The wear out portion of the bathtub curve is very different than the annual inspection of a new car. I understand what you mean, but this thread is about inspections at relatively low mileage with no signs of issues.
If you're specifically referring to the yellow line in the linked page (the "wear out portion"), you're missing the early failures (
what makes it a bathtub curve). Early failures don't necessarily happen within the first year.
Additionally, something can start to fail (or fail entirely) without the customer noticing, especially since they are not mechanical experts. A friend had a new car delivered that "felt funny" over bumps but he didn't get anyone to look at it. A tire shop eventually noticed he had something very broken with his suspension/steering in the front end (I honestly can't remember exactly what it was anymore, but the point was a simple look would have caught it). Darn well could have saved him and others from a serious accident and/or further damage.
Plus OP is talking about things like "whatever the equivalent of the transmission for an EV...the Autopilot mechanism that drives the steering wheels"...things that are not part of any recommended service interval.
OP initially asked about...
What about battery coolant check? other fluids? Brakes? no need to check anything on the brakes?
... and then followed up with...
i would like them to check if the car is mechanically sound. The wheels, whatever the equivalent of the transmission for an EV, the brakes, the Autopilot mechanism that drives the steering wheels, and every other mechanical component that would have had some wear over the 25k miles of driving.
To say, everything will be fine, don't worry, call back if you have an issue - doesn't seem right to me.
First, you're right. They don't appear to be on a recommended service interval. Neither of my Hondas says "make sure your suspension and steering components are in good order" in their service intervals, however
of course that's something you check once in a while. They don't even mention servicing brakes (other than replacement) or checking on various fluids, however again you
of course should have those checked once in a while.
What Tesla recommends for service intervals is neither exhaustive nor universally true, they're just recommendations for major components. This is true for all manufacturers. You don't drive a car without oil because of a leak just because you haven't hit the service interval for it yet (however, yes, I'm aware that does happen -- usually at the cost of an engine rebuild).
Battery coolant check is a reasonable ask since they used to recommend replacement every 4 years or 50k miles (finally found the numbers), so at least a check that their now "lifetime coolant" is actually holding up would be fantastic. They say even in the manual that it shouldn't need replacement "under most circumstances", which means you should still be checking it. Brakes should absolutely be checked and serviced. OP does not seem mechanically inclined (sorry if I'm wrong!) and yet is asking for the right things.
In fact, straight from the owner's manual:
"Clean and lubricate brake calipers every year or 12,500 miles (if in an area where roads are salted during the Winter)". I don't know if Texas uses salt, but putting this out to every 2 years or 25k miles is certainly reasonable as well (I would personally do it every year anyways, but I live in an area where salt is used).
Their later asks may be a bit more trivial, sure. Wheels, wheel bearings, spinny bits, splines, shafts, etc. can be checked by any shop, but would be nice to have checked while the vehicle is already up in the air for tire rotation. The transmission is indeed a more or less sealed unit with a filter, shouldn't
need to check anything and doing so might actually be detrimental. As far as I understand the system that actually moves the steering wheel is the same as the electric power steering, there's not much interesting for service there. As for "every other mechanical component" that could have wear, I absolutely agree. Check those joints. Make sure the battery has all the bolts it needs still. Ensure everything under the car is still fastened. Make sure any seals are still fine, at least via fluid levels (e.g. for coolant, brakes). Make sure everything is in spec for the front end. Etc.
Finally, the fact the service center is essentially saying "call back if you have an issue", I agree with the OP. This is not right. This is not how you look after vehicles, Tesla or otherwise.
The only service items that should be absent on a Tesla are those related to a traditional gas engine/transmission, everything else is still present and important.
Why take a negligent stance on basic preventative maintenance and checks on a $40,000+ car?
@Electroman do you have a trusted mechanic that would be willing to start servicing Teslas? Since Tesla themselves doesn't seem to care about the maintenance of your vehicle, I would highly recommend going with a third party.
