Tesla Model Y - have I made a huge mistake

[surfnsail]

Just taken on a 2023 Model Y RWD in black. Have leased hybrids, then EVs for years waiting for price/quality and practicality of a Tesla to meet my needs.

At last, the Model Y, and as a nearly new, I thought price was acceptable, but...have I made a huge mistake?

Firstly, autonomous elements of the car - wipers/lights/lane keep - are all universally terrible and much worse than Hyundai.
Ride is terrible
Technology is interesting, at times annoying
Quality is OK
Power / efficiency good
Practicably fantastic
Superchargers fantastic (if still a bit expensive, considering changes in energy prices)

but now ... Tesla service - I woke up this Saturday morning intending to drive some 200 miles to visit my family - checked the App which said I had 2 psi in a front tyre - sure enough it is completely flat. Of course, no spare, no pump, no emergency tyre goop, nothing. Pressed the button for service - this all seemed very efficient ... but 5 hours later, just got last call saying, there are no mobile service people available, the nearest service centre is well over 50 miles away and not open, the model of tyre you have (Hankook Ventus Evo3) is not available, there is nothing we can do, except in 2 days time we may be able to tow you to a garage within 50 miles!!! I am stranded on my driveway, probably for want of a £10 puncture repair.

Has the world gone mad, just provide a temp spare tyre and I could have got to a garage, got the puncture fixed and been on my way - and they say this is progress.

Would love to love it, and certainly think the power and efficiency for the size of car seem amazing, but just at the moment I am feeling that this is a big and expensive mistake.

 

[pipestem]

That tire story is bad for sure. Lots of cars don’t have spares anymore but that doesn’t help now. You’ll get one to keep at the house and have a tire service number handy. Tesla tire service is not better in any way. Sorry for your trouble.

Otherwise that’s sort of par. Tesla has lots of great attributes but is not perfect. Sometimes quirky and inexplicable. Service is variable, depends alot on rhe shop.

All said, Tesla life works for me and lovely wife- she’s more in love with it than I am! Best wishes to you.

 

[Irata]

Do you not have any other mobile tyre repair services nearby? I find it's easier they come to you anyway. You'll have to pay to get the tyre repaired anyway.

Easy to find with a Google search. If it were me and my car was home, this is what I would have done from the start.

 

[speedyranger74]

I had this from day one. Used one for each year of ownership. Happened after a few weeks after I changed the tyres .

I see you're very very far away... if not very glad to help you.
Good luck!

 

[MrBadger]

Tesla ‘roadside assistance’ isn’t a particularly comprehensive service. It really for warranty breakages so things like tyres is a limited service (by time/place/availability) compared with more dedicated roadside services.

You still very much need a plan B, such as dedicated recovery service or mobile tyre service or for some in some limited circumstances, a tyre repair kit.

 

[Js1977]

Im sorry to hear it. Seems that you are really upset about the tyre and many of us will sympathise with you.

This has been mentioned before but again, you would be well advised to have some other breakdown service such as the AA, RAC etc. Tesla's breakdown service is not anywhere near the same league. Also, get a set of pucks in case you or the recovery services need to jack the car.

Having one of those kits like @speedyranger74 mentioned is a must as well and well worth the small outlay. Only this week I had to use it as the Mrs came back home on a break from work and had a fat screw with a captive washer (she though it was a stone trapped on the tyre judging by the noise)

 

[MadScientist]

Another vote for a tyre kit. I had my first puncture with my Model 3 just two days ago. I used my ‘Stop n’ go deluxe tyre plugger kit’ (Amazon) and was up and running in about an hour. My tyres have <3mm on them, so it’s a new set of rears on Monday.

 

[Forty_Two]

I woke up this Saturday morning intending to drive some 200 miles to visit my family - checked the App which said I had 2 psi in a front tyre - sure enough it is completely flat.

Most punctures (in my motoring life experience) are slow punctures, slow enough so that if you have a 12v Tyre pump you can pump it up enough to get you to a garage (cost about £20 (I keep mine in the 'well' in the boot))

 

[Cardo]

I’m not entirely sure why Tesla are responsible for you having a flat tyre? Call a mobile tyre service and let them sort it out.

Both of my last cars, which weren’t Teslas, also didn’t have spares or puncture repair kits, so I bought a kit and keep it in the boot. I also bought one of the thin spares to keep in the garage, so I can swap the wheel over and drive to the local tyre place, if I need to.

 

[Tony Hoyle]

A tyre is a tyre.. you call your local mobile repair service and they come out. If it's a slow puncture you can drive to a nearby garage (likely quicker). I've never considered calling the manufacturer for something like that on any car.

I agree with you about the rest..

 

[fholbert]

At last, the Model Y, and as a nearly new, I thought price was acceptable, but...have I made a huge mistake?

I find it hard to blame this on Tesla.

All cars have flat tires, had you drove over the same nail with your Hyundai Hybrid you would have had the same flat. Like your Tesla, Hyundai Hybrid's don’t have spares.

I’ve had a few flat tires in my life, you have to make a few decisions to resolve the issue the quickest way. I don’t know where you live, but assume there is a tire shop near your house. Anyone why drives a car without a spare needs to carry a $40, 12v compressor. Most flat tires are slow leakers, air up the tire and drive to the nearest tire repair store. Within an hour or two you are back on the road.

I had this from day one. Used one for each year of ownership. Happened after a few weeks after I changed the tyres .

I too carry a tire plug kit, I used it a couple weeks ago. I didn’t even remove the tire from the car.

Here is my post with pictures when I plugged my tire.

Tesla Repair Center's approach for Flat Tires - Replace Or Repair??

Sam's Club will patch tires for free even if not purchased from them. You'll need a membership of course .

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[DoricJim]

Cool story bro. Did you do any research before buying the car? All the things you list are easily found described online and here.

Other car manufacturers also don’t provide tyre spares or often repair kits and it is not Tesla’s fault that you got a puncture as said above. Go and buy a repair kit and patch it yourself.

Reject the car and go back to a Hyundai if you’re not happy.

And before I get jumped on for being unwelcoming, surely before any type of significant purchase like a car, folk should do their research. Plus, it seems to me that the OP has just registered to have a winge about their own buyers remorse the way their post is written.

 

[Adopado]

but now ... Tesla service - I woke up this Saturday morning intending to drive some 200 miles to visit my family - checked the App which said I had 2 psi in a front tyre - sure enough it is completely flat.

That's strange ... the TPMS is not updated until driving for a while so you wouldn't get a warning in the morning when checking the app. A warning would have appeared when you were last driving the car if it was giving a warning next morning.

Apologies if I am wrong but this post has Troll written all over it. (oh, and BTW you are posting to the UK/Ireland section of the forum)

 

[Xenoilphobe]

First, welcome to the Tesla Forums, this is your first ever post and you have just entered the ThunderDome.

I loved my Hyundai Genesis V8 Limited, until I got my Model S, now I get to see all the Hyundai's in my rear view at every light.

My wife calls this "mansplaining", consider the list below the junior varsity list. Search EDD (Every Day Drive) an EDC (Every Day Carry) kits for more adulting. You might want to check to see if you have a mobile charger too.

• Failing to plan is planning to fail.
• The person who fails to plan, plans to fail.
• By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail.

1. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” - Thomas Edison
2. “Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” - Winston Churchill
3. “Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely.” - Henry Ford
4. “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.” - Confucious
5. “"If you're going to learn and grow, you have to be willing to take chances and make mistakes." - John Mackey
6. “Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” - Dale Carnegie
7. “Failure is success if we learn from it.” - Malcolm Forbes
8. “I’ve come to believe that all my past failure and frustrations were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of living I now enjoy.” - Tony Robbins
9. “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.” - Colin Powell
10. “It is fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” - Bill Gates
11. “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of a greater or equal benefit.” - Napoleon Hill
12. “Like success, failure is many things to many people. With Positive Mental Attitude, failure is a learning experience, a rung on the ladder, a plateau at which to get your thoughts in order and prepare to try again.” - W. Clement Stone
13. “The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.” - Buddha
14. “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with failure.” - Abraham Lincoln
15. “Don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t waste energy trying to cover up failure. Learn from your failures and go on to the next challenge. It’s ok to fail. If you’re not failing, you’re not growing.” - H. Stanley Judd
16. “Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failing is another steppingstone to greatness.” - Oprah Winfrey
17. “Remember that failure is an event, not a person.” - Zig Ziglar
18. “Failure after long perseverance is much grander than never to have a striving good enough to be called a failure.” - George Eliot
19. “Why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me.” - J.K. Rowling
20. “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” - Michael Jordan

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

Unfortunately it’s not an uncommon thing

Clearly a puncture isn’t Teslas fault, but they are unusual compared to every other car I’ve owned with a manufacturer warranty in place not to provide a comprehensive breakdown service as part of the warranty cover. The service they do offer for tyres is so limited you might as well not rely on it.

I’m also puzzled that you woke to the message, but that aside a compressor to top up tyres is a pretty much essential accessory, and if you’re a mechanically handy a repair kit might allow you to plug a hole, otherwise quite a few take out breakdown cover.

It pays not to assume anything when it comes to Tesla, there are times when they exceed expectation and times when they don’t, and how much those things matter to you will differ from person to person.

 

[kelvin 660]

Sorry guys but I have to agree somewhat with the OP. The car should come with an electric pump and sealer/repair kit. Tesla cars aren't cheap cars and this is taking cost saving too far! Basically, it's an essential piece of kit now that cars don't come with spare wheels.

That said, I did my own research and bought my own kit, but wouldn't it have been so much better if it was already supplied.

PS. So many people (on here) have bought an electric pump and found the car couldn't supply enough power to run it... Tesla needs to up its game...

 

[spdpsba]

The car should come with an electric pump and sealer/repair kit. Tesla cars aren't cheap cars and this is taking cost saving too far! Basically, it's an essential piece of kit now that cars don't come with spare wheels.

It is well documented why Tesla doesn’t supply spare or sealer/repair kit. Tesla's decision has proven both practical and successful to the point where other car manufacturers now seem to jump on the bandwagon. Btw, I am not supporting their decision but there is a clear rational (atleast in their primary market where there is a 24/7 Tesla roadside assistance). Unfortunately that gets applied to other markets without thoroughly exploring the market. But as @Adopado mentioned this thread is like a troll.

US tirerack data shows spare tires/repair tools are used only 15% of the time and in the rest of the 85% they are sent to junkyard without even using it. Tesla thought this was an unworthy investment. So, in place of a spare tire, there's something called the TPMS sensor. This informs drivers when the tire pressure is low, giving them enough time to drive to a tire repair shop, decreasing the risk of flat tires. In OPs case he would have got the warning earlier and could have gone to the tire shop to fix it unless it was a sudden blow out.

Yes, Tesla could have added the kit but not sure how many will use it in US given their 24/7 roadside assistance.

 

[Durzel]

The issues with the car technology vs Hyundai would have been discovered on a test drive. As said previously it’s probably the second most expensive purchase people make in their lives, but some don’t bother to check if it’ll suit their needs first?

As for the tyre stuff - I don’t think I would’ve assumed that Tesla were the people to call for that sort of thing anyway. It’s a failure of a consumable, not a warranty issue. Yes, they arguably should have a more comprehensive support facility for owners in warranty, but they don’t - they’re not that kind of manufacturer. Again, research would have uncovered this.

 

[pipestem]

TPMS has been required for all manufactures in USA since 2007, in EU since 2014.

 

[bobkart]

I built a full-size spare for my MYLR. Haven't needed it yet (9 months, 9K miles). It's in the garage, so I just need to get home if an issue arises on the road. And I CAN bring the tire with me for long trips (haven't yet), in a plastic bag, with the obvious weight and cargo space cost, and I put together a tool kit to be able to change the tire on the road (small jack, lug wrench, ...). Also full-sized compressor and floor jack in the garage. All I'm missing is a portable compressor for topping up on the road (still working on that). The above doesn't help OP's current problem, but could address similar situations going forward.