This whole situation sucks to be in. One thing I sometimes have to remind myself is (most likely) the tech you’re on the phone with is reading from a manual and doesn’t know what to do from first hand experience. Tesla should be training their tech and sales people on a more first hand basis.
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Drive unit failure, car says Pull Over Safely
- Thread starter Creighton
- Start date
Hmm I suppose. OP sounded freaked out and probably hyperbolic, but no more so than anyone who had a roadside issue where pulling over seemed unsafe. I'm a little taken back by how much pushback actual consumers give their fellow buyers have when anything goes wrong with a Tesla... So much more than any other car forum. IMO, should give him the benefit of the doubt... From an outsider's view, it looks like a bad issue that Tesla isn't taking care of in the right way.
DopeGhoti
Active Member
In a way, I'm still largely an outsider, as I'm still awaiting delivery. My initial reading of the OP in this thread did not pass the smell test because of the very contradiction that I pointed out upthread, and when that baseline credibility fails, people start to nitpick.
timk225
Active Member
No one has mentioned the obvious problem here. The cop was so insistent on getting HIS tow truck there first, because he is obviously getting a kickback if they tow the car. And they will surely charge a premium for emergency service, and on a highway and all that. Food for thought.....
DopeGhoti
Active Member
I think the cop insisting on "his" tow service (though the OP stated that the cop's doctrine was "whoever gets here first gets the tow", which seems fair absent any other context) is less concerning that Tesla insisting only on reimbursing its tow service.
I would assume (and i could be way off) that Tesla will only pay for their tow guy because there is a high rate of tow truck drivers damaging Tesla’s. With their guy, they know he is certified to properly access the tow hook and not wreak the bumper.
I’ve heard some horror stories of tow guys ripping bumpers straight of of S’s.
DopeGhoti
Active Member
The tow hook is a 100% bog-standard entirely conventional tow-hook. There is no possible way that that is the sticking point.
SomeJoe7777
Marginally-Known Member
In all cases I know about, when the certified Tesla tow service comes to tow a vehicle, they use a flat-bed tow truck. I don't think I've ever heard of the tow hook being used for anything except emergency towing. Towing on a flat-bed is a different animal than using the standard two-wheel snatch bar and requires different training as well as a different tow truck.
Also getting to where you screw the tow hook in is a pain. I’ve cracked the cover on my own trying to get it to open fully in cold weather and had at least two other M3 owners tell me tow truck drivers have done the same. That’s just a plastic cover, but still shows the point of “if you don’t know what you’re doing specifically for a Tesla, it might not be done right”.
DopeGhoti
Active Member
Literally every car owners' manual I have perused has a three or four page section describing the proper procedure for towing without damage. The Tesla is no exception. Hybrids have been on the road for over a decade, and their "drive wheels must not be rolling when towing" mandate is extremely common these days; this restriction is identical on Teslas. Putting all four wheels on dollies is a configuration any competent tow truck operator should be familiar with, if the car cannot be put in Neutral for the 20 meters or so it would take to roll it up onto a flatbed.
Honestly (and not largely germane to this thread), the only particularly unique thing with respect to the extravehicular manipulation of a Tesla seems to be the extremely high import of using only the jack points for lifting the cars.
Honestly (and not largely germane to this thread), the only particularly unique thing with respect to the extravehicular manipulation of a Tesla seems to be the extremely high import of using only the jack points for lifting the cars.
I’ll tell you from experience, towing a tesla is quite a pain. Getting it into proper tow mode, having the software go back and forth between tow mode and park on its own, having the tow cover cap not release, being in tow mode and still have the drive trains not engage to neutral, having the car go back and forth between park and neutral based on the weight distribution in the drivers seat; are some of the issues I’ve experienced in the two times I’ve had to call a tow truck, and those were just to get it out of deep mud and snow.
I would never want a non certified Tesla tow driver to tow me. Absolutely not.
DopeGhoti
Active Member
Is there such a thing as Tesla Towing Certification? It'd be interesting as a curiosity to see that certificate. Is it a blanket certificate, or do you have to get separate certificate endorsements for R, S, X, 3, Y, and/or Semi? Does the certification expire or require upkeep refreshers to keep current? Can you tow on a lapsed certification? How much does the certification training cost?
Daniel in SD
(supervised)
Or maybe he's just doing his job and getting a car, that is blocking a traffic lane, safely off the road as quickly as possible.
lol so you would insist on a "certified" tesla tow but really no way to verify? :L Does a Tesla require any special tow? I've been rear ended twice at stop lights so I would be concern if there is a special towing procedure needed for Teslas.
DopeGhoti
Active Member
T-Mom
Banned
You sure are critical of people in your postings. To me that is a bit overboard, but perhaps you are an expert at everything? I wish more people on here would be less rude with replies. So that is what it feels like when it comes back to you.
When your on with Tesla Roadside, they will call a tow that they have a relationship with in some way. I’m assuming it’s via some sort of training certification, but I can not verify. If they do not have one in the area, they will tell you, and then you can choose to use the other tow at your own risk. I know this because this is what has happened to me. One time I opted to use the other tow, and had lots of problems. The other my car was still movable, just noisy so I drove it 100 mi to the nearest Tesla service center
This needs to be printed out and placed in any mode 3 owners trunk or frunkThat's kind of my point: not really. Reference pp. 163-164 of the owner's manual:
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