First, I wanted to just thank everyone in this community who has contributed to such an invaluable resource. I have learned so much and am grateful for the amount of time that you all have saved me. I genuinely mean this— so thank you!
The following is my attempt to articulate my experience with my first Tesla— a 2021 Model S Plaid with the hopes of someone out there that may have experienced the same/similar issues. I want to express that I’m not looking for a free lunch or a handout (but rather a car that simply operates and won’t leave me stranded as this one has) and any feedback / recommendations / call-outs would be appreciated.
So what’s the issue? I purchased my Model S Plaid in March of this year from a dealership in FL (I am a GA resident) with about 4K miles on it, and like many of you, I have been blown away by the car, the tech, the speed, and the fit and finish when compared with others I have ridden in over years prior. However in April, with the car fully charged (and still connected) in my garage, I came home after a 5-day trip to find the car completely dead and unresponsive to all the key fobs, phone key, key cards, etc.
Frustrated, and lacking the time to call roadside then and there before work (I am an orthopedic surgeon that had firm timelines that particular day), I returned later to deal with it. They jumped it off, and thinking it was an anomaly, I declined to have it towed and drove it without issue on and off over the next few days.
At the end of that week, I go to get in the car — and low and behold — the same issue and completely ‘stuck’ in hibernation (second time). Again roadside comes out, sends the wrong type of service contractor, and a few hours later a second contractor arrives to tow it away. Luckily, he was able to jump it and drive it to the end of my driveway to load it and get it to Tesla service— where it remained for 17 days in total and I was not provided a loaner of any kind.
The issue was diagnosed as an issue between the DC converter utilized by the high voltage battery to the 12V. The part was ordered, repair completed, and I picked up the car— and again no issue for about 10 days.
I then decide to drive it to the lake as the range is more than doable (especially as they have a Tesla charger I can top off with during the day). Around dinner, I go retrieve the car from the charger (at the hotel on site) and drive about a mile to the home we are staying at to pick up some company to go out for dinner. Upon getting back to the car 20 min after I moved it a mile— and with company in-tow— the car is dead (third time for those keeping score)!!! Worse— its blocking all the other cars.
At this point, I can’t help but just feel so ridiculous and frankly— mad — that here I am with a $150K vehicle, in the middle of the woods, in 90 degree heat blocking in a bunch of friends who are just trying to have dinner down the road— with no support or path of escalation (GM, Service Mgr, etc.) as I would have with Audi, Mercedes Benz, Porsche or any of the other brands I gravitate towards. By the grace of God — the car opened after about 15 min, and we were on our way.
I drove it back home without issue, then parked it, plugged it in, and went away for several days out of town. Again upon returning, the car is dead (fourth time), however, unlike the very first time, the car refuses to go into tow mode / neutral / or release the parking brake. So for 7 hours on a Saturday, Tesla sent one truck after another until finally the third was able to bring the proper tow setup to literally remove it from the interior of my garage on rollers.
The car now has been at Tesla for 10 days (27 days total as we speak) and has YET to be given an initial diagnosis. Unlike before, I was given a loaner (though it did take 5 days of persistence to ‘track one down’) however it’s a total dog — a 2016 Model S with almost 80,000 miles.
At this point, I have no trust in the vehicle I own at ALL and I MUST have reliable transportation given my profession and the critical nature of getting from one hospital to another. I don’t think that for $150K I am unreasonable— and I feel like I have given Tesla more than ample time to address the issues and repair the vehicle.
This is where I could use some advice or a considered $0.02 from those that may have been down this path before. As I purchased the car in GA used from a dealer in FL, it doesn’t qualify for GA lemon law / buyback. I didn’t realize this until today— but used cars (no matter how new or how few miles) do not qualify legally for me to exercise what I would prefer them to do at this point: Buy this hunk-o-*sugar* back!
And without a point guard at Tesla— I don’t really know what to do at this point other than sell it , take a $25K (or whatever) haircut, and forever be done with this brand that I once had high regard for.
I really do love the car when it works and would have no issue swapping into a new one (and paying the incremental costs/wear and tear of the current one) or getting creative somehow to come to a resolution. I’ve only done this one other time on 200+ cars I’ve had over the years. But without the lemon law on my side, perhaps foolishly paying cash for it (vs. if it were leased or financed there would be easier to calculate the loss of use), and not having anyone from Tesla speak to me since last Wednesday, I’m at a loss of what best to do as it seems like Tesla’s attitude is ‘take it or leave it’ — which for their flagship model— is frankly pathetic.
I consider myself lucky to have other vehicles that I can use-- but I really feel for the person who has purchased a Model S Plaid (or any Tesla) as their primary mode of transport.
Frustrated, but Thank you for your consideration and feedback!
The following is my attempt to articulate my experience with my first Tesla— a 2021 Model S Plaid with the hopes of someone out there that may have experienced the same/similar issues. I want to express that I’m not looking for a free lunch or a handout (but rather a car that simply operates and won’t leave me stranded as this one has) and any feedback / recommendations / call-outs would be appreciated.
So what’s the issue? I purchased my Model S Plaid in March of this year from a dealership in FL (I am a GA resident) with about 4K miles on it, and like many of you, I have been blown away by the car, the tech, the speed, and the fit and finish when compared with others I have ridden in over years prior. However in April, with the car fully charged (and still connected) in my garage, I came home after a 5-day trip to find the car completely dead and unresponsive to all the key fobs, phone key, key cards, etc.
Frustrated, and lacking the time to call roadside then and there before work (I am an orthopedic surgeon that had firm timelines that particular day), I returned later to deal with it. They jumped it off, and thinking it was an anomaly, I declined to have it towed and drove it without issue on and off over the next few days.
At the end of that week, I go to get in the car — and low and behold — the same issue and completely ‘stuck’ in hibernation (second time). Again roadside comes out, sends the wrong type of service contractor, and a few hours later a second contractor arrives to tow it away. Luckily, he was able to jump it and drive it to the end of my driveway to load it and get it to Tesla service— where it remained for 17 days in total and I was not provided a loaner of any kind.
The issue was diagnosed as an issue between the DC converter utilized by the high voltage battery to the 12V. The part was ordered, repair completed, and I picked up the car— and again no issue for about 10 days.
I then decide to drive it to the lake as the range is more than doable (especially as they have a Tesla charger I can top off with during the day). Around dinner, I go retrieve the car from the charger (at the hotel on site) and drive about a mile to the home we are staying at to pick up some company to go out for dinner. Upon getting back to the car 20 min after I moved it a mile— and with company in-tow— the car is dead (third time for those keeping score)!!! Worse— its blocking all the other cars.
At this point, I can’t help but just feel so ridiculous and frankly— mad — that here I am with a $150K vehicle, in the middle of the woods, in 90 degree heat blocking in a bunch of friends who are just trying to have dinner down the road— with no support or path of escalation (GM, Service Mgr, etc.) as I would have with Audi, Mercedes Benz, Porsche or any of the other brands I gravitate towards. By the grace of God — the car opened after about 15 min, and we were on our way.
I drove it back home without issue, then parked it, plugged it in, and went away for several days out of town. Again upon returning, the car is dead (fourth time), however, unlike the very first time, the car refuses to go into tow mode / neutral / or release the parking brake. So for 7 hours on a Saturday, Tesla sent one truck after another until finally the third was able to bring the proper tow setup to literally remove it from the interior of my garage on rollers.
The car now has been at Tesla for 10 days (27 days total as we speak) and has YET to be given an initial diagnosis. Unlike before, I was given a loaner (though it did take 5 days of persistence to ‘track one down’) however it’s a total dog — a 2016 Model S with almost 80,000 miles.
At this point, I have no trust in the vehicle I own at ALL and I MUST have reliable transportation given my profession and the critical nature of getting from one hospital to another. I don’t think that for $150K I am unreasonable— and I feel like I have given Tesla more than ample time to address the issues and repair the vehicle.
This is where I could use some advice or a considered $0.02 from those that may have been down this path before. As I purchased the car in GA used from a dealer in FL, it doesn’t qualify for GA lemon law / buyback. I didn’t realize this until today— but used cars (no matter how new or how few miles) do not qualify legally for me to exercise what I would prefer them to do at this point: Buy this hunk-o-*sugar* back!
And without a point guard at Tesla— I don’t really know what to do at this point other than sell it , take a $25K (or whatever) haircut, and forever be done with this brand that I once had high regard for.
I really do love the car when it works and would have no issue swapping into a new one (and paying the incremental costs/wear and tear of the current one) or getting creative somehow to come to a resolution. I’ve only done this one other time on 200+ cars I’ve had over the years. But without the lemon law on my side, perhaps foolishly paying cash for it (vs. if it were leased or financed there would be easier to calculate the loss of use), and not having anyone from Tesla speak to me since last Wednesday, I’m at a loss of what best to do as it seems like Tesla’s attitude is ‘take it or leave it’ — which for their flagship model— is frankly pathetic.
I consider myself lucky to have other vehicles that I can use-- but I really feel for the person who has purchased a Model S Plaid (or any Tesla) as their primary mode of transport.
Frustrated, but Thank you for your consideration and feedback!
