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Master Charger failed, part not in stock, Tesla dropping the ball on a Loaner

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Hi all,

I have a 2014 Model S P85D, with the 4 year Extended Service Agreement.

I have a HPWC at home, and only use the Superchargers when on road trips.

Last week, on my way back home (near Orlando) from Miami/Palm Beach, I was unable to charge at the Supercharger (hung on "Starting to Charge", tried 3 different stalls). Fortunately, I wasn't completely out of range, and was able to drive (slowly) home, and charge there.

This was already an inconvenience as I was supposed to go to a family function, and not straight home, but, whatever.

I got in touch with Tesla, who did remote diagnostics, and found that the Master Charger failed and needs to be replaced. The part is not in stock and needs to be ordered, and "should" be in "next week".

Unfortunately, my wife is supposed to have surgery next week in Miami, and obviously I am not going to reschedule that just because Tesla doesn't have a part in stock.

I asked Tesla if they can agree that if they don't have the part in stock and installed before I need to drive down to Miami, they will allow me to take the Loaner down to Miami, and pick up my car when I return. I was told "no", and the only alternative they offered was that I can drive my car down, and use "Destination Chargers" rather than the supercharger network.

As I am sure everyone realizes, having to spend four hours for each charging stop is unacceptable, and considering that this trip would basically require at least four stops at a charger, that adds up to 16 hours spent hanging out at Destination chargers.

Let's just say that I am not amused.

Has anyone else run into an experience like this? I'm stunned that this is the way the situation is handled for a car that cost well over $100k new.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: croman
Hi all,

I have a 2014 Model S P85D, with the 4 year Extended Service Agreement.

I have a HPWC at home, and only use the Superchargers when on road trips.

Last week, on my way back home (near Orlando) from Miami/Palm Beach, I was unable to charge at the Supercharger (hung on "Starting to Charge", tried 3 different stalls). Fortunately, I wasn't completely out of range, and was able to drive (slowly) home, and charge there.

This was already an inconvenience as I was supposed to go to a family function, and not straight home, but, whatever.

I got in touch with Tesla, who did remote diagnostics, and found that the Master Charger failed and needs to be replaced. The part is not in stock and needs to be ordered, and "should" be in "next week".

Unfortunately, my wife is supposed to have surgery next week in Miami, and obviously I am not going to reschedule that just because Tesla doesn't have a part in stock.

I asked Tesla if they can agree that if they don't have the part in stock and installed before I need to drive down to Miami, they will allow me to take the Loaner down to Miami, and pick up my car when I return. I was told "no", and the only alternative they offered was that I can drive my car down, and use "Destination Chargers" rather than the supercharger network.

As I am sure everyone realizes, having to spend four hours for each charging stop is unacceptable, and considering that this trip would basically require at least four stops at a charger, that adds up to 16 hours spent hanging out at Destination chargers.

Let's just say that I am not amused.

Has anyone else run into an experience like this? I'm stunned that this is the way the situation is handled for a car that cost well over $100k new.

Personally, I don't think they can restrict your usage of the loaner if you are not leaving the state. In addition, I never would've asked them to begin with. It's easy enough to say "Whoops, didn't know that." if you have an issue.

Finally, I would escalate the issue. Insist on speaking with someone who doesn't already believe that it can't be done.
 
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Reactions: sundaymorning
Does “master charger” imply your car has dual chargers? If so, you might push for them to remove the master and replace it with the slave until they have the replacement in hand.

This will limit your AC charging to 40A, but should re-enable supercharging...
 
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Reactions: MP3Mike
Personally, I don't think they can restrict your usage of the loaner if you are not leaving the state. In addition, I never would've asked them to begin with. It's easy enough to say "Whoops, didn't know that." if you have an issue.

Finally, I would escalate the issue. Insist on speaking with someone who doesn't already believe that it can't be done.
They’re not trying to restrict his usage. They’re saying they’re not willing to give him a loaner before they have his car in the shop and are actually working on it.
 
I question their diagnosis. The onboard charger (i.e. master charger) is what's used for L1/L2 (home and destination charging locations). Superchargers (L3 chargers) bypass the onboard charger.

Even if you have dual chargers, I believe a failed master charger will prevent all L1/L2 charging, until the slave charger is reconfigured as the master.
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: MP3Mike
I question their diagnosis. The onboard charger (i.e. master charger) is what's used for L2 (home and destination charging locations). Superchargers bypass the onboard charger.

You are correct. However, I experienced a similar issue with my dual charger 2013 MS. I was on a long trip (Texas to PA) and was unable to charge at a supercharger. The Master Charger had died and with it, the high voltage junction box which allows the supercharger to bypass directly to the batteries.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: markb1
That sentence certainly implies that he has the loaner already.

I don’t have the loaner yet. Appointment should be for Thursday, but I asked the question in advance because I know that normally the language on the loaner agreement says that you have to return the car within 24 hours of the repair being completed, which wouldn’t be possible if I am in Miami for a week, helping my wife recover.
 
I don’t have the loaner yet. Appointment should be for Thursday, but I asked the question in advance because I know that normally the language on the loaner agreement says that you have to return the car within 24 hours of the repair being completed, which wouldn’t be possible if I am in Miami for a week, helping my wife recover.
And so if you keep the loaner an extra a day or two because your wife is in the hospital, what do you think Tesla will do to you? Worst case, maybe charge you for a days rental.
 
I don’t have the loaner yet. Appointment should be for Thursday, but I asked the question in advance because I know that normally the language on the loaner agreement says that you have to return the car within 24 hours of the repair being completed, which wouldn’t be possible if I am in Miami for a week, helping my wife recover.

I was told once that I could return my loaner beyond the 24 hour mark because they were finishing my service at a mildly inconvenient time. It wasn't a full week or anything of course though. Could you drive the loaner down to Miami and just make a quick trip back up once your car is ready and then drive it back down to continue caring for your wife?
 
I was told once that I could return my loaner beyond the 24 hour mark because they were finishing my service at a mildly inconvenient time. It wasn't a full week or anything of course though. Could you drive the loaner down to Miami and just make a quick trip back up once your car is ready and then drive it back down to continue caring for your wife?

It’s a four hour drive each way... plus charging time.
 
The master charger is not bypassed the Supercharger connects directly to the AC input of the charger, and a set of contactors bridge that to the HV battery, The input phase on the charger has to be able to ignore it. If the ~400 volts DC on the AC input causes an isolation fault, or any other issue, it won't let you charge. i.e. a component fails at 400v DC but not at 240v AC. (Which is what I think is likely to be happening in these cases.)
 
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Reactions: ucmndd and P85_DA