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Selling my Model S as soon as comes back from service

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Finally, after almost 5 years of owning my model S, I will be selling my car after it comes back from service.
Here's why:
- The past few times the car went into service, something else broke within a week or so. I tell service and they claim it's unrelated, so here's another $1-2K of charges.

-Last year car went in for brake replacement. just 2 days later a loud pop happened while driving home from work. AC / heat doesn't work. Service takes it back, claims its completely unrelated to what they did, and it honestly it does make sense, and they fix it. The receipt of charges shows that they had switched out a few fuses that were fried - they claim it's a coincidence that it's only 2 days after service.
- 2 weeks ago, I get a service alert - related to the eMMC that has been on recall for a few years. I call and set up service.
- After service: , the center console retractable flap came back broken (service denied they had anything to do with it), and the app wasn't working properly (can remote start and turn climate on, but will not unlock the car without a key) - again, service said it was unrelated.
- Other annoyances but not critical: All the memory was wiped from the car. No Homelink, no saved wifi credentials, no driver profiles. Somehow Spotify was still logged in.
--- annoying but not a deal breaker.

- HERES THE BIG ONE:
-Literally 3 days later (not counting weekend time being parked and not driven) I come home from work and there's a very pungent smell of an electric fire. I panicked thinking the house was on fire or something, but it was the car. The back left wheel was piping hot. the other wheels were fine. The charging port was fine. Call service, and they take it in and tell me it's the battery coolant heater. I ask them to make sure that they find the source of the electrical fire smell, but they say there was none. They switch it out ($around 900). Claim it's a coincidence that this happened right after service. Still no explanation for the fire smell and the intense heat on the wheel.

I spoke with someone at the service center, and he insists that all of this is a coincidence. I asked about the retractable center console, and he insisted that they didn't break it, and that they did not even get close to the area (not true). After suggesting that maybe someone inadvertently leaned on it while replacing the eMMC since its in the same area, he agreed that it may have happened. They fixed it for free, which is fine and all, but why default to blaming me or saying that it was broken to begin with?

other annoyances over the years:
- I actually gave up on having 4 working door handles about a year ago. Many roadside services and still at least one doesn't work at all times. Now ill only call when its the driver door.

Not to mention the car leaks air and I have to bundle up in winter on drives (I live in a cold climate). And the interior is breaking apart and looks worn out (unline literally ANY premium car).
In short -- avoid this car at all costs. Yes it's a great drive and fun (but so are SO many other cars), but be prepared to have many arguments with service that's inept and the default mode is to deflect responsibility.

Selling and getting a respectable car ASAP. Only issue is that I feel uneasy selling it without disclosing all the issues. Bad karma and all.
 
In short -- avoid this car at all costs. Yes it's a great drive and fun (but so are SO many other cars), but be prepared to have many arguments with service that's inept and the default mode is to deflect responsibility
if this is a for sale ad then you might list year model and milage with any accessories, and place it in the right section.
But then again how could you ever sell this car to someone with a disclaimer like this you should probably take it to a scrap yard, you know with karma and all.
 
You had a fuse blow after a brake job? Yes, that is unrelated. Changing/servicing the brakes has nothing to do with the fusebox or the PTC heater. But the bigger question is why the fuse blew.

The "hot wheel" for a failed coolant heater?. The coolant heater is located on the "firewall", behind the frunk, and if it fails sure it could give an electrical smell, but there is no way it would cause any of the wheels to heat up. So again siding with the service centre: Unrelated. And there must have been a warning-error message on the screen indicating the failed coolant heater. And it is one of the parts that have had to be replaced by many other owners of older Model S's, so it is to be expected at some point. But why is just one wheel hot? You say the brakes were just done, maybe dragging parking brake? Have these ever been serviced?

Of course we all know about the weakest link of this car, the door handles. Last time I asked service centre about these they wanted $200 CDN for version 3 (or 4?), which might be good for the life of the car, so this is much more reasonable than it was in the past.

Good luck with the next car you get.
 
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I've been gaslit by my local SC manager and when the MCU1 screen came back with a bubble after the eMMC recall. He claimed that the eMMC is done from underneath and no where near the screen. We went back and forth for 20 minutes. He claimed that I'd be putting one of his guys out of work because these screens are thousands of dollars and it would take a few days to fix...blah-blah-blah...and that these are wear items that just go bad after a few years. Then he said it probably had a bubble on the screen before I dropped it off. A few minutes later a service technician came by with the intake photos showing the screen was perfect before I dropped it off. His tune completely changed and told me that would fix it and I'd be on my way in under an hour.

Unfortunately they cracked off a small piece of the dash bezel, but I really didn't care at that point. I believe Tesla fired that manager shortly after. Apparently the Sales Studio down the street said they were seriously having trouble selling additional Tesla vehicles to current owners because of the horrible service experiences at the SC largely due to the manager. Coincidentally the manager as an individual had a bunch of multi-million dollar lawsuits filed...what a ridiculous fool. Anyways, it's best to use the forum here as a collective for information because sadly can't trust what you hear from the SC.
 
Suggestion: Learn the difference between the smell of burning brakes and electrical fire.

A piping hot wheel with an acrid smell has nothing to do with the coolant heater. Very likely a dragging/seized brake caliper.
Ive replaced many brake pads/rotors over the years and know very well the difference between that and the smell of burning wire. Also, SC said the brakes are fine. The Source of the burn is still undiscovered.
 
Suggestion: Learn the difference between the smell of burning brakes and electrical fire.

A piping hot wheel with an acrid smell has nothing to do with the coolant heater. Very likely a dragging/seized brake caliper.
EXACTLY what I was thinking. And to think he JUST had his brakes replaced last year!!! Coincidence???
[Sorry OP, could not resist]
To be fair to OP, hot brake caliper and electrical smell is similar, but definitely different - I can understand the mistake there. I am a little dubious about the coolant heater - maybe you got taken on that one - it would have thrown a code where a burning pad/rotor would not have.

FWIW, I've had similar experiences with my non-Tesla vehicles when I bring them to the stealership for service. I avoid it like the plague. I think it's human nature to be suspect - maybe the truth is in the middle. Do you mind sharing which SC?
 
Ive replaced many brake pads/rotors over the years and know very well the difference between that and the smell of burning wire. Also, SC said the brakes are fine. The Source of the burn is still undiscovered.

The only things that are going to make a wheel "piping hot":

Malfunctioning brakes
Failing hub bearing

It's a very short list, no major detective work required.
 
Sorry about all the problems you've had. My Teslas (3 now) have been reliable, with the exception of the handles on my 2013 S (all replaced under warranty with Gen 3 handles). A few other minor service items over the years, but nothing that surprising. Each newer Tesla has been better than the prior one.
Any possibility something small got kicked up and got stuck between the rotor and the brake pad? It could easily cause a burning smell and later burned up and/or fell out. You didn't state the year of your car, whether buying new or used or the mileage. Still, the number of problems you've run into seems excessive.
 
My car has been in service for 3 weeks for an originally estimated 3 day drive unit replacement. No updated estimate and no info from service center. They respond to my questions but without giving the least hint of what is actually going on or when they might get my car back to me. Getting very frustrated. No loaner and Uber credits are worthless for my currently 110 mile round trip commute and even more worthless for what will soon be a 200 mile one way weekly commute. Very frustrating.
 
My car has been in service for 3 weeks for an originally estimated 3 day drive unit replacement. No updated estimate and no info from service center. They respond to my questions but without giving the least hint of what is actually going on or when they might get my car back to me. Getting very frustrated. No loaner and Uber credits are worthless for my currently 110 mile round trip commute and even more worthless for what will soon be a 200 mile one way weekly commute. Very frustrating.
Which year, model, and mileage?
 
2015 Model S 75k miles. I will give them credit for being willing to change the drive unit just based on the noise it was making, but the lack of transparency around how long it will take is very frustrating. I don’t see why they don’t let me drive the car until the part is there and then I bring it in, unless perhaps they pulled my drive unit and are having it rebuilt? Which would be totally fine by me if they would just tell me that rather than leave me 100% in the dark.
 
Got to come a bit to Tesla’s defense after all my complaining. I went into the SC today and they were able to confirm the parts were there and that my car was 3rd in line to be fixed. Seemed real too because my car was parked right in front of the garage entrance and I don’t think it was there the whole 3 weeks.

Now if they had only given me that info over the app as requested, I would not have had to drive 50 miles to talk with them. But in any case, I’m optimistic my car will be ready in the next week or so.
 
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Finally, after almost 5 years of owning my model S, I will be selling my car after it comes back from service.
Here's why:
- The past few times the car went into service, something else broke within a week or so. I tell service and they claim it's unrelated, so here's another $1-2K of charges.

-Last year car went in for brake replacement. just 2 days later a loud pop happened while driving home from work. AC / heat doesn't work. Service takes it back, claims its completely unrelated to what they did, and it honestly it does make sense, and they fix it. The receipt of charges shows that they had switched out a few fuses that were fried - they claim it's a coincidence that it's only 2 days after service.
- 2 weeks ago, I get a service alert - related to the eMMC that has been on recall for a few years. I call and set up service.
- After service: , the center console retractable flap came back broken (service denied they had anything to do with it), and the app wasn't working properly (can remote start and turn climate on, but will not unlock the car without a key) - again, service said it was unrelated.
- Other annoyances but not critical: All the memory was wiped from the car. No Homelink, no saved wifi credentials, no driver profiles. Somehow Spotify was still logged in.
--- annoying but not a deal breaker.

- HERES THE BIG ONE:
-Literally 3 days later (not counting weekend time being parked and not driven) I come home from work and there's a very pungent smell of an electric fire. I panicked thinking the house was on fire or something, but it was the car. The back left wheel was piping hot. the other wheels were fine. The charging port was fine. Call service, and they take it in and tell me it's the battery coolant heater. I ask them to make sure that they find the source of the electrical fire smell, but they say there was none. They switch it out ($around 900). Claim it's a coincidence that this happened right after service. Still no explanation for the fire smell and the intense heat on the wheel.

I spoke with someone at the service center, and he insists that all of this is a coincidence. I asked about the retractable center console, and he insisted that they didn't break it, and that they did not even get close to the area (not true). After suggesting that maybe someone inadvertently leaned on it while replacing the eMMC since its in the same area, he agreed that it may have happened. They fixed it for free, which is fine and all, but why default to blaming me or saying that it was broken to begin with?

other annoyances over the years:
- I actually gave up on having 4 working door handles about a year ago. Many roadside services and still at least one doesn't work at all times. Now ill only call when its the driver door.

Not to mention the car leaks air and I have to bundle up in winter on drives (I live in a cold climate). And the interior is breaking apart and looks worn out (unline literally ANY premium car).
In short -- avoid this car at all costs. Yes it's a great drive and fun (but so are SO many other cars), but be prepared to have many arguments with service that's inept and the default mode is to deflect responsibility.

Selling and getting a respectable car ASAP. Only issue is that I feel uneasy selling it without disclosing all the issues. Bad karma and all.
What car did you end up getting
 
if this is a for sale ad then you might list year model and milage with any accessories, and place it in the right section.
But then again how could you ever sell this car to someone with a disclaimer like this you should probably take it to a scrap yard, you know with karma and all.

I don't know. If I were in the market then I might consider it at a discount. It sounds like it has more to do with incompetent mechanics than the car.
 
Interesting (or actually concerning) to see all these problems. I've had my '17 for almost 6 years and about 70K miles. There have been a myriad of small-ish problems and I do dread going to service and wasting hours there. But I can't remember a single issue in the last couple of years or so. I can't even remember the last time I spent a dime on maintenance. I am considering owning this car after the battery and drivetrain warranty expires in 2 years, but maybe that is a bad and potentially expensive idea. Problems like a burning smell would definitely freak me out. I park the car in an attached garage so any type of burning smell that resembles an electrical fire and this car would be traded in the next day.
 
Interesting (or actually concerning) to see all these problems. I've had my '17 for almost 6 years and about 70K miles. There have been a myriad of small-ish problems and I do dread going to service and wasting hours there. But I can't remember a single issue in the last couple of years or so. I can't even remember the last time I spent a dime on maintenance. I am considering owning this car after the battery and drivetrain warranty expires in 2 years, but maybe that is a bad and potentially expensive idea. Problems like a burning smell would definitely freak me out. I park the car in an attached garage so any type of burning smell that resembles an electrical fire and this car would be traded in the next day.

I have no agenda one way or the other, but I have had my 2012 S way past it's warranty, and it's suffering just having been a daily driver for 11 years. You know, wear and tear from potholes (needed an alignment and new rim), tires, and just recently, brakes <-for the first time in 11 years. Oh, wait, I did have that MCU problem and screen bubbling that I ponied up $2k for new MCU2.
With all that said, I am firmly planted in the "keeping the car" past warranty crowd. Hope that helps with your decision - of course, that is just my experience - you never know what could happen.