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The Horn, Really!!????

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M

m2140

Member
Sep 1, 2015
156
62
Menifee, CA
#1
I've had a lot of little issues with my model S over the last 16 months. But the Horn going out, really? How bad is Tesla's build quality that the stupid horn is starting to go out??

Aside from some squeaks and rattles I've had the following major problems with my 2015 S 85 D
- Autopilot 1.0 camera fails in cold weather @ 7700 miles
- Frunk molding & front bumper sagging @25,500 miles
- Condenser fans failing & front bumper sagging AGAIN @ 33,900 miles
- Passenger Rear door handles wont present @ 34,350 miles
- GPS Harness Loose and Driver rear door handle wont present @ 35,150 miles
- Broken armrest & loose seats @ 36,900 - Seats Pending parts 10 weeks after loose seat was found & counting
- Wont fully Charge to 100% & slow charging @ 39,650 miles - Pending battery replacement (approved 4 weeks after issue found)
- 12V battery replaced @ 39,670 miles

TODAY @ 40,700 miles the ****ing horn sounds like it's being chocked out.

My wife and I could not help but laugh our ass off.



Now before the nasty comments come in, I completely understand that Tesla is still a new company and is still figuring things out. And I know their quality improvements get implemented far faster than any other manufacturer. I knew what I was getting into when I bought the car and the main reason I wanted a couple of years to get an S.


What is my point?
All of this would be OK if I could get into service in a reasonable amount of time
All of this would be OK if I could get part replacement in days or week not Months
All of this would be OK if I could call to get into service without being told NO

I've been waiting for seats for almost 2.5 months now with no update. My battery is having issues and it took a month just to get a battery replacement approved, still waiting to hear on when I will get a new battery. I offered to just drop off my car to help escalate the need to have the battery replaced and was told no.
With the Horn starting to fail I wonder what else is going to show up and how long those will take to fix.
 
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#3
Heh, that was my first thought too. The only time I think I've ever used the horn was just to see if I could make it honk via the remote app. Never used it while actually driving.

But to be fair, the horn failing isn't really the point of the original post, it's just the latest failure in a growing list. Those are a lot of issues, and while I've heard of them happening separately, it seems exceptionally unlucky to draw all of those cards in a single hand. (Actually, I'm not even sure what "GPS Harness Loose" means. Where is the GPS harness located and how do I know if mine is tight?)

For what it's worth, I have a 2014 Model S and have had none of those issues... yet. I've been lucky to get reasonable service appointment times. I do think there's a legitimate concern when issues take months to resolve, though.
 
#5
eye.surgeon said:
This may come as a shock to you...but Tesla didn't make your horn.
Click to expand...
Yes. The steering wheel and stalks are the same as Mercedes uses. The horn button/switch/whatever it's called is integral to the steering wheel assembly. The mechanism that produces the horn sound is somewhere else and I have no idea who the manufacturer is.

However, Tesla is responsible for any defects to any of those parts and I'm sure they will fix it. Horn failure appears to be rare based on TMC posts about it, or lack thereof.
 
#7
Canuck said:
How often are you honking your horn? I don't think I'd know if mine went bad because I barely use it. Maybe it's just getting tired of you always honking at people so it's toned itself down...
Click to expand...

How often does someone use their "Hazard Flashers"? Probably less often than their horn, would be my guess. It is not the kind of thing you want to find out has failed though when you really need it.

A few months ago (around Thanksgiving), I found out that our "Hazard Lights" didn't work when I pulled up to the scene of an accident my daughter had been in on the 605N in Irwindale (at night) and parked on the shoulder to wait for a tow truck.

Not a good time to make such a discovery, but also not the kind of thing you are going to discover during normal daily driving.

Tesla SC (Burbank) fixed the problem within days which was great.

I hope you get your horn fixed ASAP. It is a vital piece of safety equipment in the car. And although Tesla is a relatively new car company, the idea of fully functional safety equipment is not new and should be prioritized to fix.

BTW, I also rarely rely on my seat belt to keep me from being ejected during a crash. I would hate to find out at the wrong time that that little safety feature is broken as well, and if it were, I would certainly not blame it on the fact the Tesla is a "new" (9 year old) car company.
 
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#8
The build quality is far inferior to say, a Chevy Bolt. I have closely looked at internals of a Bolt and compared it against my own. Their seals, connectors, windows, etc. are a tad better in quality and assembly has much higher tolerances than Tesla. However, they are a much larger and more experienced company.
 
#9
thecloud said:
Heh, that was my first thought too. The only time I think I've ever used the horn was just to see if I could make it honk via the remote app. Never used it while actually driving.

But to be fair, the horn failing isn't really the point of the original post, it's just the latest failure in a growing list. Those are a lot of issues, and while I've heard of them happening separately, it seems exceptionally unlucky to draw all of those cards in a single hand. (Actually, I'm not even sure what "GPS Harness Loose" means. Where is the GPS harness located and how do I know if mine is tight?)

For what it's worth, I have a 2014 Model S and have had none of those issues... yet. I've been lucky to get reasonable service appointment times. I do think there's a legitimate concern when issues take months to resolve, though.
Click to expand...

The GPS harness was new to me too. The GPS antenna is integrated into the rear window. There is harness under the headliner towards the back of the car that connects it to the main screen. Somehow mine was not properly secured and on nice hot days over 100 degrees the harness would separate just enough that i would loose GPS tracking.
 
#10
Canuck said:
How often are you honking your horn? I don't think I'd know if mine went bad because I barely use it. Maybe it's just getting tired of you always honking at people so it's toned itself down...

Click to expand...


I think you may have missed the point of my post. Tesla has a service & parts problem.

That issues i'm having as a whole on a single car are rare. I've put a lot of miles on my car in less than 2 years. I drive my baby everywhere and my wife and I both drive her. I tend to be gentle on cars, my wife not so much. Most of the recent issues happened after my wife started driving her on a daily basis. She since stopped because the car is just too fragile. But still issues keep showing up and getting into service and getting things fixed in a timeline manner is a problem.

Now, once in service, the service department staff are excellent. Problem is if you need a part you better hope they have it stock or you can expect to wait of weeks or months for said parts.


The model 3 is just Months away. Tesla has focused on making the 3 and improving the charging infrastructure. But they have not invested much into service centers or solving parts problems. The success of the Model 3 and Tesla could be measured by how well they can service those cars within that first year of production. Right now things are not looking good.
 
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#11
m2140 said:
I think you may have missed the point of my post. Tesla has a service & parts problem.
Click to expand...

I think you may have missed the point of my post. It was a joke.

But if we want to talk seriously about build quality and service we can. I ordered my car over three years ago. There were a lot more unknowns with Tesla at that time than there is now. In fact, before Tesla, traditional thinking was that it was impossible to start a new car company, especially in the US. You can't just build cars, of course, you must also support them. That was quite the task. If you read up on it, most experts said it couldn't be done. In fact, even Elon Musk said Tesla would probably fail.

Fast forward to today, and the Tesla Model S Outsells Mercedes, BMW, Audi, And Porsche In US.

That's quite the accomplishment. So when I read your post, I have that in the back of my mind.

Now, I know you have problems with your horn, etc. I've had problems with my vehicle, similar to you, but all have been fixed to my satisfaction. This is all about expectations. I could have bought a fisker karma instead my Tesla, and then had problems and tried to get service. Really, that was a distinct possibility when I bought. So sorry but I chuckle when I read your post. No tears come to my eyes for you. Only Louis CK.

In fact, after owning my Tesla, I can't see myself buying a vehicle from any other car company. I hope there's competition, though, since competition is good. But you're upset with build quality and service. I get it. There are problems. I expected problems. I'm glad there's a service center where we can get our problems fixed. But that's not good enough for you.

So when you posted about your horn, all upset, I come at from a different angle and I made a joke, and posted Louis CK.

We have different perspectives on Tesla (and perhaps life). That's all.
 
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#12
m2140 - in my opinion, your post is fair. As a consumer, we have expectations regarding products and the companies that provide them. I think the issues you describe would be reasonably frustrating for anyone, and I don't read anything into your post (or replies) that comes across as "Tesla bashing," pessimistic, or in any way unreasonable.

I, myself, am a relatively new Model S owner and I LOVE the machine (P100D with all the fixin's, delivered 12/30/16). I rave about it to anyone that asks. I'm pretty sure I've already sold two more machines for Tesla since receiving mine.

I also think it's fair to expect that, when you've spent enough on a "luxury sedan" to have bought two of most other "luxury sedans" on the road, what you get (both in build quality and service) lives up to those expectations. Imagine my surprise, then, when we climbed into the machine for the first time and said, "what's that sound?" Turns out that one of the interior speakers was not only NOT working, but it was producing a constant, audible "hum" very much like a bee hive. I tried to upload a short audio file here, without success (so y'all could see/hear for yourself), but believe me when I say there's no way this should have been mine to discover (even less so considering the "Premium Audio" package I paid extra for). There are only two possibilities: either the person or persons responsible for checking everything out prior to delivery were negligent, or the speaker's amp (what seems to have ultimately been the defective part) went bad sometime between their check and the machine's delivery. Either way, I think even the most ardent Tesla fanboy/girl would have to agree that this is, at the very least, "concerning."

Now, the attention and service I received from Tesla in response to this issue was AMAZINGLY GOOD. Absolutely top notch. I sent the video to my delivery specialist who responded promptly with an apology and assurance that they'd get it worked out. He got things in motion immediately. His praise of my local service team was justified - I found them to be absolutely stellar. It required more than one visit from a ranger to get the problem solved, but they stuck with it and kept me in the loop. Funnily enough, however, while the ranger was in my garage for his first visit I asked him to look at the windshield wipers. You see, I couldn't shake the feeling that one wiper was just too prominent in the field of view when driving (the left wiper, at rest, completely covered the windshield VIN). Sure enough, that wiper had been incorrectly set...but so too had the other wiper, which was way too far the other direction. He readjusted them both. Not a big deal at all - but still, I think it's "concerning."

After having the machine for about a week (and after already meeting the ranger twice and still looking forward to the definitive fix for the speaker issue), my oldest daughter and I were walking back to the machine as it sat, parked, and noticed that the front passenger side handle was in the "presented" position, stuck out. Thankfully, the door still worked and I figured out how to push the handle back in when it would get stuck out, which it regularly did until the ranger switched it out for a new handle, fixing the problem, at the same time he fixed the speaker issue by replacing its amp.

"Concerning." Right?

In my opinion, these kinds of things (and the running sort-of-joke about "Tesla timeframe," etc) should be very concerning to anyone, like me, who really wants to see Tesla succeed. Because right now Tesla is a young company with a niche product and no real competition. You can bet that'll change, though. Tesla caught the car companies off guard, but those companies are bigger, with more money and resources, and Tesla won't have this market all to themselves for long. Someone WILL cut into it and, when they do, they'll do it handily if their product competes and their customers don't experience similar "concerns."

As for our family, despite truly enjoying my machine, we are going to very carefully consider, when the time comes in the not too distant future, whether or not to replace my wife's aging SUV with an X or another S. Or perhaps something else that may be on the market.
 
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#13
you might have a bit of extra push with tesla if your horn failing as I (off top of my head) believe that at least in UK a functional horn is required for the car to be road legal.

You could emphasis that it is now a safety concern.
 
#15
davidc18 said:
Our cars have been in for more "issues" than all of the cars we have previously owned, combined and multiplied. It will be interesting to see what happens when there are competing vehicles from other manufacturers.
Click to expand...

I've only had my Model S for a little over 4 months and it too has already obtained the dubious distinction of having "more 'issues' than all of the cars we have previously owned, combined and multiplied."
 
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#18
saberjustin said:
m2140 - in my opinion, your post is fair. As a consumer, we have expectations regarding products and the companies that provide them. I think the issues you describe would be reasonably frustrating for anyone, and I don't read anything into your post (or replies) that comes across as "Tesla bashing," pessimistic, or in any way unreasonable.

I, myself, am a relatively new Model S owner and I LOVE the machine (P100D with all the fixin's, delivered 12/30/16). I rave about it to anyone that asks. I'm pretty sure I've already sold two more machines for Tesla since receiving mine.

I also think it's fair to expect that, when you've spent enough on a "luxury sedan" to have bought two of most other "luxury sedans" on the road, what you get (both in build quality and service) lives up to those expectations. Imagine my surprise, then, when we climbed into the machine for the first time and said, "what's that sound?" Turns out that one of the interior speakers was not only NOT working, but it was producing a constant, audible "hum" very much like a bee hive. I tried to upload a short audio file here, without success (so y'all could see/hear for yourself), but believe me when I say there's no way this should have been mine to discover (even less so considering the "Premium Audio" package I paid extra for). There are only two possibilities: either the person or persons responsible for checking everything out prior to delivery were negligent, or the speaker's amp (what seems to have ultimately been the defective part) went bad sometime between their check and the machine's delivery. Either way, I think even the most ardent Tesla fanboy/girl would have to agree that this is, at the very least, "concerning."

Now, the attention and service I received from Tesla in response to this issue was AMAZINGLY GOOD. Absolutely top notch. I sent the video to my delivery specialist who responded promptly with an apology and assurance that they'd get it worked out. He got things in motion immediately. His praise of my local service team was justified - I found them to be absolutely stellar. It required more than one visit from a ranger to get the problem solved, but they stuck with it and kept me in the loop. Funnily enough, however, while the ranger was in my garage for his first visit I asked him to look at the windshield wipers. You see, I couldn't shake the feeling that one wiper was just too prominent in the field of view when driving (the left wiper, at rest, completely covered the windshield VIN). Sure enough, that wiper had been incorrectly set...but so too had the other wiper, which was way too far the other direction. He readjusted them both. Not a big deal at all - but still, I think it's "concerning."

After having the machine for about a week (and after already meeting the ranger twice and still looking forward to the definitive fix for the speaker issue), my oldest daughter and I were walking back to the machine as it sat, parked, and noticed that the front passenger side handle was in the "presented" position, stuck out. Thankfully, the door still worked and I figured out how to push the handle back in when it would get stuck out, which it regularly did until the ranger switched it out for a new handle, fixing the problem, at the same time he fixed the speaker issue by replacing its amp.

"Concerning." Right?

In my opinion, these kinds of things (and the running sort-of-joke about "Tesla timeframe," etc) should be very concerning to anyone, like me, who really wants to see Tesla succeed. Because right now Tesla is a young company with a niche product and no real competition. You can bet that'll change, though. Tesla caught the car companies off guard, but those companies are bigger, with more money and resources, and Tesla won't have this market all to themselves for long. Someone WILL cut into it and, when they do, they'll do it handily if their product competes and their customers don't experience similar "concerns."

As for our family, despite truly enjoying my machine, we are going to very carefully consider, when the time comes in the not too distant future, whether or not to replace my wife's aging SUV with an X or another S. Or perhaps something else that may be on the market.
Click to expand...

Very well said. I too want Tesla to succeed and cant help but rave about my S to everyone I meet. But my recent experience has me worried about their future success with the Model 3. Making cars is just half of the pictures. Parts & service is also just as important. Tesla needs to focus on improving parts & service availability before the Model 3 Launch.
 
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