Got into a rather heated debate today with someone who argued that newer Tesla’s are unreliable. He pointed out Consumer Reports ranking of Teslas near the bottom. As someone who’s about to take delivery on a M3P, this was honestly a little annoying. Is this CR report merely bias or is there something to all of this?
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Questions regarding reliability
- Thread starter MHMabrito
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- reliability warranty
If I remember the details of the latest consumer reports data on Model 3's correctly the general theme was that there were above average "issues" with the cars but WAY above average brand loyalty. I think that stems from the fact that almost all the cars have a little something: a rattle, a piece of loose trim, a nick the the paint, scuffed interior panel, whatever. Yet the customers love the cars and would buy another without hesitation. I think Tesla can improve their QC process and I don't want to give them a free pass, but some of these issues are extremely minor yet they show up on these types of reports.
My M3P had some noises/rattles when I first got it. I tracked the issue down to the front passenger fender liner and a loose screw holding one of the front door speakers in. An hour later with some felt tape and it was all fixed. The steering wheel alignment was off by a degree or two so I booked a SC appt and they took care of it no problem. These are the kinds of things that show up in a Consumer Report article but mean a lot less in my opinion especially given customer satisfaction.
You'll likely see that very few of these cars have "major mechanical" issues. No widespread oil consumption issues, transmission failures, or electrical gremlins (ironic) that have plagued a lot of major automakers over the years. People hold Tesla to a higher standard and that doesn't help some perceptions either.
For what its worth I bought my wife a brand new Honda Odyssey this year. "Its a Honda! It'll last forever". Turns out it has more build issues than my Tesla. And lots of reports of the 10 speed transmissions failing in under 5k miles - and I mean catastrophic failures. Transmissions locking up and spewing their guts on the freeway at 80mph. Yet nobody is tiptoeing around recommending Honda vehicles. Tesla has some wind noise and suddenly we should all go buy something else instead...
My M3P had some noises/rattles when I first got it. I tracked the issue down to the front passenger fender liner and a loose screw holding one of the front door speakers in. An hour later with some felt tape and it was all fixed. The steering wheel alignment was off by a degree or two so I booked a SC appt and they took care of it no problem. These are the kinds of things that show up in a Consumer Report article but mean a lot less in my opinion especially given customer satisfaction.
You'll likely see that very few of these cars have "major mechanical" issues. No widespread oil consumption issues, transmission failures, or electrical gremlins (ironic) that have plagued a lot of major automakers over the years. People hold Tesla to a higher standard and that doesn't help some perceptions either.
For what its worth I bought my wife a brand new Honda Odyssey this year. "Its a Honda! It'll last forever". Turns out it has more build issues than my Tesla. And lots of reports of the 10 speed transmissions failing in under 5k miles - and I mean catastrophic failures. Transmissions locking up and spewing their guts on the freeway at 80mph. Yet nobody is tiptoeing around recommending Honda vehicles. Tesla has some wind noise and suddenly we should all go buy something else instead...
BigNick
Infamous Fat Sweaty Guy
10-speeds are for bicycles.
Once you get past about 6 speeds in an automatic, it becomes more unreliable as it is shifting far too frequently.
Another real data point - 4 years and my car is reliable. About 2 years ago, I got a fault alert saying contact the service center. They called me back and said they already know the problem and have ordered the part. Two weeks later I took in the car and they replaced .... the entire motor/inverters assembly.... in 4 hours. Not bad, eh? So I cannot complain.
Well before someone wrecked it my Tesla was generally trouble free. The day I picked it up the wheel alignment was really bad. I drove off the lot around the block and returned it to service. They fixed it that day by giving it an alignment. Shortly after delivery I had an issue where the drivers side rear door handle didnt work and then things got weird where the window switch could pop the door and sometime the door would pop on its own. It took several attempts before Tesla was able to correct it. They eventually replaced some sort of control module and it worked fine after that. Other than that the only thing that needed service was the rear spoiler not being affixed right so I had that replaced. It was actually replaced 2 times. The first because of my request and then again when they replaced the 12v battery under warranty. The mobile tech offered to do it again and I let him. Ive owned double digits worth of cars at this point and to be honest Ive never had a completely issue free car. I would rank the Tesla pretty high in my experience. Once the initial issues were fixed it ran like a champ for 45k miles before its demise.
I would recommend preemptively getting a replacement cabin filter because those are fine one day and stinky the next. Best to have one around so you can replace when needed.
I would recommend preemptively getting a replacement cabin filter because those are fine one day and stinky the next. Best to have one around so you can replace when needed.
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