No car after 24hrs of taking delivery

[akula]

So I took delivery of my Black P85 on Tuesday. After much joy of driving it home, after waking up the next morning, I discovered a TPMS warning that I have low pressure in one of my tires. I filled it up but an hour later the message came back After calling Tesla service and assuming this was a factory defect, they said bring the car by and we will take a look at it since it's only been about 24hrs since pickup. I got to the service center and after checking the car for about an hour they found a clean puncture in the rear left tire. Bummer, but I had to take my lumps and order a new PS2 Michelin tire at a cost of $760 bux! These tires are about 550 each at TireRack so I figured there is a "tesla tax" in there somewhere. I am informed at that point that the actual tires are not in stock so I have to leave the car until Friday. That is when the tire will come in and they will mount it. Not being happy about it but figuring I had no choice, I said ok. I got lucky as a new owner was picking up his Model S 60KWH and lived close to me so he was able to give me a ride back.

Friday rolls around, and I am super excited to get my car back. Not only because I get a fully drivable car again, but Tesla had a due item for me (my paint armor) that would have been installed at the same time. I get someone to pick me up from my house, I take the train into the city (about an hour away) and schedule some convenient meetings down town so I can still get some work done. I also had some friends coming in from out of state and I planned on taking them around the city since I was there already anyway and would get a chance to drive the tesla a bit...

At about 4pm I am almost finished with my day and see that no one has called me yet from Tesla. I call them and tell them that I'm picking up my car soon and just wanted to know what time they are opened till. I am then put on hold and 5 minutes later told that the car will not be ready until TUESDAY! Now I am stranded in the city with no way to get back and have completely scrapped all my evening plans, not to mention my friends that are a bit screwed as well since they were counting on me. The excuse was that no one has these tires in stock and that it is coming from some magical place called "the east coast" so it is going to take longer than they thought. Chicago is exactly 2 days ground shipping from anywhere on the east coast by the way so I am still confused as to why it is only arriving on Tuesday of next week since I dropped the car of on Wednesday. Moreover, I was shocked that no one called me to tell me THAT MORNING not to come and pick up the car. It was just an "oh by the way" kind of thing for them that the car will not be ready. They apologized and called me an Uber cab to at least get me home. I finally got home at about 10pm on Friday and decided to see if this tire was in fact as hard to get as I was told. Of course TireRack comes up and their Indiana warehouse has the tires and is only about an hour driving away from the Chicago service location! I was being fed BS all along, they just forgot to order it! This is hardly the customer service I expect from any car company, let alone one I just wrote a check for 100+k to 24hrs prior to the incident. Overall, it has the feel of no one being in charge. Don't get me wrong, I have loved Tesla, and the product, but this is just ridiculous as far as basic service is concerned! Once you write them a check, no one gives a damn about you at all.

All I wanted was a call on Friday morning to make other plans and although unhappy, I would have just driven my ICE car to the city and not got completely screwed. If I knew also that the tire would have taken this long to get here, I would have just ordered it myself from TireRack and shipped it to their service center for installation, gotten my car on Friday AND would have paid at least 150 bux less for the whole thing! Let's see what happens on Tuesday... but at that point they will have the car for nearly an entire week... for just a punctured tire!

 

[EarlyAdopter]

Not sure why you'd take a car back to the dealer for a flat tire. For all my cars in the past I've just gone down the street to the local tire shop (always had good luck with Discount Tire) where they have warehouses full of tires or can get them drop shipped for you in a day if it's not a size they normally stock.

 

[AnOutsider]

Not sure why you'd take a car back to the dealer for a flat tire. For all my cars in the past I've just gone down the street to the local tire shop (always had good luck with Discount Tire) where they have warehouses full of tires or can get them drop shipped for you in a day if it's not a size they normally stock.

He said that he thought it was a defect and called tesla. They told him to bring it in.

Sorry to hear about all this OP. it's no consolation, but tesla is running pretty haggard these days. No excuse, but at least explains it.

 

[Todd Burch]

Akula, sorry to hear of your issues. Bad luck to get a flat just after factory pickup. However, you are making a lot of bold assumptions in your post.

Tesla asked you to bring your car back under the assumption that there was a problem with the TPMS system. Fair enough. By your own words, Tesla spent an hour looking for the problem, and found that you had a flat tire, through no fault of their own. Did they charge you for this hour? I'd suspect not. Free hour to you. Flat tires are not covered under warranty. Seems like they were just trying to help you out.

If they didn't have tires in stock, they didn't. Why would you not take this at face value? Making assumptions that they don't care about you is pretty bold.

Things like this happen. It seems as though you are expecting a handout for a flat tire. If your car wasn't running, I can understand that. But it's sitting at the service center for a flat tire, which is clearly not covered under warranty. And they've said they don't have the tires yet. maybe--just maybe--that's the case. Although I agree they should've given you a call updating you on the status of the car, making the assumption that they don't care about the customer after you've paid is just a big step. I've received great service from them--well after I wired my money.

Just my opinion.

 

[EarlyAdopter]

He said that he thought it was a defect and called tesla. They told him to bring it in.

Sorry to hear about all this OP. it's no consolation, but tesla is running pretty haggard these days. No excuse, but at least explains it.

To the OP (akula): Did you check your tire pressures when the TPMS warning went off?

I'm guessing the answer is no. That would have saved you a bunch of time and aggravation had you done so.

<soapbox on>

Folks: when your TPMS warning illuminates, check your damn tire pressures! First thing. Don't call Tesla. Get out a tire pressure gauge and check your inflation on all four tires. First thing. Proper inflation is all that stands between you and an accident. Catching a leak early and getting it diagnosed by a tire mechanic is crucial.

You all do own a tire gauge, right, and have it in your glove box, right?

</soapbox off>

 

[SuperCoug]

They apologized and called me an Uber cab to at least get me home.

Sounds like you live quite a ways out of the city. Did Tesla pay for your cab fare home? If so, then I'd call that way above and beyond the call of duty for something that was 100% not their problem. It may sound harsh but I think you should have been on your own as soon as they figured out you simply had a punctured tire. If they paid for your cab home then I can't believe you feel so poorly treated. Other than some poor communication I'd say you got treated pretty darn well.

 

[kvietor]

A little late now, but I would have gone to a local tire store, purchased a new tire and brought it back to Tesla. I would worry about anyone else damaging the rims. Whereas Tesla could do the job and guarantee the install as well.

PS: couldn't the puncture be repaired?

 

[araxara]

When I got my car I had a low pressure warning light as soon as the car was unloaded from the car carrier. I checked the tire and sure enough there was a piece of metal embedded in the tire. The Tesla ranger was not going to be able to pick up my car for several days, so I drove it to a local tire shop and had the puncture repaired. A few days later the ranger came by and picked up my car. They replaced the tire and performed some other work on the car.

It sounds like your leak was a slow one and probably repairable.

 

[teslasguy]

Seems like everyone is just assuming that the flat was his fault. Who's to say it didn't happen before he received it, was a slow leak only noticed when it got so low the sensor reported it. Maybe I'm missing something, but from what I'm seeing here I'm not convinced that he is receiving such great service as most seem to think.


P1117 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ToddRLockwood]

My guess is that Tesla's "inflated" price on the tire includes some standard labor charges related to the tire change.

On a parallel note, the Michelin PS2 tire, while a fantastic choice for a Model S Performance, may be overkill for some owners. This is an ultra high performance tire which has some disadvantages for a casual driver:

• The PS2 is not supposed to be driven at ambient temperatures below 40F and not exposed to temperatures below 20F. The high performance rubber compound can literally freeze and crack. (Note to self: don't store the PS2's in the unheated garage in the wintertime.)

• Like other Z rated tires, the PS2 cannot be plugged if you pick up a nail, except as a short term fix to get you home. The tire must be discarded. Tire dealers are forbidden to repair Z rated tires.

 

[andrewket]

Seems like everyone is just assuming that the flat was his fault. Who's to say it didn't happen before he received it, was a slow leak only noticed when it got so low the sensor reported it. Maybe I'm missing something, but from what I'm seeing here I'm not convinced that he is receiving such great service as most seem to think.

This is exactly what I was thinking.

 

[FlasherZ]

I had a cut tire on my MS, although mine is Continental. Tesla's price was $396, TireRack was $288 + shipping on the 21". An acquaintance of mine is an employee where the MS tires are made here in Mt. Vernon, IL; I won't depress you with their price discount on the tires.

Anyway, I purchased and supplied the tire via TireRack and the Chicago service center mounted it for me as part of the curb rash repair.

To the OP: I think your first mistake was to assume that plans couldn't change. Regardless of who it was, I would have called Friday morning to make sure things were there so I had time to make alternate arrangements.

 

[dsm363]

How much do you save by buying the Conti tire from tirerack and having Tesla install it?

 

[FlasherZ]

How much do you save by buying the Conti tire from tirerack and having Tesla install it?

Shipping to southern IL from South Bend, IN was going to be $30 (now it shows Shreveport, LA, but the same price). So $318 from Tirerack vs. $396 from Tesla. Mounting didn't cost me a dime because they were already doing wheel repair.

 

[AnOutsider]

So, with that in mind, their prices aren't outrageous if they include shipping and labor to mount (if you're not already getting work done) in the $396.

 

[Todd Burch]

Seems like everyone is just assuming that the flat was his fault. Who's to say it didn't happen before he received it, was a slow leak only noticed when it got so low the sensor reported it. Maybe I'm missing something, but from what I'm seeing here I'm not convinced that he is receiving such great service as most seem to think.


P1117 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The OP is paying for a new tire. Presumably he didn't believe it was there at delivery. Obviously if he believes it may have been, then Tesla should be responsible for the repair.

 

[kinddog]

the level of b*tching is literally unbelievable.

 

[akula]

To the OP (akula): Did you check your tire pressures when the TPMS warning went off?

I'm guessing the answer is no. That would have saved you a bunch of time and aggravation had you done so.

<soapbox on>

Folks: when your TPMS warning illuminates, check your damn tire pressures! First thing. Don't call Tesla. Get out a tire pressure gauge and check your inflation on all four tires. First thing. Proper inflation is all that stands between you and an accident. Catching a leak early and getting it diagnosed by a tire mechanic is crucial.

You all do own a tire gauge, right, and have it in your glove box, right?

</soapbox off>

Yes, I checked the tire pressure, refilled the tire. Drove to a meeting and saw the message again after an hour. Since I just picked up the car less than a day ago, I assumed there was an issue at delivery, this is reasonable no?

There are a lot of assumptions going on... First of all, all that I wanted was a damn call to make sure I don't get stranded in the city. All they have to do is call and say the car is not ready that morning, or the day before, or two days before. They had all that time. I wanted nothing else from them, I agreed to pay for the tire and as I said, was fine with everything although was just annoyed at my presumably bad luck. Afterwards however, on Friday, I was fed a bunch of bullshit, and they started scrambling for a solution so they just lied about why they didn't do their job. Anyone here would be upset if you were put in a ****** situation and then lied to about it.

- - - Updated - - -

absolutely not, I said I am ok presuming that the flat tire is my fault and signed the work order. No issues here.

Akula, sorry to hear of your issues. Bad luck to get a flat just after factory pickup. However, you are making a lot of bold assumptions in your post.

Tesla asked you to bring your car back under the assumption that there was a problem with the TPMS system. Fair enough. By your own words, Tesla spent an hour looking for the problem, and found that you had a flat tire, through no fault of their own. Did they charge you for this hour? I'd suspect not. Free hour to you. Flat tires are not covered under warranty. Seems like they were just trying to help you out.

If they didn't have tires in stock, they didn't. Why would you not take this at face value? Making assumptions that they don't care about you is pretty bold.

Things like this happen. It seems as though you are expecting a handout for a flat tire. If your car wasn't running, I can understand that. But it's sitting at the service center for a flat tire, which is clearly not covered under warranty. And they've said they don't have the tires yet. maybe--just maybe--that's the case. Although I agree they should've given you a call updating you on the status of the car, making the assumption that they don't care about the customer after you've paid is just a big step. I've received great service from them--well after I wired my money.

Just my opinion.

- - - Updated - - -

They refused to repair it saying there is liability with doing so since the puncture is so close to the sidewall. I agreed with them.

When I got my car I had a low pressure warning light as soon as the car was unloaded from the car carrier. I checked the tire and sure enough there was a piece of metal embedded in the tire. The Tesla ranger was not going to be able to pick up my car for several days, so I drove it to a local tire shop and had the puncture repaired. A few days later the ranger came by and picked up my car. They replaced the tire and performed some other work on the car.

It sounds like your leak was a slow one and probably repairable.

 

[dsm363]

It is possible they were not able to get the tire in as well. They absolutely should have called you but I think the language is a little unnecessary. I've never been treat badly by the service people down here. They go out of their way to help if they can from my experience. Maybe someone new forgot to order it, you could be right but not sure you can say they lied to you unless you have proof.

I'm not saying I wouldn't be upset as well. Getting the car then having it in the shop for that long would suck.

 

[dsm363]

Where is Al with a Group Hug?:smile: