I have a 2017 Model S. I am happy with the car and Tesla in general, and have recommended Tesla cars to friends, and I expect to have Tesla solar and battery backup installed any day now. I have always had a positive impression of Tesla, but recent events have me concerned.
I recently updated the MCU in the Model S. It was suffering from the green-tint problem and I had noticed occasional strange behavior (mangled font glyphs, etc) and the idea of upgrading the computer(s) (and both screens) seemed like a great idea.
After having the service done several car functions were disabled while recalibrating and there were many software updates to apply. This took a few days to work out.
More time passed and I noted that (1) specific functions of the mobile app would no longer work with the car and (2) the steering wheel controls would sometimes stop responding. I emailed the service advisor I worked with for the MCU upgrade and he pushed some reset to my Tesla account that restored the mobile app functionality. Regarding the steering wheel controls, he said I should keep a record of the behavior and then schedule another service visit.
I did that and a mobile service appointment resulted in no work done. The technician came out and observed the problem but had no parts to fix anything. He thought it might be an incorrectly applied software update so he pushed all applicable updates to my car. No change.
At this point what was an intermittent problem has progressed to just no steering wheel controls. None of the buttons or scrollwheels work, so I cannot do a software reset or use the horn.
I rescheduled a service and they want $747.05 approved to do the work.
The only reply to my concerns in the service ticket is "We don't remove the steering wheel or airbag to upgrade or replace MCU touchscreens. Since your vehicle is out of warranty, this will be a customer pay repair." I responded with plenty of detail and explanation but have yet to see another reply.
Of course I do not want to pay to repair something that happened as a result of past service.
I do admit that I cannot prove this problem is a result of the work done. I can say I have never seen any behavior like this in the years I have owned the car, and it seems too coincidental that as soon as the MCU is updated the controls become unreliable. Even if it did have nothing to do with the MCU upgrade, this seems to have happened while the car was in the care of Tesla service.
TL;DR: Tesla wants to charge me to repair something that happened while in service.
I am not sure what to do. This must be fixed; the car would not pass state safety inspection without a working horn.
I recently updated the MCU in the Model S. It was suffering from the green-tint problem and I had noticed occasional strange behavior (mangled font glyphs, etc) and the idea of upgrading the computer(s) (and both screens) seemed like a great idea.
After having the service done several car functions were disabled while recalibrating and there were many software updates to apply. This took a few days to work out.
More time passed and I noted that (1) specific functions of the mobile app would no longer work with the car and (2) the steering wheel controls would sometimes stop responding. I emailed the service advisor I worked with for the MCU upgrade and he pushed some reset to my Tesla account that restored the mobile app functionality. Regarding the steering wheel controls, he said I should keep a record of the behavior and then schedule another service visit.
I did that and a mobile service appointment resulted in no work done. The technician came out and observed the problem but had no parts to fix anything. He thought it might be an incorrectly applied software update so he pushed all applicable updates to my car. No change.
At this point what was an intermittent problem has progressed to just no steering wheel controls. None of the buttons or scrollwheels work, so I cannot do a software reset or use the horn.
I rescheduled a service and they want $747.05 approved to do the work.
The only reply to my concerns in the service ticket is "We don't remove the steering wheel or airbag to upgrade or replace MCU touchscreens. Since your vehicle is out of warranty, this will be a customer pay repair." I responded with plenty of detail and explanation but have yet to see another reply.
Of course I do not want to pay to repair something that happened as a result of past service.
I do admit that I cannot prove this problem is a result of the work done. I can say I have never seen any behavior like this in the years I have owned the car, and it seems too coincidental that as soon as the MCU is updated the controls become unreliable. Even if it did have nothing to do with the MCU upgrade, this seems to have happened while the car was in the care of Tesla service.
TL;DR: Tesla wants to charge me to repair something that happened while in service.
I am not sure what to do. This must be fixed; the car would not pass state safety inspection without a working horn.
- I could cancel the service appointment and try to talk to someone on the phone. There have been no replies to my texts on the service ticket in the app.
- I could proceed with the service, knowing Tesla will likely stick me with the bill.
- I could cancel the service appointment and seek legal advice. I do not like this idea but if Tesla doesn't budge and I do not want to pay for the repair then I don't know what else I could do.
- ? Sell the car for parts?