Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

4 years with Model S

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Purchased Model S 60 (RWD) in December 2016 (ordered in October and waited anxiously for 3 months!).

Now has 95K miles. Has lifetime supercharging and connectivity. Recently upgraded to a 75. While it was a 60, battery degradation on 90% charge went from 188 miles to maybe 178. Now as a 75, full charge is 227, and 80% (my normal charge limit) is 182. I’ve done quite a few supercharging sessions, but normal charging is at work and some at home.

Overall, it’s been a fun car. Several road trips from DFW Texas, including Florida, Missouri, west Texas, and many weekend trips to Houston, San Antonio, and OKC. Of my regrets, I truly wish the car were quieter. Wind and Tire noise are far too much, especially on concrete roads at highway speed. I’d also like a smoother ride (I have coil springs). I’m not into “road feel” or sporty handling. I originally had enhanced autopilot, and that was sufficient. So far FSD hasn’t been worth it (even at the fire sale 2K upgrade price). I do like lane keeping and traffic-aware cruise on road trips. Overall I preferred the original split-screen UI that gave me the ability to customize to my liking, but the newer traffic visualizations (including traffic lights) are amazing to watch.

I’ve experienced most of the expected failures for a car of this vintage, specifically eyebrow light failure and yellow border on touchscreen. Haven’t experienced issues from earlier days such as door handles and 12v battery failure.

I’ve seen value over the years from this forum, so as “payback”, a diary of my experiences follows. Given that the cars nowadays are vastly different, as the stock brokers say, prior experiences are not indicative of future results.

12/16
  • Delivery was smooth, near the end of the "swag era". I think I scored an umbrella, glass water bottles, and maybe a few other things (ballcaps?).
  • Delivery was inside the building in the special presentation area.
  • On the way home, got some error message about needing service, so brought back. Service replaced some electronic component due to infant mortality. No problems with that since.

7/17
  • First scheduled service. In the olden days, they recommended scheduled service, and offered a pre-paid plan which I had purchased.
  • Besides the planned service, I had some niggles from delivery fixed: USB port not working, misaligned headlights, liftgate trim rattle, floormats without Velcro.

8/17
  • Chargeport didn’t want to unlatch. This happened on a roadtrip to Missouri. Was resolved with mobile service.

12/17
  • 2nd scheduled service

4/18
  • 3rd scheduled service

5/18
  • New tires at NTB at 40K miles (waited too long!). Sumitomo Tour Plus – not the greatest tire, wish for more quiet operation.
  • Alignment.

10/18
  • 4th scheduled service
  • Replaced both headlight assemblies due to parking light (eyebrow light) fade. So far hasn’t recurred.
  • Replaced touchscreen due to yellow border. Issue recurred later.

3/19
  • Purchased FSD during the $2000 fire sale.

x/19
  • Somewhere around this time would have been the 5th scheduled service, but it was no longer recommended, so my appointment was unilaterally cancelled. However, no mention was made of a way to refund my remaining 4 services. Very difficult to discuss with anyone. Finally found the form to request the refund. This was even worse for my wife. For her X we bought both the service package and the extended warrantee. They ignored my service refund request emails (perhaps got confused with my car), and finally refunded the extended warrantee instead of the service package. Took several months to resolve. Good grief.

6/19
  • Airbag recall

9/19
  • Failed software update. $97 (perhaps first sign of eMMC failure that Tesla has yet to acknowledge on my car)

2/20
  • Yellow border on touchscreen again. UV treatment seems to have worked, although there was and still is a tiny bit remaining. I wish it had baked longer, but it’s small enough not to fuss about.

9/20
  • Touchscreen occasionally reboots. They did some kind of memory refresh or maybe reflash $99. I don’t think this is the permanent resolution. I can recreate the issue if I’m in and out of the car for maybe 10 times with really short drives between.
  • Received FSD computer
  • Paid the $2K to upgrade from 60 to 75
  • Experienced FIA (forum-induced anxiety) and had them check the original 12v battery. They say still fine, and it has been.

9/20
  • New Tires again at 90K. This time Discount Tire Pirelli Cinturato Strada Sport. Seem quieter.

12/20
  • Bought the touchup paint kit from Tesla. I do wish I’d purchased PPF on at least the hood. Probably have 10 tiny chips. The paint fixes seeing the visible white from the primer, but doesn’t completely fix the divots without me spending way more time. Not worth the time to me.

1/21
  • Scheduled appointment for the 4 year maintenance, including brake fluid check, cabin air filter, and AC desiccant. Also will have an alignment. Also reported “blank screen” issue, where I get into the car and the touchscreen stays blank (no auto reboot, but manual reboot after 10 minutes resolved it). I was expecting that I’d get diagnosed for the eMMC replacement warrantee extension program, but free (goodwill) remote diagnosis says 2 things at $9.75 each:
Correction: Repair Plan Confirmation
Correction: Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) - Media Control Unit (Reflash)​


Using the chat feature within the app is satisfactory for simple things like this, but irritating as all get out for complex questions where verbal synchronous dialog is immensely faster. Did take me a while to figure out that I had to make the keyboard “floating” in order to expose the text input area in the app chat. That’s a UI mistake in my opinion.


So there you have it. 4 years with my Model S. Too cold and rainy and virusey to go outside today, so thought I’d write an essay! Maybe TMC connect will return someday so I can go?
j
Purchased Model S 60 (RWD) in December 2016 (ordered in October and waited anxiously for 3 months!).

Now has 95K miles. Has lifetime supercharging and connectivity. Recently upgraded to a 75. While it was a 60, battery degradation on 90% charge went from 188 miles to maybe 178. Now as a 75, full charge is 227, and 80% (my normal charge limit) is 182. I’ve done quite a few supercharging sessions, but normal charging is at work and some at home.

Overall, it’s been a fun car. Several road trips from DFW Texas, including Florida, Missouri, west Texas, and many weekend trips to Houston, San Antonio, and OKC. Of my regrets, I truly wish the car were quieter. Wind and Tire noise are far too much, especially on concrete roads at highway speed. I’d also like a smoother ride (I have coil springs). I’m not into “road feel” or sporty handling. I originally had enhanced autopilot, and that was sufficient. So far FSD hasn’t been worth it (even at the fire sale 2K upgrade price). I do like lane keeping and traffic-aware cruise on road trips. Overall I preferred the original split-screen UI that gave me the ability to customize to my liking, but the newer traffic visualizations (including traffic lights) are amazing to watch.

I’ve experienced most of the expected failures for a car of this vintage, specifically eyebrow light failure and yellow border on touchscreen. Haven’t experienced issues from earlier days such as door handles and 12v battery failure.

I’ve seen value over the years from this forum, so as “payback”, a diary of my experiences follows. Given that the cars nowadays are vastly different, as the stock brokers say, prior experiences are not indicative of future results.

12/16
  • Delivery was smooth, near the end of the "swag era". I think I scored an umbrella, glass water bottles, and maybe a few other things (ballcaps?).
  • Delivery was inside the building in the special presentation area.
  • On the way home, got some error message about needing service, so brought back. Service replaced some electronic component due to infant mortality. No problems with that since.

7/17
  • First scheduled service. In the olden days, they recommended scheduled service, and offered a pre-paid plan which I had purchased.
  • Besides the planned service, I had some niggles from delivery fixed: USB port not working, misaligned headlights, liftgate trim rattle, floormats without Velcro.

8/17
  • Chargeport didn’t want to unlatch. This happened on a roadtrip to Missouri. Was resolved with mobile service.

12/17
  • 2nd scheduled service

4/18
  • 3rd scheduled service

5/18
  • New tires at NTB at 40K miles (waited too long!). Sumitomo Tour Plus – not the greatest tire, wish for more quiet operation.
  • Alignment.

10/18
  • 4th scheduled service
  • Replaced both headlight assemblies due to parking light (eyebrow light) fade. So far hasn’t recurred.
  • Replaced touchscreen due to yellow border. Issue recurred later.

3/19
  • Purchased FSD during the $2000 fire sale.

x/19
  • Somewhere around this time would have been the 5th scheduled service, but it was no longer recommended, so my appointment was unilaterally cancelled. However, no mention was made of a way to refund my remaining 4 services. Very difficult to discuss with anyone. Finally found the form to request the refund. This was even worse for my wife. For her X we bought both the service package and the extended warrantee. They ignored my service refund request emails (perhaps got confused with my car), and finally refunded the extended warrantee instead of the service package. Took several months to resolve. Good grief.

6/19
  • Airbag recall

9/19
  • Failed software update. $97 (perhaps first sign of eMMC failure that Tesla has yet to acknowledge on my car)

2/20
  • Yellow border on touchscreen again. UV treatment seems to have worked, although there was and still is a tiny bit remaining. I wish it had baked longer, but it’s small enough not to fuss about.

9/20
  • Touchscreen occasionally reboots. They did some kind of memory refresh or maybe reflash $99. I don’t think this is the permanent resolution. I can recreate the issue if I’m in and out of the car for maybe 10 times with really short drives between.
  • Received FSD computer
  • Paid the $2K to upgrade from 60 to 75
  • Experienced FIA (forum-induced anxiety) and had them check the original 12v battery. They say still fine, and it has been.

9/20
  • New Tires again at 90K. This time Discount Tire Pirelli Cinturato Strada Sport. Seem quieter.

12/20
  • Bought the touchup paint kit from Tesla. I do wish I’d purchased PPF on at least the hood. Probably have 10 tiny chips. The paint fixes seeing the visible white from the primer, but doesn’t completely fix the divots without me spending way more time. Not worth the time to me.

1/21
  • Scheduled appointment for the 4 year maintenance, including brake fluid check, cabin air filter, and AC desiccant. Also will have an alignment. Also reported “blank screen” issue, where I get into the car and the touchscreen stays blank (no auto reboot, but manual reboot after 10 minutes resolved it). I was expecting that I’d get diagnosed for the eMMC replacement warrantee extension program, but free (goodwill) remote diagnosis says 2 things at $9.75 each:
Correction: Repair Plan Confirmation
Correction: Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) - Media Control Unit (Reflash)​


Using the chat feature within the app is satisfactory for simple things like this, but irritating as all get out for complex questions where verbal synchronous dialog is immensely faster. Did take me a while to figure out that I had to make the keyboard “floating” in order to expose the text input area in the app chat. That’s a UI mistake in my opinion.


So there you have it. 4 years with my Model S. Too cold and rainy and virusey to go outside today, so thought I’d write an essay! Maybe TMC connect will return someday so I can go?


So I have had similar problems with my 2017 MS 90. I have had my screen go blank while driving for no apparent reason. I don't think it is rebooting as much a it just goes blank. After some time it comes back on in a flash not going through the normal rebooting process where the Tesla logo pops up briefly before it completely comes back on. This was a bit disconcerting when I was on a road trip to Florida. All the navigation and route to chargers was gone for about 15 minutes on a couple occasions and a little less time on another occasion. This has happened several times just driving locally although usually less than 5 min. I also have had issues with the browser not doing anything other than opening. Would not open links I input; it just sit there not doing nothing. The touch screen just lags behind my inputs sometimes for several seconds. It doesn't matter if I have 1 bar or 5 bars; it just does nothing. The summon feature no longer works at all. I can be standing right in front of or in back of the car and want it to pull out of my garage. It will go thru the initial protocol to move but then suddenly it will disconnect. After trying a few more times I just give up.

I have made all these complaints to Tesla. I took it in a few weeks back and they said they needed to flash a new hW update and all should be fine. The update took affect once I got home. Afterwords, the browser work only marginally better and then went to working sometimes and sometime not. The other problems remained with no change. All this to say I am pretty disappointed in Tesla. The first couple years after buying the car, the customer service was amazing. Now it's more of a function to say they have customer service rather than doing anything to resolve problems. Unless you have a new vehicle (less than a couple years old), then I say good luck with getting things done when needed. To be fair, some Tesla shops are better than others so i guess it can depend on where you are in the country and the quality of service you actually get.
I still have the MCU1 and haven't decided to buy the MCU2 yet. Last year I was told there would be some type of retrofit for the MCU1 which never materialized! I love the car overall but there are things with Tesla the company that is so disappointing.
 
Raven update for 2021 rated just as quiet as German premium cars now
(skip to 15:10 in video for the autobahn speed noise test):

Thanks very much, great video. But I can't afford the 2021, especially with FSD which I need for highway lane changes. So we know the early 2017 Model S has somewhat noisy cabin and the 2021 is much quieter. My question is : When did the quieter cabin appear? Late 2017 for HW2.5 ? 2018 during MCU2 update? Spring 2019 for Raven refresh? I guess I will need to rent some on Turo and test drive to find out.
 
Purchased Model S 60 (RWD) in December 2016 (ordered in October and waited anxiously for 3 months!).

Now has 95K miles. Has lifetime supercharging and connectivity. Recently upgraded to a 75. While it was a 60, battery degradation on 90% charge went from 188 miles to maybe 178. Now as a 75, full charge is 227, and 80% (my normal charge limit) is 182. I’ve done quite a few supercharging sessions, but normal charging is at work and some at home.

Overall, it’s been a fun car. Several road trips from DFW Texas, including Florida, Missouri, west Texas, and many weekend trips to Houston, San Antonio, and OKC. Of my regrets, I truly wish the car were quieter. Wind and Tire noise are far too much, especially on concrete roads at highway speed. I’d also like a smoother ride (I have coil springs). I’m not into “road feel” or sporty handling. I originally had enhanced autopilot, and that was sufficient. So far FSD hasn’t been worth it (even at the fire sale 2K upgrade price). I do like lane keeping and traffic-aware cruise on road trips. Overall I preferred the original split-screen UI that gave me the ability to customize to my liking, but the newer traffic visualizations (including traffic lights) are amazing to watch.

I’ve experienced most of the expected failures for a car of this vintage, specifically eyebrow light failure and yellow border on touchscreen. Haven’t experienced issues from earlier days such as door handles and 12v battery failure.

I’ve seen value over the years from this forum, so as “payback”, a diary of my experiences follows. Given that the cars nowadays are vastly different, as the stock brokers say, prior experiences are not indicative of future results.

12/16
  • Delivery was smooth, near the end of the "swag era". I think I scored an umbrella, glass water bottles, and maybe a few other things (ballcaps?).
  • Delivery was inside the building in the special presentation area.
  • On the way home, got some error message about needing service, so brought back. Service replaced some electronic component due to infant mortality. No problems with that since.

7/17
  • First scheduled service. In the olden days, they recommended scheduled service, and offered a pre-paid plan which I had purchased.
  • Besides the planned service, I had some niggles from delivery fixed: USB port not working, misaligned headlights, liftgate trim rattle, floormats without Velcro.

8/17
  • Chargeport didn’t want to unlatch. This happened on a roadtrip to Missouri. Was resolved with mobile service.

12/17
  • 2nd scheduled service

4/18
  • 3rd scheduled service

5/18
  • New tires at NTB at 40K miles (waited too long!). Sumitomo Tour Plus – not the greatest tire, wish for more quiet operation.
  • Alignment.

10/18
  • 4th scheduled service
  • Replaced both headlight assemblies due to parking light (eyebrow light) fade. So far hasn’t recurred.
  • Replaced touchscreen due to yellow border. Issue recurred later.

3/19
  • Purchased FSD during the $2000 fire sale.

x/19
  • Somewhere around this time would have been the 5th scheduled service, but it was no longer recommended, so my appointment was unilaterally cancelled. However, no mention was made of a way to refund my remaining 4 services. Very difficult to discuss with anyone. Finally found the form to request the refund. This was even worse for my wife. For her X we bought both the service package and the extended warrantee. They ignored my service refund request emails (perhaps got confused with my car), and finally refunded the extended warrantee instead of the service package. Took several months to resolve. Good grief.

6/19
  • Airbag recall

9/19
  • Failed software update. $97 (perhaps first sign of eMMC failure that Tesla has yet to acknowledge on my car)

2/20
  • Yellow border on touchscreen again. UV treatment seems to have worked, although there was and still is a tiny bit remaining. I wish it had baked longer, but it’s small enough not to fuss about.

9/20
  • Touchscreen occasionally reboots. They did some kind of memory refresh or maybe reflash $99. I don’t think this is the permanent resolution. I can recreate the issue if I’m in and out of the car for maybe 10 times with really short drives between.
  • Received FSD computer
  • Paid the $2K to upgrade from 60 to 75
  • Experienced FIA (forum-induced anxiety) and had them check the original 12v battery. They say still fine, and it has been.

9/20
  • New Tires again at 90K. This time Discount Tire Pirelli Cinturato Strada Sport. Seem quieter.

12/20
  • Bought the touchup paint kit from Tesla. I do wish I’d purchased PPF on at least the hood. Probably have 10 tiny chips. The paint fixes seeing the visible white from the primer, but doesn’t completely fix the divots without me spending way more time. Not worth the time to me.

1/21
  • Scheduled appointment for the 4 year maintenance, including brake fluid check, cabin air filter, and AC desiccant. Also will have an alignment. Also reported “blank screen” issue, where I get into the car and the touchscreen stays blank (no auto reboot, but manual reboot after 10 minutes resolved it). I was expecting that I’d get diagnosed for the eMMC replacement warrantee extension program, but free (goodwill) remote diagnosis says 2 things at $9.75 each:
Correction: Repair Plan Confirmation
Correction: Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) - Media Control Unit (Reflash)​


Using the chat feature within the app is satisfactory for simple things like this, but irritating as all get out for complex questions where verbal synchronous dialog is immensely faster. Did take me a while to figure out that I had to make the keyboard “floating” in order to expose the text input area in the app chat. That’s a UI mistake in my opinion.


So there you have it. 4 years with my Model S. Too cold and rainy and virusey to go outside today, so thought I’d write an essay! Maybe TMC connect will return someday so I can go?


Thanks for this, it was very informative. I have a 2015 Model S 85D. This is going to sound pretty dumb to all of you out there who seem to know way way more then me but do you know if I can upgrade my battery? I used to get 267 miles at a full charge which understandably has degraded and I now get about 244. Would I have to buy a whole new battery array and, if so, does anyone know how much it costs?
 
Thanks for this, it was very informative. I have a 2015 Model S 85D. This is going to sound pretty dumb to all of you out there who seem to know way way more then me but do you know if I can upgrade my battery? I used to get 267 miles at a full charge which understandably has degraded and I now get about 244. Would I have to buy a whole new battery array and, if so, does anyone know how much it costs?

It is almost never worth doing what you are asking about. Tesla does not really give battery prices - we see it sometimes with insurance claims in the mid teens - and these are for refurbished batteries. So the range may not be much better than you have.

Best option is sell and buy newer if you really need more range.
 
  • Like
Reactions: quickstrike12
Thanks for this, it was very informative. I have a 2015 Model S 85D. This is going to sound pretty dumb to all of you out there who seem to know way way more then me but do you know if I can upgrade my battery? I used to get 267 miles at a full charge which understandably has degraded and I now get about 244. Would I have to buy a whole new battery array and, if so, does anyone know how much it costs?
I have a 2015 70D and recently looked into upgrading the battery. I had to schedule a service appointment through the app, only to be told by Tesla that an upgrade was not available for my vehicle. I’m still not 100% clear if it is not an option period, or if Tesla is just choosing not to offer it for sale. Anyone know? Tesla then sent my email address to the previously-owned vehicle team, who tried to convince me to trade in my vehicle and upgrade to one of theirs!
 
I have a 2015 70D and recently looked into upgrading the battery. I had to schedule a service appointment through the app, only to be told by Tesla that an upgrade was not available for my vehicle. I’m still not 100% clear if it is not an option period, or if Tesla is just choosing not to offer it for sale. Anyone know? Tesla then sent my email address to the previously-owned vehicle team, who tried to convince me to trade in my vehicle and upgrade to one of theirs!

I also own a 2015 70D. The car is rated for 240 miles and I have had a consistent 225 or so as a maximum for the last 2 years. How much are you getting? I only charge to 100% on long trips and wish I had a little more range, but most of the time I am just around town and it isn't a problem.
Whiteeagles, the reason I ask about your max range is that I am curious as to your motivation to replace or upgrade the battery.

Martin K.
 
I also own a 2015 70D. The car is rated for 240 miles and I have had a consistent 225 or so as a maximum for the last 2 years. How much are you getting? I only charge to 100% on long trips and wish I had a little more range, but most of the time I am just around town and it isn't a problem.
Whiteeagles, the reason I ask about your max range is that I am curious as to your motivation to replace or upgrade the battery.

Martin K.
Yep, I get about 225 miles too at 100% during the summer. A few less during colder months. I’ve done about 130,000 miles. I’m only interested in a larger battery for the long trips I take. When at home my miles are minimal and I am only charging to 80%.
 
I agree that trading for a new MS is best option. The 100kwh battery rocks! Just yesterday, I had to take an unexpected quick trip to Columbus from Dayton (160 mi round trip) and had the car at 72% where I generally keep it. No time to top it off.

outside temp 38 degrees, heater on for part of trip, drove at 75-80 mph the whole way and got there and back with 11% left on the meter. Not having to stop to charge was great.

Big batteries ROCK!
 
  • Like
Reactions: DIL
The problem with wind noise is the decision Tesla made with all their models to not have a full-frame around the window. The majority of wind noise comes from the lack of a good seal right next to your ear at the top of the window. No soundproofing will remove that. Road noise likely can be reduced with sound-deadening materials in strategic areas.

Agreed! I think the frameless windows are the single biggest mistake made in the deign of Model S. It has absolutely no customer benefit I can see, and several disadvantages, including noise. I am astounded that they continue making this same design decision on subsequent models, and (apparently) even on the Cybertruck!
 
Great post by the OP. I also got my first Tesla in December 2016. I also had the buzzing headlights replaced on the S90D back in 2017. While I did have the yellow screen border fixed, I never had eMMC issues while I owned the car. I kept that S90D for a bit over 2 years before upgrading to a "hand-me-down" S100D already in the household. I already upgraded the S100D from MCU1/AP2 to MCU2 and AP3.

I have a 2015 70D and recently looked into upgrading the battery. I had to schedule a service appointment through the app, only to be told by Tesla that an upgrade was not available for my vehicle. I’m still not 100% clear if it is not an option period, or if Tesla is just choosing not to offer it for sale. Anyone know? Tesla then sent my email address to the previously-owned vehicle team, who tried to convince me to trade in my vehicle and upgrade to one of theirs!
Some 70D cars had a 75 kWh battery and were software locked at 70 kWh. Those cars could be upgraded to 75D. Other 70D cars came with an actual ~70 kWh battery and can't be upgraded as easily. If you take a picture of the battery label behind the front passenger wheel, you should be able to see your battery part number and confirm it's really only a 70 kWh battery pack.
 
Purchased Model S 60 (RWD) in December 2016 (ordered in October and waited anxiously for 3 months!).

Now has 95K miles. Has lifetime supercharging and connectivity. Recently upgraded to a 75. While it was a 60, battery degradation on 90% charge went from 188 miles to maybe 178. Now as a 75, full charge is 227, and 80% (my normal charge limit) is 182. I’ve done quite a few supercharging sessions, but normal charging is at work and some at home.

Overall, it’s been a fun car. Several road trips from DFW Texas, including Florida, Missouri, west Texas, and many weekend trips to Houston, San Antonio, and OKC. Of my regrets, I truly wish the car were quieter. Wind and Tire noise are far too much, especially on concrete roads at highway speed. I’d also like a smoother ride (I have coil springs). I’m not into “road feel” or sporty handling. I originally had enhanced autopilot, and that was sufficient. So far FSD hasn’t been worth it (even at the fire sale 2K upgrade price). I do like lane keeping and traffic-aware cruise on road trips. Overall I preferred the original split-screen UI that gave me the ability to customize to my liking, but the newer traffic visualizations (including traffic lights) are amazing to watch.

I’ve experienced most of the expected failures for a car of this vintage, specifically eyebrow light failure and yellow border on touchscreen. Haven’t experienced issues from earlier days such as door handles and 12v battery failure.

I’ve seen value over the years from this forum, so as “payback”, a diary of my experiences follows. Given that the cars nowadays are vastly different, as the stock brokers say, prior experiences are not indicative of future results.

12/16
  • Delivery was smooth, near the end of the "swag era". I think I scored an umbrella, glass water bottles, and maybe a few other things (ballcaps?).
  • Delivery was inside the building in the special presentation area.
  • On the way home, got some error message about needing service, so brought back. Service replaced some electronic component due to infant mortality. No problems with that since.

7/17
  • First scheduled service. In the olden days, they recommended scheduled service, and offered a pre-paid plan which I had purchased.
  • Besides the planned service, I had some niggles from delivery fixed: USB port not working, misaligned headlights, liftgate trim rattle, floormats without Velcro.

8/17
  • Chargeport didn’t want to unlatch. This happened on a roadtrip to Missouri. Was resolved with mobile service.

12/17
  • 2nd scheduled service

4/18
  • 3rd scheduled service

5/18
  • New tires at NTB at 40K miles (waited too long!). Sumitomo Tour Plus – not the greatest tire, wish for more quiet operation.
  • Alignment.

10/18
  • 4th scheduled service
  • Replaced both headlight assemblies due to parking light (eyebrow light) fade. So far hasn’t recurred.
  • Replaced touchscreen due to yellow border. Issue recurred later.

3/19
  • Purchased FSD during the $2000 fire sale.

x/19
  • Somewhere around this time would have been the 5th scheduled service, but it was no longer recommended, so my appointment was unilaterally cancelled. However, no mention was made of a way to refund my remaining 4 services. Very difficult to discuss with anyone. Finally found the form to request the refund. This was even worse for my wife. For her X we bought both the service package and the extended warrantee. They ignored my service refund request emails (perhaps got confused with my car), and finally refunded the extended warrantee instead of the service package. Took several months to resolve. Good grief.

6/19
  • Airbag recall

9/19
  • Failed software update. $97 (perhaps first sign of eMMC failure that Tesla has yet to acknowledge on my car)

2/20
  • Yellow border on touchscreen again. UV treatment seems to have worked, although there was and still is a tiny bit remaining. I wish it had baked longer, but it’s small enough not to fuss about.

9/20
  • Touchscreen occasionally reboots. They did some kind of memory refresh or maybe reflash $99. I don’t think this is the permanent resolution. I can recreate the issue if I’m in and out of the car for maybe 10 times with really short drives between.
  • Received FSD computer
  • Paid the $2K to upgrade from 60 to 75
  • Experienced FIA (forum-induced anxiety) and had them check the original 12v battery. They say still fine, and it has been.

9/20
  • New Tires again at 90K. This time Discount Tire Pirelli Cinturato Strada Sport. Seem quieter.

12/20
  • Bought the touchup paint kit from Tesla. I do wish I’d purchased PPF on at least the hood. Probably have 10 tiny chips. The paint fixes seeing the visible white from the primer, but doesn’t completely fix the divots without me spending way more time. Not worth the time to me.

1/21
  • Scheduled appointment for the 4 year maintenance, including brake fluid check, cabin air filter, and AC desiccant. Also will have an alignment. Also reported “blank screen” issue, where I get into the car and the touchscreen stays blank (no auto reboot, but manual reboot after 10 minutes resolved it). I was expecting that I’d get diagnosed for the eMMC replacement warrantee extension program, but free (goodwill) remote diagnosis says 2 things at $9.75 each:
Correction: Repair Plan Confirmation​
Correction: Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) - Media Control Unit (Reflash)​



Using the chat feature within the app is satisfactory for simple things like this, but irritating as all get out for complex questions where verbal synchronous dialog is immensely faster. Did take me a while to figure out that I had to make the keyboard “floating” in order to expose the text input area in the app chat. That’s a UI mistake in my opinion.


So there you have it. 4 years with my Model S. Too cold and rainy and virusey to go outside today, so thought I’d write an essay! Maybe TMC connect will return someday so I can go?
************
FIVE years with Model S
OP here. You've probably been anxiously waiting all year and hoping that I'd post an update. I'm up to 110K miles now, and there's really nothing significant to report over the last year. (yes, this is that rare "post about nothing"). The range is down to around 220 miles. 80% (my normal charge limit) is ~176 as compared to 182 a year ago. A 3000 mile roadtrip with all supercharging and often to high SOC seems to have caused most of the degradation.

Maintenance:
The above OP has the maintenance record for the first 4 years, but here's the one appointment in 2021
01/21
  • Screen had turned blank and didn't auto-reboot. Finally after 10 minutes I manually rebooted. SC performed another MCU reflash of memory and said my eMMC is still good(!). $20
  • Standard(?) four year maintenance
- Brake fluid check, $20
- A/C receiver dryer and dessicant, $156
- Carbon filter, $9
- Wipers, $56
- Alignment $166

Irritations:
  • One of my eyebrow lights has failed again, and the other is beginning to show signs. Sadly they had been replaced once already under warranty back in Oct '18. This is maddening. I've seen the other threads talking about the latest revision (G I think) that just recently came out. I don't really want to spend the ~$1200 to replace each light.
  • As I originally commented, I really wish the car were quieter, especially on rougher concrete at highway speed.

Software Update:
  • Only one update all year, and that was to 2021.24.25.1.
  • I haven't seen the recent Christmas update. My wife's '18 X got it, but there wouldn't be much new functionality for my '16. I happy enough with my older UI, although I still liked the original v7(?) with the two panes and less reliance on modals overlaying the map.
  • I haven't been given the chance to join the FSD beta. Even the $2K fire sale upgrade from enhanced autopilot hasn't been worth it to this point.
  • I'd really like dashcam (needs MCU2), and I'd like the automatic view of L/R camera upon turn signal (but I believe my legacy car will never get that).

What has NOT broken:
  • 12v battery
  • Door handles
  • voice commands - they work most of the time, although sometimes that process doesn't initialize properly. Trying again usually work, but sometimes a sleep cycle or reboot is needed. Usually correctly identifies my words. Rarely I need to spell something, especially unusual street names.
  • suspension, steering, traction battery, traction motor
  • After the UV treatment, the main screen has remained good enough. I have a slight yellow border, but that's the same as right after the treatment. Should have let it bake longer.
  • The MCU 1 is no worse. It works normally, but will freeze/reboot if I do a bunch of short little trips.

Minor Customizations back in 2017:
  • Brighter trunk and frunk bulbs
  • Gadget from AO(?) that lifts the end of the parcel shelf when I open the trunk. Basically it's a string from the trunk to the shelf. A plastic connector broke once, but AO was nice enough to send a new one. It's been handy as I load suitcases or horns into the trunk. I can easily see all the way to the back.

Recalls:
  • I recently received the frunk latch recall, but won't do anything about it until I bundle that with other service
  • eMMC, still waiting for the invite (will do the upgrade at that time I guess)
Enjoy your day!
 
Glad you’re still chugging along. Unfortunately the only way to cash in on that $2k FSD purchase right now is to spend another $2k upgrading to MCU2 and then getting in line for a camera upgrade.

I’m at 131k now on my Dec ‘16 S75 and have range similar to yours - 216 miles or so at 100%. Car has been mostly trouble free although I have an appointment next week for a busted charge port door sensor that I believe was caused by water intrusion from all of our recent rain.