I have an appointment for the 31st of March and I just noticed that Tesla sent a pre estimate for approval of $97.00 dollars Is that the diagnostic charge if I don’t have the issue? Never had to pay diagnostic charge on any car under warranty before so this will be the first. Is this normal I am guessing if they do hear the rattle the diagnostic charge will go away into warranty?
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Death rattle fix estimate cost for a 2020 LR?
- Thread starter MrKool
- Start date
Tam
Well-Known Member
Diagnosis for noises used to be free and its repairs used to be free too. With the push for profit, I would be surprised if both are still free.
sdmack
Member
I’ve often been quoted a diagnostic fee under warranty on other makes, which is waived if they observe the problem. If “no problem found”, they want to charge the fee, and you need to pay if you want your car back. What’s new is apparently Tesla extracts the fee before you even walk in the door.
I can only speak about Lexus cars, which I owned for about 25 years before buying a model S last November. Lexus never, ever mentioned a diagnostic charge for any issue. I was surprised when I took my Tesla in to get a rattle fixed when a payment was required before they would even look at the car. Tacky.
Given the price of Tesla cars I would expect a better experience - the Service Center appearance was sub-par, the service advisor was marginally rude, I felt I was an annoyance to his day and that I had to prove that my issue was worthy of his attention. Not at all like the experience with the Lexus dealership or my wife's Audi dealership.
Given the price of Tesla cars I would expect a better experience - the Service Center appearance was sub-par, the service advisor was marginally rude, I felt I was an annoyance to his day and that I had to prove that my issue was worthy of his attention. Not at all like the experience with the Lexus dealership or my wife's Audi dealership.
I saw someone post on here that if you call it a "noise" they will charge you if they don't find/fix anything. But if you call it a "vibration" on the service ticket, then it is covered. Then when you get there you explain to the tech what you are really experiencing.
I have that same rattle. It reminds me of coil buckets/towers rattling when you accelerate hard and the travel droops all the way down. I haven't searched on here yet what people are saying it is but it seems like a common problem.
I have that same rattle. It reminds me of coil buckets/towers rattling when you accelerate hard and the travel droops all the way down. I haven't searched on here yet what people are saying it is but it seems like a common problem.
geoffmanley
Member
@Havoc, I don't know where you are in California, but I have had the opposite experience at the Vista SC. EXTREMELY nice service writer. Went out of his way to make sure I was happy and to listen to everything I had to say. If you are somewhat close to there, I recommend checking it out when needed.
Teslas warranty isn't real. It used to be great but now screens and batteries aren't covered, and maybe drive units won't be either. Hope they fix you under warranty.
Alysashley79
Active Member
Tesla only charges you IF their tech can’t hear the noise. They take a ride with you before you leave. If they hear the noise then no charge. I will say this. There is no fix for the ravens in place that I know of. There is for 2014-2019 cars that are ore raven. They came out with the TSB June or last year. I’m not saying they won’t do anything but you might be prepared for them to tell you that when you arrive.
in regards to the “noise” I kind of get it. Back in 2013 era when there were only 30k Tesla’s on the road. Sure they’d bend over backwards to fix rattles. The car is silent. You can hear a pin drop in the car. Now fast forward and there are a million cars on the road. If they fixed every single “noise” none of us would be able to get into service.
the ops noise is completely justified. I had the death rattle on mine which was fixed in December and so far so good. But I do know that pre June of 2019 before that tsb it was hit and miss what service centers would do. Most would send people away and tell them it literally is just a noise.
in regards to the “noise” I kind of get it. Back in 2013 era when there were only 30k Tesla’s on the road. Sure they’d bend over backwards to fix rattles. The car is silent. You can hear a pin drop in the car. Now fast forward and there are a million cars on the road. If they fixed every single “noise” none of us would be able to get into service.
the ops noise is completely justified. I had the death rattle on mine which was fixed in December and so far so good. But I do know that pre June of 2019 before that tsb it was hit and miss what service centers would do. Most would send people away and tell them it literally is just a noise.
vapor trail
Member
I've grown pretty frustrated with my "death rattle." Have had car booked at SC twice, each time in part to show them the rattle issue. In both instances, the car was silent with tech in car. I did have an iphone recording of the rattle to show them at my second appointment, but they didn't care. If car isn't making the sound when it's at SC, they disregard it. Since last visit, the sound has come and gone. I really think it's more likely to happen in cooler weather. Really annoying to have this on a newer car!
Alysashley79
Active Member
For me. I noticed it more when my battery was between 60 and 70%. I don’t know why but it was most prominent then. I also know the first time I went With the tech. He drove and didn’t make a sound. Silent. I asked to drive and sure enough. Every. Single. Time. Death rattle. It happens in hard acceleration and that doesn’t even mean hard take off. Just hard acceleration. I feel like sometimes the techs don’t want to mash it with us in the car with them.
Brettski
Member
I had the death rattle in my 2018 and had it fixed (twice). I learned later half shafts with a newer design/part number fixed the problem and eliminated recurrence. That predates the intro of raven models - so I’m wondering, why is this still an issue?
Also as to the diagnostic charge: the service center required that I submitted either a video (with sound) or an audio recording of the sound before they would work on the car.
Also as to the diagnostic charge: the service center required that I submitted either a video (with sound) or an audio recording of the sound before they would work on the car.
I took my 2020 Raven LR in for this exact problem. My service guy confirmed the clicking sound on hard acceleration, but said the engineers were still trying to come up with a fix for the newer models. He said all of the parts he has available to replace the half-shafts and clevis mount are the exact same parts already on the car (version "D"), so there's no point in swapping them out. My car is 3 weeks old with 1500 miles... He said they would eventually figure out a way to stop the clattering and would repair the car then... I hope so! I don't do much full-throttle accelerations ordinarily, but this car does seem to lend itself to them, and when I'm trying to impress my friends with how quiet and fast my car is, the clattering is sort of embarrassing...
When I made the appointment for my pre-Raven 2019 to get the death rattle fixed, I included a video demonstrating the car making the noise. The repair estimate had the work items already listed (replace half shafts & clevis mount) and no diagnostic fee.
When I got to the service center, a tech went on a road test with me and I was able to reproduce the noise several times. He also observed that the noise didn't happen when the suspension was set to low (which basically confirmed it was the TSB issue).
So far so good with the repair.
When I got to the service center, a tech went on a road test with me and I was able to reproduce the noise several times. He also observed that the noise didn't happen when the suspension was set to low (which basically confirmed it was the TSB issue).
So far so good with the repair.
I took my 2019 Raven Performance in 4 weeks ago and they said the same thing after the tech did a ride along and confirmed the noise. It was pending a solution from engineering and that they would reach out to me when a fix was ready. They had initially placed an appointment a few weeks later but it has since been canceled. When i called to ask why, i was told there was no timeline for the fix but it should not represent a safety issue to drive with it for now.
Mine would occur in all suspension heights but was most prominent when turning left under medium to high throttle. It was so bad they kept the car for a few days to film and document the issue because it was so easily reproducible.
+1 on it being embarrassing to own a car like this that rattles like a clunker :/
+1 on the embarrassing part.
My Model S Raven Performance have had the rattle issue since November 2019 (!!!) and I simply can’t understand how it can take Tesla more than half a year to find a permanent fix for this?
Maybe a tweet to Elon could speed things up. It’s a long shot, but might be lucky...
My Model S Raven Performance have had the rattle issue since November 2019 (!!!) and I simply can’t understand how it can take Tesla more than half a year to find a permanent fix for this?
Maybe a tweet to Elon could speed things up. It’s a long shot, but might be lucky...
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Lemon Law
What is the Lemon Law?
If your new vehicle is a lemon, Virginia's Lemon Law requires the manufacturer of the car to refund your money or replace the vehicle.
How do I know if my vehicle's a lemon?
If you have tried unsuccessfully to have your new vehicle (purchased in Virginia) repaired three or more times for the same problem, or the vehicle has been out of service for more than thirty days in one year, your vehicle may be classified as a lemon under the Virginia Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act.
Filing a Claim
If you think your vehicle is a lemon, contact the Office of the Attorney General before filing a claim under this Act. All claims must be filed within 18 months following the date you first received the vehicle.
Additional Information
For more information about the law, refer to Virginia's Lemon Law, or contact:
- Consumer Protection Section
- Office of the Attorney General
- 900 East Main Street
- Richmond, VA 23219
- (800) 552-9963
- (804) 786-2042
- (804) 225-4378
The only brand I've been given a diagnostic fee (waived if reproducible) was my 300ZXTT back in the mid 90s. Lexus and Infiniti has never quoted a diagnostic fee for any complaint including squeaks and rattles. I guess we know what kind of brand Tesla is now. It's no longer a premium brand.
