Emergency Brake Recall Mobile Service

[jim5359]

I received a voicemail from Tesla last week stating there was a recall on the Emergency Brake and they had the parts in. They wanted to schedule a mobile service where they came to me to fix it. So I called back to schedule and the person at the service center was confused. He put me on hold for a couple minutes and came back and said he'd have to investigate further because they don't provide ranger service out of their center.

A couple hours later the original person who left the voicemail called me back again and scheduled the appointment to come to my work on Tuesday (yesterday). I told him I had called and the person was confused and he said the service center probably isn't aware of this new mobile service.

On Tuesday I got a call right on schedule saying they were in the parking lot at my work. I went out to give him the keys and he said it would take about an hour and I was welcome to watch or he'd call me when it was done. So I went back to work and about an hour later he called to say it was done. I went out to get my keys. He said he also checked the tire pressure on all 4 tires.

Overall a very pleasant experience. I knew about the recall but was planning on getting it taken care of at my next service visit, but this mobile service was super convenient. I got the impression this is not the same as the ranger service and may be a new service Tesla is offering. I live in the Silicon Valley, so I have 3 service centers close by and I don't think they offer ranger service.

 

[rhumbliner]

+1

I also had that taken of yesterday. The Salt Lake City SvC sent a mobile unit up to Jackson and they took care of the brake and rotated my tires. I like the fact they are trying to perform more maintenance outside of the SvC.

 

[araxara]

I had this brake service done on my Model X and also passenger airbag recall on my Model S. This was done by Ranger service in Tucson. It only took 1.5 hours for both items. There were 3 rangers doing the work. Of course, I could have insisted on taking 2 cars over 100 miles away to have this done, but obviously having this done at home was preferable.

Tucson has several Rangers stationed here and they also share some service space with other auto repair facilities so they can also perform more traditional service center work locally.

 

[boaterva]

So, overall, is there a special number you are to call (off the main Tesla number?) for Mobile/Ranger service, since I gather it's not booked/handled out of your local SC?

 

[jim5359]

In my case they called me, so I'm not sure if they have a separate number. When they left a message the callback number they left was the main number for one of the local service centers (Sunnyvale, CA). But when calling the main number they were unaware of this service. Because Northern California has good service center coverage I don't think they have typically offered Ranger service here.

I received a callback a couple days after the service asking for feedback on the mobile service. He confirmed it was a new service and did refer to it as "Mobile Service". Perhaps it's just a rename of Ranger Service and they are expanding it into areas that already have good service center coverage. My theory is they are preparing for Model 3 sales and know they won't have enough service centers to handle them, so they are expanding the Mobile/Ranger service to accommodate.

 

[boaterva]

In my case they called me. It was technically out of one of the local Service Center (Sunnyvale CA), but apparently it's a separate group that handles mobile service so when calling the main number they were unaware of this service. Because Northern California has good service center coverage I don't think they have typically offered Ranger service here.

I received a callback a couple days after the service asking for feedback on the mobile service. He confirmed it was a new service and did refer to it as "Mobile Service". Perhaps it's just a rename of Ranger Service and they are expanding it into areas that already have good service center coverage. My theory is they are preparing for Model 3 sales and know they won't have enough service centers to handle them, so they are expanding the Mobile/Ranger service to accommodate.

Yeah, I do think it's been renamed to 'Mobile'. But interesting that the main number for the SC didn't know about it. Thanks!

 

[rhumbliner]

In my case they called me,

Ditto. But it was all handled thru the Salt Lake SvC

 

[mblakele]

Mobile service made this repair to my pre-refresh Model S 90D today. I'd received the original recall letter, which said they'd contact me when they had parts. As of last week that hadn't happened, so I sent an email and scheduled the mobile visit. About then a second letter showed up in the mail, this time stating that they had the replacement parts.

The technician called me about 90 minutes before my appointment to say that there'd been a couple of cancellations and he could do the work earlier if I was ready. That worked for me. The work took about 30-min total. Afterward he explained that only a couple of vehicles were known to have been affected by the problem, but they were replacing all the calipers that might potentially have the same problem. Almost all affected vehicles have now been fixed.

The technician was driving a van, and volunteered that he normally used a Model S. However today he had a seat replacement to do, and couldn't fit that into the Model S. Also it was a rainy day, and the van is equipped with a roll-out rain awning that the Model S doesn't have.

Overall this was a positive experience, much more convenient than taking the car to a Service Center.

 

[SMAlset]

Mobile service made this repair to my pre-refresh Model S 90D today. I'd received the original recall letter, which said they'd contact me when they had parts. As of last week that hadn't happened, so I sent an email and scheduled the mobile visit. About then a second letter showed up in the mail, this time stating that they had the replacement parts.

The technician called me about 90 minutes before my appointment to say that there'd been a couple of cancellations and he could do the work earlier if I was ready. That worked for me. The work took about 30-min total. Afterward he explained that only a couple of vehicles were known to have been affected by the problem, but they were replacing all the calipers that might potentially have the same problem. Almost all affected vehicles have now been fixed.

The technician was driving a van, and volunteered that he normally used a Model S. However today he had a seat replacement to do, and couldn't fit that into the Model S. Also it was a rainy day, and the van is equipped with a roll-out rain awning that the Model S doesn't have.

Overall this was a positive experience, much more convenient than taking the car to a Service Center.

South SF Bay here and back in December my husband saw a Tesla Mobile Service van pull into an automotive industrial area close to where he was going so stopped and checked it out. This was the first time ever seeing one of the service vehicles in person and we had not been aware of this service here in our area either but know that the service centers in the area are quite busy. Sure this is what Elon had mentioned an expansion of awhile ago. Here's two photos my husband took as I was curious what the vehicle looked like. He spoke briefly to the driver and if I recall they were taking care of a tire that needed repair.

BTW I've seen photos in articles about the mobile service Model S vehicles so your post was interesting to read. Makes sense if you don't need a lot of equipment for a service call. Having had our Model S broken into I have to wonder if the van might be less attractive to car thieves though.