New M3P Mechanical Issues

[Magneto3]

To anyone that just took delivery of a M3 - how's your build quality?

Just took delivery of my new '20 M3P on 12/27. Immediately noticed two concerning issues:

1. The car made three loud 'clunk' sounds when turning on the first day. It sounded like it was coming from the front suspension or motor.
- the car continues to make these sounds, having made just two today when driving straight.
- they sound unsafe and not normal.

2. The ride quality is significantly worse than the 2018 M3P I rented for six days from Turo. Both cars have the 20" rims and factory tires @ 40 psi. I would have expected the 2020 M3P to have significantly better ride quality and suspension feel than a 2018 Turo rental, but I feel every little pebble in this car and the bumps are really uncomfortable.

I've tried to get two service requests on two different days via the app, and both times I get an error message.

Really disappointed with this experience, especially considering this was the most expensive trim. I have been waiting Ifor years to order a Tesla and when it finally gets here it feels like a lemon and worse than all 4 other Teslas I've rented on Turo.

I feel I have no choice but to return the car at this point. Has anyone else had such a terrible delivery experience this quarter??

 

[dmurphy]

To anyone that just took delivery of a M3 - how's your build quality?

Just took delivery of my new '20 M3P on 12/27. Immediately noticed two concerning issues:

1. The car made three loud 'clunk' sounds when turning on the first day. It sounded like it was coming from the front suspension or motor.
- the car continues to make these sounds, having made just two today when driving straight.
- they sound unsafe and not normal.

2. The ride quality is significantly worse than the 2018 M3P I rented for six days from Turo. Both cars have the 20" rims and factory tires @ 40 psi. I would have expected the 2020 M3P to have significantly better ride quality and suspension feel than a 2018 Turo rental, but I feel every little pebble in this car and the bumps are really uncomfortable.

I've tried to get two service requests on two different days via the app, and both times I get an error message.

Really disappointed with this experience, especially considering this was the most expensive trim. I have been waiting Ifor years to order a Tesla and when it finally gets here it feels like a lemon and worse than all 4 other Teslas I've rented on Turo.

I feel I have no choice but to return the car at this point. Has anyone else had such a terrible delivery experience this quarter??

I'd bring it back to the service center right away and give them the opportunity to take a look and see if they can fix it quickly, before you jump to the return. It could just be something loose throwing the entire suspension off...?

 

[jjrandorin]

40 PSI is not the air pressure setting for a model 3P with factory Pilot supersport 4S tires. Its 42 (check the tire pressure in the door jam)... unless you have a model 3P stealth?

 

[Magneto3]

I'd bring it back to the service center right away and give them the opportunity to take a look and see if they can fix it quickly, before you jump to the return. It could just be something loose throwing the entire suspension off...?

I tried twice to book a service appointment. All nearby centers are booked out past the return date AND every time I try to request service the app throws an error instead? Not impressed. I can't risk waiting past the return deadline for service.

 

[Magneto3]

40 PSI is not the air pressure setting for a model 3P with factory Pilot supersport 4S tires. Its 42 (check the tire pressure in the door jam)... unless you have a model 3P stealth?

It came at 42 psi. The ride was so harsh I let out 2 lbs to see if it would help. It didn't.

 

[jjrandorin]

It came at 42 psi. The ride was so harsh I let out 2 lbs to see if it would help. It didn't.

So you are saying that you let 2lbs of air out of the turo rental, and then when you got your own car you let 2lbs of air out of your own tires, and they feel different?

2. The ride quality is significantly worse than the 2018 M3P I rented for six days from Turo. Both cars have the 20" rims and factory tires @ 40 psi.

 

[OCR1]

It came at 42 psi. The ride was so harsh I let out 2 lbs to see if it would help. It didn't.

The Performance model is a great car but many of us in Southern California prefer to avoid the 20” tires because the ride is too firm. The stealth is really popular because the 18” wheels give a much softer ride.

 

[raptor5244]

To anyone that just took delivery of a M3 - how's your build quality?

Just took delivery of my new '20 M3P on 12/27. Immediately noticed two concerning issues:

1. The car made three loud 'clunk' sounds when turning on the first day. It sounded like it was coming from the front suspension or motor.
- the car continues to make these sounds, having made just two today when driving straight.
- they sound unsafe and not normal.

2. The ride quality is significantly worse than the 2018 M3P I rented for six days from Turo. Both cars have the 20" rims and factory tires @ 40 psi. I would have expected the 2020 M3P to have significantly better ride quality and suspension feel than a 2018 Turo rental, but I feel every little pebble in this car and the bumps are really uncomfortable.

I've tried to get two service requests on two different days via the app, and both times I get an error message.

Really disappointed with this experience, especially considering this was the most expensive trim. I have been waiting Ifor years to order a Tesla and when it finally gets here it feels like a lemon and worse than all 4 other Teslas I've rented on Turo.

I feel I have no choice but to return the car at this point. Has anyone else had such a terrible delivery experience this quarter??

I am not sure I would expect "significant" improvement in ride quality between a 2018 M3P+ and a 2020 M3P+ if none of the suspension parts have been modified. However, loud clunks are not normal. I do get little "clicks" from the suspension or front half shafts at slow speeds when turning but it has done that since day 1.

I own both a 2019 SR+ with the 18s and a 2019 M3P+ with the 20s. I keep the tires at 42psi cold. IMO, the M3P+ ride is still too soft for a performance trim. I drive both cars back to back all the time and can barely tell a difference in the ride quality. In fact, I prefer the lighter SR+ from a handling perspective. Eliminating ~400lbs off the nose of the car makes the car feel a bit more nimble for sure.

What were you driving before the M3P+?

 

[Willh24]

I took delivery on the 28th, I don’t believe the clunks are normal. I would call your local service center and see if they can squeeze you in before the return period.

the only issue I have found so far is that when driving at highway speeds, I hear a faint sound of what may be the wheel liner flapping or moving with the wind/turbulence on my driver side.

 

[dmurphy]

I tried twice to book a service appointment. All nearby centers are booked out past the return date AND every time I try to request service the app throws an error instead? Not impressed. I can't risk waiting past the return deadline for service.

In the interest of time, I'd suggest just showing up and seeing what they can do. Forget booking or calling - just get there. Easier to ask forgiveness than permission sometimes... Worst they can do is say no, but I doubt it. Play it cool, play it friendly but ask that they really, really take a look because you're in this major bind. Play on some heartstrings!

 

[Magneto3]

The Performance model is a great car but many of us in Southern California prefer to avoid the 20” tires because the ride is too firm. The stealth is really popular because the 18” wheels give a much softer ride.

How do the 19's compare?

 

[Magneto3]

In the interest of time, I'd suggest just showing up and seeing what they can do. Forget booking or calling - just get there. Easier to ask forgiveness than permission sometimes... Worst they can do is say no, but I doubt it. Play it cool, play it friendly but ask that they really, really take a look because you're in this major bind. Play on some heartstrings!

Sure, I could try this. I fundamentally object to having to beg for them to fix their broken 66k luxury car. It's pretty sad that mobile service booking is broken on both iOS and Android. Tesla seems to have perfected an end to end, vertically integrated bad user experience.

 

[jonquiljo]

In the interest of time, I'd suggest just showing up and seeing what they can do. Forget booking or calling - just get there. Easier to ask forgiveness than permission sometimes... Worst they can do is say no, but I doubt it. Play it cool, play it friendly but ask that they really, really take a look because you're in this major bind. Play on some heartstrings!

This is good advice. It may be fixable. It may be minor. If you just return it - you are likely to wait 3 more months and more craziness to get the car. You need a mechanic's opinion as to what is going on and if he says it is fixable, you may have a wait to get your car fixed but that's a lot better than waiting again. Your choice, however.

The way you describe it, there is likely something wrong with the car. That's what warranties are for.

 

[dmurphy]

Sure, I could try this. I fundamentally object to having to beg for them to fix their broken 66k luxury car. It's pretty sad that mobile service booking is broken on both iOS and Android. Tesla seems to have perfected an end to end, vertically integrated bad user experience.

Agreed and agreed. It seems that it takes a day or two for the new owner info to "populate" into whatever database they're using for service appointments. Not good IT - I've read that a former CIO decided to write their own CRM/ERP system instead of adopting, say, SAP or Salesforce, and it needs major work. Supposedly that's a work in progress.... I've been in large enterprise IT (like Fortune 25) for decades and the build v. buy argument rages on. I've seen both sides of that argument work, and I've seen both sides of that argument fail spectacularly...

It's lousy that it's come to this, but with a little luck, maybe you'll make a useful connection at the service center. Meet the manager there, beg for help, tell them the vehicle seems UNSAFE to drive as it is, and you're really stuck without a choice because of the return and end of year timeframes ... so you NEED their help ASAP. The last hope. Make them play the hero who saves the day... because who doesn't want go home feeling good like that?

Sorry your experience hasn't been as stellar as mine went. For future referrals, I'm going to recommend to anyone who asks me to NOT schedule it around end of quarter/end of year. I took delivery in April and it was smooth as silk ... I think when the pressure's on, things go to crap in a hand basket.

 

[Magneto3]

Agreed and agreed. It seems that it takes a day or two for the new owner info to "populate" into whatever database they're using for service appointments. Not good IT - I've read that a former CIO decided to write their own CRM/ERP system instead of adopting, say, SAP or Salesforce, and it needs major work. Supposedly that's a work in progress.... I've been in large enterprise IT (like Fortune 25) for decades and the build v. buy argument rages on. I've seen both sides of that argument work, and I've seen both sides of that argument fail spectacularly...

It's lousy that it's come to this, but with a little luck, maybe you'll make a useful connection at the service center. Meet the manager there, beg for help, tell them the vehicle seems UNSAFE to drive as it is, and you're really stuck without a choice because of the return and end of year timeframes ... so you NEED their help ASAP. The last hope. Make them play the hero who saves the day... because who doesn't want go home feeling good like that?

Sorry your experience hasn't been as stellar as mine went. For future referrals, I'm going to recommend to anyone who asks me to NOT schedule it around end of quarter/end of year. I took delivery in April and it was smooth as silk ... I think when the pressure's on, things go to crap in a hand basket.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

Even if I was able to get service to fix it on Monday, I wouldn't trust this particular vehicle to last 120k+ miles, it just feels like a lemon. I'm very suspicious of brand new cars (30 miles) with major mechanical issues. A car should be at it's best when it's new...the fact that this one made it through QA like this makes me very mistrustful of Tesla's quality control.

I would like to try one more time, this time with a 2020 M3 LR AWD w/ 19" wheels. White exterior/black interior. I see some on Inventory nearby, but it seems impossible to tell in advance if a given car/VIN has HW3.0 or FSD. The Inventory website just shows "Autopilot".

Overall a disappointing experience at every stage. All could be forgiven if the car was amazing but instead it's a literal clunker.

 

[Mr. Big]

1. The car made three loud 'clunk' sounds when turning on the first day. It sounded like it was coming from the front suspension or motor.

Were the tires cold when this occurred? This could possibly be the Ackerman Effect but if it happened when going in a straight line you might have another problem. Link below explains the effect.

Explaining the "Ackermann Effect" in the 2014 Corvette Stingray - McGrath Auto Blog

 

[bcpm3p]

Good info! ill just hold off till next year to order my M3p!

My friends who work at Tesla even said dont buy it till 2019 is over

 

[OCR1]

How do the 19's compare?

I have only driven on the 18’s so I can’t share any personal experience with the 19’s. There are numerous threads comparing the 18’s to 19’s in this forum. In general people go for the 19’s primarily for looks and slightly better performance. They go for the 18’s for comfort and better range.

Even on my 18’s, if I’m driving on a bumpy road the cabin definitely feels busy. The Model 3 does not absorb bumps as well as my Lexus did, but I would not expect it to since it’s designed to drive more like a sports sedan than a cushy family sedan.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

The Performance model is a great car but many of us in Southern California prefer to avoid the 20” tires because the ride is too firm. The stealth is really popular because the 18” wheels give a much softer ride.

it is a bouncy car even on 18"...I like it
not a bad thing IMO but completely different than my P85.
You can have 18,19, 20, 21" that feel about the same depending on the tire too.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

In the interest of time, I'd suggest just showing up and seeing what they can do. Forget booking or calling - just get there. Easier to ask forgiveness than permission sometimes... Worst they can do is say no, but I doubt it. Play it cool, play it friendly but ask that they really, really take a look because you're in this major bind. Play on some heartstrings!

I used to work for one of these high-flying Bay Area high-tech companies. It's all seat of the pants. Everything's moving so fast that each finger on both hands have no idea what the other fingers are doing.

In these cases, you can tell them you were told by support at corporate to come in and insist your car get into service immediately. They'll just be like, ok.