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If it's only a 2 hour drive to service center, I would not be in doubt about buying an X at all. Maybe you do have to go a few times, or maybe not, but you can do that when convenient for you and people rarely have critical issues.
10 Least Reliable Cars
Consumer Reports' Car Reliability FAQ - They used to have a requirement of at least 100 responses for a given model year of a car (alluded to at 2011 Annual Car Reliability Survey: Most reliable American cars and mentioned many times in the past). Not sure what the minimum is now.
Average problems rates, for context: Car Reliability Histories.
Car Brands Reliability: How They Stack Up
Consumer Reports' Car Reliability FAQ - They used to have a requirement of at least 100 responses for a given model year of a car (alluded to at 2011 Annual Car Reliability Survey: Most reliable American cars and mentioned many times in the past). Not sure what the minimum is now.
Average problems rates, for context: Car Reliability Histories.
Car Brands Reliability: How They Stack Up
systemcrashed
Please Reboot
I agree with most of your summary except for the 5th point. I would definitely buy the Model X again even though I am over 2hrs away from a SC. Minor things can be scheduled when you wont be using the car and don't forget about valet service to and from the SC.
Yinn
Active Member
I don't know that you can make that base assumption. As an owner of both an S and an X, the S has been far more problematic than the AP1 X I had or my new AP2 X. In fact I was just asked the other day if I had any mechanical issues with my X and I quickly replied "Yes" only to pause and realize most of the issues I had were all on my S.
In one year of ownership on my S (~32,000km) has been back to the SC for the following:
Door alignment
Hood alignment
Door seals not sealing properly
Mirrors not folding/unfolding correctly (Multiple)
MCU Replacement
Door not latching correctly (Multiple)
Steering/Suspension/Yaw Control (Multiple)
Wheel Speed Sensor Replacement
Steering wheel not secured
Over the course of 2 different X's, (~15,000km/each) has been to the SC for the following:
AC Condenser Replacement
Alignment
It's kind of a luck of the draw type of thing...
My MX is 18 months old and I live 4 hours from SC (Kelowna to Vancouver). This is a pain in the a$$ for sure. I make it to Vancouver every 6 months and generally schedule a checkup at the SC to go over any small issues I can otherwise live with day to day. I did have a failure of the driver's door sensor (door thought it was open when closed and alarmed for first 10 min of each drive.) I had to fly a tech in from Vancouver who fixed itin my garage. Tesla SC was quick about arranging this and service was free but I had to pay 1100$ for his flights. This door issue has been fixed in current models. I have had the "judder" issue repaired twice and its still there but tolerable now.
This week I have a "battery fault warning, avoid hard acceleration" on my dash for 8 days and have not heard back from the SC after phoning them over a week ago. Car drives fine but I assume maybe the coolant level on the battery is low (I drive the car hard). If I have to drive to Vancouver in December for a fluid change it will be annoying. God forbid my battery is dying but unlikely as car charges and runs fine (seemingly.)
Still.....I would buy the car all over again with zero regrets. It if a work of beauty. I got the red paint and had the entire car xpel wrapped. The windshield is priceless - driving through the Rockies is better than in a convertible as there is no bar at eye level. The driver assist is sufficient for me at the AP 1.0 level as it gives me a break on long highway trips. In the city I drive too fast for AP and frankly I like to "drive". I never get tired of the FWD and there are probably 20 Instagram accounts that have photos of strangers (to me) sitting in my car with huge smiles. Rolling up in front of a restaurant/bar and unloading my passengers via those doors makes us feel like rockstars. And it goes like a bat out of hell. You get to laugh at any AMG Mercedes, X5M, corvette, whatever. Its not even close off the line. The ride is butter smooth. Supercharger networks are expanding steadily. I leased the car and the monthly cost makes my eyeballs bleed but life is short and the sheer pleasure at the elegance and performance of this extremely unique vehicle is worth every penny.
This week I have a "battery fault warning, avoid hard acceleration" on my dash for 8 days and have not heard back from the SC after phoning them over a week ago. Car drives fine but I assume maybe the coolant level on the battery is low (I drive the car hard). If I have to drive to Vancouver in December for a fluid change it will be annoying. God forbid my battery is dying but unlikely as car charges and runs fine (seemingly.)
Still.....I would buy the car all over again with zero regrets. It if a work of beauty. I got the red paint and had the entire car xpel wrapped. The windshield is priceless - driving through the Rockies is better than in a convertible as there is no bar at eye level. The driver assist is sufficient for me at the AP 1.0 level as it gives me a break on long highway trips. In the city I drive too fast for AP and frankly I like to "drive". I never get tired of the FWD and there are probably 20 Instagram accounts that have photos of strangers (to me) sitting in my car with huge smiles. Rolling up in front of a restaurant/bar and unloading my passengers via those doors makes us feel like rockstars. And it goes like a bat out of hell. You get to laugh at any AMG Mercedes, X5M, corvette, whatever. Its not even close off the line. The ride is butter smooth. Supercharger networks are expanding steadily. I leased the car and the monthly cost makes my eyeballs bleed but life is short and the sheer pleasure at the elegance and performance of this extremely unique vehicle is worth every penny.
At the risk of highjacking this thread for a side issue -- Personally, I hope they don't go quite that far. I had a Model X loaner for a couple of days and did not like the windshield. Too much glare from overhead, so I had to keep my baseball cap on as well as my usual sunglasses. On the other hand, I agree the Model S architecture does restrict forward vision for tall folks like me. I sometimes have to crane my neck to see overhead traffic signals, for instance.
JimVandegriff
Member
Just another little note about Tesla service at a distance. We had our second "annual" maintenance done a few weeks ago. Tesla sent a truck up, delivered a loaner (S), took our X in for service, and then returned the vehicle a week later. We had an issue the day after it got back with the glove box. We could not get it to open. We eventually pried it open, and contacted Tesla about it. They scheduled a ranger to come fix it next week. We are quite impressed with the service we have received for minor repairs at 300 miles distance from the service center.
Yinn
Active Member
It seems to me from the thread that Tesla does go out of their way to service customers that are far away. For the OP, it might be worth calling the nearest SC and also asking them how many cars they service per day. There's some service centers that service ~4-5 cars/day, others service 25+/day. I would imagine the higher volume places may be a bit slower in getting out to you, providing loaners, etc. but that's only speculation.
JimVandegriff
Member
A little follow-up here. Our glove box was replaced today by a ranger - he came up here in a Tesla Model S with a sign on the door that read Tesla Mobile Maintenance Services (or something to that effect). The repair took about 20 minutes, and he then headed south again (prepared to charge in Eureka) on his way home. Great service.