why does dealing with Tesla service have to be such an obnoxious experience?

[thegruf]

as the title says really.

just over 6 months ago took the ModelS into service for a new front drive unit after one of their techs confirmed it was faulty (had the issue for 30K miles but Tesla refused to accept it on earlier visits). The thing with that visit was that Tesla arranged it when the part came in. As such I literally could not communicate with them in any way whatsoever, as even in-app messaging was not available as it was not me that arranged the appointment.
What an absolute farce. I remain infuriated that I had previously instructed them to leave the faulty air suspension strut in the vehicle that I was also getting replaced at the same time, but because I couldn't communicate with them this got lost. They also replaced the two scroll wheels - with ones that didn't work properly, I assumed (incorrectly now it seems) that it was software so waited for a few releases but they remain faulty. I literally did not have a single communication during that service and whilst Tesla may be proud of that achievement, it was so detestable an experience I highly doubt I will ever purchase another Tesla. I certainly don't recommend them to anyone these days.

The cars may be fundamentally good (still nothing I would replace the Model S with?!), but the Company is plain abusive of it's relationship with its customers which to anyone rational is just plain self-defeating.

To the present; Don't use the car so much these days, but when the FDU started playing up again, apart from sounding like an old washing machine since it was fitted, it now has a similar issue with vibration and the differential (is this a common trait with these?) I thought I'd get it back into service to get it sorted, together with replacing the scroll wheels again and sorting a clunk in the rear suspension.

Now it seems they won't even book an appointment unless I approve their costs.

The car is under extended Tesla warranty, even so I am being asked to pre-approve £550+ worth of costs that Tesla can charge me irrespective of what actually transpires before I can even get an appointment. I cannot attempt to communicate with them in any way whatsoever (even if I could, I expect it would be pointless).

That's just disgusting.

 

[KennethS]

Now it seems they won't even book an appointment unless I approve their costs.

The car is under extended Tesla warranty, even so I am being asked to pre-approve £550+ worth of costs that Tesla can charge me irrespective of what actually transpires before I can even get an appointment. I cannot attempt to communicate with them in any way whatsoever (even if I could, I expect it would be pointless).

That's just disgusting.

Perhaps my experience is unique but I have had exactly the same with our other and previous cars including BMW, Toyota, VW and JLR. It seems the norm in my experience. The real test in my view is which car companies try to wiggle out of covering a problem under warranty. I have not experienced that from Tesla (yet) but certainly have with three of the ones I just mentioned.

 

[thegruf]

Perhaps my experience is unique but I have had exactly the same with our other and previous cars including BMW, Toyota, VW and JLR. It seems the norm in my experience. The real test in my view is which car companies try to wiggle out of covering a problem under warranty. I have not experienced that from Tesla (yet) but certainly have with three of the ones I just mentioned.

zero communication, or ability to communicate prior to even being able to book an appointment, with a dreamt up invoice which incorrectly assesses the problems?

Definitely not the experience I had with BMW, Mercedes, Audi (who's dealers were so utterly crap in different ways they drove me away from the brand), Ford and others.

 

[Adopado]

as the title says really.

just over 6 months ago took the ModelS into service for a new front drive unit after one of their techs confirmed it was faulty (had the issue for 30K miles but Tesla refused to accept it on earlier visits). The thing with that visit was that Tesla arranged it when the part came in. As such I literally could not communicate with them in any way whatsoever, as even in-app messaging was not available as it was not me that arranged the appointment.
What an absolute farce. I remain infuriated that I had previously instructed them to leave the faulty air suspension strut in the vehicle that I was also getting replaced at the same time, but because I couldn't communicate with them this got lost. They also replaced the two scroll wheels - with ones that didn't work properly, I assumed (incorrectly now it seems) that it was software so waited for a few releases but they remain faulty. I literally did not have a single communication during that service and whilst Tesla may be proud of that achievement, it was so detestable an experience I highly doubt I will ever purchase another Tesla. I certainly don't recommend them to anyone these days.

The cars may be fundamentally good (still nothing I would replace the Model S with?!), but the Company is plain abusive of it's relationship with its customers which to anyone rational is just plain self-defeating.

To the present; Don't use the car so much these days, but when the FDU started playing up again, apart from sounding like an old washing machine since it was fitted, it now has a similar issue with vibration and the differential (is this a common trait with these?) I thought I'd get it back into service to get it sorted, together with replacing the scroll wheels again and sorting a clunk in the rear suspension.

Now it seems they won't even book an appointment unless I approve their costs.

The car is under extended Tesla warranty, even so I am being asked to pre-approve £550+ worth of costs that Tesla can charge me irrespective of what actually transpires before I can even get an appointment. I cannot attempt to communicate with them in any way whatsoever (even if I could, I expect it would be pointless).

That's just disgusting.

This is obviously a very poor experience and you are entitled to be frustrated and annoyed. However, I can only say that my own experiences of communications with Service have been very positive. Clear comms including direct phone calls from a Tesla tech to clarify an issue. The experience at the Edinburgh service centre itself has included direct communication with the person who has worked on the car and not a desk based "service manager" phoning the workshop to try and answer my questions (Ford, BMW). The mechanic even spotted rodent damage and took photos for me and then explained how to access the area if I was taking DIY protection measures ... this had nothing to do with the reason the car was in service so was a free bonus.

 

[thegruf]

Don't get me wrong the Service Techs are great (as they are in most places) ... when you can get to actually talk to them.
It's the unnecessarily idiotic system designed to irritate the heck out of the customer in the first place that frustrates.

And the whole concept of we can take >£500 from you without any further input from you, even if we totally misunderstand the nature of the defect you are trying to report via an app that does it damnedest to stop you actually describing the problem properly, is just plain ugly.

I am trying to think of what would happen if I tried to run my business this way.
Oh right - I wouldn't have a business.

 

[Adopado]

Yes, this idea of pre-authorising payment is an odd thing ... it's not like their customers are some unknown people who have just walked in off the street ... they already hold our details so we can hardly run off without paying.
(Many many years ago I had an old banger that was assessed by a garage as being uneconomical to repair but they (not unreasonably) wanted payment for the time spent dismantling a few things. I needed to go away to get my chequebook and they wouldn't let me leave without leaving my watch as security! Distrust and discrimination against young hairy people was very common ... I lost count of the number of times I was stopped by police for "just a routine check" back then ...)

 

[carnutt]

Agreed, also include the fact that the app shows completion dates that have expired with no status updates (in my case). But even worse still is that my car came back badly damaged due to negligence after a pretty straightforward warranty claim, its now taking days to rectify some of the issues and they are claiming that some of it was not caused by their technician even though I have before/after photos.

 

[Whyone]

.... but the Company is plain abusive of it's relationship with its customers which to anyone rational is just plain self-defeating.
......

This sadly.

I have run Honda's for over 30 years and their customer service and service departments have been great (Tesla, take note...there is a direct correlation here!). Always polite, always helpful and, at times going the extra mile. Warranty issues have been rare, but always dealt with fairly. On three noteable occasions, I have had problems with cars out of warranty and these have been resolved (without me asking) as 'good-will gestures'.

 

[thegruf]

Agreed, also include the fact that the app shows completion dates that have expired with no status updates (in my case). But even worse still is that my car came back badly damaged due to negligence after a pretty straightforward warranty claim, its now taking days to rectify some of the issues and they are claiming that some of it was not caused by their technician even though I have before/after photos.

I had this too, a cracked rear bumper cover where someone/something had hit it.
Took a little persuasion but to be fair they fixed it foc without too much fuss.

Lesson is to ALWAYS take photos of you car when you leave it at a service centre (same with loan vehicles for that matter)
(actually this is helpful to the Tesla service centre staff too, as they have facts rather than assertions to deal with, the fact they don't do this themselves is short-sighted imo,

 

[CountvonC]

In my many service visits I have never authorised what ever charge that they come up with and the the car has always gone in and been dealt with ! Just FYI !

 

[thegruf]

In my many service visits I have never authorised what ever charge that they come up with and the the car has always gone in and been dealt with ! Just FYI !

Wrong (now).
Tesla have now got ahead of you on this, you can't even arrange an appointment without agreeing to their charges first, which in my case they remotely incorrectly assessed the problem.

Hence I call obnoxious as I have been forced to agree to charges that are not even correct to the reported issue just to get an appointment.

Furthermore, having booked the appointment and bluntly having to rely on credit card protection, I have now heard precisely nothing back from Tesla. No idea if a loan car can or will be made available, no ability to communicate with them. What an absolute farce.

Frustration, despair, call it what you like but the one thing it isn't is encouraging me to ever buy another Tesla.

Lets say generously they save £50 on service costs per visit against several £Ks profit on a new vehicle.
I can admire what Tesla/Elon have achieved but this sort of short-sightedness doesn't compute to me.

 

[carnutt]

Wrong (now).
Tesla have now got ahead of you on this, you can't even arrange an appointment without agreeing to their charges first, which in my case they remotely incorrectly assessed the problem.

Hence I call obnoxious as I have been forced to agree to charges that are not even correct to the reported issue just to get an appointment.

Furthermore, having booked the appointment and bluntly having to rely on credit card protection, I have now heard precisely nothing back from Tesla. No idea if a loan car can or will be made available, no ability to communicate with them. What an absolute farce.

Frustration, despair, call it what you like but the one thing it isn't is encouraging me to ever buy another Tesla.

Lets say generously they save £50 on service costs per visit against several £Ks profit on a new vehicle.
I can admire what Tesla/Elon have achieved but this sort of short-sightedness doesn't compute to me.

Correct, I had to approve a cost that shouldve been covered under warranty or they wouldnt repair my car that THEY damaged! I will be taking this further as they are now denying another one of the issues they caused while it was in service. Never experienced service like this before, so disappointed, its not like the car was sent to a backyard mechanic.

 

[nufan]

I had my car in today. I had to authorise an estimate for £458 as part of the process.

I dropped off early the day before the appointment. They valeted my car above and beyond my expectations (I wasn’t expecting).

Had good comms all day on progress and the end invoice advised they found no issue to address on two counts using less diagnostics labour than forecast, and the end result was an invoice of £188.

The app is a little constraining/pings message alerts when there are none to read - but I have no complaints.

Better than normal garages in my (now two) instances of use….nice to be able to track things in the app too.

 

[Dave Narter]

as the title says really.

just over 6 months ago took the ModelS into service for a new front drive unit after one of their techs confirmed it was faulty (had the issue for 30K miles but Tesla refused to accept it on earlier visits). The thing with that visit was that Tesla arranged it when the part came in. As such I literally could not communicate with them in any way whatsoever, as even in-app messaging was not available as it was not me that arranged the appointment.
What an absolute farce. I remain infuriated that I had previously instructed them to leave the faulty air suspension strut in the vehicle that I was also getting replaced at the same time, but because I couldn't communicate with them this got lost. They also replaced the two scroll wheels - with ones that didn't work properly, I assumed (incorrectly now it seems) that it was software so waited for a few releases but they remain faulty. I literally did not have a single communication during that service and whilst Tesla may be proud of that achievement, it was so detestable an experience I highly doubt I will ever purchase another Tesla. I certainly don't recommend them to anyone these days.

The cars may be fundamentally good (still nothing I would replace the Model S with?!), but the Company is plain abusive of it's relationship with its customers which to anyone rational is just plain self-defeating.

To the present; Don't use the car so much these days, but when the FDU started playing up again, apart from sounding like an old washing machine since it was fitted, it now has a similar issue with vibration and the differential (is this a common trait with these?) I thought I'd get it back into service to get it sorted, together with replacing the scroll wheels again and sorting a clunk in the rear suspension.

Now it seems they won't even book an appointment unless I approve their costs.

The car is under extended Tesla warranty, even so I am being asked to pre-approve £550+ worth of costs that Tesla can charge me irrespective of what actually transpires before I can even get an appointment. I cannot attempt to communicate with them in any way whatsoever (even if I could, I expect it would be pointless).

That's just disgusting.

I am having similarly disgusting issue. Unbeknownst to me, my car stopped updating in 2022, and until it started to cause problems, I didn't realize it. Even though it had failed to update while it was under warranty, Tesla charged me $500 to fix it. But in fact, I continue to have trouble, as it loses the cameras and all the self- driving capability THAT I PAID FOR and was never updated fail. Now they tell me I need an entirely new computer (which was surely faulty for the two years it was not updatging) but which will now cost me $2000.

 

[Wybrook]

I was due to go to Stratford on Avon to have a fault fixed at 09:15 this morning. Having cut my holiday in Scotland short by a day to get back, Tesla re-arranged the appointment at 11:25 yesterday due to “unforeseen circumstances”, by which time I was somewhere around Gretna and it was too late to turn back. It will now be three weeks until I can get there and discover exactly what the “unforeseen circumstances” were. However I doubt they’ll offer to pay for my wasted day of holiday.
Not impressed.

 

[thegruf]

I was due to go to Stratford on Avon ...

That slightly goes into the sh*t happens category, and actually I doubt Tesla did that unnecessarily, maybe staff sickness or the like.
Yet again though, had you been able to call them for a quick chat, maybe they could have understood your circumstances and rearranged plans accordingly.
As it is, at best you have to struggle with messaging, misunderstanding, and latent response.
Tesla saves £5 and gets another unimpressed customer.
As I said above - this sort of short-sightedness doesn't compute to me.

 

[Ant M3]

as the title says really.

just over 6 months ago took the ModelS into service for a new front drive unit after one of their techs confirmed it was faulty (had the issue for 30K miles but Tesla refused to accept it on earlier visits). The thing with that visit was that Tesla arranged it when the part came in. As such I literally could not communicate with them in any way whatsoever, as even in-app messaging was not available as it was not me that arranged the appointment.
What an absolute farce. I remain infuriated that I had previously instructed them to leave the faulty air suspension strut in the vehicle that I was also getting replaced at the same time, but because I couldn't communicate with them this got lost. They also replaced the two scroll wheels - with ones that didn't work properly, I assumed (incorrectly now it seems) that it was software so waited for a few releases but they remain faulty. I literally did not have a single communication during that service and whilst Tesla may be proud of that achievement, it was so detestable an experience I highly doubt I will ever purchase another Tesla. I certainly don't recommend them to anyone these days.

The cars may be fundamentally good (still nothing I would replace the Model S with?!), but the Company is plain abusive of it's relationship with its customers which to anyone rational is just plain self-defeating.

To the present; Don't use the car so much these days, but when the FDU started playing up again, apart from sounding like an old washing machine since it was fitted, it now has a similar issue with vibration and the differential (is this a common trait with these?) I thought I'd get it back into service to get it sorted, together with replacing the scroll wheels again and sorting a clunk in the rear suspension.

Now it seems they won't even book an appointment unless I approve their costs.

The car is under extended Tesla warranty, even so I am being asked to pre-approve £550+ worth of costs that Tesla can charge me irrespective of what actually transpires before I can even get an appointment. I cannot attempt to communicate with them in any way whatsoever (even if I could, I expect it would be pointless).

That's just disgusting.

I absolutely totally agree with all of this . After nearly 5 years of ownership there are only two things that continue to anger me with Tesla …. 1) the fact my FSD is still nowhere near working 2) the communication with the service centre and total apathy for customers

 

[andyorkney]

zero communication, or ability to communicate prior to even being able to book an appointment, with a dreamt up invoice which incorrectly assesses the problems?

Definitely not the experience I had with BMW, Mercedes, Audi (who's dealers were so utterly crap in different ways they drove me away from the brand), Ford and others.

Not had a trip to Tesla service, but have had Tesla service to me at home. Faultless service. Booked on app; call from engineer to confirm; on the day call from engineer to offer earlier slot due to cancellation; super friendly engineer and problem sorted and tips as a new owner provided as well as some tweaks to settings to give me best of what I wanted from vehicle. Superb experience

 

[thegruf]

@andyorkney mobile service is interesting, especially if you get that in Orkney! Your experience confirms what I said above, the techs (when you actually get through to them are great, as they are in most places to be fair), it's just the layers of obfuscation at administrative level that frustrate so much.
Another point is that, whilst it can be an excellent experience for the owner, actually the Tesla service people don't like mobile service.
It seemed counterintuitive until they pointed out that a mobile tech might do as few as 2 calls a day driving all over in between, whilst a tech on-site is much more productive, and can also work between multiple cars at the same time.
In any event sadly I don't see FDU replacements being done by mobile for a while.