Don't Count on Tesla Roadside Assistance

[jjrandorin]

I figure this part of Tesla Roadside Assistance was in SoCal:
"WHAT IS COVERED?
Flat Tires In some markets, our trained roadside assistance providers carry a limited number of loaner wheels to quickly replace a damaged wheel or tire. Service Centers may repair or replace your damaged tire at your cost. Please make arrangements with your Service Center for this service. Pricing and availability is subject to change based on location. Loaner wheels must be returned to the Service Center within three days or an agreed upon time with service which will be exchanged for your original wheel. "

So in some markets, a Tesla van comes by with a loaner tire and wheel, not a sub contracted tow truck.

I am not sure where you read "tesla van" in that. It says in some markets "trained roadside assistance providers". Those third parties take the wheel to a tesla SC (thats part of the agreement you sign when you get a loaner wheel).

I have had to do it 2 separate times (including getting a loaner wheel) so I am unfortunately familiar with the process. The third party provider has (or doesnt have, as per their agreement and availability) loaner wheels. The rim comes all marked up with red or stickers, to prevent the person from simply keeping it.

They (can) take your wheel to the service center of your choice for replacement. You sign an agreement to pick it up from the service center within 3 days. You can also take your wheel with you if you prefer to "deal with" the damaged wheel yourself. In both cases, you have 3 days to take the loaner wheel to a service center.


Can you tell me where in the statement above you are seeing "tesla van" comes, or are you simply making an assumption because it says "please make arrangements with your service center for replacement? If the latter, as I said, I can definitively say that their third party towtruck services provide that service at least in some cases, and I have not heard a single case of "tesla van performs roadaside assistance".

 

[DerbyDave]

OMG...I don't know if it is a van, a car, or a truck. I assume that Tesla trained ("Our trained") roadside assistance providers are more than a random tow truck they call happening to have spare tesla wheels in stock occasionally to temporarily give you a loaner. You can figure out the details.

 

[DerbyDave]

More:
"After about 5 minutes of muzak, I was finally connected with a Tesla Roadside Assistance representative that immediately offered me the “loaner wheel” service. After about a 45-minute wait, a small van showed up, which had inside an entire set of all available tires for Tesla Model S and X, all mounted on wheels."

Tesla "Loaner Wheels" program and Tire Hazard Protection saved the day

This winter Los Angeles has received an enormous amount of rainfall, sorely needed, as the Governor comes close to finally declaring the drought “finished.” One negative effect of the large rainfall is the huge number of potholes that now need fixing across the Los Angeles basin. My Flat Tire On...

www.teslarati.com

 

[Tesomega]

Sold your car, then, have you?

So much bitching in this site.

Heavy believer in Tesla/Elon's lies r u ?

 

[Cybermoose]

I had a tire punctured today. From full to 0 in a minute. Ok. It happens. I pull over to the side of the busy road to check it out. Large piece of metal sticking out. Big hole. Unlikely I think that the patch kit, foam and pump that I have will help too much. I am in an unfamiliar city. No problem I thought. Call roadside assistance I thought. Have them bring me a loaner tire I thought. It will not take too long I thought. Well there are no loaner tires available within 50 miles I was told. I have standard 19 inch wheels. How can that possible be? The only option I was told would be for Tesla assist to call me a tow. I argued-they stood firm. I finally said fine. That stinks. But fine please do it. "Where do you want to be towed sir?" What? How do I know I said? They told me to try google. I told them they are supposed to be the experts and to help me. I asked how far I can drive on a completely flat tire. They said they have no idea. They also said I could potentially have the tire patched by a store. I thought that Tesla said we were never supposed to do that. They were no help. I hung up. I did find a store a mile away and drove there very slowly and will replace all 4 tires. I have thought I was ok without having a spare because we have Tesla Roadside Assist but not really any longer.

Tesla didn't have a spare, it happens. I've been to a coffee shop once in my life that actually ran out of coffee, i've been to a subway that ran out of bread, i've been to many stores throughout the years that have run out of something important. This however...is running out of loaner tires, that seems very possible and probably common. Doesn't mean they need more, it means that it's unfortunate and you shouldn't rely on it.
As for the tow. Why should they choose the shop you get your tire repaired at? you think they have a list of tire shops across the continent in case someone gets a flat? no, they have a tow truck that will take you where you need to go. Simple 10 second google search will find a place, a couple minutes will let you call to confirm they have what you need, then you tell Tesla where that is and they take you.

Also the only two answers I want to hear from a car company about how long I can drive on a flat is either 'Don't do it' or 'I don't know'. Under no circumstances should any company ever tell you it's okay to drive on it at all, even a mile. If you find out that your rim is damaged at all, that's on you, not Tesla.

As for Tesla not being any help at all. No, they were helpful, you just expected to much and in the end didn't use the tow service that you offered.

Now I will also mention. AAA/CAA memberships are the best alternative to a spare. I am Canadian so i have CAA and I can tell you that the discounts offered at many stores/restaurants have already saved me more than the cost of my membership. Even a single tow can cost more than the cost of my premier membership yearly.

 

[stjara]

I had a tire punctured today. From full to 0 in a minute. Ok. It happens. I pull over to the side of the busy road to check it out. Large piece of metal sticking out. Big hole. Unlikely I think that the patch kit, foam and pump that I have will help too much. I am in an unfamiliar city. No problem I thought. Call roadside assistance I thought. Have them bring me a loaner tire I thought. It will not take too long I thought. Well there are no loaner tires available within 50 miles I was told. I have standard 19 inch wheels. How can that possible be? The only option I was told would be for Tesla assist to call me a tow. I argued-they stood firm. I finally said fine. That stinks. But fine please do it. "Where do you want to be towed sir?" What? How do I know I said? They told me to try google. I told them they are supposed to be the experts and to help me. I asked how far I can drive on a completely flat tire. They said they have no idea. They also said I could potentially have the tire patched by a store. I thought that Tesla said we were never supposed to do that. They were no help. I hung up. I did find a store a mile away and drove there very slowly and will replace all 4 tires. I have thought I was ok without having a spare because we have Tesla Roadside Assist but not really any longer.

I put runflats. Rides like a truck but wasn’t great before. Model y

 

[stjara]

I had a tire punctured today. From full to 0 in a minute. Ok. It happens. I pull over to the side of the busy road to check it out. Large piece of metal sticking out. Big hole. Unlikely I think that the patch kit, foam and pump that I have will help too much. I am in an unfamiliar city. No problem I thought. Call roadside assistance I thought. Have them bring me a loaner tire I thought. It will not take too long I thought. Well there are no loaner tires available within 50 miles I was told. I have standard 19 inch wheels. How can that possible be? The only option I was told would be for Tesla assist to call me a tow. I argued-they stood firm. I finally said fine. That stinks. But fine please do it. "Where do you want to be towed sir?" What? How do I know I said? They told me to try google. I told them they are supposed to be the experts and to help me. I asked how far I can drive on a completely flat tire. They said they have no idea. They also said I could potentially have the tire patched by a store. I thought that Tesla said we were never supposed to do that. They were no help. I hung up. I did find a store a mile away and drove there very slowly and will replace all 4 tires. I have thought I was ok without having a spare because we have Tesla Roadside Assist but not really any longer.

I put runflats on in the first week of getting model y. Rides like a truck but did before I replaced and not having a spare is too unsafe and impractical.

 

[Huskyfan]

Well aren't you just an entitled person snob. Its not very often they have loaner wheels so never count on that as its a stupid process anyway. Just get a tow to a local tire shop and see if it can get patched if not then you're already at a tire shop so buy a new tire.

Why the **** are tesla owners so stupid when it comes to a damn tire?!?!?! You don't expect anything crazy like this when you drive a civic or a sentra but when you get a tesla suddenly you expect all kinds of *sugar*? GTFO with that garbage. And no tesla's aren't luxury vehicles so stop with that argument and even by that stance luxury companies don't have as much assistance as tesla already does anyway.

The assistance person is not local to you its a damn call center you are the one that needs to tell them where you wanna be towed which isn't that difficult as you just type in tire shop into google maps (or apple maps if your one of those people) and bam you can now tell the truck where you need to be towed to.

Name calling dude? Seriously? “So stupid”, “entitled snob”. Maybe you need to take a look in the mirror and decide why you think it important to pass judgement on the OP.

He was lead to believe if he got a flat Tesla would quickly bring him a loaner tire. Until you get a flat you don’t really know what or how Tesla will assist you. I had the same issue. I live in the Seattle area. I got a flat tire on a Sunday afternoon, in Olympia, WA. Told the nearest they could bring me a loaner was two days later. That’s both inexcusable and laughably funny that would even be considered an option.

 

[DerbyDave]

You need to excuse airborne spoon for his comments. He is a valued member, but does not understand those with different opinions. He is set in his ways, and does not know how to reply without belittling someone who thinks differently from him.

 

[KrakenDan]

I had a tire punctured today. From full to 0 in a minute. Ok. It happens. I pull over to the side of the busy road to check it out. Large piece of metal sticking out. Big hole. Unlikely I think that the patch kit, foam and pump that I have will help too much. I am in an unfamiliar city. No problem I thought. Call roadside assistance I thought. Have them bring me a loaner tire I thought. It will not take too long I thought. Well there are no loaner tires available within 50 miles I was told. I have standard 19 inch wheels. How can that possible be? The only option I was told would be for Tesla assist to call me a tow. I argued-they stood firm. I finally said fine. That stinks. But fine please do it. "Where do you want to be towed sir?" What? How do I know I said? They told me to try google. I told them they are supposed to be the experts and to help me. I asked how far I can drive on a completely flat tire. They said they have no idea. They also said I could potentially have the tire patched by a store. I thought that Tesla said we were never supposed to do that. They were no help. I hung up. I did find a store a mile away and drove there very slowly and will replace all 4 tires. I have thought I was ok without having a spare because we have Tesla Roadside Assist but not really any longer.

That’s why I bought a Modern Spare. Used it last week

 

[USCGDAV]

I went through the same thing on Friday. They came with a loaner tire and then I kept my tire and brought it to Tire Choice. They replaced the tire with an exact Pirelli foam filled one and I put Tesla's loaner in the trunk (centerline) bought a lift jack, lug nut 21mm wrench and the pads. Total for new tire $215.00, package deal for changing the tire $130.00 and whatever Tesla will charge me to keep the loaner. We can not rely on Tesla for service. Now, I'll probably never get another flat because I'm outlaying $600+ for this work around for the future but, like they say if you can't afford to protect yourself against mishaps then you're stepping over dollars to pick up pennies. My time and safety is worth more to me than the money I spent to feel safe on any road trip. Who knows, I might come across a Tesla owner in dire need one day and I have the answer to their dilemma in my frunk and trunk

 

[Austindude]

You can just label me paranoid but whenever I travel long distance, which is often, I throw a covered spare behind the driver seat. I also carry a very low profile jack, low profile pucks, and a torque wrench. I assume that if I get a flat somewhere out in south Texas Tesla is not going to be able to get me an 18 inch spare. I do have AAA coverage.

 

[Dhruval Shah]

I had a tire punctured today. From full to 0 in a minute. Ok. It happens. I pull over to the side of the busy road to check it out. Large piece of metal sticking out. Big hole. Unlikely I think that the patch kit, foam and pump that I have will help too much. I am in an unfamiliar city. No problem I thought. Call roadside assistance I thought. Have them bring me a loaner tire I thought. It will not take too long I thought. Well there are no loaner tires available within 50 miles I was told. I have standard 19 inch wheels. How can that possible be? The only option I was told would be for Tesla assist to call me a tow. I argued-they stood firm. I finally said fine. That stinks. But fine please do it. "Where do you want to be towed sir?" What? How do I know I said? They told me to try google. I told them they are supposed to be the experts and to help me. I asked how far I can drive on a completely flat tire. They said they have no idea. They also said I could potentially have the tire patched by a store. I thought that Tesla said we were never supposed to do that. They were no help. I hung up. I did find a store a mile away and drove there very slowly and will replace all 4 tires. I have thought I was ok without having a spare because we have Tesla Roadside Assist but not really any longer.

Flat tire
Called Tesla one hour before a response
Model y. No spare. Only has 5222 miles
I am on the road about 250 miles from home.
No loaner tires available in the fourth largest city in america. No tire centers open. Tesla centers not available till Monday morning. Teslas only option is we tow you home and you pay. Or we wait till Monday. Leaves you on the road without help. How can one travel with this car. $80k car no spare but thier service model horrible. Claims we will come to fix or give you a loner but not true. No loaners available. Now I have to pay for a hotel for two days. Take a day off from work on Monday to see if they can repair or replace it.

 

[Dhruval Shah]

I've had 3 opportunities to ask Tesla for help with flat tires. The first two times, they were worse than useless. I was told to go to a service center, and that service center had no patching or tires (this is while I was 1,000 miles from home).

The third, and final time, they happened to have my 19" 2022 Model S tire in stock. After chatting with the service center people for a while, I figured out that this was a winning lottery ticket situation. You see, a few weeks earlier, Elon Musk had come in, needing a flat repaired, and no tires were in inventory at the Austin TX service center. They came up with a kludge fix for Elon, which allowed him to continue on his way. Anyway, they said, that since then, the Austin service center has had sufficient inventory in tires to help people with flats.

Moral of the story: be sure to have a flat within 100 miles of the Tesla headquarters, and not long after Elon has a flat. Either that, or try to clone Elon so there is at least one of him in every U.S. state.

Flat tire
Called Tesla one hour before a response
Model y. No spare. Only has 5222 miles
I am on the road about 250 miles from home.
No loaner tires available in the fourth largest city in america. No tire centers open. Tesla centers not available till Monday morning. Teslas only option is we tow you home and you pay. Or we wait till Monday. Leaves you on the road without help. How can one travel with this car. $80k car no spare but thier service model horrible. Claims we will come to fix or give you a loner but not true. No loaners available. Now I have to pay for a hotel for two days. Take a day off from work on Monday to see if they can repair or replace it.