80K mileage check-in

[skierrob]

I have a 2020 Model 3 Long Range AWD with the 18" aero wheels that I purchased in Dec 2019 which is going to hit 80K miles in the next few days. Any advice on any pro-active service I should do? I'm still on my original 12 volt battery but Tesla recently told me it is still "healthy".

In terms of high voltage battery, Tesla also says it is "within specs". When I first got the car, my 90% charge would give me about 280 miles of range. Today, I get about 240 miles of range.

Since buying the car, I am on my third set of tires. It seems like my tires last about 37,000 miles before they have to be replaced. I'm using OEM Michelin tires purchased from Costco.

Service wise, I have had my car in for service and mobile service for repairs a total of 14 times. There is an annoying rattle from the rear shelf by the speaker grill that Tesla has fixed several times but keeps coming back within 3,000 miles. It appears the "glue" that holds the metal speaker grill down keeps losing its stickiness and that causes the grill to rattle around until I get it glued back down. I don't know how to fully resolve this issue since it keeps coming back, though. Newer Tesla vehicles appear to use a different material for the grill.

Beyond that, I've had the following done in or out of warranty:

Tesla Repairs:
* The rattle mentioned above - four service visits, no permanent solution found - $0 charge
* B pillar driver side trim popped out - two times, two service visits - $0 charge
* B pillar passenger side trim popped out - one service visit - $0 charge
* High voltage battery charging port pin broke off preventing supercharging - three times, three service visits including one full charge port replacement - $0 charge
* Second row seat back removal and replacement due to it being loose - one service visit - $0 charge
* Trunk harness wiring recall - one service visit - $0 charge
* Second row seatbelt recall - one service visit - $0 charge
* Windshield visor connector broke off - one service visit - $125 charge

TOTAL REPAIR COSTS: $125.00

Tesla Routine Maintenance:
* Air conditioning filter replacements - three times ($156.25 each time for total of $468.75)
* Vehicle tire alignment - one time ($275.20)
* Brake fluid inspection - one time ($21.00)
* Wiper blade replacement - twice ($60.50 each time for total of $121.00)
* Tires replaced - twice ($1,350 each time for total of $2,700)

TOTAL MAINTENANCE COSTS: $3,585.75

As a comparison to my old 2014 BMW 328i in its first 80K of mileage:

BMW REPAIRS:
None

BMW Routine Maintenance:
* Oil changes - 8 (five free, three charged): Total $299.99
* Brake pad replacement - once: $276.75
* Air conditioning filter replacement (DIY): Twice, $19.99 each time, total $39.98)
* Tire replacement - once: $757.23 (tires lasted about 55K each time)
* Wiper blade replacement - twice (DIY): $17.60 each time, total $35.20)
* Routine 60K inspection at dealer - $175 charge

TOTAL MAINTENANCE FOR BMW: $1582.91
NOTE: The BMW had an eventual transmission failure at 164,000 miles which resulted in me selling the vehicle vs paying $6K for a new transmission. It is yet to be determined as to what the condition of the Tesla will be in at 164K miles

Of course, the fuel charges for the BMW were higher than the electricity costs for the Tesla... but interesting that maintenance cost over double for the Tesla vs the BMW.

"File:2019 Tesla Model 3 Performance AWD Front.jpg" by Vauxford is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Admin note: Image added for Blog Feed thumbnail.

 

[KenC]

The biggest charge is obviously your tires. Factor that out, and your cost has been the same.

Interestingly I also had a BMW, a 330xi, and I found tires required replacing between 2 and 3 years. Of course, that's up to the user. I live in snow country, so I change out my tires more than most.

 

[talkingevs]

I don’t consider tires part of maintenance.

 

[TesLEEZ]

Tires really offset the fuel savings. You should be able to calculate your average mileage for both cars to estimate your fuel cost vs electric cost as well. To help give a bigger picture of total running costs.

 

[T3SLAROD]

Wow! That is a lot for maintenance…

 

[K.I.T.T.23]

Tires are odd... and I struggle to tie them into maintenance, but they are a thing that matters. I would not go with OEM, I think that is a mistake as they cost more and don't last as long typically. I replaced my Model 3's tires in the 30k range as well, and it cost me ~$700 for All Weather/Season (not sure which, the one with the snowflake) and then sold the car in the 40k mile range and the tires looked solid.
Why didn't you DYI the Tesla wiper blades? I just got inserts and replace them rather than the blades themselves, about $15 for the pair. MUCH cheaper, just have to order them on Amazon as the blades from O'Rileys and such don't fit on Tesla cars well. Just pop out the bottom clip, pull out the rubber and replace. Super simple.
Why did you have to align the Tesla? That is odd IMHO.

 

[BrendonHolt]

I recently total my wife Tesla, 2018. We just bought a 2021 with Enhanced Auto Drive. Our analysis on maintenance.
Really only spent money on tires.
Never in shop for anything, I change my own wiper blades so I guess $30 each, but so insignificant cannot remember.
Car had 65K miles just got new tires Michelin but the high end quite ones, $1,200 from TireRack.
Tesla came out and changed the battery, then we had a recall issue, they came out and changed the battery again. Weird but both covered by warranty.
Had to pay for windshield washer fluid.
Probably should change Cabin Air Filter more, again cannot be that hard, will review for new used one.

Crazy, really had it with NO MAINTENANCE COSTS, to me all maintenance is optional on them.

 

[PianoAl]

Why didn't you DYI the Tesla wiper blades? I just got inserts and replace them rather than the blades themselves, about $15 for the pair. MUCH cheaper, just have to order them on Amazon

Do you mean you just replace the blades rather than the whole assembly? Can you give some links? Thanks.

 

[JBare]

I just got 50k on a 2018 Mid Range and so far my maintenance costs have only been on tires (~30k) and in-cabin filter. My 12 V battery was replaced at no cost over the summer and within the first year I had a vertical green line showing up on my screen so they swapped that out for free.
My commute in Northern VA is 400 miles/week and pre COVID my elec bill went up $54/mo. Beats the $300 I was paying on my F150! Should have it paid off later this year and need to decide how long to keep...

 

[dhrivnak]

You are about the same as I with most of the cost tires. I have a 2018 with 101,000 miles.

Model 3			$ 3,565
Date	Miles
Mar-19​	20,843​	Frunk latch replacement	Warranty
Oct-19​	31,000​	Cross Climate Tires	$900​
Jul-20​	42,943​	Charge pins replaced	Warranty
Aug-21​	60,000​	Replaced air filter with a carbon filter one	$55​
Oct-21​	68,225​	Upper Control Arms & Seat Belt harness	$433​
Oct-21​	68,225​	Replace cracked windshield	$900​
Feb-22​	75,054​	Rear Trunk wiring harness	Recall
Jul-22​	82,000​	Replaced 12V battery	$228​
Oct-22​	96,000​	Cross Climate 2 Tires	$969​
Nov-22​	98,000​	Wiper Blades	$55​
Jan-23​	100,000​	Brighter trunk lights	$25​

My Range seems to be holding up. I typically charge to 90% and on trips go to 100% I wonder if my 12V is partially the fault of my wife who just before spent an hour in the car just talking on the phone. I got the alert on a Saturday afternoon just before a 400 mile trip in Sunday. Any other day I would have pushed it but went to Advanced and got a battery.

 

[K.I.T.T.23]

Do you mean you just replace the blades rather than the whole assembly? Can you give some links? Thanks.

So, I know these terms get interchanged, so to clarify: The rubber is the insert. The blade is the metal used to apply the proper pressure to the rubber on the window, and the arm is the what connects the blade to the wiper motor assembly.

Here is basically what I buy, I am not sure which ones I bought last time, costs about $10 instead of $30 to replace a single wiper blade:

https://a.co/d/bFesSLN

 

[K.I.T.T.23]

@PianoAl Also, for the $10 you get 4 inserts, so exponentially cheaper than replacing the whole blade. It does take some time and tools; manufacturers of the wiper blades do not want inserts replaced, they want us to buy the whole blade. After you replace them once or twice you will have the process down easy.

Also, blades do wear out. At some point, you will need to replace the entire wiper blade and insert, typically this needs to be done when the blade loses some spring action and doesn't apply even pressure along the windshield.

 

[804son]

164K miles and you only replaced the tires once?
That's 82K miles per set of tires (if that were spread evenly between the two sets).
You also stated you got 55K miles out of each set.
Something doesn't add up....

 

[GregD60]

The biggest charge is obviously your tires. Factor that out, and your cost has been the same.

Interestingly I also had a BMW, a 330xi, and I found tires required replacing between 2 and 3 years. Of course, that's up to the user. I live in snow country, so I change out my tires more than most.

The other significant difference is that the OP did DIY changes on cabin filters and wiper on the BMW versus paying the dealer to do the change on the Tesla. For the filters, that was a difference of 156.25-19.99 each time, so two changes works out to $272 more. for the wiper blades, the difference was $60.50-$17.60 each time, so two changes works out to $85.80.

In 71k miles, I replaced the filters on my Model 3 LR AWD twice DIY. I bought some aftermarket filters that appear identical to the factory filters for $13 for a pair. For the windshield wipers, I replaced them once with Michelin Endurance XT Advanced Silicone wiper blades for $41, again DIY. I could have bought other aftermarket name brand blades for $24, but spent the extra for longer lasting silicone blades.

P.S. There's also been quite a bit of inflation over the last 3 years. It would be interesting to adjust the maintenance costs for that as well.

 

[VladimirG]

I have 2020 Model 3 Long range with 80k miles.
Recently started to receive tons of errors during driving. Requested service.
Today I have appointment to replace computer! Estimation from Tesla: $1900.

 

[skierrob]

Tires are odd... and I struggle to tie them into maintenance, but they are a thing that matters. I would not go with OEM, I think that is a mistake as they cost more and don't last as long typically. I replaced my Model 3's tires in the 30k range as well, and it cost me ~$700 for All Weather/Season (not sure which, the one with the snowflake) and then sold the car in the 40k mile range and the tires looked solid.
Why didn't you DYI the Tesla wiper blades? I just got inserts and replace them rather than the blades themselves, about $15 for the pair. MUCH cheaper, just have to order them on Amazon as the blades from O'Rileys and such don't fit on Tesla cars well. Just pop out the bottom clip, pull out the rubber and replace. Super simple.
Why did you have to align the Tesla? That is odd IMHO.

I had to do the alignment because my front tires were wearing quicker on the inside than outside. Tesla confirmed an alignment issue.

 

[skierrob]

164K miles and you only replaced the tires once?
That's 82K miles per set of tires (if that were spread evenly between the two sets).
You also stated you got 55K miles out of each set.
Something doesn't add up....

On the BMW, I was simply listing the maintenance and repairs I did for the first 80K miles to make it "equal" to the repairs and maintenance done during the first 80k of Tesla ownership. In terms of repairs on the BMW *after* 80k, yes - I replaced the tires again at 114K miles. I also did another brake job before the transmission issue at 164K miles.

 

[skierrob]

The other significant difference is that the OP did DIY changes on cabin filters and wiper on the BMW versus paying the dealer to do the change on the Tesla. For the filters, that was a difference of 156.25-19.99 each time, so two changes works out to $272 more. for the wiper blades, the difference was $60.50-$17.60 each time, so two changes works out to $85.80.

In 71k miles, I replaced the filters on my Model 3 LR AWD twice DIY. I bought some aftermarket filters that appear identical to the factory filters for $13 for a pair. For the windshield wipers, I replaced them once with Michelin Endurance XT Advanced Silicone wiper blades for $41, again DIY. I could have bought other aftermarket name brand blades for $24, but spent the extra for longer lasting silicone blades.

P.S. There's also been quite a bit of inflation over the last 3 years. It would be interesting to adjust the maintenance costs for that as well.

LOL the cabin filters were SO much easier on the BMW, though. Just lower the glove box and pull out the old filter and replace. I was VERY comfortable doing that. I'm not comfortable removing trim pieces and such to replace the filters in the Tesla, however.

 

[GregD60]

I had to do the alignment because my front tires were wearing quicker on the inside than outside. Tesla confirmed an alignment issue.

I had the same problem with my car which substantially shortened the life of my original tires. When Tesla quoted me over $200 for an alignment, I decided to take it to a local alignment shop and they adjusted it for $60 since it was just a problem of incorrect toe in/out; they were toed out. This seems to be a very common problem, and I'm pretty sure that Tesla just sets them wrong at the factory. When my new Model 3 comes in, I plan on taking it to my local alignment shop to be checked immediately. It's kind of ridiculous to do with a new car, but I've heard of too many Model 3s having the same issue.

 

[skierrob]

I had the same problem with my car which substantially shortened the life of my original tires. When Tesla quoted me over $200 for an alignment, I decided to take it to a local alignment shop and they adjusted it for $60 since it was just a problem of incorrect toe in/out; they were toed out. This seems to be a very common problem, and I'm pretty sure that Tesla just sets them wrong at the factory. When my new Model 3 comes in, I plan on taking it to my local alignment shop to be checked immediately. It's kind of ridiculous to do with a new car, but I've heard of too many Model 3s having the same issue.

Great advice!!!!!!!