Has the quality of Tesla service gone into the toilet?

[roblab]

I have an expensive 4-year service contract which I just renewed.

You renewed? What do you use service for? I can change my own wiper blades. Personally, I feel, as in my own opinion which is worthless, too many people think they must do service when they don't need it. I hear you that you need your Nav fixed, but it's all those other people. Tesla Service is, and will be, inundated by new owners who think their car must have service just like their old gas burners. I don't think so. Having driven EVs for a dozen years and more, I quit taking my car in for "service" about ten years ago.

Write letters to Tesla, Tesla Service, Service management. Make phone calls. get on their case. Letters to us don't help you much. I bet you could get it fixed in a couple days.

 

[vdiv]

I'll be honest here...

Me too. Even with the issues that various people have had with the car or the service, driving a Tesla is an experience worth having every single time. Every single time. No, I mean it, it is a revelation, every single time. Despite my long list of mostly minor issues, many already forgotten, and my propensity to complain and exaggerate I would not trade my Tesla for another make and am seriously considering keeping my car after the lease is over.

 

[artsci]

I'll be honest here, we just ordered our Model S with delivery in late December or early January.
But seeing some of these threads and discussions are making me wary of what I'm getting into.
Someone talk me down, is Tesla slipping? Or are there many more happy customers and we are just seeing the complaints here?

Thanks

As many others have answered you already, I''ll just add a thought. I have never regretted one moment for buying a Model S, but I can't say that about the other many cars I have owned over the years. I've made no compromises, in fact I love it so much I find excuses to drive. I've put more mileage on this car in three years than any other and made more lengthy trips (one to California and back) with no issues and no problems.

 

[apacheguy]

You renewed? What do you use service for? I can change my own wiper blades. Personally, I feel, as in my own opinion which is worthless, too many people think they must do service when they don't need it. I hear you that you need your Nav fixed, but it's all those other people. Tesla Service is, and will be, inundated by new owners who think their car must have service just like their old gas burners. I don't think so. Having driven EVs for a dozen years and more, I quit taking my car in for "service" about ten years ago.

Write letters to Tesla, Tesla Service, Service management. Make phone calls. get on their case. Letters to us don't help you much. I bet you could get it fixed in a couple days.

Tesla is largely to blame. They state the car must be brought in every 12.500 miles and charge prices comparable to a service visit for an ICE. They should loosen this recommendation and charge less per visit if EVs are less maintenance intensive as you posit.

 

[Gizmotoy]

Tesla is largely to blame. They state the car must be brought in every 12.500 miles and charge prices comparable to a service visit for an ICE. They should loosen this recommendation and charge less per visit if EVs are less maintenance intensive as you posit.

Given the HUGE list of things fixed/replaced at my two annual services so far (3rd is next week), I don't think we've entered the "less maintenance intensive" portion of the EV lifecycle yet. I think we'll get there, but the technology is still too new and, more importantly, Tesla is still too new, in order to see the benefits of that.

I kind of regret having opened this can of worms as it largely has become a complaint thread -- but that's what I invited I suppose.

It serves a purpose. Keeping the experiences in one place does have value, even if it's a "complaint thread." And, reading the posts, it seems like even those who had trouble and have complained largely feel Tesla is still better at this than most other manufacturers. A place to vent to sympathetic ears can be nice.

 

[Pollux]

Very smooth experience with windshield replacement on Nov 7-8. (2013 P85+.) Tyson's Corner. Included dealing with complications around trading in this car at the same time; interactions across the trade-in guys, sales guys and service guys. (Although I think the trade-in guy and the help-you-finish-the-details-on-your-order guy were the same guy, at least for this experience. And a fine guy he is, too.)

Very smooth experience with pickup of new car on Dec. 7. Rockville. Plus they helped me get my new car and the car I arrived in over to the paint protection film shop, as I arrived with only a 12-year old boy as a co-pilot.

I've had nothing but fabulous experiences with the service teams in Watertown, MA and Dedham, MA.

I don't kid myself -- nothing's perfect, and TMC and teslamotors.com forums have stories of frustrated owners. But I've seen these guys working themselves to death for over three years now and offering a level of care and support that I just haven't seen or heard about elsewhere.

It's worth reporting problems -- should eventually help get them fixed. But I view Tesla service as a great boon and have faith that the nits (even big ones!) will be resolved with goodwill and exceptional effort.

Alan

 

[tinm]

There also seems to be ongoing variation at the regional level with the quality of service. Most New Mexico owners are stuck using the Denver service center, which can be good or bad, you never know. They can go beyond the call of duty, like other Tesla service centers I've dealt with, or they can drop the ball. They tend to triage problems more than other service centers (maybe because they're so busy and have to serve the entire Rocky Mtn area from Canadian border to Mexican border)... for example I have had a persistent incredibly annoying LOUD vacuum brake pump sound in my 2013 S85 and they refuse to fix it stating it's normal, even though it continues to get worse, and even though I've heard other owners having no trouble convincing other Tesla service centers that the buzzing problem warrants immediate fixing. Inconsistency across service centers is a source of frustration.

Here it is mid December and I have yet to hear from Denver regarding a big part ordered, the whole heating system of the car, that they told me needed replacement, back the first week of October. (Seems the "fix" when I had no heat from Nov 2015 thru Feb 2016 was not a fix at all, and the problem and symptoms have returned.) I have yet to hear from them.

As I've suggested umpteen times on TMC, Tesla lacks and needs a decent ticketing system that would hold the company accountable to promises and deadlines and communicating with customers. It's such a no-brainer, and it is desperately needed before Model 3 rolls out and we have hundreds of thousands of customers wondering WTFIGO with Tesla service inconsistencies.

In theory, a year from now we may finally own our second Tesla, a Model 3 on order. At that point, assuming the State of New Mexico still bans Tesla from opening stores or service centers, so that we're still stuck with Denver, it could get tempting to just move to California just to be done with Denver.

 

[Pollux]

There also seems to be ongoing variation at the regional level with the quality of service. Most New Mexico owners are stuck using the Denver service center, which can be good or bad, you never know. They can go beyond the call of duty, like other Tesla service centers I've dealt with, or they can drop the ball. They tend to triage problems more than other service centers (maybe because they're so busy and have to serve the entire Rocky Mtn area from Canadian border to Mexican border)... for example I have had a persistent incredibly annoying LOUD vacuum brake pump sound in my 2013 S85 and they refuse to fix it stating it's normal, even though it continues to get worse, and even though I've heard other owners having no trouble convincing other Tesla service centers that the buzzing problem warrants immediate fixing. Inconsistency across service centers is a source of frustration.

Here it is mid December and I have yet to hear from Denver regarding a big part ordered, the whole heating system of the car, that they told me needed replacement, back the first week of October. (Seems the "fix" when I had no heat from Nov 2015 thru Feb 2016 was not a fix at all, and the problem and symptoms have returned.) I have yet to hear from them.

As I've suggested umpteen times on TMC, Tesla lacks and needs a decent ticketing system that would hold the company accountable to promises and deadlines and communicating with customers. It's such a no-brainer, and it is desperately needed before Model 3 rolls out and we have hundreds of thousands of customers wondering WTFIGO with Tesla service inconsistencies.

In theory, a year from now we may finally own our second Tesla, a Model 3 on order. At that point, assuming the State of New Mexico still bans Tesla from opening stores or service centers, so that we're still stuck with Denver, it could get tempting to just move to California just to be done with Denver.

Based on your report, I'd agree that there is a problem (multiple problems) to be fixed! Given your location, I wonder whether you happen to have any road-trip vacation planned over the next few months to California or some other SC region. The other SCs routinely pick up the ball for each other, when they are located near enough to each other. What you are describing is a way-overloaded SC (in conjunction with systemic issues that warrant Tesla-wide solutions). I wouldn't normally recommend a car-cation, but you're clearly already a guy willing to make an extra effort given that you've purchased a Tesla in an area where the nearest SC is far away.

I hope you get some pain relief.

Best of luck,
Alan

 

[rcarpen22]

I was in the Rockville service center yesterday. It was totally slammed with cars in for service as well as tons of deliveries. I'd put this one on corporate for not having enough service centers to handle the customer volume in the metro DC area.

 

[abasile]

We recently took our pre-owned Model S to the Cathedral City, CA service center (near Palm Springs, the closest one to us) for a leaky pano roof. They gave us a P85+ loaner, replaced the pano with a newer one to be on the safe side, and proactively took care of some other issues that we hadn't been aware of. We didn't have to wait around at the service center, enjoyed chatting with the service manager upon completion of the job, and generally felt that we received red carpet treatment.

It may be worth going a bit out of one's way, if needed, to get service done at a location that's less busy like Cathedral City. If we had planned ahead, I suppose we could have combined our trips to the service center with visiting Joshua Tree National Park or some other attraction near Palm Springs!

 

[tinm]

Based on your report, I'd agree that there is a problem (multiple problems) to be fixed! Given your location, I wonder whether you happen to have any road-trip vacation planned over the next few months to California or some other SC region. The other SCs routinely pick up the ball for each other, when they are located near enough to each other. What you are describing is a way-overloaded SC (in conjunction with systemic issues that warrant Tesla-wide solutions). I wouldn't normally recommend a car-cation, but you're clearly already a guy willing to make an extra effort given that you've purchased a Tesla in an area where the nearest SC is far away.

I hope you get some pain relief.

Best of luck,
Alan

Tried the carcation. Drove to CA in Nov. Contacted couple of service centers. Minimum waitlist for appointments was 2 wks.

 

[ohmman]

Tried the carcation. Drove to CA in Nov. Contacted couple of service centers. Minimum waitlist for appointments was 2 wks.

You drove in the wrong direction.

 

[dgpcolorado]

When I needed a door handle fixed over the summer I had the choice of Denver at 335 miles or Salt Lake City at 375 miles. Given the mixed reports I've seen about the Denver Service Center I chose to go to Salt Lake City, even though it meant a motel bill (I can stay for free with friends in Boulder when visiting Denver). I thought the service at SLC was superb. The door handle wasn't fixed by a micro switch change so they put a new handle on instead. They wanted to swap the case on my key fob but didn't have any in stock so they gave me a new key fob. They checked on an error code I reported (said it had been fixed by a software update in the interim). They did many other checks of the sort that would be expected for a service visit. And they cleaned and washed the car (it hadn't been that clean since delivery!). All for a free warranty service visit. I'd say it was worth the cost of the motel bill and my time.

No complaints from me!

 

[K-MTG]

Can we just go to Elon's house in Bel-Air? He can probably do some Tesla magic and instantly fix our cars. I've never seen him complaining about Tesla service or issues, I wonder which SC he goes to?

Should we protest in front of his house? Lol

 

[Chopr147]

They did many other checks of the sort that would be expected for a service visit. And they cleaned and washed the car

This has been my experience. And the car was cleaned almost as good as when I do it myself. Surprised me there. Syosset NY had my car for 3 days, replaced on-board charger, replaced charge port door for water in it (I didn't know) . Usual checks etc......... I was pleasantly surprised. Lexus is always trying to sell me some BS service extras when all I want is an oil change

 

[aesculus]

And the car was cleaned almost as good as when I do it myself

I do wish they would open the doors and trunk and wipe the edges/sills.

 

[CuriousG]

I got my car serviced on Thursday due to TACC and AP features being unavailable for the second time within a week or week and a half. This happened now and again when I first got my car a year ago and probably cleared up after some firmware update. Normally I wouldn't worry about this but now that I need to commute to the Bay Area at least once a week, I wanted my AP to work. Someone from Rocklin called me back later that day and suggested I take it in and the earliest they could get me in was 2 days later at 8:30am. I arrive half an hour late mainly due to traffic but I was surprised to find they had a Tesla loaner available to me a P85+.

All they were supposed to do was recalibrate the sensors and I was expecting to have the car back by end of day. I get a text message saying they won't have the work completed that day. So now I can pay attention to the P85+ loaner they provided me. All windows tinted (except windshield), carbon fiber interior and spoiler, UHFS, air suspension, 21" wheels, RWD, old style TPMS, jump seats, regular leather seats, 3G, no AP. Just my luck I get it on a rainy day.

The traction control kicks in relatively easy for RWD cars and not fun when it's wet out there and you want to feel the torque. For some reason the battery low for keyfob stayed on even though the service center changed it out the day before. So it was annoying to see the message stay on the screen constantly. Not even ten miles driving on the freeway I notice the TPMS light come on. Thought I would use the scroll wheel to show the tire pressure. No go since it doesn't have individual tire pressure and there wasn't an applet available. So I call Rocklin back letting them know the TPMS light just came on. They assured me it was likely due to the cold weather but go ahead and put air in the tires anyway. So I drive to a gas station that has a digital gauge that beeps when it reaches the pressure you set. Since I had to drive 15-20 miles, I figure the tires are already warm so I safely set it to 46lbs. I was not prepared to see how under inflated the tires were. They initially showed up 32-33lbs for the driver front and rear. I couldn't see the display for the passenger side but given how long I had to put air in it, I would estimate it being similarly under inflated.

As luck would have it, I had to go out to the Bay Area the next day so that would put having no AP, no TACC to the test and ample time to listen to UHFS. Strangely I found that at the similar volume level it doesn't sound as loud as the standard sound system. I tried it with Dolby Surround and without. Having no AP and TACC was not fun since you're used to using it in this scenario. I did make my destination in record time (at least half an hour) but maybe it was the Friday commute or leaving 10 minutes earlier than usual. The windshield from the inside wasn't cleaned very well. I noticed right away during the day but it was very pronounced traveling when it was still dark. I had to use the windshield defroster often. In hindsight I should've cleaned it before I left.

The old leather seats weren't very comfortable so I'm glad I went with NexGen. I did notice a slight ride difference with air suspension but that was offset by the additional noise caused by the 21" tires or lack of sound dampening in older models. On the way back I went through FasTrak with my transponder laying on the floor in the liftgate area. Since the Tesla didn't have a license plate or frame I was hoping it didn't register the transponder to stick it to the man. No such luck. I did briefly ride in the carpool lane with no sticker so that made me feel a little gangsta.

In the end, I did save 250+ miles of tread wear on my car. My car was washed and charged when I got it back even though it had rained earlier that day. Luckily it didn't on my way back home but a bird did bomb my car on the freeway and it ran up and down my windshield that I cleaned up when I got home.

 

[tls]

I guess the question is, will they be able to maintain this approach of holding some capacity in reserve to address "exceptions" when they have 10X to 20X as many cars on the road? Or get the wait times some have reported here down low enough that the number of exceptions requiring intervention drops? Only time will tell.

They're still doing a truly admirable job of this as far as I can tell. I've had a bunch of oddball problems lately and they have totally come through -- most recently, getting me in on a Friday evening on almost no notice to replace my 12V and fix a dodgy door handle.

They got the work done and had me out the door in under an hour even though while I was driving to the SvC, two cars were unexpectedly dropped off by road service *and* they got a delivery of several new vehicles. So I've now had two different service centers (Mt. Kisco and Paramus) come through for me with urgent fixes while-I-waited. It's a trend!

To me it does make up for the hassles sometimes associated with scheduled appointments. I am a happy customer.

 

[davie_100]

I have had my model S for four years this month. Service has been a little uneven due to their rapid growth as new hires come on board. My original service adviser moved to a new service center as the manager. Since the new service center is closer to us, we moved there for service. The first advisers at the new location were not so great. Now when I go there they great me by name and provide excellent service. Last week they replaced my 12V battery and a tire pressure sensor, washed the car, and gave me a loaner even though I am out of warranty by mileage at no charge.

Service policy has also been evolving. I remember at the end of a quarter they sold off all the loaners and had a porter drive me back to my office in a ranger truck. Another time I stopped in on a Saturday to have the tires rotated. I planned to wait, but they insisted on giving me a P85D to drive for a couple of hours. Last week my embarrassed adviser gave me a Buick Regal rental saying loaner policy has changed again. This is at a site that has lots of parking so they keep trade in model Ss and CPO cars. Sometimes they have a porter drop off a loaner and pick up my car at my office, sometimes they do not have the personnel.

I'm currently in a Buick Verano. Seriously sucks... so much for equal class or better. At that level atleast put me in an Accord so I have some pep to the engine.

 

[Gizmotoy]

I'm currently in a Buick Verano. Seriously sucks... so much for equal class or better. At that level atleast put me in an Accord so I have some pep to the engine.

Me too! I was shocked at the amount of noise it was making while barely accelerating to match highway speeds on a short ramp. I've had worse, though. I'll take the Verano over the Chevy Traverse I got last time.

Sunnyvale SC has an Enterprise about a mile or so from the shop. That said, it looks like they literally brought them on-site. Now they have an Enterprise employee and rental lot right at the SC. Doesn't bode well for the loaner situation improving, I'm afraid. Did save me some time, though.