Catastrophic AC failure

[houstonian]

I understand the perspective. I’m not agreed with the practice.

Fair.

One thing I'd be pleased to see is non-Tesla servicing options hit the market en mass, at least for the simple to moderate stuff (e.g. suspension, HVAC, etc.)

Competition is healthy and offers a good check on players to keep them in line with the market vs. gouging.

Off topic personal story: Two years ago-ish I balked at the ~$6k Tesla quoted to replace my busted-out struts in my S. Had a bro who knew his mechanics, he found a shop offering performance coil overs and we got them replaced over a hot summer weekend. Glad I had the option to avoid TSLA here but he and I took a bit more than the initial day we'd blocked off for the repair. Worked out well as I had the time to fool with it but can't but help wonder if a robust aftermarket existed for Tesla would've been able to offer the same service at a competitive price.

 

[Doanster1]

I understand the perspective. I’m not agreed with the practice.

And to be clear I have not expressed opinion about the wage people earn by my objecting to labor rate x book hours. The service department at Tesla or any traditional dealer is profiting. 200-300 per hour to do a job inflated by 15-20% time in the book is overcharging. Anyone with legacy dealer knowledge will tell you service department is a money maker. Jobs cost 10-15x the cost of parts. The mark up isn’t passed on to the people doing the work. The mark up is a profit for the service provider.

We can agree that we do not agree. And as above poster has explained some people like certainty. Others roll the dice.

Of course they overcharge. Service is a money maker no matter what industry we’re talking about. Factory knowledge, tools, and OEM parts command a premium.
Imagine the accounting nightmare if they charged by actual time spent. Would have to charge differently depending on who worked on the car. The shop foreman commands a much higher rate compared to a two-year person.
Either way, you pivoted from talking about book rate vs time spent to calling out service depts (regardless of brand/make) for doing a piss poor job of profit sharing? Unless you’re an executive, no one will feel like they’re getting commensurate total compensation compared to the profits taken in. That’s life and hence the “at-will” employment factor. Test the waters elsewhere if you’re not happy. If there’s enough attrition…

 

[TacoGuy]

didn’t pivot but got specific about why I am not a fan of book time. Yes it sure is an accounting problem in an industry that does its best to mask 150 year old technology and prevent people from making simple repairs or mystifies servicing their vehicle. Agree the book can a basis for labor hours not exact.

Think of the case where a single part needs to come off for 3 jobs to be done. Do you think it is ok to be charged 3times for removal and reinstall of that part.

The dealers of very high end vehicles have told me that “nobody ever questions it”.

Goes back to an estimate that is in all reality the out the door price. I think it’s wrong and promotes many unsavory practices.

 

[Doanster1]

didn’t pivot but got specific about why I am not a fan of book time. Yes it sure is an accounting problem in an industry that does its best to mask 150 year old technology and prevent people from making simple repairs or mystifies servicing their vehicle. Agree the book can a basis for labor hours not exact.

Think of the case where a single part needs to come off for 3 jobs to be done. Do you think it is ok to be charged 3times for removal and reinstall of that part.

The dealers of very high end vehicles have told me that “nobody ever questions it”.

Goes back to an estimate that is in all reality the out the door price. I think it’s wrong and promotes many unsavory practices.

Your example is the exception, not the norm. And even when that happens, the built in book time for removal of that part is immaterial to the overall quote. I guess if you were paying for a complete brake job on all four corners that you would have a valid case for them unsavorily charging for tire rotation.
In all seriousness, remember the standard pitch on ICE cars when it came to timing belt replacements? “You should do the water pump as well since we’re already in there. Will only charge you for the part.” Never was I charged for both repairs separately per individual book rates.

 

[maximizese]

It seems as though there are two camps that cannot reconcile two differing perspectives, but I'll throw my thoughts into this. Service and financing departments have become major profit-centers for traditional car dealerships. Dealerships or corporate service garages tend to follow a standard expected cost for service based on hourly rates of labor and expected time to complete the job (usually based on the official service manual operations of assembly and disassembly). Mechanics both at the dealership and at independent shops learn that there are usually faster ways to inspect/replace a part compared to how the shop manual may instruct.

Some folks are fine paying the book price, while others would rather pay something to the actual time multiplied by the rate of labor. Some people like to take their car into service at the dealership, while others prefer and independent garage. I don't expect people to change their views or practices through an online conversation.

 

[JSmith1219]

We’re dealing with the same problem. We have MX 2021 bought in 2020. AC compressor failed in 2021 and they fixed it with no cost. This week it failed again and we’re told it’s no longer covered under warranty so we have to swallow almost 4k to repair it.

How in the hell AC compressor will fail AGAIN in less than 2 years? So annoying.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

We’re dealing with the same problem. We have MX 2021 bought in 2020. AC compressor failed in 2021 and they fixed it with no cost. This week it failed again and we’re told it’s no longer covered under warranty so we have to swallow almost 4k to repair it.

How in the hell AC compressor will fail AGAIN in less than 2 years? So annoying.

It's another "gotcha" of EV's that takes you by surprise because EV's are "inherently more reliable because they have almost no moving parts, so you are stupid if you think they are less reliable than ICE cars."

The A/C in an EV works 10 times harder than the A/C in an ICE car. In an ICE car, the compressor only runs when the engine is on and the passengers turn on the A/C. With an EV, that A/C is running when you are charging, it is running when the car is sitting on a hot day, and it's running when the passengers turn on the A/C.

The fact that they are charging $4K to fix it and they aren't standing behind their product is the real kick in the rear. That's Tesla for you.

 

[OrbiterTI4]

The fact that they are charging $4K to fix it and they aren't standing behind their product is the real kick in the rear. That's Tesla for you.

Presuming the AC has the same parts warranty as other items, they will stand behind it for 1-yr.

 

[dannycamps]

We’re dealing with the same problem. We have MX 2021 bought in 2020. AC compressor failed in 2021 and they fixed it with no cost. This week it failed again and we’re told it’s no longer covered under warranty so we have to swallow almost 4k to repair it.

How in the hell AC compressor will fail AGAIN in less than 2 years? So annoying.

I am assuming you are past the 4yr/50k warranty based on mileage. Unfortunately, if a part is replaced under the factory warranty, the replacement part is covered under the terms of the warranty. So let's say your AC compressor died one day prior to the warranty expiring, it would be replaced under warranty. If the replacement unit failed the next day, it would not be covered.

The question is how far out from the 4/50 warranty are you? If you're close, you might be able to argue for a goodwill type of replacement.

 

[TacoGuy]

Just as you think that the people who work on your car are being overpaid I am certain that whatever you do for a living can be accomplished by someone else for less than you are being paid.

No way!!! I am the best there is at sitting on my couch and collecting unemployment.

 

[vcor]

Slightly related, I had an Audi 5000 many years ago. Driving along, smoke started pouring out of the hood. I stopped, shut off the car, and opened the hood to see what was going wrong (likely a stupid idea, especially at a gas station I stopped at). Flames shot up but died fairly quickly. The belt-driven A/C compressor had frozen, and the belt's friction caused the belt to catch fire!

The Audi dealer shop replaced the compressor 3 times in a week, as the first two new units were defective! So things can go really wrong. Luckily for me, it was still in warranty. In this case, a book rate would have been far cheaper than an hourly rate - although you'd hope they would not have passed the labor costs on of the failed compressors.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Slightly related, I had an Audi 5000 many years ago.

The Audi 5000 is second only to the Yugo as the most unreliable car in history. I certainly hope there's nothing related between the Audi 5000 and a Tesla!

 

[mongo]

Slightly related, I had an Audi 5000 many years ago. Driving along, smoke started pouring out of the hood. I stopped, shut off the car, and opened the hood to see what was going wrong (likely a stupid idea, especially at a gas station I stopped at). Flames shot up but died fairly quickly. The belt-driven A/C compressor had frozen, and the belt's friction caused the belt to catch fire!

The Audi dealer shop replaced the compressor 3 times in a week, as the first two new units were defective! So things can go really wrong. Luckily for me, it was still in warranty. In this case, a book rate would have been far cheaper than an hourly rate - although you'd hope they would not have passed the labor costs on of the failed compressors.

Rather than 2 defective compressors, the first failure may have left metal in the system which the following units then ingested.

 

[vcor]

The Audi 5000 is second only to the Yugo as the most unreliable car in history. I certainly hope there's nothing related between the Audi 5000 and a Tesla!

It was a nice car for the time, and one of the first cars with a simple trip computer. That said, agree it was not very reliable. The engine seized up at about 50K miles. Of course, it was out of warranty. It wasn't worth it to fix it. I avoided the brand ever since.

 

[Hoosier-Daddy]

I am assuming you are past the 4yr/50k warranty based on mileage. Unfortunately, if a part is replaced under the factory warranty, the replacement part is covered under the terms of the warranty. So let's say your AC compressor died one day prior to the warranty expiring, it would be replaced under warranty. If the replacement unit failed the next day, it would not be covered.

Unfortunately, human nature takes some of the blame. A certain percent would figure ways to cause expensive parts to fail just before warranty was up if the replacement had a new warranty period.