Outrageous $5000 repair bill after warranty expire!

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

If you don’t recharge you ac every 2 years you will probably destroy the pump on year 3. This is do to the chemical used lately. It is such a small molecule that you loose 10% of the chemical every year. Once you are below 80% your pump will start having problems.

I'm eight months overdue for this. It sounds like I should be concerned. I'm planning on keeping my MS beyond the warranty coverage and not getting the extended warranty.

Did the OP answer the question about having the AC system serviced or not?

 

[MXWing]

Sir Guacamolaf doth rofleth at ye naivety!

ORLY?

150K faberge eggs, with very low circulations and complex technologies never seen in other vehicles is going to have lower TOC than a Camry?

 

[M3bluepoo]

Ar you a CPA? I have some ?s about the tax returns...?

 

[jboy210]

So what about the 'EV has so much less components than gas cars and so much less repair cost and in consequence lower TOC' argument

Working for me. My BMWs have had higher TOC. Still waiting for Turbo/wastegate to do on the 2012 3 series. Boom, there goes another $7,500. Weighing paying $5,000 for extended warranty for 2016 X3 for fear of a similar issue. Great cars, just expensive to keep.

 

[ajdelange]

I'm eight months overdue for this. It sounds like I should be concerned.

No, you shouldn't be because the molecule (1,1,1, 2 tetrafluoro ethane with two carbons) is not smaller recently. It has been in use in automotive systems since the 90's and is, in fact, doubtless bigger than the R-12 moleciule (dichloro difluoro methane with 1 carbon) it replaced. IOW the guy that posted what you quoted doesn't know what he is talking about. It is, of course, possible to have bad seals or joints so it can't hurt to have your pressures and temperatures checked, And that's easy enough to do. I found the service ports. They are under the cover in the frunk near the first responder's loop: the black (suction) and grey hexagonal (liquid) caps.

 

[ajdelange]

If the refrigerant circuit is like most the exhaust would be plumbed to a condenser and that to a filter dryer. The filter dryer would catch any bits of aluminum so, from that point of view, only the filter dryer and perhaps the condenser would have to be changed (and the filter dryer is changed any time the circuit is opened anyway). The bigger worry would be if the explosion was due to an electrical burn sitruation as that dumps acid into the oil which is corrosive. If caught quickly enough (and I don't expect the car was driven much after the explosion) then a flush and new refrigerant and oil might be sufficient.

 

[Apostle]

I got my model x in late summer 2016 for $110k. During the 3 years of ownership. I had several problems, they all covered under warranty. The most recent problem was this March, right before before my warranty expires. It was the Shock Spring on the suspension at the passenger front tire broke. I heard a very load "pop" when I was driving 10 miles a hour in my neighborhood. The car comes with 5 years warranty or 50k miles whichever comes first.

Unfortunately my car now just past 50k mile, I went to supercharger last week. While it is supercharging, I felt my whole car was shacking and making a big engine noise under the front hood. I could not figure out why and tried to unplug the super charger. It took me like 5-8 minutes to figure out after I turned of the A/C, then the shaking stopped. The AC after that completely quite working.

Same day evening the screen shows
Air conditioning reduced
DC Fast Charging / Supercharging rate maybe reduce.

I bought to the service center, it took them 2 business days to email me a quote. They said "the air conditioner compressor had an internal failure and sent aluminum shaving throughout the system and all needs to be replaced."

I only used the A/C for 2.5 summers... now I have to pay $5k+ to fix it.... I am very upset with it. I don't know if I can or how to get hold of their higher tier manager to see if I can try to ask them to make an exception to fix my car. It is apparently a quality issue. I have had bmw, mercedes, toyota, corvette, dodge, mazda in the past. Non of them had a problem like this. And tesla is the only NEW car I purchased....

I am a big fan of tesla and Elon, that is why I spend so much money on this car even tesla keeps dropping the price after I bought it. I still love it so much. However the $5147 A/C failure in 3 years is NOT acceptable.

Before my warranty expire couple of month ago. I did consider to purchase extended warranty. I read peoples opinion on the forum, agreed not to pay the $4000 ahead of the time, can't believe this.

I spent $6,500 in the last 6-months repairing non-warranty covered parts in my $96,000 S. All the repairs stem from supposed electrical faults that happened after I started firmware updates. I went to the Seattle service center and asked for help finding a setting on the touchscreen. They told me to leave my vehicle. The next day they said I needed multiple window and door regulators. The Seattle service center replaced the $700 door regulators that were replaced the previous month and replaced regulators in windows and doors that have never malfunctioned. I was quoted $1,010. When I picked up my vehicle it was $1,995.21 which included $310 of diagnostics fee plus labor charges. The diagnostics fees combined with the standard hourly rate doubled the hourly labor rate.

Tesla Inc. in Fremont, CA, won't respond. Tesla Seattle WA won't respond and send the voice mail prompt system won't allow you to talk to a human. I was forced to make complaints with regulatory agencies, the Better Business Bureau and the state attorney general. I may join the class action suit against Tesla after I instantly lost 50 miles of range after I left the Seattle WA service center. Superchargers simultaneously stopped allowing me to charge above 80%. The massive 50 miles range loss plus the new 80% max charging limit have severely limited my ability to travel cross country, dramatically increased my charging time and increased my charging frequency.

I was an early adopter 5-star Tesla evangelist and Elon defender. I've given hundreds of test drives. Now, I'm a 0-star owner that regrets buying a Tesla, regrets trusting Elon, and is contemplating litigation. Only brands with 5-star customers survive. Tesla service centers and Tesla Business Compliance are creating an army of early adopter ex-evangelists who are now anti-Tesla. The people working in Tesla Business Compliance, and the Seattle service center managers, are destroying customer relationships and causing severe damage to the brand and the brand's future.

The Seattle waiting room was chaotic. I waited over an hour for my vehicle. The owner before me screamed about his invoice. There was a sleazy guy who said he didn't work for Tesla renting Teslas in the Tesla waiting room. He tried to rent a dirty Tesla to a new Model 3 owner and was charging her a $300 security deposit. Her new 3 arrived with crooked body panels and Seattle Tesla forced her to rent a Tesla instead of giving her a loaner.

We've canceled our plans to buy a semi, a truck and a 3. My sister canceled, based upon my experience, her Model 3 order. I'll never buy another Tesla. Tesla Business Compliance could have handled this issue appropriately and kept a 5-star evangelist, strengthened brand loyalty, and created a repeat buyer. Instead, Tesla Business Compliance, and the Seattle service center destroyed trust and belief in the brand.

 

[Jeff Hudson]

I will probably blow through the warranty in about 1.5 years with how much I drive.

You as much as admitted you made a mistake in deciding not to purchase the extended warranty. Furthermore for a person who drives so much you seem like a better candidate to lease your vehicles rather than buy them, although of course you would need to up your negotiating skills in order to lease with higher mileage at an acceptable cost than the usual leasee.

 

[jerseygirl18]

I spent $6,500 in the last 6-months repairing non-warranty covered parts in my $96,000 S. All the repairs stem from supposed electrical faults that happened after I started firmware updates. I went to the Seattle service center and asked for help finding a setting on the touchscreen. They told me to leave my vehicle. The next day they said I needed multiple window and door regulators. The Seattle service center replaced the $700 door regulators that were replaced the previous month and replaced regulators in windows and doors that have never malfunctioned. I was quoted $1,010. When I picked up my vehicle it was $1,995.21 which included $310 of diagnostics fee plus labor charges. The diagnostics fees combined with the standard hourly rate doubled the hourly labor rate.

Tesla Inc. in Fremont, CA, won't respond. Tesla Seattle WA won't respond and send the voice mail prompt system won't allow you to talk to a human. I was forced to make complaints with regulatory agencies, the Better Business Bureau and the state attorney general. I may join the class action suit against Tesla after I instantly lost 50 miles of range after I left the Seattle WA service center. Superchargers simultaneously stopped allowing me to charge above 80%. The massive 50 miles range loss plus the new 80% max charging limit have severely limited my ability to travel cross country, dramatically increased my charging time and increased my charging frequency.

I was an early adopter 5-star Tesla evangelist and Elon defender. I've given hundreds of test drives. Now, I'm a 0-star owner that regrets buying a Tesla, regrets trusting Elon, and is contemplating litigation. Only brands with 5-star customers survive. Tesla service centers and Tesla Business Compliance are creating an army of early adopter ex-evangelists who are now anti-Tesla. The people working in Tesla Business Compliance, and the Seattle service center managers, are destroying customer relationships and causing severe damage to the brand and the brand's future.

The Seattle waiting room was chaotic. I waited over an hour for my vehicle. The owner before me screamed about his invoice. There was a sleazy guy who said he didn't work for Tesla renting Teslas in the Tesla waiting room. He tried to rent a dirty Tesla to a new Model 3 owner and was charging her a $300 security deposit. Her new 3 arrived with crooked body panels and Seattle Tesla forced her to rent a Tesla instead of giving her a loaner.

We've canceled our plans to buy a semi, a truck and a 3. My sister canceled, based upon my experience, her Model 3 order. I'll never buy another Tesla. Tesla Business Compliance could have handled this issue appropriately and kept a 5-star evangelist, strengthened brand loyalty, and created a repeat buyer. Instead, Tesla Business Compliance, and the Seattle service center destroyed trust and belief in the brand.

 

[jerseygirl18]

Whoa!! you write a strong msg
I'm used to apple comm boards & the complaining & negative stories, but nothing like this!
i wish you luck..hoping it is a problem only Wash has & the more customer oriented peeps are east. However i will say not very impressed with the peeps in the tesla stores...i knew more than they did & they dress very unprofessionally

 

[ajdelange]

You as much as admitted you made a mistake in deciding not to purchase the extended warranty.

Suppose someone decides he does not want to make this mistake and get the warranty. How does he go about doing that? I thought I remembered seeing offers for this on the MyTesla page but I can't find them now.

 

[jerseygirl18]

as a newcomer to this adventure...i have to say if Apple/Steve Jobs/Tim Cook did these turnabouts on policy Apple wouldn't be the company it is today. I think Elon needs to get out of his "trump persona" and adopt to one that sticks to policy decisions & keeps plans consistent with the customers needs. He seems to change ideas or policies on a whim

 

[apodbdrsM3]

I got my model x in late summer 2016 for $110k. During the 3 years of ownership. I had several problems, they all covered under warranty. The most recent problem was this March, right before before my warranty expires. It was the Shock Spring on the suspension at the passenger front tire broke. I heard a very load "pop" when I was driving 10 miles a hour in my neighborhood. The car comes with 5 years warranty or 50k miles whichever comes first.

Unfortunately my car now just past 50k mile, I went to supercharger last week. While it is supercharging, I felt my whole car was shacking and making a big engine noise under the front hood. I could not figure out why and tried to unplug the super charger. It took me like 5-8 minutes to figure out after I turned of the A/C, then the shaking stopped. The AC after that completely quite working.

Same day evening the screen shows
Air conditioning reduced
DC Fast Charging / Supercharging rate maybe reduce.

I bought to the service center, it took them 2 business days to email me a quote. They said "the air conditioner compressor had an internal failure and sent aluminum shaving throughout the system and all needs to be replaced."

I only used the A/C for 2.5 summers... now I have to pay $5k+ to fix it.... I am very upset with it. I don't know if I can or how to get hold of their higher tier manager to see if I can try to ask them to make an exception to fix my car. It is apparently a quality issue. I have had bmw, mercedes, toyota, corvette, dodge, mazda in the past. Non of them had a problem like this. And tesla is the only NEW car I purchased....

I am a big fan of tesla and Elon, that is why I spend so much money on this car even tesla keeps dropping the price after I bought it. I still love it so much. However the $5147 A/C failure in 3 years is NOT acceptable.

Before my warranty expire couple of month ago. I did consider to purchase extended warranty. I read peoples opinion on the forum, agreed not to pay the $4000 ahead of the time, can't believe this.

I don't know how far you are from Phoenix, but these guys do very reasonable repairs on TESLAs, maybe even a used A/C will work.

Gruber Power | UPS Equipment, Batteries, & Service

 

[NHK X]

You as much as admitted you made a mistake in deciding not to purchase the extended warranty. Furthermore for a person who drives so much you seem like a better candidate to lease your vehicles rather than buy them, although of course you would need to up your negotiating skills in order to lease with higher mileage at an acceptable cost than the usual leasee.

No. I didn’t. I was saying that it’s a tougher choice for me given how much I drive. I won’t know if it was a mistake or not for my situation until time passes. While data shows extended warrantys are usually a win for the house, it is also a nice security blanket. I’m still deciding what to do but am leaning towards no extension.

I don’t do leasing. I pay cash for my car then use it as much as possible and drive it into the ground. I don’t baby the car. I don’t try to save miles or just keep it in a garage. Some people do that and I don’t judge. I use this car and will beat it up doing so with my family. I don’t really care about residual value.

 

[Fireball AZ]

Hi everyone! New to this forum and super informative as well. I own a Performance model 3 and LOVE it. Reading Eresan's posting on his model X that is only 3 years old I think he said and just outside the 50K warranty time period when this incident occurred is really troubling. I guess I need to really read my warranty coverages!

As I read his posting and noticed it seems like a lot of owners are questioning the extended warranty coverage I guess from a 3rd party company and not Tesla? It would seem the cost of the warranty is really a lot but maybe due to the size of the pool it may not be?

In any case, my posting today is to reflect what I am used to since I just retired from Toyota / Lexus corporate and know about customers who expect to have their warranty coverages extended beyond the warranty time periods. In a very short statement, we were concerned over how our Lexus customers were treated both by our dealers and our customer service centers. We did have what is traditionally called "Goodwill" and applied it to our Lexus customers via our call centers and district and dealership service people. I know Tesla is a very small company compared to Toyota or Lexus, but in my mind were is the Goodwill?

As a fairly new company and trying to break into the electric car market and mainstream buyers, it seems to me foolish NOT to have any type of Goodwill for issues as this that do arise. I think it best if a customer writes up an praise about Tesla instead of all the negative comments I see from time to time.

Since Tesla is a great new company and wants to make a profit, or needs too! Why not allow your customers to praise Tesla on issues such as this and spread to GOOD news of the company so buyers will come back to Tesla over and over to repurchase the product knowing Tesla has my back.

It would also seem to Tesla should offer their own extended warranties on older products if purchased used but like other manufactures they do this in regard to Certified Used or Certified Pre-Owned products that bring profit to the company and not a 3rd party company. I love my Tesla and want the company to do really well and Tesla has the opportunity to do something here that NO other manufacturer has had the opportunity to do from the get go! Don't blow it now.

Thanks for listening.

 

[cgiGuy]

Your original post says you "just passed 50K miles." According to the FAQ on the extended warranty, you can still purchase it 1 month or 1K miles past your original warranty expiration.

What is the eligible purchase period for Tesla Extended Service Agreements, and what do they cover?
You may purchase the Extended Service Agreement no later than 30 days or 1,000 miles past the expiration of your New Vehicle Limited Warranty.

 

[Bet TSLA]

I spent $6,500 in the last 6-months repairing non-warranty covered parts in my $96,000 S. All the repairs stem from supposed electrical faults that happened after I started firmware updates. I went to the Seattle service center and asked for help finding a setting on the touchscreen. They told me to leave my vehicle. The next day they said I needed multiple window and door regulators. The Seattle service center replaced the $700 door regulators that were replaced the previous month and replaced regulators in windows and doors that have never malfunctioned. I was quoted $1,010. When I picked up my vehicle it was $1,995.21 which included $310 of diagnostics fee plus labor charges. The diagnostics fees combined with the standard hourly rate doubled the hourly labor rate.

Tesla Inc. in Fremont, CA, won't respond. Tesla Seattle WA won't respond and send the voice mail prompt system won't allow you to talk to a human. I was forced to make complaints with regulatory agencies, the Better Business Bureau and the state attorney general. I may join the class action suit against Tesla after I instantly lost 50 miles of range after I left the Seattle WA service center. Superchargers simultaneously stopped allowing me to charge above 80%. The massive 50 miles range loss plus the new 80% max charging limit have severely limited my ability to travel cross country, dramatically increased my charging time and increased my charging frequency.

I was an early adopter 5-star Tesla evangelist and Elon defender. I've given hundreds of test drives. Now, I'm a 0-star owner that regrets buying a Tesla, regrets trusting Elon, and is contemplating litigation. Only brands with 5-star customers survive. Tesla service centers and Tesla Business Compliance are creating an army of early adopter ex-evangelists who are now anti-Tesla. The people working in Tesla Business Compliance, and the Seattle service center managers, are destroying customer relationships and causing severe damage to the brand and the brand's future.

The Seattle waiting room was chaotic. I waited over an hour for my vehicle. The owner before me screamed about his invoice. There was a sleazy guy who said he didn't work for Tesla renting Teslas in the Tesla waiting room. He tried to rent a dirty Tesla to a new Model 3 owner and was charging her a $300 security deposit. Her new 3 arrived with crooked body panels and Seattle Tesla forced her to rent a Tesla instead of giving her a loaner.

We've canceled our plans to buy a semi, a truck and a 3. My sister canceled, based upon my experience, her Model 3 order. I'll never buy another Tesla. Tesla Business Compliance could have handled this issue appropriately and kept a 5-star evangelist, strengthened brand loyalty, and created a repeat buyer. Instead, Tesla Business Compliance, and the Seattle service center destroyed trust and belief in the brand.

For "an early adopter 5-star Tesla evangelist" you seem to be remarkably ignorant.

I went to the Seattle service center and asked for help finding a setting on the touchscreen. They told me to leave my vehicle.

Um, you can't read the manual? You can't search online? And then they told you to leave the vehicle there? I think there's something you're leaving out. In fact your whole story is rather suspect. Maybe by "door regulators that were replaced the previous month" you mean ones that you screwed up yourself trying to replace? Or some third party did?

When I picked up my vehicle it was $1,995.21 which included $310 of diagnostics fee plus labor charges.

Sounds like they made a mistake. Did you question it?

There was a sleazy guy who said he didn't work for Tesla renting Teslas in the Tesla waiting room. He tried to rent a dirty Tesla to a new Model 3 owner and was charging her a $300 security deposit. Her new 3 arrived with crooked body panels and Seattle Tesla forced her to rent a Tesla instead of giving her a loaner.

You seem to be unaware that Tesla was paying for the rental. That's how loaners work in some service centers -- my local service centers use Enterprise. Enterprise buys a bunch of Teslas and then rents them as loaners to people with cars in service. Tesla pays. You have a problem with that?

Tesla Inc. in Fremont, CA, won't respond. Tesla Seattle WA won't respond and send the voice mail prompt system won't allow you to talk to a human.

Yup. Lousy communications. As "an early adopter 5-star Tesla evangelist" I'm shocked that you are surprised. This has been true of Tesla forever. But you went into your service center "for help finding a setting on the touchscreen" so I'm guessing it's trivial for you to go there. So go there and stop screwing around with means of communication that don't work for you. And then "I was forced to make complaints with regulatory agencies..." Somebody held a gun to your head? It was somehow a better solution than going to the service center and speaking to the manager? I really don't believe any of this.

I may join the class action suit against Tesla after I instantly lost 50 miles of range after I left the Seattle WA service center. Superchargers simultaneously stopped allowing me to charge above 80%. The massive 50 miles range loss plus the new 80% max charging limit have severely limited my ability to travel cross country, dramatically increased my charging time and increased my charging frequency.

So these things just mysteriously happened to your vehicle? They have nothing to do with stuff everybody knows and Tesla announced? You can't just override the 80% limit at superchargers like anybody else? The range reduction isn't the one everybody is talking about and Tesla is working on? You know, the one they did to some vehicles after the Beijing fire?

Wow! With "5-star Tesla evangelist" people like you I can see why nobody's buying Teslas any more. Oh wait, it's just you not buying Teslas any more. Sounds like the best thing for all concerned. You'll like Ford much better.

 

[Az_Rael]

We did have what is traditionally called "Goodwill" and applied it to our Lexus customers via our call centers and district and dealership service people. I know Tesla is a very small company compared to Toyota or Lexus, but in my mind were is the Goodwill?

Tesla has goodwill as well, but they have gotten much, much more strict with allowing it. It appears they are trying to cut costs on the service side. So things they used to easily goodwill for customer satisfaction reasons (noise and rattle fixes, etc) are now charged to the customer along with the diagnostic fee. Other small things are gone like the free wash and vacuum service and loaners have been curtailed at some locations and replaced with Uber credits.

If you are coming from the Lexus customer service mindset, Tesla’s current state of affairs at their service centers may be a bit jarring. A year or so ago, it was great - they would bend over backwards for customers, offered things like a valet service, etc. All of that is gone now.

 

[MXWing]

Superchargers simultaneously stopped allowing me to charge above 80%. The massive 50 miles range loss plus the new 80% max charging limit have severely limited my ability to travel cross country, dramatically increased my charging time and increased my charging frequency.

You can easily move your charging limit to however you want after it is set to 80%. I can understand a very brand new owner who hasn't charged their car or one who has never owned a Tesla might believe there is a "new" 80% hard limit on charging.

If you are the seasoned cross country traveler and long time Tesla owner you are claiming to be, you would have supercharged more in a month than I have in 3 years over 3 cars.

here was a sleazy guy who said he didn't work for Tesla renting Teslas in the Tesla waiting room. He tried to rent a dirty Tesla to a new Model 3 owner and was charging her a $300 security deposit. Her new 3 arrived with crooked body panels and Seattle Tesla forced her to rent a Tesla instead of giving her a loaner.

Tesla allows random people who do not work for them to conduct business and hustle in their lobby? Without more details like who owns/runs this "business" I am going to be skeptical here.

We've canceled our plans to buy a semi, a truck and a 3.

This is where my bull *sugar* meter device hit its limit on what it can measure.

Randomly planning to buy a Tesla truck is pretty incredulous. Even the most die hard Tesla fans wouldn't "plan" on this without the slightest clue on what the cost and specifications were going to be.

What's even more ridiculous than planning to buy a Tesla truck is buying a Tesla semi.

Do you happen to be a short haul trucker?

Someone with the means to buy random INDUSTRIAL Tesla vehicles would have been more believable if they said they planned to request back the full deposit on their 2020 Roadster.

What were you going to buy instead of the Tesla Semi? And what do you use currently to unload at Walmart?

 

[wdolson]

1) ESA is useless for those who won't need it at all (no repair claims ever)

and

2) ESA is most vital for those who will need it most (lots of expensive repair claims).

So who among us can predict that simple future: 1 or 2?

You're buying insurance. I've bought my own health insurance since 1994 and I have never made a claim. My monthly premium is now more than my mortgage but I keep paying because I can't afford to lose everything if something bad happens. Same thing with the extended warranty. If you think you can afford the risk don't go for it, if you can't cough up for the extended warranty.