Who to contact to truly escalate service issue? 11+ critical features not working for half of ownership….

[WolfHunter1043]

This August I started getting errors when my car was parked stating Sentry mode has been disabled. Didn’t think too much of it until a few days later when I was driving with navigate on autopilot the system went crazy telling me to take control on a sparse highway and when trying to reactivate saying autopilot unavailable. Long story short, since then I have been having this same issue and it does not fix itself for longer than a day or two but can last weeks at a time. It results in complete failure of the following features….

Autopilot
Cruise control
Lane keep
Emergency braking
Parking sensors
Reverse cameras
FSD visualization
Dash camera
Sentry mode
Auto high beams
Auto wipers
Auto screen brightness

Vehicle has been in and out of the service center. Multiple appointments far out and having to wait 3+ weeks minimum every time not to mention driving an hour plus and taking off work and the car still isn’t fixed. I’ve used the bug report feature at least 50-100 times (sounds like these only take a snippet and stay local to the car though). To add insult to injury I even bought the FSD with it, completely useless for half of my ownership.

I’ve asked for this to be escalated two times and told a service manager would call me and didn’t. As of today I called the 800 number and was told the district manager would call me.

Anyone have a great idea how to get more attention to this or should I just pursue lemon law? Really don’t want to. Love the car when it works.

 

[jjrandorin]

There is no escalation path other than what you have already done (other than your states lemon law statutes).

 

[Noflash]

Local news

 

[jjrandorin]

Local news

That would only be if one never wanted to own a tesla product again (Im only very partially kidding). Tesla has blackballed people before for what they consider to be sensationalism.

 

[jsight]

I'd like to see video to understand what is happening.

 

[jjrandorin]

I'd like to see video to understand what is happening.

There is no video that this OP could provide that is relevant to their question of "can I escalate / How to escalate". At best a video (if they have it ) would be a of a bunch of error messages on screen, and that isnt going to tell you anything about what is happening thats relevant to the question asked.

 

[N1L CO2]

Not sure what the stipulations are for getting your car "lemon-ed" in your state but seeing how you are in and out the shop multiple times for same issue, perhaps it's time to consult a lawyer?

 

[WADan]

I found that filing a complaint with BBB worked for me before.

 

[brandon8387]

Good luck. Stay looking into lemon laws for your state

 

[BreatheEasier]

State lemon laws are the best route. This is not a unique problem to Tesla. Check any other car forum, including Toyota/Lexus, which is inaccurately considered a brand with zero vehicle issues or defects. I've had two vehicles purchased back from the manufacturer, as long as 18 months after purchase due to violation of my state's lemon laws, since my issues started within the first 12 months of ownership. Both cars had several recurring problems that multiple dealers nor regional service reps could fix. And the manufacturers were revered import brands. Given the background you provided, this sounds like a pretty straightforward lemon law case. Typical state rules - let the dealer/manufacturer know in-writing that you are pursuing a refund/replacement vehicle, and let them know they have a "last attempt" in writing (with receipt) to address the problem. Michigan Lemon Law info.

 

[Stan930]

Hire a good attorney

 

[TomServo]

Have you tried any other Service Centers? Also to help others, what Service Center have you used?

 

[dduffey]

Using the Tesla app I would ask for a remote diagnosis of the problem giving exact date and time of when the issue goes from working to not working. Insist they look at the logs and ask what components are failing and need replacement before taking it in again. The remote diagnosis team has never ghosted me.

Given the ultrasonics and cameras are affected I would guess this is not a simple wiring harness issue but a failing control unit/module. Also you said the problem first started when it was stationary ... so seems compute related vs physical wiring/connector issues.

If they say to take it to the service center for diagnosis let them know you don't feel safe driving it that distance since safety features are disabled or can be suddenly disabled mod drive.

Be friendly and let them know that since you have taken it in multiple times with the same documented issues that you won't have any other option left except report it as a lemon.

You sound reasonable on this thread so I hope they will be understanding.

Good luck!

 

[DanDi58]

I think at this point, it would be a good idea to research Michigan's lemon laws before the district manager returns your call. Would be good to know what they are and mention that on the call with him.

 

[DaveORD]

Just throwing it out there, any chance there are rodents chewing on the wires which could cause any of this? No insulation, exposed wires, who knows what would come from that, especially wet vs dry weather. Probably not your issue, but if you park outside it is a possibility and something to double check?

 

[jsight]

There is no video that this OP could provide that is relevant to their question of "can I escalate / How to escalate". At best a video (if they have it ) would be a of a bunch of error messages on screen, and that isnt going to tell you anything about what is happening thats relevant to the question asked.

Yes there is. Knowing what the service center has tried and what he actually means can definitely help us to give advice on how to get the service center to help.

Tbh, it isn't even clear to me what alerts he is seeing or why.

 

[NCAviator]

This August I started getting errors when my car was parked stating Sentry mode has been disabled. Didn’t think too much of it until a few days later when I was driving with navigate on autopilot the system went crazy telling me to take control on a sparse highway and when trying to reactivate saying autopilot unavailable. Long story short, since then I have been having this same issue and it does not fix itself for longer than a day or two but can last weeks at a time. It results in complete failure of the following features….

Autopilot
Cruise control
Lane keep
Emergency braking
Parking sensors
Reverse cameras
FSD visualization
Dash camera
Sentry mode
Auto high beams
Auto wipers
Auto screen brightness

Vehicle has been in and out of the service center. Multiple appointments far out and having to wait 3+ weeks minimum every time not to mention driving an hour plus and taking off work and the car still isn’t fixed. I’ve used the bug report feature at least 50-100 times (sounds like these only take a snippet and stay local to the car though). To add insult to injury I even bought the FSD with it, completely useless for half of my ownership.

I’ve asked for this to be escalated two times and told a service manager would call me and didn’t. As of today I called the 800 number and was told the district manager would call me.

Anyone have a great idea how to get more attention to this or should I just pursue lemon law? Really don’t want to. Love the car when it works.

I had a problem when I was getting a "reduced power" error. Took multiple service calls before they found the root cause. In my case it was a bad wiring plug.

I found that having a relationship with your service contact is helpful. They can schedule appointments for you outside the app. Mine gave me his email and phone number.

If you believe this is a safety issue, you should file with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Report a Safety Problem | NHTSA

The lemon law is an option. Each state has different rules on when it can be invoked.

 

[ThomasD]

All car manufactures have lemon car buybacks. Tesla is no different

 

[LionelHutz]

On your problem specifically, do you keep Sentry mode on? I typically don't use it but the handful of times I have it has intermittently caused screwy behavior very much like you're describing.

 

[Kairide]

Why do people always reply with "hire and attorney"? You don't need an attorney to begin the lemon law process. Just research your state's lemon laws and see if your Y fits the criteria. If so, the manufacturer needs to abide by the law.