Long wait times for Service (Tesla + other)

[kbecks13]

So now that Tesla has gotten much larger and more popular, it seems like service experiences are starting to get worse and I've heard that people are having to wait more and more.

Wanted to get some input from others in the community and see if you've experienced a "slow" service experience, either at Tesla OR a 3rd party shop.

Is there a general lack of Tesla service centers or authorized 3rd parties?

 

[Tam]

...wait...

Authorized body shops have been quite bad in getting Tesla parts timely since the very beginning, so this is not new.

Getting parts for Service Center has been getting worse. Probably due to the pandemics.

 

[texas_star_TM3]

not nearly enough SCs to keep up with deliveries... as comparison: Porsche website lists 5 (!) dealerships in the Dallas - Ft. Worth area (and that's just the official list; countless independent body shops can work on them in addition) ... Tesla operates just 3 SCs in the DFW metroplex. Meanwhile... there are A LOT more Tesla's on the streets than Porsches.

 

[afadeev]

So now that Tesla has gotten much larger and more popular, it seems like service experiences are starting to get worse and I've heard that people are having to wait more and more.

Wanted to get some input from others in the community and see if you've experienced a "slow" service experience, either at Tesla OR a 3rd party shop.

Is there a general lack of Tesla service centers or authorized 3rd parties?

How do you define "long" ?

My very first service appointment with a local NJ SC in 2019 was 5 days out, and included a Model S loaner.
My last service appointment with the same NJ SC this spring was 4 weeks out, and included Uber credits with no Uber service to my house (my wife picked me up). Appointments between 2019 and 2022 followed, roughly, linear progress of longer and longer lead times.

Is 4 weeks "long"?
If it is, I expect 2023 and beyond lead times to get LONGER, since no new SC's have opened around here over the past 4 years.
Between Tesla cutting headcount and selling more and more cars, this outcome is all but inevitable.

 

[kbecks13]

Authorized body shops have been quite bad in getting Tesla parts timely since the very beginning, so this is not new.

Getting parts for Service Center has been getting worse. Probably due to the pandemics.

Oh i'm talking about even getting simple labor only things done like an alignment (though it requires a lift/bay and i think thats the limiter?)

How do you define "long" ?

Waiting since June 10th for an alignment and then to fix a subsequent rattle that emerged after performing the alignment, this is at a local Tesla aftermarket shop and not Tesla themselves. It's pretty crazy for such a simple thing and makes me wonder if we need more Tesla friendly auto shops. Sadly can't go to regular service center due to my modifications to the car.

 

[texas_star_TM3]

alignment = find a Firestone or local shop which knows what they are doing and have the right tools ; that being said - unless your tire wear or handling really indicates it ... i wouldn't do an alignment "just for fun". The Model 3 can't even be adjusted as well as some other cars.

tire rotation/ tire repairs = Discount Tire/ Americas Tire or DIY

state inspection = any of the numerous shops offering it

(please do not clog up Service Centers for alignment, tire rotation or something as mundane as a state inspection)

everything else = Service Center or authorized body shop

 

[Jeremy3292]

There is absolutely a lack of service centers and 3rd party service options as well. Tesla service is absolutely awful and it needs to be leaps and bounds better.

Example: my windshield has a 2 foot crack in it currently. Nearest service center is Charlotte, 3-4 weeks before I can even get an appt, mind you I don't even know if they have a windshield in stock. Also every time I go there it is a terrible experience. So I'm driving even further to the traffic capital of the world, Atlanta (2-2.5 hrs one way), to get it replaced next week, as obviously ATL has 3 service centers so much better availability. And by "much better availability" I mean 1-2 weeks vs 3-4 weeks, still not ideal.

It seems to me Tesla is not really focused on service at all, despite what Elon says. Elon said something like they are working to have 50% same day repair? Lol I'm at 3-4 weeks currently for a service center almost 2 hours away. Sure your greater metro areas might have more service centers and might have better availability, but there is massive amount of people who don't just live in the biggest population centers like New York or California or DC.

How many cars is Tesla selling in the USA a year now? 500k? 1 million? They should be opening new service centers basically every week or every other week in the USA until they achieve stability in service availability.

I could go on and on for awhile, but it would inevitably just a be a (longer) rant...

 

[toolman335]

My family has a Tesla, Chevy, and Mercedes. All 3 places/dealers where we get our vehicles serviced PLUS the independent shop that we occasionally use have absurd lead times and significant parts delays. There's literally a Mercedes part that they told us has been unavailable for a year. Thankfully it isn't a safety/inspection related item.
Us Tesla people have to get our heads out of the sand and realize that these issues are everywhere right now.
But, WE have road rangers. To me that is what makes Tesla the best right now. Last month I had the road ranger show up to rotate my tires, clean/inspect the brakes, and replace the cabin filter. I'm too lazy to do all of those things. They came to my place of employment!
My wife and kid aren't getting road ranger service anytime soon LMAO!

 

[VenomR]

The wait times are horrendous. I’ve taken my car in 7 times this year alone, average wait time was 3 weeks. Longest I’ve waited was about a month. I caution new owners to wait before a buying a new Tesla until they sort this out. It’s just getting worse until they can scale better, because this isn’t worth it

 

[GaPeach]

New Tesla owner here. Bought a ‘21 Model Y from TSLA on 11/5/22. A week or so after purchase, I got a warning light bms_a066 max charge level and range reduced; ok to drive schedule service soon. Scheduled service 3 weeks out and it still charged so I was good. The weekend after thanksgiving, it stopped charging completely. On 11/22 roadside took my car to a SC in atlanta. Couldn’t take it to the one closet to me because they were not accepting anymore repairs. It was a week before anyone from the SC responded only to say they didn’t have loaners and my estimated completion date was 12-10 (3 weeks out) 11/28 finally got a loaner. 12/13/22 my car is still at the SC with no update on estimated completion. Now who knows how much longer it will be. Car is still under basic warranty so all I can do is just wait.

 

[afadeev]

My family has a Tesla, Chevy, and Mercedes. All 3 places/dealers where we get our vehicles serviced PLUS the independent shop that we occasionally use have absurd lead times and significant parts delays. There's literally a Mercedes part that they told us has been unavailable for a year. Thankfully it isn't a safety/inspection related item.
Us Tesla people have to get our heads out of the sand and realize that these issues are everywhere right now.

I'm sorry, but you are muddying the waters here.
We are not talking about one or two parts back-ordered from Tesla, but the overall massively backlogged service-bay experience for ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that one may be attempting to do to service our Teslas.

No other automotive OEM has 3-4 week minimum service appointment lag times. Even if your car is underivable.
Lag times are even worse for post-accident body shop repairs, since the number of shops authorized by Tesla is limited and not growing proportionally with the growing number of Tesla on the road.
The real challenge for Tesla owners is that the lag-times are growing, since Tesla is not investing into their SC (service centers) footprint expansion, as they continue to sell more cars.

But, WE have road rangers. To me that is what makes Tesla the best right now.

Rangers can only address relatively minor issues.
Inability to address major problems with one's car is the reason I can not recommend Tesla to any friends or family. Unless it will be 3rd or 4th car.

a

 

[toolman335]

I'm sorry, but you are muddying the waters here.
We are not talking about one or two parts back-ordered from Tesla, but the overall massively backlogged service-bay experience for ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that one may be attempting to do to service our Teslas.

No other automotive OEM has 3-4 week minimum service appointment lag times. Even if your car is underivable.
Lag times are even worse for post-accident body shop repairs, since the number of shops authorized by Tesla is limited and not growing proportionally with the growing number of Tesla on the road.
The real challenge for Tesla owners is that the lag-times are growing, since Tesla is not investing into their SC (service centers) footprint expansion, as they continue to sell more cars.



Rangers can only address relatively minor issues.
Inability to address major problems with one's car is the reason I can not recommend Tesla to any friends or family. Unless it will be 3rd or 4th car.

a

Hop on a Ford or Chevy forum and look at how long it takes them to fix their EVs. And they can't road trip worth a crap either.

 

[Yelobird]

Hop on a Ford or Chevy forum and look at how long it takes them to fix their EVs. And they can't road trip worth a crap either.

I had a 2-3 week wait to get the oil changed in my wife’s Ford lol. All services for most All brands are behind it’s just a new norm.

 

[theschnell]

Service is really frustrating. I’m getting my rear drive unit on 2015 model S replaced under warranty and after waiting a month to drop it off, it’s just been sitting there for 3 weeks with no specific info from service center as to when it might be done. No loaner and Uber credits worthless because I have a 110 mile round trip commute.

My battery level is slowly but surely draining down, and we got below 0 temps coming over the weekend and I’m not excited about my car sitting outside for that. I’m going to try to bring it home and bring it back in next week.

 

[Yelobird]

Service is really frustrating. I’m getting my rear drive unit on 2015 model S replaced under warranty and after waiting a month to drop it off, it’s just been sitting there for 3 weeks with no specific info from service center as to when it might be done. No loaner and Uber credits worthless because I have a 110 mile round trip commute.

My battery level is slowly but surely draining down, and we got below 0 temps coming over the weekend and I’m not excited about my car sitting outside for that. I’m going to try to bring it home and bring it back in next week.

You have a 7 plus year old car with likely a crap ton of miles they are repairing for free yet you’re upset you didn’t get a loaner? Interesting dilemma.

 

[afadeev]

You have a 7 plus year old car with likely a crap ton of miles they are repairing for free yet you’re upset you didn’t get a loaner? Interesting dilemma.

If it's covered under warranty (and electric drive train is), the age of the vehicle is irrelevant. No dilemma to be had.
The delays and lack of service progress and non-existent communication are.

So is some weirdos' attempts to excuse Tesla's lack of care for the service experience of their customers.
If Tesla had a working CEO, or customer service department, one might have a recourse. But they don't care enough to have either.

So we get, what we get.

 

[legendsk]

I have a theory I would like your opinions on:
Tesla is fully into digital self management, (and AFAIK also the other Musk companies).
It is very effective. Employees find the most profitable things they can do, and do them. Problems are quickly solved. Innovation rules. Great ideas are immediately implemented. Overhead is low so margins and profits are high.
Most of the carefully vetted employees understand and love it. Those that don't, quickly go away.

Elon has decided to use digital self management for customer service. If he can manage to pull this off, the vision of customers who can solve all their own problems and get on down the road, without even involving service, rangers, any other humans, is quite remarkable. What a much better world! The only down side I can see is: Can Elon manage to do this with us Free-Range-Chickens?

 

[theschnell]

You have a 7 plus year old car with likely a crap ton of miles they are repairing for free yet you’re upset you didn’t get a loaner? Interesting dilemma.

I would have settled for reliable info about where the car was in the process of being fixed rather than being kept entirely in the dark.

That said, I went in yesterday and got all the info I wanted. Not sure why I had to drive 50 miles to get a few questions answered, but it is what it is. At least they provided me with the info I needed when in person.

They did also finally get started on my car and decided it’s not the drive unit but just bad tires. I doubt that, but it’s possible so I told them to put on new tires and we’ll see if it solves the noise or not. I really don’t think it will, but if it does I will be happy to acknowledge they were right.

 

[toolman335]

I would have settled for reliable info about where the car was in the process of being fixed rather than being kept entirely in the dark.

That said, I went in yesterday and got all the info I wanted. Not sure why I had to drive 50 miles to get a few questions answered, but it is what it is. At least they provided me with the info I needed when in person.

They did also finally get started on my car and decided it’s not the drive unit but just bad tires. I doubt that, but it’s possible so I told them to put on new tires and we’ll see if it solves the noise or not. I really don’t think it will, but if it does I will be happy to acknowledge they were right.

Is there just a noise or is there also a warning? I would think if it's the rear drive unit that warnings galore would be all over the screen?

 

[theschnell]

Is there just a noise or is there also a warning? I would think if it's the rear drive unit that warnings galore would be all over the screen?

The older model S drive units are known to develop a “milling” noise that gets worse over time. I don’t know what it sounds like, but the sound my car is making is what I expect it would sound like. It sounds similar to a bad wheel bearing except directly behind me. It’s possible it is a bad wheel bearing or bad tires, but I want it figured out and solved before my warranty expires in June 2023 in case it is the drive unit.

The first tech didn’t seem very thorough but did agree with me that it was the drive unit. They made an appointment for me based on that assumption, but then when the second tech looked at it (after letting it sit for 3 weeks with no info or movement whatsoever), he said it’s just bad tires. It’s possible he’s right, we’ll see. New tires are supposed to go on tonight.