Small problems. Longevity

[KetchupKilla]

I got my model 3 on August 12th and front USBs were dead on arrival. Got that fixed, paint scratches and is a swirly mess over car washes ughhhhh. Lastly during my road trip at about 1100 miles I noticed my driver side lumbar button stopped responding. I love the car but I am worried that it won't last in the long run now. The majority wouldn't accept this from the legacy auto makers but we accept it from Tesla. Anyone else have these issues or similar and have had good luck in the long run or for whatever this new model time frame is?

 

[Apprunner]

You've never owned a BMW huh. Crap like this isn't unique to Tesla... Sounds like you've 2 things have gone wrong with the car and fairly low worry issues. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[KetchupKilla]

First high prices car. I've always been super frugal with cars. I owned a 2009 Corolla for 10 years with 225,000 miles. Only issue I had was a worn CV joint which I replaced myself for 85 bucks and just regular maintenance which I did. Original clutch. But finally after so many miles the airbag light came on. I couldn't find it in me to spend the money and possibly pay anything over a thousand to keep it safe. I wanted a Tesla for a long time but I tried everything to save my car before I spent the money. I am just used to having a high quality car and small problems worry me because I've never had these problems.

 

[Wennfred]

No issues what’s so ever with my Plus, let’s keep it like that.

Back in April when I first got it, My screen would reboot, you don’t read about that anymore.

Fred

 

[tvad]

Valid concerns.

Ultimately, you have to decide what will allow you to sleep well at night.

If that means a new Toyota instead of the Tesla, then make the switch.

What's less worry worth to you?

 

[KetchupKilla]

Valid concerns.

Ultimately, you have to decide what will allow you to sleep well at night.

If that means a new Toyota instead of the Tesla, then make the switch.

What's less worry worth to you?

I love the Tesla. It doesn't keep me up at night but definitely concerned. Ive wanted to get away from fossil fuels and do my part with climate change the best I can. Small steps but every step counts. Next is solar panels.

I'm more just seeing if anyone else has had similar issues and if things have turned out ok since.

I was nervous during my 1400 Mile road trip that something critical would happen, but it didn't so that helped alleviate some concerns.

 

[ecarfan]

I'm more just seeing if anyone else has had similar issues and if things have turned out ok since.

If you scan through the threads in this forum you will find many posts with complaints about a variety of issues. Much like you can find in just about any online car forum. In my opinion, your issues so far have been minor. I hope you can overcome your worries and drive the car and enjoy it. You have a new car warranty to take care of such issues.

 

[Whitehawk]

I agree build quality on my Tesla is lacking in some areas though unreliability, based on these forums, seems fairly limited. That said I would expect more problems long-term on my Tesla compared to a basic econobox 2009 Corolla. The Toyota has no bells and whistles to fail, but it’s also one of the most boring cars one can own and drive. Pick your pleasure. Resale on the M3 is good....drive it for a year or two and dump it if your fears are realized.

 

[640k]

First high prices car. I've always been super frugal with cars. I owned a 2009 Corolla for 10 years with 225,000 miles. Only issue I had was a worn CV joint which I replaced myself for 85 bucks and just regular maintenance which I did. Original clutch. But finally after so many miles the airbag light came on. I couldn't find it in me to spend the money and possibly pay anything over a thousand to keep it safe. I wanted a Tesla for a long time but I tried everything to save my car before I spent the money. I am just used to having a high quality car and small problems worry me because I've never had these problems.

I owned a 2008 Subaru WRX STi for 12 years. 10 miles on the ODO when I rolled it off the lot. In the last 2 years before I sold it, I dropped $10k in to it, just to keep it running. There was an easy $2k approaching to rebuild the suspension and replace the brakes. I felt it was time to move on.

with all new cars, you're generally afford that initial 3-5 years of "nothing going wrong" before you have to start maintaining things. short of the paint, it sounds like you have basic warranty issues with a growing company. IMO subaru experienced the same thing as their demand increased from "niche" to "mainstream". tesla isn't unique with their growing pains,

 

[XLR82XS]

We'll all know how they stand up to longevity after some years and 100K+ miles.

 

[KetchupKilla]

We'll all know how they stand up to longevity after some years and 100K+ miles.

That's only one vehicle right now. That doesn't mean much until it's common

 

[Kiwiadventure]

Valid concerns.

Ultimately, you have to decide what will allow you to sleep well at night.

If that means a new Toyota instead of the Tesla, then make the switch.

What's less worry worth to you?

Do you own a Tesla?

 

[Kiwiadventure]

I agree build quality on my Tesla is lacking in some areas though unreliability, based on these forums, seems fairly limited. That said I would expect more problems long-term on my Tesla compared to a basic econobox 2009 Corolla. The Toyota has no bells and whistles to fail, but it’s also one of the most boring cars one can own and drive. Pick your pleasure. Resale on the M3 is good....drive it for a year or two and dump it if your fears are realized.

Toyota has had some very large recalls over the last 3 years plus they handle very poorly. The more expensive the vehicles you buy the more expensive the cost to repair. I've been shown Tesla is very easy to work on as its like a leggo set other than battery and motor.

 

[KetchupKilla]

Toyota has had some very large recalls over the last 3 years plus they handle very poorly. The more expensive the vehicles you buy the more expensive the cost to repair. I've been shown Tesla is very easy to work on as its like a leggo set other than battery and motor.

I know they've had large recalls over the years. But I never had any problems and I didn't even get my recalls taken care of until about a year before I dumped it. I never had something fail like I have had with the Tesla. They are minor but definitely worrisome. They came by today and replaced my lumbar assembly. Just having 2 problems within the first 1500 miles concerns me. What is next? I love the car to death though.

 

[Johann Koeber]

My M3P has zero issues in 9 months and 38,000 km.

Get the initial problems fixed and expect to have a very long lasting and reliable car. Our MS hat several issues during the first six months. After that zero, until now - 5 1/2 years and 300,000 km later - one of the door handles stopped working. No biggy - quickly replaced. Even that battery is still healthy and we expect to get at least another 5 years and 300,000 km out of this car. After that time we shall see.

 

[neptunesfinest]

It comes down to simplicity. Your old Toyota probably had manual seats, no folding mirrors, no complex safety systems, etc. These are all things that provide a much improved driving experience but come at the cost of reliability. It's worth it to me to have a better driving experience and I'm also not looking to keep this car for 10 years.

 

[tvad]

Do you own a Tesla?

How is that pertinent to my comment?

 

[KetchupKilla]

It comes down to simplicity. Your old Toyota probably had manual seats, no folding mirrors, no complex safety systems, etc. These are all things that provide a much improved driving experience but come at the cost of reliability. It's worth it to me to have a better driving experience and I'm also not looking to keep this car for 10 years.

I plan on driving this until its not worth putting the money in anymore. I hate buying new cars. And I despise leasing.

 

[pdamski]

I plan on driving this until its not worth putting the money in anymore. I hate buying new cars. And I despise leasing.

Have these small problems cost you anything? I have found this car to be by far the cheapest to maintain of any that I have owned. I will celebrate my 1 yr anniversary with this car next week. I currently have 19,623 miles on my car. The only expense I see coming on the horizon is a new set of tires, which won't be cheap as I have a performance model with 20" wheels.

 

[woodisgood]

Recurring issues are not par for the course. An initial batch of issues often are, though.