Tesla Changes Service Requirements - 3rd and 4th Year No Longer Needed?

[striekes]

According to Teslarati Tesla's vehicle reliability makes way for as-needed service, no annual maintenance needed Tesla changed the annual service requirements for Model S, X, and 3. So what happens to those who have purchased the 4 year extended service in advance? They no longer need the annual service and only have to take care of the suggested recommendations Car Maintenance every couple years. Depending on what was completed year 3 or 4 may not be needed.

So the advance purchase is SOL?

 

[commasign]

You can get a refund if you pre-paid. Skip the inspections and just replace the individual items as needed.

 

[Rahul]

You can get a refund if you pre-paid. Skip the inspections and just replace the individual items as needed.

Is the refund mentioned anywhere?

 

[commasign]

Is the refund mentioned anywhere?

Yep. Bottom of this page:

Car Maintenance

 

[TechVP]

First impressions from me are a grumble... as I just received my X back from a Feb 20th 37,500 miles service.
So I could have gotten some variation of $550 and $975 back, had I not been so prompt to book the appointment?
At least I may get year 4 back, but year 3? Hmm, how to approach this?
-TechVP

 

[Mark_T]

This may be USA only at the moment, no sign of a similar change on the UK pages yet, but that may just be that they haven't got around to it yet...

 

[dark cloud]

I would argue the 4th year is the important one. I'm a believer in fresh brake fluid to remove moisture and contaminants and as the refrigerant looses a reportedly 10% of its efficiency annually refreshing and recharging it should ensure its proper operation and longer life. The more efficient it is the lower the energy usage also. What is not mentioned is the lubrication of all the hinges, and the pano roof, but the last point I guess doesn't apply to new cars. The article also doesn't mention drive fluid or coolant at all. ??

After witnessing my seized rear calipers in my used model S and knowing how hard it was to remove the inner pads it is good for them to include this point though:

Winter Care
Tesla recommends cleaning and lubricating all brake calipers every 12 months or 12,500 mi for cars in cold weather regions.

I strongly concur. Again, not just to reduce brake drag and improve pad life (and the rotor) but also for the sake of lower energy usage.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Great news. I was already on this maintenance plan. I thought their maintenance schedule was ridiculous. My first year service I got alignment and the motor lubricant replaced. I got away with only spending about $160 for my first year service. I felt a little guilty for not donating more money to the cause. The electrek article doesn't mention the motor fluid replacement. Maybe I'm not so smart and it's not necessary.

 

[MP3Mike]

This is the part I found most interesting:

An air conditioning service replaces the desiccant to help the longevity and efficiency of the air conditioning system. Tesla recommends an air conditioning service every 2 years for Model S, every 4 years for Model X and every 6 years for Model 3.

Why is the Model S 2 years and the Model X 4? Why would they improve the AC system in the X that much and not back-port the changes to the S?

 

[RogerHScott]

I suppose it would not be realistic to expect Service Centers to point this out when you call up to make an appointment for your 3-year service, which we just had done for $475.

 

[Lancew]

Is the maintenance still required for the extended warranty? I just had my 75,000 mile service completed as it was a requirement.

 

[spooky981]

Hummm I'm on year three and never got a drive unit or break fluid service. Am I killing my car?

 

[Brian's ReX]

I just called my SC to schedule the 1-year maintenance (did not buy service plan), and they told me that Tesla 'just' announced that there is no need for ANY service the first year/12K miles? I could bring it in if I wanted, but they no longer recommend the first annual service.

I am not generally a cynical person, but I wonder... is this 'change' a result of the SC's finding that it truly IS unnecessary to perform fluid replacements, etc., before the 2nd year or 25K miles? Or... is it a result of the SC's being overwhelmed by the number of vehicles sold, which obviously increases the need for service - so Tesla decreased the recommendation to lighten the load on the SC's?

 

[DanZiz]

Obviously I don’t actually know the answer, but I think the math of recommending no early service just to reduce SC load would turn into increased warranty costs for them if it really was still necessary and be self-defeating. But that’s just speculation on my part.

 

[ucmndd]

This is a much more reasonable approach.

 

[Brian's ReX]

Obviously I don’t actually know the answer, but I think the math of recommending no early service just to reduce SC load would turn into increased warranty costs for them if it really was still necessary and be self-defeating. But that’s just speculation on my part

-Probably true... I hadn't thought of that. I prefer to think it's the former: They just came to the conclusion, once thousands of year-one maintenance routines had been done, they found no degradation in the drive units, so decided to push it out another year.

 

[asterothe]

IS it mileage or year I should go with?
I never had a service after 1.5 years but it's a low mileage car so far.
What's drive unit fluid for? And also Rotation is at 6500 miles am I not correct? I remember from the doc they gave me when I bought my car.

 

[TechVP]

I just called my SC to schedule the 1-year maintenance (did not buy service plan), and they told me that Tesla 'just' announced that there is no need for ANY service the first year/12K miles? I could bring it in if I wanted, but they no longer recommend the first annual service.

I am not generally a cynical person, but I wonder... is this 'change' a result of the SC's finding that it truly IS unnecessary to perform fluid replacements, etc., before the 2nd year or 25K miles? Or... is it a result of the SC's being overwhelmed by the number of vehicles sold, which obviously increases the need for service - so Tesla decreased the recommendation to lighten the load on the SC's?

My observation, owning an X, is that at 1 year... they, the SC, is more inclined to cover via Goodwill issues or problems within some time after purchase. With less vehicles coming in at the 1 yr mark... This could be seen as a cost cutting measure... as owners may now have waited longer to point out defects.... and the SC isn't as inclined to offer Goodwill on issues that linger further away from the delivery date.
I just had an interior defect that looks like water damage on the driver armrest in January denied because of: "but due to the age of the vehicle I would not be able to warranty." Issue reported at 1yr 10mo. Apparently too old already. My cost to replace $970.

 

[striekes]

Anyone asking a refund for remainder of the extended service?

 

[Barry]

I would argue the 4th year is the important one. I'm a believer in fresh brake fluid to remove moisture and contaminants

I just had 4 year service 2 days ago. Here's a copy of my post from the tesla.com forum. Note that they didn't change brake fluid. They inspected it and moved on:

Just completed my 4 year service. Went in expecting it to be ~$700 and they do what they do. However...
As of Monday 3/18, they have a new policy. Instead of just doing stuff, now they show you a list of recommended stuff, ask you what you want done, and you pay a la carte. It was somewhat confusing, not only for me, but for the service advisers, too, as it was new to them.

I was expecting the battery coolant (or is it the brake fluid?) to be flushed and replaced. Wasn't done because they changed it to 10 years. The web site still shows 4 years for originals and 8 years for refresh, but they assured me they are correct and the web site has yet to be updated.

Bottom line, I told them to do all the recommend stuff on the list. It cost $561, which included $12 in parts and the rest labor.
The bigger items:
Alignment ($150)
AC desiccant bag replacement ($1.35 in parts and $100 labor, lol)
Air suspension torque check and adjustment ($287.50)
Wipers, fob batteries, other various diagnostics N/C

They did 2 recall fixes - steering bolts and airbag.
Also a Liftgate drain plug retrofit at N/C.

I asked for them to roll the software back to V8. They said they still get lots of complaints about V9, but cannot roll back.