- Stranded in the mountains for hours
- 40 hours wait to receive any status of Tesla repair
- Miscommunication and false promises for ETAs from Tesla roadside
- No real person to talk to resolve urgent concerns
- No empathy shown by Tesla to help stranded Tesla owner with family of seniors and child
- Cannot accommodate any special request even when delay in service was cause by Tesla miscommunication
I was driving in Big Bear, CA when my Tesla Model3 went over a pothole and both tires got flat. I was surprised that such a minor impact would make the tires flat. I pulled over to a dirt shoulder 100m away. I had aged parents in my car so I called another friend who could take them to the cabin we were in. As I waited there after 15 mins or so there was another Tesla model3 which pulled over in that tiny shoulder with the same problem. So, it was not only me. Big Bear city was reckless enough not to fix or at least post signs of the road conditions.
Next step I reached out to Tesla roadside to help. They said they can tow the vehicle to a dealership nearby (up to 50 miles as I was in warranty period). This was happening in the late afternoon/early evening of April 8th, 2023, around 5.30PM. As I was stranded in Big Bear, 125 miles away from home in a mountain area I asked can this be fixed the same day or day after. Roadside said they would tow the car to Riverside Tesla service center and get it fixed the day after (April 9th) and assured they will be open on Sunday (See Tesla roadside text screenshot). That’s when I approved towing the car to Riverside knowing the fact that I will somehow manage to get there next morning and pick up the car and drive my family safely home.
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The towing arrived more than 3 hours after the incident. It was cold and dark and unsafe where the car was parked, and I was stranded there. No complaints about the tow company, the person was extremely nice. He towed the car to the Riverside Tesla service center, and it seems there was no protocol for him to drop off the car and he was not able to get anyone to help him from Tesla side (no surprise!). So, he parked it near the entrance to the service center and left. I messaged Tesla roadside to make sure it was remotely locked, and they obliged at least at this time and promptly closed the roadside assistance ticket.
We were at the Big Bear cabin that night waiting for the car service center to open next morning. In the Tesla App it said service center is open (8AM-5PM) and assured by the roadside assistance message from previous night.
Next morning, I started texting Tesla both on the roadside text chat as well as the service chat. No response was received. Called the service center number after going through a lot of interactive voice options the phone kept on ringing and went to voice mail. I dreaded the obvious, is the service center closed because of Easter Sunday? But I have been assured that its open and car will be fixed. I had no other way than to go to the service center 50 miles away to find the status of the car (are we in stone age?). So, I did, we had to pack luggage and passengers of 3 cars into 2 and took risk of driving down the mountain road (thanks to great friends who were willing to help) to reach the service center only to find that they were closed. The car was parked and sitting there for hours without even a courtesy call or message that it will not be fixed that day. Not having any way to communicate we left the car there and spent on Uber etc. to come home 100 miles away from the service center. I spent second night without my car and yet no update from Tesla. It just said, “waiting for estimate”!
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Next morning, I finally got an estimate and a $100 Uber credit. Tires need to be replaced and now they want me to come and pick up the car from 100miles away. On expressing concern regarding how far I must come to pick up the car, I was warned that if they are to keep the car overnight, they will charge me 24hrs storage fees! I asked can someone call me to discuss and even proposed a time an hour later for them to gather all options. No one called! There were some options in the chat that were posted another hour later. Two options were offered: “1. Replace the tire with us and pick up the vehicle 2. Tow it to your nearest dealership “. I replied immediately do I have to pay to get it near me, again no response for an hour. At this point I noted there are no timestamps to the messages in the Tesla app so no one can trace the wait times between each text. Finally, I tweeted hoping someone will hear me.
After another hour someone (Vaughn) called me from the Riverside service center to go over the situation. He asked me to go through my insurance to tow the car. I told them I don’t want to claim insurance for this. Other options I asked for and the answer I got:
- Uber voucher provided covers up to $100 and it costs me more to get there. – No Tesla only gives $100
- Can you send the car to local service center, and I can pick it up from there – No your insurance has to arrange and pay for the tow
- I will pay can you tow it? – no we don’t have towing service.
He again told me pick it up in 24hrs or I will be charged.
Next, I went to Tesla Service center nearby (Agoura Hills) to see if they can help. After waiting another 20 mins they said no other options. I asked, can you please provide a courtesy vehicle. Answer was no, all service centers are run as separate entity and they have trackers etc. and cannot be shared across the centers.
Finally, I had to make a 4+ hrs. round trip to pick up my car from Riverside to put an end to the misery called “Tesla Service”.
I only had to wait more that 40hrs for a response and more than 2 days to fix my car. I was also told Tesla is not responsible for this as this was caused by external influence. Ok I agree the flat tire was not but what about all this trouble due to miscommunication from Tesla roadside and all the back and forth with my family including the elderly people, kids who I had to put at risk and lot of pain. What about being without my car for more than 48 hrs even when I am paying lease for the car. What about hours of looking at my phone to see if I got a message. And not to mention the 4 hrs I had to spend on the road to get my car back. Is this customer satisfaction that Tesla guarantees? Is there anyone even listening or am I to hear “Please resort to your Tesla app for any concerns”.
