What should I expect from the Tesla Service Center?

[super20g]

I'd be very hesitant to called it normal. I believe its been reported fairly heavily, but I want it to be officially a part of my SC request to add to their data in terms of how often its happening. That, and I don't think its really acceptable for it to thump like that. Tesla may not have a solution in place yet, but I think they should ultimately provide a fix once its developed. This would be no different than other auto makers releasing service bulletins and even 'customer satisfaction programs' (the step before recalls) to fix an issue like this.

Ultimately, my concern would be that it could loosen or damage components over time, ontop of the 'fit and finish' nuisance that it is otherwise. And even though its happening on a lot of 3's, that doesn't constitutive normal, rather a widespread issue.

I agree. If it was very 'normal' wouldn't it be documented in an announcement, the manual, etc? It is an odd characteristic to make a loud bang you can feel through your shoes while you are driving down the road... The TSB made no noticeable change for me. First they told me it had already been applied. Then they told me it had not been applied but probably wouldn't help. My early LR AWD did not ever make this noise... Just the SR. I asked the tech if the S, X do, he said no.

 

[SheriffMoose]

So! I had my SC appointment on Monday and I'm happy to report that the Virginia Beach SC was very professional and helpful! They provided me with a Model S loaner which was much nicer than Uber credits. The manager of the SC greeted me and took the car out with me to attempt to replicate the rattles I'd been hearing. We couldn't get the one forward of the steering wheel to come up, but they took note of all my other issues and went to work with it.

They performed the service same day and the car was ready to pickup that afternoon. They gave me the option to leave the car out front, or keep it in the shop until the following morning.

Unfortunately, they didn't get everything right on the first try. Specifically, they said they adjusted the steering column seal, but the squeaking at low speeds on my steering wheel is as bad or maybe even slightly worse than when I took it in. That, and they weren't able to replicate the rattle forward of the steering wheel, so that wasn't fixed.

However, the SC manager sent me a follow-up email after I picked up the car and wanted to know if I wasn't completely satisfied. I told him what wasn't fixed, and he was quick to apologize and asked for another go at it.

All in all, it sounds like I got the positive side of the coin with our local SC. Even though its annoying to take the car back to have something fixed that was supposed to have been fixed on the first visit, I give it a pass based on how courteous the manager and service rep was through the whole process.

Also, they said they did a general inspection of the car and noticed the rear driver side door glass was very close to the quarter glass, so they adjusted the door glass to prevent an issue from coming up - a nice attention to detail on that one.

 

[SheriffMoose]

I agree. If it was very 'normal' wouldn't it be documented in an announcement, the manual, etc? It is an odd characteristic to make a loud bang you can feel through your shoes while you are driving down the road... The TSB made no noticeable change for me. First they told me it had already been applied. Then they told me it had not been applied but probably wouldn't help. My early LR AWD did not ever make this noise... Just the SR. I asked the tech if the S, X do, he said no.

Yep - that's my thoughts exactly. The SC installed the updated breathers on my SR+, so I'll have to try and take it to a supercharger sometime soon to see if its still thumping. I'm not overly concerned, but none the less its something that should get resolved.

 

[SheriffMoose]

Sorry but Volvo, Subaru and Toyota have always been very responsive to me, calling Tesla lacking is an understatement and no where near “par for the course”. Volvo has even taken care of issues after the warranty was over without me even asking them to cover the cost or assist, stating it’s just the right thing to do. I will seriously consider the Polestar once it’s up to the level of a Tesla since I am always worried about what will happen if I have a problem with my Tesla.

I suppose ultimately everyone's mileage will vary. I had some decent experiences with the local BMW dealer, and one decent experience with Ford, and one bad experience where they tried to over-replace parts on my Explorer (steering wheel column motors needed to be replaced, so they wanted to bill me for the entire steering wheel column, which upped the cost about $1K).

I'm glad to hear you've had positive experiences with Volvo. I haven't had any experience with them, though I do like their offering of wagons, so in general I want them to succeed. That said, I have sadly heard their latest generation of vehicles has had less than average reliability. =/

 

[needp3d-]

I have a due bill service this coming Sat. Found bad scratches under my front bumper and a hole with bad touch up paint on my front bumper. My service center said they will install a new bumper. I will keep you updated. I also need to drive 50 mins to get there. not sure if they can get me a loaner.

 

[pscarroll]

If you goto your local Tesla Service Center expect friendly and helpful people that will bend over backwards to help you. They are awesome at the Pittsburgh PA service center! If you use their online service, expect various levels of service from helpful (road side assistance for when we were stranded in a snowstorm was beyond helpful [seriously, Tesla was awesome], online assistance for vehicle minor issues was irritating and dismissive, contacting a service center while traveling was hit or miss depending on the area). Overall Tesla service is great, though given that I was running out my warranty (now out of warranty with my Tesla Model 3 due to mileage, 57k+ miles so far in a Tesla Model 3 Performance) they are kinda cold responding to any issues. Still waiting for my "free" FSD computer upgrade (well paid for it at delivery so not free), we'll see how that goes. Still the best vehicle I've ever owned!