First month with the S and a little bummed.

[Tanquen]

The car sat for almost 2 weeks, (Missed the CA rebate by a few days.) had hard water spots and some lights scratches at delivery. They showed this to me at delivery instead of correcting it first, now I am still waiting for them to have time to get the car cleaned and scratches removed and I’m an hour away from the service center.

I was told the car would be delivered on a truck to the service center with no mileage. It was not, it was driven to the service center with 50 miles on it. That or they drove it 50 miles to fix other issues before delivery. I would have picked it up at the factory.

There is vibration in the steering wheel at times even when the car parked.

There is a bit too much road and wind noise in the car from 30mph on. I don’t think it’s because the car is otherwise so quite. Maybe I did not get the fancy tires with foam inside. My truck and other cars do much better at this and the engine noise is not that bad on newer cars. I didn’t even really notice the IS250 was running unless pushing hard from a stop or passing someone.

The floor mats are bad and the backs are already curling up.

The seatbelts, why is it so hard to buckle them? Small issue I know and I don’t know if it’s the angle or what but everyone takes a few moments getting bucked in.

The rear trunk carpeting is not installed correctly and the floor cover to the storage under the floor cannot be fully inserted.

The front bumper is not installed correctly and pushes into both wheel wells. Not seen this on the few other Teslas I’ve been around.

The coating inside the driver side headlight is incomplete/damaged and light shines through little holes in the coating.

The doors are harder to close that seems reasonable. They saw me having trouble with this at delivery and said something about Tesla doors are like that and you have to give them a good push to close them.

The doors do seem kind of flimsy but I guess that is part of the frameless design. Not used to that without a convertible top. Even so, my Honda S2000 had a more satisfying door close.

The rear doors flare out away from the body. I’ve seen worse in the forums here but not on any car I’ve owned and it seems silly after all this time that they can’t get this and the panel gap ironed out. Some kind of jig at the factory that makes it imposable to not have stuff line up.

The panel gaps are on the lager side and on the front hood get bigger towards the front of the car.

The head unit is slow. Having the web browser is cool but I can’t really use it. Not sure if its CPU or bandwidth limited. Seems to be the CPU/GPU though. My phone dose 1920x1080 silky smooth.

I also have the music skipping issue. Not a huge deal but never had a head unit or any AVR do that.

I know this won’t be new info for most but the one month in survey from Tesla spurred me to post.

 

[Muzzman1]

Im going to try to help here:
1.) They will make it right on the paint. Give them time.
2.) I have taken delivery of 5 Teslas at this point. None had less than 20 miles. Most had 50ish
3.) The Vibration while parked is probably the A/C compressor. Next time you feel it, shut off the A/C. If it goes away, it's normal and will not bother you after a couple more weeks knowing it's normal
4.)You might have a air leak. Get some blue take and mask off the window that you hear it on. Let the SC know. They will make it right.
5.) Seatbelts: Dont sweat it, you are used to your old car. Your muscle memory will resolve this one.
6.) The rear cargo cover sort of sits on the well, not in it. You can center it by pushing it laterally
7.) Let the SC know, they will adjust to your liking on the front cover.
8.) Show the SC (never heard of this one) but willing to bet they will replace the light housing if you so desire.
9.) Once the door seals settle in and loosen up the doors will close easier. Again, here, I had the issue with my Red S. They adjusted it. It's good now.
10.) Flimsy? (Should feel rock solid) Maybe you had a 70's Cadillac before? My Lexus IS previous had relatively flimsy doors. Keep in mind the Tesla has AL doors, so they are lighter than you'd expect.
11.) Again, SC will fix the panel alignments to your liking.
12) Agreed. The processor sucks. Reboot with both thumbwheels when it gets crazy slow. Don't expect to actually browse the web.
13.) Reboot will squash this. Happens every few days for my cars as well.
14.) Tell them on the survey. They listen. They will do everything they can to make you happy. TMC is the Apple if the car industry. They want you happy. No matter what.

 

[privater]

Agree on door is hard to close. Have to adjust my mussule memory to Adapt.

The web is slow as well as google map, even on a Tegra 3 device, might be the driver efficiency running on proprietary os.

 

[TaoJones]

Better restaurants have an expediter between the kitchen and the servers to help ensure that orders are right, noting any exceptions, and go to the right customers.

Seems that until these episodes stop (since for every one posted it probably happens many more times), an extra layer of checking would be in order at delivery centers/CPO hubs and even at the factory. Perhaps best as a rotating position or as a multi-human role since over time it's hard to maintain that "new to me" perspective. The trick is in combining that pair of fresh eyes with the experience to know for what to look. Checklists help in that regard.

Fit and finish are no-brainers. I still have misaligned body panels and trim. Since Tesla will likely get the car back by virtue of the GRV option (may it RIP, at least in the States), no huge deal - but if I was to sell it privately, I can imagine that this might be a problem. The fix requires almost a week at a certified body shop, and while Tesla will provide a loaner, who has the time.

Not much you can do about seat belt *feel" as noted above other than to provide feedback, as with enough feedback, perhaps they'll make a future change.

Overall point being that a flawless delivery experience is an obvious win, and *promotes efficiency and saves money*. As a shareholder, I would love to see some kind of ongoing metrics and reporting in this regard since in addition to being an obvious and important win, it's a potential success story of kaizen that would benefit Tesla in the popular press/analyst world. Oh yeah, and owners would love it as well.

 

[sorka]

The overall ambient noise at freeway speeds is about 6 dbs louder than my Lexus convertible which is unfortunate given the Tesla cost twice what the Lexus did. At speeds below 40 MPH, the Tesla is quieter than the Lexus. The Tesla produces very little noise itself so at lower speeds it's quieter than everything non electric. But it's sound insulation is nowhere near as good as other cars that cost half so it's noise is higher than everything else ICE or that cost half as much.

 

[byan1232]

It's the software they use for the web browser that makes it really slow. The car doesn't take the web browsing into priority.

 

[sorka]

It was rumored that the browser was being completely changed out for 7.0, but that didn't happen. Hopefully the upcoming 8.0 due out in the next few months will finally fix it.

 

[byan1232]

Yeah would love safari

 

[TexasEV]

Why would you want a car with 0 miles on it? You don't want them to test it to make sure the systems are working properly, so you wouldn't have more issues with it than you already do? Don't worry, at 50 miles it's still a new car.

 

[Electric700]

Im going to try to help here:
1.) They will make it right on the paint. Give them time.
2.) I have taken delivery of 5 Teslas at this point. None had less than 20 miles. Most had 50ish
3.) The Vibration while parked is probably the A/C compressor. Next time you feel it, shut off the A/C. If it goes away, it's normal and will not bother you after a couple more weeks knowing it's normal
4.)You might have a air leak. Get some blue take and mask off the window that you hear it on. Let the SC know. They will make it right.
5.) Seatbelts: Dont sweat it, you are used to your old car. Your muscle memory will resolve this one.
6.) The rear cargo cover sort of sits on the well, not in it. You can center it by pushing it laterally
7.) Let the SC know, they will adjust to your liking on the front cover.
8.) Show the SC (never heard of this one) but willing to bet they will replace the light housing if you so desire.
9.) Once the door seals settle in and loosen up the doors will close easier. Again, here, I had the issue with my Red S. They adjusted it. It's good now.
10.) Flimsy? (Should feel rock solid) Maybe you had a 70's Cadillac before? My Lexus IS previous had relatively flimsy doors. Keep in mind the Tesla has AL doors, so they are lighter than you'd expect.
11.) Again, SC will fix the panel alignments to your liking.
12) Agreed. The processor sucks. Reboot with both thumbwheels when it gets crazy slow. Don't expect to actually browse the web.
13.) Reboot will squash this. Happens every few days for my cars as well.
14.) Tell them on the survey. They listen. They will do everything they can to make you happy. TMC is the Apple if the car industry. They want you happy. No matter what.

Good advice. I'm surprised to see that you need to reboot so often. You may want to talk to your service center about that or send a message to [email protected].

@Tanquen, here are the steps to reboot: for the center screen, hold down both scroll wheels to the left and right on the steering wheel for 10 seconds, wait until the center screen refreshes, then do the same for the two top buttons above the scroll wheels for the left screen (also hold them down for 10 seconds). This should reboot most features.

 

[zambono]

Agree on door is hard to close. Have to adjust my mussule memory to Adapt.

The web is slow as well as google map, even on a Tegra 3 device, might be the driver efficiency running on proprietary os.

They need more capable processors, The difference between a Tegra 3 and a 4 can't be much nowadays they are 3 years old at least.

 

[jmsurpri]

There was a recent article that detailed the nvidia hardware in use and I think it claimed ~500GFlop/s on the GPU. It is supposed to have enough horsepower for autonomous tasks, but Tesla is using it solely for UI. Given this, there should be plenty of horsepower for smooth UI, web browsing, etc. I'm hopeful that we could see some substantial improvements in the UI usability with current hardware if Tesla focuses on it. The speed of the UI almost makes me think they don't even have HW acceleration enabled and they are doing all display rendering with software (Mesa SW renderer).

 

[AndreSF]

I also have the music skipping issue. Not a huge deal but never had a head unit or any AVR do that.

Can you tell more about the scenarios when music skips for you? What source are you using, etc.

 

[KZKZ]

The car sat for almost 2 weeks, (Missed the CA rebate by a few days.) had hard water spots and some lights scratches at delivery. They showed this to me at delivery instead of correcting it first, now I am still waiting for them to have time to get the car cleaned and scratches removed and I’m an hour away from the service center.

I was told the car would be delivered on a truck to the service center with no mileage. It was not, it was driven to the service center with 50 miles on it. That or they drove it 50 miles to fix other issues before delivery. I would have picked it up at the factory.

There is vibration in the steering wheel at times even when the car parked.

There is a bit too much road and wind noise in the car from 30mph on. I don’t think it’s because the car is otherwise so quite. Maybe I did not get the fancy tires with foam inside. My truck and other cars do much better at this and the engine noise is not that bad on newer cars. I didn’t even really notice the IS250 was running unless pushing hard from a stop or passing someone.

The floor mats are bad and the backs are already curling up.

The seatbelts, why is it so hard to buckle them? Small issue I know and I don’t know if it’s the angle or what but everyone takes a few moments getting bucked in.

The rear trunk carpeting is not installed correctly and the floor cover to the storage under the floor cannot be fully inserted.

The front bumper is not installed correctly and pushes into both wheel wells. Not seen this on the few other Teslas I’ve been around.

The coating inside the driver side headlight is incomplete/damaged and light shines through little holes in the coating.

The doors are harder to close that seems reasonable. They saw me having trouble with this at delivery and said something about Tesla doors are like that and you have to give them a good push to close them.

The doors do seem kind of flimsy but I guess that is part of the frameless design. Not used to that without a convertible top. Even so, my Honda S2000 had a more satisfying door close.

The rear doors flare out away from the body. I’ve seen worse in the forums here but not on any car I’ve owned and it seems silly after all this time that they can’t get this and the panel gap ironed out. Some kind of jig at the factory that makes it imposable to not have stuff line up.

The panel gaps are on the lager side and on the front hood get bigger towards the front of the car.

The head unit is slow. Having the web browser is cool but I can’t really use it. Not sure if its CPU or bandwidth limited. Seems to be the CPU/GPU though. My phone dose 1920x1080 silky smooth.

I also have the music skipping issue. Not a huge deal but never had a head unit or any AVR do that.

I know this won’t be new info for most but the one month in survey from Tesla spurred me to post.

WOW, sorry to hear about all the issues. I would be more than bummed if it were me.

I've noticed a lot of fit and finish issues with new Model Ss at the SC, and of course on the Model X which is a poster child for poor quality.

Hopefully you can get some of those problems resolved.

The road and wind noise and the hard closing doors are not going to change though.

 

[Chopr147]

While Tesla will fix some of these problems, this is unacceptable for a new car. $80,000 + makes it even more outragous. Panels not aligned? How would it even leave the factory? I have an S on order and hopefully no problems but I will not be overly patient if I had this many problems. AT some point the poster probably wants to just give the car back for another one

 

[KZKZ]

While Tesla will fix some of these problems, this is unacceptable for a new car. $80,000 + makes it even more outragous. Panels not aligned? How would it even leave the factory? I have an S on order and hopefully no problems but I will not be overly patient if I had this many problems. AT some point the poster probably wants to just give the car back for another one

Have to agree 100% on how would this even get out of the factory. Most normal car dealers also include another layer of quality checks. For an expensive car, you would expect even more. Would anyone expect to find this at a Lexus dealer?

That begs the question though, once you have ordered your car, how easily will Tesla refund your deposit if you refuse delivery for quality problems like this?

 

[Chopr147]

Did I miss it? Does the poster mention what car he is talking about? I was assuming an S but there is no hint to that. OK 1 month old but I think we need more info or the troll police will be out soon
At this point it is not a lemon............yet. But seems to be heading there

 

[Lex]

While some is familiar, some of this stuff is quite shocking to forum members, so please help us with pictures on construction, fit, bumper, floor mats, etc. "if at all possible" (of course everyone has cameras everywhere now so..)

Muzzman1 did a great job numeralizing so I'll add what I have...

4.)You might have a air leak. Get some blue take and mask off the window that you hear it on. Let the SC know. They will make it right.

But it's also important to say Model S is not (usually) a totally silent car.

6.) The rear cargo cover sort of sits on the well, not in it. You can center it by pushing it laterally

On my MS I have to pull the cover back an unusual amount before closing the hatch, or else risk it flopping up while driving. I just got used to it.

10.) Flimsy? (Should feel rock solid) Maybe you had a 70's Cadillac before? My Lexus IS previous had relatively flimsy doors. Keep in mind the Tesla has AL doors, so they are lighter than you'd expect.

Coming from cars that only had full window frames, I found the adjustment to frameless a bit jarring. Fully framed doors certainly feel less "flimsy" than frameless doors, but frameless doors are somehow more sexy, so there.

12) Agreed. The processor sucks. Reboot with both thumbwheels when it gets crazy slow. Don't expect to actually browse the web.
13.) Reboot will squash this. Happens every few days for my cars as well.
14.) Tell them on the survey. They listen. They will do everything they can to make you happy. TMC is the Apple if the car industry. They want you happy. No matter what.

Music skips for me as well. A lot. All kinds:
- Slacker not usually, but happens.
- TuneIn local radio streams, often.
- USB FLACs, frequently.

I can swear I hit a bump and I get a skip sometimes, but it is likely, sadly, that I just get a lot of music skipping, as well as a lot of bumps as I am driving mostly on Toronto city roads (I see signs of improvement, but, ugh).

 

[RogerHScott]

I was curious about the initial mileage on my car and Tesla told me that they all show 50 even though they only receive about 10 of actual test driving. Don't remember the explanation, but there was one.

 

[Lex]

Did I miss it? Does the poster mention what car he is talking about?

This is the Model S forum