Disappointed with my S75

[Wilsonuk]

That bump is probably £10k at an approved body shop. Somebody hit a pot hole of the motorway and he’s been told £16k ($20k) to get it fixed by Tesla as the air suspension failed.

You’ll also never get 300 miles in the uk from a S75, our summer isn’t that long and autumn will be here before you’ve done half those miles.

Most of your issues just need sorting by a service centre and the weather in the uk is making the cars a bit of a handful. But that’s the car. I’m always disappointed when owners try to tell someone they’re wrong when it’s their experience. I also find it totally stupid that someone suggests changing the car to display % when the issue is the car is a long way off the quoted figures. You’re seeing the car at its worst however, if you can stick it out to summer you may appreciate it better, and if you tried selling now you’d loose a fortune so you may as well hold on for a bit.

Wow! £10k!? :-o That explains why my insurance was so high then, haha! Yeah, I've actually been really encouraged by all the feedback I've received from this thread. I think that my expectations were too high initially, now that I have a better understanding of the car, how it works and what to expect I'm more optimistic about using and living with it. Got to say, that i8 is super tempting though, I know it's a totally different car but... what a car! Anyhow, thanks for your feedback. The UK experience is different from using the car in the US I think, and I'm almost certain that they will have better service from the Service Centres than we will, but I'm keeping an open mind.

 

[Impala1ss]

Looking at the picture of your damage it looks like the car can still run properly. If so, wouldn't it be better to keep driving the Tesla until all parts are at the SC rather than drive their hatchback loaner? Parts delivery seems to be very slow per the posts in several Tesla forums. Keep driving it until all parts are in. Of course if the Tesla is not operable the hatchback is better than nothing - I think.

 

[smac]

I also find it totally stupid that someone suggests changing the car to display % when the issue is the car is a long way off the quoted figures. .

Strangely with the UK pre-AP model S60, Tesla decided to set the figure at 345 WH/mi used in calculating the display. (i.e. the line, the miles driven to range depleted all coincided when the consumption average number was 345).

In winter it was about right, possibly still too high on a long run. In summer it would result in more miles driven than the battery depleted, and other weird side-effects.

E.g. I once got to a Supercharger with 20 miles remaining and it still going nuts at me to slow down to reach my destination

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

twitchy? make sure that the rear end has the wheels aligned properly with toe-in, not out. The S feels really twitchy if you have toe out in the rear. Probably wouldn't matter that much if hydroplaning

 

[75Shappyt]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and I'm going to start with some negatives. I love the idea of Tesla and purchased a brand new Model S 75 in October 2017. After 3,500 miles I have been totally unimpressed to the point where I'm considering trading it in for something else. The purpose of the post is to see if I've been unlucky, or if other Tesla owners have had similar issues, and if so do the issues get resolved/do you get used to the problems in time!

The issues I have with the car part poor build quality and (more worryingly) part failings of the design in my opinion. The list is as follows:

1. The range indicator is totally misleading. I have never managed to get more than about 60% of the stated 240 mile range driving at 'normal' UK motorway speeds (80mph)
2. I find the windscreen wipers baffling to use and ineffective. I also get 'Washer Fluid Low' warning all the time when it's full, but that's just one of the build quality issues and i'm sure it's easily fixable.
3. Faulty door handles - passenger side doesn't retract at all. The drivers side handle pings back in like it has been fired at the car from a catapult.
4. Rear lights have condensation in them, which I assume is because of poorly fitted seals. Again, easily fixable I'm sure, but it reduces confidence in the all round quality of build/assembly.
5. The Interior trim around the door frames is not well fitted which leads to inconsistent closing of windows and excessive noise.
5. Handling - in the dry, it is twitchy. In damp conditions it is VERY twitchy. In wet conditions it feels to me rather like how I would imagine it would feel riding a Moto GP bike in the wet over cobbles. On slick tyres.
6. Auto Pilot is useful in slow moving traffic, but nervy at motorway speeds. It doesn't react to cars moving into my lane and sometimes brakes hard for (apparently) absolutely no reason. Auto lane change is inconsistent. The dealer told me that the car 'learns' as it gets used, but I'm not convinced!
7. Automatic Park inconsistent, and not always offered. I think this might still be in Beta, which is fair enough, but one of my colleagues had a VW Passatt 8 years ago with this feature fully working.
8. Never managed to pair my calendar with the vehicle. A minor niggle, but it shouldn't be offered as a feature if it doesn't work.
9. The toggle on the steering wheel used to select phone contacts slips easily, making it difficult to send and end calls.
10. Quality of switch gear is very poor. I didn't think I would mind this when I was test driving the car, but it actually annoys me more every time I use the vehicle.

I do like the large screen and the ability to warm the car before I enter, but other than that the only reason I can think to keep the vehicle is for price/environmental reasons. So, my experience has been poor, but I'm willing to be convinced of the merits of keeping it by more experienced users! I really want to like it!!

Sorry for so many negatives, but I am genuinely trying to get feedback to help with my decision to change the car or not.

All (constructive) feedback appreciated!

Andy

I love my Tesla, bought it in July, only had 14mi on it, have a 75S also, what they had to fix, I did, but they came to me, fixed it at my store, at no cost

Richard

 

[Wilsonuk]

Looking at the picture of your damage it looks like the car can still run properly. If so, wouldn't it be better to keep driving the Tesla until all parts are at the SC rather than drive their hatchback loaner? Parts delivery seems to be very slow per the posts in several Tesla forums. Keep driving it until all parts are in. Of course if the Tesla is not operable the hatchback is better than nothing - I think.

That's a very good point. It runs fine, just looks sorry for itself. Definitely better than the hire alternative. It felt like I hit the barrier very hard, was probably still doing 50mph as well so the metal held up well!

 

[daktari]

In Europe you need to set the energymeter to display typical range, not rated. The NEDC driving cycle used here is way off real life numbers, EPA is much better but not available to us.
Of course you have checked tire pressures, wrong pressure will increase consumption and affect handling.
As others have said, rain is a killer for consumption, maybe more than speed.
Btw I had all the same technical niggles and then some, except the (yet to come?) water in the lights. Friendly SC, but waiting times and part logistics is really annoying. AP2 still not as expected (marketed). Rest of the car is fantastic.

 

[comanchepilot]

Wife had a perfect 75F drive home from work/. AP engaged on the 36 miles of freeway averaging about 35mph. . . . total distance 42.4 miles. But thats uphill from 600'msl to 2100'.

340w/mi - takes about 52 range miles to get home.

And about 38 to get there - which is 90 total - and only 6 more than the net distance - which is the overheard and hotel load.

 

[smac]

@Wilsonuk have you taken it to the SC for a once over yet?

I would suggest getting them to have it up on ramp to check over the underside before deciding to just run it as it is.

I'd also get them to check that the light cluster being bumped over doesn't mean it now allows water ingress into the trunk area, and that the drainage channels still work as expected. You really don't want to end up with a soggy trunk.

 

[Wilsonuk]

@Wilsonuk have you taken it to the SC for a once over yet?

I would suggest getting them to have it up on ramp to check over the underside before deciding to just run it as it is.

I'd also get them to check that the light cluster being bumped over doesn't mean it now allows water ingress into the trunk area, and that the drainage channels still work as expected. You really don't want to end up with a soggy trunk.

Very good point. The boot seal is no longer aligned properly. I'm taking it to the repair place Monday for a quote so I'll ask them to confirm.

 

[Gt1948]

Guessing this is a CPO, as they haven't offered RWD in a LONG time. What year CPO?

Got my RWD in Dec.... 75

Can relate to most of his issues.

 

[Qbenjamin]

Range depends on temp. Since you got your car in winter, you are getting the low end of the range. In summer it will vastly exceed that. If you use a lot of heat (which it sounds like you do), that uses battery pack energy unless on shore power.

It's his speed that's the issue. I experienced the same thing in a couple of trips last year. Temperatures were ideal, but doing 80 mph is a range killer.

 

[bnsfengineer]

Guessing this is a CPO, as they haven't offered RWD in a LONG time. What year CPO?

Hey don't bag on RWD my build was from 9-17 and not a single issue...Ok maybe one..damm exterior molding keeps popping up

 

[bnsfengineer]

I usually go 70mph (its the limit through OH and they have tons of troopers pinging people).

Maybe I should write a book? I had no idea it was so rare. I have a 75D. Thanks for the encouragement .

I need lessons from you!! I have never reached 247 miles as its rated!! Usually around 200-210

 

[David29]

Maybe I do not understand what you mean but I use much more battery in the city then I do on the freeway per miles driven. I have a friend with a small electric car (like a 80 mile range) that made the same statement you are making and he assumed it was true about my car. I said no, my car is much like my ICE car in terms of miles per charge or miles per gallon when comparing City Driving vs. Freeway Driving. He said maybe it was the Tesla Aerodynamics. I said maybe I don't know.

From my TeslaFI Application:
Example:
Recent City Street trip: 426 Wh/Mile 63.8% Efficiency
Recent Freeway trip: 315 Wh/Mile 86.2% Efficiency - included some City Street but mostly Freeway

My point is sometimes I will get < 300 Wh/Mile when on the Freeway (depends on speed). But in the City I seldom get < 400 Wh/Mile.

Maybe this is due to my lead foot. Am I missing something major?

I suspect it is more, or at least equally, about the length of the trip than urban vs. rural driving. Low speed city driving should use less energy per mile, except that short trips will entail more "overhead" for heating (especially) or cooling the cabin, on a per mile basis. Plus, again especially in winter, you will likely get less regenerative breaking in the city driving, at least until the battery warms up, so that will contribute to the energy use.