Waiting a long time for part & resolution. What should I do?

[m2140]

I'm having 2 issues that are just taking way too long to get repaired and want to get the forums advise on what are my options to proceed.

I live in Souther California & Use the Palm Springs service center that is about 1.5hr away from my home.
2015 Model S 85D with Dual Chargers.


Issue 1 - Loose Seat Frame requiring new seats

Problem - Originally came in for broken armrest & noise from the seat near the seat belt buckle. Turned out to be a loose frame allowing the seat to move too much and new front seats were ordered.
- Originally found on 16 Nov
- In for service on 29 Nov
- Seats requested on 29 Nov.

We are at 91/2 weeks today and we still don't have an ETA on when the new seats will come in.
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Issue 2 - Wont charge to 100%

Problem - As the weather turned the car started have problems charging to 100%. Charging completed at anywhere between 96-99%. Attempted charging on my home Tesla Wall charger at 80 Amps & at my local supercharger and still getting mixed results, all under 99%. A symptom is also that charging is slow for the top 5%, taking 45min to an hour for the top 5%.
- Originally found 26 Dec
- In for Service 10 Jan

The service center confirmed the issue and did the following:
- Found a bad 12v battery & replaced it
- Recalibrate the Chargers (3 discharge cycles required)

They asked that i discharge the battery because Tesla does not have a discharge procedure. I was reluctant because of how long it takes to get back into service but agreed and within 3 days I completed the discharge cycles requested & still have the issue.

The service center tells me they have opened a case with engineering and currently pending review and approval for a new battery.
​

Now I cant get back into service. I call in once a week to get an update and I keep requesting to bring my car in. My though is that if the car is in the service center it cant be ignored. But the service center just tells me they cant "Store" my car and i need to wait for parts & wait for approval on the battery.

I'm really frustrated. To me it fells like Tesla does not want the car back to avoid lemon laws.

But 9 week wait for parts is completely unreasonable.
Waiting 3 weeks after a confirmed problem with no additional guidance on charging is also unreasonable. I've tried to find a Customer Service number that I can call but I always get routed back to service. Those guys at service are great and really cant do much.

What should I do here? How can I get my car fixed sooner? Is it time to apply for Lemon Law protection? what are my options?

 

[Andyw2100]

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Issue 2 - Wont charge to 100%

The service center confirmed the issue and did the following:
- Found a bad 12v battery & replaced it
- Recalibrate the Chargers (3 discharge cycles required)​

Perhaps someone else will weigh in, but I don't see how a bad 12V battery would impact your not being able to charge the main traction pack to 100%.​

 

[m2140]

Perhaps someone else will weigh in, but I don't see how a bad 12V battery would impact your not being able to charge the main traction pack to 100%.​

I also don't think the 12v was related. I did not even know it was replaced till after i got home and read thru the service paperwork.

 

[Nosken]

Regarding issue 1. I had the same issue with my seats, and my philosophy was, I don't mind waiting longer to get brand-new seat bottoms. I know the rocking can be a bit disconcerting, but they do a good job replacing it. My driver side seat came in a few weeks before the passenger seat, so I waited until they confirmed both seats were in, and available.

 

[m2140]

Regarding issue 1. I had the same issue with my seats, and my philosophy was, I don't mind waiting longer to get brand-new seat bottoms. I know the rocking can be a bit disconcerting, but they do a good job replacing it. My driver side seat came in a few weeks before the passenger seat, so I waited until they confirmed both seats were in, and available.

How long did you wait?

 

[Nosken]

I think it took around 30-45 days to get the seats, but I kept putting it off, so my "New" seats would be fresher. Driver's side seat came first, followed a couple weeks later with the passenger seat bottom. Mine was only seat bottoms, not the entire seat.
Mine are Next Gen (NG) seats.

 

[Tupelo]

I have a July '14 S85 that needed a new driver's seat early last year due to a faulty seat cushion sensor (the car wouldn't shut down after getting out because the seat believed someone was still in it.) It took 4 1/2 months to get the seat. My patience was long exhausted by the time the new seat got installed.

 

[m2140]

I have a July '14 S85 that needed a new driver's seat early last year due to a faulty seat cushion sensor (the car wouldn't shut down after getting out because the seat believed someone was still in it.) It took 4 1/2 months to get the seat. My patience was long exhausted by the time the new seat got installed.

4 1/2 months!!!! That is ridiculous for seats. I'm just over 2 months now and getting annoyed.

 

[jeffro01]

Welcome to the Tesla black hole of parts availability... I can assure you it's not intentional but Tesla is still learning how to build new cars while sourcing enough parts to maintain the existing ones... Not making excuses as things should be better by now but supply chain management isn't easy sometimes...

Jeff

 

[hockeythug]

This is indeed ridiculous. For the first time in a while I am questioning the company and my Model 3 reservation.

 

[Cricket88]

Same here. Brand new MS delivered 12/22, in service on Tuesday 1/31 for rocking drivers seat and alignment. As of today they haven't looked at my car. Service advisor said there's 30 cars in queve before mine... my concern is this: why even bother confirming my appointment for 1/31? Would have gladly waited two more weeks before dropping car off for an alignment and for them to tell me they need to order the seat bottom had I known the car would just sit there at the service center...

 

[Gizmotoy]

4 1/2 months!!!! That is ridiculous for seats. I'm just over 2 months now and getting annoyed.

I waited nearly 3 months for my driver's seat replacement. Getting a new seat is indeed a very slow process.

why even bother confirming my appointment for 1/31? Would have gladly waited two more weeks before dropping car off for an alignment and for them to tell me they need to order the seat bottom had I known the car would just sit there at the service center...

I tried to explain the same thing to them. I truly don't understand the justification. It's a drag on the loaner system, and it's likely costing them real money to Enterprise.

I had annual service plus a bunch of issues and they told me it'd be a couple weeks and gave me a loaner. It sat for something like 9 days untouched, then got worked on over Easter Sunday and the following Monday and was done. I had a loaner for 11 days on a service that took 2 days. It makes no sense.

 

[m2140]

Welcome to the Tesla black hole of parts availability... I can assure you it's not intentional but Tesla is still learning how to build new cars while sourcing enough parts to maintain the existing ones... Not making excuses as things should be better by now but supply chain management isn't easy sometimes...

Jeff

Tesla has been making cars now for 7 years. How is this still a problem?

 

[m2140]

Same here. Brand new MS delivered 12/22, in service on Tuesday 1/31 for rocking drivers seat and alignment. As of today they haven't looked at my car. Service advisor said there's 30 cars in queve before mine... my concern is this: why even bother confirming my appointment for 1/31? Would have gladly waited two more weeks before dropping car off for an alignment and for them to tell me they need to order the seat bottom had I known the car would just sit there at the service center...

I go to the Palm Springs service center for this same reason. Last time I used Buena Park, the car sat for a week without anyone touching it.

Tesla has a real service problem on their hands. They have doubled the amount of Tesla on the road in the last year and only opened less than a hand full of service centers. I'm seriously starting to fall out of love with the car just because of the issues at service. It seems like I cant go more than 2 months before something new pops up and I have to deal with the service center nightmare all over again. Long delays to get int, once in it's sits, then I get a car that is not fixed waiting on parts.

 

[jeffro01]

Tesla has been making cars now for 7 years. How is this still a problem?

I wish I had a good answer for you on that one... I really do... Alas, I do not... I do know quite a bit about supply chain issues so perhaps that's the root cause, but I don't know for sure...

Again, not defending Tesla here... The process should be much better, consistent, and timely than it is...

Jeff

 

[Cricket88]

On that same note, I find it a little irritating that Tesla does not have a "parts dept" or a dedicated parts person. Whenever I ask about price/availability of a part or accessory, it immediately feels like I'm dealing with Vito, out in the alley and purchasing from the trunk of someone's car. When I bought TPMS sensors, some guy literally came out from the back with 4 loose sensors and put them in my hands... definitely not a typical experience

 

[Nietschy]

How in hell is your battery broken when charging slow tha last 5%?
Thats just normal what everyone should know already.
If yor car shows 100% for 200y of driving or just the 99% from the beginning makes no difference either.

Just find out if you can get the amount of energy out of it what it should have. F.e. 76kW/h with a 85kW/h pack.

 

[m2140]

How in hell is your battery broken when charging slow tha last 5%?
Thats just normal what everyone should know already.
If yor car shows 100% for 200y of driving or just the 99% from the beginning makes no difference either.

Just find out if you can get the amount of energy out of it what it should have. F.e. 76kW/h with a 85kW/h pack.

The charge at the top is slower than normal. I know charging is slow at the top.

Yesterday I attempted a charge to 100% again, this time with my local supercharger. I started at 27% and the charge to 80% took 20 minutes. From 80% to 100% it normally takes 30-45 min max for me (85kw battery). I was not sharing a charge with anyone, in fact there was only 1 other car at the SC. It took 1hr 27min to get the last 10%.
what should have been a 1:10 min stop, took 1:50 minutes to complete.

From talking to the guys at the service center, there is a problem with the voltage readings form the battery. Possibly pointing to bad cells or early deterioration of the battery. So far they have not offered any other options as a potential cause. I've tried to get the car back into service so they can at least look, but they wont let me schedule an appointment until they hear back on the battery replacement request.

 

[Nietschy]

ok thanks. but my question remains: why charge to 100 at a sc in the first place? if you just want to go from a to b, you probably don't need 100%. so you are just trying to find out if something is wrong with your battery. this you can find out by yourself if you measure the amount of energy you can get out of it by driving it empty from 90% to 0% and add another 7,6kW/h to this number.

id you like, I can measure my 90 to 100 time tomorrow on my S85. just for fun. I would guess it will be the same time you get.

 

[m2140]

ok thanks. but my question remains: why charge to 100 at a sc in the first place? if you just want to go from a to b, you probably don't need 100%. so you are just trying to find out if something is wrong with your battery. this you can find out by yourself if you measure the amount of energy you can get out of it by driving it empty from 90% to 0% and add another 7,6kW/h to this number.

id you like, I can measure my 90 to 100 time tomorrow on my S85. just for fun. I would guess it will be the same time you get.

The only reason I attempted a 100% charge at the SC was because the Service center wanted to make sure I used more than just my home charger (confirm is was not a problem with my charger) Using the Supercharger also bypasses the onboard chargers and helps rule them out as the cause too.

But I agree, On a typical around town trip, a 100% charge is not required. But there are situations where it can be required, specially in the winter when battery drain is higher.
I've taken my S all over the place and my in-laws for example live 90 miles from the nearest supercharger in New Mexico. There are no charging station in town or on the way. Most houses are so old they don't have grounded plugs so the mobile cable wont work. Getting 100% charge for safety is required every time we visit them. i cannot imagine having to kill 2 hrs just before getting to their house just to make sure we can make it back.
I built myself a 30 amp cable / adapter to use their dryer vent on our last visit to avoid the wait.