Tesla service and how they treat owners, really disappointed

[Bant]

In Australia I have found similar to the above horror stories - Model X panels way out of alignment, paint issues not noted at delivery and now said to have happened post, and the dreaded "within spec" applied to all issues. I have asked for the Tesla Specification that is being applied and been told that it is a Tesla internal document and confidential, no doubt this is old news for most here but for me this is a brand new world.

My belief is that in Australia, Tesla's behaviour and application of contract is contrary to Victorian unfair terms in contract law and our federal ACCC law, and it is my intention to take an action to have my car either repaired or returned, I certainly don't believe that they will be able to testify that the vehicle is "within spec" without tabling that spec to the court, making it a public document.

I wanted Tesla to succeed, I wanted to support them, but this is the worst experience I have ever had with a motor vehicle. I entered this transaction wanting to purchase multiple vehicles, and a power system, I just can't see myself doing that now unless there is a massive turnaround in their behaviour.

 

[David99]

My biggest issue with service is the ridiculous prices. As the cars getting older they need parts replaced and small things fixed. Keeping a car running is an important part of sustainable transportation. Prime example is the little black plastic ring on the charge port pins. They break and fall off or get stuck in Supercharger plugs. Just in the last 2 months I found 5 stuck in different superchargers. Tesla does not have this simple plastic piece as a part for sale. Not even the metal pin (with the ring) which could easily be replaced. They want $750 for the entire charge port assembly plus labor. A new plastic ring could just be placed on the pin in 10 seconds. Replacing headlights: $1000. A bubble in the screen: replace the entire MCU for $3000. And so on. It's just nuts.

My car has 250k miles and needs fixes and small repairs here and there. I made it my mission to document every repair as a YouTube video so others can do their own repair if they want. I'm also always open to help other Tesla owners. Tesla's price gauging just drives me nuts.

 

[ACA Man]

My biggest issue with service is the ridiculous prices. As the cars getting older they need parts replaced and small things fixed. Keeping a car running is an important part of sustainable transportation. Prime example is the little black plastic ring on the charge port pins. They break and fall off or get stuck in Supercharger plugs. Just in the last 2 months I found 5 stuck in different superchargers. Tesla does not have this simple plastic piece as a part for sale. Not even the metal pin (with the ring) which could easily be replaced. They want $750 for the entire charge port assembly plus labor. A new plastic ring could just be placed on the pin in 10 seconds. Replacing headlights: $1000. A bubble in the screen: replace the entire MCU for $3000. And so on. It's just nuts.

My car has 250k miles and needs fixes and small repairs here and there. I made it my mission to document every repair as a YouTube video so others can do their own repair if they want. I'm also always open to help other Tesla owners. Tesla's price gauging just drives me nuts.

250K miles?
Wow!

 

[jboy210]

My biggest issue with service is the ridiculous prices. As the cars getting older they need parts replaced and small things fixed. Keeping a car running is an important part of sustainable transportation. Prime example is the little black plastic ring on the charge port pins. They break and fall off or get stuck in Supercharger plugs. Just in the last 2 months I found 5 stuck in different superchargers. Tesla does not have this simple plastic piece as a part for sale. Not even the metal pin (with the ring) which could easily be replaced. They want $750 for the entire charge port assembly plus labor. A new plastic ring could just be placed on the pin in 10 seconds. Replacing headlights: $1000. A bubble in the screen: replace the entire MCU for $3000. And so on. It's just nuts.

My car has 250k miles and needs fixes and small repairs here and there. I made it my mission to document every repair as a YouTube video so others can do their own repair if they want. I'm also always open to help other Tesla owners. Tesla's price gauging just drives me nuts.

Welcome to the world of Field Replacable Units (FRU). They are part of modern manufacturing and equipment servicing. FRUs are smallest component you can buy and have a number of components packed together.

For example, consider the Apple MacBook. They have a FRU called the Top Case. This includes the battery packs, keyboard, trackpad, and metal cover where your hands rest. They are all glued, screwed, and riveted together and sold as one unit. So if you have a bad key in the 2016-2019 15" or 13" models you replace this entire unit. Battery not holding charge, replace the FRU. This makes easy for the techs to make repairs, but expensive for the owner since a Top Case replacement is $200, which is a lot to pay for a bad key.

It could be worse. The FRU for the system board is upwards of $900. And if one $0.02 logic chip on the board goes and have to by the whole system board.