Prospective owner with quality control question

[Horizonjob]

I was preparing to buy a Model 3 and had a 240v outlet installed in my garage this week. (I was having other electrical work done and figured I would take care of the outlet while I had the electrician’s attention.) Two days later, Consumer Reports came out with their release about pulling their recommendation because of reliability issues, notwithstanding that their March issue says that Model 3 owners are the most satisfied owners out there. I know their decision was supposedly based on an old (September) survey and that Tesla says they have fixed most problems. I am understandably a bit antsy, though.

My question is this: Is there any anecdotal or other evidence that the Model 3 quality control at the factory has improved since the survey or are people so happy with the car’s look and performance that they are willing to forgive a trip or two with a new car to the service center to iron out the kinks?

Thanks!

 

[irev210]

I think a lot of this is just over hyped. Before my model 3, I owned a 2017 Chevy volt (41k msrp) and I had more issues with that car vs model 3.

But nobody cares about the volt, so the bubbles in the paint, the exhaust banging, the proximity sensors being defective, etc nobody cared to report headlines on that. After owning a Tesla, my thoughts on GM quality went way down.

Overall, my model 3 is much better built. Is it perfect? No... But if you go nuts and look over every inch of the car, you will find flaws just like other cars.

Anyway, for me, the car is great. If you are super picky, just give it a careful look over before you pay for the car. Make sure you don't see any paint issues or door alignment issues - those seem to be the major issues people report.

I am guessing you'll be very happy, but just don't be afraid to reject the car and ask for another if you aren't.

Lastly, be warned this is not an established automaker. If you get into an accidental, Tesla's take longer to repair. Also, some sales/service employees are not well trained, so you could have a bad experience there.

So, despite some pitfalls/growing pains/etc. I'd still buy another.

Lemme know if you have any additional questions.

 

[suwaneedad]

FWIW, I got mine last March, pretty early VIN, and have had no issues other than the charger door being scratched when I took delivery (Mobile Service took care of the We Owe on that), and a creak having to do with two metal pieces of frame rubbing for which there was a TSB issued by the time I experienced it, so an easy fix for the service center. Granted, that is two more issues than I had with my Nissan LEAF, but my point is that even the quality issues reported are rare in reality. My advice to you would be to inspect your paint job carefully since repairing that is unlikely to ever be quite right, otherwise take delivery and be thrilled. My ultimate litmus test: if I crashed my Model 3 tonight would I go buy another tomorrow? And that answer is unequivocally yes.

 

[Knightshade]

Anecdotally I got mine in September 2018 (August 2018 build) and apart from them failing to deliver the iphone cables and second key card with the car (these were later delivered to me at work via a Tesla ranger) the car was basically flawless.

If you take a closer look at most of the "reliability" problems CR is citing, they're not actually reliability problems- they're mostly fit/finish/trim issues.

Model 3 owners in our spring survey sample reported some body hardware and in-car electronics problems, such as the screen freezing, which we have seen with other Tesla models. The latest survey data also shows complaints about paint and trim issues. In addition, some members reported that the Model 3’s sole display screen acted strangely.

Major software glitches have largely been cleaned up quite a while back (though one can always get a bad computer, Tesla'd just swap it out though- and the media computer glitching doesn't impact the car from driving- you can actually reboot the thing WHILE driving)

The other thing they note- cracking rear glass- is a known-fixed item as Tesla changed suppliers months ago (there were a number of threads about this because the window now "looks different" when it gets wet, since the new supplier uses a slightly different UV coating)

The paint/trim stuff is better than a year ago too- it's not Lexus standards, but it's better than some new cars I've seen from a few other makers- So look the car over when you go to pick it up, if there's major issues just ask for a different one

 

[commasign]

Tiny paint chip and curbed wheel that was quickly fixed. Otherwise zero issues. Car has been perfect. July 2018 VIN 55000s.

 

[brkaus]

Our Nov-ish (don't recall for sure, maybe oct) had no major issues. One Trim piece is bent that they will replace and the trunk was wet but I have not been able to reproduce with a garden hose (I think they left the trunk open while washing).

My wife really likes the M3.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

My Nov. build was delivered with a small crack in the glass roof...but this could have happened during transportation. Otherwise, the car is basically flawless...and my wife loves it (and she doesn't care about cars).

Consumer Reports needs to sell subscriptions. I, personally, have no vested interest in you purchasing a Model 3.

 

[Horizonjob]

Thanks for the responses. I thought it very strange that CR would cite reliability to pull their recommendation while highlighting the extreme owner satisfaction. I have an Audi S5 now, which sets a pretty high bar on fit and finish, but if Tesla is willing and able to make things right, that would go a long way for my comfort level. Also, I live in Scottsdale, with two Tesla showrooms, a service center, and a huge number of Teslas of all models on the local roads, so I am hoping the customer service here is up to the task. .

Lastly, I am not a huge fan of CR for auto reviews. Everything to them is a home appliance - good for toaster ovens and vacuums, but not so much for state-of-the-art electric cars.

Keep those responses coming, please! This is very refreshing, since forums do not always present the car in the best light. People tend to post when they need information about an issue or want to vent about problems they have experienced. As a prospective buyer, I want to know that apart from the possibility of some punchlist items when I go to pick up the vehicle, or a rejection in the rare case of a major flaw, I can get right to enjoying a very unique and exciting car.

 

[golfpilot]

I think the quality control is fine. My car had a few little things but the only thing I couldn’t stand, a creak in the dash, they fixed.
People are spending way more for these cars than what they may normally spend. A lot of them have an expectation of perfection and they should.
But the car is great and after a half year, 15k miles and two service visits to fix imperfections I am really happy with the car and experience.

 

[StealthP3D]

My wife took delivery of her LR Model 3 in May. No issues whatsoever.
I took delivery of my P3D in September. No issues whatsoever.

We just drive them. Nothing has broken, squeaked or rattled. And everything matches and looks great. I think the reports of problems are over-blown.

 

[Tam]

...I am not a huge fan of CR for auto reviews...

Its job is to protect consumers even when consumers are satisfied.

When owners were satisfied with Model 3 last year, Consumer Reports pushed the envelope and told Tesla that its Model 3 braking distance was unacceptable.

Tesla listened to Consumer Reports and remediated the Consumer Reports' braking concern.

Consumer Reports' criticism has been well respected by Tesla:

 

[Az_Rael]

I thought it very strange that CR would cite reliability to pull their recommendation while highlighting the extreme owner satisfaction.

Nah, it is not that strange. Both can exist. Our Teslas are by far the least reliable cars we have ever owned. And yet, we still love them find them to be the best cars we have owned and will continue to buy more of them. I expect a lot of owners have the same experience.

I do get tired of the software bugs on the 3. They are myriad and every new release may fix one bug but add two more. Constant updates are a blessing and a curse.

 

[TiggerTime]

I can echo the other post here. I picked up my M3 just over 3 weeks ago. Ordered it and 12 hours later had a pick up date for the following week. Found only 2 obvious minor issues which were addressed before I pulled off the lot. Been loving driving around specially on my days off.

 

[Tam]

...Found only 2 obvious minor issues which were addressed before I pulled off the lot...

Ideally, Quality Control in the Fremont factory should have caught those 2 minor issues. If it didn't, your car was handed off to different Tesla workers including your delivery department and they should have caught any issues too.

 

[TiggerTime]

Ideally, Quality Control in the Fremont factory should have caught those 2 minor issues. If it didn't, your car was handed off to different Tesla workers including your delivery department and they should have caught any issues too.

It's a car, when I say minor I mean MINOR. Compared to QC done at restaurants (and I've sent my share if mistakes back or even my line of work where we have multiple checks before something goes out, I still see things make it past people (humans). So my 2 minor issues which they fixed quickly were turned into non issues.

 

[SMAlset]

We’ve had our Model S since 3/2017 and our Model 3 since 9/2018. The few issues we’ve had with our cars were minor and addressed by Tesla. My husband’s MS had a faulty charger port discovered first time we went to charge. My Model 3 had a few small specks of dirt under the paint that were taken care of and the front bumper didn’t sit flush at one spot near a headlight. As mentioned all were taken care of. I will say this forum had me nervous picking up the car at delivery and I don’t think either of us ever gave a new car as close of a looking over as we did with the Model 3. I chalk that up to reading the posts here. There are owners who have not had a great experience and you’ll find those on here as well but honestly given the number of cars on the road, I think the vast majority of owners have had a very positive ownership experience. Apart from missing the car while the work mentioned above was done, we both have loved driving our cars and certainly have no regrets buying either one. As someone said if their car got in an accident and was totalled they would buy another one and so would we.

We drove Toyotas prior to becoming Tesla owners (Camry and Avalon) and despite being reliable cars for the years we had them, never really thought about the fit and finish btw, we have been happy to give them up to own our Teslas. We really do feel that our cars now are the best we’ve ever owned and enjoy driving them far more than any of our other cars. Some people might lump us in the fanboy category I guess, but it’s really just how we feel. Before all of our cars were really just modes of transportation, looked nice I guess but no real attachment to them if they got in an accident and we had to get something else. Our Teslas besides being efficient EVs are just worlds apart from what’s out there.

 

[Rick 99]

I was preparing to buy a Model 3 and had a 240v outlet installed in my garage this week. (I was having other electrical work done and figured I would take care of the outlet while I had the electrician’s attention.) Two days later, Consumer Reports came out with their release about pulling their recommendation because of reliability issues, notwithstanding that their March issue says that Model 3 owners are the most satisfied owners out there. I know their decision was supposedly based on an old (September) survey and that Tesla says they have fixed most problems. I am understandably a bit antsy, though.

My question is this: Is there any anecdotal or other evidence that the Model 3 quality control at the factory has improved since the survey or are people so happy with the car’s look and performance that they are willing to forgive a trip or two with a new car to the service center to iron out the kinks?

Thanks!

I bought my Model 3 in July and had some of the screen issues that the consumer report talked about. Although, I was not surveyed. The screen had glitches from day one. I contacted Tesla , and was told a replacement will be ordered. Tesla was going to replace the whole unit (display). One month later, no information on the ETA. The service at that time dropped the ball, no doubt. Be honest, I didn't want to continue to call over again.

But, the beauty of the Model 3 and in the future is the over the air updates. Tesla kept pushing updates to me. It took 3 updates to fix the issue. I did not have to drive to take the car in for service. The unit was not replaced, which I prefer!
I hate heading to any dealer or mechanic shop. The logistics suck (having to drive back and fourth, losing time from work ,etc.). With that said, the glitches were annoying at first. They were software related, all in the past. Best car I ever driven, can't wait to purchase the second car. Maybe the Model Y or the Pick up. Saving my pennies now.

 

[MXWing]

We discuss CR and collect feedback from owners here.

I don’t think you will have to make service center trips off the bat but if you did it would still be worth it.

Model 3 not recommended and also highest owner satisfaction from Consumer Reports

 

[mattjs33]

Our Teslas are by far the least reliable cars we have ever owned. And yet, we still love them find them to be the best cars we have owned and will continue to buy more of them.

Man, I'm really trying to wrap my head around this one. How exactly could you love the least reliable car you've ever owned, more than any other car you've ever owned?

What exactly is your criteria for what makes a car good? Isn't being reliable one of the things we expect most of our transport? Or is that just me?

If I was married to a supermodel who was great in bed but randomly kicked me in the balls twice a week, eventually I'd tire of it.

 

[ksb467]

My July delivery had a couple minor issues. Tesla fixed them. Love the car, and consider it reliable to date. I always bought past cars based on reliability, Camry, Civic...I assume Consumer Reports is taking the aggregate experience of those who bought and comparing them to other cars results. To me it feels overblown, but I only have my own experience. I recommend buying the car if you want it