Service Experience

[Doug_G]

Sounds like they're selling so many in California that the service down there is getting a little overwhelmed. I've never had anything but good experiences with service here in Canada.

That said, it does sound like their ticketing system is weak. They do occasionally forget things that they were supposed to do. On one occasion my poor Ranger had to do an 800 km round trip back to the service center to get a special tool for my Roadster. But that's exactly what he did, which is pretty awesome.

 

[jeff_adams]

The majority of complaints are from Southern and Northern California. I believe sales are exceeding expectations in these markets. They seem to be training people as fast as they can. I also believe they are building alot of superchargers along the 101 corridor to avoid be overwhelmed in the near future. The lessons learned in California will benefit all areas as sales increase

 

[Lenn]

I'm also having service issues here in California. It seems that Tesla has been overwhelmed with service requests here. The service center claims that Tesla is aware of the problem, and they have sent additional person-power down from Fremont to help, but to no avail.

I took delivery at the end of January, and my S has been in for service 3 times for a roof creak/rattle. The first service was an overnighter for my car. The second service took 11 days (!) before they supposedly found and repaired the problem (which they didn't because the roof noise came back). My car has been at the service center now since May 14th. Even if I get it back this Tuesday after the holiday, it will have been in out of my hands for another 14 days! The number of days I have been without my car totals 26...or to put it another way, nearly a month out of the four months that I've owned it. (Meanwhile my payments are still due even though I don't have the car...)

I do not receive any communication from the service center unless I contact them. These days all calls route through the Fremont call center, so speaking directly to your service advisor is nearly impossible. You have to wait for your SA to call you back (not always convenient at work) or wait for an email. I have also had to call and ask that my service records be emailed to me on several occasions, as they were never presented or emailed to me after service.

Most of us early adopters assumed there would be growing pains with Tesla, and believed that it was worth ordering an expensive, game changing luxury car sight unseen in order to shakeup the status quo, save the environment, and support Elon's vision. A bump or two in the road is one thing, but I for one am growing more and more frustrated with my Tesla service experience.

I hope they can turn it around soon.

 

[ddenboer]

I picked up my car on Saturday afternoon after almost two weeks of service (I did get a Model S loaner or I would have been more demanding on quick service). My list of things to fix was mostly minor, dating back to delivery of the car in November, except for a window regulator issue, and the fan behind my 17" constantly being on and very loud.

When the car was serviced, they told me I need new tires as the chord was showing. I'm not the best guy in the world for knowing tire issues, so I said no to the $922 charge for two new tires as Sears can get me all four for less. At no time did anyone show me the wear on the tire, as the outside edges looked almost brand new.

Fast forward to my drive home from Fremont. 10 minutes in, I am driving on rough Hwy 880 road, and the car feels like its really dragging, so I pull over to find the driver-side rear tire is flat. I phone roadside, and had to get towed. By this time the factory service is closed, and I get towed home, as I want to try and find these tires elsewhere (no luck, especially on a long weekend).

While I was waiting for the tow, I finally got a chance to look at the paperwork for my two week long repair. Most items were deferred because they did not feel safe driving the car to test (wish they had told me it was unsafe). Even the fan noise from the 17" was fixed by rebooting (which evidently fixed it for the 5 minutes they tested, but certainly did not fix it permanently, as it can be heard outside the car in my driveway right now).

They did a few things right though. I got the new floor mats, even though I have Lloyd's mats. I got the new J1772 adapter (had to ask for it). They gave me a Model S loaner, which I put 1000+ miles on, saving those miles from my car.

Needless to say, I am tired of Tesla service right now, but I will be heading in there first thing in the morning for 2 new tires. I think Menlo service gets another chance next time.

 

[walla2]

Sounds like California is overwhelmed. I hope that Tesla can ramp up their support for drivers there. Sorry for all the frustration ddenboer, Lenn, et. al. I posted this because my experience was above my expectations. I hope they can deliver similar service for all of you in the near future.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Made my first full visit to a service center today (not counting a UMC swap out in Menlo Park earlier). The Fremont service center is rather nice and it was fantastic (or is it worrisome? ) to see a huge number of Model S sitting outside the center - most of them have no plates so, they must be there for final prep or something. There are several charging stations outside and there's apparently one supercharger inside for customers to drop by in a real emergency when the center's open (one customer actually did that while I was there).

My issues:
- A temperamental passenger rear door handle that extends/retracts okay but, doesn't actually unlatch the door from the outside occasionally. Either the entire door handle assembly or atleast the mechanical latch may need replacing.
- Occasional TPMS sensor warnings; may need a new antenna.
- Slightly misaligned hood assembly that may be causing some water ingress (which apparently is normal) just under the front lip of the hood. One end of the hood is slightly higher than the other. It's more of a cosmetic issue otherwise. Service will fix the alignment of the hood assembly.
- "Clouds" in the clearcoat paint on some areas. Service will do a full detail to get these cleaned up.
- Driver's seat belt sounds "itchy" with noticeable squeaking. Others have reported this before.
- There's a squeak at highway speeds from the right corner of the dash. May be related to AC.
- Mentioned that the hardworking AC compressor produces enough vibration to be felt through the steering wheel and the touchscreen when the car's been out in the sun. Service may consider moving ducts around.

Also promised:
- Tire rotation (I'm at 7,707 miles) - this first one is free apparently!
- Full set of floor mats (I have my Lloyd's Rubbertites in there and had never received a rear mat from Tesla); Service will leave this new set in the trunk for me.
- A token supercharge to test out my 60+SC's supercharging capability. I specifically asked for this before embarking on a trip through Gilroy/Folsom this summer and risk being stranded in case something's not right.

No Model S loaners available. They only get a couple at a time and have them for less than a couple of weeks before they get sold - not necessarily to someone coming in for service apparently but, central Ownership calls in and claims them for someone impatient out there! There were some Roadster loaners being prepped but, none were available for me till they passed some sort of safety check that they were awaiting.

Am driving an Enterprise Chevy Crapola...er...Impala for the next 3 days The Fremont Enterprise folks are looking to bring in more Leafs and Volts to cater to Tesla service customers apparently.

Tasha in Fremont Service was great to work with! Thanks!

 

[scaesare]

Just got back from the Rockville service center to have the headliner looked at. Nathan, Mike, and Zander are all very courteous and professional... good guys.

 

[brianman]

- Tire rotation (I'm at 7,707 miles) - this first one is free apparently!

Also covered in one of the service plans. Not sure if it was the Service plan or the Tire&Wheel. I have both.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Also covered in one of the service plans. Not sure if it was the Service plan or the Tire&Wheel. I have both.

I have neither

 

[Doug_G]

No Model S loaners available. They only get a couple at a time and have them for less than a couple of weeks before they get sold - not necessarily to someone coming in for service apparently but, central Ownership calls in and claims them for someone impatient out there!

Sounds to me like the loaner Model S program is going to completely run aground unless they put a firm stop to that. They'll never have any cars!

 

[brianman]

Sounds to me like the loaner Model S program is going to completely run aground unless they put a firm stop to that. They'll never have any cars!

Somewhere I've heard this before...

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Got my car back today from the Fremont Service Center. Props to the service advisor, Tasha Numazu, for an excellent service experience where she proactively kept me informed and got pretty much all my concerns addressed. She offered to get the car valeted all the way to my work place in Redwood City but, I chose to get the car at my place in Newark later in the afternoon and hand the loaner over then. Thanks, Tasha!

Made my first full visit to a service center today
...

My issues:
- A temperamental passenger rear door handle that extends/retracts okay but, doesn't actually unlatch the door from the outside occasionally. Either the entire door handle assembly or atleast the mechanical latch may need replacing.

"Cause: Checked the right rear door operation and found that the right rear exterior door handle pressure sensor is not working correctly and requires extreme force to function. R&R the right rear door handle.

Correction: Handle - Exterior Release - Door - Rear - RH"

- Occasional TPMS sensor warnings; may need a new antenna.

Fixed.

- Slightly misaligned hood assembly that may be causing some water ingress (which apparently is normal) just under the front lip of the hood. One end of the hood is slightly higher than the other. It's more of a cosmetic issue otherwise. Service will fix the alignment of the hood assembly.

"Adjusted the hood so that both front corners have equal spacing to the bumper and grill.

Correction: Hood Assembly"

- "Clouds" in the clearcoat paint on some areas. Service will do a full detail to get these cleaned up.

"Detail I"

Car looks much better than when I took delivery in Jan!

- Driver's seat belt sounds "itchy" with noticeable squeaking. Others have reported this before.

"Inspected and confirmed that the driver's seat belt makes a squeaking/chirping sound. Installed low friction film on the seat belt guide."

- There's a squeak at highway speeds from the right corner of the dash. May be related to AC.

Cricking from passenger side A pillar

- Mentioned that the hardworking AC compressor produces enough vibration to be felt through the steering wheel and the touchscreen when the car's been out in the sun. Service may consider moving ducts around.

"Checked A/C operation and confirmed that the steering wheel vibration when the compressor is under heavy load is normal."

Also promised:
- Tire rotation (I'm at 7,707 miles) - this first one is free apparently!

"Tire Rotation. Goodwill"

- Full set of floor mats (I have my Lloyd's Rubbertites in there and had never received a rear mat from Tesla); Service will leave this new set in the trunk for me.

"Installed the updated floor mats."

Nice-looking thicker mats. The rear's nice.

- A token supercharge to test out my 60+SC's supercharging capability. I specifically asked for this before embarking on a trip through Gilroy/Folsom this summer and risk being stranded in case something's not right.

This was the only thing that they couldn't get around to as the SC at the SC was very busy apparently.

Also, it was fun to spy on the car with the mobile app as it was being worked on on Saturday, yesterday and today

Kudos, Tesla, for a great service experience! The loaner sucked but, hopefully, that gets better too with time.

 

[montgom626]

Chicago Service Center has been flawless

Chicago Service Center has been flawless. Chris and Evan are great. I email them for updates and they email me back.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

How's this for (virtual) customer service?! I had put myself on a waitlist for the 14-30 charging adapter some time ago. Apparently, a very small number of them were made available to the Online Store folks recently; Hugh M from that dept. reached out to me by email and offered to "open up the store" briefly at the time that's convenient to me and make the 14-30 adapter show up as available at that time so that I could make the purchase from that limited inventory. Within a few minutes and via a couple of emails, the sale was done and the adapter was shipped to me by FedEx shortly after! Bravo! Thanks, Hugh!

All this may not sound like a big deal but, it just reinforces my faith in the company and in the people behind the scenes who make it successful.

 

[kevin99]

Just completed my first service. They are nothing major but since I scraped the bottom one time, I feel perhaps the alignment is a bit off. Anyway I also want to check out their service.

Overall it was a smooth process. I did not get the loaner and instead have a Ford Taurus rental. Had to live with it for 2 days. Filling up the gas was such a weird experience when the gas spilled a bit.

Their garage is very clean and no smell, unlike the ICE garage. When I have the tech did the test drive to check the high speed acceleration humming noise, the technician is very clean and I told him he is very clean for a tech. I feel fine he sits in the car with his uniform, without putting on any plastic or paper shield. No grease, no smell, no mess.

When I get back my Model S, it has been car washed. The Wheel looks shiny, better than I washed it myself a month ago!

Complaint Narrative: Customer states: buzz from rear speakers when playing certain tracks
on mp3 and slacker radio
Pay Type: Warranty
Cause: unable to duplicate concern at this time
Correction: Audio System - Speakers, Subwoofer, & Amplifier General Diagnosis
Tried multiple Slacker radio stations at different volumes and various fades/balances but
could not duplicate sound

Complaint Narrative: Customer states: inspect under body of vehicle as client scraped in
driveway
Pay Type: Goodwill
Cause: per client request
Correction: Body Panels General Diagnosis
Front bumper lower plastic is slightly scraped/scratched. No major damage

Complaint Narrative: Customer states: door handles do not present intermittently
Pay Type: Warranty
Cause: unable to duplicate
Correction: Exterior Door Handles General Diagnosis
Tested all vehicle antennas signal quality and all antennas passed. Unlocked & locked
doors multiple times with key fob and handles presented every time. Walked away and
approached vehicle multiple times with key fob in pocket and handles presented every
time. Could possibly have not presented at a time when locking vehicle and approaching
vehicle too soon to realize key fob has come near the driver side antenna for handles to
auto present.

 

[montgom626]

the technician is very clean and I told him he is very clean for a tech.

What??? You actually said that to him? Did he return the compliment and tell you that you were very clean for a customer? Why would anyone tell a tech that he is clean? Did you tell him you liked his hair too?

 

[kevin99]

What??? You actually said that to him? Did he return the compliment and tell you that you were very clean for a customer? Why would anyone tell a tech that he is clean? Did you tell him you liked his hair too?

You took it out of context. You expect him to be humiliated or file a compliant against me?? Common sense... when did you see an clean ICE technician? Yes I told him that and he did take it as a compliment. He explained to me why he is clean. He said there is only some fluid like the AC freon and windshield washer in the garage. Other than that no fluid, no grease and that is why.

We did talk a lot more, as part of my research. I did not sense in any way he is offended.

- - - Updated - - -

I think the context is I was referring to his work uniform when I said he is clean for a technician, and that seems to be the way he takes it. No issue there.