Charged $800 for A/C Compressor harness after 6mo? [SC states water damage]

[rchomko]

In pretty much every case, if the moisture indicators on computers, phones etc indicted the device was in moisture, it was in moisture, full stop, do not pas go. If the device warranty excludes moisture damage, then I have no idea why anyone would consider that an "excuse" other than the fact they were not happy with the warranty terms (which doesnt make it an excuse).

I have no idea if there is a moisture indicator in / on / around the area in question in a tesla, and I dont work for apple but our company has used apple devices for quite some time (since the original iPhone).

I have seen phones / macs etc where people swore "no I didnt drop it in water" who straight up lie to your face, because its clear, not only from the moisture indicators but other indicators once the device is taken apart.

Back to this OP,

We have a statement from them that they "drove the car in very heavy rains" and also asked "how deep would the water have to be, to cause this damage?" There isnt any reason at all to ask that question unless someone drove through "some" water but thought "its not that deep / I should be fine".

I have zero idea how much water that would take (to damage those items) but its likely the OP drove through "some" water. Checking the internet for "illinois rainstorms 2021" results in this as the first hit:

Central Illinois Faces Friday Afternoon Storms, Tornadoes and Floods - IPM Newsroom

Updated Friday at 10:50 p.m. Updated Friday at 10:22 p.m. Updated Friday at 8:56 p.m. Updated Friday at 8:52 p.m. Updated Friday at 8:32 p.m. Updated Friday at 8:21 p.m. Updated Friday at 8:18 p.m. Updated Friday at 8:00 p.m. There are no reports of major damage or injuries after a brief tornado...

illinoisnewsroom.org

So, we have severe weather, an OP (who joined today, to make this post) asking "how much water is too much?" when told their damage was caused by water, and water damage / driving through water not a warranty item, yet people want to say "Tesla wants to avoid obvious warranty work!"

After posting this, I spoke to my wife and daughter who were driving it ... I was out of town. They claim that they did not drive in any heavy rain. The car was sitting in the driveway outside when the rainstorms mentioned hit. It is possible that it was sitting in a puddle.

I owned a model S before the Model 3 and I never had any issues with the car and rain regardless of how heavy it was.

 

[rchomko]

I don't care if the car was driven in water, or how deep it was--this is what cars can expect to experience in their lifetimes. Absent obvious flood damage, which you do not report here, Tesla needs to refund your repair payment.

Period.

If I were you I would review your arbitration options, usually listed in the warranty booklet. Tesla should pay for this repair as it strongly suggests inadequate design or poor quality assembly and/or materials.

Again, under warranty, it's on Tesla, not the OP.

Please DO THIS--the process is free. Please advise how it goes.

Tesla Customer Service has fallen off a cliff since our first Model S in 2013 and it's just embarrassing how bad it has become of late.

Thanks for keeping us in the loop.

I am on vacation this week but I do intend on taking a look at arbitration and I will report back.

 

[rchomko]

I agree that for simple moisture or even deep water this should not cause problems.

However, there is the issue of speed.

Without more detail from the OP, it’s impossible to know how much damage was done to harnesses (ripping them loose of their attachment points, etc.) by a fast transit through deep water. Water has a way of getting past seals when there is enough pressure. High velocity spray from the road is one thing and should not cause problems. But a flood of water moving at 70-80mph is quite another, it is not the same at all.

We have no idea what happened here. It could be a Tesla defect, but without more information (pictures of the damage) we will never know. Arbitration makes sense since it will presumably determine the facts of what happened.

The car was not driven on the highway during heavy rain. I have no pictures because I had no way of seeing the problem. There is no visible damage of any type to exterior of the vehicle.

 

[rchomko]

Is your car blue?

View attachment 681268

this is not me. I have the gray model.

 

[rchomko]

This poster could have been confused by the first "estimated repair" invoice.

Once they picked up the car and received a $0 warranty invoice all interest in posting a response faded.

Not confused. Copy of invoice attached.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

Not confused. Copy of invoice attached.

Looks like Tesla failed to fully secure the connector, allowing water entry, which is a manufacturing defect covered under warranty.

Absent proof to the contrary, Tesla should have made this repair under warranty to me.

Please let us all know if the arbitrator agrees!

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

The car was not driven on the highway during heavy rain. I have no pictures because I had no way of seeing the problem. There is no visible damage of any type to exterior of the vehicle.

Yes, it is very hard from your original post to determine what the vehicle was subjected to, exactly. It definitely seems relevant for arbitration.

I would not expect to see visible damage unless the car was lifted and inspected.

For simple water in a harness with no other visible damage, I don’t see how Tesla could charge for this. They did not mention anything else so I’m not sure how they could possibly ascertain that this was caused by submerging the vehicle. (Rather than a poorly sealed harness, etc.)

 

[TSLA Pilot]

For the OP: Another video to show at your arbitration

There is a longer clip to be found, but I'm not finding it at the moment.