Am I being unreasonable? Re: Service Department

[PaulusdB]

...The OP wouldn't take warranty repairs to another repair shop and pay out of pocket...

I beg to differ, as I did exactly that. With my P85+ I experienced a constant pull to the right on the steering wheel, that several attempts by the SeC didn't fix. Being fed up with this and afraid of the extra tyre wear, I took the car to my tyre specialist for re-alignment, on my dime. They fixed it in less than 45 minutes. One happy camper and never looked back.
This was early 2014, probably (hopefully) the SeC got better at this nowadays.

 

[Canuck]

I beg to differ, as I did exactly that.

As they say, there's an exception to every rule. I think the vast majority of people won't pay out-of-pocket for warranty repairs.

 

[CHG-ON]

These are huge growing pains for Tesla. I get that. They need to beef up their service staff big time and have much better managers motivating for and enforcing high quality standards and individual ownership over the employees' quality of work.

I don't envy them, or us owners who have to deal with this. I bet that their fast growth in sales and hiring has cause a dearth in the stock of quality mechanics. I will say that when I go to my Sunnyvale SC, I get a general sense that staff is stressed. No actions or attitudes. They are great. Just a vibe.

I hope they can sort this out quickly.

 

[STbreaker]

Out of curiosity, related to the TPMS errors, do you have a dash cam installed? If so, you might try powering it off to see if that helps.

I once had a very nice street guardian dash cam cause interference with my TPMS system on my Volt. Different car, I know, but it does happen and the systems all work basically the same. Took the dash cam out and the TPMS worked fine. I bought a different brand dash cam that didn't cause interference, and it's been fine ever since.

Second on that. The TMPS system in my Lancer used to cry error when I had anything plugged into the cigarette lighter, especially a phone charger. This was particularly true if it was hot outside.

 

[Dr. Pete]

I feel for the OP. I have been very fortunate. I gave my car a detailed going-over when I originally took delivery, and found not a single flaw. In the 18 months since then I have had zero problems, so nothing has needed fixing.

I always make it a habit, if I ever have a service call to fix a problem in any of the other vehicles I have had, to give the car a detailed going-over, + or - a test drive before taking the car home. If the problem is still there, I don't take the car home. I have never had a car damaged in service. That is inexcusable, and Tesla needs to do something to make it up to you.

 

[Mike K]

These are huge growing pains for Tesla. I get that. They need to beef up their service staff big time and have much better managers motivating for and enforcing high quality standards and individual ownership over the employees' quality of work.

I don't envy them, or us owners who have to deal with this. I bet that their fast growth in sales and hiring has cause a dearth in the stock of quality mechanics. I will say that when I go to my Sunnyvale SC, I get a general sense that staff is stressed. No actions or attitudes. They are great. Just a vibe.

I hope they can sort this out quickly.

I think they will. The hastiness of the service is a bit worrisome though as well as the fact that it appears they're just throwing parts at cars without any kind of real if x/ then y troubleshooting.

I feel for the OP. I have been very fortunate. I gave my car a detailed going-over when I originally took delivery, and found not a single flaw. In the 18 months since then I have had zero problems, so nothing has needed fixing.

I always make it a habit, if I ever have a service call to fix a problem in any of the other vehicles I have had, to give the car a detailed going-over, + or - a test drive before taking the car home. If the problem is still there, I don't take the car home. I have never had a car damaged in service. That is inexcusable, and Tesla needs to do something to make it up to you.

I'm sure they will. It's just a matter of when. With respect to your car versus mine, you have a P85D which at it's earliest is what? A mid-2014 vehicle? I have an early 2013 low VIN car. So my car probably had some teething issues yours didn't.

 

[cwave1]

This is just I wanted to hear. What are they telling you? Obviously they exist since cars are getting made.

I have not been given an ETA nor have I been given an explanation of why it is taking so long. I waited 1 YEAR for the cold weather brake package and 6 months for my first drive unit replacement so this is not my first experience with back ordered parts.

I thought the same as you about the parts being available for new cars so either we are not the priority or the new ones are different somehow.

 

[hybridbear]

I've had terrible experiences with Ford service on our EVs. It's part of the reason why I do not plan to every own another Ford. Every automaker is going to have some bad experiences. The positive thing about Tesla is that they seem to really try to make it up to their customers. The big OEMs don't care.

 

[Beryl]

True. I had my worst experiences at Volvo dealerships. Volvo never made it right after wreaking my car -- twice.

• Dallas - a simple oil change and inspection. Volvo tech drove the car and collided with a truck -- around $10K damage. The car was only a couple of years old so it wasn't totaled but it looked that way to me. I wanted them to offer me reasonable deal on a trade. I intuitively knew the value was diminished but wasn't aware of the legal concept back then. They shrugged me off saying they would fix it "good as new" under their insurance. Weeks later I got my car back. It looked good but never was the same, of course.
• Boulder - a simple tire rotation. Upon driving it away, a service rep stopped me stating that the hood was not shut completely. He slammed it shut and waved me on. When I got home, I noticed a puncture in the hood where the service rep slammed it on top of protruding metal. Dealership took no responsibility. (Wish dashcams existed back then. )

I have low expectations when it comes to automakers but so far, I've been pleased with Tesla.

 

[msnow]

Never once had an issue with my Porsche or Lexus dealerships, ever.

 

[wdolson]

I hate to say this but a large number of car mechanics will discount women unless they demonstrate a lot of knowledge about cars up front and assume guys always know what they are talking about. I can usually piece together what they are talking about from basic knowledge, but my SO actually knows a lot more about cars than I do. Her father owned a car dealership for most of her childhood and she started working there when she was a teenager. She also spent weekends working on cars with him.

She usually gets mechanics to take her seriously, but she usually shows up with a list of issues typed up using precise terms. Mechanics tend to assume I know exactly what they are talking about even when I'm clueless. We got lucky and found a place in town when we moved here that's very honest and doesn't assume women are idiots.

A female friend was afraid to take her car in anywhere because she had been ripped off by unethical mechanics who took advantage of her think knowledge of cars. She's quite intelligent, but cars aren't her thing. We finally convinced her to take her car into the local guys we take our cars to and she was pleasantly surprised.

It isn't right, but it does happen.

 

[Mike K]

Well, almost a month later and no followup. My SA did say it would be a month so I don't fault him. I'm sure he's got loads of non-sense repeat work as a result of them not fixing the cars right the first 6 times.

I'm not losing faith but this is poorly timed because it seems lately no matter what company I deal with follow up is non-existent. You have to consistently nag people to get things done and often done the wrong way no less.

For instance, when I complained about the door seals not fully overlapping the headliner and asked if there was a fix my SA laughed and said even the new cars do it. I mean the car has been out for 4 years now. They still can't make a headliner that fits? I don't care about GD rainbow charge port. Basic fit and finish should be a concern. It's going to come to a point where buyers in this price bracket are no longer going to cut Tesla a break in this department.

I suppose it doesn't help that I picked up an i3 REX for my wife yesterday and the build quality on the interior of the i3 is so far beyond that of the S it's almost laughable. I really hope they start to step it up. I sat in a facelifted 2016 yesterday and despite what people on this forum like to tell you, it's the same as the 2013.

Rant over. Thanks for letting me complain.

 

[xAgyex]

Oye. I love my Model S, but the service experience is definitely not the best. I have to save they are just as bad as any other car company. But since they are a super young company in comparison, they are doing ok. I still say lets set a better example.

Having had my vehicle returned to me with scratches and then getting no response from the Service Center when I reported it was not good. They could have simply buffed it out to make it less noticeable, and I would have been happy, but instead ignored the issue...SHAME

Having had my dash cam unplugged, SD card removed, and some footage deleted. Finding out when I got back in the car and then being told they can't film in the shop...SHADY and SHAME.

We are all taking our bets here. But I will keep taking it back until all my issues are resolved, as I don't want to have to deal with this when the warranty runs out. At which point, I will start working on it myself, and maybe find a good shop that can do some of the basic stuff...

 

[D.E.]

Lest some new owners and prospective owners get the idea these complaints in these threads are typical, they are not.

Most of us have no significant problems, when things do crop up, they are remedied quickly and professionally.

I had one problem, my left mirror failed to unfold consistently. Tesla sent a ranger to my house. He replaced the mirror fixing the problem.

I cringe when I read these accounts of botched fixes, delays, service center damage, etc. My heart goes out to these people. These things shouldn't happen. Tesla should take better care of these people and their cars.

Tesla delivered 10,930 Model S cars last quarter. Few of the cars wind up in these problem threads. It doesn't mean problems don't happen, they do, but they aren't at all typical. Most of us have no problems.

 

[wdolson]

People are more likely to complain when they have a bad experience than heap praise when they have a good one, or even more importantly when they have none (in this case no problems that need a service center visit). My biggest complaint about my service center experiences is getting there. I've only had a few and all for minor issues. The car was only undrivable once and that was because of a bad flat (big chunk of metal in the tire) and that was handled at the local tire shop (Tesla roadside assistance went to great lengths to help). All other problems have been nuisances like the early Model S refresh headlight whine.

I don't have any experience with luxury brands like Mercedes or BMW. Maybe they offer a spa treatment while you wait when you take your car in for service or something? Compared to what I'm used to (GM), Tesla's service is way ahead of the competition except for overcrowding at the service center and the long drive to get there. But I would have the long drive to get to any other lower volume car's service. There is a Ford dealer in our small town, and the other major car makers have dealers in Vancouver, but for any car brand with less than a million cars a year production, you have to go into Portland to get service (or Seattle for the real exotics).

The service center has pushed to replace parts that might be causing a minor nuisance rather than wait and try and figure out the source. I've had to tell them a few times I'm fine waiting if there is a minor problem more than once.

 

[croman]

I've got few complaints. I like my service center and I live very close to it. It does appear that Model X vehicles in particular need a lot of service center visits but Tesla does have Q/A issues and known parts supply issues. So that exacerbates a great deal of these repair/service issues and leads to unfortunate threads of frustration and despair. Its ultimately Tesla's fault because their cars are so damn fun it sucks to be deprived.

 

[Barklikeadog]

Lest some new owners and prospective owners get the idea these complaints in these threads are typical, they are not.

Most of us have no significant problems, when things do crop up, they are remedied quickly and professionally.

I had one problem, my left mirror failed to unfold consistently. Tesla sent a ranger to my house. He replaced the mirror fixing the problem.

I cringe when I read these accounts of botched fixes, delays, service center damage, etc. My heart goes out to these people. These things shouldn't happen. Tesla should take better care of these people and their cars.

Tesla delivered 10,930 Model S cars last quarter. Few of the cars wind up in these problem threads. It doesn't mean problems don't happen, they do, but they aren't at all typical. Most of us have no problems.

People should know what they are getting into. If it takes 2 months to replace a windshield, they should know. It's not right to treat any of the customers this way. People legit can't get parts for months,
meanwhile Tesla is busy working on a new roadster, semi, Shanghai, etc. They need to slow down for a minute and take care of the customers they have.

 

[timvracer]

I have had no problems in 13 months with my car, except for when I took it for the annual service. They damaged my sunroof (scratched it), and now I am in the "wait for the parts" mode. When they told me it would be 2-3 days, I questioned that and mentioned about all the things I have read on the forum.. he said "don't believe everything you read". My SA has not ever once replied to my emails or texts, I actually had to get the update by emailing Tesla customer support, who then got the information from the SA, and then relayed it back to me. Why did he give me his email if he is not ever going to respond?

 

[roblab]

First, I don't think most Teslas need "annual service". I have never taken any of mine in (80,000, 70,000, and 7000 miles) for service. I don't believe you can find a requirement for "annual service".
Second, you can take your Tesla to any garage or repair shop. You don't need to let Tesla train new workers on your car.

 

[X Fan]

People should know what they are getting into. If it takes 2 months to replace a windshield, they should know. It's not right to treat any of the customers this way. People legit can't get parts for months,
meanwhile Tesla is busy working on a new roadster, semi, Shanghai, etc. They need to slow down for a minute and take care of the customers they have.

Why am I not surprised that you chimed in/pile with negativity on another thread....