Consumer Reports reliability of Model S - worse than average

[russman]

I personally have had a lot of little issue. Since it's all covered under warranty, I've been okay with it. I'm concerned after warranty, which is going to be in under 3 years for me and buying the extended warranty just isn't worth it because of the deductible.

Looks like the little issues are starting to catch up.

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/20/

"Consumer Reports yanks recommendation for Model S"

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-consumer-reports-tesla-models-20151020-story.html

Let me add that I would not want any other car out there, this is still the best car ever.

 

[Monsterzero]

Consumer Reports: Model S "Worse Than Average"

I just read this article that Consumer Reports says the Model S is worse than average, when it comes to reliability. Supposedly they surveyed 1400 MS owners:

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/20/lexus-rolls-tesla-stumbles-in-reliability-survey.html

I've been looking to buy a Model S the first part of next year, but this report, as well as fellow member's experiences on the forum are concerning.
What happens when the car is out of warranty and something major happens? I don't knw if one can purchase a lifetime warranty, but I've heard the Dodge does offer this, for 2-3K. Seems with it, as most anything mechanical will eventually break.
I recall the Tesla sales guy telling me that some Model S' in Norway (or somewhere overseas) where being used as taxis and had only to deal with changing tires, brakes & wipers with over 100K miles on them.
Anyone out there with a high mileage MS that can share your experiences as to pertains to reliability?

 

[mknox]

I put very little stock in Consumers Reports automotive ratings.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

Average goes up against companies that have been building cars for 50+ years.

The main drive components of an EV contain thousands fewer moving parts.

I agree, no one looks forward to expensive fixes out of warranty, but I feel Tesla's done a hell of a job w/the S, and it will only get better.

 

[eyespii]

TSLA down 9.5% already!

 

[Monsterzero]

I put very little stock in Consumers Reports automotive ratings.

It would be naive of me to think that CR has a completely unbiased stance when reviewing all the cars that they do. BUT, do you put any stock in what 1400 MS owners have to say about their cars?

 

[JST]

So, to be clear--when CR was praising the hell out of the Model S, everyone was ecstatic. Why weren't we all trashing them then?

 

[Law&Disorder]

I'm over 3,000 miles and five months with the car. Zero issues other than occasional losses of 3G internet connectivity which can usually be fixed by rebooting the system. By this time, with virtually every other high performance car I've ever owned, the car had been back to the shop for serious immobilizing issues.

Buy the Model S.

 

[Monsterzero]

TSLA down 9.5% already!

I know! A part of me wants to pull the trigger and buy TSLA stock! Complete knee-jerk reaction.

 

[FolsomMike]

I see no mention of this on the 'official' Tesla message boards. Have they been known to delete negative threads?

 

[Monsterzero]

So, to be clear--when CR was praising the hell out of the Model S, everyone was ecstatic. Why weren't we all trashing them then?

The article I read said that CR thought that the MS was superior in performance, but that is different than reliability.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Right. People love the car, but people are having problems with them.
However, it's kind of a special case, because it's under constant refinement, so what you really want to know is a breakdown by production date.

 

[JMG]

Yeah, I agree with JST. I don't think we can claim Consumer Reports is being biased, when they were completely effusive in their praises thus far. Thats unfortunate.

 

[mknox]

It would be naive of me to think that CR has a completely unbiased stance when reviewing all the cars that they do. BUT, do you put any stock in what 1400 MS owners have to say about their cars?

I think that what owners have to say about their cars is often "tainted" by their personal perceptions about the car, the brand, the mission of the automaker (in Tesla's case) and any number of other factors. I grew up with a friend who thought Toyota's were perfect in spite of the fact that he had far more failures and problems than I did with similar cars from other makers. If he and I were to rate his car, we would have had completely different takes on it. Maybe this works out in the wash over thousands of reviews and maybe it doesn't. I can remember seeing identical "badge engineered" cars that were popular in the '80s and '90s (Dodges and Plymouths for example) having completely different reliability ratings, yet the cars were identical save for the nameplate in every way. Came right off the same assembly line made with the same parts by the same workers. How can that be? Probably because Dodge owners had different expectations than Plymouth owners.

 

[bhuwan]

Sucks that CR has so much power over the stock, but I wonder how Tesla will respond, as they have in the past (infinite warranty)

 

[trils0n]

I bet it is the Body Integrity / Body Hardware area that is ruining Tesla's scores. Those categories include squeaks creaks and rattles. Every Tesla I've driven, except for one loaner with <10k miles, has had lots of squeaks and rattles, which seems to match CR's "Poor" rating for 2012, 2013 cars.

Personally, they have been the reason of nearly all my service work. I've had service attempt to fix my pano roof squeak 5 or 6 times now. It always comes back within a day, so I drive off happy, with a fixed roof, and then the next day it squeaks again! I've had squeaks in the headliner, pano roof bow, door panels, dash, speaker covers, and rear hatch plastic trim.

 

[hockeythug]

Didn't the car just get like 103 out 100? Or did they revise their reliability rating?

 

[JMG]

Didn't the car just get like 103 out 100? Or did they revise their reliability rating?

That was the performance/driving test. Separate from the reliability.

 

[MsElectric]

I put very little stock in Consumers Reports automotive ratings.

That's a strange statement. Consumer Reports is about the only source I trust for ratings of any kind because they don't accept advertising revenue from anyone. Their ratings are honest, factual, and based on actual data.

 

[msnow]

Didn't the car just get like 103 out 100? Or did they revise their reliability rating?

That was their Performance rating, this one is Reliability.