25 minute hold for emergency roadside service

[goldengate]

I called emergency roadside service today Sunday at 9 am PST for a flat tire. I was astounded that the hold time was 25 minutes! Fortunately I was in a safe location, but can you imagine someone on the side of the freeway nervously waiting for 25 minutes for someone to pick up? At the end of the call I quickly mentioned I should let him go take care of the queue, and he said it's really bad on Sundays because people call that number for general support ("how do I....") since that line is not open on Sunday.

When I first got my Tesla a year ago, I called and they picked right up, and I've assumed it would be like that if I ever have an emergency in the future. Today was, at the very least, unsettling.

On a positive note, the music on hold was an excellent mix of 80s music including Madonna's "Into the Groove."

 

[Leafdriver333]

I called emergency roadside service today Sunday at 9 am PST for a flat tire. I was astounded that the hold time was 25 minutes! Fortunately I was in a safe location, but can you imagine someone on the side of the freeway nervously waiting for 25 minutes for someone to pick up? At the end of the call I quickly mentioned I should let him go take care of the queue, and he said it's really bad on Sundays because people call that number for general support ("how do I....") since that line is not open on Sunday.

When I first got my Tesla a year ago, I called and they picked right up, and I've assumed it would be like that if I ever have an emergency in the future. Today was, at the very least, unsettling.

On a positive note, the music on hold was an excellent mix of 80s music including Madonna's "Into the Groove."

It's only gonna get worse as Tesla keeps breaking their record every quarter.

 

[M109Rider]

Every time you read here, that someone schedules service just to satisfy their curiosity about something, or call roadside to answer a question, this is the result.
Not Tesla’s fault, it’s the selfish that cause it.

 

[OCR1]

I keep two spare tires in my garage, a hockey puck in my trunk and a AAA membership as a backup in case Tesla roadside assistance falls apart. A number of people have posted that even after they got through Tesla informed them they did not have any spare tires available which pretty much defeats the purpose of having roadside assistance.

 

[LuPapa]

Most car insurance now includes road side service. I would have called my insurance company roadside service after five minutes of being on hold. Bonus being that my car insurance roadside service has GPS tracking so you can see that the truck is really coming to you.

 

[Daniel in SD]

Most car insurance now includes road side service. I would have called my insurance company roadside service after five minutes of being on hold. Bonus being that my car insurance roadside service has GPS tracking so you can see that the truck is really coming to you.

Does roadside assistance carry spare wheels though? It seems like that would be the problem.

 

[OCR1]

Does roadside assistance carry spare wheels though? It seems like that would be the problem.

No. Unless you have a spare tire or just want to be towed a third party towing service can’t do much for you. And if they tow you it has to be on a flat bed so they don’t damage the car.

That’s why it’s so important to at least store a spare tire in your garage, and possibly consider taking it on long trips if you are going to be traveling to remote areas.

 

[Daniel in SD]

No. Unless you have a spare tire or just want to be towed a third party towing service can’t do much for you. And if they tow you it has to be on a flat bed so they don’t damage the car.

That’s why it’s so important to at least store a spare tire in your garage, and possibly consider taking it on long trips if you are going to be traveling to remote areas.

That's exactly what I do.
I've never called roadside assistance in my life so I thought that maybe they have some sort of central dispatch with wheels for a wide variety of cars since so many cars are coming without spares these days.

 

[C141medic]

I have AAA and had a flat tire sometime last year on my Subaru while on a road trip. They arrived, jacked up the side of the car with the flat and put in a plug. Then filled up the tire and I was on my way. The plug lasted almost a year when I replaced all four tires. I’d think they would also do the same with my Model 3. Only problem would be if it was a sidewall puncture. I also carry 4 pucks in my trunk.

 

[Leafdriver333]

I have gotten 2 flat tires with a mini cooper but not with other cars.
I will never get a flat with my Model 3.

 

[Benjanos]

For longer trips I carry a spare from company Complete Spare Tire Kits | Tesla, Camaro, Corvette, Dodge and More But of course for general running around its not really ideal/practical to have it in the back. Just wanted to let people know such a thing exists in case they are interested.

 

[augkuo]

I blew out two tires and bent a rim going over a pothole on 223 towards Bakersfield near I-5 around 11:30 pm last Friday. Tesla emergency service answered right away to my wife while I was simultaneously trying to reach AAA. I was never able to get a person on AAA while my wife was able to get her questions resolved with Tesla. The app actually worked better to get our information in and request a flatbed. We have a premium membership so AAA towed us to Burbank where they had the tires in stock but not the rim which they had to get from Van Nuys. So your wait time may vary based upon the number of current incidents they might have.

 

[Accentcreate]

Be grateful you aren't in Europe. We have one central service call centre (in Holland) and zero mobile road service. Basically, after being on hold for 45 plus minutes, they will schedule a service appointment for two or three week's time in a centre hundreds of kilometres away, unless you happen to be in one of the rare cities with one.
I'm sure they will try to call a tow service for you, if there is one they know in the local area. Most likely better to call your own. I'm currently in remote Portugal and Spain on a road trip with no spare tyre. Feeling a bit twitchy!

 

[Carbon-0]

I keep two spare tires in my garage, a hockey puck in my trunk and a AAA membership as a backup in case Tesla roadside assistance falls apart. A number of people have posted that even after they got through Tesla informed them they did not have any spare tires available which pretty much defeats the purpose of having roadside assistance.

Please excuse my ignorance, but in this context, what is a hockey puck? New to Tesla.

 

[ckoval7]

Wow, it sounds like the Tesla support number has improved. I sat on hold for 45 minutes once before giving up. I hope people got their "how do I" questions answered while I sat looking at error messages.

 

[ckoval7]

Please excuse my ignorance, but in this context, what is a hockey puck? New to Tesla.

A literal hockey puck, like Canadians play with. You put one between the car and a jack so it doesn't mess up the car.

 

[PoitNarf]

And this is why I will maintain my AAA membership!

 

[gmountfo]

At lease Roadside Assistance answers the phone, I can't get anyone on the phone in a service center to ask a question. My M3 front left tire is shot after 12K miles, cupping and uneven, wear. My mechanic says there is a problem with the suspension, Tesla says rotate the tires, not there issue, finally have a service appointment to fight it out.

 

[claudelaval]

Every time you read here, that someone schedules service just to satisfy their curiosity about something, or call roadside to answer a question, this is the result.
Not Tesla’s fault, it’s the selfish that cause it.

Any proof of that?

 

[trm2]

Tesla is working on a firmware update that will allow you to plan your emergencies better. Expect it in 3 months, maybe 6.