Whats the most miles anyone has driven without having to take it in for service?

[S4WRXTTCS]

Most tech failures happen fairly early.

All it takes is one crimp to be bad to create an intermittent connection. You add in all the vibration during driving, and stuff starts to fail.

It's made worse with Tesla because as far as I can tell they barely test the cars before shipping them. Sure they test various things at the component level, but hardly anything when everything is put together on the road.

There are so few miles on my new Model 3 that I feel like a test driver.

Plus it has a rattle that CLEARLY would have been caught if test driven for more than two miles.

Personally I think Tesla should use autopilot to do some kind of stress/reliability testing for 20-30 miles before shipping them out.

Right now it's clear as day that Tesla in is a ship first, and fix it later mode.

There was a body alignment issue on my car involving the front bumper that was painfully obvious. No one who spent more than a few minutes detailing the car would fail to notice it. The delivery service guy said they had a specification for alignment, but didn't tell me what it was. He went to go find out, and come back with the piece of paper that was the due bill for what they owed me. I wanted to know what the spec was to see if it was a failure in QC in checking it, or if the spec was so much greater than a normal persons visual distraction amount.

It very nearly cost them a sale. It should have, but I opted to go the repair it later route. In the moment I was really bummed by personal failures so I was in a more forgiving mode than normal. Of course I might have just added to the personal failures list by doing so. Ugh.

 

[b.noing]

6,495 miles since January delivery and a total of 45min. at service center to replace rearview mirror that only deployed 85% of the time.

I know that Tesla has produced some lemons but I have only driven Teslas (two S and one 3) over the last 6 years and they have been the most maintenance free vehicles that I have owned. In the early years the service center efficiency was otherworldly. Now they are just better than the others.

 

[NickFie]

Model S. Inventory/Demo delivered Nov 2017 with 1,100 miles.

Within first month, hit the curb while avoiding a turning car. Flatbed truck to Service Center to replace two tires and one wheel.

Revisit SC several weeks later because one lug nut came off - apparently not torqued to spec during wheel/tire change. Could have been dangerous.

Requested, via Tesla website, that "Demo" mode limiter be disabled. Resolved remotely a week or two later with apologies for delay. Hat-tip to TMC site for alerting me to the potential problem. This was apparently overlooked during delivery preparation.

Requested, via Tesla website, that our S100D be "unlocked" for mid-2017 performance improvements. Prompt response that the car was already unlocked. Another Hat-tip to TMC.

August 2018 - 10,000 mile/one year service at about 11,000 miles. Only issue was alignment. Now approaching 13,000 miles with no issues.

Summary - Defects or problems so far:

- 0 manufacturing / part defects.
- 1 driver error. Hit curb.
- 2 service. Lost lug nut; car delivered in Demo mode.

 

[chronopc]

I'm almost at 4,000 miles and I've had 3 SC appointments. However, they were all for cosmetic reasons. Missing clips, tail light misalignment and paint smudge.

 

[Az_Rael]

My 3 has been to the SC 3 times in 13k miles and 1 mobile ranger visit. Pretty standard based on my experience with my previous S, and our current S.

My experience with Teslas (Model S and 3) is you always have a list of things you need to have looked at at your next SC visit. My current list for my 3 is relatively short since it was at the SC a few weeks ago, but already the AC vents are smelling again. So it will have to go back. The current list on the S includes a misaligned steering wheel after the last SC visit (they worked on the steering), and a broken door handle.

I always tell people Teslas are the most unreliable cars I have owned that I still love and would buy again.

 

[xkwizit]

I've got over 13k miles and have not taken in for service. Is the service interval different on the Model 3? Owner's manual only says to rotate tires every 6250 miles and:

Brake fluid. Every 2 years or 25,000 miles (40,000 km), whichever comes first.
Battery coolant. Every 4 years or 50,000 miles (80,000 km), whichever comes first.

My Model X has a different schedule:

Take Model X to Tesla at the regularly scheduled maintenance intervals of every 12 months, or every 12,500 miles (20,000 km), whichever comes first.

@roverman - why do you say take the X every year for service? Why is that different from S or 3?

 

[FreeOfPge]

11,623 miles since 1/8/18, no service.

 

[Sarre9]

2,696 miles sine 6/29/18. LR Model 3 with 19” wheels.
Only service was to re-glue right steering wheel stalk cover.

 

[halfricanguy]

11,623 miles since 1/8/18, no service.

Just curious, have you had your tires rotated? I’m going on 11k and have not even thought to check the wear.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

I always tell people Teslas are the most unreliable cars I have owned that I still love and would buy again.

Ain't that the truth.

It's funny how much of a contradiction a Tesla is.

It's the only car brand I serious considered this time around, but it's ranked dead last in reliability according to one of the latest studies
It's the most sustainable, but least sustainable car on the road
It's the quickest car on the road, but it's not fast (above 100)
The CEO smoked pot on a video blog, but he didn't inhale
The Nav gives me crazy routes, but I love the Nav.
The Service should be cheap, but it's kinda pricey
AP will make the insurance cheap, but it's not cheap yet.

With my Model S I concluded it was the best car I've ever owned, and that was true in terms of the powertrain. But, mostly it was about the total experience.

I know I give Tesla a hard time on a car vs. car comparison. But, as a total package it's really hard to beat Tesla.

 

[Crispix]

Just curious, have you had your tires rotated? I’m going on 11k and have not even thought to check the wear.

If you take it in for a tire rotation they'll also take care of any service bulletins. On very early Model 3s there are more than a few. They may also swap your Gen 2 mobile connector.

 

[jbadger]

Over 6k miles and have had it since January and haven't had any reason to take it in for service.

 

[Brentt]

Over 13,000 miles since May and no need to visit a service center. The car has been perfect. The only exception being a quirky glove box that randomly opens, which will be repaired next week by a mobile tech.

 

[FreeOfPge]

Just curious, have you had your tires rotated? I’m going on 11k and have not even thought to check the wear.

No tire rotation either. Funny you mention it though bc that is exactly what I thought after looking at the odometer an seeing 11k+ miles. Tires appear evenly worn w/lots of tread left.

 

[EV-lutioin]

10K miles in 7 months.... no Service Center.
AEZ, you would probably get more useful data if you put your question it in a poll.

 

[Roverman318]

@roverman - why do you say take the X every year for service? Why is that different from S or 3?

It is stated in the respective owner's manuals. I don't have an S so I can't speak for that.

Model 3 says nothing about taking it in yearly or every 12,500 miles.

Model X

 

[halfricanguy]

If you take it in for a tire rotation they'll also take care of any service bulletins. On very early Model 3s there are more than a few. They may also swap your Gen 2 mobile connector.

Good to know thanks!

No tire rotation either. Funny you mention it though bc that is exactly what I thought after looking at the odometer an seeing 11k+ miles. Tires appear evenly worn w/lots of tread left.

Haha glad I’m not alone! I feel like the weight distribution of the car helps, but since the car is heavy I was thinking it might not even be worth it since they’ll probably wear earlier in general so they’d all need replacing. But we shall see...will probably ask for it to get done when I take it in this week.

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

3750km (just above 2200 miles) - reverse gear squeaked. Now there a low clicking sound going forward/reverse . Gonna drop in the SC and see if they can do a quick torqueing of the nuts today.

 

[Electroman]

7k miles. Not sure where the service center is in my area. Will have to find out before my annual service.

 

[xkwizit]

There is no tire rotation for Model X. The front and rear tires are different sizes and thus cannot be rotated. They can be swapped from left to right but according to America's Tire, that does not make a significant difference unless you had tire balancing issue with one side and wore it out more.

Unlike ICE cars, there is really not much for Tesla SC to do anything on your vehicle during a service visit. They top up the wiper fluid, check the brakes, and run a diagnostic on the car. Since the car is reporting status to Tesla continuously, I don't see what extra a diagnostic will show. If the battery or the motor is not performing well, you will be contacted by Tesla well before your annual service.