Hi I am returning to this link after a long absence.....could some of you give me feedback on the wisdom of my buying a 2015 model S 70D ..one local owner..excellent condition, no listed recalls? After looking at Tube videos etc, Im concerned about: headlights, door handles, sun roof leaks, air suspension problems...???
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Seeking feedback on 2015 Model S 70D
- Thread starter Kristine
- Start date
I have a 2015 70 (no D), no air suspension, but otherwise pretty much the same. I love this car. I've had no problems at all with leaks, headlights, or door handles. The 12V battery was replaced once. I like the alcantara liner. I love the yacht floor. AP1 works really, really well for what it does. Battery has held up very well. My one, opinionated, single data point is that the 2015 S70 hit a sweet spot for value feature set in the history of the Model S.
EDIT: Plus I love the huge frunk.
f-stop
Active Member
I have a late 2015 Model S 70D, only ~49,000kms. No air suspension (though now I kinda wish I got it, due to otherwise very low clearance and frequent encounters with certain speed bumps and sharp driveway inclines). Seemingly very low battery degradation - AFAICT still within 2% of original rated range. Not sure if it's a factor but FWIW I mostly charge at home at 120V/12A and tend to keep the the SOC in 50~70% range.
No problems with headlights or door handles or sun roof. 12V battery replaced twice - once under warranty and once out of warranty - first time at about 1yr then second time at about 6yrs. Rear drive unit inverter replaced under warranty at about 11months/13,000kms. Rear trunk actuator seized and replaced under warranty. Passenger airbag replaced under recall. Rear parking brake calipers replaced out of warranty about a year ago. Purchased MCU2 infotainment upgrade out of pocket rather than wait for total eMMC failure and replacement under recall.
Overall, still love the car. Glad to have the free lifetime connectivity and free lifetime SuperCharging. Grey leather interior (unfortunately no longer available) still looks great, like new. Only current annoyance is that Tesla slowed SuperCharging speeds, but that's affected all pre-2017 cars. Not really that big an issue for me in practice since I don't take long road trips very often and therefore only SC infrequently
No problems with headlights or door handles or sun roof. 12V battery replaced twice - once under warranty and once out of warranty - first time at about 1yr then second time at about 6yrs. Rear drive unit inverter replaced under warranty at about 11months/13,000kms. Rear trunk actuator seized and replaced under warranty. Passenger airbag replaced under recall. Rear parking brake calipers replaced out of warranty about a year ago. Purchased MCU2 infotainment upgrade out of pocket rather than wait for total eMMC failure and replacement under recall.
Overall, still love the car. Glad to have the free lifetime connectivity and free lifetime SuperCharging. Grey leather interior (unfortunately no longer available) still looks great, like new. Only current annoyance is that Tesla slowed SuperCharging speeds, but that's affected all pre-2017 cars. Not really that big an issue for me in practice since I don't take long road trips very often and therefore only SC infrequently
That model should have six recalls, you can check it here on your own. I have early 2016 version and have to agree with @f-stop opinion about battery degradation as mine is also quite low. Apart from the listed recalls I would specifically check the rear parking brake calipers as these SHOULD be changed in order to avoid to be left stranded.
This was one thing that I had to deal with out of warranty as it seems they had NOT changed them on my car. All cars with the dual rear calipers suffer from this as Tesla had to modify the parking brakes at 2017. Parking brake calipers on my car have the same timestamps as it left the factory.
Another weak points besides door handles and 12V battery are the front AC louvers, they tend to brake as of road debris or ice particle resluting extra service of the cooling cores. You can easily check them, usually they should be closed. Touching by hand should not allow any movement. If they are open while parked and the car had not been charged, then there you have broken unit.
You also need to remind yourself that this is one of the slowest Model S, all the rest are faster and are heavier as well. I have also coiled suspension and can account occasions of touching underneath when getting off and on the ramp of an ferry. Air suspension gives you an option to raise the suspension if needed.
This was one thing that I had to deal with out of warranty as it seems they had NOT changed them on my car. All cars with the dual rear calipers suffer from this as Tesla had to modify the parking brakes at 2017. Parking brake calipers on my car have the same timestamps as it left the factory.
Another weak points besides door handles and 12V battery are the front AC louvers, they tend to brake as of road debris or ice particle resluting extra service of the cooling cores. You can easily check them, usually they should be closed. Touching by hand should not allow any movement. If they are open while parked and the car had not been charged, then there you have broken unit.
You also need to remind yourself that this is one of the slowest Model S, all the rest are faster and are heavier as well. I have also coiled suspension and can account occasions of touching underneath when getting off and on the ramp of an ferry. Air suspension gives you an option to raise the suspension if needed.
vcor
Tech Specialist
Some issues are related to where the car was used. 57% of USA Teslas reside in CA, where you don't normally have ice, road salt, gravel, and other effects that tend to limit the life of cars (Tesla and all others).
I never had any problems with louvers or parking brakes on 2013 and 2016 S, but I'm in CA. Actually, I've had very few problems, although did have all door handles upgraded under warranty to v3 on the 2013 S. I'd be a little more uncomfortable on any used car (not just Tesla) that goes through the winter hell in many other areas. As others point out, the 12v battery lasts 3-5 years. It will normally warn you weeks before it needs replacement. On my 2016 S, the battery lasted 5 years and 1 month. Another concern is MCU1, which has a memory chip that can fail over time (years). Tesla has upgraded the warranty coverage on MCU1 to 8 years and 100K miles and changed the software to reduce the wear on that memory chip.
I never had any problems with louvers or parking brakes on 2013 and 2016 S, but I'm in CA. Actually, I've had very few problems, although did have all door handles upgraded under warranty to v3 on the 2013 S. I'd be a little more uncomfortable on any used car (not just Tesla) that goes through the winter hell in many other areas. As others point out, the 12v battery lasts 3-5 years. It will normally warn you weeks before it needs replacement. On my 2016 S, the battery lasted 5 years and 1 month. Another concern is MCU1, which has a memory chip that can fail over time (years). Tesla has upgraded the warranty coverage on MCU1 to 8 years and 100K miles and changed the software to reduce the wear on that memory chip.
My experience is quite similar. My 2015 70D has 60K miles and has mostly the same list of problems as the two posters above. I have had several door handle replacements, however, which seems more the norm. My trunk actuator has not (yet) failed so I am considering a proactive replacement -- it is quite inconvenient to deal with, from what I have read. I still have MCU1 but got it replaced by a rebuilt unit when the memory failed, before Tesla started offering the free recall chip replacement. No driveline issues yet. And I am also quite content with AP1. I like the fact that mine has some features no longer available -- leather upholstery, gray upholstery, light alcantara headliner, and a glove box you can open without using the touch screen, etc. (But the seats aren't very comfortable.)
I think the key is to go into any purchase of a Tesla this old with your eyes open -- unexpected failures can occur and can be costly. The Model S was Tesla's first car designed from the ground up. They did a good job for a first attempt, but it was not perfect and some parts were not designed as well as they might have been (door handles). And some of the third party parts were not great (brake calipers, steering rack, seats). Also, be aware that the car has tremendous advantages and is impressive in some ways, but may frustrate you with more road and wind noise than other cars of this vintage and price, lacks some modern features such as cross-traffic warnings. (Take a good, long test drive over various road surfaces if you possibly can.) I like mine a lot, but as it approaches the 8-year point (in a year) when the battery/motor warranty ends, I am seriously thinking about getting a new car just to avoid the risk of those costly parts failing.
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