Tesla Service for Model S - no Tesla loaner, no ETA, just limbo hell?

[ShadowMoses]

Really surprised at how poor Tesla's service is. I finally got my refreshed Model S LR in Dec 2021 (after having a reservation pre-announcement in Jan 2021). Literally 1 month later - car heater stops working (right in the middle of winter in Pittsburgh).

Car has now been at the Service Center for nearly 3 weeks (about 11-12 days shy of meeting Pennsylvania's Lemon Law criteria). The only times Tesla has provided an update is when I reached out to ask them after not hearing for a week or more. Both times "we're waiting on a part, no ETA." Oh - and of course they have no loaners so I got sent off to Enterprise for a small Hyundai.

Really surprised if this is the best Tesla has to offer. I've had significantly better experiences with even non-luxury car manufacturers. This by far takes the cake for worst service. Curious if other owners have been in similar situations and ended up with a reasonable outcome/had any luck escalating? (Is it even possible to escalate these issues?)

I guess shame on me for not taking the Tesla customer service complaints more seriously. I should have known given how they handled the refreshed Model S ordering last year with no updates to reservation holders for months on end.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Nope. Tesla service is operating exactly as designed, sadly.

 

[scrapps]

I've received a caddy from enterprise before. You might want to reach out to Enterprise first to ask if you can change car then failing that your service center.

 

[leonwu]

Depending on state of the car, I’ve tried holding onto mine until the “right part” comes in.

I’m getting my centre console replaced and it’s been 4 weeks and counting for the part. Mostly aesthetics and car drives fine, so I’ve held onto it until the part comes, and just kept changing service times.

Guess heating is a much more serious issue. Could it be due to the software issue that plagued many of the other model S? They patched some heat pump issue a few weeks ago.

 

[ShadowMoses]

I honestly hadn't even thought about keeping it until the part came in. It was a bit unpleasant to use without the heat but not unbearable in hindsight. Definitely something to keep in mind if something happens in the future (really hope not!).

I was really hoping it was a software issue but I could tell the second it happened that it likely wasn't. The vents started putting out only cold air and if the HVAC was on there was a drone-like sound.

Regarding Enterprise - I had thought I would be covered for a nicer model but everything (e.g., a base-level Infiniti sedan) was a $50+ daily upcharge.

The main update is that I wrote to the SC (through the app) that I wanted to talk to a manager given the situation with there being no update on completion, no loaner available, etc. A manager did call me in the afternoon and apologize, mentioning that the part was out of stock and that they were escalating it to the Regional Parts manager today. They also offered a Model X loaner - which I took them up on.

I'm definitely appreciative of how they handled my complaint. It did beg the questions of why are they escalating to the Regional Parts manager nearly 3 weeks into the delay and how did a Model X loaner just appear? But again, I am appreciative of their response and working with me on the situation.

I just wish, like many others have previously stated, that Tesla would take a moment to stop solely focusing on car production/manufacturing and strengthen the customer support/service aspects of their business. I've owned Infiniti, Lexus, BMW, and Acura in the past and in my opinion Tesla leaves much to be desired compared to all of them in the service department.

 

[URBAN LEGEND]

Let’s be honest. A loaner car is not part of the deal. It’s all a courtesy. Whenever I get a loaner from Audi or BMW I’m fine with whatever they loan me as they don’t owe me a loaner. Just putting it in perspective here.