Long term(ish) Model 3 owners, how reliable has the car been to you?

[VT_EE]

I also have a June 2018 LR RWD w/ a couple of the same issues and many more. Not gonna lie, I have not spent a lot of time at the SC (every fix took 1 or 2 days) and always had a Model s loaner but it has been more frequent than I would like.

I have had lots of the same issues as you but by far the most frustrating have been the rattles and creaks. I may be more sensitive to them than most but it’s been very annoying for me. With 9k miles I’ve had:

- Glove box, initial design defect caused it to fall open on occasion. Replaced with updated part.
- Replaced the blinker and drive stalk module due to a plastic cover coming off
- adjusted the front hood latch for requiring tons of force to fully close
- Replaced charging port pin covers (service bulletin)
-taillight stopped working(?) or disconnected. Might’ve been replaced
- trunk panel Badly Misaligned and was adjusted
-both headlights replaced due to condensation Residue
-Side repeater replaced (chrome trim coming off)
-rear Door seals replaced because they were bowing out at corners
-passenger door check hinge replaced loud clicking sound when opening

Rattles And wind noise

-front door seals replaced (when trying to resolve wind noise- not fixed)
- Triangle seal behind the driver tweeter due to wind noise @VT_EE did this resolve the wind noise? I’m getting this replaced next week and hoping that’ll resolve it
-front dash creaking sound (4 attempts at fixing - resolved for now) Including felt under wood dash, front speaker grill felted, foam In between screen mount And dash and steering wheel housing replaced
-rear Passenger area buzz rattle- rear seat handles replaced and I have put foam in the rear deck cutout but still not fixed.
-b pillar seat belt buzz- felt taped but not fixed
-fair amount of Harshness and clunkiness from rear suspension when going over bumps but need to have that checked out(?)

these sound issues (wind and rattles) have been the most annoying to me but writing all of this out makes me realize how many little issues there has been. With that said, I have had no major issues whatsoever that have kept me from driving and most of these fixes are me trying to make sure these small things are resolved while I’m still under warranty. Once it’s quieter I will be happier (not talking about general road noise loudness)

Sorry to hear you've had so many rattles. Thankfully, mine is rattle free. Yes, the triangle seal replacement fixed the wind whistling problem. I could put my finger on the seal when driving and hear a reduction in wind volume. The SC noticed it too thankfully. You might also want to check the seals near the frunk hinges and windshield to make sure everything is secured properly.

 

[Dante]

surprised nobody has mentioned the high pitched motor whine. Have an LR RWD that is coming up on 2 years old. Has 30k km on it. Whine started after a SC visit to fix a defective frunk paint job from delivery. Had around 18k km on it (also coincided with the "Range Increase" software update). Been told it's basically to be expected once car hits 20-30k km. It is sometimes imperceptible, and at other times REALLY loud. As in my 70+ year old passenger can hear it (so none of this subtle, "you're too young and haven't lost enough of your hearing" problem). It's loud, it's unpleasant, and you can definitely hear it through the music.

Have had a handful of minor issues, but all were early on (charge port needed changing due to winter freezing or something... service bulletin), most were delivery defects that took a while to fix. The LTE would die for the first several months, but they've managed to fix that problem with software updates. Really the only persistent, unaddressed issue is this high pitched whine. I find it surprising this is acceptable to have something show up after a year of ownership, and have it claimed as "normal". Bit of a bait and switch IMO, but still love the car!

 

[XLR82XS]

surprised nobody has mentioned the high pitched motor whine. Have an LR RWD that is coming up on 2 years old. Has 30k km on it. Whine started after a SC visit to fix a defective frunk paint job from delivery. Had around 18k km on it (also coincided with the "Range Increase" software update). Been told it's basically to be expected once car hits 20-30k km. It is sometimes imperceptible, and at other times REALLY loud. As in my 70+ year old passenger can hear it (so none of this subtle, "you're too young and haven't lost enough of your hearing" problem). It's loud, it's unpleasant, and you can definitely hear it through the music.

Have had a handful of minor issues, but all were early on (charge port needed changing due to winter freezing or something... service bulletin), most were delivery defects that took a while to fix. The LTE would die for the first several months, but they've managed to fix that problem with software updates. Really the only persistent, unaddressed issue is this high pitched whine. I find it surprising this is acceptable to have something show up after a year of ownership, and have it claimed as "normal". Bit of a bait and switch IMO, but still love the car!

Both my 3 have front motor whine. I only hear it from ~30-45mph and I believe at a certain speed there is a specific frequency that is detected by our/my ears. I haven't read anything here of people with RWD cars complaining of whine and I've never driven a single motor Tesla. (My S is dual) Anyone here chime in that?

 

[XLR82XS]

I do have to track down some OEM equivalent wiper fluid one these days, so there is that.

That's easy. Any 'standard' washer fluid with no additives.

 

[bwestlak]

My AWD non-P is less than two years old (del Oct 2018) but because of business travel I have over 79k miles now so I blew past the warranty period in a year. The car has been so good from day one I never gave the warranty expiration a second thought. Have replaced tires (about to replace again), added washer fluid, replaced cabin air filter and had the HVAC flush early because of the “stinky AC smell” issue. Nothing other than that, the car has been a dream to own and I still love driving it. I typically charge to 90% and occasionally to 100% just to check battery capacity. Early April my 100% charge hit 292 miles which is 94% of the original 310 mile range. I have over 100 Supercharger sessions b/c of my frequent business travels. I’d say the battery is quite robust.

Upon reaching 100k miles I intend to visit the Charlotte service center (since Tesla is legally prohibited from establishing SCs in S Carolina, grrr) to have the brakes checked (I’m sure they are fine) and replace the brake fluid. I’ll also have them replace the 12V battery while I’m there, assuming I don’t have to replace it before then. My only regular maintenance has been tire rotation every 10k miles. Love this freakin car, best I’ve ever owned. My plan is to drive it to 200k miles and then replace it with a Model Y (used if I can find a decent deal on one).

Is it possible your range loss may be because of the replacement tires - just curious.

 

[boiler81]

I have a Aug 2018 build LR3D with 30K miles, including a 10K mile road trip across the country. At delivery I had the front bumper and frunk lid repainted due to dust nibs. Also had the car in to Service for early "software" problems (no hardware replaced).
I've replaced the OEM tires, and have new cabin air filters I need to install, and that's it for maintenance.
(Oh, I did have my rear door and quarter panel repainted after I got keyed, but Sentry Mode with help from YouTube caught the A-hole, and the court made him pay restitution)

 

[M3BlueGeorgia]

July 2018: 45K miles so far and very reliable.

New wipers, and I need to put in a new cabin air filter, probably this week.

Yes, also tire replacements.

 

[SammichLover]

surprised nobody has mentioned the high pitched motor whine. Have an LR RWD that is coming up on 2 years old. Has 30k km on it. Whine started after a SC visit to fix a defective frunk paint job from delivery. Had around 18k km on it (also coincided with the "Range Increase" software update). Been told it's basically to be expected once car hits 20-30k km. It is sometimes imperceptible, and at other times REALLY loud. As in my 70+ year old passenger can hear it (so none of this subtle, "you're too young and haven't lost enough of your hearing" problem). It's loud, it's unpleasant, and you can definitely hear it through the music.

Have had a handful of minor issues, but all were early on (charge port needed changing due to winter freezing or something... service bulletin), most were delivery defects that took a while to fix. The LTE would die for the first several months, but they've managed to fix that problem with software updates. Really the only persistent, unaddressed issue is this high pitched whine. I find it surprising this is acceptable to have something show up after a year of ownership, and have it claimed as "normal". Bit of a bait and switch IMO, but still love the car!

I get that as a sort of "beeping" sound between 82 and 83 mph. It has always been there, from the start. I treat it as an audio speed warning. Tesla has active noise cancelation tech in their drive units, I'm guessing that there are occasionally small holes in it that less some of the whine through.

There are occasions where I can hear a bit of motor whine, rarely from the front motor but more commonly from the back when the backseat is down and the storage well lid removed. Here is the reported original concept drawing for designing the 3's lower trunk.

Hopefully for future Model 3 purchasers Tesla will be able to swap the Y's new design, which uses a FRP bucket instead of all that metal sheeting and bits, into the Model 3's line, soon.

 

[SageBrush]

That's easy. Any 'standard' washer fluid with no additives.

The OEM fluid is different than standard. For one, it has an alcohol smell. And it might have the hint of a detergent

The 'standard' fluid is OK, the OEM is outstanding

 

[VT_EE]

Both my 3 have front motor whine. I only hear it from ~30-45mph and I believe at a certain speed there is a specific frequency that is detected by our/my ears. I haven't read anything here of people with RWD cars complaining of whine and I've never driven a single motor Tesla. (My S is dual) Anyone here chime in that?

I have a slight whine during acceleration or regen, but that is expected from an electric motor. It’s not irritating nor loud. RWD

 

[israndy]

Has anyone taken the car into Tesla Service before going out of warranty? Do they do anything to get you checked out before the end of warranty or just hope you don't find out about it until it's too late?

 

[focher]

September 2018 3P with 13k miles. Had the plastic sideview mirror mounting covers re-glued by mobile service. That's it. At least from Tesla. Getting rear-ended twice can't really be blamed on them.

 

[SammichLover]

Has anyone taken the car into Tesla Service before going out of warranty? Do they do anything to get you checked out before the end of warranty or just hope you don't find out about it until it's too late?

They do a engineering notes check against your VIN but without specific problem, reported by the owner, to check on my experience is they don’t do anything.

 

[Sandiegodoug]

1/18 rwd model 3 , no issues. I was told to bring in for charging pins, but that was ok
Installed my hw3, (suprize)

 

[israndy]

They do a engineering notes check against your VIN but without specific problem stated the owner to check on my experience is they don’t do anything.

And that's just for issues related to recalls like the charging pins, not actually checking that my car is being all it can be. I guess I should just open every latch and adjust every setting and be sure it does them all before I actually hit 50K

 

[EnrgyNDpndnce]

Is it possible your range loss may be because of the replacement tires - just curious.

Not 100% certain but I’m pretty sure the program Tesla uses to determine range has nothing to do with the tires on the car. Perhaps someone with more knowledge can comment. Also FWIW I replaced them with the same OEM tires.

Now, your actual driving range is certainly impacted by tires. But your stated range on the GOM, I don’t think so.

 

[Mod3forMe]

25,000 miles. One issue - a small $.25 plastic part in the charge port broke off. Mobile service fixed while I was work 2 days later in about 3min. Later this same part was part of upgrade/recall and again took about 2 min for them to change it in my driveway.

 

[TMXATX]

I have an Oct. 2018 AWD Long Range with 19k miles. The only “reliability” related issues I’ve had have been. 1) Stinky A/C cleaning, since set car to “No A/C cabin overheat protection” so far so good. 2) front door control checks started making a noticeable thunk when opening doors, Tesla replaced under warranty.

The car is not perfect, but I have no regrets and would buy it (or a model Y) again in a heartbeat.

 

[D0cdave]

4/18 Build VIN 142XX 52k miles

Service visits:
Loose rear window - Caused by my window tint guy. $0
Steering column stalks - plastic lifting. $0
Rear door handle replaced - spring tension was weak. $0
Rear deck rattle - unresolved (noted later). $0
Charge pin service bullitin. $0
Rear wheel click on accel / decelerations - 3 service visits to lube half shafts. Third visit prior to 50k. $0
Air conditioner smell - replaced air filters and disinfected coils $150
12V over voltage error - self inflicted wiring a dash cam directly to the battery $0.
HW3 install. $0

DIY Fixes:
Rear trunk lid alignment and gaps
Rear deck rattle - wrapped the rear seat latches in electrical tape. SOLVED
Dash cam wiring - tapped into the rear USB 12V. No issues so far.

Pending DIY Fixes:
Rear door rattle - you don't wanna know how to take apart a Model 3 door. its insane.
Steering column rattle - Someday

Car has been 100% reliable. No issues with drivetrain, battery, AP. Software was buggy in 2018 with audio, rear camera etc.
Lots of road trips are a breeze. Cant wait to get a Model Y.

 

[D0cdave]

Oh, yeah I had the door straps replaced at the last service visit - $0
These cause the clicking when you open the doors.