My mother-in-law (aged 84) purchased a 2014 S85 new - she paid for an additional 4 years of warranty (total of 8).
The HC battery failed (a message was displayed that maximum battery charge level reduced. It won't charge to more than 100 miles. It won't charge on a supercharger at all and it only charges at 3 Amps on an standard AC charger. The car is effectively bricked at 43,000 miles, 1 year (to the day) after extended warranty ended in March 2022 and it is now suddenly worthless. Most of the car's life it was charged on a standard AC charger with occasional Supercharger use. Rarely over 80% charge and rarely, if ever run below 25% charge.
This battery in this car lasted all of 43K miles! Ridiculous! Battery degradation problem is totally hidden from view.
Tesla is demanding $20,000 to replace the failed battery - no core exchange value for the old pack - they just keep it and give nothing for it!!
Tesla service manager claimed that he would escalate for consideration and then told me to expect to wait 4-6 WEEKS for the issue to be reviewed!! RIDICULOUSLY insensitive!! Unable to use the car for over a month or more!! I also expect that the answer will be NO and that the 4-6 weeks is both a delaying tactic and punishment for even asking for any consideration.
Tesla customer service is non-existent!! You purchase one of their cars and you are on your own. They have their money and aren't at all interested in anything more - unless it is to sell you something. It is IMPOSSIBLE to speak with anyone at Tesla beyond the low level support people that you might be able to speak to on the phone. They cannot escalate. I went as high as I could within the Vehicle Support group and was summarily shut down saying that they were unable to escalate the issue to any higher up management.
Replacing entire battery pack is equivalent to replacing the entire engine and transmission in and ICE vehicle because the alternator failed! There is only one place owner can get service and Tesla knows it! Tesla not willing to service battery pack is profit motivated choice and environmental nightmare!
It has become clear to me that Tesla could care less about their customers and as a company has gone out of its way to make it impossible to get any consideration for serious failures like this. The company is just openly abusive to its customers - t6ake it or leave it - no exceptions! Too bad if your car dies before it even has 50K miles on it. They don't care!!
I personally will NEVER purchase a Tesla and I very much regret having encouraged my mother-in-law to buy one 9 years ago as an early adopter.
It is clear that vehicle mileage is not even remotely a reliable indicator of the potential life left in a car making it a total crap shoot to buy a used Tesla regardless of mileage. The new owner could be be faced with a battery pack failure without any warning that would cost $20K to repair?
I would be grateful to anyone that can offer any suggestions on how to get a hold of anyone at Tesla corporate to review this matter.
---
Bob Atkins
The HC battery failed (a message was displayed that maximum battery charge level reduced. It won't charge to more than 100 miles. It won't charge on a supercharger at all and it only charges at 3 Amps on an standard AC charger. The car is effectively bricked at 43,000 miles, 1 year (to the day) after extended warranty ended in March 2022 and it is now suddenly worthless. Most of the car's life it was charged on a standard AC charger with occasional Supercharger use. Rarely over 80% charge and rarely, if ever run below 25% charge.
This battery in this car lasted all of 43K miles! Ridiculous! Battery degradation problem is totally hidden from view.
Tesla is demanding $20,000 to replace the failed battery - no core exchange value for the old pack - they just keep it and give nothing for it!!
Tesla service manager claimed that he would escalate for consideration and then told me to expect to wait 4-6 WEEKS for the issue to be reviewed!! RIDICULOUSLY insensitive!! Unable to use the car for over a month or more!! I also expect that the answer will be NO and that the 4-6 weeks is both a delaying tactic and punishment for even asking for any consideration.
Tesla customer service is non-existent!! You purchase one of their cars and you are on your own. They have their money and aren't at all interested in anything more - unless it is to sell you something. It is IMPOSSIBLE to speak with anyone at Tesla beyond the low level support people that you might be able to speak to on the phone. They cannot escalate. I went as high as I could within the Vehicle Support group and was summarily shut down saying that they were unable to escalate the issue to any higher up management.
Replacing entire battery pack is equivalent to replacing the entire engine and transmission in and ICE vehicle because the alternator failed! There is only one place owner can get service and Tesla knows it! Tesla not willing to service battery pack is profit motivated choice and environmental nightmare!
It has become clear to me that Tesla could care less about their customers and as a company has gone out of its way to make it impossible to get any consideration for serious failures like this. The company is just openly abusive to its customers - t6ake it or leave it - no exceptions! Too bad if your car dies before it even has 50K miles on it. They don't care!!
I personally will NEVER purchase a Tesla and I very much regret having encouraged my mother-in-law to buy one 9 years ago as an early adopter.
It is clear that vehicle mileage is not even remotely a reliable indicator of the potential life left in a car making it a total crap shoot to buy a used Tesla regardless of mileage. The new owner could be be faced with a battery pack failure without any warning that would cost $20K to repair?
I would be grateful to anyone that can offer any suggestions on how to get a hold of anyone at Tesla corporate to review this matter.
---
Bob Atkins
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