A FLAT should NOT be this difficult!

[Haymaker]

Traveling from Virginia (for a funeral) back home to michigan and had a rear flat tire near Hagerstown MD about 8pm on a Saturday. Made it to a gas station outside of town. Tire not repairable and would not hold air. Tesla had no "preferred" tow trucks in the area so called my insurance co. Flat bed came to take my car back to Hagerstown (10 miles) to the nearest tire store(s). There were 2 stores about 100yds from each other. (Oh, and of course the tow guy scraped the bottom of my car on the ground while driving up the flat bed truck). Got a hotel room.

Next a.m. Firestone manager said "do you have the jack adapters with you?" I had no idea what the hell he was talking about but he refused to lift my car because he was convinced that he would damage the battery without the adapters. Then why didn't HE have the adapters, why leave it up to ME?!! Called Tesla, for $500 they could flat bed my car 55 miles away to the nearest service center (which opens on monday, and I would miss work). They also said I should not need jack adapters. Firestone guy was not having it.

Walked across the parking lot to NTB. The mechanic there, after learning from the manager that I was driving a Tesla, literally threw up his hands and said "we cant lift a Tesla!, we'll break the battery!". The NTB manager said "only tire centers near Baltimore have the 'special' lifts for Tesla's and they were purchased by Tesla". WHAT?! Pretty sure that never happened. Anyway, after about an hour of not knowing what else to do, I walked to auto zone (2 miles) and bought a 2 ton jack and lug wrench.

I jacked up MY OWN CAR in the Firestone parking lot and CARRIED my wheel to NTB (firestone didn't have my tires) where they replaced my tire. Walked it back to Firestone put MY OWN TIRE BACK ON and drove my car to NTB. Jacked up MY OWN CAR again and they replaced my second tire (figured I should replace both rear tires) and then I put MY OWN TIRE BACK ON again .

Tell me WHY a flat tire should result in being stranded?!! Tell me why it should be up to me to basically repair my own car? Tell me how many people would have or could have carried a 2 ton jack 2 miles? Tell me how many BMW, mercedes, lexus or even cadillac drivers that would put up with this crap?!! This is totally unacceptable and if Tesla doesn't start informing repair companies how to deal with their cars many more people are going to end up being stranded for days......FOR A FLAT TIRE!

In my experiences (5 year owner) most repair places want nothing to do with Tesla cars. They dont understand how to work on them and they are deathly afraid of braking something. For example, the last time I purchased tires for this car, I took it to costco. After about 30 min the manager came out and said they couldn't take the tires off because they needed a "special wrench"! Took my tires to another place and they had no trouble and looked at me like I was crazy when I told them what costco said.

So, now Im back at work on monday 7 am having arrived back at my house 6 hours ago. Should have been home Sunday mid day.....except I got a flat tire. I'm sure people will say "I keep (this that and the other thing) in my car just in case of a flat...." but that misses the point. The point is that you should be able to walk into ANY repair place and have them work on your car, period.

 

[jjrandorin]

This is virtually impossible to read, as one big block of text. I tried, but I cant read it. I get the general point, though, which is "I have a tesla which does not have run flat tires, went on a trip without either having a patch kit or spare tire, got a flat tire and it was super inconvenient."

Im also not quite sure why a flat tire story is posted in the "technical" subforum, but there must be a reason you decided to post it here instead of in the subforum for the car you have.

 

[robussc]

Well in the OPs defense, the insult to injury was having to fight with the tire cos about getting new tires put on because of fear of lifting his car. That sounds pretty miserable. Is this a common experience?

 

[jjrandorin]

Well in the OPs defense, the insult to injury was having to fight with the tire cos about getting new tires put on because of fear of lifting his car. That sounds pretty miserable. Is this a common experience?

That would depend on how familiar the specific company is with tesla vehicles, what equipment they have in their shop, etc.

 

[Haymaker]

See! I knew the very first reply to my problem was going to be down play it and blame me! Its never Tesla's problem. And Im sooo sorry i didn't post it where I was supposed to. Unbelievable.

 

[jjrandorin]

See! I knew the very first reply to my problem was going to be down play it and blame me! Its never Tesla's problem. And Im sooo sorry i didn't post it where I was supposed to. Unbelievable.

How is a tire store not wanting to repair or touch your flat tire a "tesla" problem and not a "firestone / tire store" problem? Because the car doesnt come with run flat tires? I understand being mad at the tire places, but am frankly at a loss at how this is a "tesla" issue, unless you are saying "The car should have run flat tires" or "the car should have a spare tire".

Also, Since you edited the post, I can read it now.

 

[gavine]

I'm not sure if you absolutely need adapters, but I've seen people use hockey pucks as a precaution. Even the ones you buy (see link below) are probably just hockey pucks with nubs added

Jack Adapters

Your Tesla is heavy - take no changes with our commercial-grade jack adaptors, as seen in large tire chains across the US! For all Teslas, the Model 3/Y version features a pop-out magnetic pad for east attachment, and the S/X version stacks for easy storage.

abstractocean.com

I'm not convinced that you need the nubs. The weight of the car should keep the pucks from sliding. So, maybe keep a set of 4 hockey pucks in the car for the future?

 

[Haymaker]

You know what? You're right. What I went through over the past 24hrs was completely acceptable and in no way is this Tesla's problem. Thanks for the clarification. I knew I shouldn't have even posted this.

 

[21miDay]

What you went through was crap. But it sounds like a huge part of the problem was the tire stores not wanting to deal with your car. That is a problem with them and their understanding/misunderstanding of Tesla. Have you complained to Firestone and NTB about the stores' responses?

 

[Haymaker]

This is a Tesla problem, because who wants to own a car that people cant get easy repairs done? So, Tesla can either just wait around for these shops to come around and figure it out OR they can actively communicate to these places about how to work on a Tesla. It's not like I was at a roadside single lift shop. These are 2 nation wide franchises. Its just one more negative that may sway people against buying a Tesla.

 

[jjrandorin]

I'm not sure if you absolutely need adapters, but I've seen people use hockey pucks as a precaution. Even the ones you buy (see link below) are probably just hockey pucks with nubs added

Jack Adapters

Your Tesla is heavy - take no changes with our commercial-grade jack adaptors, as seen in large tire chains across the US! For all Teslas, the Model 3/Y version features a pop-out magnetic pad for east attachment, and the S/X version stacks for easy storage.

abstractocean.com

I'm not convinced that you need the nubs. The weight of the car should keep the pucks from sliding. So, maybe keep a set of 4 hockey pucks in the car for the future?

I have a set of those pucks in my car, but I do believe it is unreasonable to expect people to have to do that (carry specific equipment for someone to lift their car). If its required, it should be provided with the car, but we know its not.

am still not understanding how a tire store saying "I dont want to touch your vehicle because I dont feel I have the appropriate equipment or training" is not an issue with the tire store / chain. Now that I can read the story, I see that it was a pretty horrible experience, and I have a lot of empathy for this OP, who had to go through this during what was likely an already difficult time (traveling for a funeral).

That still doesnt explain how this is not a "that tire store sucks" thread, rather than "this is a huge tesla issue" thread.

 

[Haymaker]

All I'm trying to say is that this is not acceptable and needs to be corrected somehow so it doesn't happen to someone else. That's all.

 

[21miDay]

This is a Tesla problem, because who wants to own a car that people cant get easy repairs done? So, Tesla can either just wait around for these shops to come around and figure it out OR they can actively communicate to these places about how to work on a Tesla. It's not like I was at a roadside single lift shop. These are 2 nation wide franchises. Its just one more negative that may sway people against buying a Tesla.

True. But Tesla may have communicated to these places but some may not pay attention to the communication or remember it when the time comes. Or they just don't want to be bothered with it on a Sunday morning? When I had a screw in my tire I called around and each store that I talked to had no concern about working on a Tesla. (I ended up taking it to Costco.)

 

[Tam]

Im also not quite sure why a flat tire story is posted in the "technical" subforum, but there must be a reason you decided to post it here instead of in the subforum for the car you have.

This incident points out a common technical issue across all Tesla cars presently and hopefully, it will be corrected in the future.

1) The battery is located near the lift points and it's designed to be easily damaged. It should not be designed to hang down, protruding that might be damaged from a jack.

There should be a reinforced structure like a wide crossbar to protect the battery even when the arms of a lift go deeper into the center.

To compensate for the design failure, many owners have decided to create their own solution by 3-D printing a jack adapter or using hockey pugs.

2) All current Tesla cars are designed to lack space for a spare tire and necessary accessories to replace a flat tire but Rivian and F-150 Lightning EV are designed to include a full tire, not just a small size donut.

Below is a Rivian design:

Below is the F150 EV design:

 

[drtimhill]

Traveling from Virginia (for a funeral) back home to michigan and had a rear flat tire near Hagerstown MD about 8pm on a Saturday. Made it to a gas station outside of town. Tire not repairable and would not hold air. Tesla had no "preferred" tow trucks in the area so called my insurance co. Flat bed came to take my car back to Hagerstown (10 miles) to the nearest tire store(s). There were 2 stores about 100yds from each other. (Oh, and of course the tow guy scraped the bottom of my car on the ground while driving up the flat bed truck). Got a hotel room.

Next a.m. Firestone manager said "do you have the jack adapters with you?" I had no idea what the hell he was talking about but he refused to lift my car because he was convinced that he would damage the battery without the adapters. Then why didn't HE have the adapters, why leave it up to ME?!! Called Tesla, for $500 they could flat bed my car 55 miles away to the nearest service center (which opens on monday, and I would miss work). They also said I should not need jack adapters. Firestone guy was not having it.

Walked across the parking lot to NTB. The mechanic there, after learning from the manager that I was driving a Tesla, literally threw up his hands and said "we cant lift a Tesla!, we'll break the battery!". The NTB manager said "only tire centers near Baltimore have the 'special' lifts for Tesla's and they were purchased by Tesla". WHAT?! Pretty sure that never happened. Anyway, after about an hour of not knowing what else to do, I walked to auto zone (2 miles) and bought a 2 ton jack and lug wrench.

I jacked up MY OWN CAR in the Firestone parking lot and CARRIED my wheel to NTB (firestone didn't have my tires) where they replaced my tire. Walked it back to Firestone put MY OWN TIRE BACK ON and drove my car to NTB. Jacked up MY OWN CAR again and they replaced my second tire (figured I should replace both rear tires) and then I put MY OWN TIRE BACK ON again .

Well, I've had a slow leak fixed, and new tires fitted, at my local Discount Tire with no problem at all. They know all about the car, how to unlock/drive/jack it etc. And my (limited) understanding is that most tire places have jacks that basically spread the load anyway so there is no need for special adapters.

However, this is in the Seattle area where there are a LOT of Teslas, so its likely the tire shops here have had to learn how to handle the cars properly.

 

[Dave EV]

And my (limited) understanding is that most tire places have jacks that basically spread the load anyway so there is no need for special adapters.

Yeah, with a typical 4-post lift, as long as you position the pads at the lift points properly, there is no issue lifting the car without adapters.

Even Tesla, when lifting up just one side of the car to do tire rotations, does not typically use any special adapters and just relies on the jack-pad to lift the car.

I suspect they've had a few owners insist on using the adapters, or perhaps they had a tech lift the car without being sure the lift was positioned properly and lifted the car by the pack and not the jack points.

Or maybe they're just anti-EV and giving you a hard time just because. Which is funny, because Teslas tend to eat tires pretty rapidly due to all the torque they have.

 

[Rice&Curry]

There are many things Tesla should have done differently but did not. Now that we have purchased the car, we have to deal with all its shortcomings compared to a regular ICE car( need to carry pucks for tire change, 12V battery not easily available at a Auto store, etc etc,). We have to prepare the best we can to deal with such situations as I am sure Tesla will not change our current car to deal with these types of issues.

 

[Haymaker]

you sound like a karen. at least they were honest and didn't just try to work on it anyways and risk damage. hagerstown is not a huge area, they probably don't see a lot of tesla's. picks are only $20, you can afford a set in the car.

and unless you're missing some details, it sounds like you made the exact mistake they warned you about. did you even use the proper lift points when jacking up the car?

That is so great. I love it. Again, this is why I was reluctant to even post this. Yep, its all my fault. What the hell would you have done? I had two places tell me they could not help me. And I KNEW they could. They just were ignorant about the process. I had NO options at all. At no point was I rude to anyone. I was not about to miss a day of work and pay $500 for a tow to the service center. So, I did the only thing I think that I could. Pretty sure calling me a Karen is rude, not necessary and sexist. And pretty sure it violates the forum policy.

 

[Haymaker]

Im done with this. I knew I shouldn't have posted it. I'll never do it again. You should be able to post an event like this and not have it turned around like it was my fault. or that Im a "Karen". Amazing. Bye.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Sad really that Tesla can resolve this with 1 web page per model.