I took my LR Model 3 into the Torrance, California service center to replace the driver-side headlight assembly due to the accent (signature) light strip not working. This is the thin strip of light in the middle of the assembly that appears to be a somewhat common issue, according to many reports on this forum. In fact, I had the same driver-side headlight replaced for the exact same reason 7 months ago. Earlier in December, I noticed the strip was not functioning again so I scheduled a SC appointment and took the vehicle in. No big deal, just get it replaced again, and move on.
The service appointment goes as planned and after verifying the replacement headlight was in working order, I head back home, less than 5 minutes away. I decided to inspect it in more detail at home and discovered that there was some paint damage to the bumper adjacent to the headlight they worked on. It looked like a small part of the paint was folded up during the work being performed, exposing the underlying material. 100% did not see it prior to the visit.
I immediately go back to the SC and inform the same service advisor of the issue. On a side note, this is a heavily trafficked location - they do not have adequate parking/staging areas for the volume so vehicles are always parked on the sidewalk. I noticed at least 10 cars in each direction on both sides of the street with runners jaywalking a semi-busy street to get to the service center.
Anyways, I clearly point out the problem which the SA acknowledged, who offered to have the service tech come out to inspect as well. She came back and mentioned that the person was busy handling some other issue (who knows), but did say that they would need to take it to a third-party authorized shop (either in El Segundo or Carson, I believe) to get the entire bumper repainted. Since I had a vacation coming up and given the holidays, I just wanted a written record of the issue caused by their techs and that they would rectify it at a later time, which they did provide.
I've never had any problems in the past with this service center, but I did need to take the car in shortly after initial delivery for them to repaint over some deep scratches on the same front bumper, as well as the aforementioned headlight assembly due to the same malfunctioning light strip. This time, however, the problem was directly caused by the person working on the car and I'm not sure if they even noticed it, or if they did, they hoped it would be overlooked (I hope the former). I understand things happen, but own up to it rather than pass it off as if nothing happened, if that is indeed what happened.
I'm a huge Tesla fan and I love the car, no regrets at all about it. I've even overlooked minor quality/fitment issues, but the number of times I've had to take the car in is getting inconvenient. I'm lucky to have a SC so close to me - a bonus when deciding to pull the trigger on it. I'm confident that when owners have problems, Tesla will fix it, but this time, I'm just disappointed they didn't take the care I hoped they would, and possibly thought I wouldn't discover it. Anyways, just wanted to share my experience with the Torrance SC. I've scheduled an appointment to have it repainted later this month, just waiting for these rainstorms to pass!
The service appointment goes as planned and after verifying the replacement headlight was in working order, I head back home, less than 5 minutes away. I decided to inspect it in more detail at home and discovered that there was some paint damage to the bumper adjacent to the headlight they worked on. It looked like a small part of the paint was folded up during the work being performed, exposing the underlying material. 100% did not see it prior to the visit.
I immediately go back to the SC and inform the same service advisor of the issue. On a side note, this is a heavily trafficked location - they do not have adequate parking/staging areas for the volume so vehicles are always parked on the sidewalk. I noticed at least 10 cars in each direction on both sides of the street with runners jaywalking a semi-busy street to get to the service center.
Anyways, I clearly point out the problem which the SA acknowledged, who offered to have the service tech come out to inspect as well. She came back and mentioned that the person was busy handling some other issue (who knows), but did say that they would need to take it to a third-party authorized shop (either in El Segundo or Carson, I believe) to get the entire bumper repainted. Since I had a vacation coming up and given the holidays, I just wanted a written record of the issue caused by their techs and that they would rectify it at a later time, which they did provide.
I've never had any problems in the past with this service center, but I did need to take the car in shortly after initial delivery for them to repaint over some deep scratches on the same front bumper, as well as the aforementioned headlight assembly due to the same malfunctioning light strip. This time, however, the problem was directly caused by the person working on the car and I'm not sure if they even noticed it, or if they did, they hoped it would be overlooked (I hope the former). I understand things happen, but own up to it rather than pass it off as if nothing happened, if that is indeed what happened.
I'm a huge Tesla fan and I love the car, no regrets at all about it. I've even overlooked minor quality/fitment issues, but the number of times I've had to take the car in is getting inconvenient. I'm lucky to have a SC so close to me - a bonus when deciding to pull the trigger on it. I'm confident that when owners have problems, Tesla will fix it, but this time, I'm just disappointed they didn't take the care I hoped they would, and possibly thought I wouldn't discover it. Anyways, just wanted to share my experience with the Torrance SC. I've scheduled an appointment to have it repainted later this month, just waiting for these rainstorms to pass!
