Model 3 Standard Range Plus Service Issues: a somewhat reasonable rant. Please read to the end.
This is long, here is a summary: I just barely missed out on free supercharging miles, I missed out on white (which is a paint I wanted but couldn’t muster up my wallet for. This is a stupid remark on my behalf, but I have been fender bendered twice already and my wife is blaming me for having a black car. She claims black cars are harder to see. I’m more annoyed about how often I have to wash the car.) Additionally, my car has had a few annoying issues (radio, interior trim, and turn signal). They also broke my charge port before a hurricane. (I understand mistakes happen)
Here is the full story:
Bought it when Tesla was firing everyone, so no referral program, autopilot was a 3k option (not a 2k included feature), and basic black was the free color that I went with. (I wish I went with white because rain spots are less prevalent)
I have so many issues. Here is a list of complaints that you don’t have to look at. I’m just sharing my experience.
1) Interior trim piece was dangling from the ceiling when I got it (fixed 2 months later)
2) Left turn signal had an issue where a single click caused the car to signal until canceled. One click was supposed to click three times, two clicks was supposed to click until canceled or a wide turn was detected. The right signal was fine. (Fixed 2 months later, same service)
3) Oh boy, where do I start with this one. When we took the car in for service, we had an issue with the interior trim piece (simple fix using adhesive), the left turn signal, and the radio was not working (after numerous hard and soft re-boots). Tesla fixed the interior trim piece, and the turn signal as I said; the radio, however, was failed to be replaced. I understand mistakes have been made, but Tesla told me on call that they had already ordered the parts and that it was going to be a simple fix. Now after I received my car back, they had told me to wait another two weeks. This was three weeks ago, no message. An organizational error, mistakes happen, but this is getting ridiculous. I still have to return to fix the radio.
4) The worst of all: Tesla basically broke my car before a hurricane. We came in for the trim, radio, and turn signal. The radio was not fixed and the charge port door was replaced?! The service summary stated that the engineers had replaced the charge port inner latch. Now when I try to charge the car, it produced a repetitive clicking sound 8 times over, then stops trying to latch on and starts charging. The charge speed was reduced, from 32 miles per hour to 15 miles per hour. (240V 15/36 amps I believe) The Tesla employee on the phone told me it was a standard procedure to replace the latch on the model 3s. I live in Florida and at the time of writing this message, hurricane Dorian is gradually making its way to the east coast (where I live). My house will probably lose power and the only source of fuel I have are the super chargers or other public charging stations. I’m afraid that the car will charge at a slow pace, or not even take the high levels of energy that the super chargers offer. Public chargers are slower, but I would hate to have to take twice as long in the potential line for electricity (during the hurricane). The Model 3 is our only car and we have a family of one boy and girl in separate schools. We consume around 40 miles per day. They literally broke the charging function of our car right before a major storm.
DONT GET ME WRONG. I am an avid fan of Tesla and what they do. I was just an unlucky buyer who financed the car at the wrong time and had been a serviced by an engineer who had made a few mistakes. Tesla stock is a major slice of my assets chart. I day-trade other stocks, but TSLA is the only one I hold purely because I believe in their positive goals. However, I do not hold Tesla up over other car companies in an unfair advantage. I had been spoiled by established car companies and their excellent service. Tesla is working on their service and I believe they exceptionally well for being a new-ish company. The Model 3 is a great car and I only talked about the negative things in this post. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope that Tesla acknowledges a few issues in their marketing strategy and car service. I wish everyone who is at risk of Dorian to be safe and those hit directly by the storm to recover as soon as possible.
Thank you for reading my rant.
-Jack
This is long, here is a summary: I just barely missed out on free supercharging miles, I missed out on white (which is a paint I wanted but couldn’t muster up my wallet for. This is a stupid remark on my behalf, but I have been fender bendered twice already and my wife is blaming me for having a black car. She claims black cars are harder to see. I’m more annoyed about how often I have to wash the car.) Additionally, my car has had a few annoying issues (radio, interior trim, and turn signal). They also broke my charge port before a hurricane. (I understand mistakes happen)
Here is the full story:
Bought it when Tesla was firing everyone, so no referral program, autopilot was a 3k option (not a 2k included feature), and basic black was the free color that I went with. (I wish I went with white because rain spots are less prevalent)
I have so many issues. Here is a list of complaints that you don’t have to look at. I’m just sharing my experience.
1) Interior trim piece was dangling from the ceiling when I got it (fixed 2 months later)
2) Left turn signal had an issue where a single click caused the car to signal until canceled. One click was supposed to click three times, two clicks was supposed to click until canceled or a wide turn was detected. The right signal was fine. (Fixed 2 months later, same service)
3) Oh boy, where do I start with this one. When we took the car in for service, we had an issue with the interior trim piece (simple fix using adhesive), the left turn signal, and the radio was not working (after numerous hard and soft re-boots). Tesla fixed the interior trim piece, and the turn signal as I said; the radio, however, was failed to be replaced. I understand mistakes have been made, but Tesla told me on call that they had already ordered the parts and that it was going to be a simple fix. Now after I received my car back, they had told me to wait another two weeks. This was three weeks ago, no message. An organizational error, mistakes happen, but this is getting ridiculous. I still have to return to fix the radio.
4) The worst of all: Tesla basically broke my car before a hurricane. We came in for the trim, radio, and turn signal. The radio was not fixed and the charge port door was replaced?! The service summary stated that the engineers had replaced the charge port inner latch. Now when I try to charge the car, it produced a repetitive clicking sound 8 times over, then stops trying to latch on and starts charging. The charge speed was reduced, from 32 miles per hour to 15 miles per hour. (240V 15/36 amps I believe) The Tesla employee on the phone told me it was a standard procedure to replace the latch on the model 3s. I live in Florida and at the time of writing this message, hurricane Dorian is gradually making its way to the east coast (where I live). My house will probably lose power and the only source of fuel I have are the super chargers or other public charging stations. I’m afraid that the car will charge at a slow pace, or not even take the high levels of energy that the super chargers offer. Public chargers are slower, but I would hate to have to take twice as long in the potential line for electricity (during the hurricane). The Model 3 is our only car and we have a family of one boy and girl in separate schools. We consume around 40 miles per day. They literally broke the charging function of our car right before a major storm.
DONT GET ME WRONG. I am an avid fan of Tesla and what they do. I was just an unlucky buyer who financed the car at the wrong time and had been a serviced by an engineer who had made a few mistakes. Tesla stock is a major slice of my assets chart. I day-trade other stocks, but TSLA is the only one I hold purely because I believe in their positive goals. However, I do not hold Tesla up over other car companies in an unfair advantage. I had been spoiled by established car companies and their excellent service. Tesla is working on their service and I believe they exceptionally well for being a new-ish company. The Model 3 is a great car and I only talked about the negative things in this post. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope that Tesla acknowledges a few issues in their marketing strategy and car service. I wish everyone who is at risk of Dorian to be safe and those hit directly by the storm to recover as soon as possible.
Thank you for reading my rant.
-Jack
