I picked up my silver M3 one year ago today. I had bought a MS in 2014, but was anxious to "down-size" in search of better handling and newer tech. No regrets whatsoever. First and foremost...I love both cars. In totality, I see them as vastly superior to the ICE and many other attributes of ICE car history...not even considering the carbon benefit which is the most critical of all. So kudos to Elon and Tesla.
But in the spirit of continuous improvement, I'll list a few points of feedback where Tesla should consider improvements based on my experiences (in gripe order):
1. Glitchy Computer. I've had many instances of minor malfunction over the year. Things like radio won't connect, voice command won't work, car reboots on its own, car won't respond, and others. I've rebooted at least 50 times over the year. Most of the time the computer self corrects immediately or eventually. I tend to be fairly tolerant and have only called Tesla twice about this. They tend to say that an OTA update will fix it soon. This is my biggest gripe, but not even close to impacting my overall desire of the car. Perhaps since mine is an earlyish VIN coming off the line, others do not experience this...or have found a remedy.
2. Braking is not robust. Perhaps they were under-engineered or the electronics are configured as such, but I've felt from the beginning that the braking is not commensurate with the acceleration and overall handling of the car. When the Consumer Reports issue arose, I was in general agreement with their assessment.
3. Wiper function not robust. I've read past threads on this and agree. I think it was a mistake to make this electronic only control since it plays a serious role in safe operation. It should be stalk controlled. Also agree that the auto control is weak.
4. Flat tires. Over 5 years with the MS/3, I've had 2 flats. So with 60K miles logged, that's one every 30K. I do not like being disabled for such an easy fix issue and will never like the idea of a sealant/compressor as the insurance. Tesla should at least sell a solution to eliminate disablement due to a single tire--so we don't have to engineer a jack+spare ourselves.
I did not get AutoPilot as I bought this car to drive myself--so no experience there. I consider the alternative to be Uber/Lyft if I don't want to drive. Surely there any many other minor items that could use a tweak also, but not worth mentioning IMHO. Overall, these cars are phenomenal and have defined the future for the industry.
Onward.
But in the spirit of continuous improvement, I'll list a few points of feedback where Tesla should consider improvements based on my experiences (in gripe order):
1. Glitchy Computer. I've had many instances of minor malfunction over the year. Things like radio won't connect, voice command won't work, car reboots on its own, car won't respond, and others. I've rebooted at least 50 times over the year. Most of the time the computer self corrects immediately or eventually. I tend to be fairly tolerant and have only called Tesla twice about this. They tend to say that an OTA update will fix it soon. This is my biggest gripe, but not even close to impacting my overall desire of the car. Perhaps since mine is an earlyish VIN coming off the line, others do not experience this...or have found a remedy.
2. Braking is not robust. Perhaps they were under-engineered or the electronics are configured as such, but I've felt from the beginning that the braking is not commensurate with the acceleration and overall handling of the car. When the Consumer Reports issue arose, I was in general agreement with their assessment.
3. Wiper function not robust. I've read past threads on this and agree. I think it was a mistake to make this electronic only control since it plays a serious role in safe operation. It should be stalk controlled. Also agree that the auto control is weak.
4. Flat tires. Over 5 years with the MS/3, I've had 2 flats. So with 60K miles logged, that's one every 30K. I do not like being disabled for such an easy fix issue and will never like the idea of a sealant/compressor as the insurance. Tesla should at least sell a solution to eliminate disablement due to a single tire--so we don't have to engineer a jack+spare ourselves.
I did not get AutoPilot as I bought this car to drive myself--so no experience there. I consider the alternative to be Uber/Lyft if I don't want to drive. Surely there any many other minor items that could use a tweak also, but not worth mentioning IMHO. Overall, these cars are phenomenal and have defined the future for the industry.
Onward.
