coolant leak in rear drive unit (12k miles on odometer) and Tesla says someone touched it so the warranty NOT applicable

[sparklehunt]

Pictures: shows leaking hose. Also notice absence of impact damage.

History: car was traded into Mercedes and Person A bought it. I bought it from Person A.

Tesla says: Service advisor says his Tech person is sure someone non Tesla “touched the car” or was working on the car. Their “proof” is that if the hose was in the correct position, it would not develop a leak.

My doubts: I do know the history is abnormal, but If a car is under bumper to bumper warranty, why would anyone elect to NOT have Tesla work on it? It seems unlikely.

What do I do?

 

[everydaychris]

that sucks. You got it from a third party then. I wonder how warranties apply if not the original owner

 

[nate704]

Warranty follows the car not the owner unless Tesla warranty policy is different.
If Tesla claim is true (parts were worked on by someone else than Tesla), they are not in the wrong.

 

[sparklehunt]

Warranty follows the car not the owner unless Tesla warranty policy is different.
If Tesla claim is true (parts were worked on by someone else than Tesla), they are not in the wrong.

Key phrase “If their claim is true”. I simply don’t see any evidence of the car being worked on.

The Tesla advisor and tech seemed nice, but it is their interest to claim it was worked on by someone else and deny warranty.

 

[Jjrss]

Key phrase “If their claim is true”. I simply don’t see any evidence of the car being worked on.

The Tesla advisor and tech seemed nice, but it is their interest to claim it was worked on by someone else and deny warranty.

Did they provide pictures of the hose placement and documentation of what it should look like?

 

[Tam]

My doubts: I do know the history is abnormal, but If a car is under bumper to bumper warranty, why would anyone elect to NOT have Tesla work on it?...

Lots of curious cats in this world.

 

[thesmokingman]

My doubts: I do know the history is abnormal, but If a car is under bumper to bumper warranty, why would anyone elect to NOT have Tesla work on it? It seems unlikely.

What do I do?

Doubts...? Trusting what Tesla says or why someone would work on it whilst under warranty? I don't think it really matters at this point, time to lawyer up and go after the seller. As for why someone would work on it instead of going warranty, the obvious thing is they were hiding something all else being equal. Like they weren't under time constraints etc, but I still can't think of a good reason not to use warranty and am left with only shenanigans.

 

[Thomas7]

View attachment 819818

Pictures: shows leaking hose. Also notice absence of impact damage.

History: car was traded into Mercedes and Person A bought it. I bought it from Person A.

Tesla says: Service advisor says his Tech person is sure someone non Tesla “touched the car” or was working on the car. Their “proof” is that if the hose was in the correct position, it would not develop a leak.

My doubts: I do know the history is abnormal, but If a car is under bumper to bumper warranty, why would anyone elect to NOT have Tesla work on it? It seems unlikely.

What do I do?

Honestly I would try with another Tesla Service centre. Or else you are hook for the bill to repair this damage out of your own pocket. Doesn’t hurt to try right?

 

[sparklehunt]

Did they provide pictures of the hose placement and documentation of what it should look like?

Nope. None of that.

 

[sparklehunt]

Honestly I would try with another Tesla Service centre. Or else you are hook for the bill to repair this damage out of your own pocket. Doesn’t hurt to try right?

even if I were to try, I can’t really drive the car to another location at this point since probably more coolant leaked out since I parked. I was lucky to be within 10 minutes of this one when I got the error.

 

[sparklehunt]

Doubts...? Trusting what Tesla says or why someone would work on it whilst under warranty? I don't think it really matters at this point, time to lawyer up and go after the seller. As for why someone would work on it instead of going warranty, the obvious thing is they were hiding something all else being equal. Like they weren't under time constraints etc, but I still can't think of a good reason not to use warranty and am left with only shenanigans.

this was a private party sale. Lawering up is not really practical advice, the cost would be more than the repair.

also I spoke extensively with the seller, it is highly unlikely this was some evil doing on their part.

am I getting the overall sense that the forum members here feel that Tesla is in the right? Only because the car changed hands?

Here are the facts I know: the car is under warranty. The coolant is leaking. There are no signs of damage indicating abuse. I feel this is clearly warranty work. If I’m right, I’d love some advice to approach this dilemma. If I’m wrong, please tell me using facts and not conjectures.

 

[xyeahtony]

You bought this car non-new, so you have no way to verify if the car was or wasn't touched by someone else.

 

[sparklehunt]

You bought this car non-new, so you have no way to verify if the car was or wasn't touched by someone else.

No way to verify was or wasn't. But in the absence of evidence that it was, should Tesla be assuming the worst?

If true, then that would mean any Tesla sold private party, will be subject to the same doubts, which effectively voids the warranty.....

FYI, I found it odd that they used the hose being out of position as the reason they think it was touched. Because the hose itself is the faulty piece. They are saying the item that is faulty and should be fixed under warranty, IS the reason they don't think it falls under warranty. That is some mental acrobatics.

 

[Tam]

...also I spoke extensively with the seller, it is highly unlikely this was some evil doing on their part...

There's nothing evil about being a curious DIY person.

They may dissamble the parts and in the process of putting them back, they may leave sone trails left such as a wrong position...

 

[C-Bus Y]

How much $ do they want for the repair?

 

[Fourdoor]

Doubts...? Trusting what Tesla says or why someone would work on it whilst under warranty? I don't think it really matters at this point, time to lawyer up and go after the seller Tesla. As for why someone would work on it instead of going warranty, the obvious thing is they were hiding something all else being equal. Like they weren't under time constraints etc, but I still can't think of a good reason not to use warranty and am left with only shenanigans.

Fixed that for you. Tesla is assuming that the factory always does things perfect, and that is their "reasoning" that it was touched by someone else.

Raise your hand if you think the Tesla factory always gets it right every time.

Keith

 

[Seminole]

Fixed that for you. Tesla is assuming that the factory always does things perfect, and that is their "reasoning" that it was touched by someone else.

Raise your hand if you think the Tesla factory always gets it right every time.

Keith

Yeah. How about when they were using wooden molding bought from Home Depot to hold the ac condenser on Discovered: Tesla Using Fake Wood Trim For Cooling System

Or the people who’s windshield washer hoses haven’t been connected.

Or anyone who’s had misalignment of panel issues.

If anytime something wasn’t 100% perfect it meant that someone messed with the component then Tesla would have zero warranty repairs. I would escalate this to the manager and then even further up the chain to corporate. A single hose being out of position could be a defect from the factory during installation. Unless they can show some sort of witness marks or other evidence that it was clearly messed with I don’t see how their claim it was would ever stand up.

 

[bro1999]

No way to verify was or wasn't. But in the absence of evidence that it was, should Tesla be assuming the worst?

If true, then that would mean any Tesla sold private party, will be subject to the same doubts, which effectively voids the warranty.....

FYI, I found it odd that they used the hose being out of position as the reason they think it was touched. Because the hose itself is the faulty piece. They are saying the item that is faulty and should be fixed under warranty, IS the reason they don't think it falls under warranty. That is some mental acrobatics.

IIRC, the burden of proof is on the manufacturer to prove that unapproved work on the car was performed and caused a failure. I think if you pushed back hard enough and quoted the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, you may have some luck swaying minds?

 

[gaswalla]

OP got hosed on the deal

 

[DanDi58]

Well, this stinks for sure but there is no clear resolution, I'm afraid, You can't disprove what Tesla is saying while they don't need to prove anything to deny the claim... I think you basically have 2 options - have it towed to a different SC, as suggested, or maybe search out an independent shop that works on Teslas. You're in CA so I imagine there must be a few of those. In all likelihood, the repair would be less expensive. But I don't see how you can force Tesla to pay for it, even with a lawyer - which, as you noted, could end up costing you more than the potential repair.

EDIT: You could maybe pull a Carfax for the car and see whether there is any noted repair. That won't really help you in terms of resolving this, because all it would do, if it showed some work, was prove Tesla's point. But it might at least give you an idea if the car was actually 'touched' by someone else.