First Flat Tire - Poor support

[RockOne]

Just had my first flat Sunday, and unfortunately, it was an hour away from home. Tesla Roadside Service said they were unable to find a team to come give me a loaner tire/wheel or replace it on the spot. Because of that, they were only able to tow it the Tesla service center. The worst part was that they said getting home was my own problem, and they wouldn’t be able to give me any Uber credits or have a loaner car dropped off (service center was closed on Sunday). That is terrible as they’ve marketed that Tesla owners don’t need spare tires bc of the level of support they offer, but if they expect me to pay $150 for an Uber ride home (and maybe even to pick up), it seems like I’m better off buying a spare.

Has anyone had a similar or opposite experience?

 

[kingkong5]

I had my first flat tire in 2019, and back then Tesla Roadside Service worked great. They dispatched a local AAA truck with the loaner, and took the flat tire/wheel to the SC. A couple days later I went to have the tires swapped out, but Tesla charges a lot for a tire! So now I just have AAA card with me, and they can tow me to any nearby America's Tire to be plugged or fixed, and it works a lot better.

 

[RockOne]

I had my first flat tire in 2019, and back then Tesla Roadside Service worked great. They dispatched a local AAA truck with the loaner, and took the flat tire/wheel to the SC. A couple days later I went to have the tires swapped out, but Tesla charges a lot for a tire! So now I just have AAA card with me, and they can tow me to any nearby America's Tire to be plugged or fixed, and it works a lot better.

Yeah maybe I invest in AAA instead bc I was so heated yesterday

 

[ucmndd]

Tesla should be your provider of last resort for tire issues.

 

[RockOne]

Tesla should be your provider of last resort for tire issues.

Care to share your rationale? I obviously had a shitty experience, but that could’ve easily been resolved with, “here’s an Uber coupon to get home.”

 

[ucmndd]

Care to share your rationale? I obviously had a shitty experience, but that could’ve easily been resolved with, “here’s an Uber coupon to get home.”

I guess your experience speaks volumes and is frankly exactly what I'd expect. Asking Tesla to deal with this on a Sunday turns it into a multi-day ordeal and presumes that they are going to voluntarily provide transport costs for something that isn't a warranty issue (as you learned, they don't and aren't going to).

I'd personally get a tow (through AAA or at my own expense) to the nearest open tire shop and be on my way ASAP.

Tesla's roadside assistance terms and conditions for reference:

https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/downloads/roadside-assistance-policy-en.pdf

 

[RockOne]

I guess your experience speaks volumes and is frankly exactly what I'd expect. Asking Tesla to deal with this on a Sunday turns it into a multi-day ordeal and presumes that they are going to voluntarily provide transport costs for something that isn't a warranty issue (as you learned, they don't and aren't going to).

I'd personally get a tow (through AAA or at my own expense) to the nearest open tire shop and be on my way ASAP.

Tesla's roadside assistance terms and conditions for reference:

https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/downloads/roadside-assistance-policy-en.pdf

Yeah I think AAA is my next move. To give them some kind of credit, they did tow my car to service center yesterday free of charged (closed), and I picked up by lunch today with new tire.

 

[Yelobird]

Guess the blame confuses me or your expectations are beyond the norm. You had a flat tire, why would they be responsible for a loaner, free Uber or your tow? You could have went to Any tire shop or other to get this fixed. How many dealers provide loaners on a flat tire? I haven’t had that Privilege in 30 years of driving ever.

 

[RockOne]

Guess the blame confuses me or your expectations are beyond the norm. You had a flat tire, why would they be responsible for a loaner, free Uber or your tow? You could have went to Any tire shop or other to get this fixed. How many dealers provide loaners on a flat tire? I haven’t had that Privilege in 30 years of driving ever.

How many dealers tell you you don’t need a spare tire when selling due to their roadside assistance? In Tesla’s roadside policy, they specially state they will provide assistance: when I called they told me that means they repair or provide a loaner on the spot. If they can’t, they’ll tow. The divide between an on the spot repair (back on the road immediately) vs. having it towed to a repair shop is large. Thus the expectation would be to at least help me get home.

 

[kingkong5]

Guess the blame confuses me or your expectations are beyond the norm. You had a flat tire, why would they be responsible for a loaner, free Uber or your tow? You could have went to Any tire shop or other to get this fixed. How many dealers provide loaners on a flat tire? I haven’t had that Privilege in 30 years of driving ever.

It is a nice perk that Tesla claims to give you, since our cars don't come with spare tires. And in theory, it should work really well - local tow trucks are given loaner wheels/tires to carry with them, and replace your flat one. They then take that flat tire back to the local service center to be fixed, if you wish. You sign a contract saying that you will go to the SC to have them swapped out in 2 or 3 days, or else you'll be charged a lot for the loaner wheel/tire. But I guess somewhere in the growth spurt of Teslas, this didn't scale very well and now the consensus is that it's better to go at it on your own if the tow truck doesn't have a loaner available. However, new Tesla owner's wouldn't really know this, they'd rely on what they were told is Tesla's strategy for dealing with no spare and go through Tesla Roadside Assistance only.

 

[Yelobird]

How many dealers tell you you don’t need a spare tire when selling due to their roadside assistance? In Tesla’s roadside policy, they specially state they will provide assistance: when I called they told me that means they repair or provide a loaner on the spot. If they can’t, they’ll tow. The divide between an on the spot repair (back on the road immediately) vs. having it towed to a repair shop is large. Thus the expectation would be to at least help me get home.

Do you realize how many cars Don’t come with spares currently? This isn’t a special Tesla program. I personally have never seen Any written or otherwise statement from Tesla that they will provide a loaner for a flat.

 

[RockOne]

It is a nice perk that Tesla claims to give you, since our cars don't come with spare tires. And in theory, it should work really well - local tow trucks are given loaner wheels/tires to carry with them, and replace your flat one. They then take that flat tire back to the local service center to be fixed, if you wish. You sign a contract saying that you will go to the SC to have them swapped out in 2 or 3 days, or else you'll be charged a lot for the loaner wheel/tire. But I guess somewhere in the growth spurt of Teslas, this didn't scale very well and now the consensus is that it's better to go at it on your own if the tow truck doesn't have a loaner available. However, new Tesla owner's wouldn't really know this, they'd rely on what they were told is Tesla's strategy for dealing with no spare and go through Tesla Roadside Assistance only.

I

Do you realize how many cars Don’t come with spares currently? This isn’t a special Tesla program. I personally have never seen Any written or otherwise statement from Tesla that they will provide a loaner for a flat.

I don’t know why you continue to mention things like your own personal 30 years of driving experience or whether you have personally never seen any written or otherwise statement from Tesla… that just tells me you’re uninformed and have had a different set of experiences than me. Also, just as many cars still do come with spares, so your points are ultimately insignificant. Tesla has told me about loaners 1) during their sales pitch in showroom, 2) on the phone with roadside assistance, and 3) in the in-app messaging with the service team. As stated above, if a loaner isn’t available, then they’ll tow to a Tesla service center. Member kingkong5 even gave their own “personal” experience of actually receiving a loaner - was that not enough to prove that is one of their methods of addressing a flat? Or is it only your personal experiences that matter? Edit: I hope you’re personally experienced enough to realize that loaner means loaner tire, not loaner car in this thread. Or if you just read the other comments, that would also have been enough.

 

[Yelobird]

I

I don’t know why you continue to mention things like your own personal 30 years of driving experience or whether you have personally never seen any written or otherwise statement from Tesla… that just tells me you’re uninformed and have had a different set of experiences than me. Also, just as many cars still do come with spares, so your points are ultimately insignificant. Tesla has told me about loaners 1) during their sales pitch in showroom, 2) on the phone with roadside assistance, and 3) in the in-app messaging with the service team. As stated above, if a loaner isn’t available, then they’ll tow to a Tesla service center. Member kingkong5 even gave their own “personal” experience of actually receiving a loaner - was that not enough to prove that is one of their methods of addressing a flat? Or is it only your personal experiences that matter? Edit: I hope you’re personally experienced enough to realize that loaner means loaner tire, not loaner car in this thread. Or if you just read the other comments, that would also have been enough.

Well…….. That’s actually Not what you said. You said “they wouldn’t be able to give me any Uber credits or have a loaner car“ so you’re moving the story line. If they have a loaner tire sure I have seen that but that’s Not what you were complaining about.

 

[RockOne]

Well…….. That’s actually Not what you said. You said “they wouldn’t be able to give me any Uber credits or have a loaner car“ so you’re moving the story line. If they have a loaner tire sure I have seen that but that’s Not what you were complaining about.

I mentioned the loaner car bc the service center was closed, and that could’ve been an option. The preceding sentence said: “Service said they were unable to find a team to come give me a loaner tire/wheel or replace it on the spot.” That is the service team’s preferred course of action when available, and that is exactly what showroom told me when I brought up spare tire concerns.