Tesla lost me - trading in me 1 month old 2022 MYLR

[tesdpr]

From looking at videos and posts for about a year it seems like location has done (a lot?) to do with with delivery/service experience. I bought a used 2022 S a little over a month ago and had to have one Service visit for a fog light that emitted a blue light. It actually looked cool but I had it changed anyway. Every interaction I had with Tesla was excellent and I’m no pushover. I can be very critical when necessary. I really like the car and I really liked the buying process. The people I dealt with at delivery were enthusiastic and just fun to deal with. Irvine California location.

So experienced today the "location" diffferbce in service centers. You were right but I talked to an ex-Tesla tech and he said the turnover is high at these service centers and they can change from leadership. I saw a kid probably no older than 25 years old actually the "dispatcher / manager" of the service center today I went to. He actually told me the Tesla aligns itself and detects toe-in and camber changes in degrees.

I asked in to show me that still waiting.

This was his in response to my explaining why an alignment should be under warranty due to loose jam nut on tie rod from factory. He then told me "the car doesn't pull" - funny, he actually never had the car driven so how would he know that? It makes me sick because TRUST is everything in this industry - and am I going to put my children in this vehicle when a service tech yanks my chain fighting against what every other Tesla mechanic at other shops told me needed to be done? Would you? It's not about an alignment or not - it's sboit trusting that if there is a safety issue is the service tech really doing what they need? Or are they cutting corners and lying like I was lied to?

 

[rhinOC]

So experienced today the "location" diffferbce in service centers. You were right but I talked to an ex-Tesla tech and he said the turnover is high at these service centers and they can change from leadership. I saw a kid probably no older than 25 years old actually the "dispatcher / manager" of the service center today I went to. He actually told me the Tesla aligns itself and detects toe-in and camber changes in degrees.

I asked in to show me that still waiting.

This was his in response to my explaining why an alignment should be under warranty due to loose jam nut on tie rod from factory. He then told me "the car doesn't pull" - funny, he actually never had the car driven so how would he know that? It makes me sick because TRUST is everything in this industry - and am I going to put my children in this vehicle when a service tech yanks my chain fighting against what every other Tesla mechanic at other shops told me needed to be done? Would you? It's not about an alignment or not - it's sboit trusting that if there is a safety issue is the service tech really doing what they need? Or are they cutting corners and lying like I was lied to?

That is a ridiculous thing to have said to you. I can’t imagine the reasoning behind that. That tie rod repair wouldn’t have taken 10 minutes and alignments are pretry simple to do. I don’t blame you for being upset. I’ve gotten angry with Car Dealers for less but putting the anger aside you must know the likelihood of this being Tesla-Policy-Procedure-Zeitgeist policy is unlikely. I have no skin in the game other than hoping the Tesla alternative method of buying and maintaining cars can stick around a while. I know it can improve and want to see if it will improve.

 

[MylerB]

Service is absolutely lacking, but I do have faith that it will scale up over time. The company is in its infancy compared to most other big players in the auto market, and it has exploded in popularity the last year or two. If owners can bare with the crappy service for a few years, I do have faith that we will one day be rewarded and have fully scaled service for our cars. Also important to consider that Elon has already announced plans to replace himself with another CEO for twitter. I hope he can refocus on the company and mission that got him into the position to buy twitter to begin with. In time I think it’ll happen. How quickly, who knows!

 

[240vPlug]

So experienced today the "location" diffferbce in service centers. You were right but I talked to an ex-Tesla tech and he said the turnover is high at these service centers and they can change from leadership. I saw a kid probably no older than 25 years old actually the "dispatcher / manager" of the service center today I went to. He actually told me the Tesla aligns itself and detects toe-in and camber changes in degrees.

I asked in to show me that still waiting.

This was his in response to my explaining why an alignment should be under warranty due to loose jam nut on tie rod from factory. He then told me "the car doesn't pull" - funny, he actually never had the car driven so how would he know that? It makes me sick because TRUST is everything in this industry - and am I going to put my children in this vehicle when a service tech yanks my chain fighting against what every other Tesla mechanic at other shops told me needed to be done? Would you? It's not about an alignment or not - it's sboit trusting that if there is a safety issue is the service tech really doing what they need? Or are they cutting corners and lying like I was lied to?

The steering angle can be reset using service mode but the car doesn't "align itself". The vehicle still needs proper 4 wheel alignment and the steering angle reset should be done after a successful alignment. Get the print out which will show readings from before and after the alignment.

 

[sirwm]

Well, the original poster stated that the car was in NH with no dealers around
How about service centers ? How far away are they from where you live?

I only bought a Tesla ( 2021 Y ) because I knew a service center/dealer was only 13 miles away from my house in NJ.
( Yet, those 13 miles result in a 45 drive - go figure. )
I would not have bought the car if the dealer was not accessible.

In fact I was able to talk to TWO Tesla humans today on the phone. Very polite.
I was able to call the service center and get a tire appointment for a nail in the tire.
( That service cost too much, but that is off topic. )

 

[tesdpr]

Well, the original poster stated that the car was in NH with no dealers around
How about service centers ? How far away are they from where you live?

I only bought a Tesla ( 2021 Y ) because I knew a service center/dealer was only 13 miles away from my house in NJ.
( Yet, those 13 miles result in a 45 drive - go figure. )
I would not have bought the car if the dealer was not accessible.

In fact I was able to talk to TWO Tesla humans today on the phone. Very polite.
I was able to call the service center and get a tire appointment for a nail in the tire.
( That service cost too much, but that is off topic. )

I live on the border of ma and nh. I HAVE to go to a NH state inspection to get a sticker. Tesla had zero ability to do this. The jam nut was tightened by the safety inspector mechanic because it was a safety issue - had he not tightened it I would have had to have had the vehicle towed by Tesla to the closet shop of theirs about 40 miles away. That clearly would have cost Tesla more. My anokpgy is no matter what happens I am always at fault of something breaks and "Tesla doesn't witness" that? That's what the guy told me "Tesla didn't witness it so it's not covered"

Let's say a tire falls off the car due to loose lug nuts from factory. If I put the tire back on - Tesla is saying "it didn't happen" as far as they are concerned. They need to put stricter documentation on procedures if they are so damn paranoid that a person is going to scam them. That's ALL that's going on here. They probably think I did it or "i" hit big pothole or something and they didn't see first hand the result so it's easy to say no. That's a cynical approach and treating customers like us - who are far more loyal than most brands - like crap.

 

[tesdpr]

Well, the original poster stated that the car was in NH with no dealers around
How about service centers ? How far away are they from where you live?

I only bought a Tesla ( 2021 Y ) because I knew a service center/dealer was only 13 miles away from my house in NJ.
( Yet, those 13 miles result in a 45 drive - go figure. )
I would not have bought the car if the dealer was not accessible.

In fact I was able to talk to TWO Tesla humans today on the phone. Very polite.
I was able to call the service center and get a tire appointment for a nail in the tire.
( That service cost too much, but that is off topic. )

Can you please tell me how you were able to talk two humans? When I call the number and press service it tells me I have to use the app.

 

[tesdpr]

I think you stand very good chance to get the charges waived as the car is fairly new, no modifications were done nor was the car involved in any accident . If I were you. I would take it to the service center and then argue my case in case they still want to charge for the alignment. I have owned 3 Tesla's so far since 2018 , and this has been my experience so far.

Unfortunately - see my other posts below - service center experience was horrible. They didn't do anything other than tell me the car can figure it all out on its own - leads me to reduce trust - why would I trust someone telling me wheh a suspension nut is loose from the factory it's a) not their fault b) that the car can "detect" alignment changes and compensate for them and c) they have to witness any issue without any corrective action by anyone to have warranty support?

IMHO - I am negligent under this logic if I drove on that vehicle with that nut loose IF I was told by a mechanic as I was getting the vehicle inspection at a non-Tesla ship as they have no locations ti do that in my state - that means only option would have been to forewarn the mechanic ahead of time to not fix anything simple like that and tow to Tesla.

Imagine if I did tow this to Tesla how pissed they would be?

Is it " this issue" - no

It is the theme it sets that in any time in the future if I have an issue and take corrective action to temporarily prevent further damage I will be told I am not covered . Imagine the puddle undercarriage stories and the undercarriage felt protected rips - if you reattach it temporarily you now get not only no coverage of the warranty under this SC's logic, but any consequential damage that occurred -maybe the protector starts to pull the bumper cover off. I know there are other circumstances on that example but point is as soon as you see anything happen, you must tow it? They need to add a warranty language that states something like "do not try to remedy any issue temporarily" but they can't because that's illegal. You can not tell someone they can't make temporary field corrections to prevent further damage to life and property.

Imagine the story I heard of the Tesla tech telling a woman who had her du fail on the Highway that it's was HER fault because she should never use mileage range for battery? Her battery said 150 miles when the DU stopped!!! It would be different if it said 20 miles. Tech actually told this woman that she discharged battery because she ran too long.

THIS is how Tesla will lose - all of the engineering benefits they do are negated by horror stories like that. If this person did not have a social media platform she would have been driving thinking she was dumb. Instead she got Tesla to look at it again and they then found the DU to be failing.

There is something amiss with the service centers. The gentleman who spoke here in this thread stating he thinks it will get better - my friend, I am sorry to say because I have worked for companies like Tesla -this will only get worse before it gets better.

These service centers MUST be goaled on financial metrics - very lean ones. They probably have a target and if they exceed that target of warranty or goodwill they are not getting their bonus. They are likely getting 20-30% of their pay as managers as bonus. That's a big hit. And I bet it's all or nothing. Otherwise why would they balk at me for a messily 1 hour alignment?

It WILL get worse unless this changed inside - and Elon or someone realizes that they just sold millions of cars past 3 years and those cars are going to increase volume.

The SC I went to had no parking and very little room to take service. I honestly don't even know why they scheduled me as they were overbooked.

They need to redouble efforts on CSAT rather than show an extra 10% of profit - but instead they view service as a cost center - it's not - it is revenue generating because it facilitates reputation and repeat business. How many folks will never buy another Tesla again in 5 years after they have a time bomb of maintenance going off all the time? Imagine owning a 70k car and not feeling like your warranty is even worth the paper it's written on? Stuff happens and I can't control a tow truck driver if he does something if there is an issue and I need towing - but yet if he does what he would do on 99% of any car - like let's say a crash happens and he disconnects something to temporarily prevent future damage and let's say he is Tesla certified - well according to the service manager I had look at my car that is voiding the warranty coverage if repairs. Thank God mine was simple - I would love to see them say " oh yeah not only are you not covered - but - because someone else tightened the bolt temporarily you have voided the warranty on the entire tie rod assembly" - like where does it end? By this guys logic I could even make the case that the steering rack is damaged too from someone tightening the bolt for safety because the steering rack by his own logic auto adjusts to alignment issues, so if the car is out of alignment due to this nut being loose - not my fault ti begin with - then by his logic anything else upstream or downstream from that part of the car tied to that function can be lumped in? I am deliberately pushing the logic here to be over the top slightly to illustrate that it is not a big leap to say on an expensive part like the battery, if someone's bonus is at risk, they will look for any reason they can to not repair it.

This actually feels like a really bad third party auto warranty company deliberately looking for any reason to not pay and that's not what Tesla or any car OEM should be doing.

 

[tesdpr]

Umm, my car is out of warranty and they replaced a noisy upper control arm for me for a tiny $90. I didn't even ask for a discount. Other than the cost of alignments, I find that service is actually cheaper than service on my Toyota. I sounds like the OP has never visited a Porsche or BMW dealer.

Please tell me which SC did this? If you can. That's amazing man. 180 degrees from what I experienced. They also told me they ONLY do preconfigured services set at same rate across country - they do not do "hourly rates a la carte" - clearly from your example they fed me BS after BS after BS.

 

[VT_EE]

Please tell me which SC did this? If you can. That's amazing man. 180 degrees from what I experienced. They also told me they ONLY do preconfigured services set at same rate across country - they do not do "hourly rates a la carte" - clearly from your example they fed me BS after BS after BS.

Owings Mills, MD. They may have taken pity on me since the same control arm was replaced under warranty 20k miles earlier. I never asked for any discount though.

 

[tesdpr]

Owings Mills, MD. They may have taken pity on me since the same control arm was replaced under warranty 20k miles earlier. I never asked for any discount though.

Nice. Maybe this is more SC specific than Tesla specific

 

[Big Earl]

BMW iX or MB EQS or EQE or maybe bow out of electric all together for 3 years. My problem is -

Tesla is amazing engineering - best car I have ever driven for overall confidence in engineering. But cost to run for service and reliability are unknown and shouldn't be - I waited years to buy one until it was not a first Gen.

MB and BMW, Hyundai, Toyota, etc - ALL are inferior designs - some more significantly than others. They will have major issues no better than Tesla - probably less reliable too. However, if I buy an extended warranty I know I can get 10-15 years provided the battery is comparable in BMS and thermals to Tesla. Long term costs could be higher but more luxury and local quality dealer network.

Gas - after owning a Tesla and charging I have to say there is a psychological factor to this beyond money. There is something special about literally plugging in a state of the art vehicle like the Tesla and never going to get gas. I love it. But Gas even if I have to pay $5 a gallon is something I can trust with 100 years behind it of improvements.

Might just get a Subaru Legacy as I am in snow country and wait out the EV Generationsl evolution until Gen 3 Tesla tech comes out abd Tesla addresses lack of serviceability for the structural battery packs or gen2 bmw, Mb, etc.

I feel like a Guinea pig and on the road it's not cool with children in the car. Good analogy is this - iPhone 14 you would think is pinnacle of tech but I have had more lockups on it since upgrading than ever. Software on Tesla with the merged stack could bring new unfirseeen issues.

If anyone else has had these thoughts and came to the conclusion of keeping Tesla please help - I don't want to dump it but can't afford the hassle of service centers that want to rip me off or a company making new models design for throwing away the battery like the structural battery pack.

I think you should keep the vehicle. If service and longevity are a concern, know that I have 170,000 miles on my 2018 Model 3 with minimal issues. Service needs improvement, but I don’t see it as a deal breaker on what is otherwise an incredible vehicle. My own service experience has been pretty decent - on part with or better than other brands I’ve owned in the past (Cadillac, Volkswagen and Ford).

 

[popgodazipa]

Help me understand…Why purchase from a company that has no SC near you? That’s a recipe for frustration. The texting part takes getting use to but they’ve been super responsive and it has its benefits for sure. If I want to speak to someone I just drop by the SC and get all the answers I need. Not possible if your SC is hundred plus miles away.

Not a dig…just inquiring.

 

[tesdpr]

I think you should keep the vehicle. If service and longevity are a concern, know that I have 170,000 miles on my 2018 Model 3 with minimal issues. Service needs improvement, but I don’t see it as a deal breaker on what is otherwise an incredible vehicle. My own service experience has been pretty decent - on part with or better than other brands I’ve owned in the past (Cadillac, Volkswagen and Ford).

Good to know thanks. I am reconsidering -reading both good and bad stories are helpful. What do you make of mechanics who have worked on cars their whole lives and collision experts saying the car is poorly built except for the Du and battery?

 

[tesdpr]

Help me understand…Why purchase from a company that has no SC near you? That’s a recipe for frustration. The texting part takes getting use to but they’ve been super responsive and it has its benefits for sure. If I want to speak to someone I just drop by the SC and get all the answers I need. Not possible if your SC is hundred plus miles away.

Not a dig…just inquiring.

Sure - I live close to an SC - 40 miles is not far I just live over the board in a state that has no SC's so state inspection cannot be done by Tesla. NH has many Teslas and Tesla I would imagine would not sell me a vehicle in a state they know long term I can't get service? I had to drive to NJ per Tesla to get delivery.

 

[popgodazipa]

Sure - I live close to an SC - 40 miles is not far I just live over the board in a state that has no SC's so state inspection cannot be done by Tesla. NH has many Teslas and Tesla I would imagine would not sell me a vehicle in a state they know long term I can't get service? I had to drive to NJ per Tesla to get delivery.

I’m in Texas… I drive 40 miles and I haven’t left the county. I’d say you are within range of a SC. It’s these 100+ mile folks I’m looking at.

 

[roblab]

Despite this being a "horror story", I have to submit that it is nowhere near the norm. One could find such stories at a Toyota dealer, or a Ford dealer, for that matter. Many new cars have problems, but they get fixed and the days of problems are followed by years of good service. I have owned four Teslas and find them exhibiting fewer problems than their gas-powered cousins simply because they have fewer moving parts in their drivetrains, and my four Teslas have had all but zero problems in the cumulative 250,000 miles I've driven them. I don't plan to ever own another brand.

If lemons were unknown, we wouldn't have lemon laws. Get your car fixed and enjoy it or fix it and sell it, whatever works best for you.

 

[roblab]

Nope - just don't believe in the Tesla is perfect now and the structural battery pack and service issues and QC issues are showstoppers.

Hmmm. I didn't know the battery pack was structural. Neither have I had issues with service or quality control, much less with them being "showstoppers." I've owned four Teslas and plan to never buy another gas car. Talk about issues! Over a thousand moving parts that need constant lubrication, plus noise and vibration issues. NOTHING is perfect, and probably nothing will ever be, but electric torque is superior to gas power, and I can charge my battery at home in my garage while I sleep instead of driving to a gas station to fill up at a windy, wet pump. That plus the zero maintenance, and I'm sold.

Just another owner's experience.

 

[Apostle]

BMW iX or MB EQS or EQE or maybe bow out of electric all together for 3 years. My problem is -

Tesla is amazing engineering - best car I have ever driven for overall confidence in engineering. But cost to run for service and reliability are unknown and shouldn't be - I waited years to buy one until it was not a first Gen.

MB and BMW, Hyundai, Toyota, etc - ALL are inferior designs - some more significantly than others. They will have major issues no better than Tesla - probably less reliable too. However, if I buy an extended warranty I know I can get 10-15 years provided the battery is comparable in BMS and thermals to Tesla. Long term costs could be higher but more luxury and local quality dealer network.

Gas - after owning a Tesla and charging I have to say there is a psychological factor to this beyond money. There is something special about literally plugging in a state of the art vehicle like the Tesla and never going to get gas. I love it. But Gas even if I have to pay $5 a gallon is something I can trust with 100 years behind it of improvements.

Might just get a Subaru Legacy as I am in snow country and wait out the EV Generationsl evolution until Gen 3 Tesla tech comes out abd Tesla addresses lack of serviceability for the structural battery packs or gen2 bmw, Mb, etc.

I feel like a Guinea pig and on the road it's not cool with children in the car. Good analogy is this - iPhone 14 you would think is pinnacle of tech but I have had more lockups on it since upgrading than ever. Software on Tesla with the merged stack could bring new unfirseeen issues.

If anyone else has had these thoughts and came to the conclusion of keeping Tesla please help - I don't want to dump it but can't afford the hassle of service centers that want to rip me off or a company making new models design for throwing away the battery like the structural battery pack.

Get out.

$15,000 in repairs the moment mine came out of warranty. Non-stop repairs. Estimates go like this: $600. Revision, $1,100. Revision $1,300. Leave the SC and another alert comes on.

Telsa refused recalls. Tesla refused repairs in warranty. The moment it came out of warranty, the deluge began. Can sell for maybe $30,000 after putting $15,000 in. F-d.

Tesla service is trash. Cannot talk to service. Won’t budge. Vehicle comes back from service with dents, scratches, and missing tow items from glove box. My wheel was out on backwards once.

I have to check my tires for nails before I go to the SC and after I get there or they always say they found a nail. Scammers.

Last service, went to pick up 3 times before service was done.

No loaners after being promised, at purchase, that there would always be a loaner.

The wait time for an appointment is a month to 5 or 6 weeks. Then it sits for a week. Then it’s in service for a week. Then the price revisions for the work begin. 2 months with no loaner.

You cannot own a Telsa out of warranty unless you own a 2nd vehicle. Haven’t had use of my car for for more than 150 days. Wrote letter, return receipt, under lemon law. Followed directions on site. Telsa ignored. Complaint email stopped working. Brick wall at Tesla.

There is no one to complain to. No one cares.

Tesla absolutely refused to replace the drive train and steering rack under warranty. A month out of warranty, they said it’s absolutely required. $10,000.

3 screens
All door handles twice
All windows twice
Lost 50 miles of range in service. Nothing I can do. I think my battery was stolen in service.

Trash. Hole in the ground to throw your money.

Thank God you traded out. Unreliable. Ungodly expensive. Sold as low maintenance and low cost of ownership.

9,000 complaints with FTC. Hundreds of thousands with NHSTA. Thousands with BBB. Owners are not happy.

 

[popgodazipa]

@Apostle what year is your S? How many miles? I’m starting to plan my exit strategy as well but hoping I can at least ride out the battery warranty. SC in Houston has been good to me and my MS20 but the problem is I’ve been there way too often for my long term comfort. I think we are up to 3 SC for greater Houston area for reference.