My first flat........

[jpaz]

Awoke to first flat (not even 5000 miles on the car). Used the new Roadside Assist contact on the 10.4 release. First, they could not find me in their database. Once we established the vehicle and my status, they had trouble “finding” me on the map (I am in a major metrpolitan area) which cleared up when I gave them the cross streets. 5 minutes later, I was told they were going to try to locate a loaner wheel / tire. After another 11 minutes, I received a call back that a service vehicle would get to me in another “60 to 90 minutes” and would place the loaner wheel on the car. Then, I will hear from the service center in 1 or 2 days with a plan.

Sorry about the rant but, really? Guess I expected more from Tesla

 

[idealsol]

Sorry to hear that. Sounds like you were at home, which I guess is better than being stuck on the road somewhere, but you would hope road service could have a spare for you quicker than that
My wife has a big fear of no spare tire. We do carry a 12v portable compressor and for small leaks or even topping off tires, it’s great
For about $50, well worth it

 

[Need]

Wow 1 to 2 days? My wife has a screw in her MX. The local tire store fixed it for free in about 15 minutes.

 

[jpaz]

Question....... if Tesla can connect to my car and if the app on my phone can show a blue dot for my car, than why does the Roadside assist keep calling me to ask wher I am? I have given verbal directions twice now

 

[Need]

Question....... if Tesla can connect to my car and if the app on my phone can show a blue dot for my car, than why does the Roadside assist keep calling me to ask wher I am? I have given verbal directions twice now

Because they are contracted? So they don't have direct access to your location. See this article on Tesla wheel/tire loaner program in some markets:

Tesla "Loaner Wheels" program and Tire Hazard Protection saved the day

 

[clmason]

Yeah, I had a similar experience with my Model 3 flat tire. After a bunch of back and forth they told me there are no Model 3 loaner tires in So-Cal. Turned into a massive waste of my time when I was 100 miles from home. My follow up actions were to order a portable air compressor and a plug kit so next time I can manage the issue myself and not be stuck waiting for more than an hour.

 

[jpaz]

Nail in tread. Tire swapped to loaner. Waiting for call from SC. FWIW, roadside gentleman very helpful and pleasant. Now if TPM starts working, I am good for a while

 

[jpaz]

Ongoing saga........SC is putting me in queue. Can't schedule appointment until they get back to me (they say within two days) with schedule openings and a price. I've learned an important lesson:

1 - Will definitely get a pump and repair stuff (although it won't always work depending on the tire issue) and.....
2 - Will then try to get to a Discount Tire store for a 15 minute free repair / patch if this occurs again.

Unfortunately, if I get another flat and the tire cannot be patched for a short trip to a tire store, will need to use Tesla again. BTW, my old ICE dealer always matched the Discount Tire price and did not charge for the service when I took tire issues there, but I'll see what the SC comes back with.

So, I really do love this car in so many ways but this experience is not one of those ways. Guess we can call this a complaint.

Will post a follow-up in this thread when the situation is resolved.

 

[NOLA_Mike]

I had a nail on Saturday in a 21" Continental Conti-Silent. I couldn't find anyone willing to repair it due to the foam lining on the inside (admittedly I didn't check too many places). Put a plug in it and hope to get a few thousand more miles out of it before replacing all four.

Mike

 

[brkaus]

I had a nail on Saturday in a 21" Continental Conti-Silent. I couldn't find anyone willing to repair it due to the foam lining on the inside (admittedly I didn't check too many places). Put a plug in it and hope to get a few thousand more miles out of it before replacing all four.

Mike

I had almost same. Mine was on Sunday and I have the 19" tires. Put in a plug and holding fine. First tire issue on the Tesla.

 

[brkaus]

@jpaz I don't think Tesla will repair a foam tire (assuming that is what you have). Some discount tire locations will repair it, some will not. Depends on experience of the tech (and/or manager) at the time.

Tesla used to match Discount Tire prices. Not sure if they still do. They will not match the road hazard / certificate deal. So if that is something you like, just go to Discount Tire. Make sure they know what they are doing on jacking the car up properly (and using jack mode if you have air suspension).

The positive for Tesla is that they have the road force tire balancing setup. Discount tire (at least the ones near me) do not.

 

[jpaz]

Got a call from SC. Tire is "repairable" and they will do it. Pleasant surprise is that they will also bring it back to me and have Roadside re-install the repaired tire. But, there is a tire repair fee.

 

[Graffi]

I learned a long time ago to get the Discount Tire Road Hazard insurance on the tires of my new car. I get free rotation every 6,250 miles, free flat repair, and top off the tires around the first of each month.

Oh, and I travel with a tire plug kit, and 12v compressor in the trunk. Only used it once with our Leaf. We did have a slow leak with one of our Tesla tires but Discount Tire repaired it when we went in for our last rotation.

 

[tagpats]

Yeah, I had a similar experience with my Model 3 flat tire. After a bunch of back and forth they told me there are no Model 3 loaner tires in So-Cal. Turned into a massive waste of my time when I was 100 miles from home. My follow up actions were to order a portable air compressor and a plug kit so next time I can manage the issue myself and not be stuck waiting for more than an hour.

How did your flat get resolved without the benefit of a loaner wheel/tire? Did you have to get flatbedded or did roadside plug the tire for you?

I haul a spare for long trips and otherwise keep a small jack, compressor and plug kit to hopefully repair myself. If roadside is not convenient and I can’t repair myself, at least I can remove the wheel and Über to a tire shop (if any are open). No perfect solutions.

 

[isjka]

You guys all trust non Tesla tire shops? I’d be paranoid. Is it as simple as just jacking the car up and placing new tires on it? I’m surrounded by tire shops but never once thought of using them for the Tesla. Am I over reacting?

 

[Lasttoy]

My local little shop is great. I have 2 pieces of 2x4 for pads. They are very careful.
Never ever go anywhere without a tire plug kit, bottle of air or mini compressor. Same with my corvettes. On long trips i carry light weight jack. Cheap at Harbor freight. You never know when or where you will pickup a nail. And wait hours for AAA . They wont fix it , claim law suit. I have T bar lug wrench also.

 

[clmason]

How did your flat get resolved without the benefit of a loaner wheel/tire? Did you have to get flatbedded or did roadside plug the tire for you?

.

The tow truck driver filled my tire and followed me to the closest tire repair shop. Worked out fine. My gripe it that it took more than an hour for the tow truck to arrive.

And now that I think of it... a great feature would be for the Tesla App to trigger an alert on your phone when the car senses an air pressure issue. My car sat all day in a lot while it leaked out air. I only discovered the issue when I went to drive home... and I was 100 miles from home at the time.

 

[tagpats]

The tow truck driver filled my tire and followed me to the closest tire repair shop. Worked out fine. My gripe it that it took more than an hour for the tow truck to arrive.

Gotcha! Nice that he made sure you were there safely.

 

[brkaus]

The tow truck driver filled my tire and followed me to the closest tire repair shop. Worked out fine. My gripe it that it took more than an hour for the tow truck to arrive.

And now that I think of it... a great feature would be for the Tesla App to trigger an alert on your phone when the car senses an air pressure issue. My car sat all day in a lot while it leaked out air. I only discovered the issue when I went to drive home... and I was 100 miles from home at the time.

I don’t believe the sensors are activated when the tire is not rotating. Either a battery saving technique or the rotation is somehow powering it.

 

[Graffi]

Another reason I ALWAYS travel with a 12v pump and a plug type of Tire Repair Kit. In your case you could have added sufficient air in 5 minutes or less and then drove yourself without waiting for the Tow Truck.