Long Road Trips. My Experience and Why Tesla's are Currently Unfit.

[coconutboy84]

delete this idiotic thread

 

[VRUNNER]

Can’t blame Tesla for this one... it could of happened to any car without a spare, there are plenty out there. I drive a lot, recently had the pleasure of clipping a pothole with a chunk of concrete stick up, shredded my front passenger tire. Texted Tesla roadside, sent a truck with replacement wheel in under 2 hours (did some work and watched Netflix’s, lol) contacted my service center, they told me if I got there by 6 they could install a new tire, got there at 545, tire was installed and car put on supercharger to give me enough range to get home (had to drive an additional 60 miles back to SC)

I plan to get a jack and spare, did the same with my ELR. But I was very happy with the overall service from Tesla.

 

[electricar]

Your Tesla didn't strand you - your poor choices and driving did. Lots of modern cars don't have spare tires ( just try getting a RunFlat in Truck Country for a BMW ) and all the OEMs subcontract roadside assistance. The exact same thing would have happened with any other luxury car. That is why people use Toyota 4Runners and Jeeps for this kind of trip to the boonies in winter.

 

[Rockster]

Dear OP: Paragraphs are your friend.

 

[dc121gw]

Everybody else is disputing your complaints, but I will agree with you on one: Having a spare tire is better than not having a spare tire. I just drove 1400 miles through mostly rural highway in the deep south. If I'd encountered a tire problem, it would have ruined my family vacation. In a normal gas car, I'd have a spare tire. I don't enjoy changing flat tires on the side of a busy highway, but at least I have the option. Now with a Tesla, I'm at the mercy of others to help me. That's the tradeoff I accepted when I bought the M3.

 

[Devils son]

There is a lot wrong with this story.

First off: damaging your sidewall so you are stranded whilst parking? Who does that?

Second: wife in tears over a flat? Drama queen much?

Third: blaming Tesla for the fact that you could not get a spare? You need to really get back to reality!

Had an issue once with the sidewall of my Porsche GT2. Porsche Assistance (btw: excellent) could do no more for me than have my car towed to the nearest dealership, get a rental car and that was that. Because there are no simple solutions to this problem.

I was thankful, nobody cried, didn’t whine on the internet. *sugar* happens.

A spare tire in this day and age is stupid. Chances of you getting a puncture that is not repairable are very slim. If you carry a spare something else might happen to leave you stranded.

Tesla made the right choice not to include a spare (which would not have been a winter tire anyway!).

BTW: did more than 10 trips with the Tesla to go skiing (roughly 1.500 miles roundtrip), all went well, highly satisfied.

 

[SdpLV]

Almost identical to what happened to me in my BMW M3 last year with my wife and 1 year old. 100+ miles from home. Hit a pothole at night, middle of the highway, and knew instantly the sidewall was gone. Couldn't patch it. Shops all closed up for the night. No tires anywhere. Checked into a crappy bed-bug ridden motel. Called AAA next morning and the car was towed to local NTB (100 miles away). Tire was shipped in. I rented a car and drove my family down.

With the Tesla...I so far got the mobility kit and the jack pads. Will likely be buying the spare donut kit to be on the safe side for the future. I disagree with the above.

Dealing with that type of headache in the middle of the night is bogus...especially if you know how to change your tire or can call AAA or Tesla Roadside Assistance to help out.

 

[dethman]

sorry your vacation got messed up. i just back from a ski trip in utah from LA in my MX, and luckily it generally went well. If I did have a flat or suffer damage though i'd be worried about what I would do as there aren't many teslas nor service centers in southern utah. i'd say that you might have a similar problem in many cars with a flat and no spare though.

my annoyances were much more minor, including falcon wing doors which froze up and wouldn't open in the 10 degree weather, and the side mirrors iced up and wouldn't open either. a couple of brief argh moments where the driver door and window wouldn't shut because of excess ice. and charging took much longer than expected or wanted to, but that's another issue. probably ICE it next time.

 

[Bet TSLA]

My family went on a ski trip this week to Utah. This trip had been planned for months and I seriously considered renting an ICE car for it. Then I reconsidered. After all, Tesla's supercharging network means that I can take long road trips. I studied the superchargers map on Tesla's website and confirmed that there were more than enough superchargers along my 531 miles journey from Denver to SLC. I decided to try it and drive the Model 3 with my wife, two young children, and luggage. I got winter tires (Pirelli Sottozero's), packed the car, and hit the road on a full charge. After driving nonstop for 2 hours, my range had decreased more than anticipated so I decided to make an unplanned stop in Laramie, WY to supercharge. The supercharging station was in a hotel parking and snow covered. I backed into a spot and hit the curb. I knew right away it was bad. I got off the car and noticed a scratch on the rim (not the first time it happened!). More concerning however was that the hit had damaged the tire's side wall. Before venturing on I-80, I decided to have it checked. I drove to a nearby tire shop (the only one in town) and the technician confirmed what I feared: The impact had exposed the radial cords and the tire was an explosion hazard. Being in Truck Country, the tire shop didn't have that tire size, less so in the winter variation. I became anxious but I knew my Model's 3 lack of a spare meant Tesla's mobile roadside assistance would come to my rescue. Little did I know... Yes, they could come but it would take 5 hours, cost me $900, and they only had an all-season tire. I became very worried. It was Saturday 3 pm, the little town was shutting down, there was no car rental agency or airport nearby. My Tesla had stranded me and ruined my vacation, my wife was in tears and my kids in fear. I did what I never thought I would do, I abandoned my cherished Tesla in a parking lot of a small rural town. I found an alternative transportation to SLC and began a search for that tire the next Monday. Wal-Mart and Costco couldn't get it and the only place I found it was on tirerack.com. I ordered it and had it delivered to the tire shop. A week later, I made it back to Laramie, had the tire installed and made it back home. One thing changed though, I don't trust my Model 3 or Tesla anymore and I know that, as a Tesla owner, if anything goes wrong, I'm on my own. Tesla's are incredible cars and have revolutionize my world. However, and until Tesla gets serious about customer service, I will limit my trips to in-town commutes and errands. I will rent (or buy) an ICE car for long road trips.

Hmm. I've made that very trip in winter, and stopped at that supercharger. However, it was in my Model S, and I wasn't inexperienced enough to screw up and ruin a tire. Sounds like you screwed up, and then screwed up again when you didn't take Tesla's offer to get you out of this jam for $900 up front (I think you get most of it back later when you give them back the wheel and pick up your fixed tire, but I might be wrong).

But yeah, when it's night and cold and there are unhappy kids it's hard to think straight. Wonder why you're blaming it on Tesla though.

 

[StellarRat]

You mean you wrecked your vacation. The car was not driving itself when you ran into the curb. Even it had a spare it would probably be one of those little donuts they put in all the cars today. You can't use those in the snow unless you're insane.

 

[Steve m]

There is a lot wrong with this story.

First off: damaging your sidewall so you are stranded whilst parking? Who does that?

Second: wife in tears over a flat? Drama queen much?

Third: blaming Tesla for the fact that you could not get a spare? You need to really get back to reality!

Had an issue once with the sidewall of my Porsche GT2. Porsche Assistance (btw: excellent) could do no more for me than have my car towed to the nearest dealership, get a rental car and that was that. Because there are no simple solutions to this problem.

I was thankful, nobody cried, didn’t whine on the internet. *sugar* happens.

A spare tire in this day and age is stupid. Chances of you getting a puncture that is not repairable are very slim. If you carry a spare something else might happen to leave you stranded.

Tesla made the right choice not to include a spare (which would not have been a winter tire anyway!).

BTW: did more than 10 trips with the Tesla to go skiing (roughly 1.500 miles roundtrip), all went well, highly satisfied.

A mountain climbing friend claimed if you have a spare tent pole you won't need it. If you don't have that spare tent pole you will need it.

 

[Devils son]

A mountain climbing friend claimed if you have a spare tent pole you won't need it. If you don't have that spare tent pole you will need it.

I would call that superstition.

Nowadays, with the wide tires and huge rims, hardly any car has a full size spare.

And a space saver might sound as a good option, but I didn’t like it back in the day when I had to drive with a wheel on the passenger seat in my then 964 type 911. And you don’t trough away an expensive 17 inch wheel either.

That was the moment I knew space savers are also bullshit. Especially if you are not alone in the car.

So for me, I don’t want a spare wheel. *sugar* happens, but there is always a solution.

 

[Steve m]

I would call that superstition.

Nowadays, with the wide tires and huge rims, hardly any car has a full size spare.

And a space saver might sound as a good option, but I didn’t like it back in the day when I had to drive with a wheel on the passenger seat in my then 964 type 911. And you don’t trough away an expensive 17 inch wheel either.

That was the moment I knew space savers are also bullshit. Especially if you are not alone in the car.

So for me, I don’t want a spare wheel. *sugar* happens, but there is always a solution.

Every car I have ever had.... I have sooner or later had a flat tire. The further I am from civilization the more I want to be able to fix problems myself.

 

[emailrob]

I will continue to carry AAA even with roadside assistance from Tesla and also included on my Audi.

I'm curious what AAA would do in the situation? I assume tow to local tire place and wait for a delivery of a new tire, perhaps a rental for rest of trip depending on your coverage or take you to destination.

 

[Devils son]

Every car I have ever had.... I have sooner or later had a flat tire. The further I am from civilization the more I want to be able to fix problems myself.

But then you would want a full size spare. Costs a lot of room. Maybe in a bag for those trips?

For me, I can easily do without. Have a set to repair the occasional screw in the tire.

 

[SdpLV]

I will continue to carry AAA even with roadside assistance from Tesla and also included on my Audi.

I'm curious what AAA would do in the situation? I assume tow to local tire place and wait for a delivery of a new tire, perhaps a rental for rest of trip depending on your coverage or take you to destination.

They’d flat bed tow it to the nearest Tesla service center (you tell them where you want it towed to). We have the 200 mile tow option and that’s exactly what I’d ask them to do.

Have had to AAA tow: BMW 330Ci, BMW X3, BMW M3, and E320 CDI - all for various reasons and you just tell em where you need it to go.

 

[thx1139]

How fast were you backing into the spot that you did that much damage to the tire?

 

[kkillebrew]

I had the transmission of my Ford fail at the peak of independence pass. Fords are unfit cars.

 

[DRM4]

What a nightmare for you and your family. Accidents happen and at least no one was hurt. Perhaps you'll laugh about it some day (well into the future). I've taken a couple long distance trips that went very smoothly in the Model 3. Once there was an accident (I wasn't involved) and the traffic was bad. The result was an extra charging stop. No biggie. I love the Model 3 for long trips, but for a ski trip, I'll take the Q5 TDI. If we're being honest, there are plenty of scenarios where long distance drives in an EV can be painful.

 

[Locash]

Aside from the expensive temporary repair quote for being stranded in BFE, I don't see how the Tesla has anything to do with the fact that your wife cries about a flat tire. Here's a possible temporary fix for next time, newer Honda 5 lug vehicles have the same bolt pattern, track one down and buy one of their wheels for $500.

My last Acura came with no spare tire and just a tire inflator with fix a flat. That doesn't fly with me, so I bought a spare tire and tools. Guess what I did with my Tesla? Same, except I bought a complete set of take off wheels. On road trips, one goes in the hatch. I'd rather deal with carrying a wheel and tire than sitting on the side of the road waiting for billy bob's tow mater truck to show up.

Oh, I'll be driving my Tesla to Colorado shortly, want me to take yours off your hands cheaply? I'll even bring a tow dolly connected to my car to haul your jalopy home!