graphite seal was almost worn through, but was still keeping coolant out of the motor.
The only sign of wear was a little oil escaping past the differential seal. EV Clinic also says Tesla declined to mark the motor's 1 million km milestone together.
The battery: only 14.1% loss after 1.26 million km
The original battery was replaced at 290,000 km, and the next two lasted about 670,000 and 550,000 km, according to "EVwire". The owner bought the current 90 kWh pack himself, for about €20,000, at roughly 1.75 million km. It has since covered 1.258 million km.
The figures measured by "EV Clinic":
| Battery | Value |
|---|---|
| Original capacity | 87.8 kWh |
| Capacity now | 75.4 kWh |
| Degradation | 14.1% |
| Estimated full cycles | about 5,800 |
For comparison, many batteries are designed for about 2,000 cycles. A Model 3 taxi in Italy passed 700,000 km on its original battery, but this is another level entirely.
What it cost compared with a diesel
"EV Clinic" estimates the car used about €50,000 of electricity over the 1.258 million km on the current battery, including lifetime free Supercharging. The same distance in a diesel Mercedes E-Class (W212) would have cost about €120,000 in fuel, and around €156,000 in a petrol E300. Keep in mind these are the shop's own estimates, and it also sells the repair.
Not every Tesla lasts like this
The shop also says it has seen batteries fail at 100,000, 600,000 or 800,000 km, usually because moisture gets into the pack. If you're buying a used EV, see how to check battery health (SOH).
EV Clinic has workshops in Zagreb, Ljubljana, Belgrade, Berlin, Budapest, Paris and other cities, and EV Clinic Romania is on its "coming soon" list.
Hansjörg's goal, as he told "Finansavisen" two years ago: 5 million km.
