Don't hesitate to report issues to Tesla

[Envchem]

Hi everyone,

What I want to communicate to everybody is to not hold back and report anything you are concerned about to Tesla regardless of how small you think it is. You never know what could be behind it.
So 3 weeks ago I noticed that the headrest on the drivers seat of my model 3 had started to have discoloration. From seeing other posts I knew it would get worst so I raised a service ticket for it. It was also a good opportunity to include the issue I always had with the A pillar applique on the drivers site (a bit out orientation) not so major to raise a separate ticket for it before.
Then after two days I went to drive the car and got an error message I have never seen before. Electric system powering up. Car would not go into drive for about 5 minutes. I did a reboot; message went away and car went back to normal. Next day I thought that since I have a service booked already I should include this just in case.
So all this happened three weeks ago. Since then the car is absolutely fine and I haven't thought about this issue again.
My booking was moved a bit due to lack of headrests.
So today I received the invoice ahead of the service which now has a set date.
I am getting charged for the headrest (280£) and I think I will have a hard time to fight this off as a warranty claim based on what I have read so far here.
Rework on Electrical Harness due to water ingress has also been included as warranty job. From what i have read here they do this as a precaution fix so no worries again.
But then I notice that they did a remote diagnostic to the car for the error message and now is booked for replacing the pyro fuse, the high voltage controller and the high voltage controller harness!!!
I really hope that the car will be ok for the next couple of days since the appointment. It has been ok so far so fingers crossed. When I called they re-assured me that it is a precaution replacement. Quite expensive for a precaution if you ask me but all covered under warranty so I guess I can live with it.

So the moral of the story is don't hesitate to report things. You never know what the root cause of the issue can be. I hate to think what can happen if any of these fail while driving. I may still get the chance the next couple of days.

 

[pgkevet]

Sounds like a market for Tesla logo'd antimacassars...

 

[Zakalwe]

I am getting charged for the headrest (280£) and I think I will have a hard time to fight this off as a warranty claim based on what I have read so far here.

I'm not sure how Trading Standards would look on this. Or a Small Claims Court. After all, the headrest should be designed to cope with people's heads touching them. They should also be designed to be able to cope with normal hair treatments (I'm assuming that the discolouration wasn't from freshly applied hair dye?).
These things should be "fit for purpose" and staining from people's hair would, I would wager, be a breach of that.

 

[Rooster6655]

I'm not sure how Trading Standards would look on this. Or a Small Claims Court. After all, the headrest should be designed to cope with people's heads touching them. They should also be designed to be able to cope with normal hair treatments (I'm assuming that the discolouration wasn't from freshly applied hair dye?).
These things should be "fit for purpose" and staining from people's hair would, I would wager, be a breach of that.

Yes sales of goods act is quite clear and this would not be fit for purpose, so anyone that pays in these situations only encourages Tesla to continue ripping people off

 

[Envchem]

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback. Here is a photo of the headrest at the moment.

As you can see it is a bit of everything. Discoloration, material worn off etc. Just to clarify no hair products can be held responsible for this since i have no hair You could argue that it can be caused by the hair that grows back and is quite rough but nothing of this happened to my previous car which I had for 6 years ( I do miss real leather).
As said I am not happy to pay for this and I will try and fight my corner but from what I have seen so far from my online investigation is that the majority of people who had this problem had to pay for it.

At this stage I am more worried about the other parts that they need to replace after the single error message I received. I am driving around like my nan at the moment.

 

[kuruma]

wow... first thought that sprang to mind was whether you had a plutonium implant of any kind in your brain. Seems the only logical explanation to me

 

[m3p_uk]

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback. Here is a photo of the headrest at the moment.

View attachment 605805

As you can see it is a bit of everything. Discoloration, material worn off etc. Just to clarify no hair products can be held responsible for this since i have no hair You could argue that it can be caused by the hair that grows back and is quite rough but nothing of this happened to my previous car which I had for 6 years ( I do miss real leather).
As said I am not happy to pay for this and I will try and fight my corner but from what I have seen so far from my online investigation is that the majority of people who had this problem had to pay for it.

At this stage I am more worried about the other parts that they need to replace after the single error message I received. I am driving around like my nan at the moment.

Assume you have tried to clean it with a bit of soap and warm water?

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

Whats above that? :Looks like its oissbly been dripped on from above by something nasty and its spread. I imagine its only the roof but maybe from a joint?

 

[Rooster6655]

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback. Here is a photo of the headrest at the moment.

View attachment 605805

As you can see it is a bit of everything. Discoloration, material worn off etc. Just to clarify no hair products can be held responsible for this since i have no hair You could argue that it can be caused by the hair that grows back and is quite rough but nothing of this happened to my previous car which I had for 6 years ( I do miss real leather).
As said I am not happy to pay for this and I will try and fight my corner but from what I have seen so far from my online investigation is that the majority of people who had this problem had to pay for it.

At this stage I am more worried about the other parts that they need to replace after the single error message I received. I am driving around like my nan at the moment.

Well I would be asking for clarification of what it is and what caused it before even considering who pays for it, as long as you haven't been abusing it then the SOGA would cover you, I believe

 

[snowywhite]

Also involve Blackhorse (or other lease company)
if you have a pcp/lease/hp deal - they have quality control teams who can impartially evaluate issues

I've just about given up with Tesla changing the definition of what's within spec for their convenience and covering their quality issues - spoke with Blackhorse yesterday who have promised to help

 

[Envchem]

Hi all,

thanks for all the responses and comments. At this point I am more concerned about the electrical parts that they want to replace based on a single error message that has never appeared since.
I called blackhorse by the way and the best way to describe their reaction was: Computer says no....

 

[Sparkeur]

Damage following skull impact due to acceleration? Definitely Tesla's fault.

 

[Envchem]

Damage following skull impact due to acceleration? Definitely Tesla's fault.

I guess you are humouring me. As said before I am not saying that I could not have contributed to this (my thick skull at least). I am saying though that I would expect it to perform at least on par with the headrest of my previous car. Apparently that is not the case and bearing in mind that I am planning to keep this car for a long time (more than 5 years) I cant stop thinking that the quality of the materials used may not allow this to happen.

 

[Andy_T_73]

At this point I am more concerned about the electrical parts that they want to replace based on a single error message that has never appeared since.

Same thing happened to me, they replaced the HV controller I guess as a precaution. Saw the warning once and have never seen it since and that's been about 2 months or so. They also did the water ingress thing at the same time. Car was in for a couple of days.

 

[Envchem]

Hi all,

Quick update on this one. Car dropped at Stockport SC on Monday, got it back yesterday.
Headrest was changed free of charge. As explained though this was not covered under warranty. It was a good will gesture and if it occurs again I will have to pay for it. Not happy with this since it essentially means that the quality of the ''vegan'' leather is subpar. Time to shop around for seat/headrest covers...
Regarding the one error message that I reported (Electrical system power up); three parts were changed. pyro fuse, the high voltage controller and the high voltage controller harness. When I queried about the replacement based on a single error message I was told that the diagnostics revealed a potential degradation that could lead to system failure. Good of them to replace preemptively.
During the whole procedure I must admit that I was kept updated with messages and also got a phone call on the pick up day to confirm that the car was ready since I had quite a commute and they wanted to be sure that I will make it in time. Great improvement on comms.
Site was very safe COVID wise and even the key card was given to me in a sealed plastic bag for me to open. Impressed.

Now for the big surprise. After I charged the car overnight; to 90% as per norm for me I got the following report from Teslafi:

Interesting right? Car is almost a year old with 18.8k miles. I was noticing around 3.5% degradation which I thought it was normal due to mileage and being winter now. Maybe BMS reset; don't know. I will definitely be keeping an eye on this.

 

[MrBadger]

@Envchem please keep us up to date with how your battery performs. Maybe report it over here Battery degradation - Model 3?

 

[Js1977]

Hi all,

Quick update on this one. Car dropped at Stockport SC on Monday, got it back yesterday.
Headrest was changed free of charge. As explained though this was not covered under warranty. It was a good will gesture and if it occurs again I will have to pay for it. Not happy with this since it essentially means that the quality of the ''vegan'' leather is subpar. Time to shop around for seat/headrest covers...
Regarding the one error message that I reported (Electrical system power up); three parts were changed. pyro fuse, the high voltage controller and the high voltage controller harness. When I queried about the replacement based on a single error message I was told that the diagnostics revealed a potential degradation that could lead to system failure. Good of them to replace preemptively.
During the whole procedure I must admit that I was kept updated with messages and also got a phone call on the pick up day to confirm that the car was ready since I had quite a commute and they wanted to be sure that I will make it in time. Great improvement on comms.
Site was very safe COVID wise and even the key card was given to me in a sealed plastic bag for me to open. Impressed.

Now for the big surprise. After I charged the car overnight; to 90% as per norm for me I got the following report from Teslafi:

View attachment 609890
Interesting right? Car is almost a year old with 18.8k miles. I was noticing around 3.5% degradation which I thought it was normal due to mileage and being winter now. Maybe BMS reset; don't know. I will definitely be keeping an eye on this.

Very interesting graph indeed.

About the vegan leather... I understand the need of this sort of stuff in regards to fur coats etc but being that cattle are bread for consumption whch we consume a fair bit.... what now happens to the hides of the dead cows... maybe a bit off topic but its food for thought

Moderator comment - follow on OT Vegan leather posts moved to The Pub - OT posts and discussions

 

[Envchem]

@Envchem please keep us up to date with how your battery performs. Maybe report it over here Battery degradation - Model 3?

Hi mate, busy weekend so catching up now. sure; more than happy to use that thread for updates.

 

[OneTinyFish]

Back OT,

I've filed my first service centre request last week for my July ordered M3LR.

Requesting the following;

- Steering wheel alignment
- Charge port doesn't open when pressed
- Condensation in both rear light clusters
- Touchscreen glue 'stain' (minor)
- Rear door handles recessed (is this normal?)

I've booked the latest appointment date possible and advised in the notes that I cannot attend (not likely able to leave the IOM with the car and back again). I think the above items can wait until later in 2021 or whenever post-pandemic.

 

[Envchem]

Back OT,

I've filed my first service centre request last week for my July ordered M3LR.

Requesting the following;

- Steering wheel alignment
- Charge port doesn't open when pressed
- Condensation in both rear light clusters
- Touchscreen glue 'stain' (minor)
- Rear door handles recessed (is this normal?)

I've booked the latest appointment date possible and advised in the notes that I cannot attend (not likely able to leave the IOM with the car and back again). I think the above items can wait until later in 2021 or whenever post-pandemic.

looks like we have the same spec let us know how it goes. I must say I was impressed by the level of service I received. Not really busy during lockdown I guess contributed to this.