My experience with Tesla's new Mobile Service (documented with pictures)

[heytae]

After a 5 hour road trip (S. Tahoe to home in South Bay Area) in our MX yesterday, we got a low tire pressure warning during the last 15 mins before reaching our home. Thank gawd it happened then and not during our trip in Tahoe or worse, during the drive to or from. We tried out the new Tesla Mobile Service (mobile tire repair van) and here's our experience of the new pilot program.

After calling their Roadside Service department, they said they could come out immediately, but I scheduled it for later in the day since I was at work (MX was at home). Their tech Mike (friendly, informative, and overall awesome guy) came to our home with a service van fully stocked with tires and wheels. He had my exact replacement ContiSilent 20" rear tire just in case the tire wasn't repairable. I had previously found the source of the leak coming from a screw that was in between two of the tire's treads (in one of the "valleys" between two treads that make contact with the road--see pictures). Mike was confident that he could repair the tire ($57 and change), saving me the expense of replacing it for $350. Phew! Our MX has only 2500 miles on it.

Contrary to what I've read here on TMC, the MX CAN be easily jacked up with a floor jack. Some others have posted that it's not possible due to the frame not being strong enough for a corner-jack due to the vehicle's heavy weight, etc. I'm confirming that the car can be jacked up by a floor jack when done properly.

The wheel was removed from the car and taken to the van. He had the tire dismounted very fast and showed me the culprit of the leak, a fricken 2" drywall-type screw (see pictures). Equipped with everything he needed to fix the leak and re-balance the wheel, he was done in 45 minutes flat! (sorry for the pun, but I had to).

Here are some pictures that not only show the screw that caused this, but of the Tesla Mobile Service van too. Mike even offered me a cold drink while waiting, as well as a coloring book for my daughter (they've thought of everything to make sure the customer is comfortable while waiting--pure genius!)

The small cost of this flat repair was well worth it. It saved me time and the hassles of taking the car into a service center, waiting, taking time off of work, etc. I know some tire shops will repair flats for free, but I wanted Tesla service for this issue, and to see how this Tesla Mobile Service works.

The Tesla Mobile Service worked really well for us. Mike said that they currently have 2 vans in operation here in the Bay Area, and 3 more coming soon in preparation for the Model 3 coming out in volume. They currently cover from San Francisco to Gilroy. It makes a lot more sense economically, than building service centers all over the country. I will definitely use it again the next time we need eligible service.

 

[heytae]

More pictures... (set 2 of 3)

 

[heytae]

(set 3 of 3)

 

[Solarman004]

@heytae , great review!
I can't tell from the picture, but did the floor jack have an adaptor to stay squarely on the lift point and not damage the edge of the battery case? It does not look like a standard "cup" on the floor jack where it contacts the car.

 

[RRM998]

Does Tesla have mobile service in Texas?

 

[GoTzillaR]

Does Tesla have mobile service in Texas?

I was told instead of having more service centers, Tesla will roll out mobile service in Texas.

 

[jaguar36]

@heytae , great review!
I can't tell from the picture, but did the floor jack have an adaptor to stay squarely on the lift point and not damage the edge of the battery case? It does not look like a standard "cup" on the floor jack where it contacts the car.

That's not needed at all, you just have to be careful when positioning the jack. Most decent jacks are available with a rubber saddle pad, which it looks like the Tesla guy was using.

Looks like a great service, and having them come out to you is very convenient. You pay for that convenience though, a reputable tire shop would only charge $20 to patch-plug a tire at least around here.

 

[brkaus]

Does Tesla have mobile service in Texas?

I saw a truck that looked similar in Austin while out driving.

 

[trmmcd]

I also have had mobile repair of a completely flat tire. In my case a standard tow truck came - no issue jacking up my X. They gave me a loaner wheel and tire and took my wheel and tire back to the Tesla service center. I was back on the road in about an hour overall. Tesla called me to say that I needed a new tire. The Tesla service van came to my home with a new tire on my original wheel and performed the replacement. While the OP story is more streamlined than mine - I was still extremely impressed with the overall service experience.

 

[aesculus]

Wait. I thought Tesla would not plug tires and they would only replace. This is a big reversal to that policy. When did that go into effect?

BTW I had the exact same experience a month ago with a slow leaker. I had my local Goodyear tire store do the exact same thing for free. But they hesitated when they saw the foam liner. At first they were going to remove the foam like you had done but then they got cold feet and insert an old school plug from the outside after giving it a bit of sealant. Holding air nicely.

 

[heytae]

@heytae , great review!
I can't tell from the picture, but did the floor jack have an adaptor to stay squarely on the lift point and not damage the edge of the battery case? It does not look like a standard "cup" on the floor jack where it contacts the car.

@Solarman004
Thanks! Their floor jack had a flat rubberized-like surface and was NOT like the standard "cup" style that we're more familiar with. After seeing how and where a MX should be lifted, I'd feel comfortable using my floor jack (maybe with a piece of wood or something). Note: the rubber pad on the car protrudes out a bit so as to not let the floor jack pad to apply pressure on the battery pack (or whatever is next to the pad on the car).

 

[heytae]

Does Tesla have mobile service in Texas?

Hope so for your sake. It's such a better way of providing service, not only for tire repair, but for anything that's a "minor" fix. Mike, the mechanic, (hey, there was an 80s rock group with the same name!) said that it makes a lot of sense, not only for areas that have a lot of Teslas, but also for areas that have only a few.

 

[heytae]

That's not needed at all, you just have to be careful when positioning the jack. Most decent jacks are available with a rubber saddle pad, which it looks like the Tesla guy was using.

Looks like a great service, and having them come out to you is very convenient. You pay for that convenience though, a reputable tire shop would only charge $20 to patch-plug a tire at least around here.

I know some tire shops around here will fix a flat for free, and that's fine for my other cars, but for our MX that's still in it's "honeymoon" stage, I wanted it fixed the way only Tesla does it. By dismounting the tire and patching it from the inside. The patch/plug combination device that was used is the best of both worlds, in that it patches AND plugs, all in one device. I also wanted this level of a fix, since it's a higher performance car.

 

[heytae]

I also have had mobile repair of a completely flat tire. In my case a standard tow truck came - no issue jacking up my X. They gave me a loaner wheel and tire and took my wheel and tire back to the Tesla service center. I was back on the road in about an hour overall. Tesla called me to say that I needed a new tire. The Tesla service van came to my home with a new tire on my original wheel and performed the replacement. While the OP story is more streamlined than mine - I was still extremely impressed with the overall service experience.

I too was given this option, but time is money for me, so I chose to have them come to my home. The cost was the same, so I wanted to avoid the extra time to go pick up my fixed tire from the local service center a few days later. Glad to hear that you too liked their mobile service. @trmmcd

 

[heytae]

Wait. I thought Tesla would not plug tires and they would only replace. This is a big reversal to that policy. When did that go into effect?

BTW I had the exact same experience a month ago with a slow leaker. I had my local Goodyear tire store do the exact same thing for free. But they hesitated when they saw the foam liner. At first they were going to remove the foam like you had done but then they got cold feet and insert an old school plug from the outside after giving it a bit of sealant. Holding air nicely.

@aesculus They'll plug/repair tires whenever it's safe to do it, such as when the puncture is on the tread portion of the tire and not on the sidewall, or the hole is too large, etc.
A part of the foam needs to be cut out so that they can fully buff out the area for the patch and glue to bond. I asked whether the foam is then replaced and he said it's not necessary. The small part that's removed will have no significant impact on the rest of the foam deadening the road noise.

 

[ecarfan]

Mike was confident that he could repair the tire ($57 and change), saving me the expense of replacing it for $350.

Thanks for your report, impressive service from Tesla. For a mobile repair, that price seems cheap to me!

You pay for that convenience though, a reputable tire shop would only charge $20 to patch-plug a tire at least around here.

I will happily pay $37 extra for the repair experience @heytae described.

 

[heytae]

Thanks for your report, impressive service from Tesla. For a mobile repair, that price seems cheap to me!

I will happily pay $37 extra for the repair experience @heytae described.

@ecarfan It seemed cheap to me too! I have the hands-on experience of knowing how to plug a tire myself, and I would have done it myself had it been one of our other cars. But this is our "baby" Tesla and time is money for me. Well worth the $57 to me. AND I got a chance to experience their new service and write about it here.

 

[brkaus]

@Solarman004
Thanks! Their floor jack had a flat rubberized-like surface and was NOT like the standard "cup" style that we're more familiar with. After seeing how and where a MX should be lifted, I'd feel comfortable using my floor jack (maybe with a piece of wood or something). Note: the rubber pad on the car protrudes out a bit so as to not let the floor jack pad to apply pressure on the battery pack (or whatever is next to the pad on the car).

I've read suggestions to use a hockey puck. Haven't tried it (yet).

 

[aesculus]

They'll plug/repair tires whenever it's safe to do it, such as when the puncture is on the tread portion of the tire and not on the sidewall, or the hole is too large, etc.

Well that was not the experiences that I have had nor others shared with me. I have been at the service center waiting for other repairs on three occasions and heard the service center manager state they would only replace tires and not repair them, regardless of the problem. Many others I have talked to shared the same experiences. Maybe it's service center specific and not Tesla based.

 

[Solarman004]

@

Well that was not the experiences that I have had nor others shared with me. I have been at the service center waiting for other repairs on three occasions and heard the service center manager state they would only replace tires and not repair them, regardless of the problem. Many others I have talked to shared the same experiences. Maybe it's service center specific and not Tesla based.

@aesculus I keep a copy of Continental's repair instructions in my glove box. This shows the authorized method for cutting away a piece of foam (like in the photo above) and patching a puncture. You can show this to any tire facility if they are reluctant to repair. I put a copy on Dropbox here.