MCU is dead, car is bricked, Tesla is being unforgivably terrible

[whitex]

The OP got a bad deal so everyone who reads this thread thinks Tesla treats everyone this way........wrong..... you never hear about all the good experiences, only the ones that go wrong and get posted here.

If such experiences are so rare, a simple solution for Tesla is to make it up to all customers who get such a bad deal. In exchange the customers agree to write a followup to their posts about how they got free bigger battery, or free supercharging for life, free P100D rental for twice as long as it took the parts to arrive, etc, etc. That would turn all negative stories into positive ones. Of course this only works if the bad experiences are very rare, or Tesla would lose their shirt on giving stuff away.

 

[Raechris]

That has got to be so frustrating. This is why I cannot rely on our Tesla (car) because the Tesla (corporate) processes are not streamlined for good customer service. My contingency if our Tesla is out of commission is to fall back on our other 3 cars. 2 months ago I brought our Model S to have the inactive rear defroster looked at. It took a month to schedule an appointment at our local but overwhelmed SC. The drop-off line at 2PM was 9 cars deep and backed up on the street well beyond the driveway. Thinking it was just a fuse, I thought I might get my car back that same day (how naive was I?). The car sat in the back of the service center for 3 days, then moved to an off-site auxiliary lot for another 5 days. They finally got to work on the car and took about 3 hours of service bay time. I declined a loaner car because I have extra cars around but it would have been easier and potentially cheaper for Tesla to just service the car when they were ready for it.

The car is great when you don't need any service, but when it does need service I start thinking about other car brands. How awesome would it be to have Tesla design and technology, with Honda/Toyota reliability, MB luxury, with a service center as efficient as Costco or Ikea? A guy can only dream...

Understand your perspective but the SC never knows what emergency will thwart their best laid plans which lead to prioritizing service. I have been in same position with minor repairs but it has been much better in 2019 even compared to 12/18 in Dedham MA

 

[Barry]

While I agree that is how it should be, that is not the vision Elon is driving. Think Apple airpods, what happens when they have a "collision"? You throw them away and buy a new pair.

If this is true, this will be Tesla's downfall.

He's great at start-ups and concepts, but he sucks at running a maturing company. Tesla needs a CEO who knows how to run a car company and doesn't treat customers like crap.

 

[wle4us]

model s with repeated no drive error since 2/19 annual service with update. repeatedly stuck with error message. At service for weeks. Got it back last night as "repaired". By this morning it was again in no drive no reverse. Went off and on today then I took it back to the service center. It was towed earlier this week because it would not come out of the error message, even after multiple reboots.

 

[Droschke]

That has got to be so frustrating. This is why I cannot rely on our Tesla (car) because the Tesla (corporate) processes are not streamlined for good customer service. My contingency if our Tesla is out of commission is to fall back on our other 3 cars. 2 months ago I brought our Model S to have the inactive rear defroster looked at. It took a month to schedule an appointment at our local but overwhelmed SC. The drop-off line at 2PM was 9 cars deep and backed up on the street well beyond the driveway. Thinking it was just a fuse, I thought I might get my car back that same day (how naive was I?). The car sat in the back of the service center for 3 days, then moved to an off-site auxiliary lot for another 5 days. They finally got to work on the car and took about 3 hours of service bay time. I declined a loaner car because I have extra cars around but it would have been easier and potentially cheaper for Tesla to just service the car when they were ready for it.

The car is great when you don't need any service, but when it does need service I start thinking about other car brands. How awesome would it be to have Tesla design and technology, with Honda/Toyota reliability, MB luxury, with a service center as efficient as Costco or Ikea? A guy can only dream...

I had a similar experience with my 4yr/50k service visit. They kept the car for almost 3 weeks, with no one working on it at all for the first 2 weeks. Finally picked up the car in the 3rd week with at least one deep paint scratch on the side panel, greasy finger prints on the headliner, incomplete or wrong repair of the items I had mentioned to be fixed, and the trunk hatch which is now closing with a wide gap on one side. The frustration and the negative experience have made me wish to never have to go back again for any reason if all possible.

 

[darxsys]

Tesla customer service sucks. I don’t care what anyone here says or what excuses you will come up with, the bottom line is they suck. Occasionally you will run into some great individual who will do everything to help you, but in general, it’s a disaster.

 

[whitex]

If this is true, this will be Tesla's downfall.

He's great at start-ups and concepts, but he sucks at running a maturing company. Tesla needs a CEO who knows how to run a car company and doesn't treat customers like crap.

Elon doesn't intend to treat customers like crap. He just thinks everyone should sacrifice "for the mission". He also doesn't get why people have a problem when their cars is in the shop for months - he figures everyone has plenty of cars to drive like he does.

 

[brkaus]

Yes, you are the only one.

Name one other car company that has such problems with lack of communications and service.

One gets better service when fixing a Kia.

The Acura body shop. The rep even said he couldn’t discuss we me when I dropped the car off. Had to talk to the receptionist. While he was talking to the person at the next desk how he was on pain pills, but felt he needed to come in to e paid.

Totally screwed up the repair too.

 

[Barry]

Elon doesn't intend to treat customers like crap. He just thinks everyone should sacrifice "for the mission". He also doesn't get why people have a problem when their cars is in the shop for months - he figures everyone has plenty of cars to drive like he does.

That's why someone else needs to run the show. He needs to follow his past models - start the company, then sell it off for big bucks. Like Paypal.

 

[Cheburashka]

The Acura body shop. The rep even said he couldn’t discuss we me when I dropped the car off. Had to talk to the receptionist. While he was talking to the person at the next desk how he was on pain pills, but felt he needed to come in to e paid.

Totally screwed up the repair too.

This is an exception, not the norm.. bet you the Acura body shop would pick up the phone too.

 

[sorka]

Yes they are watching. Not sure how thoroughly, but they are. Never thought of using the forum to get their attention, but never needed to. Other than fixing Version 9. So they know Version 9 irritates a lot of owners. I winder if they are working on that.

So glad I still have v8.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

If this is true, this will be Tesla's downfall.

He's great at start-ups and concepts, but he sucks at running a maturing company. Tesla needs a CEO who knows how to run a car company and doesn't treat customers like crap.

How do you know if he's doing a bad job? What he's doing is unpresidented. Has anyone done better than how he's doing it? Henry Ford? I think what Elon is doing is a little more complex than what Henry was doing. And what Henry did was amazing.

Edit: I forgot to mention Bob Lutz. He's pretty awesome.

 

[EVSteve]

Service experience is unfortunately very location specific. In some places, it is excellent. I always get great communications and updates come via text. Can also text back and they follow up.

There are some service centers that are terrible though. So getting through to corporate about bad experiences is important.

Exactly why, even though I live in Pennsylvania, I’ll take a road trip and grab a hotel to have Raleigh NC work on my car.

Devon PA and Cherry Hill NJ both scuffed/damaged my car while in service. Our local ranger is awesome but the SCs are awful. I dread ever needing to take my car in. In fact I have a few minor issues (yellow mcu ring, buzzing behind dash when Supercharging in hot weather) but it’s a minor nuisance vs the fear of more damage if they touch the car.

We had a mishap driving back from Florida requiring a tow. Raleigh rebuilt my left rear suspension in two weeks and gave me a X loaner in the meantime. Meanwhile a main battery contactor replacement (hour job I’ve been told) at Cherry Hill took over a month to complete. Cherry Hill claims parts delays were the reason.

 

[darxsys]

That's why someone else needs to run the show. He needs to follow his past models - start the company, then sell it off for big bucks. Like Paypal.

I am honestly starting to wish that the SEC ousts him from Tesla.

 

[Barry]

How do you know if he's doing a bad job? What he's doing is unpresidented. Has anyone done better than how he's doing it? Henry Ford? I think what Elon is doing is a little more complex than what Henry was doing. And what Henry did was amazing.

Because the same customer service issues that were problematic 5 years ago are still a serious problem. In the early days, everyone said, "hey, they're new, give them some slack." We did, but the time to get the house in order is long overdue. How many other companies have such an attrition rate of executives/managers?

P.S. Henry Ford was a disgusting human being.
P.P.S. Your avatar is very annoying.

 

[croman]

I am honestly starting to wish that the SEC ousts him from Tesla.

They aren't seeking that at all, so its not happening. The Board's rapid exit indicates any dissenting voices are being silenced/giving up (Linda Johnson Rice was, ironically, touted as an independent voice and she's given up).

 

[GlmnAlyAirCar]

This isn't directed solely at the op, but please correctly use the term "bricked" if you are putting into a thread title. If something is "bricked," it will never work again. It is as useful as a brick.

Op as much as you are upset with tesla service, I'm sure you car will work again.

 

[tljdesign]

Because the same customer service issues that were problematic 5 years ago are still a serious problem. In the early days, everyone said, "hey, they're new, give them some slack." We did, but the time to get the house in order is long overdue. How many other companies have such an attrition rate of executives/managers?

P.S. Henry Ford was a disgusting human being.
P.P.S. Your avatar is very annoying.

In the Valley? Many, many companies have equal or even worse attrition.

Folks, Tesla is trying to change the automobile industry. Completely end to end. No one has done it before. While “growth” isn’t an excuse, it is in fact a reason. Automobile service needs a disruption. Tesla doesn’t need to repeat their playbook. They’re trying to change the status quo. There will be bruises.

The best thing we can all do is adequately report the bad experiences. Will someone always listen? No, because the systems aren’t mature enough yet.

I have owned cars from more than 8 different brands, several German. Even when being serviced by the number 1 rated BMW service center in the US, I had to do my own calls and follow ups.

Most people who bought a Tesla bought a car far more expensive than they ever would have. So we all have a natural disposition to be treated like we’ve gone way out of our way. But it’s a car, just the same. It’s not more expensive because it’s higher luxury or status. It’s more expensive because the tech is just more expensive today.

Am I saying stop ranting? No. Do as you please. But we all (should have) bought our cars knowing this.

I, for one, have had nothing but exceptional experiences with Tesla. But that certainly doesn’t invalidate those who have had terrible ones.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Your avatar is very annoying.

Oh sorry. I'll change it to something less flashy.

 

[Droschke]

But we all (should have) bought our cars knowing this.

I didn't. Actually, the service has steadily gone downhill since I bought my Model S 4 years ago.