Jalopnik: EV Maintenance and Ownership Isn't Everything It's Cracked Up to Be

[FutureBoy]

EV Maintenance and Ownership Isn't Everything It's Cracked Up to Be
Customer service satisfaction among EV owners is considerably lower than for owners of ICE cars due to recalls and a lack of expertise, data suggests.
By
Adam Ismail

Electric vehicle owners are relatively dissatisfied with their dealer service experience, the European Union will try to hash out a deal with the Biden administration over battery sourcing and General Motors EVs aren’t leaving the production line as quickly as anyone hoped. All that and more in The Morning Shift for Thursday, March 9, 2023.

Service Departments Still Aren’t Ready for EVs
J.D. Power’s Customer Service Index Study is out for 2023, and some of the results may surprise you. For example, while Lexus and Porsche lead overall and premium dealer service department satisfaction, respectively, it’s actually Mitsubishi that took home the award among mass-market brands. On the flip side, the industry isn’t navigating the slow uptake of electric cars as smoothly as it probably should. From Automotive News:

Overall EV owner customer service satisfaction is 42 points lower than internal combustion vehicle owner satisfaction, the study finds. Recall rates — almost double among EVs — and service adviser knowledge contribute to this lesser satisfaction.
The EV industry has been “hyperfocused” on launches but now consumers need vehicle maintenance and repairs, Chris Sutton, a J.D. Power vice president, said in a statement.
“As the electric vehicle segment grows, service is going to be a ‘make or break’ part of the ownership experience,” Sutton said. “As training programs for service advisers and technicians evolve, EV service quality and customer experience must address both the vehicle and the unique customer needs. The EV segment has the potential to spur massive convenience improvements in how customers service their vehicles — but we’re not seeing the benefits yet.”

I’m just spit-balling here, but I feel like that boast you often hear of EVs requiring less maintenance than internal-combustion cars is kind of an empty ideal right now, what with the lack of experienced technicians on staff at most service departments, and also the price when something actually does go wrong. Perhaps one day that’ll bear out, but that day hasn’t come yet. In other news, the survey suggests that owners of all cars are waiting longer for service appointments these days as a result of parts and labor constraints — about a day for mass-market vehicles and almost two, on average, among premium brands.

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[FutureBoy]

I get the sense that this might be more of a non-Tesla issue. There have been periodic complaints about Tesla service here and there. Plus watching the Wham Baam Teslacam channel, the amount of time it takes to get a Tesla repaired and/or replaced seems really disappointing.

But OTA is somehow an issue? I'd argue that the other manufacturers that say they have OTA and then make you do OTA at the dealership using technicians that don't know how to work it is the real problem.

And the rest of the maintenance might have a lot to do with vehicles that have manufacturing defects that cannot be reliably fixed. Overall, the non-Tesla choices seem less than ideal based on what I've seen. Thus I'm Tesla or nothing from here on out (or at least till something else can get up to snuff).

 

[Diehard]

A lot of EVs are really new where ICE tech has been hammered out for years so there is more of a chance of an initial issue. And even seasoned manufacturers are new to EVs. I am really curious about Tesla owner experience in this regard since they are more likely to have owned EVs longer and can pitch in with more relevant personal experience. Please let us know how your EV ownership has compared to your ICE ownership?

 

[ÆCIII]

You might've prefaced the post letting people know it was a Jalopnik article.

That way I could've passed over and ignored the article a few seconds quicker.

- ÆCIII

 

[HaulingAss]

A lot of EVs are really new where ICE tech has been hammered out for years so there is more of a chance of an initial issue. And even seasoned manufacturers are new to EVs. I am really curious about Tesla owner experience in this regard since they are more likely to have owned EVs longer and can pitch in with more relevant personal experience. Please let us know how your EV ownership has compared to your ICE ownership?

We have three 5-year-old Model 3's. My experience is we just plug them in when we get home and unplug them when we want to go. Very little service relative to all the ICE vehicles we have owned. We spend far less time and money scheduling services and keeping them on the road.

The best part is Tesla Service Centers are not set up to be profit centers so I can trust them explicitly and never get those bad vibes when they try to do extra work or over-charge for work they may not have even performed. Dealerships generally try to talk you into more work than you need, while Tesla Service centers actively dissuade you from doing uneccessary work. Sometimes I have to confirm I really want them to do something, even though they say it isn't necessary.

 

[Crissa]

Repair include body and collision, and the number of places that can do it for EVs is... Smaller than it needs to be.

Jalopnik may often be anti-Tesla, but that doesn't mean they aren't right here. One of the big problems with the traditional automakers getting into EVs is that their system of dealers and service centers is... Ephemeral. You need the proper equipment and to train all the techs and that's almost as expensive as rolling out an entire new system.

And that's without noting the number of dealers and techs who don't want EVs.

-Crissa

 

[Ogre]

“Customer Service Satisfaction” as opposed to… plain old Customer Satisfaction.

Weird distinction. Maybe because when they compared actual customer satisfaction EVs kicked ass?

Weirdly many Tesla owners are both very very happy with their cars, but those who have dealt with Tesla’s customer service are often not super happy with their customer service.

Also…

…the lack of experienced technicians on staff at most service departments…

What they mean here is: Most service departments at dealerships—many of which sell very few if any EVs—have experience with servicing EVs, since they haven’t sold more than 1 or 2.

What they are ignoring here: 100% of Tesla service departments have experience with EVs and most EVs sold are Teslas.

Honestly… Jolpnik is a worthless rag serving the vestiges of the dying legacy auto industry.

 

[CyberGus]

Tesla's sales have scaled far faster than their service. If you live in an area where the service centers are understaffed or inexperienced, then you will likely have a bad experience.

I'm perplexed by the ludicrous lead times for spare parts. I know that Tesla doesn't stock warehouses full of inventory, but "order part -> deliver part" is a straightforward logistics problem.

 

[Ogre]

If you live in an area where the service centers are understaffed or inexperienced, then you will likely have a bad experience.

If you need service.

What percentage of Teslas need more than very basic service you can get from 3rd parties?

 

[android04]

My Model 3 is just about to turn 5 years old and currently has 105,500 miles. In 3 years it will likely be at around 200,000 miles.

I wouldn't buy any other EV besides a Tesla, and would definitely never go back to ICE.

I've only had a few minor service items on my Model 3 that were covered under the warranty or that I was able to fix myself. I'm pretty handy and have always worked on my cars. Tesla also recently allowed owners to have access to the service manual for at least a year. My biggest expenses have been tires (reduced somewhat by only buying Michelin tires and using their treadwear warranty) and aftermarket accessories.

My state doesn't allow any Tesla service centers due to dealership franchise laws, so my nearest service center is across state lines 1 hour and 42 minutes away. So far I've only needed to go there a few times, and mobile service has come to me a few times. My experience with service has been great.

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