Don’t be afraid to complain

[Hornedfrog1]

Several of y’all know I am horribly frustrated with my Model S by all the repeated trips to the SVC and all thd problems I’ve had, nine trips to the SVC in 15 months and they are not all just little things. The latest is a steering issue that occurs randomly and causes the tension in the steering wheel, while in a constant rate curve, to disappear which makes my driving hand drop about 10 to 15 degrees towards the floor with no change in vehicle direction. I have received comments on my posts ranging from great support and suggestions to down right rudeness. I have met members that have had no problems and others that have had many problems. One member has had to replace their drive unit three times with only 127,000 miles on the car and they are buying another one happily. I will never understand this. If your transmission went out three times, you’d throw out the car and never return. Just because Tesla is new and Elon has great ideas doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be held to the same standards.

I have been so frustrated by this whole thing that I wrote a four page letter to Elon detailing all my troubles and my frustration. I received an email back from an executive at headquarters apologizing and stating that he “realized that Tesla has a long way to go to earn back my faith and trust in its brand.” He also stated that I should “never apologize or feel bad because I complained and wrote such a detailed letter. If people don’t complain we won’t know what we are doing wrong and can never change them for future owners.”

I implore everyone, if you are having trouble with your cars or if you’re unhappy with something, contact Headquarters. Don’t accept mediocrity and poor quality as the status quo and that “it’s ok because Tesla is a new company and they’re cool.” If people don’t complain then Tesla will just assume that everything is fine and nothing will change. I know there are others out there that are frustrated by repetitive trips to their SVC so say something.

I wish you great success with your car and many safe, trouble free trips.

 

[roblab]

Well, I don't complain because my cars have had very few, very minor complaints (none for the 3). I think, from what I read, that's the norm.

I would suggest that people remember that the few with problems are the ones who post. They are a small minority. And also, any complaints or repairs are always handled quickly and for free by Tesla, with apologies.

Now back to our scheduled complaints.

 

[Tiger]

Without feedback, learning cannot occur.

 

[Chickenlittle]

Several of y’all know I am horribly frustrated with my Model S by all the repeated trips to the SVC and all thd problems I’ve had, nine trips to the SVC in 15 months and they are not all just little things. The latest is a steering issue that occurs randomly and causes the tension in the steering wheel, while in a constant rate curve, to disappear which makes my driving hand drop about 10 to 15 degrees towards the floor with no change in vehicle direction. I have received comments on my posts ranging from great support and suggestions to down right rudeness. I have met members that have had no problems and others that have had many problems. One member has had to replace their drive unit three times with only 127,000 miles on the car and they are buying another one happily. I will never understand this. If your transmission went out three times, you’d throw out the car and never return. Just because Tesla is new and Elon has great ideas doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be held to the same standards.

I have been so frustrated by this whole thing that I wrote a four page letter to Elon detailing all my troubles and my frustration. I received an email back from an executive at headquarters apologizing and stating that he “realized that Tesla has a long way to go to earn back my faith and trust in its brand.” He also stated that I should “never apologize or feel bad because I complained and wrote such a detailed letter. If people don’t complain we won’t know what we are doing wrong and can never change them for future owners.”

I implore everyone, if you are having trouble with your cars or if you’re unhappy with something, contact Headquarters. Don’t accept mediocrity and poor quality as the status quo and that “it’s ok because Tesla is a new company and they’re cool.” If people don’t complain then Tesla will just assume that everything is fine and nothing will change. I know there are others out there that are frustrated by repetitive trips to their SVC so say something.

I wish you great success with your car and many safe, trouble free trips.

Sorry if you have had issues. However afraid to complain? I have not seen evidence of that on this site. Some of the most trivialthings get complained about. I am not calling your complaints trivial just some I have read on this site. Maybe you can explain to us how you get what you seem to think is the great amount of courage to complain on a blog post so we can all do it too.

 

[jeffro01]

One member has had to replace their drive unit three times with only 127,000 miles on the car and they are buying another one happily. I will never understand this. If your transmission went out three times, you’d throw out the car and never return. Just because Tesla is new and Elon has great ideas doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be held to the same standards.

This has been explained to you extensively and here we are... Again... Changing drive units is NOTHING like changing an engine or a transmission or any other major component of an ICE drivetrain. Comparing them is just ridiculous and really goes to show your continued refusal to be reasonable about the issues you and others have faced.

Do you have a reason to be upset/annoyed? Absolutely. I'm not for one second suggesting you be "okay" with the issues you've faced nor do I have a single issue with you going to Tesla (or anyone else for that matter) about it. As Tesla continues to try to demonstrate, they want to learn from their shortcomings and attempt to correct them. I've had my own issues with Tesla, some resolved some not, but that's just life.

My overall "issue" here is really your continued refusal to understand how a Tesla is vastly different from any other automobile made by any other manufacturer, and your constant negative insinuations about other owners and Tesla in general. Whether you accept this or not, you're driving something that's never been done before while continuing to survive against overwhelming odds and that alone should buy Tesla, and those of us who drive their cars, at least some benefit of the doubt...

Jeff

 

[LCR1]

I picked up my CPO 2 months ago and it's currently in for it's 3rd service. Door handle / sticking sunroof, AP Camera replacement/ misaligned hatch, and now failed parking brake. I've also encountered drivers window not rolling up multiple times which sometimes resolves with a scroll wheel reset, others I have to wait it out with turning the car on/off. Tech said they re-calibrated it but I've still had intermittent issues since.

Overall, not too happy with 6 problems in 2 months on a car that was supposed to have gone through a full reconditioning process. I've yet to decide if this is simply kinks being worked out or a testament of the overall Tesla quality. This is the exact reason I was skeptical when Tesla said they can't (won't) release previous service history citing BS privacy concerns of previous owners. I don't want to know who the owner is/was I just want to know the service history, same thing every other car manufacturer provides to a (potential) customer.

 

[Hornedfrog1]

I picked up my CPO 2 months ago and it's currently in for it's 3rd service. Door handle / sticking sunroof, AP Camera replacement/ misaligned hatch, and now failed parking brake. I've also encountered drivers window not rolling up multiple times which sometimes resolves with a scroll wheel reset, others I have to wait it out with turning the car on/off. Tech said they re-calibrated it but I've still had intermittent issues since.

Overall, not too happy with 6 problems in 2 months on a car that was supposed to have gone through a full reconditioning process. I've yet to decide if this is simply kinks being worked out or a testament of the overall Tesla quality. This is the exact reason I was skeptical when Tesla said they can't (won't) release previous service history citing BS privacy concerns of previous owners. I don't want to know who the owner is/was I just want to know the service history, same thing every other car manufacturer provides to a (potential) customer.

My SVC doesn’t have any problems telling me the history now...wont show me who the previous owner was but they looked up the vehicle records to find out that the car was only in for regular maintenance until I bought it.

 

[MXWing]

I have a Tesla service story to share as well. Some of is good but most of it was just terrible.

I thought it was pretty cool that Tesla uncorked my December 2016 Model X shaving more than a second off my 0-60. They charged me zero for this but I had to make a phone call and drive the car in for them to keep for a day.

They gave me a Tesla loaner but it had issues, please see below.

Pros:
+ Free performance uncork shaving over a second off 0-60 that would typically cost 5 digits to upgrade through third party or trim upgrades from manufacturer.
+ Model S loaner to use for the day while working on my Model X

Cons:
- I had to call to schedule an appointment to get the uncork done.
- I had to drive my car in myself to get the uncork done.
- I had to wait in the lobby for 10 minutes before someone came to me to complete the paperwork and set me up with a loaner.
- Coffee at the Costa Mesa service center is not very good. Generic keurig stuff and powered creamer and sugar from a can (ewww)
- Loaner Model S was not a P100D, did not have vegan white seats, and did not have 3 position LED Turning lights
- Free car wash after the service was not quite as good as if I washed it myself

GM, Nissan, Porsche haven't gotten to offering complementary performance enhancements yet, but when they do, surely it will be cheaper and better than Tesla!

Somehow I'm drawn to all my future cars being Tesla's despite 3x the cons than pros from this particular experience.

 

[MXWing]

One member has had to replace their drive unit three times with only 127,000 miles on the car and they are buying another one happily. I will never understand this.

Yes, you have no understanding of the hot vs crazy matrix. This applies to Tesla's as well.

 

[TheJayAlvarez]

I have a Tesla service story to share as well. Some of is good but most of it was just terrible.

I thought it was pretty cool that Tesla uncorked my December 2016 Model X shaving more than a second off my 0-60. They charged me zero for this but I had to make a phone call and drive the car in for them to keep for a day.

They gave me a Tesla loaner but it had issues, please see below.

Pros:
+ Free performance uncork shaving over a second off 0-60 that would typically cost 5 digits to upgrade through third party or trim upgrades from manufacturer.
+ Model S loaner to use for the day while working on my Model X

Cons:
- I had to call to schedule an appointment to get the uncork done.
- I had to drive my car in myself to get the uncork done.
- I had to wait in the lobby for 10 minutes before someone came to me to complete the paperwork and set me up with a loaner.
- Coffee at the Costa Mesa service center is not very good. Generic keurig stuff and powered creamer and sugar from a can (ewww)
- Loaner Model S was not a P100D, did not have vegan white seats, and did not have 3 position LED Turning lights
- Free car wash after the service was not quite as good as if I washed it myself

GM, Nissan, Porsche haven't gotten to offering complementary performance enhancements yet, but when they do, surely it will be cheaper and better than Tesla!

Somehow I'm drawn to all my future cars being Tesla's despite 3x the cons than pros from this particular experience.

You sir win the internet today.

Congrats!