Consumer Reports gives the Model S a low reliability rating "44" out of a 100?

[cloudoc1]

The new Consumer Reports gives the Model S a staggering low reliability rating of 44 out of 100. There is also a warning about self-driving, but I don't think that it relates to the low number 44,--all self driving cars have this warning.
Comments appreciated, thank you.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Over 100,000 trouble free miles - these cars have never failed me.

 

[Az_Rael]

I think there is some merit to the reliability ranking. I don't expect a Model S to be as reliable as a Lexus. Consumer Reports does take into consideration how many times a car has to go into the shop, even if it's for small stuff (as I recall the last time I filled out their survey).

Based on the current service center backlogs, I would guess lots of Teslas have to go in for repairs. More often than a Lexus, less often than a MB.

You also have to look at the detailed ratings to see where Teslas are doing poorly. 2014s get knocked for the drive unit issues, all years get lowered some for body fit/finish issues, and I assume door handles would fall under power equipment. All known problems with the Model S.

 

[Az_Rael]

Here are the details for the Lexus and the MB FYI:

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Was the 44 out of 100 for the 2016 model? The chart above shows an excellent rating for 2016 \0/

Wow, I didn't no the MS was an "ultra" luxury car.

 

[Aieukl378]

I would aways use Consumer Reports as a gauge of "reliability" when purchasing a car but basically ignored it when I purchased my MS a few months back because:

1. Some car manufacturers had a multi year (even multi decade) pattern of producing unreliable vehicles...those i stayed away from. Tesla hasn't been around that long and everything points to more reliable vehicles going forward.
2. Elon Musk stated about 20 improvements are made to the MS weekly, and many fixes occur over the air without needing to bring the car into the shop.
3. Tesla has a proven track record of taking of their customers. There were many stories of early Tesla adopters being taken care of even when an issue wasn't under warranty etc.

 

[Az_Rael]

Was the 44 out of 100 for the 2016 model? The chart above shows an excellent rating for 2016 \0/

Wow, I didn't no the MS was an "ultra" luxury car.

The reliability ranking is based on the entire model history, not just one year. As the Model S continues to improve over the years, the early VIN issues will eventually fall off the chart and the number should go up.

 

[Az_Rael]

I would aways use Consumer Reports as a gauge of "reliability" when purchasing a car but basically ignored it when I purchased my MS a few months back because:

1. Some car manufacturers had a multi year (even multi decade) pattern of producing unreliable vehicles...those i stayed away from. Tesla hasn't been around that long and everything points to more reliable vehicles going forward.
2. Elon Musk stated about 20 improvements are made to the MS weekly, and many fixes occur over the air without needing to bring the car into the shop.
3. Tesla has a proven track record of taking of their customers. There were many stories of early Tesla adopters being taken care of even when an issue wasn't under warranty etc.

I agree with you, as I am doing the same thing with my model S purchase. I think do think the "goodwill" repairs you mention in #3 are becoming less common, though, based on some of the issues threads here. As probably has to happen eventually as more and more cars are on the road. I don't plan to own my Model S past the warranty for that reason.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

I'm planning on owning mine for at least 20 years. I hope Chilton's comes out with a shop manual before my warranty ends.

 

[Vitold]

Grouping Tesla cars (Model X or Model S) by model year is a FAIL by Consumer Reports and bound to result in inaccurate information. Where other manufacturer's rarely make substantial adjustments during same model year Tesla does plenty in a month.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Grouping Tesla cars (Model X or Model S) by model year is a FAIL by Consumer Reports and bound to result in inaccurate information. Where other manufacturer's rarely make substantial adjustments during same model year Tesla does plenty in a month.

Correct. They should be grouped into Production Month 1, Production Month 2 and Production Month 3.

 

[Az_Rael]

Grouping Tesla cars (Model X or Model S) by model year is a FAIL by Consumer Reports and bound to result in inaccurate information. Where other manufacturer's rarely make substantial adjustments during same model year Tesla does plenty in a month.

Correct. They should be grouped into Production Month 1, Production Month 2 and Production Month 3.

Tesla themselves use year models for their cars. Until Tesla starts referring to the Model S as "version 1", "version 2", etc and ignoring years I don't see any reason why CR shouldn't use the same designations Tesla uses.

Besides, trying to figure out when a car was built and what features it might or might not have is already virtually impossible on Tesla's own CPO site. I can't imagine a third party review site being able to figure it out either.

 

[Vitold]

Tesla themselves use year models for their cars. Until Tesla starts referring to the Model S as "version 1", "version 2", etc and ignoring years I don't see any reason why CR shouldn't use the same designations Tesla uses.

I gave the reason in my post - if you care about providing reliable information you don't group Tesla's by calendar year.

 

[Az_Rael]

I gave the reason in my post - if you care about providing reliable information you don't group Tesla's by calendar year.

Then TESLA doesn't care about providing reliable information themselves. See: CPO website.

 

[Vitold]

Then TESLA doesn't care about providing reliable information themselves. See: CPO website.

Most of Tesla issues are early life issues (bathtub curve). CPO do not share the same issues as new cars and should not be lumped together when discussing reliability.

 

[Krugerrand]

Then TESLA doesn't care about providing reliable information themselves. See: CPO website.

No, Tesla does it because people can't wrap their brains around having no years on car models because all people know from the time they can drive is: cars have model years. Tesla does it because when you go to the DMV, model year is a requirement. Tesla does it because when you call for car insurance, model year is a requirement. And so on...

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Well, my Model S has been in service more times than I can count for more reasons than I can remember, including four drive unit replacements. I don't think most people with typical expectations, based on previous vehicle ownership, would tolerate what some Tesla owners have to deal with. In this regard, I think CR's low rating is justified.

 

[RDoc]

While we really love our S, it is, by far, the most trouble prone car we've owned since we stopped driving Alfa Romeos.

No major problems, but lots of little annoyances that required service. We're still waiting on some suspension parts.

 

[robatbeach]

Since the Tesla broke consumer reports rating system, the car has only gotten better. So this is all about reliability. Knock on wood but my 2013 hasn't had many issues at all.

 

[u00mem9]

It's a statistical summary of reported problems. If you don't like the results, I can only suggest you avoid data, and get all your critical analysis from this forum.