I can no longer recommend Tesla. Their Service is the Worst

[Chop110]

I have had my Model S for almost eight years and I have had a number of issues recently. I am not upset about the issues with the car, it is after all, eight years old with 165K miles, and truth be told, I was aware of Tesla's reputation for poor build quality when I got it. I am a big fan of what the company has done and the direction they are pushing the whole auto industry to. What has got me really frustrated is the abysmal customer service. Between 2014 and 2018, customer service at Tesla was PHENOMENAL! What happened??!! I really miss having a live person I could call and explain what issue was wrong with my vehicle. I miss getting calls telling me when I could expect to get my car back. I miss having loaner vehicles made available when your car was in service. Relying on an app to handle service is the worst idea in the world and I wish I could punch the latte sipping, avocado toast gobbling millennial that thought this was the way to treat customers. No one responds to your messages. Ever!! Getting parts takes forever. The repair time estimates are never on time. There is no direct phone to the service center itself!! Who stays in business like this??!!

I know I am not the only person that feels this way and for all you apologists that think the problem is me, then rest assured, your time to deal with these clowns is coming sooner than you think. Unless things dramatically improve, I honestly cannot see myself recommending this car company to anyone.

 

[Pricedm]

"...Relying on an app to handle service is the worst idea in the world..."

Its a personal preference. For me, so many benefits to Tesla app-based service. #1 I don't have time to waste taking a phone call on the service advisor's schedule. With the Tesla app, I can communicate on my schedule with the service team. #2 The ability to schedule service and provide lots of details. #3 All prior service appointment history is in the app, and within moments get full service history, from app-based conversations with the service tech, to service invoice.

I can't see buying a car where I have paper (!) receipts to keep track of for service history, have to play "phone tag" with a service team member to have a conversation, or not be able to provide precise details of a maintenance concern.

My service history includes trim fix after delivery (10/2018), v2.5 to 3.0 computer upgrade (10/2020), interior camera fix (2 visits--2022), and alignment (6/2022) immediately after installing new tires. Each service visit was easy. Bonus was being at a service center and seeing a Roadster and talking with the regional lead mechanic for Roadsters--super friendly.

 

[zoomer0056]

Which car company are you looking to now and why?

 

[Leeclanual]

Yugo

 

[thesmokingman]

"...Relying on an app to handle service is the worst idea in the world..."

Its a personal preference. For me, so many benefits to Tesla app-based service. #1 I don't have time to waste taking a phone call on the service advisor's schedule. With the Tesla app, I can communicate on my schedule with the service team. #2 The ability to schedule service and provide lots of details. #3 All prior service appointment history is in the app, and within moments get full service history, from app-based conversations with the service tech, to service invoice.

I can't see buying a car where I have paper (!) receipts to keep track of for service history, have to play "phone tag" with a service team member to have a conversation, or not be able to provide precise details of a maintenance concern.

My service history includes trim fix after delivery (10/2018), v2.5 to 3.0 computer upgrade (10/2020), interior camera fix (2 visits--2022), and alignment (6/2022) immediately after installing new tires. Each service visit was easy. Bonus was being at a service center and seeing a Roadster and talking with the regional lead mechanic for Roadsters--super friendly.

Yeap, I have similar positive feelings. I hate dealing with stealerships. They try and BS you and up sell everything. My wife calls one day about her Durango in for free oil change service. She calls me concerned cuz the stealership is telling her she needs to replace the rear diff fluid at a cost of $300 bucks or some nonsense. That's a $8 dollar jug of gear oil and maybe 10 minutes of ones time and they try and mislead my wife into thinking it's something that needs to be done now! This other time I had our Legacy in at Power Honda for new tires. The techs rash all four wheels cuz they morons. And then Power Honda denied it, wtf! Stealerships, there isn't a more fitting name.

Anyways, I like the Tesla app and how one starts a service appointment. And Tesla doesn't try to pass off BS profit tactics as critical service maintenance.

 

[aerodyne]

I know I am not the only person that feels this way and for all you apologists that think the problem is me, then rest assured, your time to deal with these clowns is coming sooner than you think. Unless things dramatically improve, I honestly cannot see myself recommending this car company to anyone.

You are not alone. But before you blame the workers, ask yourself, who is in charge of sales and service? And who stated at an earnings call, "the best service is no service"?

Until that leadership position is filled by someone else, things will not change imo.

 

[Lukez]

Everyone who is ok with service the way it is... what's your distance to a service center? Have you had an big repairs done out of warranty?

Imo those two factors play a big part in what is acceptable to you.

Also to those that say service center isn't a dealership and doesn't charge you for things not needed, have you had anything done by tesla out of warranty? I've dealt with maybe 4 different service centers, not one was reasonable...such as recommending to replace parts that aren't needed, trying to charge for labour 3x (for example getting suspension work done and for every part that requires alignment, alignment gets charged for each part lol).

 

[HankLloydRight]

I have had my Model S for almost eight years and I have had a number of issues recently. I am not upset about the issues with the car, it is after all, eight years old with 165K miles, and truth be told, I was aware of Tesla's reputation for poor build quality when I got it. I am a big fan of what the company has done and the direction they are pushing the whole auto industry to. What has got me really frustrated is the abysmal customer service. Between 2014 and 2018, customer service at Tesla was PHENOMENAL! What happened??!! I really miss having a live person I could call and explain what issue was wrong with my vehicle. I miss getting calls telling me when I could expect to get my car back. I miss having loaner vehicles made available when your car was in service. Relying on an app to handle service is the worst idea in the world and I wish I could punch the latte sipping, avocado toast gobbling millennial that thought this was the way to treat customers. No one responds to your messages. Ever!! Getting parts takes forever. The repair time estimates are never on time. There is no direct phone to the service center itself!! Who stays in business like this??!!

I know I am not the only person that feels this way and for all you apologists that think the problem is me, then rest assured, your time to deal with these clowns is coming sooner than you think. Unless things dramatically improve, I honestly cannot see myself recommending this car company to anyone.

I totally agree with you.

But there is a solution. Let the "app people" use the app, that's totally fine.

But at least have a back-up in place for people and/or certain situations where people actually just want to talk to a human voice, and not some anonymous millennial behind a keyboard sending you text messages.

 

[Leeclanual]

I get the low mx thing… one of reasons I love Teslas… but Why in the world would anyone buy a Tesla if the nearest SC is 2-3 hours away? Even though it’s low mx doesn’t mean it won’t have systems needing warranty work. Probably one of the main Reasons you don’t see any Bentleys or Ferraris driving around in places like Loretto PA or Alaska… no qualified service nearby.

 

[Khirs]

I also dislike having to use the app for all service/maintenance. We are in Raleigh and the service center is 1 hour away. Hate having to text my discussions/questions with them. I thought it was a pandemic thing which, apparently, morphed into the new direction Tesla is heading. My personal thoughts only. However, we found out Tesla offers a Mobile Service. The guy that came to our house said he runs throughout NC. Might check to see if that is offered in your area…. He was able to answer several questions we had separate from the service he provided. Obviously you can’t use the Mobile Service for everything but it was sure handy for what we needed.

 

[Barry]

I have two service centers within 10 miles and I still hate the company because of its pathetic customer service.

Funny, about 2 years into ownership (2017), I was thinking maybe I'd buy a Roadster II for the next one. Even if it wasn't one of Musk's endless timeline lies, no way would I spend at least twice as much for such poor treatment.

 

[aerodyne]

You are not alone. But before you blame the workers, ask yourself, who is in charge of sales and service? And who stated at an earnings call, "the best service is no service"?

Until that leadership position is filled by someone else, things will not change imo.

There seems to be a recent change in the SvC phone menu that will let you actually talk to a regional service coordinator. I believe after you stick around though all the prompts that say "you must use the app for all service concerns", there is option 3 that will connect you to a real person.

Service still sucks, even mobile, but now I can vent to someone as needed.

 

[jabloomf1230]

What amazes me is how inconsistent the quality of Tesla service is. My limited experience to date (tire rotation, new repeater cams) has been all good. We recently had a thunderstorm which resulted in lighting hitting a big oak tree about 100 ft from my house and the MY. The car was parked and not connected to a charger. The cable modem and router in my house were both fried, as was an outside GFCI outlet. The oak was on my neighbor's property and the top of the main trunk partially snapped and came to rest on the power/cable lines.

After the power company cleaned everything up, I checked my car and plugged it in to my level 2 charger. It wouldn't charge and I had one of those "Oh snap" moments. The charger port blue light came on, but car complained that a charger was not connected. My level 1 charger didn't work either. The level 2 charger would charge our BMW hybrid. I contacted the Tesla SC via the app and they immediately dispatched a tow truck and set up a service appointment, but in 6 days. The tow truck came and I was resigned to waiting. But two days later, I got a message via the app that the car was ready to be picked up and was fixed under warranty.

But as the curmudgeon commentator Paul Harvey used to say, "And now the rest of the story." The lightning strike had nothing to do with the problem. One of the black plastic insulator rings on one of charge port pins had coincidentally broken off and that prevented the charger from working.

Now that's a success story. That doesn't mean that everyone with a Tesla has a good service experience.

 

[john5520]

The one time I needed service it was a great experience. It was something simple though (dislodged fog light after hitting some road debris). I used the app, took some pics and they said to come in a couple days later. I told the SC what happened, and they did it under warranty the same day.

If it was a dealership, I have no doubt I'd be walking out of there with a quote for a new bumper, fog light and labor. From my experience over the years, the average dealership is filled with the lowest level of scum from sales to service.

Higher end ones might be different, but the Tesla is the most expensive car I've ever owned so can't compare them.

 

[Barry]

When poor service, including inability to SPEAK to someone, is a corporates policy, there's no escaping it from SvC to SvC. With dealerships, if one is particularly bad, you can go to another one and the experience will likely be different.

 

[Darmie]

Sorry to hear this. I miss the loaners too. It's on Elon's radar but we all know how his timeline works. Just think how the OG roaster owners feel.

Yugo

I'll take the red one.

 

[smrtasp84]

I have a 2013 P85 (low 7K VIN) with about 160K miles (also have a new 2022 plaid) and its been in to the newer Lake Forest, CA service center a few times lately for things like the leaking screen, new headlight bulbs, finally needed its first set of rear brakes, etc. I used to only go to Costa Mesa but after an experience a few years ago, would never take any car there for service again. There used to be a service manager that was super friendly and helpful and the experience a few years ago with a new service manager was the total opposite and downright disrespectful. Fast forward to about 2 years ago when Lake Forest opened: the service has been really good so far. If they have loaners they will give you one but its on a first come basis - even for out of warranty work. The last 2 times I dropped the 2013 off at Lake Forest, it came back the same day and one of those repairs was even goodwill'd.

I personally like the app experience as they are always pretty responsive but I think it really depends upon the service center. My new plaid has a suspension issue that was rescheduled due to parts back ordered and they moved the appt to Costa Mesa and I moved it back to Lake Forest even though its another 2 weeks out and the Lake Forest service folks have already communicated with me over the parts that are holding things up.

 

[roblab]

I'm glad they don't do loaners. The last one I got, years ago, was a junker Pontiac that would barely do 60 on the freeway, where everyone else was doing 80. At least now we know to bring a second car, or, if it's minimal, be prepared to wait. I live 50 miles (used to be 115) from my SC, and last "service" I sat and waited. My car was repaired (switch on passenger seat) and ready to go in an hour, while I waited.

I have never had trouble with service, in over ten years of owning Teslas. Once I had a delay due to parts, but that was when the car had been in an accident and was undriveable.

I write this to point out that not all service is poor, because it isn't. Sure, some people will not get served as quickly as they'd like, but I've seen that everywhere. Even at Taco Bell. To any prospective owners, the OP's problem is not common.

 

[Yuki Feng]

I feel your pain, but now I prefer use app making apps,I don’t like talking on the phone and even after I drop off My car I will definitely only talk to the senior Technician or the manager Only ,and I will never let others touch my car

 

[2101Guy]

I feel your pain, but now I prefer use app making apps,I don’t like talking on the phone and even after I drop off My car I will definitely only talk to the senior Technician or the manager Only ,and I will never let others touch my car

1)Whats an app making app
2)Define "others"