Tesla towing/flat repair story

[Venomboy]

Yesterday I found a giant bolt in my right front tire and I could hear the air hissing out. I had the 19" standard silver wheels and Pirelli Cinturato tires I bought last year as the original Goodyears had worn out.

Sunday:
I call Tesla's roadside assistance number. They answer immediately and say they can give me a loaner Goodyear wheel/tire so I can drive a service center (either theirs or a tire shop) or I can get the car towed. I opt for the loaner wheel then when I tell them I have Pirelli tires they say they can't give me the loaner wheel. The usual "Pirelli's aren't OEM, we haven't tested them, we don't know how they'll work with 1 Goodyear tire, etc". I didn't argue with them over how lame this is. I know what their POV is: they don't want lawsuits or any variables they can't control. Sigh.

But they can tow the car and the truck can be over in 90 mins or less. I call my local Wheel Works and they say they're open and can fix the flat (if it's fixable).

I call Tesla back and ask if their tow truck guy can just replace all of my wheels and tires with my new set of T-Sport wheels/tires (purchased from a forum member a few months ago). Nope. They're not OEM, blah blah blah.

I don't have a jack or jack pad so I couldn't swap them myself. By this time it's getting late and I decide to deal with it Monday.

Monday:
I call roadside assistance again and they say they'll send over the tow truck. In less than an hour the towing guy arrives. He says he can tow it but said to not use the Tesla supplied tow hook. He said tow beds flex and the hook has a tendency to break. But says he has a workaround he's done before.

I tell him I have 4 new wheels...he stops me and says he'll just install 1 wheel for my so I can drive to Wheel Works. I tell him Telsa said he wouldn't do it. He says, dude, I'll do it. It's easier on everyone. So a few minutes later I have my new wheel on. I give the guy a $20 and everyone is happy.

I go to Wheel Works and as I suspected the hole is way too big and can't be patched. So for $20 they put on the remaining 3 wheels.

Overall, Tesla was very polite and informative and responsive. Not the answers I wanted but I kinda suspected that. Including phone wait time and Wheel Works time, this probably cost me 3 hours and $40. Not bad. Just thought I'd let everyone know how these things work out.

I'll probably keep 2 of the wheels/tires as spares and sell the other 2.

 

[Venomboy]

Update: Looks like I'll be getting tire reimbursement from Tire Rack because I purchased their warranty service.

 

[Dan Baldwin]

Thanks for the report. I'm glad to hear that Roadside assistance was a reasonably smooth process.

 

[maximizese]

Generally you do not want to mismatch tires from left to right, but I wonder what Tesla would have said if you requested a pair of loaner wheel/tires to use at both the front right and front left. At any rate, I'm glad it worked out for you. I've never had a roadside flat in my 22 years of driving, and it is a nagging concern of mine when taking the Tesla out on the highway.

 

[Bill_75D]

Thanks for posting this. I'm about to shop for my first set of replacement tires. I guess it's either Goodyear or Michelin for me.

 

[dzmconstr]

Update: Looks like I'll be getting tire reimbursement from Tire Rack because I purchased their warranty service.

I've used their tire replacement program before....makes buying from them all the more attractive. I thought and may have to check again, that every tire purchased with them now comes with warranty replacement. Saved me $250.
Dzm

 

[Ven Rala]

I have had 2 flat tires on non-OEM tires (though the wheels are Tesla) on my Model X and both times they did give me a loaner. They told me that these are non-OEM tires and the one they are giving me is OEM and to use caution and that I understand the risks, etc. The first time, about a little over a year ago, they would not install the replacement non-OEM tire so I had to take it the shop who originally put it on, but the second time, they said they would install it but I would have to bring it in (so I had tire rack send it to my house and take it with me) and that they could not take delivery from tirerack.

So their policies seem to be changing. The loaner tire has been a great benefit but making it so difficult to put on non-OEM tires/wheels (even though they are the exact same size as the originals) is a bit of pain.

 

[Venomboy]

I've found that the policies aren't clear or consistent depending on who you talk to at Tesla.

Their reason for not giving me the loaner wheel (which has a Goodyear tire on it) is that the other 3 tires are non-OEM. If I drive the 10 miles to Wheel Works, nothing will happen. Hell, if I drive a few hundred miles, nothing will happen. But there's that 1 guy who has 13" gold Enkei wheels and the 19" Tesla wheel will make everything go to hell. Highly unlikely but they just don't want to be blamed for anything. Their statement of "non-tested, non OEM..." backs this up.

Now, I could've said sir yes sir, why yes I have Goodyears on the car But if the towing guy wasn't reasonable, it would've been a wasted trip. I bet if I gave him another 20 he'd have swapped all 4 wheels for me. In fact, the Tesla rep said if my new tires in my garage were all OEM spec, the towing company would do that for me.

I talked to my service center a few months ago about aftermarket wheels and tires. They said they won't mount tires on aftermarket wheels because their equipment is only for Tesla wheels. Hmm...not sure if that is true. But again, they probably don't want to get blamed if a non-Tesla wheel gets a scratch or a dent during the process. I asked if they would mount aftermarket wheels that already had tires on them. The lady said she'd have to ask her supervisor. I said it's only 20 bolts total

My guess is that if you're nice and reasonable, you can push them to do things that aren't in their handbook.