Yes my 2012 S was basically a 2018 when I sold it literally almost everything on it had been replaced and those air suspensions and HV batteries would not have been cheap out of warranty... My model Y has not been to a service center (knock on wood grain finish) except to pick it up I just assumed they'd figured out how to make cars
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Supercharging for an Early Model S - Can't Tesla do the right thing?
- Thread starter gatomon
- Start date
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
This is definitely not exclusively a Tesla phenomenon. Module/component replacement is the name of the game in the entire auto industry now, at least in terms of first party service. Replacing whole components is infinitely simpler and costs less than highly skilled labor.
We are in the era of “service technicians” - the heyday of “ASE Certified Master Mechanics” is long gone.
As for Tesla, you take the bad with the good - been a long time since I’ve been to a service center because the service center almost always comes to me. Never had Toyota show up in my driveway to fix my Highlander.
It’s definitely not cheaper to replace than repair everything.
I was quoted $7200 for a sunroof retrofit. They refused to even close my sunroof that was stuck open because a Tesla service advisor hit open and then it wouldn’t close - probably because they didn’t know how. Found a mechanic to fix it for $300 - it was one broken gear.
Then with air suspension they quoted me $3000 because they said they had to replace a bunch of stuff. Went to another mechanic, it was $200 and one pipe leaking.
Tesla also has a bunch of software locks that are annoying. For example my TPMS needed to be ‘forgot’ because they had a memory limit. At the time only Tesla could do it, even though they’re the ones that designed the car to only remember two sets of tires - $100 to reset.
Then.. how many cars do you know that have door handles breaking? My Model S has broken 8 door handles because they were designed to fail. Tesla was charging me $500 each - learned how to do it myself (change the paddle gear for $20). Tesla will only replace the entire assembly because they don’t know or don’t care how to do it.
If you’re in warranty - you wouldn’t realize their extortionate fees for simple repairs - but it’s something you learn fast out of warranty.
The batteries are inevitably going to fail in every car. Would cost $20, 000+ at Tesla - independent shops can replace the bad cells for under $1000.
It wouldn’t be so bad if their service was good - but it’s awful. Sure it’s nice when they come to you but if you’re being overcharged for virtually everything it’s not worth the trade off.
I've yet to hear of a place that replaces bad cells that lasts any length of time...
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
You’re misunderstanding. It’s cheaper for them. They don’t really care what you pay. Nor does any other first party dealership’s service department.
Yup. The early ones from the brand new company were crap. That shouldn’t be particularly surprising. They definitely improved substantially - in 7 years and 175,000 miles, my 2016 didn’t have a single failure, and a full replacement with a better part is less than $300 now.
No, they can’t. Not in any way that results in a good battery.
I've never done it - so can't comment on how long it'll last. Had a friend replace one and he's been driving for a year now with no issues. It extends the life of your car for sure, not sure for how long though.
I agree with the first point. I disagree with the last - most first party dealerships do diagnose the issue - especially the ones near me. I've yet to find a Tesla service center that actually attempts to get to the bottom of the issue though. It's pretty ridiculous the 'diagnosis' is always a full replacement with a $220+/hr labour rate and $200+ 'diagnostic fee'.
I could have told you it wasn't working properly and something in it needs to be fixed - that's why I was there! So what exactly is the 'diagnostic' fee for?!
Last edited:
n2mb_racing
Active Member
The easy solution is to not own a Tesla out of warranty. Although that still isn't perfect because you have to deal with service over an over again.... Once everyone has the NACS connector, I think there's not much reason to stick around. I'll sell my next one before the warranty is over.
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
Which is of course what the manufacturers would prefer you do, and incentivizes the high service costs and modular replacement philosophy.
A losing financial strategy of course, but psychological motivation is strong in this space.
brainhouston
Active Member
this is interesting info
if u hear more updates let us know, it'll be helpful to community
Is that just to add pay per use supercharging or unlimited lifetime?
If it's just pay per use, that's pretty unreasonable. They open up their supercharger networks for free to non-Tesla's but not to their own customers. If that's for unlimited, they should at least offer a cheaper option for pay per use supercharging.
I'd recommend making appointments with other service centers and seeing if their estimates vary. If no labour is involved, you don't actually have to go there - and I've found service centres prices have varied previously - even for work where labour is required.
It's unlimited lifetime for my model and year and there is no other option. This thread was created couple of months ago when it was still $2.5K, the same price for the last 10 years.
I went to 2 service centers and they all gave the same $12K estimate.
Haha they are probably mad at you for bitching about the $2500 you really schruted that one
n2mb_racing
Active Member
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
You should just ask them to enable CHAdeMO charging and install the CCS retrofit and then use other fast chargers. (With the prices I last knew that would be about $2,000.)
Or just buy a different car that has the features you need now.
About 4 months ago, I bought a 2014 MS 60 that was a base model with no optional licenses other than lifetime Premium Connectivity. Nothing else - no SuC, no Nav, no Tech Pkg, no Homelink, etc.
Before I bought the car I had Tesla inspect it. I asked what it cost to enable SuC but didn't have them create a formal estimate as I wanted to drive the car for a few months to get familiar with it, and to see what the real life range was to determine if I even need it. They verbally told me $2500 which is consistent with this whole thread and with what I've read elsewhere.
Not convinced I needed it, but wanting some type of L3 charging capability as an "insurance policy" in case I'm out and about and end up having to make a couple unplanned stops and find myself 20-30 miles from home with a low battery which would require 1-2 hours of Sloooow L2 charging at a destination charger, but at a SuC I could "top off" my battery to take it from say 10% to say 30-40%, just enough tobget back home where I could L2 charge overnight. I don't take long road trips (>150 miles) EVER. I don't need SuC for that.
When I saw the CCS Adapter, which is now available in the US, it looked like a great alternative at a better price. The Tesla webpage said to login to my account to confirm compatibility. I did, and it say, YES, I needed the retrofit kit so the cost was $450 rather than $250 for the CCS adapter alone, but I was happy to pay it.
I scheduled a service appt and they sent a mobile tech to my house to deliver and install it. The tech told me I was the first person in the area to order it, this was the first one he had installed.
A short time later, the Additional Vehicle Info screen showed that CCS was Enabled. I excitedly headed to an EVgo L3 DC Fast charger station to try it out. It didn't work. I called Roadside Assistance and the first thing they told me was that I needed to upgrade my 40kW battery pack to 60kW.
Yeah, no, I already HAVE a full 60kW battery pack. The software limited 40kW battery pack was no longer being sold when my car was made. My range is 194 miles at 100% charge, down 7% of the original 208 mile estimate when new. The 40kW had a max range of 139 miles when new. My battery is not a SW limited 40kW battery pack.
They then said they'd have the Service Manager call me. His answer - CCS requires Tesla SuC to be enabled first, and, oops, it's not $2500 it's actually $12,000 but that includes FUSC. TWELVE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!!!
Did I mention I don't make long road trips and really don't think I'll use SuC except in emergency situations, to get home w/o spend hours at destination chargers? I'm not planning on stopping at the SuC for everyday charging, I have a L2 home charger that charges at 9kWh rate which is fine for home charging.
I'm not obsessed with FUSC, I'm perfectly OK with PayGo SuC, I just need the SuC "right to use" license enabled, like the OP, at a REASONABLE price. I didn't feel, for my limited use case, that $2500 was reasonable, and TWELVE THOUSAND is absolutely INSANE! It's a giant middle finger!
Like the OP, I find it really odd that FUSC for $12K is the only option they are giving me when they want to get rid of FUSC cars/licenses. And the thought that they don't want our old cars tying up SuC stations, I keep hearing how few of these early cars w/o SuC like I and the OP have - what do they think, the few of us will all show up at once? If there's so few, we can't be a big problem.
The CCS option sounded promising, and I have read about the "Other DC Fast Charging" firmware setting, originally for CHAdeMO, but many have theorized that it is used for CCS now too. I've never gotten a straight answer on this, only that, for CCS to work, Tesla SuC needs to be enabled first and it's now $12K.
I even went to a second SC to see if they would give me a different answer but they told me the same thing. All or nothing, FUSC @ $12K, or no L3 charging at all, nothing in between. I would be ok paying $1K to enable PayGo SuC.
I would even pay $2500 for FUSC which was the going price for enabling it after the initial purchase. There's not a chance in hell I'll pay $12k for FUSC, which I'm still not convinced I need or would use more than a handful of times a year.
Before I bought the car I had Tesla inspect it. I asked what it cost to enable SuC but didn't have them create a formal estimate as I wanted to drive the car for a few months to get familiar with it, and to see what the real life range was to determine if I even need it. They verbally told me $2500 which is consistent with this whole thread and with what I've read elsewhere.
Not convinced I needed it, but wanting some type of L3 charging capability as an "insurance policy" in case I'm out and about and end up having to make a couple unplanned stops and find myself 20-30 miles from home with a low battery which would require 1-2 hours of Sloooow L2 charging at a destination charger, but at a SuC I could "top off" my battery to take it from say 10% to say 30-40%, just enough tobget back home where I could L2 charge overnight. I don't take long road trips (>150 miles) EVER. I don't need SuC for that.
When I saw the CCS Adapter, which is now available in the US, it looked like a great alternative at a better price. The Tesla webpage said to login to my account to confirm compatibility. I did, and it say, YES, I needed the retrofit kit so the cost was $450 rather than $250 for the CCS adapter alone, but I was happy to pay it.
I scheduled a service appt and they sent a mobile tech to my house to deliver and install it. The tech told me I was the first person in the area to order it, this was the first one he had installed.
A short time later, the Additional Vehicle Info screen showed that CCS was Enabled. I excitedly headed to an EVgo L3 DC Fast charger station to try it out. It didn't work. I called Roadside Assistance and the first thing they told me was that I needed to upgrade my 40kW battery pack to 60kW.
Yeah, no, I already HAVE a full 60kW battery pack. The software limited 40kW battery pack was no longer being sold when my car was made. My range is 194 miles at 100% charge, down 7% of the original 208 mile estimate when new. The 40kW had a max range of 139 miles when new. My battery is not a SW limited 40kW battery pack.
They then said they'd have the Service Manager call me. His answer - CCS requires Tesla SuC to be enabled first, and, oops, it's not $2500 it's actually $12,000 but that includes FUSC. TWELVE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!!!
Did I mention I don't make long road trips and really don't think I'll use SuC except in emergency situations, to get home w/o spend hours at destination chargers? I'm not planning on stopping at the SuC for everyday charging, I have a L2 home charger that charges at 9kWh rate which is fine for home charging.
I'm not obsessed with FUSC, I'm perfectly OK with PayGo SuC, I just need the SuC "right to use" license enabled, like the OP, at a REASONABLE price. I didn't feel, for my limited use case, that $2500 was reasonable, and TWELVE THOUSAND is absolutely INSANE! It's a giant middle finger!
Like the OP, I find it really odd that FUSC for $12K is the only option they are giving me when they want to get rid of FUSC cars/licenses. And the thought that they don't want our old cars tying up SuC stations, I keep hearing how few of these early cars w/o SuC like I and the OP have - what do they think, the few of us will all show up at once? If there's so few, we can't be a big problem.
The CCS option sounded promising, and I have read about the "Other DC Fast Charging" firmware setting, originally for CHAdeMO, but many have theorized that it is used for CCS now too. I've never gotten a straight answer on this, only that, for CCS to work, Tesla SuC needs to be enabled first and it's now $12K.
I even went to a second SC to see if they would give me a different answer but they told me the same thing. All or nothing, FUSC @ $12K, or no L3 charging at all, nothing in between. I would be ok paying $1K to enable PayGo SuC.
I would even pay $2500 for FUSC which was the going price for enabling it after the initial purchase. There's not a chance in hell I'll pay $12k for FUSC, which I'm still not convinced I need or would use more than a handful of times a year.
See my other post, I'm having the same issue. F'ing INSANE to charge $12K for what used to be a $2500 feature! They told me the $12K included FUSC but it's still insane. And there's no option for enabling pay-as-you-go SuC for a reasonable price.
I recently bought a 2014 MS60 w/o SuC and after verbally being told it was $2500, I'm now also being told it's $12K but it includes FUSC. There is no option to enable SuC for pay per use, at a reasonable cost. All or none, no in between. I went to 2 different SC's to see if the first was wrong, but got the same answer from both. This is the first I've seen others being told the same.
