Tesla screw-ups continue to delay the final repairs to my car

[artsci]

Sometimes I think Tesla is a gang that can't shoot straight, and I've been often been accused of being a hopeless Tesla fanboy.

The repairs to my car, which was rear-ended at a stop light on June 30 by a woman on her cellphone, still have not been completed, and most of the serious delays in completing the work have been Tesla's fault. I got the car back about two weeks ago but it still had a number of problems -- namely no parking sensors and a fault in the liftgate latch/lock. The parking sensor issue was totally Tesla's responsibility. First it took more than a month for the new sensor brackets to be provided to the repair shop. Second, when they did finally arrive they were the wrong parts. Tesla's excuse is that the shop doing the work is not an authorized Tesla body shop (even though the have an application pending). That is an incredibly lame excuse. The shop expects the correct parts to arrive today, but who knows. Experience suggests that this could drag on for another month.

I left my car with the shop a week ago to finish the work while I was in Kona, Hawaii for the Ironman World Championship where my elder son will be a competitor. I get back next Tuesday evening and have serious doubts that the work on my car will be finally completed.

Tesla, when are you going to fix this very serious problem? It will haunt you big-time once you start volume deliveries of the Model 3.

I know that JonM is trying, but my experience suggests that its been more a PR ploy than a serious fix. I want this to work as much as anyone but in my experience the signs are not good.

 

[boaterva]

So, because they aren't authorized (""), they automatically send the wrong parts?

I, also, have bad premonitions when thousands (whatever) of 3's are waiting to be repaired. If we get the sort of press we just see from one comment about 'hand assembly', that will be a hurricane.

 

[scole04]

Tesla Parts Department is a real mess. SDR is now having issues with Tesla Parts Department flip flopping on supplying parts for the front end refresh. Adam was going to wait to you get back to see if you had any suggestions. My patience is wearing a bit thin.......

 

[artsci]

Tesla Parts Department is a real mess. SDR is now having issues with Tesla Parts Department flip flopping on supplying parts for the front end refresh. Adam was going to wait to you get back to see if you had any suggestions. My patience is wearing a bit thin.......

Couldn't agree more. Nobody seems to be accountable at Tesla and the screw ups are astounding. Here's the latest from SDR:

...your Tesla has been in the tech’s bay with the bumper off all week waiting on these park sensor brackets. We had talked to (name omitted for privacy) last Friday and gave him a copy of the list of items that need to be addressed. I just need these darn brackets so I can put the bumper on and get the vehicle over to the service center to address the latch issue!

 

[artsci]

Tesla Parts Department is a real mess. SDR is now having issues with Tesla Parts Department flip flopping on supplying parts for the front end refresh. Adam was going to wait to you get back to see if you had any suggestions. My patience is wearing a bit thin.......

Don't know what I can contribute but when I return I'll talk to Adam about it. The only thing I can imagine it that corporate is pissed because they said it couldn't be done, but SDR did it. If my assumption is correct that's incredibly petty. Otherwise it may be a case of Rockville and/or Owings Mills being afraid of the wrath of Tesla HQ, which we know can be irrational and trifling. Why should Tesla care about the upgrades or modifications people make to their cars when they have no impact whatsoever on safety or functioning of basic systems? As I said, it's incredibly petty. Tesla just doesn't get the aftermarket world.

 

[scole04]

Don't know what I can contribute but when I return I'll talk to Adam about it. The only thing I can imagine it that corporate is pissed because they said it couldn't be done, but SDR did it. If my assumption is correct that's incredibly petty. Otherwise it may be a case of Rockville and/or Owings Mills being afraid of the wrath of Tesla HQ, which we know can be irrational and trifling. Why should Tesla care about the upgrades or modifications people make to their cars when they have no impact whatsoever on safety or functioning of basic systems? As I said, it's incredibly petty. Tesla just doesn't get the aftermarket world.

Your assumption lines up with the conversation I had with Rockville Parts. The bigger picture of what we were doing had an implication on approval. The guy on the phone told me it couldnt be done and we entered a conversation about how its not possible. Any other car company would just sell you the parts you ask for. I boxed the part guy in on the phone about the logic and had him questioning their position.

 

[artsci]

The saga continues, and now its the Owings Mills Service Center that’s screwing up. I went to Hawaii on October 9 and left my car with SDR for the duration until my return yesterday. That’s a week and a half ago. All they needed were the rear bumper sensor brackets to finish the work. Twice Owings Mills sent the wrong brackets. The third time they sent the right brackets but were two short. Now they’ve been promising to get SDR the last two brackets since last Friday but haven’t delivered.

The only thing I can conclude is that someone at the Owings Mills Service Center is an incompetent boob.

 

[artsci]

I've been quick to criticize Tesla so I should be equally quick to provide praise when it's due. Today the Owings Mills service center called me to explain the circumstances surrounding the needed parking sensor brackets and to let me know that they would be delivered tomorrow. The conversation was thoughtful and professional. I realized that there was some legitimate confusion over the brackets that were needed and that led to the delays. So Tesla and its Owings Mills staff stepped up to the plate today. I also made an appointment to take the car to Owings Mills next week to have the latch issue addressed (it shows as unlatched, even though it is, which means I can't lock the car). I think it's a problem with the cinching actuator so it will interesting learn about their diagnosis.