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.
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Don't Count on Tesla Roadside Assistance
- Thread starter mjoseph
- Start date
It isn't "Tesla Roadside Do Everything For Me". Knowing where you want your car taken is your responsibility. Apparently a service center within 500 miles is on the list. Was that offered?
Roadside Assistance | Tesla Support
Tesla Roadside Assistance is committed to providing you with immediate roadside services, 24/7 365 days a year.
It does seem shitty that they didn't have a replacement tire available. I do often read that spare parts are in short supply. I wish they'd stop putting cars together for one week and distribute spare parts to the service centers instead.
I've had a couple times now that I've gotten a flat and was unable to get a spare. First time they had no 21" loaners the other time was because I now run model x wheels so I wasn't expecting a replacement option. Both times I just took the tow back to my house where I could deal with the flat on my own using my other vehicle. No idea why you'd opt to drive on a completely flat wheel vs taking the tow option but I guess I care more about causing unnecessary damage than you. Also by driving on the completely flat tire you pretty much guarantee you have to replace it vs possibly patching since you'd destroy the sidewalls.
mangrove79
Member
member of the forum for 7 years and this is his first post. amazing!
I have the tire goop, and a spare wheel and tire I keep at home. No one in my state would have the 19" Tesla tire in stock -- ever. It will always be days before a replacement tire is available for me. That is why I bought a spare wheel and tire. Hopefully if I am on a trip somewhere, someone in that state would have a loaner, but I am not counting on it. Hoping the goop will get me by enough to get to a tire store. Otherwise, I will need to get a rental car until the car can get fixed and tow my car to a service place.
airborne spoon
Active Member
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.
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.
Tam
Well-Known Member
Both Civic and Sentra have spare tires and tools. Prior to Tesla, all of my cars including the Prius had the same. I never called Roadside Assistance for a flat tire prior to Tesla.
When I doubted about buying a car without a spare tire, different Tesla staff told me there's no need because Roadside Assistance would take care of that.
So Tesla brainwashed me into relying on its Roadside Assistance. But by now, I have realized that Tesla's customer service is not the best.
I bet Tesla in So Cal has spare tires ready on a truck within one hour. 
Every other customer is out of luck. Problem is tire stores don't have these tires in most areas of the USA, so you will need a temporary spare or a rental car until the replacement tire comes in to the repair facility. Supply shortages may extend this period with a flat tire and no replacement available.
Every other customer is out of luck. Problem is tire stores don't have these tires in most areas of the USA, so you will need a temporary spare or a rental car until the replacement tire comes in to the repair facility. Supply shortages may extend this period with a flat tire and no replacement available.
airborne spoon
Active Member
in all my years of driving I've used a spare 2 times so its not necessary and just takes up space and weight, I'm glad its gone. And the roadside does take care of it they call a tow truck for you so you don't have to call around to different ones to find a flatbed and the quickest one available. All you have to do is say i want to be towed to X.
I've called roadside once in So-Cal it took 3 hr to get a truck to tow me. i called it once in NC it took 45 min to get to me and another time in NC it took 1 hr to get to me.I bet Tesla in So Cal has spare tires ready on a truck within one hour.
the 265/35/21 is a pretty rare size but the 19's are far more common and easy to find at most indy shops, and they can procure one from elsewhere generally easier than a name brand chain shop if they don't have one.
I can understand if it's for a defect with the car but this is road hazard that can happen to any car. This isn't a warrantable part and requires payment. I'm not sure what the terms of roadside assistance are but I personally wouldn't be too upset. Now if it's the power system or motor, that's a different story.
It also depends on the situation. I've been up in mountain areas for hikes and there's no cell reception for at least 30 miles. In those situations, I rely on our caravan group or bring a jack and tire patch kit.
It also depends on the situation. I've been up in mountain areas for hikes and there's no cell reception for at least 30 miles. In those situations, I rely on our caravan group or bring a jack and tire patch kit.
Don't be so hard on the OP. Maybe he was in a strange place, how would he know where to tow the car locally? And then what? While my Tesla roadside service was fine, this service guy sounds like he was working from home in his underwear. Contrast this to Mercedes Roadside service, and they will tell you where the nearest Five Guy's is, what the weather will be when you get there, and they'll be happy to order for you that tire repair kit from Amazon. Also, some people spaz out on the side of the road in a stress situation. Personally, I've used a spare tire more than several times in my life.
Tesomega
Member
I have given up on Tesla to do anything right. They are all for show, they don't deliver !.
Missile Toad
MSLR Wht/Blk/19 | OD 6/10/21 | RN11512
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.
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.
I bet Tesla in So Cal has spare tires ready on a truck within one hour.
Depends on if the tow company they send has any. Tesla sub contracts that out, and it depends on the tow company, the area, whether they (the towing company) even are in the program to get spare tires in the first place, etc.
So, No, its not necessarily "Tesla in So. Cal has spare tires ready on the truck within one hour" even though people seem to like to assume that type of thing.
So you running over a sharp piece of metal is Tesla’s fault? Got it.
No other manufacturer does that, that I know of.
Maybe Lamborghini or Aston Martin? Probably not even them.
Tires are not a warranted item, either.
I’m surprised that all you folks get flats.
I think my last flat was about 25 years ago. And up until several years ago (when I retired) I drove about 20,000 miles per year.
I’ve had slow leaks from drywall screws, etc, but they were still drivable.
I have a BMW M5.
It does not have a spare.
I do not expect BMW to bring me a spare wheel and tire if I get a flat. Tires aren’t even something that the vehicle manufacturer warrants.
To have that service, even just ‘as available,’ is amazing, and far beyond what any other manufacturer does (that I’m aware of).
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.
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