Similarly my 201 VW Golf TDI also with 320K miles has had its fuel pump seals replaced and a faulty idler pulley bearing. $400 for the fuel pump to be resealed and the idler pulley with drive belt were replaced under warranty (only had 5K miles on it but the bearing seized). TDI would have more miles but it's pretty much just sitting on jack stands in the garage since we went EV back in 2016.
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2013 Model S a money pit
- Thread starter Cookaloris
- Start date
Indeed. I owned an 06 Prius that I bought new in Jan 06 for 13 years but only about 80K miles. Sure, I replaced tires and I preemptively replaced the 12 volt battery twice, as a precaution. The engine water pump was seeping for years so I had it and its belt replaced. IIRC, this was only a few hundred $.
I replaced 1 HID headlight and got reimbursed for that + 1 a more bulb as a result of a Toyota class action lawsuit on D4R bulbs (bulbs had much shorter life than D2R bulbs and system Toyota used in 04 and 05 Priuses). I had a body shop replace the other bulb that was still working since they had to remove the bumper cover as part of accident repairs.
I replaced a burned out incandescent tail light bulb. That's it, other than the usual oil changes (not repairs). Never needed any suspension bits replaced.
Stereo volume knob was becoming flaky (known problem others have had). I never bothered getting that fixed.
My dad has the car now and it's still on the original spark plugs and TPMS sensors. I figured the sensors will need to be replaced in the near future if the batteries inside can't be changed (no idea).
I replaced 1 HID headlight and got reimbursed for that + 1 a more bulb as a result of a Toyota class action lawsuit on D4R bulbs (bulbs had much shorter life than D2R bulbs and system Toyota used in 04 and 05 Priuses). I had a body shop replace the other bulb that was still working since they had to remove the bumper cover as part of accident repairs.
I replaced a burned out incandescent tail light bulb. That's it, other than the usual oil changes (not repairs). Never needed any suspension bits replaced.
Stereo volume knob was becoming flaky (known problem others have had). I never bothered getting that fixed.
My dad has the car now and it's still on the original spark plugs and TPMS sensors. I figured the sensors will need to be replaced in the near future if the batteries inside can't be changed (no idea).
I have owned multiple German high end ICE cars and they all had major issues around 5 years and 70K miles. I went through turbos, DCT full change and weird electrical issues.
In general, Japanese cars tend to be more problem-less if you are lucky. I don’t keep my cars after warranty expires because any small issue would usually cost more than we expected. Last year my friend’s 2015 Porsche Macan with 60000km had a faulty transmission and the repair was $28000 plus tax Canadian dollar. Personally I think $10K usd spent over 4-5 yrs isn’t that bad consider the S isn’t a cheap vehicle to begin with. It’s more about the time that’s needed for the repairs that freaks me out.
That's because they were German. All the issues you mentioned are typical of BMW, Audi, Mercedes, etc.
I tend to purchase brands known for extreme unreliability like Lotus, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lamborghini, etc.
I have had much better luck with all these brands than their reputation would normally allow. The only reason: Because I do all my own work on these cars and keep them out of the hands of mechanics. And I do seek out preventative maintenance so a small and inexpensive part doesn't cause a failure that costs thousands to fix. For instance, on a car I owned, a small $10 plastic T fitting in the cooling system is guaranteed to fail after 10 years, and when it does, it dumps out all of your coolant and immediately overheats the engine and warpa the cylinder heads. I find out about these weak points and replace them.
There are good mechanics out there, but they almost all work for a corrupt system that causes them to work fast and cut corners to keep their jobs. I take my time and do all the research when I work on my cars.
When I get too old and tired to work on cars, I will definitely just lease whatever is the most reliable brand at the time. But until then the EV world is a little scary because it looks limited on getting parts and specialty tools for certain items. I don't like that.
Sounds like the OP is a victim of the system, like so many car owners of so many brands.
I have had much better luck with all these brands than their reputation would normally allow. The only reason: Because I do all my own work on these cars and keep them out of the hands of mechanics. And I do seek out preventative maintenance so a small and inexpensive part doesn't cause a failure that costs thousands to fix. For instance, on a car I owned, a small $10 plastic T fitting in the cooling system is guaranteed to fail after 10 years, and when it does, it dumps out all of your coolant and immediately overheats the engine and warpa the cylinder heads. I find out about these weak points and replace them.
There are good mechanics out there, but they almost all work for a corrupt system that causes them to work fast and cut corners to keep their jobs. I take my time and do all the research when I work on my cars.
When I get too old and tired to work on cars, I will definitely just lease whatever is the most reliable brand at the time. But until then the EV world is a little scary because it looks limited on getting parts and specialty tools for certain items. I don't like that.
Sounds like the OP is a victim of the system, like so many car owners of so many brands.
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Alright, my 2 cents. Is this level of maintance excessive? Depends on what you compare it to.
If you're comparing it to an Acura or a Lexus then yes.
If you're comparing it to a BMW or a Yugo then it sounds about right.
I'm a little concerned that people are defending Tesla here. I don't think it's unreasonable to demand that Tesla trends towards the sort of reliability we see out of Toyota. Giving Telsa grief for giving up parts like it's an 80's American car is completely appropriate.
If you're comparing it to an Acura or a Lexus then yes.
If you're comparing it to a BMW or a Yugo then it sounds about right.
I'm a little concerned that people are defending Tesla here. I don't think it's unreasonable to demand that Tesla trends towards the sort of reliability we see out of Toyota. Giving Telsa grief for giving up parts like it's an 80's American car is completely appropriate.
Prius’s (prii? Priuses? Priuseseses?) are known for being a cheap and reliable car. Teslas, especially new model teslas, are the opposite. My rule is to never buy a car until 2 years after its launch date to ensure they have worked out the big problem areas. This rule is especially true with Tesla since their cars are clean sheet designs.
All that being said, I love my January 2013 model s, despite the repairs.
