Delivery / Service Issues (panel gaps, delivery delays / issues / Service problems etc)

[Bukmar]

I had a brief, but interesting discussion with the General Manager at a service center today. I am taking delivery of an M3P later this month and dropped by my closest service center (1.5 hours away) to try and get a look at a couple things. During the discussion he made a comment that seemed appropriate to share in this thread. Here is the essence of the comment:

Lots of car companies (particularly higher end companies) collect their cars from the factory at a port where they perform some quality control measures and install some parts that may be part of the build. The cars are delivered to the customer with many (but certainly not all) corrections. He stated that the Service Centers act as Tesla’s “port” and quality control.

So you may not get a car delivered to you with the quality that you may be used to, but there is a mechanism in place to correct some delivery issues. You may not like this approach by Tesla, but it apparently as an integral part of their business model.

Just thought I’d share this information because I found it interesting. I’m new the world of Tesla and this forum…this information may already be out there so I’m sorry if this is general knowledge. I haven’t come across this in my lurking over the past few weeks.

 

[enemji]

I am coming over from a Lexus. I sure hope I don’t get a panic attack

 

[Guppy]

Delivery day today at Clarkston, MI for my LR.

Missing front usb charge ports, and wireless charging. The delivery center employee I talked to about it seemed completely caught off guard. Went back to the service area to verify the condition, came back and said, yes, I should have been notified in advance. Will be corrected in about a week via mobile service. Not a big deal for me, knew about the issue due to reading these forums.

Paint looks good. Interior trim looks good (have white/white). Slight defect in trunk weatherstripping, added it to the usb ports service appt.

Panel gaps...I got to experience the legendary Tesla panel gaps today. I agree with both sides of the conversation here. On one hand, it's a car, not a priceless work of art. No car is 100% perfect. Enjoy it as long as no major problems. On the other hand, the panel gaps just seem slightly off. On most panels. 1 mm here, a half a mm there. Slight asymmetries between sides of some of the panels. I found myself wondering "am I being too nitpicky?" But the imperfections are there. Coming from BMW, the difference is clear, and Tesla has more imperfections than you'd like on a brand new car. I decided to settle on the "10 foot eye test", and with that, the car looks fine overall. One door doesn't pass the 10 foot test, so I'm bringing it up during the mobile service visit.

The car drives amazingly well, what a wonderful experience. But these final QA issues seem to not be causing enough problems for Tesla to force them to make meaningful improvement. Right now the product is clearly the best available. I'll enjoy this car, but will also keep my eye out for competitors for my next purchase, in 2025-27.

Update on some of my issues: mobile service came out today, and the tech was not aware I was missing USB ports & missing wireless charging!

I also had two minor trim fitment issues, and when my original mobile service appt got pushed because the usb hub part hadn’t arrived, I think they didn’t transfer that section to the new appointment.

Didn’t matter though, because the part for usb hub/wireless charging still is nowhere to be seen. Service tech said he called his manager and the estimated arrival for that part is mid to late January.

Also I learned during today’s visit that the weatherstripping fitment issue in my trunk is being caused by a misaligned bumper, so the car will need to go into the service center to repair that. Hopefully the usb hub will have arrived by the time my service appt is: Jan 17.

I stressed to the mobile tech that it wasn’t his fault, but this is poor communication by Tesla about a car that was delivered missing components, and I will keep bothering them until they correct the problem. I suppose the “1-2 weeks” originally quoted to me for the repair during delivery is just the typical Tesla speak for “we actually have no idea and we’ll let you know when it is ready”.

One positive from today’s visit: the mobile tech easily adjusted my misaligned exterior door trim and it looks good now.

So all in all, looks like I’ll be about 7-9 weeks without the wireless charging. I don’t care much about the front ports, the rear usb are a little easier to access, but I was hoping to have the wireless.

Pretty minor issues, but just another reminder that we’re paying the premium for Tesla’s world class drivetrain and batteries, and everything else is fairly far behind competitors.

 

[norazi]

I am coming over from a Lexus. I sure hope I don’t get a panic attack

Yeah its not going to be anywhere near a Lexus in build quality... I went from a Mazda to a MY and found the build to be sufficient but after I sat in my mom's new ES250 (which I think is their cheapest model?), I realized that Lexus is in a whole 'nother league: every square inch of that thing feels nice. I still wouldn't dream of going with another car but temper your expectations. Most issues will eventually be corrected and the warranty is great; I think the biggest shock for you will be the service quality. My mom gets treated like royalty at the Lexus dealership and they always wash/vacuum her car for free at every visit. They also always gave her an equivalent or better loaner if service was needed. I had to wait about 30 minutes at the Tesla SC before anyone acknowledged I was even there (after my scheduled appointment time btw), they gave me Uber credits instead of a loaner, and my car came back dirty after service. To be fair, there is a LOT of Teslas being delivered right now and only one SC servicing all of them within 3 hours of where I live while most traditional dealerships have a service center in almost every city.

 

[YogiPancholi]

I have had my Tesla 3 for 3 months now and I have had the following problems. Just wondering what problems other people are having with their new car!!
1. On the collection day - front trunk alignment issue (big gap). One window rubber sealing strip misformed. These were resolved during a service visit.
2. Month later, unable to charge the car, the car does not see the plug being connected and stops charging. Maybe poor design, should not really see any problems relating to this ever happening, it's like not able to open fuel cap to put fuel in.
3. After two months, problems releasing the charge cable at the end of charge. The only way to release this to open the trunk and manually pull the release cable to release the charging cable. We should not be getting this problem if the design was robust.
4. Problem with the fan (near front trunk) running all the time, even when not using the car (parked). This got resolved after a software update!!

The Tesla car is brilliant to drive and it's no doubt the best EV on the market. The above problems should never happen as it's so basic and should be of robust reliable design. I have had many brand new ICE cars and have never had any issues for many years from new. I'm just wondering what else could go wrong with this car!!

Would love to know what problems others are having with their Tesla 3.

 

[norazi]

Found out today, the car will be in the body shop for paint and panel correction for next 10 days. I've been unmatched from the car and have a new one bein built. The really crap part, is I will probably lose out on the supercharging incentive now. Unless a miracle happens and it arrives by the 31st.

If it makes u feel any better, I think the supercharger incentive is overrated for most people. I think I've used a supercharger twice since owning the car.

 

[TNTeslå]

If it makes u feel any better, I think the supercharger incentive is overrated for most people. I think I've used a supercharger twice since owning the car.

What is this supercharger incentive you speak of?

 

[enemji]

Yeah its not going to be anywhere near a Lexus in build quality... I went from a Mazda to a MY and found the build to be sufficient but after I sat in my mom's new ES250 (which I think is their cheapest model?), I realized that Lexus is in a whole 'nother league: every square inch of that thing feels nice. I still wouldn't dream of going with another car but temper your expectations. Most issues will eventually be corrected and the warranty is great; I think the biggest shock for you will be the service quality. My mom gets treated like royalty at the Lexus dealership and they always wash/vacuum her car for free at every visit. They also always gave her an equivalent or better loaner if service was needed. I had to wait about 30 minutes at the Tesla SC before anyone acknowledged I was even there (after my scheduled appointment time btw), they gave me Uber credits instead of a loaner, and my car came back dirty after service. To be fair, there is a LOT of Teslas being delivered right now and only one SC servicing all of them within 3 hours of where I live while most traditional dealerships have a service center in almost every city.

Thanks for tempering advice. I see you are also in Dallas. Are you referring to the Legacy West center?

 

[enemji]

I have had my Tesla 3 for 3 months now and I have had the following problems. Just wondering what problems other people are having with their new car!!
1. On the collection day - front trunk alignment issue (big gap). One window rubber sealing strip misformed. These were resolved during a service visit.
2. Month later, unable to charge the car, the car does not see the plug being connected and stops charging. Maybe poor design, should not really see any problems relating to this ever happening, it's like not able to open fuel cap to put fuel in.
3. After two months, problems releasing the charge cable at the end of charge. The only way to release this to open the trunk and manually pull the release cable to release the charging cable. We should not be getting this problem if the design was robust.
4. Problem with the fan (near front trunk) running all the time, even when not using the car (parked). This got resolved after a software update!!

The Tesla car is brilliant to drive and it's no doubt the best EV on the market. The above problems should never happen as it's so basic and should be of robust reliable design. I have had many brand new ICE cars and have never had any issues for many years from new. I'm just wondering what else could go wrong with this car!!

Would love to know what problems others are having with their Tesla 3.

Sounds like a Lamborghini to me

 

[SimonM3LR]

Are all new M3's missing the wireless charging and USBs? Mine arrives onThursday.

 

[norazi]

What is this supercharger incentive you speak of?

They stopped it awhile ago but basically if you were referred to buy a Tesla from another Tesla owner, then you both got a year of free Supercharger access... It also stacked, so I know people who have years of free SC access saved up from referring friends and family.

 

[TNTeslå]

They stopped it awhile ago but basically if you were referred to buy a Tesla from another Tesla owner, then you both got a year of free Supercharger access... It also stacked, so I know people who have years of free SC access saved up from referring friends and family.

Ha okay, thanks. I was familiar with that but thought there was something new I was missing.

 

[Jim1921]

Picked up my M3LR AWD White/Black today. When we arrived, the person helping us was new at this location (coming from another location). She could not find the key cards and didn't know where to locate the car. She struggled to answer some questions and had to seek the help of someone else. Clearly, she needing training. We were also surprised as to how dirty the car was. It appeared as if it was left under something that had dripped some unknown material on the hood, roof and trunk lid (gritty brown stuff). That made it a bit difficult to check out the finish on the paint. Gaps looked good and everything, including the wireless charger and USBs were in the car. We took the car home and cleaned it up. Once finished, the car looked fantastic. Tesla has clearly improved on fit and finish when I compare the car to others in the neighborhood that are 1 to 2 years old.

 

[RD3P]

To be fair, there is a LOT of Teslas being delivered right now and only one SC servicing all of them within 3 hours of where I live while most traditional dealerships have a service center in almost every city.

This is why things are an issue. It’s not your fault they may be delivering too many cars and can’t be bothered to recognize you and take proper care of you. That is a problem. No excuses. There is also no way anyone should feel guilty about telling a car company the product they delivered is not right. If it isn’t right, it’s there fault. You paid them. I don’t understand why any of this is a thing. Crazy

 

[RD3P]

Are all new M3's missing the wireless charging and USBs? Mine arrives onThursday.

No not all of them

 

[RD3P]

I have had my Tesla 3 for 3 months now and I have had the following problems. Just wondering what problems other people are having with their new car!!
1. On the collection day - front trunk alignment issue (big gap). One window rubber sealing strip misformed. These were resolved during a service visit.
2. Month later, unable to charge the car, the car does not see the plug being connected and stops charging. Maybe poor design, should not really see any problems relating to this ever happening, it's like not able to open fuel cap to put fuel in.
3. After two months, problems releasing the charge cable at the end of charge. The only way to release this to open the trunk and manually pull the release cable to release the charging cable. We should not be getting this problem if the design was robust.
4. Problem with the fan (near front trunk) running all the time, even when not using the car (parked). This got resolved after a software update!!

The Tesla car is brilliant to drive and it's no doubt the best EV on the market. The above problems should never happen as it's so basic and should be of robust reliable design. I have had many brand new ICE cars and have never had any issues for many years from new. I'm just wondering what else could go wrong with this car!!

Would love to know what problems others are having with their Tesla 3.

There are some things people should understand before getting in bed with Tesla. And if you are not comfortable with these things perhaps a Tesla isn’t for you. The EV game is new. Tesla is clearly leading the way but is still new. Chevrolet has been making cars since 1911. Ford since 1903. BMW since 1928. The list goes on and on. Tesla has been making cars since 2008. Teslas are great. They are tech first cars. Things like fit and finish, assembly, processes all come with experience. Tesla is behind in that category. Over time as they grow and learn you can expect them to improve. Fact is they are more than 100 years behind some manufacturers. Keep that in mind. That doesn’t excuse everything by any means. Just be aware and temper your expectations.

 

[enemji]

…They are tech first cars. Things like fit and finish, assembly, processes all come with experience. Tesla is behind in that category. …

I agree as well as disagree. Tesla is definitely tech first and many of the technologies apart from the EV is industry first, and mostly common engineering sense.
The fit/finish is low by choice because they do not want to focus on all aspects from the get go or their car will be as expensive as a Lucid Air. Musk selected to focus on engineering aspects that will make the car easier and better to use. Focusing on fit/finish p, panel gaps does not bring up the functioning of the car. It is merely a visual aspect.

 

[MY_KK]

Hi
I just received the email and text to schedule a delivery this week of a model 3 SR+. As we live close to the service center/store, we went to check the car (that matched the assigned VIN). Overall the car looked good from the outside (they closed Sunday so couldn’t check the inside), except this spot near the driver’s side mirror that either the A pillar sticks out or the driver’s side fender is recessed. These adjacent 3 panels are not aligned here locally. Is this typical (within spec) or not? If not, can it be fixed easily?
The passenger side looks great to me.

Thanks!!!

 

[Rick Owings]

We took delivery of 2022 Model 3 on November 17th of this year. First of all we absolutely love the car and all the intuitive features. I have several panel gaps and alignment concerns. If others have experienced like issues your experiences and insights and comments are appreciated.

 

[enemji]

Has anybody rejected a delivery based upon inspection?