MCU failure

[SO16]

Etron just came out, outselling Model X in some places in its first months. Most Tesla competition is not coming out till next year or two.

Bolt outsold Model 3 for a while too.

We shall see if any of these future “Tesla killers” will actually live up to that name.

 

[jboles]

Apologies for the long post but I I wanted to share my recent experience with Tesla and the Dallas Service Center.

First I understand that there is and inherent risk buying a used car and that was my decision. I own that and much of my post is based out of pure frustration and disappointment.

But after reading countless forum articles and car reviews testifying the Model S reliability I was convinced that Tesla makes a solid and reliable product and that generally owners are well cared for, hence I shouldn’t be to concerned. After finally getting the service records It was clear that this was not a problematic car.

My experience has been quite the opposite and what I came find out is that if you don’t purchase a new or CPO vehicle from them and something goes wrong, they will make you pay for it. In every sense of the word.

One month after ownership my worst fear happened. After firmware update the MCU started giving me technical issues. Ultimately it failed leaving me with a $3,500 bill and an inoperable car. oh and they’re charging me $20 to tell the AC is working fine. The Service managers response,” most of the technical parts on the car like the MCU have a shelf life of 4-6 years so this is actually pretty typical.”

Are kidding me? A six figure car that has been marketed as a ultra reliable game changer precisely because of “less moving parts” has imminent failures by design. I would love to see a salesperson make that pitch to a potential buyer.

I have read and shared with the Service Center various accounts were the MCU had been replaced under good will and given that I have only one had the car one month the idea of spending nearly 3k in repairs is absolutely ludicrous.

On another note my DU needs to be replaced under warranty but incredibly it turns out that hubs needs to be greased. Grinding/milling, droning, clunk sounds and present but no need to replace the DU apparently. So Tesla is more than happy to charge a huge bill on a non warranty item but will not address a major fault under warranty. Let me guess, that issue ha a “longer shelf life”. Unbelievable.

Do I like the car. Absolutely. It’s safe, amazing to drive, gorgeous and a technical marvel.

Has Tesla lost my trust a customer and a brand advocate over petty nickel and dimming? Absolutely.

They had the opportunity out of “goodwill” to make this an exceptional experience but decided to make sure that if you don’t buy from them it’s going to hurt. You’ve made your point Tesla and after working in marketing for over 25 years I have learned that once you’ve lost a customer it’s very difficult to gain they’re business again.

Looks like your car 2013, so it has been "out of warranty" exactly 2 years ago. Do you really expect other luxury brands/dealers to fix a similar issue based on "Goodwill" alone?

I bought a 2015 Model S 70D July of last year and made sure that it was a CPO so I can get the 4/yr 50K mile warranty. The MCU died 4 months after and Tesla replaced it at no cost. You know full well of the risks buying without warranty, so you should just own it.

Though as others pointed out, Tesla really need to fix the excessive logging on the eMMC to prolong the life of the MCUs. It's long overdue.

 

[Az_Rael]

That really is too bad. How many miles do you have on your P85D?

57K miles. Still under warranty luckily because we bought it under the old CPO program a couple years ago.

 

[whitex]

Bolt outsold Model 3 for a while too.

Only while Model 3 was ramping up, i.e. very production limited. Is there a shortage of Model X'es I haven't heard about?

We shall see if any of these future “Tesla killers” will actually live up to that name.

I'm worried Elon will turn out to be the Tesla killer.

 

[SO16]

Only while Model 3 was ramping up, i.e. very production limited. Is there a shortage of Model X'es I haven't heard about?


I'm worried Elon will turn out to be the Tesla killer.

Mainly just people holding out for a “refresh” version of the Model S and X.

 

[CharlieW]

Just fallen victim to the same thing, dead MCU 5 weeks out of warranty. Service centre comms truly terrible (Brooklands, UK). It is likely that the eMMC chip was failing while still in warranty as firmware was six versions out of date. Requested goodwill contribution, but told that is not likely. Was about to buy a model 3 as a second car, but my faith in Tesla is seriously shaken, so reconsidering my options.