Bad Tesla Customer Service

[ThomasD]

The longest I had a 12 volt last was 7 years. I just sold a car that had a battery in it that I purchased in Mar of 2014. Still had the little sticker on it 03 14

 

[TexanEV]

why in the world can't mobile service replace something as simple as a 12V battery the same day? Towing a car ($$) to a SC and have it sit there for days to replace as 12V battery is nuts

no idea. What’s crazier is I was in a parking garage, so one company came and jump started it ...then I drove it down the garage with the change 12V warning going (which didn’t show up before it failed). Then another flat bed tow truck was waiting for me at the bottom of the garage. I didn’t have to pay but seemed like a pain in the a$$ for Tesla .

 

[Huskyf]

For a CEO that can put men safely on a space station and will eventually get them to Mars and for a CEO who can get a car to drive itself on curved roads, how in the world can he not get the customer service piece right. My Tesla 3 did not start (apparently the 12V battery was dead without any warning). That's not even my problem. Things break down- no big deal, and the car has been excellent and trouble-free for 33,000 miles.

My real problems were about to begin. I called Tesla and waited for 43 minutes before I got to speak to a human being. (You may want to ask why they have such crazy wait times in the middle of a pandemic when most of their customer base in CA are not even on the road?) I knew I was low on the phone battery and gave the individual another number to call, in case we got cut off. He did try to help me for 15 minutes, and the car could not be started remotely. I was actually ok with all that, but since my app was not working (circle of death), once the call did cut off (and no he never called back), I could not get a hold of Tesla and actually had to call their towing service myself and pay to tow it to the local dealership in Tampa.

Now the story gets worse. I have called the Tampa (N. Florida location) two times today and e-mailed them to ask about the status of my car. I could not use the app until about an hour ago and used that to ping them further. Still no return call. Don't even know if they know my car is there. I guess the only way in the modern age to get hold of Tesla is for me to ride my bike over there to talk to a human being. Elon, this is the easiest part to get right. You've built a wonderful vehicle with world class technology, yet the customer service technology that has been available to the human race since the 1990's is nowhere to be found on your platform. Talk to your customers when they are having problems. It's generally the best way to keep them happy.

Why you not send a message via the Tesla application ? I sent for a request I receive a answer 10 minutes later.

 

[dixosw]

why in the world can't mobile service replace something as simple as a 12V battery the same day? Towing a car ($$) to a SC and have it sit there for days to replace as 12V battery is nuts

That right there. Happened to me too. Dead 12v in a 2018 Model 3. Instead of jump-starting the battery or having a ranger replace it, they towed it to the SC where it took them 3 days to replace the 12v battery. No loaners, no Uber credits, no response to calls etc. I get it, Florida is hard on 12v batteries - I'm on my 3rd already in a 2017 Subaru. Difference is, Subaru can swap it in about 10 mins, Tesla takes 3 days and a tow truck. It defies logic.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

why in the world can't mobile service replace something as simple as a 12V battery the same day? Towing a car ($$) to a SC and have it sit there for days to replace as 12V battery is nuts

Is it a parts supply issue? Tesla prioritizes pumping out new cars, not repairing sold cars, and especially not warranty work. I wouldn't be surprised if they are keeping their supply of 12V batteries for new cars.

 

[BikerPeaBody]

$93 isn't bad
is it as simple as changing a regular car battery?
how long is the battery under warrantly? at 14K so far and all good

 

[texas_star_TM3]

Is it a parts supply issue? Tesla prioritizes pumping out new cars, not repairing sold cars, and especially not warranty work. I wouldn't be surprised if they are keeping their supply of 12V batteries for new cars.

this. I'd be furious if i had to wait for several days for something as mundane as replacing a 12V car battery. clearly there are enough 12V batteries to build thousands of new cars per week but they can't ensure that all of the 300+ Service Centers worldwide have enough 12V in stock?

I never had a 12V battery fail in under 4 years and Texas isn't easy on 12V batteries

 

[Charliek]

I have my car in for service it is a'17 MS and I asked them to check the battery . they said they have to wait for the problem notice to do anything. the SC must not have a way to check it ( charging capacity , or ageing? , and when it fails it fails fast. I'll be on the look out for the warning notice I'm at 31k miles . if I wanted todo it my self ( I have a batteries Plusejust down the street , if I do it my self and disconnect the battery is there something the a ranger has todo to keep things from losing programming? has any one just pre-emptively replaced it but not at an SC?. Id be willing to get in there and do it my self , but am worried disconnecting it will kill some thing else

 

[TLLMRRJ]

I have my car in for service it is a'17 MS and I asked them to check the battery . they said they have to wait for the problem notice to do anything. the SC must not have a way to check it ( charging capacity , or ageing? , and when it fails it fails fast. I'll be on the look out for the warning notice I'm at 31k miles . if I wanted todo it my self ( I have a batteries Plusejust down the street , if I do it my self and disconnect the battery is there something the a ranger has todo to keep things from losing programming? has any one just pre-emptively replaced it but not at an SC?. Id be willing to get in there and do it my self , but am worried disconnecting it will kill some thing else

There are lightweight aftermarket batteries, and I believe I have seen that they have videos showing you how to DIY with their batteries. So I would search for that vendor and their video.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

There are lightweight aftermarket batteries, and I believe I have seen that they have videos showing you how to DIY with their batteries. So I would search for that vendor and their video.

Here's a video:

This replacement battery is $400, which is pricey.

 

[TexanEV]

Is it a parts supply issue? Tesla prioritizes pumping out new cars, not repairing sold cars, and especially not warranty work. I wouldn't be surprised if they are keeping their supply of 12V batteries for new cars.

They claimed it would take a few days for my car to be fixed while they “waited for a part”

 

[TexanEV]

Why you not send a message via the Tesla application ? I sent for a request I receive a answer 10 minutes later.

The app didn’t work in my case

 

[nwdrive]

The app didn’t work in my case

In many cases, if the car is dead and won’t start at all, the app won’t load either so you can’t make a service appointment when you need it most. Pretty stupid “feature”.

 

[khoon]

Couldn’t agree more with posts here. Tesla is low on customer service - service centers are swamped and one can’t reach them. Their 800 number for customer service is always busy with long wait times. I’ve never had such issues with other car brands. Elon really needs to fix the service issue and soon - forget putting man on Mars...put some men in your service dept.

Also have an issue with the 12V battery. Sporadically get error message that the 12V battery is disconnected.

 

[khoon]

BTW, how would one open the frunk if the 12V battery is dead?

 

[Drax]

@khoon
There’s a secret manual release around the front of the car.

 

[AdamVIP]

so pro-actively spending ~$200 every 18 months on something which should last 3-4 years negates the low TCO concept for an EV....

I mean you can bring it to service every time but I dont have time for that. Ill take the lack of hassle over the cost of the battery. Plus in the grand scheme of things averaging a 100 a year in batteries is more than made up from in lack of oil changes. Also if you really want a cheap to own car buy a beater for $1k every year. Even with gas and maintenance it will be cheaper than a base Tesla. Plus youll get 500 back in scrap value at the junkyard to use on the next one.

 

[ThomasD]

Tesla can't load test the battery.
Battery Load Tester - Analog

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• Tests 6 and 12 volt batteries and provides analog test readings.
• Feature copper plated clamps.
• Tests completely in 10 seconds.
• Easy to follow operating instructions are displayed on the back of the tester.
• Analog battery load tester rated 100 amps.

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[Johnr9q]

Calling Tesla and expecting to get an answer on any question is a waste of time. "Bring it to the service center" is usually the response from the uninformed, unknowledgeable Tesla rep, so much so that I want to sell my Tesla and get an Infinity.

 

[Shmesla]

Well if you give them as much information as you have given us then I don't blame them for having you go to a Tesla Service Center. Maybe you can actually tell us the issue.