Twingo ZE with R240 – Thin line of sustianability

Do we always have to be the last line of defense? The line between sustainability and unsustainability is very thin, and when it comes to designing utterly stupid, unsustainable, expensive, and complex maintenance systems, European engineers and manufacturers are absolute global leaders—as evident in diesel engines, gasoline engines, hybrid systems, and now EV powertrains. Customers feel extremely deceived when these powertrains fail, which is one of the reasons behind the declining sales of European EVs.

This is the third recorded case where the drivetrain system becomes soaked with coolant on high-voltage components inside a hermetically sealed box meant to protect against water ingress. This box also houses the coolant plate channel for cooling the OBC charger, DCDC charger, inverter, and EMI filter. It’s almost the same nonsense as found in the Smart 453EQ.

The box is bolted onto the electric motor and designed in such a way that the cover cannot be opened while the car is assembled because a motor mount is placed over it. For any operation, you have to disassemble everything down to the last bolt, including the suspension, driveshafts, motor wiring, hoses, etc., which takes €1,000 worth of labor hours. Just for a mechanic to “take a look,” it’s 5–10 hours of work. In this case, to even identify the issue, we had to first spend 6 hours of labor disassembling everything to find out where the coolant was leaking.

Under just 2 bar of pressure, coolant began showing bubbles from a factory-drilled hole for a bolt securing the inverter. This is a manufacturing defect, where the person drilling the hole pierced the coolant channel. The problem with the Valeo inverter is that it’s the bottom component, the first to fail, and also the most expensive one. In this case, replacement is the only option. However, the issue arises if we can’t extract data from the processor because the IMMOBILIZER key code is stored there. The authorized service center (which can retrieve the data) refuses to replace just the inverter and insists on replacing the entire drivetrain.

We need the IMMO data for the new inverter to even start the electric motor. So, in cases of coolant flooding, we must first disassemble and analyze whether it’s even possible to repair or recover the data. If it’s not possible, the owner incurs a cost of €400 + VAT for disassembly and analysis at our facility, only to then go back to the authorized service center and pay €9,500–13,000.

One recent case on the Smart 453EQ involved a Tricore TC1782 processor from which we couldn’t recover the data (DATA FLASH was burned), forcing the owner to replace the entire drivetrain and electric motor. Later, even the replacement electric motor’s stator was found to be burnt. This is one of the worst and most expensive failures in the automotive industry on one of the most poorly designed systems in 120 years of automotive history—the infamous R240 drivetrain.

After Stellantis’s disasters, this is the next system that has cost us the most in wasted time and resources, with nearly all vehicles failing under 100,000 km. It’s still not as critical as Stellantis, but everything depends on recovering the inverter data. We are currently developing a tool for fast and secure data recovery, but it’s uncertain whether we’ll be able to save every drivetrain from a €9,500 bill.

Authorized service centers must become more flexible and offer repair attempts, replacing components (as is possible on the Twingo), rather than pushing owners towards the most expensive option. Another preventative measure could involve loosening the bolt on the inverter and soaking it with Loctite adhesive to provide additional protection against material cracks in the threads.

OEM Price: 9500€
EVC: 1700€

Inverter VALEO: 292A60278R
Partnumber: 296050192R
Processor: Tricore SAK-TC1782