Return Debate

[32x20]

My MR delivery was delayed (the day I showed up at the SC 3 hrs away!) by 3 days due to a bad steering column sensor. I had a loaner for those days, and they drove the 3 out to me on Friday, 3/15. Since then I drove the car 70 miles and today on the way home I got a litany of error messages (no regen, no auto brake, no traction control, no power steering). The service line says since it's not a 'safety issue' I should drive it to the service center (3 hours away on mountain roads) to have a diagnostic run. I'm very seriously debating returning the car since I'm within the 7 day window. Has anyone had this many issues in <100 miles and had them resolved for the longer term?

I love driving the car when it works, but I don't have much confidence in it at this point.

 

[Spice]

Return it. No brand new car should have such a litany of issues. You're better off starting from scratch then trying to band-aid a broken car together.

 

[buste2]

Definitely return. Just too many bad vibes with the car already. Don't risk it.

 

[secondchld]

If you return it, you are very unlikely to get another mid range. They seem to be out of them coast to coast. I have an order but can't match to a vin. My sales guy is trying to get me a discount on a LR.

 

[32x20]

If you return it, you are very unlikely to get another mid range. They seem to be out of them coast to coast. I have an order but can't match to a vin. My sales guy is trying to get me a discount on a LR.

Yeah, I know they discontinued them. I'd buy a LR RWD if I believed it'd be (mostly) problem free. I really want to love the car, but if I return it I probably am not buying another Tesla for awhile.

 

[Troy]

I think you should return it because there are enough clues that this could be a problem car and if you don't return it, you have only yourself to blame for that. If there are issues, you will definitely regret not returning it before its too late.

 

[buyer123456]

My suggestion is to return the car.

 

[Mod3forMe]

Return it as it sounds like lots of headaches ahead.

I would try to get another Tesla though as these lemon are very rare now.

 

[Sputnik19]

Yikes. My wife and I test drive a P before we bought ours. Screen reboots, weird messages like yours, it worried us. Knock on wood our purchased P3 has zero software issues to date. 3 updates since taking deliveries in February. Return until you have no issues. You shouldn’t deal with this. Unfortunately there are many 3’s that are just loaded with bad hardware, it’s def not software as i have had no issues. 2019.5.15 currently.

 

[NathanielHrnblwr]

Are the errors still there or did it happen once? Does the car drive any differently? I had those appear once and it was a software issue. I rebooted the car and haven't seen them since. What software version is the car on?

 

[32x20]

Are the errors still there or did it happen once? Does the car drive any differently? I had those appear once and it was a software issue. I rebooted the car and haven't seen them since. What software version is the car on?

I called service and we tried a power cycle and tablet reboot and neither fixed the issue. The car drives much differently without Regen or power steering. It’s on 2019.5.15, since they updated the software immediately prior to delivery. It makes me wonder if this is the issue it had prior to delivery.

 

[OCR1]

If I was in your situation I would return the car. But I would give Tesla a second chance on a different car. I know they don’t make the MR anymore but maybe you could see if they have another one in stock. If not, the LR gives you a lot more range for an extra $3K. Price increases haven’t reflected on the web site yet so it looks like you can still get the current prices before the supposed increase today.

 

[gobble]

If you return the car do you get all your money + the sales tax back?

I'm on and off the fence with buying one but nervous because of the lack of QC in many of these cars. It seems like they're just juggling cars around until they find someone willing keep it.

 

[notAnExpert]

Yes, return it and get an LR RWD.

 

[Arcadian]

If you return the car do you get all your money + the sales tax back?...

I returned my X and got every last penny back... the total amount that I paid to Tesla for the vehicle.

The deposit amount was refunded to my credit card (that I originally ordered the car with) within a couple weeks of returning the vehicle. The remainder, including all fees and taxes, was refunded by cheque (I had paid with a certified cheque) that was FedExed to me from Freemont, CA to Toronto area, Canada. The cheque was received within 1 month of returning the vehicle (about 3 weeks if I recall correctly). I don't know that they always FedEx the cheques... I was initially told I would get a cheque in the mail in about 30 days.

 

[xcat]

If the diagnosis is a simple module then it’s a tough call.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Would make sense to take it to them, give them a chance to sort it out. If it is a fix to you liking then keep the car.

If it is a simple computer issue, and the fix is easy, you should be good to go.

While it is inconvenient to take it in, that is not unusual for any manufacturer these days. Cars are pretty complex.

If they seem baffled by the issue, then you still have the option to return the car.

 

[32x20]

Update for those interested:
Service decided to tow the car, which was a relief. The thought of a few mountain passes without regen worried me some. The problem was a connector to some nonspecified sensor. They were able to correct the problem quickly.

I did return the car, however. I had lost faith in the car. While it probably would have been fine after the fix the risk/reward just isn’t there when I can return the car and have another for (nearly) the same cost. That said, I’m most likely going to wait a year and a half and get an AWD Model Y. The model 3 is a beautiful car but with 2 young kids a little more space would make sense.

 

[MP3Mike]

I did return the car, however. I had lost faith in the car. While it probably would have been fine after the fix the risk/reward just isn’t there when I can return the car and have another for (nearly) the same cost. That said, I’m most likely going to wait a year and a half and get an AWD Model Y. The model 3 is a beautiful car but with 2 young kids a little more space would make sense.

If you actually want it in ~1.5 years I would order your Model Y now. (I wouldn't be surprised if most of the first 6 months of production wasn't already sold out, with more orders being placed every day.)

 

[32x20]

While it is inconvenient to take it in, that is not unusual for any manufacturer these days. Cars are pretty complex.

Respectfully, I disagree. I think my experience with the Tesla is unusual, but I don’t think it’s common with established manufacturers. It’s certainly not common in my experience with new cars.