Tesla Starts Charging for Diagnosing Noise Related Issue

[17MXWHITE]

I just brought my vehicle in for service. with a lengthy list of issues. A lot of them involves wind noises due to the seals are failing (seal literally falling on the ground when I open the door), suspension, and infamous dreaded shudder issue.
However, it came as a surprise to me when the service adviser indicate that I will have to pay the diagnose fee for all these issues. Pictures below. Does anyone who has their vehicle in service recently experiencing this? My car is only 5 months old so everything should still be under warranty.

I understand that Tesla is trying to get as much money back for their financial future, but this just leave a really bad taste for a customer.

 

[Az_Rael]

Wowzer. I have seen others reporting that diagnostic fees were being charged at some service centers. I haven't encountered it yet. Didnt realize they were doing it PER issue.

And it is scammy to do it for a car still under the bumper to bumper warranty.

 

[icetoev]

That's crazy! Which service center is this? Really surprised they are doing this especially since your car is basically brand new.

 

[17MXWHITE]

That's crazy! Which service center is this? Really surprised they are doing this especially since your car is basically brand new.

This is from Buena Park Service Center. Does anyone has experience with Costa Mesa Service Center that can share?

 

[jeffro01]

Wait, what? The car is fully under warranty... This can't be accurate or otherwise Tesla is going to have some serious explaining to do.

Jeff

 

[17MXWHITE]

Wait, what? The car is fully under warranty... This can't be accurate or otherwise Tesla is going to have some serious explaining to do.

Jeff

I wish this was true. However, that's what shows under my service agreement document sent by Tesla.

 

[NoSoup4U!]

The Buena Park SC leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I was scheduled to buy a set of 22" silver wheels from a member here last weekend and have them installed there. One day before the appointment they texted that they didn't have the 'reserved' silver wheels anymore, only black ones which I don't care for. See it's easy to take a reservation - it's the 'holding of the reservation', that's the tricky part.

 

[EVDRVN]

Did you actually pay this bill? Where is your paid copy with the total?

 

[VikH]

This has been a recent thing with Model 3s that has spread to S/X. I would pushback hard on this as these would be considered defects and should be covered under full warranty. It is plainly ridiculous for them to charge a fee when under the 4 year warranty.

 

[BerTX]

I think this policy change was discussed before. You basically get one visit to fix rattles and noises, then pay the fee for subsequent issues.

My experience is that they will work on the SAME noise/source if they are documented to have "fixed" it before. This probably varies by Service Center.

 

[17MXWHITE]

Did you actually pay this bill? Where is your paid copy with the total?

This is an estimate as I stated I just brought the vehicle in for service. I will update once everything is completed and warped up.

I think this policy change was discussed before. You basically get one visit to fix rattles and noises, then pay the fee for subsequent issues.

My experience is that they will work on the SAME noise/source if they are documented to have "fixed" it before. This probably varies by Service Center.

If this is true. They should not have the fee in the agreement as this is my first time reporting these issues. However, regardless of how many times the issue occurs, if the vehicle is still under warranty, they should honor their warranty and fix the issue.

 

[EVDRVN]

Labor is often listed under warranty, I have never paid for any of these charges nor should you unless it is a new policy to charge for them if the issue is normal and not a result of a defect. etc. Many people bring oin cars with issues that are normal conditions costing lots of free labor.

 

[swgdan]

Seems fair, you pay for their shitty quality control.

 

[aesculus]

A few months ago my service advisor told me that Tesla was cracking down on any noise (read rattle) related warranty claims. They were basically told not to work on them if the car was over a year old. Sounds like they might be digging in even deeper.

 

[Yinn]

I just brought my vehicle in for service. with a lengthy list of issues. A lot of them involves wind noises due to the seals are failing (seal literally falling on the ground when I open the door), suspension, and infamous dreaded shudder issue.
However, it came as a surprise to me when the service adviser indicate that I will have to pay the diagnose fee for all these issues. Pictures below. Does anyone who has their vehicle in service recently experiencing this? My car is only 5 months old so everything should still be under warranty.

I understand that Tesla is trying to get as much money back for their financial future, but this just leave a really bad taste for a customer.

View attachment 402943

View attachment 402946

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The longer I go owning one of these, the more I miss traditional car dealers. No, I don't miss their sales department; but at least if I don't like one dealer's service, I can TRY to find a better one or at least go independent.

 

[EVDRVN]

I can tell you that if I have an issue with a seal etc causing noise or a rattle I won't be paying for that under warranty.

 

[icetoev]

I've been to both Buena Park and Costa Mesa SC... I would say management/team at Costa Mesa is better.

 

[puregreddy]

I don't see a follow up from the OP, but I will post my experience with this same issue at Costa Mesa.

My estimate invoice had the same 97.50 charge for diagnostics on an issue with a front suspension rattle I had on my vehicle.

The service advisor wanted me to acknowledge the estimate invoice via an electronic pdf signature document. Before I clicked yes, I wanted some more information about the potential charge.

He explained that for noises/rattles that have an "obvious" fix to it (a common noise problem that has been seen in multiple vehicles before and the center knows exactly how to fix it), the charge will be backed out upon the final invoice paperwork and there will be zero cost to the customer.

This charge seems like a cya cover for them......just in case they find themselves running down a rabbit hole trying to isolate and fix a random noise issue.

In my specific case, the charge was backed out when I received the final invoice. I did a test drive with a technician to replicate the noise and he knew exactly what it was.......I needed my front suspension re-torqued and a "rocker insulation" procedure done per the invoice - almost sounded like a service bulletin of a sort.........

My take on this: perhaps it's a feeble attempt to keep the "nuisance" noises separated from "real problem" noises..........

 

[aesculus]

My take on this: perhaps it's a feeble attempt to keep the "nuisance" noises separated from "real problem" noises..........

During one of the many visits attempting to get my "clunk" (I don't use rattle because they lump this term into the nuisance category) fixed, I had to wait for the SC tech to give my car a once over and also to determine they had the parts available etc. I was appalled at the number of customers who were whining about some little nit, which I am sure was annoying, but refused to do any investigative work on themselves. One customer argued with the service tech manager for 15 minutes explaining why they should not have to describe the problem at all and the car should automatically be able to detect a noise or UI issue they had and fully alert the SC before they even mentioned it. They car should just "know" ITHO.

So I can certainly see how Tesla is getting a bit defensive. Plus with the pressure from Elon not to spend any money (and SC time is big money) this is probably only going to get worse. It also takes away the chance that legitimate issues like this will be dealt with quickly and fairly, especially when it's not totally known to all of Tesla. In the old days Tesla would embrace these challenges but today they seem to avoid them like the plague.

 

[clyjr]

The shudder one is a real slap in the face though, it's an extremely well known issue...