The charge port on my S-85 with almost 100k miles stopped working this week. Went to charge it Sunday night and the door pops open but the latch doesn't unlock. Sends our family into transportation crisis for 24 hours.
Tesla said they would send a tech but couldn't send one for 3 days. Luckily we had 50 miles of battery left to drive to the local shop. Service tech was extremely rude when I tried to address the issue as either a design flaw or a faulty charge port. He insisted since we were out of warranty that Tesla had no responsibility and it was normal wear and tear. So I asked, "Will I need to replace my charge port every 4 years and should I carry a spare one around so I don't get stuck somewhere?"
Even if it was used every day (it hasn't been) the charge port (actually just the latching mechanism) broke after less than 1500 uses. Forget the warranty for a second, I'm trying to figure out if I'm being unreasonable expecting Tesla to step up from a reputation standpoint and fix something that seems to be happening to a number of folks on the forums.
In addition to the charge port problem, this car has had a recent string of problems including needing a new motor, two new door handles and now the tire air gauges are causing a new set of alarms.
Curious to hear an opinion other than my own:
1. Was the 2013 just not ready to be released and I should expect more first year car problems?
2. I got a lemon and others have had better experiences with their 2013's.
3. The wheels start coming off these things at 100k miles and I should just align my expectations to the German cost/frequency of repairs?
Feeling bitter at Tesla for marketing a car that was supposed to require less maintenance than their gas equivalents. And "no" the 15% discount off $1,114.25 doesn't make me feel better. By comparison my Acura MDX purchased new the same year hasn't had a single problem other than my mother-in-law scratching the fender. :-/
Tesla said they would send a tech but couldn't send one for 3 days. Luckily we had 50 miles of battery left to drive to the local shop. Service tech was extremely rude when I tried to address the issue as either a design flaw or a faulty charge port. He insisted since we were out of warranty that Tesla had no responsibility and it was normal wear and tear. So I asked, "Will I need to replace my charge port every 4 years and should I carry a spare one around so I don't get stuck somewhere?"
Even if it was used every day (it hasn't been) the charge port (actually just the latching mechanism) broke after less than 1500 uses. Forget the warranty for a second, I'm trying to figure out if I'm being unreasonable expecting Tesla to step up from a reputation standpoint and fix something that seems to be happening to a number of folks on the forums.
In addition to the charge port problem, this car has had a recent string of problems including needing a new motor, two new door handles and now the tire air gauges are causing a new set of alarms.
Curious to hear an opinion other than my own:
1. Was the 2013 just not ready to be released and I should expect more first year car problems?
2. I got a lemon and others have had better experiences with their 2013's.
3. The wheels start coming off these things at 100k miles and I should just align my expectations to the German cost/frequency of repairs?
Feeling bitter at Tesla for marketing a car that was supposed to require less maintenance than their gas equivalents. And "no" the 15% discount off $1,114.25 doesn't make me feel better. By comparison my Acura MDX purchased new the same year hasn't had a single problem other than my mother-in-law scratching the fender. :-/