Official: Model S Service Plans

[Catbiscuits]

To the best of my knowledge, every Model S and X (and 3) have zero light bulbs. All lighting is LED.

For Tesla to expect us to pay four figures for a defective headlight, that is somehow, arbitrarily NOT included in the ESA, is another example of "Great Products, Terrible Company."

Insanely poor customer service. They need to revise the ESA language ASAP. I would escalate this if I were you, but not sure if Tesla gives a damn anymore, at least at the middle-management level.

Let us know how it goes.

In fairness, BMW would not replace my headlights, which failed at 45,000 miles under warranty. It's not just Tesla. In fact, the last thing I yelled to the BMW stealer was "{$curseword} I'm buying a Tesla next, good luck to you and your stupid company." This was after the clutch blew up for the second time on that car (335xi). The second time they wouldn't pay for it saying I rode the clutch. While I paid it (what choice did I have?), I pointed out to the moron service writer that I'd been driving stick longer than moron had been alive. The good news is that since I went to Tesla, I've never had to own an automatic transmission.

 

[EVortex]

Anyone who bought ESA thinking about cancelling and getting a refund for the remaining extended warranty?

 

[vickh]

Very good point about anecdotal evidence. People posting on social media are self-selecting and may not be representative.
One source I always look at is Consumer Reports. They have been tracking vehicle maintenance issues among their readers for 50 years and appear to have a solid statistical foundation for their ratings. In their April 2020 issue, their ratings of the Tesla Model S showed:

• Insufficient data for model year 2012
• Average overall reliability for model years 2013, 2014, and 2017
• Below average overall reliability for model year 2015 (uh oh, that is my year!)
• Above average overall reliability for model year 2016
• Below average overall reliability for model years 2018-2019

There are ratings in each of 17 separate systems/components as well. At a glance, the categories most likely to show lower-than-average reliability over the years are:

• Noises/Leaks
• Body hardware
• In-car electronics -- this was the worst category, with lower-than-average reliability in 6 out of 7 years (and this was the only individual category showing below average in 2018-2019)
• Drive system -- but only in 2013-2015. Since then, the drive system ratings have been well above average.

Of course, the ratings for a given model year will change over time. As the cars age, they may get either better or worse when compared to cars from other manufacturers for the same model year.

By the way, Model X seems to be much less reliable than Model S, and Model 3 (so far) is better.

• Above average overall reliability for model year 2016
• Below average overall reliability for model years 2018

what happened b/t 16 and 18? Tesla does mid-year changes so I wonder if this has to do with refresh/ AP 2.0 etc

 

[TSLA Pilot]

Anyone who bought ESA thinking about cancelling and getting a refund for the remaining extended warranty?

Not sure why this would be an issue?

We had an ESA on another MS and it was easy-peasy to get a refund when we traded it in some years ago.

On another, we used it as a MAJOR selling point when we sold it private-party (on cars.com) as it takes the worry out of the buyer's mind about post-warranty repairs.

For our current '19 and '20 MS Perf's, we purchased two ESA's at just before the 6 month point so as to lock in the slightly lower prices. We'll likely have to ask for refund on at least one of them as it's possibly going to be traded in for a new MS--it's becoming easier to do that than having to deal with Tesla Customer Service Hell when trying to get our MS's serviced.

Examples include unilaterally cancelled service appointments--without bothering to advise us, ordered parts don't show up, and those damn Uber credits vs. actual loaner cars.

Elon, what the Hell happened to this?!?

Creating the World’s Best Service and Warranty Program:

Creating the World’s Best Service and Warranty Program
Elon Musk, Chairman, Product Architect & CEO April 26, 2013

• Fully loaded Model S Performance 85 cars or Tesla Roadsters as loaners
• Tesla will seamlessly valet the loaner cars to your location
• $600 annual service now optional with no effect on warranty
• Unconditional warranty for Model S battery, even for user error

 

[EVortex]

Not sure why this would be an issue?

We had an ESA on another MS and it was easy-peasy to get a refund when we traded it in some years ago.

On another, we used it as a MAJOR selling point when we sold it private-party (on cars.com) as it takes the worry out of the buyer's mind about post-warranty repairs.

For our current '19 and '20 MS Perf's, we purchased two ESA's at just before the 6 month point so as to lock in the slightly lower prices. We'll likely have to ask for refund on at least one of them as it's possibly going to be traded in for a new MS--it's becoming easier to do that than having to deal with Tesla Customer Service Hell when trying to get our MS's serviced.

Examples include unilaterally cancelled service appointments--without bothering to advise us, ordered parts don't show up, and those damn Uber credits vs. actual loaner cars.

Elon, what the Hell happened to this?!?

Creating the World’s Best Service and Warranty Program:

Creating the World’s Best Service and Warranty Program
Elon Musk, Chairman, Product Architect & CEO April 26, 2013

• Fully loaded Model S Performance 85 cars or Tesla Roadsters as loaners
• Tesla will seamlessly valet the loaner cars to your location
• $600 annual service now optional with no effect on warranty
• Unconditional warranty for Model S battery, even for user error

Not an issue, just curious if anyone considered it and if so, why. I bought the 4 year ESA before 6 months of ownership on my S. That was not quite three years ago so I am still within the original factory warranty period. No service issues at all on my car, but I still plan on keeping the ESA for peace of mind in years 5-8.

 

[FlatSix911]

Anyone who bought ESA thinking about cancelling and getting a refund for the remaining extended warranty?

I have had no repairs under the ESA and I'm considering canceling and putting the credit toward the MCU2 upgrade.

 

[calm-one]

Has anyone here decided to use third-party extended support warranty providers versus Tesla ESA?

If so whom did you choose, curious on term and price and most importantly what was your experience with Tesla using such?

An article on this: Tesla Warranty: An In-Depth Review

Cheers

 

[JimEG]

Me in a 2015 85d wondering which months were below average (drive systems?) and hoping my November ‘15 slips into the 2016 for above average.

Anyone know the drive system changes and months for 2015/2016?

 

[bareyb]

My 2013 Tesla Model S is out of warranty. Is it possible to buy some type of extended service warranty (like the one in the OP) from Tesla at this point?

 

[FlatSix911]

My 2013 Tesla Model S is out of warranty. Is it possible to buy some type of extended service warranty (like the one in the OP) from Tesla at this point?

I believe that you had to purchase the ESA warranty before reaching 4 years or 50,000 miles. You want to consider an aftermarket warranty.

 

[tomas]

@FlatSix911 is correct… when the S was introduced, you got 4 year warranty, option to buy another 4 years any time prior to end of initial period, and option to buy either 4 or 8 years of prepaid annual service. If you bought all that, you basically had zero service costs for 8 years unless you wrecked it of course. After 8 years, nada. On your own. I have no idea regarding the efficacy of 3rd party plans. For most cars, they rely on the competitive service market. There’s no such thing with Tesla… so not sure how they make money. Anyone know of a good one?

 

[PCMc]

The 3rd party option most often referenced is X Care via XCelerate Auto.

Here's link to their site. X-Care - Xcelerate Auto

Note: I have no experience with them, do not have warranty through them, and in no way connected with them. I just am aware as this is the one I most see discussed by others.

You can also find a thread on TMC about it:

Vendor - “X-Care EV Protection” - First 3rd Party Service Agreement for Model S, Model X and Model 3!

Hello TMC community! We are VERY excited to announce a product that we have been working on for the last several months…”X-Care EV Protection” - the first (and only) vehicle service agreement for Model S, Model X, and Model 3! Xcelerate Auto, in partnership with Endurance Dealer Services and...

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