Extended warranty denied because I did not do the scheduled inspections

[joer00]

My car reached the 50k miles and since Tesla still can't be trusted to build reliable cars I wanted to buy the extended warranty. However I have been told by my SC that I can't do so because I did not do the scheduled inspections in the PAST.

This is ridiculous ! I still remember after the first rage of the service prices (for doing pretty much nothing) Tesla and Musk stated that they are optional and do not void the warranty. I can understand to make those mandatory once you buy the EXTENDED warranty, but denying such due to missed inspections in the past is for me the same as they have been mandatory from day one.

Anybody else experienced the same issue ?

 

[zambono]

It is different, the warranty and the extended agreement are 2 separate things. There is probably legalese that states they have the right of refusal etc. They don't have to provide an ESA if they believe an owner has abused their vehicle. Good luck though, try to escalate since I was going to do similar. I don't see the need for yearly maintenance

 

[LosAngelesDude]

I heard the same. I thought regular service is not mandatory.

My S is in production today. Should I buy extended warranty then? It will cost be 4K for it!

 

[NOLA_Mike]

What happens if you go online to the My Tesla page and select Services Sign Up - is it not available to you there?

Mike

 

[ecarfan]

I heard the same. I thought regular service is not mandatory.

It is not "mandatory" for the 50K mile warranty to be in effect.

 

[msnow]

My car reached the 50k miles and since Tesla still can't be trusted to build reliable cars I wanted to buy the extended warranty. However I have been told by my SC that I can't do so because I did not do the scheduled inspections in the PAST.

This is ridiculous ! I still remember after the first rage of the service prices (for doing pretty much nothing) Tesla and Musk stated that they are optional and do not void the warranty. I can understand to make those mandatory once you buy the EXTENDED warranty, but denying such due to missed inspections in the past is for me the same as they have been mandatory from day one.

Anybody else experienced the same issue ?

Yeah you're right and that's BS. It used to be optional and more of a "should" than a "must". My concern was that I don't put a lot of miles on my car and it might take me a year and a half to reach the mileage threshold so yearly service didn't make sense. I was told it was no problem as long as I had it serviced at the mileage thresholds.

 

[grichard]

I'm disappointed to hear this, but I think they're within their rights. You were promised the 4/50 warranty even if you didn't do routine maintenance, which the company did indeed honor. I don't think access to the extended service plan is an entitlement in the same way.

I imagine that this policy is intended to drive people to buy the prepaid maintenance plans. But if so, it's not doing a very good job, since (as this thread illustrates) people are not widely aware that routine maintenance is a prerequisite for the ESA.

Kind of weird.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

This is the least best area of Tesla ownership - every other car company is trying to sell you the extended warranty and Tesla is avoiding it -- makes you wonder if they trust their own products.... not a good message to send to the market when Consumer Reports just hammered the X. I too wanted the ESA and couldn't get it because I bought third party... (this further erodes aftermarket value of the car)...

 

[demundus]

This is the least best area of Tesla ownership - every other car company is trying to sell you the extended warranty and Tesla is avoiding it -- makes you wonder if they trust their own products.... not a good message to send to the market when Consumer Reports just hammered the X. I too wanted the ESA and couldn't get it because I bought third party... (this further erodes aftermarket value of the car)...

100% this... ESA's are a profit item for dealerships and OEMs. If they didn't pencil the math to feel good about offering an ESA to cars minutes off the factory warranty, what kind of warm and fuzzy is that supposed to give us about owning them out of warranty?

 

[Newscutter]

This is ridiculous !

Did you READ the Extended Service Agreement? I did.

Before I purchased the car I read all the crazy long legal documents associated with it. Deciding that I was close enough to the cusp of tech (at the time), I recall VERY CLEARLY that the ESA stated that coverage required all factory recommended services.

So to keep even the OPTION of getting the ESA open, I knew I had to get 4 services.... so I bought the Service Plan to keep myself honest about doing those.

Now I'm at 40K and starting that debate with myself about whether or not to get the ESA-- which is a whole 'nother can of worms.

But point is, the language regarding ESA eligibility was very clear when I purchased in 2014.

Here are some excerpts:

C. Your Responsibilities The Owner’s Manual includes specific recommendations regarding the use, operations, and maintenance of the Vehicle. To maintain the validity of this Vehicle ESA, You must follow correct operations procedures and have Your Vehicle serviced as recommended by Tesla during the Agreement Period of this Vehicle ESA. If requested, proof of required service, including receipts showing date and mileage of the Vehicle at the time of service, must be presented before any repairs under this Vehicle ESA commence. Service within 1,000 miles and/or 30 days of Tesla’s recommended intervals shall be considered compliant with the terms of this Vehicle ESA.

D. Obtaining Vehicle ESA Service In the event of Failure, You may take Your Vehicle to any Tesla Authorized Service Center. Please have Your mileage and date of Failure ready for Tesla, and make Tesla aware of the existence of this Vehicle ESA before repairs are performed.

. • Provide proof of maintenance if requested.

 

[whttiger25]

Here is a very relevant question. What if you perform all services outlined in the maintenance schedule for years 1-3 (clearly the battery coolant change in year 4 only Tesla could do), but by a third party, and save documentation of the service?

 

[jbcarioca]

I heard the same. I thought regular service is not mandatory.

My S is in production today. Should I buy extended warranty then? It will cost be 4K for it!

You can wait, but the extended warranty verbiage is explicit that you must do the annual/12,500 mile inspections to make it valid. I have no problem with the annual inspections, it is a very complex machine.

 

[sorka]

C. Your Responsibilities The Owner’s Manual includes specific recommendations regarding the use, operations, and maintenance of the Vehicle. To maintain the validity of this Vehicle ESA, You must follow correct operations procedures and have Your Vehicle serviced as recommended by Tesla during the Agreement Period of this Vehicle ESA. If requested, proof of required service, including receipts showing date and mileage of the Vehicle at the time of service, must be presented before any repairs under this Vehicle ESA commence. Service within 1,000 miles and/or 30 days of Tesla’s recommended intervals shall be considered compliant with the terms of this Vehicle ESA.

The agreement period doesn't begin until 50K miles.

Also, I have an email directly from the service center in Fremont stating that the ESA will not be invalidated by not having previously recommended service performed.

I have 31K miles. I've performed all of the required service and inspections(myself) except for the brake fluid change which I haven't done yet because there's still less than 1% moisture and 0 ppm of copper.

Not that it matters as I'm unlikely to by the ESA given it's an utter and complete rip off when you combine the per incident $200 deductible.

 

[TexasEV]

Here is a very relevant question. What if you perform all services outlined in the maintenance schedule for years 1-3 (clearly the battery coolant change in year 4 only Tesla could do), but by a third party, and save documentation of the service?

Third parties can't do the inspections and diagnostics that Tesla does. It's not the same thing, no matter what a third party calls it. They don't know what it is that they don't know.

You bought a high five figure or six figure car on the bleeding edge of technology. Why cheap out and not have Tesla check it yearly as they recommend?

 

[Navyguy]

My car reached the 50k miles and since Tesla still can't be trusted to build reliable cars I wanted to buy the extended warranty. However I have been told by my SC that I can't do so because I did not do the scheduled inspections in the PAST.

This is ridiculous ! I still remember after the first rage of the service prices (for doing pretty much nothing) Tesla and Musk stated that they are optional and do not void the warranty. I can understand to make those mandatory once you buy the EXTENDED warranty, but denying such due to missed inspections in the past is for me the same as they have been mandatory from day one.

Anybody else experienced the same issue ?

wtf if the car checks out now it should be ok. thats like getting denied medical insurance because you never went to the doctors lol. They usually look at how you are currently.

still the inspections/service was all that covered under warranty? if not then they basically expect you to pay for broken crap because of their poor consistency in manufacturing?> that sounds a but illegal.

 

[Navyguy]

I'm disappointed to hear this, but I think they're within their rights. You were promised the 4/50 warranty even if you didn't do routine maintenance, which the company did indeed honor. I don't think access to the extended service plan is an entitlement in the same way.

I imagine that this policy is intended to drive people to buy the prepaid maintenance plans. But if so, it's not doing a very good job, since (as this thread illustrates) people are not widely aware that routine maintenance is a prerequisite for the ESA.

Kind of weird.

what if you buy it upfront but never do the same regular maintenance and then later on in the ext war time frame something happens. would they refuse service you think?

 

[stopcrazypp]

The agreement period doesn't begin until 50K miles.

Also, I have an email directly from the service center in Fremont stating that the ESA will not be invalidated by not having previously recommended service performed.

I have 31K miles. I've performed all of the required service and inspections(myself) except for the brake fluid change which I haven't done yet because there's still less than 1% moisture and 0 ppm of copper.

Not that it matters as I'm unlikely to by the ESA given it's an utter and complete rip off when you combine the per incident $200 deductible.

You are in a situation where you can argue than you technically did the service already (well close enough anyways), but the OP is not.

The problem is that I don't think the email means anything because you have not officially entered the contract to use the ESA. The ESA agreement says that acceptance of an application for ESA is subject to their approval:
"In the event Your application is not accepted, You will receive a refund of the Vehicle ESA purchase price from Tesla. Nothing herein guarantees acceptance of this application"

Another part I should quote:
"This Vehicle ESA does not cover certain parts or any Vehicle damage or malfunction directly or indirectly caused by, due to or resulting from normal wear or deterioration, abuse, misuse, negligence, accident, lack of or improper maintenance, operation, storage or transport, including, but not limited to, any of the following:"
https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/blog_attachments/na_tesla_warranty_plan_agreement_ot.pdf
The regular warranty does not have the "lack of" part, while the ESA does. I think Tesla will legally use this to deny offering ESA to cars that have done no maintenance under the warranty period. Unlike the warranty, the ESA is more like an insurance policy and is more like a "privilege" not a right and not covered under the same legal protections as the base warranty is.

 

[lklundin]

I knew I had to get 4 services.... so I bought the Service Plan to keep myself honest about doing those.

Just to put this discussion into perspective, how much does Tesla charge for these 4 services in your area?

I pay about 1k€ for each of my scheduled ICE services, every 30k km/2years (when it is just oil change + various filters)
- that is one reason why my next car will be a BEV.

Although the Model S is an expensive car I would expect the schedules services to be simpler and thus cheaper.

 

[sorka]

Also, the wording has changed sometime since February when I got assurance from Fremont back on February 19th. On that date, the agreement stated:

"To maintain the validity of this Vehicle ESA, You must follow correct operations procedures and have Your Vehicle serviced as recommended by Tesla. If requested, proof of required service, including receipts showing date and mileage of the Vehicle at the time of service, must be presented before any repairs under this Vehicle ESA commence. Service within 1,000 miles and/or 30days of Tesla’s recommended intervals shall be considered compliant"

That paragraph now says:

"To maintain the validity of this Vehicle ESA, You must follow correct operations procedures and have Your Vehicle serviced as recommended by Tesla during the Agreement Period of this Vehicle ESA. If requested, proof of required service, including receipts showing date and mileage of the Vehicle at the time of service, must be presented before any repairs under this Vehicle ESA commence. Service within 1,000 miles and/or 30 days of Tesla’s recommended intervals shall be considered compliant with the terms of this Vehicle ESA."

The language changing to add "during the Agreement Period of this Vehicle ESA" is more inline with their blogged policy and what most of us have been told by Tesla Service.

 

[Az_Rael]

If I was the OP, I would argue my case against the "during agreement period" statement. I assume that will involve going up the chain to try and get an answer.


This is what I never liked about that Elon statement that the annual visits were optional. None of the other language was actually changed to reflect that. So there is ambiguity for owners. Luckily, I can't buy an ESA (CPO), so I am spared the decision process.