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Service Centre broke my juddering display but would not replace under warranty

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M3noob

Active Member
Supporting Member
Aug 22, 2019
1,065
819
Beyond the pale
(Long post warning!) After two nearly trouble-free years with my Model 3 Long Range DualMotor with Full Self Drive, I have run into a spot of bother. A €1400
plus three days Spanish holiday lost sort of bother. And, 8 Kwh lostovernight at the Service Centre. Small beer in relation the the rest of this sad outcome but needs explanation nonetheless.

On problem started on 25 April, display screen things stopped beingnominal. The first symptom was the Quick Control Menu button icon
ceasing to work. Being a tyre pressure obsessive, this was an issue butvoice control still worked and I resolved to have it seen to back home.
Tyre pressure remained fine.

Then the display went haywire the next day - 19th Nervous Breakdown-typehaywire on 26 April - while on holiday in Spain. See video below for the screen behaviour. What you can't see is the non-function of theQuick Control Menu, the HVAC spontaneously turning itself on and off,the driver's seat heater coming on high, the boot lid and charge port opening unbidden when parked, irregular rear view camera operation, theinability to enter the Pin-to-Drive, enter nav instructions or openingthe pin-protected glove box... and other random things that not onlyseriously degraded the ability to drive safely, or comfortably orindeed, at all until I discovered a few work-arounds using my phone'sTesla app and voice commands.

Look carefully at the screenshot of my short video, especially the lower right handcorner near the Quick Control Menu icon. This is important. (Can't post video.)

An appointment was made with the Barcelona Service Centre using the appand, after brief text conversations and an online diagnosis I got themto understand the problem. The Service Centre confirmed that they hadthe parts necessary to fix it on 9 May. Sunday, on the way toBarcelona, my wife used her phone's Tesla app to turn off HVAC and the driver's seat heat constantly... more than once every minute for almosttwo hours. We drove 120 km to Barcelona on Sunday night and booked intothe SB Hotel Plaza Europa (free charging!) to avoid morning rush hourtraffic on the motorway and city streets.

We turned up for the appointment a half hour early and were told toreturn at the end of the day. Before I could return to collect the carMonday afternoon, I received a call telling me the screen was broken andwas not covered under warranty. Did you see a crack in the picture?

Neither did my wife nor I see it having driven the car over 100s of Kmsince the faulMonday afternoon at the Service Centre, after the"repair", the screen was obviously and visibly cracked. We had arrivedat the Service Centre in the morning with an intact but malfunctioningscreen and then a crack appeared before we went to collect it.

Apparently, the root cause of all the nervous flickering was a defectivecable. Presumably the screen was removed by the Service Centretechnician in order to replace the duff cable. I don't want to have aconversation about negligence or accident but it is evident that thescreen was intact before their repair efforts which then resulted in acracked screen afterwards.

I showed the Service Manager two videos of the unbroken screen taken inthe past week, showing non-functioning but intact, visibly un-crackeddisplay. Now, the crack was obvious sitting in the car now and wouldhave been observed by my wife and I. However,I got no relief fromhaving to pay for a new display, crack not covered under warranty.

Initially, Elisabeth, the Service Manager, tried to tell me that mybutton for the automated garage door back in England that was Velcro-edto the back of the screen on that corner was the reason the screenbroke. Not likely as that button had not been used in the pastfortnight while we were in Spain with no visible damage - see video. Besides, the button was in constant use back in England for the twoyears prior to our holiday trip without an issue. That excuse does not wash.

There ensued conversations where the service personnel claimed that they didn't have a replacement display and couldn't guess when they could
receive the part which would entail us leaving the car behind in Barcelona when we returned to England. Taking it as-was on a 1000 miledrive back to Britain, the car would be a serious pain in the butt and made no sense. Flying home for business engagements was mooted. A figure of 10 days wait was mentioned as a replacement screen arrival but no guarantee.

Calmly expressing my displeasure unveiled an alternate solution: theydid indeed have a replacement screen for another car and that could beused - and the other car's repair would have to wait. Somewhatsatisfactory as it would see us home in a functioning car but we had to "approve" the estimate for the replacement. €1409+ including tax.

Oddly, I can't access the invoice in my account at the moment - only the warranty invoice of 0.00 for replacing the defective cable and greasingand resealing the front suspension ball joints. I'm sure the grinding wheels of Tesla accounts mill will post it anon. I'm sure my credit card company has a record.

Our overnight stay in Barcelona turned into two, the second purelybecause of the screen replacement. We were advised that the car would
be ready at 1730 on Tuesday. We got a call mid-morning that the car was ready was so we could avoid the travail of Barcelona rush hour on theway back to our holiday base. In effect we lost three days of sun andfun to-ing and fro-ing to Barcelona, unplanned overnight stays, and a bill for a screen broken at the Service Centre which should have been covered either by Tesla warranty or their own business liability insurance.

8 Kw disappeared? Full on seat heater overnight? Does Tesla have a secret vehicle-to-grid capability? No biggie compared to the cost and inconvenience caused with the screen damage.

Action list: see what our car insurance covers (nada - besides the damage was NOT my fault), contact the credit card company and advise that the charge is a warranty dispute, contact the next level up of Tesla management and love bomb Tesla on every socialmedia outlet in reach.

This defect has been reported several times passim but the crack appeared while in the OP's custody. This is not the case here.

Thank you for your attention. I hope this never happens to you. I will post results of my efforts to get this sorted

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In the UK, I'd defo be disputing that, probably through credit card.

Defo on to Nat West right now... didn't want to raise a fuss if I was the only instance of this problem but thanks to the TMC hive mind's posting of other cases, I am sure that the display was either mishandled by the SC or it was a latent defect. Either way, gimme my money back!
 
It wasn't the fob for over two years... it was the Service Centre removing/replacing the display that damaged the screen.
I realise that the screen was broken by the SC but I don't want to give Tesla another reason why the screen might have become broken. I have checked my screen and it's very strong when pushed from the rear (on both the corner and the centre sections) so I don't think that would have caused the damage...

Anyway I can't find a better place to hide the garage door fob, so If anyone knows of better place then let us know...

Actually, that's why I keep my car as vanilla as possible and don't change mud flaps, etc.
 
The logical thing is to attach it to something that costs peanuts to replace, like a bit of plastic trim. Could you not attach it to somewhere under the steering column? The plastic cover that has the footwell light in, for example.

I also wouldn't want to give Tesla any excuse for avoiding a warranty repair by attaching anything aftermarket to the screen or any other expensive component.

Is the crack in the screen in the same corner as the garage door button mounted on the back?
 
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Is the crack in the screen in the same corner as the garage door button mounted on the back?

Yes it was. But that, to my reasonable non-Tesla mind, is irrelevant. It's not like I used my knee to push the bubble button on the clicker.

It had done good service in that position without breaking the screen for two years... and then, after not being used for two or three weeks, the screen cracked... coincidentally once it was at the SC :mad:
 
I realise that the screen was broken by the SC but I don't want to give Tesla another reason why the screen might have become broken. I have checked my screen and it's very strong when pushed from the rear (on both the corner and the centre sections) so I don't think that would have caused the damage...

Anyway I can't find a better place to hide the garage door fob, so If anyone knows of better place then let us know...

Actually, that's why I keep my car as vanilla as possible and don't change mud flaps, etc.
I keep garage opener in the console cup holder 😁
 
Not sure where you would stand with the credit card company. If you pay for something and don't get what you paid for then they are liable but since you voluntarily paid for the screen and got the screen then not sure how it is their responsibility. I get that you were in a horrendous position i.e. you were virtually blackmailed into having to pay for it but I am still not sure that makes it the credit card companies problem.

Aside from the pictures you have, if it comes to presenting evidence you would have to ask the question OK if a screen with an obvious crack was the original problem how did the "highly trained" technicians fail to notice it. diagnose a faulty cable, remove the screen. replace the cable then replace the screen again and only then notice the crack. That would make them either very stupid or liars.
 
I think @Jason71 is bang on with his comments. You have your pictures too.
perhaps the way forward Is to inform Tesla you intend to make a claim against them in the small claims court but not sure if there are implications in the fact the work was done in Spain and if they in Spain have a similar system to the UK and if you could issue the claim in the UK or have to do it in Spain.

All countries in the EU have a small claims system and in these cases the burden of proof is "On the balance of probability" for all civil cases (Beyond all reasonable doubt is the criminal burden of proof) so your evidence and statements plus (as Jason71 has said) how would a car that has been presented to a service centre with a screen fault being looked at by skilled technicians miss obvious damage to a screen, diagnose a cable fault and fit that cable and only then discover the physical damage to the screen?
Im pretty sure on the balance of probabilities you would win your case and Tesla would have to refund you, however, the fact you inform Tesla you intend to seek redress in the courts may be enough for them to accept responsibility and pay you back because no sane person would continue to push the issue if they had indeed cracked the screen themselves..
 
I think @Jason71 is bang on with his comments. You have your pictures too.
perhaps the way forward Is to inform Tesla you intend to make a claim against them in the small claims court but not sure if there are implications in the fact the work was done in Spain and if they in Spain have a similar system to the UK and if you could issue the claim in the UK or have to do it in Spain.

All countries in the EU have a small claims system and in these cases the burden of proof is "On the balance of probability" for all civil cases (Beyond all reasonable doubt is the criminal burden of proof) so your evidence and statements plus (as Jason71 has said) how would a car that has been presented to a service centre with a screen fault being looked at by skilled technicians miss obvious damage to a screen, diagnose a cable fault and fit that cable and only then discover the physical damage to the screen?
Im pretty sure on the balance of probabilities you would win your case and Tesla would have to refund you, however, the fact you inform Tesla you intend to seek redress in the courts may be enough for them to accept responsibility and pay you back because no sane person would continue to push the issue if they had indeed cracked the screen themselves..
I very much doubt the UK courts would get involved in this. It happened in Spain, so I’d imagine it would require going through the Spanish courts. For someone who doesn’t live in the Spain, that’ll just be massive grief and most likely end up costing more than the cost of the blackmail on Tesla’s behalf.

If the OP had stood his ground at the time, they may have backed down and accepted they caused the damage. However, knowing they had the OP over a barrel in a foreign country with the alternative being a load of grief they clearly tried their luck.
 
If this was just a warranty dispute then it would be an easier case, however I would assume Tesla Spain is a different entity to Tesla UK so court action here might not work.

I would instead write letters to the relevant UK and Spanish contacts for the service centre and your local one, hope that it is then escalated and fixed. I don’t believe Tesla intentionally try to rip customers off but they are often ignorant to their incompetence and failures at times.
 
Write to Tesla in the UK and see what they say. If they decline, I’d probably try a small claim in the UK- you don’t have much to lose. Just do your homework on who your taking to court (and why). Tesla will probably either settle in advance or just no show.

Legal jurisdiction hard to say without your repair quote/invoice/car purchase paperwork.

There is a Tesla Spain (Tesla Spain, S.L.U., Calle de la Metalurgia 38-42, 08038, Barcelona) assuming this is a separate legal entity.

You probably bought your car from Tesla Motors Ltd or a finance company did in the UK.

The warranty is with Tesla Motors Netherlands B.V.

Probably all wholly owned subsidiaries of Tesla Inc.

One line of thought: You booked the appointment with your UK app - did Tesla effectively contract the repair to a different subsidiary. Think principal contractor. They could have said ‘no’, you’ll need to get the car towed back to the Uk under breakdown.
 
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Write to Tesla in the UK and see what they say. If they decline, I’d probably try a small claim in the UK- you don’t have much to lose. Just do your homework on who your taking to court (and why). Tesla will probably either settle in advance or just no show.

Legal jurisdiction hard to say without your repair quote/invoice/car purchase paperwork.

There is a Tesla Spain (Tesla Spain, S.L.U., Calle de la Metalurgia 38-42, 08038, Barcelona) assuming this is a separate legal entity.

You probably bought your car from Tesla Motors Ltd or a finance company did in the UK.

The warranty is with Tesla Motors Netherlands B.V.

Probably all wholly owned subsidiaries of Tesla Inc.

One line of thought: You booked the appointment with your UK app - did Tesla effectively contract the repair to a different subsidiary. Think principal contractor. They could have said ‘no’, you’ll need to get the car towed back to the Uk under breakdown.
In this case the dispute is around payment, not that the repair became necessary. I can't see how it wouldn't be between the customer and the entity to whom money was paid. I would be looking for a Spanish Lawyer to write a letter. There clear evidence the screen was broken under their care and this button had nothing to do with it. Nasty issue to be resolved, shame on the Tesla Service Centre.
 
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Surely it’s down to Tesla to prove the damage was pre-existing? If you have photos from just before with no crack, and then they’re turning around and saying there’s a crack after they’ve done work to it, that sounds like 100% down to them.
That's what I am telling the credit card company!

They are lovely people at the BCN Service Centre having visited there before but their obstancy in what is absolutely on them is frustrating (to the tune of €1400)

I'm guessing the cack-handed tech that broke the display didn't fess up... maybe it would have come out of his pay. But I don't care!
 
In this case the dispute is around payment, not that the repair became necessary. I can't see how it wouldn't be between the customer and the entity to whom money was paid. I would be looking for a Spanish Lawyer to write a letter. There clear evidence the screen was broken under their care and this button had nothing to do with it. Nasty issue to be resolved, shame on the Tesla Service Centre.
Apart from the damage was caused whilst warranty work was being carried out. So arguably regardless of who was paid to repair the damage the liability for the damage caused sits with the warranty provider. The warranty provider’s representative for cars sold in the UK is arguably Tesla Motors Ltd. Unless you know many Spanish lawyers?

Put it this way, if you had your car in for an insurance repair here in the UK and they broke something else you’d start with the garage. No joy? then you’d complain to the insurer.