Delivery NIGHTMARE

[allset]

Let me add that there was a new owner x 3 days ( no exaggeration) that had to have his Tesla towed 2 x for the parking brake engaging and he could not disable.

He was there to demand a replacement car. Last we saw he was in parking lot saying he go too replacement and was driving the car home.

Just a thought, may be try a CPO first to see how it is to begin with?

Thanks ACA Man, we are good and will see how this plays out. Fingers very tightly crossed.

 

[Tam]

Excellent question. Let's hear what they have to say when you ask them.

I thought we already heard as mentioned in the thread

Reuters: 90% Tesla defects

"
Tesla disputed workers’ portrayal of the automaker as struggling to produce defect-free vehicles. A spokesperson described a rigorous process that requires all cars to pass more than 500 inspections and tests. Any reworking of cars after assembly reflects the company’s commitment to quality, the spokesperson said.

“Our goal is to produce perfect cars for every customer,” Tesla said in a statement. “Therefore, we review every vehicle for even the smallest refinement. Most customers would never notice the work that is done post production, but we care about even a fraction of a millimeter body gap difference or a slight paint gloss texture. We then feed these improvements back to production in a pursuit of perfection.”"

Tesla will certainly right whatever wrongs so I wouldn't worry about that but Tesla should be transparent and should have alerted owners of its Quality standards so these examples should not stress out unsuspecting owners.

 

[Canuck]

Unable to post photos of the drivers seat not moon ving forward or backward. Sorry.

Mr. Canuck, We wanted this car. We believe in this technology. This was a horrible experience that we wish did NOT happen. We want a Tesla. This did not need to happen. Right? We had or check in hand, ready to go. We still want one. I am not a naysayer. We just want this right? Any ideas???

Thanks for the pics. You are right to be disappointed. I have no ideas for you except to encourage you give Tesla a chance to make it right, and I have confidence that everything will be resolved to your satisfaction soon.

but that picture of the hatch looks really sketchy to me.

If you mean the larger gap on one side, isn't it a simple adjustment of stopper to match the other side? That looked like one of the easier repairs to me but I could be wrong.

Why do we have to have an 85K car brand new with 5 miles on it sent to be fixed?

The "why me" is a little to much for me. You must know that not everyone sends a new Tesla back to be fixed. You and some others do, and there's no excuse for that, but these things happen in life. If you were just diagnosed with cancer and said "why me" I would try to console you. But when you say why me about having to service fit and finish issues it goes too far for me. I get your disappointment but you need to put it in perspective. If Tesla had no problems, and was turning out vehicles with the fit and finish of Porsche, that has been building vehicles since the 1930's, I would be surprised. Yet Tesla still beats them on the "would buy again" question. What concerns me is Tesla is not getting on top of this problem but instead is leaving it to the service centers, which seems wrong to me.

 

[allset]

What concerns me is Tesla is not getting on top of this problem but instead is leaving to the service centers, which seems wrong to me.

You said it, I didn't.

 

[Canuck]

You said it, I didn't.

You should be saying it too. We all should be saying it.

Tesla needs us to keep its feet to the flame. We don't want to burn them down, but we don't want them to assume all is well, because it's not and there's lots of room for improvement. I just don't want to see the baby thrown out with the bathwater.

 

[mahagala]

very odd, those defects are easy to identify, how could they hand over to customer? something fishy here ...

 

[allset]

Thanks for the pics. You are right to be disappointed. I have no ideas for you except to encourage you give Tesla a chance to make it right, and I have confidence that everything will be resolved to your satisfaction soon.



If you mean the larger gap on one side, isn't it a simple adjustment of stopper to match the other side? That looked like one of the easier repairs to me but I could be wrong.



The "why me" is a little to much for me. You must know that not everyone sends a new Tesla back to be fixed. You and some others do, and there's no excuse for that, but these things happen in life. If you were just diagnosed with cancer and said "why me" I would try to console you. But when you say why me about having to service fit and finish issues it goes too far for me. I get your disappointment but you need to put it in perspective. If Tesla had no problems, and was turning out vehicles with the fit and finish of Porsche, that has been building vehicles since the 1930's -- yet Tesla still beats them on the "would buy again" test. What concerns me is Tesla is not getting on top of this problem but instead is leaving to the service centers, which seems wrong to me.

very odd, those defects are easy to identify, how could they hand over to customer? something fishy here ...

I agree. They were so obvious. The other cars being delivered did not have these issues, we looked at them. To the point where they had to tell my husband to stop going to see other cars as they were customers cars. We were in shock. We thought perhaps, all the cars had these issues. NOPE, just ours. Today anyway

 

[Canuck]

I agree. They were so obvious. The other cars being delivered did not have these issues, we looked at them. To the point where they had to tell my husband to stop going to see other cars as they were customers cars. We were in shock. We thought perhaps, all the cars had these issues. NOPE, just ours. Today anyway

Sorry buddy. I can be a bit of a hard ass sometimes but I do feel your pain. Getting a new Tesla is the adult equivalent of getting a real good Christmas gift, since you also had to wait a bit for that. Then Christmas comes, you open the box, and it's broken. Been there -- I hated doing returns -- and Christmas was ruined. I was like a little boy picking up mine at age 48 after waiting 4 months from ordering since it took that long back then. It would have really bummed me out if the seat didn't move when I went to pick it up.

At the same time, look on the bright side, you could have picked up your brand new Tesla today with no defects at all. Then as you put the new fob in your pocket you feel a lump you never felt before. You go to the doctor and you're given 6 months at most. That's 6 months to drive your perfect, no defect, Tesla. Or, you can wait a bit for the repairs and drive it for years to come. You'd be jumping for joy for the defects and the position you are in now. Again, no excuse, but hopefully it adds some perspective.

I wish you well and please keep up informed.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Hugh.

Teresa and I retired and moved to a house on Canyon lake.

Closer to you now.

Have a X 75. Love it. Quality is fantastic.

Getting ready to set up my Strata Minis

Give me a call.

Hugs...

858 472-9388

 

[allset]

Sorry buddy. I can be a bit of a hard ass sometimes but I do feel your pain. Getting a new Tesla is the adult equivalent of getting a real good Christmas gift, since you also had to wait a bit for that. Then Christmas comes, you open the box, and it's broken. Been there -- I hated doing returns -- and Christmas was ruined. I was like a little boy picking up mine at age 48 after waiting 4 months from ordering since it took that long back then. It would have really bummed me out if the seat didn't move when I went to pick it up.

At the same time, look on the bright side, you could have picked up your brand new Tesla today with no defects at all. Then as you put the new fob in your pocket you feel a lump you never felt before. You go to the doctor and you're given 6 months at most. That's 6 months to drive your perfect, no defect, Tesla. Or, you can wait a bit for the repairs and drive it for years to come. You'd be jumping for joy for the defects and the position you are in now. Again, no excuse, but hopefully it adds some perspective.

I wish you well and please keep up informed.[/QU

Thanks for the pics. You are right to be disappointed. I have no ideas for you except to encourage you give Tesla a chance to make it right, and I have confidence that everything will be resolved to your satisfaction soon.



If you mean the larger gap on one side, isn't it a simple adjustment of stopper to match the other side? That looked like one of the easier repairs to me but I could be wrong.



The "why me" is a little to much for me. You must know that not everyone sends a new Tesla back to be fixed. You and some others do, and there's no excuse for that, but these things happen in life. If you were just diagnosed with cancer and said "why me" I would try to console you. But when you say why me about having to service fit and finish issues it goes too far for me. I get your disappointment but you need to put it in perspective. If Tesla had no problems, and was turning out vehicles with the fit and finish of Porsche, that has been building vehicles since the 1930's, I would be surprised. Yet Tesla still beats them on the "would buy again" question. What concerns me is Tesla is not getting on top of this problem but instead is leaving it to the service centers, which seems wrong to me.

Ok so no cancer ................ yet. So you have no need to console me. But this is what I don't understand. Why are you so willing to let "fit and finish" issues go and you pay the price to own a Tesla that needs to be fixed on day one? What do you gain? What makes it worth it?

 

[SMAlset]

" But this is what I don't understand. Why are you so willing to let "fit and finish" issues go and you pay the price to own a Tesla that needs to be fixed on day one? What do you gain? What makes it worth it?".

In answer to what makes the car worth it? --when you drive it and accelerate into a turn you will know the answer to it. At least that's my explanation. I love just even sitting in our car. Never had any attachment to a car before. Best description I can give and I know I'm not alone in feeling this way. Love all the benefits of an EV and I just love the way our car looks. Anyway sorry for your delivery experience.

There's nothing more disappointing than buying a new car and needing for it to be serviced for adjustments right off the bat. Hopefully that is all that needs to be done with yours as I'm not knowledgeable about autos. I know the seats have wiring to them and it may also be a quick fix. I did read a recent post on here, wish I could locate it now, but the person posting said he has been in the auto field and things like panels, seals, trim and I forgot what else are meant to be adjusted to fit and line up and those type of adjustments are relatively simple and quick to do. If I can find it and have a chance to link to it I will or maybe someone else recalls reading it and can do so.

I know that others on the forum in the past have had to have adjustments made to their car after delivery. And like the other owners you saw today when you looked at their cars, we were in that group of good to go with what we observed on ours. All I can say is stuff happens and sometimes you end up being the unlucky one. I know it's not something one wants to be, but I will say that having been on the forum since we ordered our car end of 2016, the vast majority of people had their issues taken care of and went on to happily drive their cars. Both of us are extremely happy with our S and can't imagine driving anything else now and I hope you and your husband find yourselves in the same position shortly. Give the manager and service center a chance to address your items. The S is really a great car.

 

[Canuck]

It was hard to find your question in there but you asked:

Why are you so willing to let "fit and finish" issues go and you pay the price to own a Tesla that needs to be fixed on day one? What do you gain? What makes it worth it?

I never let it go. You did. Read post 45 above.

But to also answer the question, I never looked at Tesla as a luxury vehicle and it always surprises me when people do. You are paying for an entirely new mode of transpiration from an entirely new car company. It's a long range EV and that's where it ends. There's nothing luxurious about it. It's minimalist. There is nothing else for sale that can compete because the very few other long range EVs don't have banks of maintained fast chargers that can take me to Florida and back right now, for free.

I drive to my lakehouse, 300 km away, over two mountain passes, on one charge. Then a couple of years after I got mine, Tesla built a supercharger half-way in Hope, BC so I now grab a coffee at the Blue Moose instead of stopping at the gas station and it's so much better. Then I have sufficient range when I arrive at my cabin, or at home, so I can go out after arriving. But here's the most important part: I am driving on over 90% renewable energy, since our power in BC is 85% hydro and over 5% other renewables, I am very concerned for my kids future, and all future generations, and even more so after recently watching "An Inconvenient Sequel". I'm not naive to think I'm making any difference but I do have my legacy. As an atheist, I believe all I have is my legacy. And my legacy will in part be having owned two electric vehicles --- soon to be three, or the Model 3, when few people own one and when they were ridiculed, which Tesla has sure put a stop to. Tesla needed people to buy S/X to fund the Model and I stepped up. It had nothing to do with the instant, silent and fast acceleration and 19" screen...

Your reply is really not what I expected. I guess you took nothing from my example of putting things in perspective but even so, if you found it cheesy, you could have been a little bit warmer. No offence, but I do feel sorry for Tesla in having to deal with you. You likely have a wire disconnected for your seat, and a few minor alignment issues yet you act like the sky has fallen.

 

[Tiger]

I feel for you, buddy, I hope the faults are only in the visible area, and not under the body and hoods ...

 

[allset]

Hugh.

Teresa and I retired and moved to a house on Canyon lake.

Closer to you now.

Give me a call.

Hugs...

858 472-9388

It was hard to find your question in there but you asked:



I never let it go. You did. Read post 45 above.

But to also answer the question, I never looked at Tesla as a luxury vehicle and it always surprises me when people do. You are paying for an entirely new mode of transpiration from an entirely new car company. It's a long range EV and that's where it ends. There's nothing luxurious about it. It's minimalist. There is nothing else for sale that can compete because the very few other long range EVs don't have banks of maintained fast chargers that can take me to Florida and back right now, for free.

I drive to my lakehouse, 300 km away, over two mountain passes, on one charge. Then a couple of years after I got mine, Tesla built a supercharger half-way in Hope, BC so I now grab a coffee at the Blue Moose instead of stopping at the gas station and it's so much better. Then I have sufficient range when I arrive at my cabin, or at home, so I can go out after arriving. But here's the most important part: I am driving on over 90% renewable energy, since our power in BC is 85% hydro and over 5% other renewables, I am very concerned for my kids future, and all future generations, and even more so after recently watching "An Inconvenient Sequel". I'm not naive to think I'm making any difference but I do have my legacy. As an atheist, I believe all I have is my legacy. And my legacy will in part be having owned two electric vehicles --- soon to be three, or the Model 3, when few people own one and when they were ridiculed, which Tesla has sure put a stop to. Tesla needed people to buy S/X to fund the Model and I stepped up. It had nothing to do with the instant, silent and fast acceleration and 19" screen...

Your reply is really not what I expected. I guess you took nothing from my example of putting things in perspective but even so, if you found it cheesy, you could have been a little bit warmer. No offence, but I do feel sorry for Tesla in having to deal with you. You likely have a wire disconnected for your seat, and a few minor alignment issues yet you act like the sky has fallen.

I have asked my husband to respond here as I have pressing matters .........
I read your response and do appreciate the perspective. I am not thinking in terms of luxury or not luxury. We are new to the Tesla brand and I think Elon Musk has done wonderful things. However, as a mindful shopper I have a hard time understanding where to draw the line accepting a new $85K car with several minor body and assembly issues and a major issue that does not allow us to drive it home. Yes, the seat adjustment control may be a simple fix. It was not be fixed prior to delivery. Why was it not seen before? What else may be wrong with this particular car? I looked at other cars in the show room and also others being picked up and they did not have the same alignment issues of the body parts. The two main issues are the trunk not being aligned and appearing as if it may strike the lower left body in closing if it shifts further. The other are the gasket not being set in the door which will likely get worse over time. Again, maybe easy fixes. Buy why take a new 85k car with these issues? My hope is that requesting a different vehicle from Tesla is the right way to go to avoid future service issues. I am offering this only because we appreciate everyone's perspective and are eager to learn how best to reconcile brand appreciation versus quality.

 

[buttershrimp]

Let me add that there was a new owner x 3 days ( no exaggeration) that had to have his Tesla towed 2 x for the parking brake engaging and he could not disable.

He was there to demand a replacement car. Last we saw he was in parking lot saying he go too replacement and was driving the car home.

Thanks ACA Man, we are good and will see how this plays out. Fingers very tightly crossed.

I feel for you, but I'd follow @bonnie's advice. My hatch was also not aligned at the time and it made me worry, however, because it's a large hatch, I learned the shim function of the 4 stoppers in the trunk must be adjusted for each vehicle. The chrome and other trim are also easily adjusted, which speaks to one of the nicest thing about the Tesla is that it is usually very easy to correct these issues since so much of the car is snap-in replaceable. These surface defects make people worry that there are larger defects beneath the surface, but I find it is the opposite. The drive train and autopilot system have been extremely reliable and robust, though there are horror stories out there..... but in my case, I find that the surface issues are just that... surface issues.

Though the exterior delivery quality may not be in line with a Lexus, the Tesla is so vastly superior to Lexus (and every other car I've ever owned), that I look back and get pissed that I gave money to "luxury brands" in the past.

Your post captures the anxiety and frustration that can take place if the delivery experience doesn't go well, or if you don't happen to have a super awesome sales person like I did that helped calm me through any defects I found.

Get the seat fixed, ask them to fix the trim and adjust the hatch and don't look back! Congrats on your new Tesla whenever it happens for you

 

[allset]

I feel for you, but I'd follow @bonnie's advice. My hatch was also not aligned at the time and it made me worry, however, because it's a large hatch, I learned the shim function of the 4 stoppers in the trunk must be adjusted for each vehicle. The chrome and other trim are also easily adjusted, which speaks to one of the nicest thing about the Tesla is that it is usually very easy to correct these issues since so much of the car is snap-in replaceable. These surface defects make people worry that there are larger defects beneath the surface, but I find it is the opposite. The drive train and autopilot system have been extremely reliable and robust, though there are horror stories out there..... but in my case, I find that the surface issues are just that... surface issues.

Though the exterior delivery quality may not be in line with a Lexus, the Tesla is so vastly superior to Lexus (and every other car I've ever owned), that I look back and get pissed that I gave money to "luxury brands" in the past.

Your post captures the anxiety and frustration that can take place if the delivery experience doesn't go well, or if you don't happen to have a super awesome sales person like I did that helped calm me through any defects I found.

Get the seat fixed, ask them to fix the trim and adjust the hatch and don't look back! Congrats on your new Tesla whenever it happens for you

How hard it is for Tesla to shim the hatch prior to delivery when they see it is not aligned?
How hard is it for Tesla to adjust the trim prior to delivery?
How hard is it for Tesla to make sure the drivers seat moves forward and back prior to delivery?

I am not asking you to answer these specific items.
If Tesla had corrected these deficiencies prior to delivery we would have one in our garage right now.
We will see what Monday brings. I do appreciate your positive attitude and, no, we did not have a super awesome salesperson, he was lackluster and mater of fact. I sold our LS 460 to buy this car and I hope i did not make a mistake.

 

[buttershrimp]

How hard it is for Tesla to shim the hatch prior to delivery when they see it is not aligned?

With time, here is how I now think your questions:
1) How hard is it to create a vehicle that is, at its core, superior to every other car on the road currently by 10 years?
2) How hard is it to have done this with a new car company in less than 10 years?
3) How hard is it to reliably implement a training process and system that consistently promotes attention to detail and excellence?

At the time I had a difficulty delivery, I was not interested in listening to these truths... so I say, sit with the rage a bit longer, and then flush it, it will disappear once your own the car.... you won't care if you allow yourself to embrace the vehicle... unless you are crazy and in that case, there is no helping you... because it will never be good enough.... It doesn't appear that your are crazy so I think you will be fine.... if you obsess and obsess and don't trust your gut as to why you got the car in the first place... you may not like the car as much as you hoped....

How hard is it for Tesla to adjust the trim prior to delivery?

Should be freaking easy, but it's a weak spot on the car, the trim on the doors is also unique on the model S due to the design which makes you safer and more aerodynamic than any other car, but creates some complexity with respect to aligning trim. I know nothing about actual car factory production, but it seems to be that the ability to trace back the error and bust heads would be a good thing.... they need redundancy with respect to this issue.... It seems to me that the person doing final detailing and double checking should be well trained in this respect, but also, any car coming out the factory that was actually custom designed, should go through another check before it leaves since delivery is imminent.

How hard is it for Tesla to make sure the drivers seat moves forward and back prior to delivery?

Seems reasonable to double check this, and the mirrors. Very surprised they didn't.

I am not asking you to answer these specific items.
If Tesla had corrected these deficiencies prior to delivery we would have one in our garage right now.
We will see what Monday brings. I do appreciate your positive attitude and, no, we did not have a super awesome salesperson, he was lackluster and mater of fact. I sold our LS 460 to buy this car and I hope i did not make a mistake.

You need a good relationship with someone at service... ask the manager on Monday for the name of the most enthusiastic and friendly service person at your location... then bring them donuts and be nice to them.... they will blow your mind. Good luck..... Let's hurry up and get to Monday and post something in a month telling us about your car (unless you are crazy and are planning to post a 4 page diatribe about every blemish on the inside of the frunk)... I'm betting your are sane but understandably miffed or disappointed

And no, I don't work for Tesla, but they should put me on the payroll... I love my Model S.

 

[eye.surgeon]

I've had my model S 3 years and I have no idea what the difference in panel gaps between sides on the rear hatch is because I've never looked. I guess I've been missing out on all the angst I could have been enjoying.

 

[Electroman]

I wouldn't know what a panel gap is, even if you show me one.

 

[mongo]

Seems reasonable to double check this, and the mirrors. Very surprised they didn't.

Oh, there are many types of failures that can occur even after testing. We had one pin on one wire harness where the little wiper that makes contact was bent. Unit passed QC with flying colors, then failed later. Other fault modes include terminal push out, bad crimps, or not having the connector fully seated.
I may over assuming, but I'd expect that many of the vehicle functions get automatically tested due to being centrally controlled (assuming seat module provides position feedback).