This is a painful thread to write. I've been a huge booster of Tesla. I've been an investor at times. I've only ever really had one possession goal: a Tesla EV. I believe in the company's mission, and the impact they have had on the industry has been very positive. Several friends have bought EVs on my recommendation.
But after owning a 2014 MS for the past three years, I can no longer recommend this company.
The issue is reliability. I've had to replace the following components. Many of these just in the last couple months:
- The AC compressor
- The AC compressor again, plus two other AC-related components (I declined this repair as I suspect it was misdiagnosed)
- Two door handles
- The trunk latch
- The entire MCU
- All four calipers plus the parking brake (and they nearly rusted over again after just over a year. Thankfully got them cleaned in time)
- The parking brake again (which had been replaced just one year earlier) (bricked the car. $300 to tow)
- The 4-way valve for battery coolant
- The windshield washer fluid pump
(edit: forgot this one) - Replacement 12 V battery
- And today, the PTC heater (bricked the car. $300 to tow)
It's one thing to replace components. All cars have that. But to replace *the same component just over a year later* is ridiculous. I don't even want to sum up the cost of all the repairs above. And every time, it's a drawn out, complicated process to get answers from the service centre via the app. With no ability to just call them, it drastically complicates the process.
I can't do it anymore. I want to stay electric, and will have to look at more reliable options from other manufacturers.
I'm posting this thread because I do not want to see Tesla fail as a company. They are too important. I understand build quality has gotten better over time, but they need to do a better job taking care of early adopters who are stuck with cars that are now racking up annual repair bills in the five figures.
But after owning a 2014 MS for the past three years, I can no longer recommend this company.
The issue is reliability. I've had to replace the following components. Many of these just in the last couple months:
- The AC compressor
- The AC compressor again, plus two other AC-related components (I declined this repair as I suspect it was misdiagnosed)
- Two door handles
- The trunk latch
- The entire MCU
- All four calipers plus the parking brake (and they nearly rusted over again after just over a year. Thankfully got them cleaned in time)
- The parking brake again (which had been replaced just one year earlier) (bricked the car. $300 to tow)
- The 4-way valve for battery coolant
- The windshield washer fluid pump
(edit: forgot this one) - Replacement 12 V battery
- And today, the PTC heater (bricked the car. $300 to tow)
It's one thing to replace components. All cars have that. But to replace *the same component just over a year later* is ridiculous. I don't even want to sum up the cost of all the repairs above. And every time, it's a drawn out, complicated process to get answers from the service centre via the app. With no ability to just call them, it drastically complicates the process.
I can't do it anymore. I want to stay electric, and will have to look at more reliable options from other manufacturers.
I'm posting this thread because I do not want to see Tesla fail as a company. They are too important. I understand build quality has gotten better over time, but they need to do a better job taking care of early adopters who are stuck with cars that are now racking up annual repair bills in the five figures.
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