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Tesla's amateurish service lives up to its bad reputation

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Disheartening to see so many apologists regarding Tesla build quality. Tesla claiming these gaps are "within spec" is ridiculous. My car has been in the shop for 3 weeks now, been told it was ready 4 times, it still looks like crap. No other car manufacturer has such horrendous quality control or low standards.
Perhaps you're thinking of me? Not my fault that my car was delivered with no issues. However, in addition to apologists, there are also folks here who are way too picky about every little thing with the cars - including issues that are common with other cars (see: Rust on the seat frames threads).
 
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So overall, would you say 8/10?
A lot depends on how big the SC is. If I drive 50 miles, I get a tiny service center, but if I drive 100, I get a big one that can do the work while I wait but also has loaners. It sort of depends on what work is needed. And then, I had a service ranger come out a few days ago, first time in ten years. He also did the work while I waited, and did it well, though his Tesla "truck" was an old Model S.

What matters is how well the work gets done, not where it gets done, and I'm pleased with the Service Ranger idea now. For your panels, you might try just taking your car to any local body shop. They could fix your car in a day, and your insurance would pay, though I don't know how Tesla might figure in.
 
Why the Tesla build quality is so bad ? I mean they have been building cars for over 10 years now and they still can’t get it right is beyond my understanding! And to make things worst, their sub-par customer service! I have very busy work schedule and I can’t deal with this. For me quality and service is more important! Almost thinking to cancle my MYLR order!
It really depends on your service center and also the tech you get.

The unbelievably frustrating part is never getting anyone on the phone and having to use the app for everything. Sometimes because the way the app is coded depending on the service it makes you go in vs mobile service, even though it's something that could be done via mobile service. My wiper was grazing the underside of the hood and because the app made it seem like a body adjustment it defaulted to bringing it in. The tech didn't even take my car out of the service lane, he was able to fix it in under a minute and I was on my way.

All my mobile visits have been great except one. It was a new guy I hadn't seen before and he had to replace the door seal that was coming detached and he didn't remove the prior adhesive that was left behind. He left before I could go outside and check it was done ok and I tried calling and telling him he did it wrong from the number he called when giving me the ETA and he said he'd come back and look and never did. I had to drive the 20 minutes to the physical service center to show them what he did and they apologized but had to re-order the gasket again so that was another week or two wait.

My friend also picked up a MYP at a different delivery/service center and it was making a loud grinding from the front when the AC was running, so he drove it 50 feet to the service lane with no appointment and they gave him a loaner and took the car on the spot and fixed it along with the hood alignment being off and he had the car back at the end of the day.

If you have a bad service center and there aren't alternatives around or a bad mobile tech it really does sour the experience. Because it's not a dealer system it's not like you have a variety of options close by. For me there's really only 2 services centers within a convenient drive but there are 5 Benz dealers as a comparison. If you live in an area that only has on service option then I would seriously make sure they have good reviews before you buy because you're stuck with them.
 
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It really depends on your service center and also the tech you get.

The unbelievably frustrating part is never getting anyone on the phone and having to use the app for everything. Sometimes because the way the app is coded depending on the service it makes you go in vs mobile service, even though it's something that could be done via mobile service. My wiper was grazing the underside of the hood and because the app made it seem like a body adjustment it defaulted to bringing it in. The tech didn't even take my car out of the service lane, he was able to fix it in under a minute and I was on my way.

All my mobile visits have been great except one. It was a new guy I hadn't seen before and he had to replace the door seal that was coming detached and he didn't remove the prior adhesive that was left behind. He left before I could go outside and check it was done ok and I tried calling and telling him he did it wrong from the number he called when giving me the ETA and he said he'd come back and look and never did. I had to drive the 20 minutes to the physical service center to show them what he did and they apologized but had to re-order the gasket again so that was another week or two wait.

My friend also picked up a MYP at a different delivery/service center and it was making a loud grinding from the front when the AC was running, so he drove it 50 feet to the service lane with no appointment and they gave him a loaner and took the car on the spot and fixed it along with the hood alignment being off and he had the car back at the end of the day.

If you have a bad service center and there aren't alternatives around or a bad mobile tech it really does sour the experience. Because it's not a dealer system it's not like you have a variety of options close by. For me there's really only 2 services centers within a convenient drive but there are 5 Benz dealers as a comparison. If you live in an area that only has on service option then I would seriously make sure they have good reviews before you buy because you're stuck with them.
this is super useful. I live in fremont. so one would expect the best service center experience for MY :-D
 
Just dropped off my MY at NJ cherry hill for temperature sensor recall issue, some sound coming from rear passenger wheel area (suspension, or something is shifting around - test drove with a tech who heard and confirmed the noise) and absolutely horrible customer service from the boy checking me in. They pretend like they are doing me a favor by working on my car! No I don’t expect any top of the line loaner but do expect a loaner when I am driving 1hr to get there. Uber credits don’t cut it for my commute. There reasoning is once they look at the car thoroughly they will know how long it will take to complete the repair and they will call me to pick up a loaner 🙄
I am fully prepared that no one will follow up based on past experiences and will never get a loaner. I asked him to give me in writing as per above and they all go in unison no we can’t do that. I doubt most of them even made it through kindergarten!
Absolutely the worst customer service experience of all the cars I have owned and I always make sure to tell everybody regarding service and software updates who asks me about the car any time.
 
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Disheartening to see so many apologists regarding Tesla build quality. Tesla claiming these gaps are "within spec" is ridiculous. My car has been in the shop for 3 weeks now, been told it was ready 4 times, it still looks like crap. No other car manufacturer has such horrendous quality control or low standards.
Those who speculate my misalignments are within spec or equate false equivalency between the loaner policies of different car brands have missed the point of my original post entirely. Aside from disagreeing with this viewpoint, my OP was about integrity -- being honest, honoring your word, respecting your customers, not resorting to BS, supporting your fellow team members, and exhibiting a modicum of professionalism.
 
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In the climate that we live in, I don't expect loaners. I just dropped off my new '22 BMW X5M which costs exactly twice my wifes MYP. Not only did I not get a loaner, they paused any shuttle runs or uber credits. I was left on my own. Life's too short to get mad over trivial things. I decided to go on a nice long walk and got my own uber.
 
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The week before Christmas I brought my MY in to diagnose a very loud clicking/clunking sound from the rear when accelerating and braking. They kept it for a week and finally determined that they needed to replace the rear sub-frame assembly. I was given a loaner during this service appointment. The part had to be ordered, which is reasonable, and a return appointment was scheduled the first week of Jan. The day before my return trip I was messaged that I’d be given Uber credits instead of a loaner, which wasn’t gonna work for me. After a half dozen messages and a few days I finally got someone to call me about by concerns. BTW this is my biggest complaint about tesla service; I’m not a 13 year old kid texting my friends to meet me at the mall, maybe I’m old but messaging in an app over calling is garbage. The service rep told me that loaners were first come first served and could not be reserved. Also, and this is my favorite part, he said they were extending a courtesy to me as their policy was to only provide loaners to model S or X customers. It’s nice to know where you stand. So my only option was to reschedule and see if there happened to be a loaner available at the next appointment. Since my repair was not urgent and not a safety issue we would just reschedule until a loaner was available. Luckily one was available at me next appointment, it took 4 days for the repair, and now I’m good to go. In my situation where time was not a factor it would have been so much easier if we could have just scheduled a loaner even if it was 2 month out. Borrowing the “we can put a man on the moon argument”: we can build a car that can drive itself but you can’t master the use of a day planner?
 
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The week before Christmas I brought my MY in to diagnose a very loud clicking/clunking sound from the rear when accelerating and braking. They kept it for a week and finally determined that they needed to replace the rear sub-frame assembly. I was given a loaner during this service appointment. The part had to be ordered, which is reasonable, and a return appointment was scheduled the first week of Jan. The day before my return trip I was messaged that I’d be given Uber credits instead of a loaner, which wasn’t gonna work for me. After a half dozen messages and a few days I finally got someone to call me about by concerns. BTW this is my biggest complaint about tesla service; I’m not a 13 year old kid texting my friends to meet me at the mall, maybe I’m old but messaging in an app over calling is garbage. The service rep told me that loaners were first come first served and could not be reserved. Also, and this is my favorite part, he said they were extending a courtesy to me as their policy was to only provide loaners to model S or X customers. It’s nice to know where you stand. So my only option was to reschedule and see if there happened to be a loaner available at the next appointment. Since my repair was not urgent and not a safety issue we would just reschedule until a loaner was available. Luckily one was available at me next appointment, it took 4 days for the repair, and now I’m good to go. In my situation where time was not a factor it would have been so much easier if we could have just scheduled a loaner even if it was 2 month out. Borrowing the “we can put a man on the moon argument”: we can build a car that can drive itself but you can’t master the use of a day planner?
And that’s my biggest concern. We have scale down to 1 car during COVID on which we rely on heavily for kids pickup and drop off. I drive leased Volvo and have piece of mind that if I have issue with the car, I will have loaner. In case of Tesla (cost same as Volvo ) I don’t have that! And with all this quality issues around, chances for a service repair with Tesla is significantly higher!!
 
I have a September order, which I used to be counting the hours of the days down towards, and over the last couple of days, I've begun seriously thinking about cancelling my order. Between the heat pump issues (I live in Minnesota), the build issues, the phantom braking, the awful service, I'm just not confident I'm going to be getting a quality, reliable car. $60K is a lot of cash to be putting down when you're not confident about the product. My biggest issue/problem with Tesla is they don't even seem interested in fixing the very real problems they do have. It's an awful company to be a customer of (even with the shifting EDD dates), and I'm seriously wondering how much more goodwill + faith I'm prepared to pony up.
I picked up my MYLR in Maplewood last November. Therefore I've only had in cold weather. I've had an adequate amount of heat in all temperatures this winter. I would compare the heating to that of a 6 cylinder ICE engine. If you start to get chilly I discovered putting the front defrost on high heats you up nicely.

Build quality was fine with panels gaps being ok but not perfect in some cases. Everything else in the car was perfect and worked properly.

Phantom braking is a real thing but a software update a month or so ago helped it out greatly. I don't see it as more than an annoyance and I hit the accelerator to power through it.

The only major disappointment with the car is the range in winter. I lose about 22% range in temps around 20F. And it loses about half in temps well below zero F.

All that being said if you are looking for a refined car like Mercedes, BMW, etc. this ain't it. Teslas a company still feeling their way and the technology is constantly changing so the ride will not be totally smooth. Good luck and let us know what you decide.
 
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I have a September order, which I used to be counting the hours of the days down towards, and over the last couple of days, I've begun seriously thinking about cancelling my order. Between the heat pump issues (I live in Minnesota), the build issues, the phantom braking, the awful service, I'm just not confident I'm going to be getting a quality, reliable car. $60K is a lot of cash to be putting down when you're not confident about the product. My biggest issue/problem with Tesla is they don't even seem interested in fixing the very real problems they do have. It's an awful company to be a customer of (even with the shifting EDD dates), and I'm seriously wondering how much more goodwill + faith I'm prepared to pony up.
I am in MN as well. I had a lot of concerns about Tesla quality and service. I even considered keeping my Acura MDX around. We already had 3 cars. I have young kids and busy jobs. My cars have been highly reliable so the thought Of getting unreliable car with poor service was scary. I debated what to do for 5 months. I investigated BMW X5 plug-in hybrid. They had to stop selling them due to fire risk. Finally I rolled the dice and took a chance on Tesla. I even sold my Acura. I still have an Audi Quattro convertible that is stored in winter. So my plan B was the to use Audi if MY breaks down. I got my car in November 2020. I have had no problems so far. I have not used service much. A few months ago Tesla notified me to replace my sensor. I got it serviced in new Blaine Service Center. Car buying should not be this stressful. But if you want an EV now Tesla is your best bet.
 
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I have a September order, which I used to be counting the hours of the days down towards, and over the last couple of days, I've begun seriously thinking about cancelling my order. Between the heat pump issues (I live in Minnesota), the build issues, the phantom braking, the awful service, I'm just not confident I'm going to be getting a quality, reliable car. $60K is a lot of cash to be putting down when you're not confident about the product. My biggest issue/problem with Tesla is they don't even seem interested in fixing the very real problems they do have. It's an awful company to be a customer of (even with the shifting EDD dates), and I'm seriously wondering how much more goodwill + faith I'm prepared to pony up.
When it comes to panel alignment issues, it also depends on your car color (I'm not kidding, I've noticed panel alignment issues tend to stand out more with white than other colors). I can say that I've had my Model Y for over a year now and from a mechanical perspective I have not had to do any service requests. There were some service requests early on to address a few delivery issues, but they were all resolved.

I have the same color exterior as what you've ordered based on your sig, overall I can say that I'm happy with the panel alignment on the car. Is it perfect? No. Can I find a few alignment issues here in there if I switch look at it from a more critical perspective? Yes. Do those alignment issues stand out or are they noticeable by anyone else? No. Also critically, there are no issues with leaking, windnoise or any odd noises really, the car sounds and feels pretty solid and so both my wife an I are happy.

I would not call these cars unreliable by any stretch, and by most accounts the build issues have gradually improved somewhat compared to earlier builds. So whether you are happy with it or not will really depend on what you are expecting. If are going to be devastated if you receive anything less than Lexus level build consistency, then it might be a tougher road ahead. On the other hand if you are fine as long as generally everything fits well, works well, and does not look ridiculously misaligned, then you will probably be fine.
 
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Thanks, people. I greatly appreciate the comments. My wife and I sat down and talked it over earlier today, and we're going to go through with the purchase. The resale value is good enough that if it's troublesome I'll just sell it and get an Ioniq 5 or some other EV. Of course, I still don't know when the car will be ready! It's nice to hear of positive experiences from some MN folks - I must say, the actual people I've dealt with at Tesla Maplewood have been great.
 
The week before Christmas I brought my MY in to diagnose a very loud clicking/clunking sound from the rear when accelerating and braking. They kept it for a week and finally determined that they needed to replace the rear sub-frame assembly. I was given a loaner during this service appointment. The part had to be ordered, which is reasonable, and a return appointment was scheduled the first week of Jan. The day before my return trip I was messaged that I’d be given Uber credits instead of a loaner, which wasn’t gonna work for me. After a half dozen messages and a few days I finally got someone to call me about by concerns. BTW this is my biggest complaint about tesla service; I’m not a 13 year old kid texting my friends to meet me at the mall, maybe I’m old but messaging in an app over calling is garbage. The service rep told me that loaners were first come first served and could not be reserved. Also, and this is my favorite part, he said they were extending a courtesy to me as their policy was to only provide loaners to model S or X customers. It’s nice to know where you stand. So my only option was to reschedule and see if there happened to be a loaner available at the next appointment. Since my repair was not urgent and not a safety issue we would just reschedule until a loaner was available. Luckily one was available at me next appointment, it took 4 days for the repair, and now I’m good to go. In my situation where time was not a factor it would have been so much easier if we could have just scheduled a loaner even if it was 2 month out. Borrowing the “we can put a man on the moon argument”: we can build a car that can drive itself but you can’t master the use of a day planner?
I may be having similar issue like yours. Do you mind sharing your concern/technician notes regarding the issue?
So far I am getting punted around with issue still under investigation and no solution exist. Totally incompetent and arrogant service center.
 
I may be having similar issue like yours. Do you mind sharing your concern/technician notes regarding the issue?
So far I am getting punted around with issue still under investigation and no solution exist. Totally incompetent and arrogant service center.
There weren't really any trchician notes all I have is the attached invoice. When I picked up my vehicle the service rep said they gotten a few other complaints similar to mine and Tesla was instructing them to replace the sub-frame
 

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There weren't really any trchician notes all I have is the attached invoice. When I picked up my vehicle the service rep said they gotten a few other complaints similar to mine and Tesla was instructing them to replace the sub-frame
Thank you. I bet I am having the same issue on my model y. I get this loud knock when accelerating/braking from rear under as if something is loose and shifting around. Technician just said there under torqued bolts and said knock will return in future. Picked up the car same day and knock is still there. I messaged again and getting run around that no solution exist. Absolute sh**** service and really frustrating.
 
There wasnt a single time I brought my CTS-V in to Cadillac that I didnt get a loaner. I'm pretty sure the S/X crowd are offered the available loaners before the 3/Y crowd. Toyota and the like usually gave me an economy Enterprise car (which was fine, I just want wheels).

Tesla banks on ppl like me not really wanting to Uber anywhere, I'd rather not deal with it. Although.... now that I think about it, when you tip, does it use your Uber credits? If so I'm gonna take an Uber and be EXTREMELY generous to the driver.
A tip up to 15% will use credit, anything more comes out of your credit card.
 
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A tip up to 15% will use credit, anything more comes out of your credit card.
After spending the day being frustrated that it is taking 3 days (maybe longer..the SC won’t commit) to fix a couple of door trim alignment issues and install homelink, I’ve concluded that it’s just the way it is with Tesla. If customer service was a priority for Elon Musk, there would be good customer service. 100% communication through app is not all that effective but it is what it is and it’s not going to change. I’m just hopeful that over the long run, my enjoyment of driving my MYLR isn’t significantly adversely offset by having to deal with Tesla the company.
 
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Tesla service issues??? Check this one out.
Cliff notes version. Women buys a brand new Model 3 Performance, hears squeaking noise in the rear wheel, sets up appointment with service, they reply this is normal sound car is fine, woman goes to third party repair shop and discovers rear wheel is missing a brake pad from the factory.