Tesla Roadside - Limited in Places

[garyjac]

I've been told in the past that Tesla have agents all over the place and can bring a tyre to you "anywhere". I was 200 km West of Brisbane last night (in a garage) with a damaged tyre. Rang Tesla service and spoke with a very polite gent on the U.S. side of the line. He was aware of my location but nothing could be sent (no tyre anyway) because I was more than 80km from the Brisbane Service Centre. So, be aware of this, and make sure your RACQ or other car club membership is up to scratch. RACQ had no issue attending to do the job.

 

[aegidius]

RACQ told me they don't do roadside calls for Teslas. I dropped out of RACQ roadside for that reason - that was earlier in 2018 when I bought my 90D. Did they came to you as an ad-hoc paid-for call? I'll be carrying a spare on any road trip in light of your experience.

 

[JayTee]

RACQ told me they don't do roadside calls for Teslas. I dropped out of RACQ roadside for that reason - that was earlier in 2018 when I bought my 90D. Did they came to you as an ad-hoc paid-for call? I'll be carrying a spare on any road trip in light of your experience.

I just got my 75D but im not comfortable with this no spare situation after always having a spare.
Just wondering what options people use for a spare? I was thinking a space saver type might be ok just to get out of trouble and reach the next larger area serviced by tesla.

 

[aegidius]

Commodore 19" rim should be ok for a full size spare, lots of people use those. They also have a space saver in their later cars with the same bolt pattern, but I'm not sure it will fit around the brake calipers. There is a thread somewhere on TMC about using a BMW space saver spare.

 

[Blue heaven]

If these are still for sale you Brisbane area owners could make a group purchase of spares -
Model S 19” Slipstream Wheels For Sale

 

[garyjac]

RACQ told me they don't do roadside calls for Teslas. I dropped out of RACQ roadside for that reason - that was earlier in 2018 when I bought my 90D. Did they came to you as an ad-hoc paid-for call? I'll be carrying a spare on any road trip in light of your experience.

I'll explain in a bit more detail. RACQ certainly do roadside on Teslas. For example, if you have a complete inability to move the car, for some reason, they carry it on a flat bed to the service agent you specify, up to 200 km free depending on member level. I carry so-called "Ultimate Membership" level which includes accommodation, hire car, blah, blah, and certainly "towing"

Now, more to the point, RACQ do not say in their service terms that they "replace" tyres. What they say is that they will "assist you to change a tyre", basically.

What happened in this case was that there was damage that made the tyre unserviceable. I had the local RACQ agent come to my house in Dalby, remove the wheel and tyre, take it to a local tyre shop and have the tyre replaced. The "only" cost to me was the cost of the tyre. RACQ do not anywhere state that they "replace tyres" for free. That's where the Tesla service is better.

Tesla did offer to "tow" (carry) the car to Brisbane though. Too much hassle and time, so I chose to wear the cost of the tyre, which I may have had to buy anyway.

I will, if I may, quote your remarks to RACQ and see what their reply is in respect of not servicing Teslas at "roadside".

 

[raynewman]

I haven't needed a spare (tyre) in 92,000 km in the Tesla nor in the 130,000 km in the previous Merc.
As a matter of fact, I haven't needed a spare for a car with proper sized wheels in over 20 years.
Anyhow, my insurance includes roadside assist.

 

[meloccom]

Try this thread for a Compact Space Saver Tire/Wheel Solution

 

[aegidius]

I will, if I may, quote your remarks to RACQ and see what their reply is in respect of not servicing Teslas at "roadside".

Go for it - I was told that when I traded in my old car for the Tesla, and found I couldn't select Tesla in the list of vehicle makes when I was changing vehicle details. Rang up and was told no Teslas. That was Aug/Sept. Perhaps they have reconsidered in the meantime?

 

[garyjac]

Here is the info from the RACQ as received this morning by email:

"I have spoken to our Technical Advice team this morning, they are the department who train our Roadside Assistance staff. They advised me that there is no directive to patrols to not provide service to Tesla vehicles. They did tell me that they were recently provided with a Tesla on loan so they could determine lock out procedures, battery specifications etc.

Roadside Assistance staff have been trained in the basics for Tesla vehicles & will attempt to mobilise a vehicle roadside.

If this is not possible under all roadside products towing would be available.

The Technical Advice Team did advise that with so few Tesla vehicles on the road & the complexity of the internal engine systems towing may often be the only option. They also told me that Tesla have an assistance hotline that is available to both Tesla owners & Roadside Assistance."

So, you can have the vehicle moved to the nearest service depot (flat bed truck) up to 200km for "free" depending on your level of coverage and be supplied with a hire car ($110/day), etc., etc.

So, definitely worth being a member.

As Ray Newman says, Youi (insurer) also provide a roadside assistance service. I insure with them as well, so (in theory), I have three organisations at my back and call in an emergency, but, as we have seen, sometimes, one of them cannot do what another can.

 

[paulp]

I haven't needed a spare (tyre) in 92,000 km in the Tesla nor in the 130,000 km in the previous Merc.
As a matter of fact, I haven't needed a spare for a car with proper sized wheels in over 20 years.
Anyhow, my insurance includes roadside assist.

Absolutely agree with you. I don’t think I’ve ever used my spare in any car I’ve ever owned.
Had plenty of punctures, but also plenty of options in the city to fix those conveniently. I carry a new tyre only at home in case I get a weekend puncture. So much cheaper to buy them from tesla.
But if I as travelling in the middle of no-where, I’d be investing in a spare and jack.

 

[paulp]

If these are still for sale you Brisbane area owners could make a group purchase of spares -
Model S 19” Slipstream Wheels For Sale

Fairly certain you can buy a single 19” basic wheel and fitted tyre from tesla for about the price being quoted.

 

[paulp]

Here is the info from the RACQ as received this morning by email:

"I have spoken to our Technical Advice team this morning, they are the department who train our Roadside Assistance staff. They advised me that there is no directive to patrols to not provide service to Tesla vehicles. They did tell me that they were recently provided with a Tesla on loan so they could determine lock out procedures, battery specifications etc.

Roadside Assistance staff have been trained in the basics for Tesla vehicles & will attempt to mobilise a vehicle roadside.

If this is not possible under all roadside products towing would be available.

The Technical Advice Team did advise that with so few Tesla vehicles on the road & the complexity of the internal engine systems towing may often be the only option. They also told me that Tesla have an assistance hotline that is available to both Tesla owners & Roadside Assistance."

So, you can have the vehicle moved to the nearest service depot (flat bed truck) up to 200km for "free" depending on your level of coverage and be supplied with a hire car ($110/day), etc., etc.

So, definitely worth being a member.

As Ray Newman says, Youi (insurer) also provide a roadside assistance service. I insure with them as well, so (in theory), I have three organisations at my back and call in an emergency, but, as we have seen, sometimes, one of them cannot do what another can.

‘Complexity of internal engine system’, can’t say I’ve ever heard anyone call an electric motor complex before, especially compared to those cast blocks with multiple planned explosions every second.

 

[garyjac]

‘Complexity of internal engine system’, can’t say I’ve ever heard anyone call an electric motor complex before, especially compared to those cast blocks with multiple planned explosions every second.

They like to make it sound like they're doing us a favour by mastering "new and complex systems". Keeping up with the leading edge and all that sort of guff...meh

 

[Blue heaven]

Fairly certain you can buy a single 19” basic wheel and fitted tyre from tesla for about the price being quoted.

$1600 for a set of 4 rims and tyres is less than half price.

 

[deadsled]

Ive got two 20" silver wheels with decent tyres from a model X for sale, $250 each.