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Two broke down Tesla cars simultaneously-I feel like a fool for buying 2 Teslas

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Back in 2013 I purchased a P85+ Model S after being blown away on the test drive. I followed up by getting a Model X 90 in 2016 because although I had experienced some issues with the S Tesla was by far the best service experience I had ever had. It was shortly after the purchase of the X that things really started to go south. It became harder to get them to service the car in a timely manner, or to get a loaner, and they stopped offering to take the car to the service center (over 2 hours each way). Still, I stuck with them because I believed in what they were trying to do, and that Tesla would get the kinks worked out and make things right. 6 weeks ago I was backing down my driveway and heard a loud pop noise. I stopped, got out of the car and found part of my lower control arm lying under the car. I saved this part thankfully. Those of you who follow Tesla knows this has happened in some cases on almost new cars and there was no impact or other damage. Just apparently bad metallurgy. I called Tesla. They told me they would pick up the car and I should ride with them to get a loaner. Being a Friday I could not take 5 hours to ride there, get a car and ride back so they offered to put me into a rental from Enterprise locally which I appreciated. The rental agent told me it was approved for 30 days which he said was odd and asked if I had been in an accident (since it was a longer than normal authorization). I took the car, went home and saw my car had not been picked up. I called a few days later and was told there was some issue and that they had never serviced my X before, which I informed them was not correct/accurate. I then called back later in the week and was told it should be picked up soon. I went out of town. When I got back, the car was still in the driveway. I reached out again and was told they would check into it. I have been traveling a lot for work so this week I get a call from the service center. They told me I had been in the rental for longer than the 3 days they authorized and there would be a $2500 bill owed to enterprise. I explained they had still not picked up my car and while I appreciated them putting me in a rental, it was not the car I had paid my hard earned money for and I could not understand why it was STILL IN MY DRIVEWAY. I also told them the car had been authorized by them for the extended timeframe and I was not going to pay for the rental bill. I called Enterprise and found out they had contacted Tesla 5 different times over the last 2 weeks about the car but no one did anything about it until the day I was called about the bill. Then I called back to discuss this with Tesla and no one called me back either. The next morning my service center called and said my rental was going to be over that day and basically told me that I could be pretty sure I would not get a loaner in the future as they were a courtesy. It came across as very much a “we will punish you” type of statement. I asked them to explain why no one had picked up the car for over 5 weeks. They said that was a different department and they would have no comment about it. I was stunned.
So, I turn in the rental. I get a ride to my other place where I store the model S for when we are down there. The key fob wont’t work but I figure the battery on it is just dead. The app starts the car and I drive it back. That was yesterday. Today I used the app again and drove to get a battery for the fob at an auto parts store and went to work. I noticed yesterday the energy function would not update just stuck at 328. I also noticed my Nav was not working. I rebooted the main console and the IP. No improvement but I figured I would get to the bottom of it later. At lunch I try the fob. No luck. I try the app. It says it last connected about an hour after I got to work today and won’t connect. I can’t use the car. The backup fob (base of windshield) entry method does not work. I call Tesla. They say they can unlock the car for me and they can see the car on their network. They try, but the car won’t unlock. Over an hour on the phone and finally they say “ you have not updated your software in a while and sometimes we stop supporting old software”. I AM ON VERSION 9! It’s not like I am running around on 2014 software. In any case why would the lack of a software update that was current a few months ago render the car undriveable? So now, they can’t get in the car, can’t connect to the car, want me to pay a $300 tow bill to get it towed to their service center so that they can (presumably for a charge) somehow get into the car and update the software (which will kill my range by the way, and this will lead to me probably seeking legal relief since I need that range to make it to the beach house). Oh, and I STILL have a model X in the driveway at home with a broken lower control arm, for almost 2 months. Tesla has failed me and as much as I have sung their praises for years ( cars and coffee regular since 2013 showing enthusiasts features and helping to dispel the myths about going to an EV) I feel like they have lost the ability to service cars in a timely manner and operate in a manner that actually makes me think the no franchise model they have is flawed because there is no accountability. I should have sold them both when Jon McNeill messaged me that there would be a service center in my area before the model 3 was released that failed to materialize. I should have but I didn’t because I love the cars. But this is too much to deal with. When you have this much invested in a companies products they should understand there is a reasonable expectation of them taking care of their problems. This is why I still have 2 deposits for a model 3 and Y but that I will now be getting a refund on. I can’t trust this company any longer. I hope they get back on track but I don’t know if it’s possible. If you were thinking about getting a Tesla, please consider this a cautionary tale.
 
Man, that is terrible. The thing about Tesla customer service today is you can no longer assume they will get things done. You have to call them over and over or show up in person to try and get things that go sideways resolved. That is not acceptable for the market they are currently in (upscale cars).

It is going to catch up with them sooner rather than later as their customer satisfaction ratings go down.
 
Back in 2013 I purchased a P85+ Model S after being blown away on the test drive. I followed up by getting a Model X 90 in 2016 because although I had experienced some issues with the S Tesla was by far the best service experience I had ever had. It was shortly after the purchase of the X that things really started to go south. It became harder to get them to service the car in a timely manner, or to get a loaner, and they stopped offering to take the car to the service center (over 2 hours each way). Still, I stuck with them because I believed in what they were trying to do, and that Tesla would get the kinks worked out and make things right. 6 weeks ago I was backing down my driveway and heard a loud pop noise. I stopped, got out of the car and found part of my lower control arm lying under the car. I saved this part thankfully. Those of you who follow Tesla knows this has happened in some cases on almost new cars and there was no impact or other damage. Just apparently bad metallurgy. I called Tesla. They told me they would pick up the car and I should ride with them to get a loaner. Being a Friday I could not take 5 hours to ride there, get a car and ride back so they offered to put me into a rental from Enterprise locally which I appreciated. The rental agent told me it was approved for 30 days which he said was odd and asked if I had been in an accident (since it was a longer than normal authorization). I took the car, went home and saw my car had not been picked up. I called a few days later and was told there was some issue and that they had never serviced my X before, which I informed them was not correct/accurate. I then called back later in the week and was told it should be picked up soon. I went out of town. When I got back, the car was still in the driveway. I reached out again and was told they would check into it. I have been traveling a lot for work so this week I get a call from the service center. They told me I had been in the rental for longer than the 3 days they authorized and there would be a $2500 bill owed to enterprise. I explained they had still not picked up my car and while I appreciated them putting me in a rental, it was not the car I had paid my hard earned money for and I could not understand why it was STILL IN MY DRIVEWAY. I also told them the car had been authorized by them for the extended timeframe and I was not going to pay for the rental bill. I called Enterprise and found out they had contacted Tesla 5 different times over the last 2 weeks about the car but no one did anything about it until the day I was called about the bill. Then I called back to discuss this with Tesla and no one called me back either. The next morning my service center called and said my rental was going to be over that day and basically told me that I could be pretty sure I would not get a loaner in the future as they were a courtesy. It came across as very much a “we will punish you” type of statement. I asked them to explain why no one had picked up the car for over 5 weeks. They said that was a different department and they would have no comment about it. I was stunned.
So, I turn in the rental. I get a ride to my other place where I store the model S for when we are down there. The key fob wont’t work but I figure the battery on it is just dead. The app starts the car and I drive it back. That was yesterday. Today I used the app again and drove to get a battery for the fob at an auto parts store and went to work. I noticed yesterday the energy function would not update just stuck at 328. I also noticed my Nav was not working. I rebooted the main console and the IP. No improvement but I figured I would get to the bottom of it later. At lunch I try the fob. No luck. I try the app. It says it last connected about an hour after I got to work today and won’t connect. I can’t use the car. The backup fob (base of windshield) entry method does not work. I call Tesla. They say they can unlock the car for me and they can see the car on their network. They try, but the car won’t unlock. Over an hour on the phone and finally they say “ you have not updated your software in a while and sometimes we stop supporting old software”. I AM ON VERSION 9! It’s not like I am running around on 2014 software. In any case why would the lack of a software update that was current a few months ago render the car undriveable? So now, they can’t get in the car, can’t connect to the car, want me to pay a $300 tow bill to get it towed to their service center so that they can (presumably for a charge) somehow get into the car and update the software (which will kill my range by the way, and this will lead to me probably seeking legal relief since I need that range to make it to the beach house). Oh, and I STILL have a model X in the driveway at home with a broken lower control arm, for almost 2 months. Tesla has failed me and as much as I have sung their praises for years ( cars and coffee regular since 2013 showing enthusiasts features and helping to dispel the myths about going to an EV) I feel like they have lost the ability to service cars in a timely manner and operate in a manner that actually makes me think the no franchise model they have is flawed because there is no accountability. I should have sold them both when Jon McNeill messaged me that there would be a service center in my area before the model 3 was released that failed to materialize. I should have but I didn’t because I love the cars. But this is too much to deal with. When you have this much invested in a companies products they should understand there is a reasonable expectation of them taking care of their problems. This is why I still have 2 deposits for a model 3 and Y but that I will now be getting a refund on. I can’t trust this company any longer. I hope they get back on track but I don’t know if it’s possible. If you were thinking about getting a Tesla, please consider this a cautionary tale.

First, please remember grade school--that's where they mentioned "paragraphs" and how to create them.

Second, your service experience is grossly Unsat. Be creative: send a photo of your broken down Model X to Elon via Twitter or directly to every tesla.com email address you have. Subject: "It's been broken like this, in my driveway, for ___ weeks! Why is Tesla Service so broken?"

You shouldn't have to do this, but Tesla Service is being run by a rocket scientist who is preoccupied with rockets . . . and it shows.
 
Man, that is terrible. The thing about Tesla customer service today is you can no longer assume they will get things done. You have to call them over and over or show up in person to try and get things that go sideways resolved. That is not acceptable for the market they are currently in (upscale cars).

It is going to catch up with them sooner rather than later as their customer satisfaction ratings go down.
I agree. This sort of thing wouldn’t fly at Kia, much less at Lexus, etc and Tesla is heading in the wrong direction with regards to how they handle the aftersales experience. I was a service manager at a Acura franchise and later at a BMW one and the things Tesla is doing would get you into serious trouble with corporate reps. It’s sad because I still love the product but it requires their service to come through and I don’t see how they will get repeat customers in the long run with these amateur-like decisions. It’s a well-known adage that the sales department sells the first car to a customer, but the service department sells everyone after that one to them. Tesla needs to learn this.
 
First, please remember grade school--that's where they mentioned "paragraphs" and how to create them.

Second, your service experience is grossly Unsat. Be creative: send a photo of your broken down Model X to Elon via Twitter or directly to every tesla.com email address you have. Subject: "It's been broken like this, in my driveway, for ___ weeks! Why is Tesla Service so broken?"

You shouldn't have to do this, but Tesla Service is being run by a rocket scientist who is preoccupied with rockets . . . and it shows.
Yeah, I went on a rant. Sorry. It’s a byproduct of my frustration
 
The same thing happened to us except we have only one 2013 S. Could not unlatch the charging cable and in 2013 and earlier cars, there is no manual disconnect if the locking mechanism jams. Called and was put in contact with the mobile service which “ordered the needed part”. Long story short, three weeks later, the car is still hooked to the charging cable!!

paragraph ;-))

I then call again my service centre which tells me they are not the ones in charge of the mobile team. They can’t believe my problem has not yet been solved (had talked to them at the outset). I ask to be transferred to the mobile team and I leave them a message. Half an hour later, this young clown calls me and basically tells me I should not have bought a Tesla living so far from a service centre (city people think anything outside the city is too far) and that I should be happy to have had an Enterprise rental, that they had to order to the supplier the part (a charge port) and are still waiting for it. I tell him why don’t you look for one in a service centre and he says they are a different entity and do not exchange parts. I tell him this is nonsense as they have this huge Enterprise bill that is growing by the day and he says I know nothing about running a company. I tell him I do know a little about that and he says I know nothing about a big company like Tesla. Then he adds I’m wasting his time at which point I blow off and tell him I will end the conversation at this point as I’m about to get very nasty. Then half an hour later someone else calls me and schedules the appointment for the next business day!

Since then I have not been able to find my pink glasses anywhere on our property. Tesla has many, many super employees (and a few bad ones) but the main problem is there is no skeleton: they are like chickens that just got their heads cut off.

We too have cooled about the whole thing and do not do EV shows anymore and are now realistic when people ask us about electrification.
 
Back in 2013 I purchased a P85+ Model S after being blown away on the test drive. I followed up by getting a Model X 90 in 2016 because although I had experienced some issues with the S Tesla was by far the best service experience I had ever had. It was shortly after the purchase of the X that things really started to go south. It became harder to get them to service the car in a timely manner, or to get a loaner, and they stopped offering to take the car to the service center (over 2 hours each way). Still, I stuck with them because I believed in what they were trying to do, and that Tesla would get the kinks worked out and make things right. 6 weeks ago I was backing down my driveway and heard a loud pop noise. I stopped, got out of the car and found part of my lower control arm lying under the car. I saved this part thankfully. Those of you who follow Tesla knows this has happened in some cases on almost new cars and there was no impact or other damage. Just apparently bad metallurgy. I called Tesla. They told me they would pick up the car and I should ride with them to get a loaner. Being a Friday I could not take 5 hours to ride there, get a car and ride back so they offered to put me into a rental from Enterprise locally which I appreciated. The rental agent told me it was approved for 30 days which he said was odd and asked if I had been in an accident (since it was a longer than normal authorization). I took the car, went home and saw my car had not been picked up. I called a few days later and was told there was some issue and that they had never serviced my X before, which I informed them was not correct/accurate. I then called back later in the week and was told it should be picked up soon. I went out of town. When I got back, the car was still in the driveway. I reached out again and was told they would check into it. I have been traveling a lot for work so this week I get a call from the service center. They told me I had been in the rental for longer than the 3 days they authorized and there would be a $2500 bill owed to enterprise. I explained they had still not picked up my car and while I appreciated them putting me in a rental, it was not the car I had paid my hard earned money for and I could not understand why it was STILL IN MY DRIVEWAY. I also told them the car had been authorized by them for the extended timeframe and I was not going to pay for the rental bill. I called Enterprise and found out they had contacted Tesla 5 different times over the last 2 weeks about the car but no one did anything about it until the day I was called about the bill. Then I called back to discuss this with Tesla and no one called me back either. The next morning my service center called and said my rental was going to be over that day and basically told me that I could be pretty sure I would not get a loaner in the future as they were a courtesy. It came across as very much a “we will punish you” type of statement. I asked them to explain why no one had picked up the car for over 5 weeks. They said that was a different department and they would have no comment about it. I was stunned.
So, I turn in the rental. I get a ride to my other place where I store the model S for when we are down there. The key fob wont’t work but I figure the battery on it is just dead. The app starts the car and I drive it back. That was yesterday. Today I used the app again and drove to get a battery for the fob at an auto parts store and went to work. I noticed yesterday the energy function would not update just stuck at 328. I also noticed my Nav was not working. I rebooted the main console and the IP. No improvement but I figured I would get to the bottom of it later. At lunch I try the fob. No luck. I try the app. It says it last connected about an hour after I got to work today and won’t connect. I can’t use the car. The backup fob (base of windshield) entry method does not work. I call Tesla. They say they can unlock the car for me and they can see the car on their network. They try, but the car won’t unlock. Over an hour on the phone and finally they say “ you have not updated your software in a while and sometimes we stop supporting old software”. I AM ON VERSION 9! It’s not like I am running around on 2014 software. In any case why would the lack of a software update that was current a few months ago render the car undriveable? So now, they can’t get in the car, can’t connect to the car, want me to pay a $300 tow bill to get it towed to their service center so that they can (presumably for a charge) somehow get into the car and update the software (which will kill my range by the way, and this will lead to me probably seeking legal relief since I need that range to make it to the beach house). Oh, and I STILL have a model X in the driveway at home with a broken lower control arm, for almost 2 months. Tesla has failed me and as much as I have sung their praises for years ( cars and coffee regular since 2013 showing enthusiasts features and helping to dispel the myths about going to an EV) I feel like they have lost the ability to service cars in a timely manner and operate in a manner that actually makes me think the no franchise model they have is flawed because there is no accountability. I should have sold them both when Jon McNeill messaged me that there would be a service center in my area before the model 3 was released that failed to materialize. I should have but I didn’t because I love the cars. But this is too much to deal with. When you have this much invested in a companies products they should understand there is a reasonable expectation of them taking care of their problems. This is why I still have 2 deposits for a model 3 and Y but that I will now be getting a refund on. I can’t trust this company any longer. I hope they get back on track but I don’t know if it’s possible. If you were thinking about getting a Tesla, please consider this a cautionary tale.


My LEXUS dealer welcomes me with graciousness.
I have a new clean loaner car at my want.

The hostess at the cafe bar offers me mochas and espressos...along with a wide assortment of nibbles.
The two story waterfall is soothing as I relax in the expansive second story customer lounge...

Want home service? No Problem.
A flatbed tow truck comes to my place with a clean loaner car....takes my car to the dealer...
returns my car....ahhhhh

Concierge service? awesome...
I enjoy special deals and events...lunch at Post Ranch - one of the 100 FINEST Hotels in World -
On the house...

I feel appreciated and valued.

I wouldn't put up with the crap I read about here at a Denny's...
But at a Michelin star establishment?
You must be kidding.
Spending over $100k for a car and being treated like dog dirt...
This religious fervor needs an intervention
 
Back in 2013 I purchased a P85+ Model S after being blown away on the test drive. I followed up by getting a Model X 90 in 2016 because although I had experienced some issues with the S Tesla was by far the best service experience I had ever had. It was shortly after the purchase of the X that things really started to go south. It became harder to get them to service the car in a timely manner, or to get a loaner, and they stopped offering to take the car to the service center (over 2 hours each way). Still, I stuck with them because I believed in what they were trying to do, and that Tesla would get the kinks worked out and make things right. 6 weeks ago I was backing down my driveway and heard a loud pop noise. I stopped, got out of the car and found part of my lower control arm lying under the car. I saved this part thankfully. Those of you who follow Tesla knows this has happened in some cases on almost new cars and there was no impact or other damage. Just apparently bad metallurgy. I called Tesla. They told me they would pick up the car and I should ride with them to get a loaner. Being a Friday I could not take 5 hours to ride there, get a car and ride back so they offered to put me into a rental from Enterprise locally which I appreciated. The rental agent told me it was approved for 30 days which he said was odd and asked if I had been in an accident (since it was a longer than normal authorization). I took the car, went home and saw my car had not been picked up. I called a few days later and was told there was some issue and that they had never serviced my X before, which I informed them was not correct/accurate. I then called back later in the week and was told it should be picked up soon. I went out of town. When I got back, the car was still in the driveway. I reached out again and was told they would check into it. I have been traveling a lot for work so this week I get a call from the service center. They told me I had been in the rental for longer than the 3 days they authorized and there would be a $2500 bill owed to enterprise. I explained they had still not picked up my car and while I appreciated them putting me in a rental, it was not the car I had paid my hard earned money for and I could not understand why it was STILL IN MY DRIVEWAY. I also told them the car had been authorized by them for the extended timeframe and I was not going to pay for the rental bill. I called Enterprise and found out they had contacted Tesla 5 different times over the last 2 weeks about the car but no one did anything about it until the day I was called about the bill. Then I called back to discuss this with Tesla and no one called me back either. The next morning my service center called and said my rental was going to be over that day and basically told me that I could be pretty sure I would not get a loaner in the future as they were a courtesy. It came across as very much a “we will punish you” type of statement. I asked them to explain why no one had picked up the car for over 5 weeks. They said that was a different department and they would have no comment about it. I was stunned.
So, I turn in the rental. I get a ride to my other place where I store the model S for when we are down there. The key fob wont’t work but I figure the battery on it is just dead. The app starts the car and I drive it back. That was yesterday. Today I used the app again and drove to get a battery for the fob at an auto parts store and went to work. I noticed yesterday the energy function would not update just stuck at 328. I also noticed my Nav was not working. I rebooted the main console and the IP. No improvement but I figured I would get to the bottom of it later. At lunch I try the fob. No luck. I try the app. It says it last connected about an hour after I got to work today and won’t connect. I can’t use the car. The backup fob (base of windshield) entry method does not work. I call Tesla. They say they can unlock the car for me and they can see the car on their network. They try, but the car won’t unlock. Over an hour on the phone and finally they say “ you have not updated your software in a while and sometimes we stop supporting old software”. I AM ON VERSION 9! It’s not like I am running around on 2014 software. In any case why would the lack of a software update that was current a few months ago render the car undriveable? So now, they can’t get in the car, can’t connect to the car, want me to pay a $300 tow bill to get it towed to their service center so that they can (presumably for a charge) somehow get into the car and update the software (which will kill my range by the way, and this will lead to me probably seeking legal relief since I need that range to make it to the beach house). Oh, and I STILL have a model X in the driveway at home with a broken lower control arm, for almost 2 months. Tesla has failed me and as much as I have sung their praises for years ( cars and coffee regular since 2013 showing enthusiasts features and helping to dispel the myths about going to an EV) I feel like they have lost the ability to service cars in a timely manner and operate in a manner that actually makes me think the no franchise model they have is flawed because there is no accountability. I should have sold them both when Jon McNeill messaged me that there would be a service center in my area before the model 3 was released that failed to materialize. I should have but I didn’t because I love the cars. But this is too much to deal with. When you have this much invested in a companies products they should understand there is a reasonable expectation of them taking care of their problems. This is why I still have 2 deposits for a model 3 and Y but that I will now be getting a refund on. I can’t trust this company any longer. I hope they get back on track but I don’t know if it’s possible. If you were thinking about getting a Tesla, please consider this a cautionary tale.



But your chest swells with PRIDE as you SAVE the planet!
You - yes YOU - are doing just that!
 
My LEXUS dealer welcomes me with graciousness.
I have a new clean loaner car at my want.

The hostess at the cafe bar offers me mochas and espressos...along with a wide assortment of nibbles.
The two story waterfall is soothing as I relax in the expansive second story customer lounge...

Want home service? No Problem.
A flatbed tow truck comes to my place with a clean loaner car....takes my car to the dealer...
returns my car....ahhhhh

Concierge service? awesome...
I enjoy special deals and events...lunch at Post Ranch - one of the 100 FINEST Hotels in World -
On the house...

I feel appreciated and valued.

I wouldn't put up with the crap I read about here at a Denny's...
But at a Michelin star establishment?
You must be kidding.
Spending over $100k for a car and being treated like dog dirt...
This religious fervor needs an intervention

damn, they give you on the house lunch at post ranch inn?!
 
Very sad to hear this.
An organization that gave you great service in the past has been scaled (or not) to the point of a total embarrassment failure.
Building the cars is not enough. Selling the cars is not enough. It's the service experience that sells the next ones.
Or doesn't.
Robin
 
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