A FLAT should NOT be this difficult!

[AquaY]

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?

Tesla's are different than the millions of vehicles they are used to.
Many owners are gleeful in how different their Tesla is unique and while tesla's are selling and the most popular EV they are a drop in the bucket in the overall automotive industry.
Most repairs occur at tesla facilities and they require less maintenance.
To be angry with a shop for having concerns regarding working on them and not wanting to put themselves in liability for a small one off job is IMO wrong.
Anyone buying a tesla and not taking the time to learn about things like jack pads is amazing to me. Even though they are not the only cars designed that suggest using jack pads. These cars are new technology which we applaud.
Part of that is a problem with after market repairs.
Personally I think Tesla's design, where they want the jack pads is a flaw but they are still new designs in the grand scheme of things. That's part of being on the cutting edge.

 

[FlatSix911]

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.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience... compounded by the name-calling and your poor treatment on TMC.

 

[Tam]

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.

Technicians are used to lifting a car without a battery so even Tesla approved Road Assistance damaged the battery for just a flat tire:

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/hfn7tq

 

[ochompsky]

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.

relax, im not saying it's your fault, it was just bad luck.

understandably, they didn't want the liability of working on a car they weren't familiar with. at least they told you, i've seen too many cases where they just try it anyways and improperly lift it.

what would i have done? personally, i carry a tire repair kit and happen to have the pucks in the trunk but if you don't feel like doing that, it might be advisable to sign up for roadside assistance through your insurance if you travel a lot. or AAA.

 

[MontyFloyd]

How is a tire store not wanting to repair or touch your flat tire a "tesla" problem and not a "firestone / tire store" problem?

How is a Ford dealership inability to fix a Mach-E a Ford problem and not a Ford deanship problem?
Same situation.

Answer is, it IS a Ford, and for this topic a Tesla problem.
Reason: layers.

Basically (and this is actually what mechanics adhere to): before any mechanic can work on any machine, they must have a on had repair manuals to the machine they will work on.
Last I know, a digital copy is not acceptable, must be on paper (printed on spot is ok) or microfiche (digital may now be permitted, did not check)

Should a mechanic take it on himself to change the tyre and cause damage, insurance layers will check if he had manuals. If not, he is liable for 100% cost of repair.

(yes, I did spell tyre on purpose, topic is already tired enough)

 

[jjrandorin]

How is a Ford dealership inability to fix a Mach-E a Ford problem and not a Ford deanship problem?
Same situation.

Answer is, it IS a Tesla problem.
Reason: layers.

Basically (and this is actually what mechanics adhere to): before any mechanic can work on any machine, they must have a on had repair manuals to the machine they will work on.
Last I know, a digital copy is not acceptable, must be on paper (printed on spot is ok) or microfiche (digital may now be permitted, did not check)

Should a mechanic take it on himself to change the tyre and cause damage, insurance layers will check if he had manuals. If not, he is liable for 100% cost of repair.

(yes, I did spell tyre on purpose, topic is already tired enough)

Because Ford has a relationship with the dealerships, but firestone doesnt have any relationship with any specific manufacturer like that, so.. no, not same thing at all.

 

[MontyFloyd]

Because Ford has a relationship with the dealerships, but firestone doesnt have any relationship with any specific manufacturer like that, so.. no, not same thing at all.

Bottom line, manuals must be provided (or easily accessible), relationships are meaningless.

 

[MontyFloyd]

To be angry with a shop for having concerns regarding working on them and not wanting to put themselves in liability for a small one off job is IMO wrong.

Quoting the OP

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?!!
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 I read:
Both shops would not even attempt to learn about changing tire on Tesla. They gave up the moment the saw his car.
And these are national chains, you would expect they are training their company to deal with Tesals,

OH, LOOK at this! Firestone DOES have special page just for Tesla's!

Most people will be angry. @Haymaker 's anger should not surprising. (and Firestone really dropped the ball, had I known earlier I would be more focused on Firestone failure)

 

[Haymaker]

Let me just finish with this. (And remember, in my original posting, I predicted that people would come on here and blame me for this but didn't expect the name calling, guess i should have).

1. You shouldn't have to remove your own tires in the parking lot, or bring your own tools/accessories for an $80k car. Nothing makes that acceptable.
2. The tire WAS NOT REPAIRABLE, no "repair kit" in the world would have helped the situation
3. The jack pads would not have helped. Only the Firestone manager brought that up. And, as I wrote, he didn't even have tires that would fit my car. The NTB people would not touch my car, jack adapter or not.
4. I had 2 choices, get the wheels off myself OR flat bed it to tesla (which would have ended up costing me at least $1000 from missed work and extra costs).

Take care.

 

[bmah]

Moderator note: Moved a post to Snippiness. Name calling and other forms of personal attacks are against TMC forum rules.

Bruce.

 

[john5520]

Lol, it doesn't matter what a car costs, having the ability to change a tire yourself can save a lot of grief when roadside or a tow truck isn't close by. Ignorance and incompetence of the repair shop(s) were the reasons you had to change the tire yourself.

Even though it's not recommended, you can use a non-EV tire as long as it meets the specs for safe operation. People do it and seem to have no problems. Or Just get an inexpensive one that fits (within spec) to hold you over if no other options are available.

Good video on EV vs regular tires:

Also, there isn't any alien tech once the wheels are off. It's like any normal car.

Inexpensive jack pads:

Amazon.com

A low profile jack, a 21mm lug nut wrench, and some curb ramps like these: https://www.amazon.com/Pyle-Vehicle...=1&keywords=Tire+Ramps&qid=1633396819&sr=8-13 and it's an easy 15-20 minute job.

You need the curb ramps as the car might be too low for the jack and jack pads to fit with a flat tire.

Or you can just get one of these that's compact, light, and comes with everything you need:

Homepage

Your premier source for durable, lightweight spare tire kits engineered for your vehicle. Alloy wheels, rugged long-range tire- Search Year/Make/Model

modernspare.com

 

[Lester Cos]

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.

Well, I thank you for making me aware of Jack Adaptors. Had no idea, but just ordered 4 from Amazon for about $25. Hoping for no flat tires but I'll be a bit more prepared in the event thanks to your post.

 

[FlatSix911]

How is a Ford dealership inability to fix a Mach-E a Ford problem and not a Ford deanship problem? Same situation.
Answer is, it IS a Ford, and for this topic a Tesla problem.
Reason: layers.
Basically (and this is actually what mechanics adhere to): before any mechanic can work on any machine, they must have a on had repair manuals to the machine they will work on. Last I know, a digital copy is not acceptable, must be on paper (printed on spot is ok) or microfiche (digital may now be permitted, did not check)
Should a mechanic take it on himself to change the tyre and cause damage, insurance layers will check if he had manuals. If not, he is liable for 100% cost of repair. (yes, I did spell tyre on purpose, topic is already tired enough)

Nominated for the best post using creative grammar and spelling on TMC.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Let me just finish with this. (And remember, in my original posting, I predicted that people would come on here and blame me for this but didn't expect the name calling, guess i should have).

1. You shouldn't have to remove your own tires in the parking lot, or bring your own tools/accessories for an $80k car. Nothing makes that acceptable.
2. The tire WAS NOT REPAIRABLE, no "repair kit" in the world would have helped the situation
3. The jack pads would not have helped. Only the Firestone manager brought that up. And, as I wrote, he didn't even have tires that would fit my car. The NTB people would not touch my car, jack adapter or not.
4. I had 2 choices, get the wheels off myself OR flat bed it to tesla (which would have ended up costing me at least $1000 from missed work and extra costs).

Take care.

Sounds like those stores just gave you some BS excuses because they didn't want to service your vehicle. It's not necessarily because it's a Tesla, just they didn't want to bother with an expensive car they might damage.

And FYI, Tesla's are not the only cars that (optionally) use jack pads, BMWs, Mercedes, Corvettes use them too.
Search: 5 results found for "jack pad"
Any place that services higher end cars should know how to deal with that or have them on site.

Note that the pads are not required, it only reduces the probability of jacking at the wrong point and damaging the car, given it gives a wide reference point and a larger margin of error. They can also jack the car by lining up with the jack points. I bought some for my car anyways (which are basically hockey pucks with a point that sticks up to go into the holes in the car so they don't fall out), because I know third party stores can be idiots about this.

Tesla has the jack points handily shown on page 173 in the manual:
https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/model_3_owners_manual_north_america_en.pdf
It's also in a diagram on the ERG on page 6:
https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/downloads/Model_3_Emergency_Response_Guide_en.pdf
You can save a copy on your phone. You can also print out a copy of that and keep in your car for quick reference or you can access the manual on your screen by going to Controls > Service > Owner's Manual and show the jacking procedures to the technician if they argue with you.

ERG for all Teslas can be found here:
https://www.tesla.com/firstresponders

Tesla is better than a lot of manufacturers in that the user manual can easily be googled (others sometimes aren't easily accessed on internet or need you to enter a VIN).

Note you may also want to keep a copy of the tire repair procedures for your given tires in the car (not sure which brand you have), as you may get BS stories about how foam lined tires can't be patched (as plenty of people did in the given thread)
My Flat Tire Story--with Pic of the foam inside the tires
My Flat Tire Story--with Pic of the foam inside the tires

This has nothing to do with Teslas specifically, just tire shops being poorly trained and giving BS explanations for why they can't do something.

 

[MontyFloyd]

Well, I thank you for making me aware of Jack Adaptors. Had no idea, but just ordered 4 from Amazon for about $25. Hoping for no flat tires but I'll be a bit more prepared in the event thanks to your post.

Yeup, same here.

Looked it up in the Tesla manual too. Better if it was part of structure, but can see the value of weight saving.

 

[FlatSix911]

Yeup, same here.

Looked it up in the Tesla manual too. Better if it was part of structure, but can see the value of weight saving.

How to Properly Jack Up a Tesla Model S, X or 3, so you don’t damage the ~£30,000+ battery - Tesla Owners UK

Any competent garage will be able to lift a Tesla just like any other car, the only precaution a garage needs to make is to ensure the jack pads are on the allocated jack points and not touching anything either side or behind as this can cause damage.

teslaowners.org.uk

 

[Russell]

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.

As has been mentioned before, have you complained to Firestone and NTB about the stores' responses?

 

[Snowstorm]

I have jacked my model S lots of times for winter/summer tire swap and never had an issue. I just find the jack points indicated and lift away. The only issue I had was with the jack sinking into the asphalt driveway that was heated by the sun.

 

[DonTom]

IMAO, when a car doesn't include the stuff to replace one wheel, it's their fault.

Or perhaps it is our fault because over the years the buyers didn't even notice they no longer had spares. We let it happen.

BTW, I bought this the same week I got my Tesla M3.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[ThomasD]

There were cars from the 60s and 70s that didn't come with spares.