foolhardy, foolish or just fine.. coast to coast road trip

[angelman]

I am moving from LA to NYC in 10 days time and was planning on driving and making it a road trip (and so I have use of my new car when I get there). Everything has been fine until 3000 miles when I started having issues with the charging port. They tried to fix it but a week later it stopped working again. It is now back in the shop in diagnostics. They are expediting the process given the critical time frame but I am feeling more than a little anxious that the car will be ready in time or once I get it back it will not leave me stranded. A loaner is of course not really an option (unless they are happy to have me take it on the road trip).
Should I seriously consider a plan b such as flying and paying to get the car transported or some other option. At this time I think the best I can hope for is just hope for the best. That said being left stranded in the middle of the country would be a real issue since I have a firm start date for a new job.
Any thoughts?

 

[Rocky_H]

Well, I have kind of a balanced recommendation for this kind of thing. I’ve seen some people asking about taking off on a thousand+ mile road trip in the first day or two after they pick up their car. I do not recommend that. I work in the computer chip industry, and with electronics, there is a phenomenon called the “bathtub curve” that is a graph of # of failures over time. It looks like a cross section of a bathtub. The failure rate is high initially, and then drops quickly, stays low for a very long time (years), and then starts to rise up again late in the lifetimes.

So there is this initial point where some small percent of parts like sensors or processors or wiring connections or something pass initial tests, but have some marginal almost-defects that haven’t been pushed hard enough to fail yet. So during the first week or two, when the device starts getting used regularly and daily, it brings out those initial failures to actually show up. So it’s not unusual to have a couple of problems show up in the first week. Create a to-do list, get them taken care of, and then it should be good for a long time. And it may not be exactly electronics, but just something in the build of any complex piece of equipment. My Model S in 2014 wouldn’t auto-present the door handles at delivery. They found that a wiring harness in the door had a broken locking tab on the fastener, so it had pulled apart a little and wasn’t making a full connection. They replaced that, and then I had no issues at all for another year and a half.

So if you’ve already had a problem show up and fixed, then that is NOT an indication that it’s going to be a steady trend of it always having problems every month. It’s really the opposite of that, that the iffy stuff has revealed itself, and it’s pretty likely out of the way and done. And if something does come up, it’s more likely to be some gadget issue than a “stranding” kind of issue where the car can’t drive.

So at 3,000 miles, as you mentioned, I’d say you’re in a pretty stable timeframe, and I wouldn’t have any worries about it.

 

[davewill]

You have two issues here. One is that they don't get it repaired on time. In that case, you'd have to quickly arrange for transport, so find out now how much it will cost, how much notice you'll need and whether you can cancel if the car gets done and you decide to drive it.

The second issue is whether you trust the repair to last for the trip. You don't say what the problem was, exactly, so it's hard to judge whether the fix is likely to be flaky.

All bound up in this is how flexible your schedule truly is. If a delay would be a catastrophe, I'd say just plan on shipping the car and have a fun cross-country adventure at another time.

 

[animorph]

I'm cheap enough to try the drive. If the service center was pretty sure they'd fixed the problem. I'd leave a few days early so I could possibly hit a service center along the way if there was still a problem, or arrange for car transportation and an airline flight.

 

[ewoodrick]

I am moving from LA to NYC in 10 days time and was planning on driving and making it a road trip (and so I have use of my new car when I get there). Everything has been fine until 3000 miles when I started having issues with the charging port. They tried to fix it but a week later it stopped working again. It is now back in the shop in diagnostics. They are expediting the process given the critical time frame but I am feeling more than a little anxious that the car will be ready in time or once I get it back it will not leave me stranded. A loaner is of course not really an option (unless they are happy to have me take it on the road trip).
Should I seriously consider a plan b such as flying and paying to get the car transported or some other option. At this time I think the best I can hope for is just hope for the best. That said being left stranded in the middle of the country would be a real issue since I have a firm start date for a new job.
Any thoughts?

If you have never done a cross-country road trip, then I'd recommend doing everything that you can to go for it.

If you have done the trip a number of times, then it maybe it becomes. Do you buy a ticket and arrange for transport now. Or do you brave it, which translates late into buy a ticket and arrange for transport later?

If you do the trip, you have to pay for hotels. If you don't do it, airfare probably becomes more expensive, but less hotels. Tesla roadside should hopefully get you to a safe point, if needed.

Make sure that you get a better understanding of the repair, whether they are guessing or confidant.

This should be an awesome time of the year to do a road trip!

 

[brianman]

One of the most challenging aspects of EV long-distance is time. If you're on a tight time schedule, you're often motivated/nudge/required to "be aggressive" in how little buffer you leave for each leg of your journey -- which is a recipe for trouble.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Model 3, with long distance battery, is perhaps the simplest Tesla to drive cross country.

The +300 mile range with the fastest Supercharging rate will mean the fewest and quickest stops. If you overnight near a destination charger you can start off each morning with a full charge with no delay.

If you start off early in the morning, you can drive several hours and stop at a convenient Supercharger for breakfast. Then stop again for a late lunch and you are on your way with no delay.

As usual, a shake down run would always be a good idea in any new car, before adventuring on a cross continent trip.

 

[outdoors]

Do it. Leave an extra day. You will meet people and do things you can't on a plane.

Keep your NetJets card handy. They can land just about anywhere with a long enough runway.

All kidding aside I left California with 19 miles on the odometer. Didn't think twice about it. Have done three cross-country trips since then. Parked the car where only a satellite phone works and would have required a two-day hike out. Started up every time.

Some risks are worth taking.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Thousand of people every year head cross the continent with their Harleys, and they are far more trouble prone than your Tesla.

Even if you have a problem, it can most likely be sorted out by a Service Center along the way, or even a roving Ranger.

I fly a lot, and even airplanes have their own issues.

 

[morrisdl]

I would also add that the Tesla service center folks will often jump though hoops if you mention that you are on a cross-county trek. When bought mine used from private party in Dallas, the Tesla service center there took me in as a walk in and sorted out my AP before my 1,300 mile drive home. Amazing service!!

We have since taken a 5,700 mile x-country family road trip in the Tesla this summer with ZERO hesitation or slack in the schedule. Car performed flawlessly. Enjoy!!