How reliable is your Model S?

[scottm]

I wish my side mirrors would stop dimming; I hate those; can't see anything when they are activated. I want to know if that is a cop behind me or not. Any way to turn them off?

So they are reliably dimming... good to hear! And relevant to this thread.

p.s. cops are always behind you as soon as you step harder on the go pedal
And yes, this turns off cops. so don't try it

 

[wdolson]

Nope, got it around fathers day.

Sticker on the door frame says 6/15, dunno which week, guessing first?

I guess you got a lemon. The wide range of quality with Tesla has concerned me. I got lucky and you didn't.

 

[ghostrunner]

So far My 2017 Model S has preformed flawlessly for the past 21000 kms, not one issue at all. Great car

 

[David_Cary]

I will agree that some people have issues with their cars.....

66k miles, 2015 70D (May build)
No extended warranty.
Did my first service at 49k miles. Just because warranty was expiring.
Other SC trip - first 6 months - armrest loose.
Lost 2nd key (unbelievable - within 3 months of each other. Never lost one before). Can't blame the car for that!
Mobile service (came to work location) - 12V battery at 60k miles.


The most reliable car I have ever owned with the least service and maintenance trips.

I am on second set of tires. I do wipers myself annually or so.

 

[stevem]

-nav would drift (this took 2 service visits and the help of the forum with someone else having the same problem to fix. service center was clueless)

I have the same issue. I've had an open ticket with Tesla's engineering team in Freemont and my car was at the SC for 4 days and so far still no solution.

What helped? I was searching on the forums and I found a few possibilities, but I would love to hear from someone who had the same issue.

 

[stevem]

I wish my car was more reliable. I have a 2015 85D. 65K miles so far. I would say it's had it's share of SC visits.

I don't even know if I will remember all of the issues.

• Pano Roof failure (whole new roof installed)
• Charging port failure.
  
• Bugs in the tail lights 2x
• water in the reverse lights 3x (finally on the third time they put on the new design)
• Both front wheel bearings.
• Front applique (the part between the pano roof and windshield) failed 4x
• Windshield gasket (I believe that when the SC fixed the font applique they damaged the windshield).
• The car has actually been repainted twice due to screw ups at the SC where they damaged the paint and they paid to re-paint those areas.
• I've got a GPS issue (GPS drifting off the road, or not working at all, still ongoing see previous post ^)
• 2 failed door handles.
• Autopilot unavailable (required SC attention, I think they just reset and aligned the sensors or something).
• Rusted rear tailgate pistons (they worked but were rusting)

My most reliable car has been my wife's 2006 Acura MDX, bought new and now has 205K miles. Only thing that's ever failed/broken on it was the ignition coil on cylinder #2 (twice), causing a misfire code. Not bad for 205K miles. It's on it's 3rd set of tires and 3rd set of brakes, second timing belt and water pump, and second set of spark plugs. And the second set of shocks and struts (these all include the set the car came with). Over all most reliable car we ever bought. Wish my Tesla was 1/2 as reliable as our Acura.

 

[Max*]

I have the same issue. I've had an open ticket with Tesla's engineering team in Freemont and my car was at the SC for 4 days and so far still no solution.

What helped? I was searching on the forums and I found a few possibilities, but I would love to hear from someone who had the same issue.

I replied to your PM.

Basically this: GPS problem - my car is alledgedly off the coast of West Africa :)

 

[MDMGSO47]

Hi,

I've never owned a Tesla before. I've been leasing BMWs for the past 10+ years and just recently, became interested in purchasing a used/CPO Tesla Model S.

Before I even think about purchasing a Model S, I wanted to get some real feedback on the reliability of this car.

So, to you MS owners out there, that have owned the car over 1 year+, can you give me a reasonable idea of what types of problems you've experienced and tell me what my expectations should be in terms of repairs/expenses IF I were to pull the trigger and buy a used MS ?

Thanks

I have had my S 100D for 18 months (22K miles). The only time I have had it into the Service Center was to get the free unleashing of the battery to improve performance. Zero problems so far and haven't even had to change tires (despite my heavy foot). Most reliable car I have ever had.

 

[RAW84]

45k on my 2014 P85D

I've been left, unexpectedly, without the services of my car twice in 3.5 years of ownership. First with a 12V battery contact failure (fairly common issue from what I've read on these forums). Second was power steering failure. Also a common issue from what I read on here. The service center didn't want to admit it when I picked the car up, but Tesla issued a recall a few weeks after my car was fixed.

An update to this data point...

I picked my car up from its 4 year service this afternoon. Went back to work, then drove the car home. Grabbed a few things then got in my car so I could meet a friend for dinner and was greeted by this message:

Called the SC and the initial thought is an issue with the main battery. Glad this happened with me being less than 20 miles under 50k instead of over, but it may be covered by the battery warranty anyways.

This now makes 3 instances within 4 years of ownership where I've been unexpectedly left without the services of my car. This has been, by far, the least reliable car I've owned. I still love driving the car. No regrets about the decision to buy. Absolutely pleased with the service center's attempts "customer care". But I can't deny or downplay the fact that it hasn't been up to par on the reliability side.

 

[Agassi]

My 2017 Model S has been fine so far. My problems so far have been documented here:

Model S Problems | Agassi TESLA

I love the car!

 

[darxsys]

My pre-owned 85D has had insane rattle issues - from the dashboard, from the speakers, from the sunroof, from the rear/trunk area, from b pillars. Clicks from front suspension, clicks from the hood.

I love driving the car, but it's getting really old really fast and I am thinking of just selling it or trading it in. Other things have been totally fine.

 

[wdolson]

My pre-owned 85D has had insane rattle issues - from the dashboard, from the speakers, from the sunroof, from the rear/trunk area, from b pillars. Clicks from front suspension, clicks from the hood.

I love driving the car, but it's getting really old really fast and I am thinking of just selling it or trading it in. Other things have been totally fine.

Before I bought my Model S I was reading a lot of complaints here about rattles and creaks in Model Ss and the next time I was out in my ICE I actually listened to every little noise for the first time. The car was loaded with squeaks and rattles, but I didn't notice them most of the time because of the noise from the engine and exhaust.

My Model S makes little noises from time to time. There is something in the dash that squeaks sometimes and something in the right rear that rattles sometimes, but I think the right rear might be something stuffed into the cubby in the back. Even subtracting the exhaust and engine noise from my old ICE, my Model S makes fewer noises than the ICE did, I just notice them more because there is overall less noise.

I did have one speaker that distorted with certain frequencies of noise. It often would happen when talking to a woman on the phone. The service center replaced that and no more issues there.

I did have the original 12V battery go earlier this year and had the fun of replacing the battery. There is a firmware bug that causes the mirrors to unfold if the car is parked in the garage with the mirrors folded for more than about 36 hours and it wakes up. I've been documenting it with the local SC, but so far no fix.

Every issue I have had have been rather minor annoyances. Overall I've had fewer issues than I had with my 1992 Buick in its first 3 years and I kept that car for 24 years. Though I have a feeling this car is going to be more like trying to get something done on a Apple II today in less than 10 years.

 

[dark cloud]

... Though I have a feeling this car is going to be more like trying to get something done on a Apple II today in less than 10 years.

We can only cross our fingers. That is the part that scares me: what if at some point in the future they get tired of updating the old slow model S's and someone at mothership just clicks a button and all the vehicles won't turn on anymore.

 

[PDB33]

My best car ever by a long way, but less reliable than the three Audi A6’s that preceded it.

Now two years old, 15K miles. AP2.0, MCU1. 2019.8.5

Sticking driver door handle May 18, fixed in 30 mins by SC.

HVAC failure May 18, car detained in backlog at SC for four weeks, then two-hour repair to replace EXV coil.

Driver door window noise July 18, fixed in 2hrs by SC

“Autopilot limited” warning, not showing cars behind and at the sides Feb 2019. SC viewed the logs and ordered parts for repair (maybe a repeater camera) but the problem resolved itself.

Currently at SC for investigation of multiple error messages “Car needs service, pull over safely”, “Car needs service, unable to drive”, then “Power reduced, vehicle systems shutting down”. They did. Both screens went black. The R&R team jumped to the 12v battery terminals and it woke up so I could set Tow Mode. Fortunately I was at home and not 100 miles away. After three days we don’t have a diagnosis other than wiring fault suspected.

I have only just spotted the music track it was playing when it died!

 

[jerry33]

Over six years, 122K miles, as reliable as any other car I've had and much more reliable than some.

 

[JPoldo]

My August 2017 MS75 build has been very reliable, but maybe it's due to only 7800 miles of driving. I don't have any of the manufacturing defects reported by others. Maybe much of it is luck and my TLC of this outstanding car is paying off. My only issues were two slow leaks in tires caused by picking up a staple and screw. Sadly, the SC refused to repair tires because puncture was 1.5 inches from tire's center line and their safety limit is one inch. It's a scam to sell you a $388 new tire. Oh, and you should always replace 2 or all 4 tires. Now I'm reluctant to get an overdue annual inspection after hearing others realize problems after a SC visit. My engineering mind says don't fix it if it's not broke. But there is preventative maintenance such as fluid checks, tire rotation, and other inspections.

 

[wdolson]

My August 2017 MS75 build has been very reliable, but maybe it's due to only 7800 miles of driving. I don't have any of the manufacturing defects reported by others. Maybe much of it is luck and my TLC of this outstanding car is paying off. My only issues were two slow leaks in tires caused by picking up a staple and screw. Sadly, the SC refused to repair tires because puncture was 1.5 inches from tire's center line and their safety limit is one inch. It's a scam to sell you a $388 new tire. Oh, and you should always replace 2 or all 4 tires. Now I'm reluctant to get an overdue annual inspection after hearing others realize problems after a SC visit. My engineering mind says don't fix it if it's not broke. But there is preventative maintenance such as fluid checks, tire rotation, and other inspections.

Tesla has discontinued the annual service thing. And you can get the same tires the service center will sell you much cheaper from other tire shops. When I bought tires last year I bought Michelins at Costco for around the same price Tesla was charging for Goodyears.

It's sad but true, but I think Teslas built in the middle of a quarter are built better than the end or the beginning. At the end of a quarter there is a mad rush to meet the analyst's expectations and at the beginning everyone is worn out from the end of quarter crunch. I noticed you said yours was built in August, mine was built in May. I timed my order so it wouldn't be in the end of quarter crunch.

 

[wdolson]

We can only cross our fingers. That is the part that scares me: what if at some point in the future they get tired of updating the old slow model S's and someone at mothership just clicks a button and all the vehicles won't turn on anymore.

I doubt Tesla will ever just shut off all the old cars, they would get pummeled with lawsuits and even at that some of the firmware hackers would be selling ways around the problem. Though I could see a day when they sunset updates to the old cars. Even now the AP1 and classic cars are getting fewer updates than newer cars. My AP1 car has only had one update this year and according to a thread here on the forum, that seems fairly common. Only a few AP1 cars have anything newer than 2018.50.6 which came out early this year.

But I think the older cars are pretty much maxxed out on features that can be enabled and what bugs remain Tesla has on a low priority. They're putting most of the update effort into the self driving capabilities of AP2 and soon AP3.

 

[tomas]

Over six years, 122K miles, as reliable as any other car I've had and much more reliable than some.

Ditto, but 6 years 50k miles

 

[cbdream99]

I have it for 2 years with 28k, with the exception initial build quality issues in the first 4-6 weeks that I drove the loaner more than the S is solid. I only have to replace the backup camera and charger port; service center will not have the same type of premium dealership service dept type of treatment - free loaner, nice coffee, snacks but if the car require less service then it is less an issue.