Do I just sue Tesla? New record for getting Powned

[S4WRXTTCS]

I think the lesson learnt here is that if you take your Tesla into service for any reason, uninstall all your aftermarket stuff first so you don't get blamed!

No, I think that's too far reaching.

Buying a car is all about maintaining leverage.

You inspect the car first, and you reject the car if there is a something significantly wrong. I myself failed this one on my P3D because it had a misaligned bumper. I opted to go the due bill route, and Tesla fixed it. But, they didn't quite fix it as precise as I would have liked. Maybe I made the right decision as I haven't had any other issues with it, and its been well over a year later.

You test drive a new car first. But, Tesla doesn't let us do this aside from the 7 day return policy. The OP modified his car so quickly that he lost leverage. There are two stories within the OP's story. The first story is unacceptable customer service on the part of Tesla. The second story is how much he got bullied. He even makes fun of himself with the title.

As to modifying a Tesla there isn't a whole lot you can mod. Sure you can do cosmetic stuff, and that's fine. You can also do sound upgrades. With the cosmetic stuff just make sure you don't mess with the sensors. With the Sound stuff just make sure everything is electrically sound. If the mod is really extensive it's probably a good idea to have the capability to disconnect it when troubleshooting some glitch. To be perfectly honest the SW is so glitchy before mods that I wouldn't take the chance on touching the electronics at all. Thankfully the P3D I have doesn't need anything except a face lift. It always looks like it's smiling, and I'd like something a bit more aggressive.

As to actually owning a Tesla? Just forget about that. Sure there are some right to repair champions working on making a Tesla friendlier to actually owning, but they have a tough fight. The serious mod people sign themselves up for this fight since it will be a fight.

You simply can't do any extensive mods of a Tesla because you can't touch the computer, and it's a computer on wheels. Even the people who have hacked their Tesla can't do much with their power.

When you buy a Tesla you're buying an experience, and not a car. You'll never really own the car. Tesla manages all the cars in a fleet management style way. If there is something that will reduce THEIR liability they can simply tweak the SW so that we lose range or we lose charging speed.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

So, I’ll ask you too. How much extra weight do you carry around in YOUR car in the name of “better” regen?

One of the number one things Tesla owners want is "better" regen. Where better can either mean more regen or it can mean more consistent regen. Which also translates into more regen. Basically you want more energy going into the battery. So you want to improve that part of the graph.

So "better" regen is equivalent to more regen.

Adding weight to their car would give them more regen, but that comes with unacceptable drawbacks. One serious drawbacks is a reduction in efficiency. As it takes increases the energy it takes to accelerate by significantly more than the gain in re-gen. Basically you've screwed up the other part of the graph so that's not good.

Reducing weight to the car would give them more efficiency, but wouldn't improve re-gen.

How do you get better re-gen? You precondition by plugging in, but this also reduces efficiency in per energy usage. This might or might not be acceptable depending on the energy usage you're concerned about.

What are you left with? Like everything else with Tesla ownership. Tweet Elon.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Can the two guys arguing over regen take it to PM? That's really irrelevant to the topic of this thread.

 

[ucmndd]

Can the two guys arguing over regen take it to PM? That's really irrelevant to the topic of this thread.

Legitimate lol given the thread I just came from where you’re going full Dave Ramsey finance advice in a thread about a battery replacement.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Legitimate lol given the thread I just came from where you’re going full Dave Ramsey finance advice in a thread about a battery replacement.

I tried walking away from that conversation multiple times but stupidity kept dragging me back in. Someone rehashed it months later and, against my better judgement, I decided to address their post. I should have just ignored it.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

I should have just ignored it.

But, someone is wrong on the internet.

You can't just let that stand.

 

[Ostrichsak]

But, someone is wrong on the internet.

You can't just let that stand.

Exactly! This person gets it.

 

[P85DBeast]

Can you guys take this to PM, please?!? That's really irrelevant to the topic of this thread.

 

[Zooomer]

Tesla called on Friday. Said it will probably be done today (Monday) but they won't know til they drive it. So I'm waiting for a call as I have to be there within 24 hrs or I get charged storage. But this is the 3rd or 4th date they've given me. Good thing it's a holiday and somewhat easy for me to leave on a minute's notice. It's REALLY cold out so I should know driving it right away as air was just blowing in on my way home from purchase but it wasn't as cold.

 

[FatherTo1]

Tesla called on Friday. Said it will probably be done today (Monday) but they won't know til they drive it. So I'm waiting for a call as I have to be there within 24 hrs or I get charged storage. But this is the 3rd or 4th date they've given me. Good thing it's a holiday and somewhat easy for me to leave on a minute's notice. It's REALLY cold out so I should know driving it right away as air was just blowing in on my way home from purchase but it wasn't as cold.

Make sure they plug your car in so it's fully charged by the time you arrive. My SC is good about doing that but I've read other posts where the SC forgets or doesn't pay attention to a customer's SoC. Hate for you to wait and charge after driving all that time to pick up the car. Best of luck!

 

[Zooomer]

I was told they would phone me at 9am which would be 10am my time. They never called or emailed or text. I can only assume it's not fixed yet or they forgot to call and I'm going to be billed $100/day.

 

[Buickrestrr]

Its time for happy hour.....

 

[dannycamps]

This is busy thread for sure. The one thing that people keep bringing up is the new battery and its perceived impact on the electronics. Obviously the battery is not dangerous to the car or the electrical system as the manufacturer has thousands in use as he stated.

Where it becomes relevant is that if it is Tesla standard operating procedure to disconnect the 12V before doing any work on the car, if the battery disconnect caused a fuse to blow due to some unforeseen way Tesla techs disconnect the terminals, unfortunately that is the fault of the OP. By introducing an aftermarket component (and I completely understand the rationale to use the better battery in your new car), you assume the responsibility for anything that happens to the car as a result of that component.

The whole conversation about battery weight and regen is ridiculous. Unless you are taking the car to the track and trying to set a record time, the difference in the battery weight is completely negligible on the drag of the car or the amount of regen it has. It's like saying the car has more/less regen because you wore heavier boots instead of shoes.

The big takeaway is that as others have pointed out, Tesla's customer service is very much lacking for cars that cost so much money. There is no question that you have been mistreated. This is definitely a YMMV situation for sure as my service experiences so far have been pretty good. I do hope you get your car back soon and all issues are sorted.

 

[Alysashley79]

I was told they would phone me at 9am which would be 10am my time. They never called or emailed or text. I can only assume it's not fixed yet or they forgot to call and I'm going to be billed $100/day.

can you look at your car via the app. If it still says “in service” you have your answer. If it says “ready for pickup” then it’s ready.

I don’t think they can charge you for something if they didn’t tell you it’s ready. I’ve always received a text telling me my cars ready and I get a notification on the app that my cars ready for pick up.

 

[Msjulie]

I think a lot of this depends on which service location you visit. I recently had 4wheel alignment done to my car (shockingly Tesla was less expensive than some local shops) and there wasn't even a comment on my non-OEM rotors.. plus they did a bunch of tech service bulletin work just because.

 

[Zooomer]

Text received 8:01pm
Hello! Vehicle plans to be completed some time tomorrow.

We plan to update you then and provide you with a break down.

Thank you!

---------------------
Better than nothing but this is the 4th completion come and gone without the car being ready. Tomorrow will be #5.
Hopefully the bill isn't too large. Hopefully it is fixed. Hopefully they contact me early enough to leave same day to get it.

-When I log into the app is says it is estimated to be done tomorrow at 6pm. Seen that before tho....

 

[Evoforce]

Text received 8:01pm
Hello! Vehicle plans to be completed some time tomorrow.

We plan to update you then and provide you with a break down.

Thank you!

---------------------
Better than nothing but this is the 4th completion come and gone without the car being ready. Tomorrow will be #5.
Hopefully the bill isn't too large. Hopefully it is fixed. Hopefully they contact me early enough to leave same day to get it.

-When I log into the app is says it is estimated to be done tomorrow at 6pm. Seen that before tho....

Good luck! I am in your camp on changing the 12 volt out to lithium. For one, it lasts longer. It also won't be destroyed if it doesn't (for any reason) get charged because it has internal circuit protection to not let it overly discharge. It is also better to power hungry aftermarket accessories. If you are unlucky enough to be stranded with a HV to 12 volt issue, the 12 volt is quickly drained by the onboard systems. The OEM lead acid battery will be damaged with only one time of being drained dead. The Ohmmu lithium has a protective cutoff to not damage the battery. So lighter, more energy, more durable, longer lasting, internal protection, and no battery sag. Gee! I sound like a happy customer...

 

[ahkahn]

Something tells me reading through this thread that the quality of the service is commensurate with the quality of the customer's attitude. I'm sure OP was pretty upset off the bat, and I can't blame him, but just like getting pissed off and irate with a gate agent at an airport, no good will come out of it.

 

[voltage]

So what happened? The saga needs a conclusion.

 

[IndyToronto]

Something tells me reading through this thread that the quality of the service is commensurate with the quality of the customer's attitude. I'm sure OP was pretty upset off the bat, and I can't blame him, but just like getting pissed off and irate with a gate agent at an airport, no good will come out of it.

Still.. It was a brand new 100k car, so if I was in his shoes, I'd be upset too. Mind you, I love my Tesla, but the service and contact window to the company is pitiful today.