Nightmare Experience! Only 500 miles driven...

[Dan D.]

No, they have preferred tow truck vendors that they use. I forgot to mention that we secured a tow truck from their preferred vendor by calling a local tesla service center and asking. Tesla Roadside couldn't even do that

Wow, that sucks. So how did the tow truck end up moving your car? Did they have to alternate lifting the front and rear ends and putting a dolly under the wheels or something. How difficult was it in the limited space of where you were stuck? I'm curious how they did it.

 

[brandon8387]

Alotta these threads are MYPs where this happens so early. I’m wondering if y’all are burning this hoes out pushing them so hard so early. Like breaking them in wrong. Either way it’s unfortunate.

Also after hour 2 I would’ve explored other tow options thru my insurance or just locally and got my insurance to compensate me. No way I’m just sitting there for 5 hours getting nowhere thaz maddening

 

[brandon8387]

I have no idea if this is technically possible, but why can’t they have an option to disable the rear drive if it goes out? Then use the front drive to at least drive it to be repaired.

Rear can carry the load alone but not the front apparently.

 

[brandon8387]

You previous owners of high class luxury vehicles like Audi/BMW/merc kill me downgrading to a model y\3 because of the hype and current market price. These are cheap entry level 30-39k teslas. Not even the flag ship of the company. Of course you not getting the fit/finish/perks of those other manufacturers. Does not In any way make this issue ok but when you rich guys start making comparisons to other hundred year old companies it makes me cringe.

 

[palt]

I’m sorry this happened to you. This is an absolutely horrifying experience. I had something similar happen (and am still dealing with it). Luckily in my own driveway but very similar issue.
Don’t let anyone tell you other brands have issues too. Yes they do, but a regular car can usually be put into neutral and rolled away. And other brands have any kind of customer service that doesn’t yell at you or be rude. I’m done with Tesla, they just need to get the car repaired enough to sell it.

 

[Pianewman]

There are those Service Centers who provide decent service. As several have stated, SC issues vary from center to center. It all depends on the quality of management.

I've had serious service fails at Honda, Toyota, and for sure, VW dealerships, some of them downright laughable.

The sad part about Tesla, of course, is that you have to drive greater distances to find a different SC. Not so Honda, Toyota, VW, etc.

Big Bang

So I headed out this morning to run a few errands, and as I turned a corner & accelerated, I heard & felt a very large BANG from underneath the rear of the car, followed by continued trashing & banging around of something or other under there, and many error messages & warnings on the screen...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[PMPHX]

A solitary incident does not qualify as a "lemon." It's a serious failure, for sure, but hopefully, as the OP has stated, it will be resolved quickly.

The OP's frustration is toward the failed service, which has nothing to do with the vehicle being a "lemon."

As the previous owner of more than 2 dozen vehicles, new and used, with several serious early failures of VAG cars, my experience predicts that after this initial failure, the car will be just fine.

No one can predict what improvements, if any, will occur with Tesla service. My feeling is that it's much like any other auto manufacturer: the service center is limited by the quality of local mgmt, and staffing quality.

I'm frustrated with both the product and the service which is why I'm leaning towards giving the car back. The car, service center, and roadside service are terrible

 

[PMPHX]

New things break, that’s why you have a warranty. Because it broke once, doesn’t mean it’s a lemon.
Yes, Tesla customer service is terrible.
But it seems like you also trashed Audi in your original post. Each brand will have its pros and cons.
Just sell your Y and move on.

I trashed my Audi experience because my brand new Q7 was tied up in the VW emissions scandal 2 years after I bought it. They only gave me $13K formy troubles which proved to be pennies on the dollar. The car was in the shop all the time after they "fixed" my software to be compliant with emissions laws. It barely made it to 70K miles before I bought my Model Y which I had to wait 5 months for, only for it to break down 3 weeks later. We all know that it's not as simple as to sell and move on in this car market.

So, yes, I'm very much a scorned car owner after my last two experiences. I'll never buy an Audi again, but at least they tried to make it right.

 

[jjrandorin]

I'm frustrated with both the product and the service which is why I'm leaning towards giving the car back.

You have mentioned this a few times in this thread. If tesla has offered to take the car back, I would definitely do that in this situation, but failing that (which its not clear whether that happened or not), what process are you contemplating using to "give the car back"?

Unless lemon laws in AZ are quite different than other states, I dont believe lemon law applies yet, but since you mentioned it a couple different times it sounds like you have a process in mind.

 

[PMPHX]

You have mentioned this a few times in this thread. If tesla has offered to take the car back, I would definitely do that in this situation, but failing that (which its not clear whether that happened or not), what process are you contemplating using to "give the car back"?

Unless lemon laws in AZ are quite different than other states, I dont believe lemon law applies yet, but since you mentioned it a couple different times it sounds like you have a process in mind.

Tesla hasn't reached out once about my 5-hour Roadside experience or my car issues (given that it's new). The only time I had an audience with Tesla was when I went to pick up a loaner on Tuesday. I told them to keep the car and they pushed back while telling me to trust them and that this isn't a big deal. I spent two hours on hold yesterday trying to get connected with a supervisor or anyone to speak with but got hung up on.

So to answer your question, there's zero recourse for me at the moment. Tesla took my money and don't give a flying crap about my issues.

 

[PMPHX]

Wow, that sucks. So how did the tow truck end up moving your car? Did they have to alternate lifting the front and rear ends and putting a dolly under the wheels or something. How difficult was it in the limited space of where you were stuck? I'm curious how they did it.

My car wouldn't go into "tow mode" because it couldn't go into gear. The tow truck driver had to basically drag it onto the tow truck with nylon straps. THe entire situation was ridiculous

 

[PMPHX]

Alotta these threads are MYPs where this happens so early. I’m wondering if y’all are burning this hoes out pushing them so hard so early. Like breaking them in wrong. Either way it’s unfortunate.

Also after hour 2 I would’ve explored other tow options thru my insurance or just locally and got my insurance to compensate me. No way I’m just sitting there for 5 hours getting nowhere thaz maddening

Of course I tried to secure a different tow truck service (USAA failed me, too). USAA canceled 3 different tow trucks on me over the course of those 5 hours. I'm still dealing with them as well, but the tow truck companies were canceling my job because it was a Tesla and they didn't want to deal with it. More reason why I have MAJOR concerns about Tesla Roadside if I keep my Y.

The only way I got Tesla Roadside to ultimately send a tow truck was because my wife waited on hold for over an hour and demanded to speak with Tesla Roadside leadership. We ultimately had to put the restaurant on the phone who threatened to call the police/fire dept to get the car out of the way if Tesla wouldn't come.

 

[_Redshift_]

Of course I tried to secure a different tow truck service (USAA failed me, too). USAA canceled 3 different tow trucks on me over the course of those 5 hours. I'm still dealing with them as well, but the tow truck companies were canceling my job because it was a Tesla and they didn't want to deal with it. More reason why I have MAJOR concerns about Tesla Roadside if I keep my Y.

The only way I got Tesla Roadside to ultimately send a tow truck was because my wife waited on hold for over an hour and demanded to speak with Tesla Roadside leadership. We ultimately had to put the restaurant on the phone who threatened to call the police/fire dept to get the car out of the way if Tesla wouldn't come.

It’s really crappy of Tesla not to prioritize your situation as it was a sort of emergency.

 

[jjrandorin]

Tesla hasn't reached out once about my 5-hour Roadside experience or my car issues (given that it's new). The only time I had an audience with Tesla was when I went to pick up a loaner on Tuesday. I told them to keep the car and they pushed back while telling me to trust them and that this isn't a big deal. I spent two hours on hold yesterday trying to get connected with a supervisor or anyone to speak with but got hung up on.

So to answer your question, there's zero recourse for me at the moment. Tesla took my money and don't give a flying crap about my issues.

I hope you get this worked out in whatever manner you end up deciding to pursue.

Getting stuck like you described would be incredibly frustrating, for sure.

 

[PMPHX]

It’s really crappy of Tesla not to prioritize your situation as it was a sort of emergency.

The silver lining is that is why just me in the car and not my wife and kids (4 & 7 years old). It was 110 degrees (Phoenix) during the ordeal and I had hostile people yelling at me during lunch and dinner services.

This reminds me to get back to the initial intent of my post - If anyone has had similar experiences to mine, I would greatly appreciate learning more about how you got an audience with Tesla to try and resolve everything. An email address, phone number, etc. would be super helpful as I've been told all week that I'm only to speak with my service center rep about my issues. I asked him yesterday how to speak with someone higher up within Tesla but he only offered to have me speak with his manager at the service center. The same manager told me on Tuesday that he would follow up immediately about my Roadside experience but I've heard nothing.

I'm done kicking & screaming about this, at least for now!

 

[qdeathstar]

Out of curiosity where did you hear great things about Tesla roadside assistance?

I’m surprised you couldn’t get it into neutral. That might have been user error though because it’s a little tricky to get the car into neutral.

 

[qdeathstar]

The restaurant was nice to not call their own towing company and get your car out the way.

 

[PMPHX]

Out of curiosity where did you hear great things about Tesla roadside assistance?

I’m surprised you couldn’t get it into neutral. That might have been user error though because it’s a little tricky to get the car into neutral.

It most definitely was not user error. The rear drive unit went out and all the gears disappeared. Went from showing "PRND" in the top left of my screen to "----". Tesla walked me through all the troubleshooting and nothing worked, and tow mode wouldn't work for the tow truck driver either.

Everyone I know that owns a Tesla raves about their roadside service. A coworker just had a flat tire changed within 45 minutes last month.

 

[SJC3]

Small sample but my recent experience with roadside was great. First time using it in 5 years with 4 teslas. Got a spare tire put on in about 1.5 hours. Had to wait till next morning for new tire to be installed by mobile tech (I had to pay for that service and tire) and they took away the punctured tire + spare. Easy.

Sorry you had this experience. Considering how rare this happens, it was bad luck. Keep records of everything. Document all your interactions-communications and timelines. You can’t just give the car back unless you meet lemon law terms and are willing to fight Tesla. Try to work with the SC manager too. Might be hard to get their attention but try…and don’t forget to document!

 

[phonetele226]

phonetele226: Nope. Less than responsive service, perhaps, but failed cars? There are 10s of thousands of cars out there, we only hear of a few failures here, unless you have reliable links saying otherwise.

I didn’t say thousands of cars you did. The simple fact is the OP had a major problem probably due to non-existent QC and Tesla product and service failed him. Surely you aren’t suggesting he is the only one ? And also consider that not all owners post their problems to forums.