Earlier quoted context omitted.
So it becomes read only when helium leaks out?
I though it would just lead to more heat, but reading this[1] from Seagate it seems indeed possible that the drive will not function if too much air gets in: Furthermore, the use of a higher number of thinner disks is not possible because the windage induces turbulence and makes 7200-RPM tracking impossible at the desired TPIs. The only way to reduce windage in air-filled HDDs is to significantly lower the spindle sp…
Especially looking at WD's "5400 RPM Class" thing as evidence that it takes effort to change the speed of a drive.