Sometimes it hard to keep the faith: repeated Supercharging failure and bad service

[Kraken]

Just these two failed real world attempts where we were depending on a Supercharge. Apparently (I'm just learning) Menlo Park service center tested it on a 'simulator' after the first fault. A more senior technician (more on this as it plays out) thinks he sees a 'high voltage junction box' fault in our logs now.

dang. You had a failure the first time and they said they fixed it. In all this time, while living in the South Bay Area, curiosity never brought you to the Fremont location to see if it worked. Lol. I'd have been burning up waiting to test it out to make sure it worked.

 

[Chipper]

Before I get to the meat of this post, I sincerely sympathize with the OP and his plight. I also understand TMInc has repeated several times that Supercharging is Free, Forever, to paid-up Model Ss.

Now: what if Tesla, through its analytics, determined Owner X was abusing SpC access; for example, noting that the car charges at the SpC located less than five miles from the owner's home 330 days out of the year. Might a specific piece of code be dropped into that specific auto, denying it charging privilege?

I'm not suggesting either that it is appropriate or that it occurred in this instance. But might it so happen?

Sorry, but this has been discussed elsewhere. There is no "abusing SpC access". SpC access is free for the life of the vehicle period! You can argue that it is not the intent of Tesla. You can argue that the SpC's are for intercity not intracity. But Tesla has put no caveats on SpC use. But if you are asking if it were hypothetically possible to code a specific auto out of SpC access??? Of course that is possible. But to even suggest it in this situation is, IMO, inappropriate.

 

[tpoltron]

dang. You had a failure the first time and they said they fixed it. In all this time, while living in the South Bay Area, curiosity never brought you to the Fremont location to see if it worked. Lol. I'd have been burning up waiting to test it out to make sure it worked.

We were curious and didn't trust Tesla's inaction. My wife swung by the Gilroy SC (before Fremont opened) for a few minutes as a test and it worked. Of course she wasn't depending on getting a charge. Before our first SC failure at Folsom, we had used the SC there successfully on one prior journey.

 

[Kraken]

We were curious and didn't trust Tesla's inaction. My wife swung by the Gilroy SC (before Fremont opened) for a few minutes as a test and it worked. Of course she wasn't depending on getting a charge. Before our first SC failure at Folsom, we had used the SC there successfully on one prior journey.

Ah, ok. I think that's what he was curious about was the car's total sc history

 

[AudubonB]

Sorry, but this has been discussed elsewhere...to even suggest it in this situation is, IMO, inappropriate.

It's never my intention to get anyone's* knickers in a twist. Sorry.



*well, maybe some short-sellers, on occasion. Do they count?

 

[tpoltron]

Things are looking up. First they have free EV charging at Squaw Valley ski resort and we drove down to Palo Alto no problems with no need to charge and 45 miles to spare (starting from a top off at Donner Lake).

Second, and more importantly, someone in Tesla Ownership saw this post and forwarded it to Anthony Wells, Northwest Regional Service Manager and he reached out to me before I got back and could take this back up with Tesla. That was a pleasant surprise and he has been very positive on getting all our issues resolved this time (Supercharging, GPS fix loss, tattered headliner, sticking door....). Car is booked in for next week and I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Caloncho]

sorry to read your experience, hope you charger never fails again tpoltron

Cal

 

[Chipper]

It's never my intention to get anyone's* knickers in a twist. Sorry.



*well, maybe some short-sellers, on occasion. Do they count?

No...short-sellers don't count! That's why they try to sell short! And just for future reference, I don't wear knickers!! :wink::redface::tongue:

 

[Plug Me In]

You made me laugh! I lived in the UK for 8 years and am married to a Brit (she is the main driver of the car). The underaged driver is actually named after the beer my future wife was drinking when we met

Let the name guessing begin!

Budweiser?
Fat Tire?
Smithwick?

Sorry for your frustrating experience. Sounds like some progress has been made in your subsequent post; hope things work out OK.

 

[bonnie]

Hi There,

I love EVs and want Tesla to do great but sometimes they really get it wrong. Last summer we couldn't charge at a Supercharger and got towed:
Can't Supercharge after 4.5 software update

It spent a week in the shop and since 'they couldn't find a fault they didn't change anything'. Yesterday on the way to Tahoe the car would not Supercharge in Vacaville - same fault as before. Tried different chargers, rebooted car etc etc. Got on the phone to Tesla roadside assistance to get them to flatbed me the last few miles to the mountain cabin again as the Level 2 charging is fine and I can get home to the bay area no problem with the 6000ft downhill. He suggested I drop in the new Rocklin service center as 'maybe they have a quick fix or way to fast charge you'. I was hesitant cause I knew if they just flatbeded me the last 50 miles and I arranged it now then my total delay would only be about 30 min and I had a cantankerous 4 year old in the car. The rep 'called ahead to Rocklin and made sure they were ready for me'. Got to Rocklin, and they were in no hurry to help. They said at best the fix was half a day and it was already 3.30pm. I asked for the original tow plan, and they talked about it and called around for 45min before they refused as it was 'their policy not to let problem cars leave the service center'. I argued till I was blue - they could give me a 50 mile tow now, versus the 3 day, one-way rental and flatbedding my car home 150 miles they were proposing. I live really lose to the Palo Alto service center.

I ended up driving away to their tow provider in Auburn where I started all over again on the phone with Tesla. New rep this time, insisted I'd have to pay for the tow cause the fix would have only taken 1.5 hours in Rocklin. I argued till blue again, finally doing a con call with the Rocklin service director who confirmed that the BEST CASE part replacement was only 1.5 hours, after an hour or two of diagnostics, then a trip to the Vacaville superchargers to test - half day minimum and it was now 5pm. He also confirmed my plan made sense and agreed to sign off on the extra 15miles of towing that the phone rep couldn't. Thank goodness for him finally stepping up. Their dicking around ended wasting a couple more hours and left me steaming. Now we'll see if they actually fix the problem this time.

Glad to hear that they found a solution that worked for you ... but could you clarify a few things?:

• Did they not offer you another vehicle to drive so you could continue your trip without interruption? That would seem to have been the easiest solution. Then your car could have been fixed and ready for you on your way home. (And yes, I know we all want to keep our Tesla's close, but sometimes vacation plans trump...). People are consistently offered loaners. Are you saying you weren't offered another car?
• I thought the tow plan allowed for towing 'up to 50 miles to the nearest service center'. You were at a service center. Why not just insist on a replacement vehicle (if they hadn't offered one) and skip the rest of this headache?
• Did they really say they'd have to go back to Vacaville to test on a supercharger? The Folsom Supercharger is probably less than 15 miles from the Rocklin Service Center, why would Vacaville even come into play?

Sorry, but this doesn't completely make sense to me. Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but I keep rereading and can't figure out why you just didn't take a loaner and why they'd go to Vacaville with another supercharger nearby.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

loaner ICEs don't hold very much stuff compared to an S?

 

[bonnie]

loaner ICEs don't hold very much stuff compared to an S?

Better than a ruined vacation trip - and don't know that is the case here. I would have insisted on a vehicle that would hold all my stuff and then just had a good time.

 

[tpoltron]

Too many smart people on this forum - can't leave any of the detail out!

• Did they not offer you another vehicle to drive so you could continue your trip without interruption?

A Chrysler ICE.

• I thought the tow plan allowed for towing 'up to 50 miles to the nearest service center'.

I was trying to do a fast, 2 day Tahoe trip to catch the fresh snow. I needed to be back in the Bay Area before they could have it done for sure and didn't plan on driving back by Rocklin during open hours. This meant a 350 mile, one-way ICE rental plus flatbedding our MS 150 miles to Palo Alto. The junior Telsa reps were good with that but not what I was asking: just to get flat bedded 50 miles from Colfax to our cabin on Donner Lake, cause I know I can get home from there no problem (and save all the other flatbedding etc). For the pedants it ended up being 65 miles from Auburn - just because that's where the tow operator was. Its also just nicer to know that you'll have your car home, to be serviced nearby and on your schedule and not have to repack child seats etc.

• Did they really say they'd have to go back to Vacaville to test on a supercharger? The Folsom Supercharger is probably less than 15 miles from the Rocklin Service Center, why would Vacaville even come into play?

They only said take it to a Supercharger and I put Vacaville since that's where I came from not thinking about Folsom.

 

[bonnie]

so just my two cents ... I suspect the real issue is that you're upset that this was a repeat of a problem you brought the car in for before, that wasn't fixed (obviously), and that's what really set you off.

Because if it were me, I would have happily loaded into the ICE and figured that the towing and flatbedding would be Tesla's problem & I'd just want to get on with my trip. But coupled with the past experience, you might have been just angry. And that's understandable. But it sounds like the service center in Rocklin did everything as they should. Offered you a loaner. Gave you realistic expectations. Did their best to address the situation. Declined the tow since it wasn't within the stated 'up to 50 miles to the nearest service center'. So I'm not sure they're the ones who should be getting trashed here.

The real issue is why it didn't get fixed the first time around. At least that's how I read it.

 

[NoMoGas]

Before I get to the meat of this post, I sincerely sympathize with the OP and his plight. I also understand TMInc has repeated several times that Supercharging is Free, Forever, to paid-up Model Ss.

Now: what if Tesla, through its analytics, determined Owner X was abusing SpC access; for example, noting that the car charges at the SpC located less than five miles from the owner's home 330 days out of the year. Might a specific piece of code be dropped into that specific auto, denying it charging privilege?

I'm not suggesting either that it is appropriate or that it occurred in this instance. But might it so happen?

If they did it would be a major broken promise. There were no caveats to SC use. We can (and have) debated that there should or shouldn't be, but heir aren't.

 

[tpoltron]

.. I suspect the real issue is that you're upset that this was a repeat of a problem you brought the car in for before, that wasn't fixed (obviously), and that's what really set you off.

That certainly bugged me. What bothered me more though were the lies that got me to drive to Rocklin. The first rep said just go there as they can probably do a quick fix or fast charge and I said I doubt they have any capability or capacity so he then put me on hold while they 'prearranged and confirmed' availability. When I showed up nothing was prearranged, it took me a few minutes to find someone to talk to and they eventually basically said 'oh your the Tesla that can't Supercharge - there's nothing fast to be done about that'.

What sent me over the edge, was the second rep talking to me like a 5th grade teacher about how she could not cover the towing 'cause the repair would only have taken 1.5 hours if I'd staid in Rocklin' after hearing a VERY different story from their faces. Imaging yourself on the phone for 30 minutes while the first rep misled you, then standing around for 45 minutes with a disgruntled 4 year old only to hear 'nope' then to spend another 30 minutes on the phone being told something different than you just heard until you insisted they get the Rocklin service boss on the phone to confirm that they were wrong. The delay was 3 times as long as the first time this happened and they just flat bedded us right away - AND HUGELY MORE INFURIATING - see you've gone and got me upset just thinking about it and I want to be a chill, nice guy.

 

[wormhole]

loaner ICEs don't hold very much stuff compared to an S?

huh, i thought Tesla promised the 'best service program on the planet' with everyone get top of the line MS's...you mean they didn't offer you an MS loaner??? shocker

- - - Updated - - -

That certainly bugged me. What bothered me more though were the lies that got me to drive to Rocklin. The first rep said just go there as they can probably do a quick fix or fast charge and I said I doubt they have any capability or capacity so he then put me on hold while they 'prearranged and confirmed' availability. When I showed up nothing was prearranged, it took me a few minutes to find someone to talk to and they eventually basically said 'oh your the Tesla that can't Supercharge - there's nothing fast to be done about that'.

What sent me over the edge, was the second rep talking to me like a 5th grade teacher about how she could not cover the towing 'cause the repair would only have taken 1.5 hours if I'd staid in Rocklin' after hearing a VERY different story from their faces. Imaging yourself on the phone for 30 minutes while the first rep misled you, then standing around for 45 minutes with a disgruntled 4 year old only to hear 'nope' then to spend another 30 minutes on the phone being told something different than you just heard until you insisted they get the Rocklin service boss on the phone to confirm that they were wrong. The delay was 3 times as long as the first time this happened and they just flat bedded us right away - AND HUGELY MORE INFURIATING - see you've gone and got me upset just thinking about it and I want to be a chill, nice guy.

I agree, this is absurd, and unfortunately not unusual in that both local SC's and the ownership hotline provide information and answers that aren't correct (can you believe Tesla DOES NOT have a central database of FAQ's for reps to use in answering questions??), unfortunately just another example of the company growing to quickly and sacrificing service for production numbers...hopefully it gets remedied...

- - - Updated - - -

Now: what if Tesla, through its analytics, determined Owner X was abusing SpC access; for example, noting that the car charges at the SpC located less than five miles from the owner's home 330 days out of the year. Might a specific piece of code be dropped into that specific auto, denying it charging privilege?

I'm not suggesting either that it is appropriate or that it occurred in this instance. But might it so happen?

1) what does this have to do with the OP's post?
2) there are zero constraints that Tesla has placed on supercharger use...if Tesla secretly 'dropped code' to restrict specific Teslas it would be a violation on so many levels

 

[Krugerrand]

What bothered me more though were the lies that got me to drive to Rocklin.

Do you really want to use the word 'lies'? Really? That implies intent to deceive and in this case you're saying the entire Rocklin Service Center conspired to deceive you. I can buy that an individual (or two) may have given you incorrect information based on not understanding the situation, not being experienced or knowledgeable enough blah, blah, blah. But outright lying - yeah, totally not buying that. And here's why; a number of employees of Tesla peruse this board, including higher executives. *We* (forum members and visitors who've had time to view the majority of threads) know this for a fact. The implications for employees having customers saying such negative things about them here, well, you can imagine that's quite significant.

Never forget that you're interactions are with real people. They definitely represent the company they work for, but they aren't some big, nasty industrial customer crushing entity out to get you, they are people subject to the same personal flaws as you, and me, and everyone else. Treat them as you would like to be treated, with kindness and respect.

If they all really did you a bad turn, I'll assume you've made an official complaint to the proper person/people at Tesla so that the entire Rocklin Service Center can be at least reprimanded, or fired. Because bringing it here, without having done it right and proper first, would make me think you've embraced your inner hyperbolic drama queen.

 

[bonnie]

For what it's worth, I've found the Rocklin team to be highly knowledgeable and customer service focused. Some of Tesla's best folks have relocated to this new center -- so yeah, seeing a negative post did make me look at the whole thing with more than a bit of skepticism. Which is why I assumed that perhaps prior experiences may have colored perception.

Sure, they offered an ICE. This was an unscheduled, last-minute thing -- again, I would have taken that ICE and gone on my way and not let my trip be ruined. Disappointing not to be able to enjoy the Model S, but more disappointing not to get to that fresh snow.

And if you think I wouldn't have reacted that way, check out my blog about a roadtrip to Seattle. Things happen in life. I usually categorize negative events one of two ways: either a problem or an annoyance. A problem is when a friend or family member has a serious health crisis, lack of food/shelter, or a life event that could cause serious repercussions. The rest are annoyances. I pretty much ignore annoyances. Makes life a lot more pleasant all round.

 

[wycolo]

TITLE of thread should read 'supercharging' NOT 'supercharger'. NO superchargers failed in this scenario.
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