Issues Tracking

[lolachampcar]

I would like to see a separate section for Model S Issues/Bugs/Production Cock Ups/Squawks/Quality Problems/Screen Freezes/Panel Mis-Matches or any other (politically correct) term we would like to use. I think "Issues" might be the most neutral.

I hope to have my car soon and I would like to know-
How many times a particular thing has happened to each owner?
How many owners has a this happened to?
How do the occurrences compare against the backdrop of the number of cars in service?
How does the number of occurrences correlate over time so I can see if the number is increasing or decreasing with time?
Has a solution been proposed?
Has the solution been tested/proven to work?

To accomplish the above, the moderators would need to add a dedicated section under Model S for All Issues. A separate thread could be devoted to each issue with the first post being a running track of the above information. I will start a spread sheet for each issue being tracked with an entry for every squawk along with keeping the thread statistics current. The squawks could be posted to the thread or PM'd if one did not wish to post.

The above approach should provide more information with less room for confusion. It would put all the forum reported issues in one place for those that would cause mischief but the information would be accurate and provided in context. As a soon to be owner and Tesla fan, I would like this kind of resource.

Do forum members think this would be a good idea?
Will the mods support the extra section?
How should the above approach be adapted before implementation (assuming it should be implemented at all)?

Thanks,
Bill


No X X X X X
Yes X X

 

[NEWDL]

What do you drive now? Have you been tracking the issues that others have been having with similar cars?

Trust me, the obsession with perfection is lost once you are behind the wheel. Just enjoy the car and deal with the small details in time...

 

[lolachampcar]

2010 BMW 535i now traded in with Tesla/AutoNation on Model S.

My only service issue with the car was the ethanol high pressure fuel pump recall. There were insufficient issues with the car over three years of ownership to warrant any tracking.

Trust, obsession... not sure how to respond to that comment as I do not know you.

 

[agileone]

This should really be done by Tesla. They probably have it internally, but if they really mean to do things differently, owners (only) should have access.
(If not they should look at these Tour Zendesk | Customer Service Software or Core Features -Features Tour - Sirportly)

I think that forums / posts are not the proper way to structure these reports.
But if TMC, wants to get into this, they might want to look at open source software issue tracker, which with some configuration, could be tweaked to handle Model S issues. For instance, Trac is such a tool : {32} Popular Tickets - TODO – The Trac Project

An important feature is the ability to vote on Issue to get feedback to Tesla on the incidence of a particular problem. Trac supports this.

 

[NEWDL]

My only service issue with the car was the ethanol high pressure fuel pump recall. There were insufficient issues with the car over three years of ownership to warrant any tracking.

My point is that if your previous vehicle did not require tracking of issues why would you start tracking issues of your new car. I do not see any reason to warrant tracking so early in ownership. Relax and enjoy. You don't need to know me to understand this...

 

[bonnie]

+1 agileone, regarding who should handle this. And I assume they have an issue-tracking database. I'd be stunned to learn differently.

Bill, while I think you are on the right topic, this really needs to be handled by Tesla. We will never know if the sample is representative or not. What if a bunch of shorts just enter issues, hoping to drive the stock price down? Many of us are aware how many Big Oil shills are out blogging about the danger/inefficiency/expense of EVs - what's to stop them from entering issues and then blogging about it? How do we ensure that isn't happening?

- - - Updated - - -

If this were one of the big car companies, I wouldn't be so concerned about false entries. But Tesla is still a fragile new company. I don't want to be part of anything that could be deliberately skewed in a negative way by those with other motives, ultimately harming Tesla (and me, since I own their product).

I have no reason to not have trust in their willingness to track and fix issues. In fact, I have every reason TO trust, based on my experience as a Roadster owner.

 

[KenEE]

I agree we need a specific place to post about problems. Doesn't this forum software support Private Forums? The participants could be limited to actual owners who have delivered cars.

I understand what some of you are saying about this company and car just getting off the ground, but not having a forum to share and collect information is not the answer.

I'm sitting on a doozy right now and could really use this.

 

[mknox]

What do you drive now? Have you been tracking the issues that others have been having with similar cars?

Trust me, the obsession with perfection is lost once you are behind the wheel. Just enjoy the car and deal with the small details in time...

I dunno. I'm extremely anal when it comes to problems, especially ones related to design or quality. I currently drive a fully loaded 2009 Cadillac CTS. The only problem I've had with it is a burned out DRL lamp. Even that pissed me off because it was designed in such a way that the dealer had to replace the bulb (front bumper skin has to be removed for access!) Cost $60 for the bulb and about $150 for labor. Some of the issues I'm seeing here sound a lot worse than a burned out bulb. My Model S is still a few months out, and I certainly hope they have these things worked out by then.

 

[Al Sherman]

If this were one of the big car companies, I wouldn't be so concerned about false entries. But Tesla is still a fragile new company. I don't want to be part of anything that could be deliberately skewed in a negative way by those with other motives, ultimately harming Tesla (and me, since I own their product). I have no reason to not have trust in their willingness to track and fix issues. In fact, I have every reason TO trust, based on my experience as a Roadster owner.

Not trying to be "mods pet" but this makes total sense to me.

 

[mknox]

If this were one of the big car companies, I wouldn't be so concerned about false entries. But Tesla is still a fragile new company. I don't want to be part of anything that could be deliberately skewed in a negative way by those with other motives, ultimately harming Tesla (and me, since I own their product).

I have skin in the game too. I'm not a stockholder, but will be laying out considerably more for this car than any car I've bought in the past. I want Tesla to be around and succeed too, but I won't be a party to covering up or not discussing problems and issues. False entries will be quickly debunked on this forum, and positive stories and experiences will provide balance as well.

 

[lolachampcar]

Bonnie, I understand and share your concerns. I too feel there is a chance for abuse with posting problems on forums. I also fear that a “Journalist” will use this forum as his/her due diligence in writing a smear piece. There is more than enough ammunition from real owners with real problems if a person was bent on taking things out of context.

My goal is a lot of sunshine to illuminate valid concerns, bogus ones as well as putting the number of occurrences in context. If one 12V battery is being replaced for every three thousand cars in service per year it simply is not a big deal. Context is everything here. Careful organization of posts already being made by real owners will reduce the risk of abuse, not increase it.

With respect to Tesla, they ARE doing this. I say this not from first hand knowledge but from the perspective that any competent manufacturer will track issues and have a feedback loop to production to address issues. Tesla is a publically traded company with a history of being very protective of data. I’ll use the lack of a service manual for the Roadster as an example. Tesla is also very competent. I am sure they have a lot of very good reasons for not sharing this data; probably a lot of the same reasons BMW or MB do not share this information.

Again, my goal is to organize existing data and give it context in the same way timdorr has with ViNs and commitment dates. I go to his spread sheet and I can see straight away just how many people in front of and behind me have ViNs and delivered cars. I appreciate that. I would like a single place where I could see how many forum members have posted problems with panel alignment and have this information against the backdrop of the number of cars shipped. Knowing if the panel alignment problem cropped up during December then went away would be good information. This is the resource I would like to create.

 

[herbvdh]

When I read reviews of any type I take into consideration any issue that gets repeated by enough members. Now if I see a negative for something and only one of them I discount that as a disgruntled person. Now will every reader of that do the same as me when I read a review. So I vote NO. It is a good idea though so don't get me wrong.

 

[lolachampcar]

With respect to programs to do this type of work, I am sure there are a lot of them. I would prefer a spread sheet for each issue so that the data storage format is easily changed. I would also not like to go up the learning curve of new software. Lastly, it is my hope that one or more will jump in and help IF the process is proven useful. Interested parties could just take the spread sheets associated with a group of topics and maintain them.

 

[bob_p]

A major benefit of the Model S is the 17" touchscreen display, Internet connectivity, and a commitment from Tesla to continue providing updates over the life of the car.

Some specific suggestions to help Tesla and customers:

1. Provide a problem reporting system for customer access to report problems and track progress
2. Allow customers to roll back to previous software versions, if an unstable release is distributed
3. Implement a "beta testing" program, allowing customers to "opt in" to beta test new releases, and while in beta test mode, distribute updates as major problems are fixed

I'm hoping to have my Model S in Feb or Mar - and hope the software stabilizes by then. However, as someone who has been responsible for commercial software products, it would have been completely unacceptable to deliver back-to-back releases with major problems - which appears to be what has happened with the 4.0 and 4.1 releases.

A few improvements in Tesla's software development and release process could go a long way in improving the quality of their software releases, and reduce the number of major problems encountered by the Model S owners.