Our Tesla Crash

[DigbyChicken]

nothing much to add but hopefuilly all is well in the Ceasar household?

All good, thank you! Hoping to get back behind the wheel of the M3 (and contributing again to this forum) before hell freezes over. ;-)

 

[Billbrown1982]

One of the few "legitimate" reasons that we are getting stuffed on our Tesla insurances.

 

[srichards]

Is the loom part number wrong in the online catalogue for the car's VIN?

 

[Durzel]

Wow. It’s not like Tesla to not care at all about aftermarket customers. I won’t have another.

Is it not?

In the early days of S/X I think they cared for their customers a great deal. Nowadays? I think they care about making cars and selling them to people. Existing customers are supported, and service centres and individual members of Tesla staff can be brilliant and proactive, but the organisation as a whole does not seem to do much more than the bare minimum.

I'm convinced that parts delays are largely down to Tesla wanting to use every available part in the build of a new car. Fully built cars turn up regularly, even month at least I'd say, certainly no more than every quarter, yet individual parts can often take several months? Why? I can't imagine how annoying it must be having to wait months for a windscreen, or a basic body part, when you can see whole cars being delivered regularly.

That's a cynical point of view, perhaps, but it's self-evident that Tesla are chasing volume above all else, which means they don't want anything to hold up any of the plants, including an excess of parts that could be used on the production line being sent out to service existing customers.

 

[DigbyChicken]

Is the loom part number wrong in the online catalogue for the car's VIN?

Yeah, could be. It's weird that the bodyshop got the same part wrong, twice...

 

[Sean.]

In the early days of S/X I think they cared for their customers a great deal. Nowadays?

Mmm. Yes we were a “means to an end”!

That end: Tesla are now a (comparatively) volume car maker. Box ticked.

The end 😅

 

[pgkevet]

Is it not?

In the early days of S/X I think they cared for their customers a great deal. Nowadays? I think they care about making cars and selling them to people. Existing customers are supported, and service centres and individual members of Tesla staff can be brilliant and proactive, but the organisation as a whole does not seem to do much more than the bare minimum.

I'm convinced that parts delays are largely down to Tesla wanting to use every available part in the build of a new car. Fully built cars turn up regularly, even month at least I'd say, certainly no more than every quarter, yet individual parts can often take several months? Why? I can't imagine how annoying it must be having to wait months for a windscreen, or a basic body part, when you can see whole cars being delivered regularly.

That's a cynical point of view, perhaps, but it's self-evident that Tesla are chasing volume above all else, which means they don't want anything to hold up any of the plants, including an excess of parts that could be used on the production line being sent out to service existing customers.

Ah, Yes. I remember the days of good customer service..
Perhaps you're not cynical enough.. the longer a car is of the rod waiting for parts the less chance of warranty repairs too..

 

[DigbyChicken]

Quick update: the car is finally fixed and ready! The correct wiring loom was sent on the third time of asking and I'm hoping to travel from Somerset to the Midlands on Monday to pick it up and drop off the Mercedes hire car. It took a little over five months to fix in the end, and it was looking as if we might still be waiting an unknown number of weeks for the lease/insurance companies to sort out moving the vehicles around the country when I suggested I sort it myself on Monday...

Can't wait to have it back.

(BTW, I finally had an email from Tesla customer services today - the only email I've had in eight working days since messaging every relevant address I could think of - which didn't say much, and has been rendered obsolete by events. So I think the cynicism many of us feel seems well-founded. Tesla EVs are great, as long as you don't have a problem or - in our case - a crash.)

 

[Sean.]

Quick update: the car is finally fixed and ready! The correct wiring loom was sent on the third time of asking and I'm hoping to travel from Somerset to the Midlands on Monday to pick it up and drop off the Mercedes hire car. It took a little over five months to fix in the end, and it was looking as if we might still be waiting an unknown number of weeks for the lease/insurance companies to sort out moving the vehicles around the country when I suggested I sort it myself on Monday...

Can't wait to have it back.

(BTW, I finally had an email from Tesla customer services today - the only email I've had in eight working days since messaging every relevant address I could think of - which didn't say much, and has been rendered obsolete by events. So I think the cynicism many of us feel seems well-founded. Tesla EVs are great, as long as you don't have a problem or - in our case - a crash.)

Glad to hear its almost back. Certainly has been a bad year for wiring looms - though I suspect Tesla's wont have come from Ukrainian suppliers as many VW Group companies did at one point.

All the best 👍

 

[Wattsisname]

Quick update: the car is finally fixed and ready! The correct wiring loom was sent on the third time of asking and I'm hoping to travel from Somerset to the Midlands on Monday to pick it up and drop off the Mercedes hire car. It took a little over five months to fix in the end, and it was looking as if we might still be waiting an unknown number of weeks for the lease/insurance companies to sort out moving the vehicles around the country when I suggested I sort it myself on Monday...

Can't wait to have it back.

(BTW, I finally had an email from Tesla customer services today - the only email I've had in eight working days since messaging every relevant address I could think of - which didn't say much, and has been rendered obsolete by events. So I think the cynicism many of us feel seems well-founded. Tesla EVs are great, as long as you don't have a problem or - in our case - a crash.)

So pleased to hear you about to get her back. What a pain it has been. And, selfishly, I would think these experiences are noted by the underwriters.

 

[thewishy]

So pleased to hear you about to get her back. What a pain it has been. And, selfishly, I would think these experiences are noted by the underwriters.

Well, that only really means increased insurance premiums for owners? Although it would seem the Tesla assistance is reasonably good at reducing accidents, and it feels like I see far more where other drivers are at fault? (Decent dashcam footage for most no-fault accidents also seems to help point the blame where due as well)

 

[Wattsisname]

Well, that only really means increased insurance premiums for owners? Although it would seem the Tesla assistance is reasonably good at reducing accidents, and it feels like I see far more where other drivers are at fault? (Decent dashcam footage for most no-fault accidents also seems to help point the blame where due as well)

Dash-cams are very useful. I started using an adapted video camera on my motorbike years ago. It was a bit Heath Robinson and so I was pleased to have a GoPro when they launched. When not on the bike or my helmet, it sat on the dash. As I upgraded, I moved the first one to the back of the car for motorway trips. Quite amazing to see the effect on high speed tailgaters when they spotted it.
Only requirement now is on my bicycle helmet.

I hope the word gets around that "Teslas are watching you."😉

 

[DigbyChicken]

Picked up Tessie the Tesla on Monday (no pictures as, well, it's just a repaired Model 3 in white). I was almost emotional to see it - and not sorry to drop off the Mercedes EQA, though I've grown to appreciate its SUV-ness (and blindspot indicator, and working automatic headlights) at points over the last five months. It looks as if the body shop has done a good job on the Tesla (there was very fine paint spray on some of the frunk plastics under the bonnet which I only noticed when I got back, but it seems to have rubbed off with no issues). Overall, the car looks in pretty good nick (though the alloys haven't miraculously healed themselves - I seemed to kerb the bloody thing just about every week on the narrow streets of Winchester). We've got about a year and a half before we hand it back to the NHS lease company and it'll be interesting to see what we do next. We're wary of losing the parking sensors via some future update (I'm assuming they're still working?) but conversely we really don't want to ever be reliant on non-Tesla chargers again.

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. I had an enjoyable and reasonably uneventful drive home: I've missed the rapid acceleration, the openness of the cabin and how effortless it is to drive long distances on motorways! My wife (who's the only one of us to have driven it in the dark) swears that the headlights are more 'sensible' than before; is this plausible? (We were on... whatever software version was standard back in August... and it was updated to 2022.44.30 while being checked over at Tesla Milton Keynes.) I've certainly noticed that the camera view that pops up when you're indicating is now in a more sensible place and could almost be useful.

Pretty much since it's been fixed (bit late, guys!) I've had a few emails from some of the Tesla email addresses I spammed when trying to get the correct wiring loom sent over to Rugby. (Apparently the body shop still has a wing or something they were sent two of; in a nutshell, they're hoping never to have to repair a Tesla again, though I did see another M3 in the car park...) FWIW, the Customer Services address - [email protected] - responded in about 7 days (and seemed genuinely sorry to hear of my/our poor experiences emailing Tesla and were keen to know which addresses hadn't got back to me). The Bristol Sales address, despite being featured on the main Tesla website, bounced (at least for me). (I didn't even get an acknowledgement from the person at Bristol I'd dealt with back at the beginning: hardly a surprise, as they're only interested in selling cars, not customer support once you have one.) [email protected] pinged an automatic message acknowledging receipt, but I never heard from them again. I didn't get anything from [email protected] at all. (Perhaps they felt it was nothing to do with them so didn't bother. Anyway, I note all this here just in case it's useful to someone.) By the time UK Customer services suggested I try the [email protected] address, the car was fixed, but I *did* hear from a human being there as well. Crumbs!

All that's outstanding now is to sort the steering alignment (the car suggested a service of this kind partway home and the steering wheel does seem very slightly cocked to one side when driving straight). After stating that I didn't really fancy another 340-mile round trip so the body shop could have a look, the lease/fleet company and insurers agreed that Tesla sort this and that they'll bundle the cost into the insurance claim against the other driver. (Apparently, while the M3 is there, they're going to 'Insulate AC Low-Pressure Pipe and Install Harness Corrective Cover' and 'Install O-Ring on Trunk Power Strut' - anyone know about this? What have I missed??) Anyway, it's all booked in for the week after next and - barring goodness knows what on the insurance front (though at least it's not our problem) - we're delighted it's all over...!

 

[debrooker]

Great to hear. And in my opinion the headlights are working to a basic standard and not seemingly annoying other drivers.

 

[init6]

while the M3 is there, they're going to 'Insulate AC Low-Pressure Pipe and Install Harness Corrective Cover' and 'Install O-Ring on Trunk Power Strut' - anyone know about this? What have I missed??)

Those were 'recalls'. The first being a very old one and the latter sometime last year. IIRC boots were getting stuck halfway up and this is meant to prevent water from getting into the strut or something like that.

 

[WannabeOwner]

headlights are more 'sensible' than before;

An OTA update can cause the headlights to be recalibrated - so it might be that the car was say on level ground, an update happened and that triggered a headlight recalibrate and, by good chance!, it is better aligned than it was before

 

[Adopado]

An OTA update can cause the headlights to be recalibrated - so it might be that the car was say on level ground, an update happened and that triggered a headlight recalibrate and, by good chance!, it is better aligned than it was before

I'm thinking that the "sensible" quote may have been a reference to the fact that auto main beam was noticeably improved in recent updates.

 

[SimonM3LR]

I had a minor RTA that needed a new rear bumper, mountings, sensors etc and paint. I was thinking it would take months for the parts but all completely seamless; booked in the next week and repairs took about 8 days, so I part supply wasn’t an issue for me.

 

[Wattsisname]

Two random things to add (EQA mini review to come!).

Firstly, something I forgot to observe about (the aftermath of the) crash itself. Some daft petrolhead who passed by our stranded M3 - while the police officer was there! - found the time to slow, wind down his window and shout out "Ha ha, Tesla!" I just don't know what goes through the minds of some people. (The same thought occurred to me a few days later when I saw this Fully Charged video on the new Robert E-Niro, which begins with the fact that some twonk has keyed their old Kia EV.)

Secondly, time will tell, but I'm not absolutely sure the bodyshop know what they're doing (or, to be more charitable, haven't done much work on EVs before). Though the good news is they've clearly moved it around, under its own, er, steam, on various occasions in the past ten days, they've also not plugged it in (or switched off sentry). Consequently, the battery has dwindled down to just over 20%. I turned off sentry myself a couple of times, and have politely emailed the body shop and insurers as I don't think anyone wants the battery to drain entirely, but I've had no response, and now the car has taken matters into its own hands and has disabled sentry mode.

That 20% Sentry Mode auto cancel is worth its weight.....

 

[Wattsisname]

RTA = Road Traffic Accident. Police now typically refer to RTC (Road Traffic Collision) instead, as "accident" implies no one at fault...

Highways Agency = government body responsible for maintaining our national road infrastructure. Local authorities can seek funding from them for specific road improvements/replacements/repairs within county boundaries, but any highways passing through multiple counties (eg like Route 66) are generally managed directly by the Highways Agency.

The RTA have not made a very good job of maintaining Route 66!!!🥲🙂.
The accident/collision account is so well written that it quite shook me. So, as is my wont, the above stab at humour as medicine.
(I have had a couple RTCs - not fun at all)