Tesla reliability and cost of ownership.

[Jhodgesatmb]

Teslas are as unreliable as it comes! They have so many changes or so inconsistent that almost no Tesla you see on the roads are the same. Time to cancel your reservation if you reserved one…..especially if you have one of the early reservations.

Either you forgot the smiley face or you don't belong on this forum. How would agile manufacturing adversely affect reliability? If anything they are constantly improving their manufacturing and should be better than other brands over time.

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[Don Kedick]

I have a 21 M3LR that I got to replace my 17 Titan that was too unreliable to get me to and from work since day one with over 13 service visits of being inoperable.



Since 03/01/2021 and 26k miles my service calls have gone as follows.

First was for passenger front LED strip on the headlight for being faulty. This failed within the first 5k miles and I’ve been keenly aware of noticing it on other M3 and MY on the road. Same part. Frequent issue for sure. I made the service appointment on the app and had no issue with the technician showing up and fixing the issue at my home.

Second was the front hood latch release. Most vehicles have a two stage release. Lever inside and then the safety release at the hood outside. Tesla does not have that part. The best part is no part right? Not always. After leaving Costco with the usual oversized cart of groceries I was going to be putting items into the frunk for the second time since owning the car. The frunk could not release all the way for it to open and any of the fixes like hooking a jump box to a bypass built in by the front tow hook hole did not work. The frunk could not open and at the same time could it could not be closed. This sets off an alert on the screen not allowing you to drive like normal. This is also a common issue found online. After a period of time troubleshooting with Tesla on the phone the best option for me was to limp mode back home at 15 mph which I could do through a bunch of side streets. Service sent a tow truck picked up my car and delivered it back to me the next day. No loaner was available and never has been since the time of owning my Tesla.

The third repair was when the trunk strut shit itself and basically imploded. That being bad enough this also bent the driver side hinge on the trunk leaving a panel gap large enough for three fingers drawing a lot of attention from everyone who saw the car. The power strut was repaired same day but the hinge was a body shop issue and Tesla has a shortage of those they partner with. That took almost two months to get “fixed” where the panel gap is still noticeable. At this point of my life things like that are not a big deal to me so I live with it just fine.

Currently I’m dealing with a lot of software issues and multiple resets haven’t worked. I’m typing this on my return flight after a two week hiatus. It started while driving about three weeks ago. The passenger seat buckle alert started going off while there was nothing in the seat during a drive. Zero weight. Nothing to possibly cause this. This issue has been going on every drive since even after resetting the computer with the double steering wheel button hold three times. This is supposed to reset the computer to factory from my understanding. Screen reboots car loads etc. I’ve been leaving it buckled to keep the alert off in the mean time while I wait for my service appointment. The next day my autopilot and cruise control stopped functioning and have not resumed working after a week prior to my trip. I’ve had a service appointment set for two weeks for the day after my return and was contacted by service a few days ago. They requested more information for a day and time of when the error occurred and I provided that to them within a few minutes. From there they pushed my appointment day and time back by nine days for home service where I won’t be available. That’s currently an unresolved issue I’ll be getting to later. My driver rear door has spasms where the window and door constantly pop open and close by themselves and my passenger rear door has a 50% chance of closing the first try. The door handle fit and finish is not perfect and the tech told me that they can not adjust or fix it. However you get it from factory is how you get it. Not believable to me but that’s what was said. All in all these are the service issues I’ve experienced with my car and would still highly recommend a Tesla. The drivability experience is superior compared to my wife’s 22 Escalade Platinum to me. It all depends what’s important to you in a vehicle. Personally after spending seven years working at a dealership in sales and finance side and accepting all cars are garbage in terms of reliability. A Tesla is my favorite trash can.



At 26k miles my cost of ownership has been zero unless you really want to count one air filter change and wiper blades. Tires are about due to be replaced.

 

[charliemagpie]

Sign it over to me, and I will double your deposit refund. Wooohooo

 

[Crissa]

Sign it over to me, and I will double your deposit refund. Wooohooo

Not legal. Not ethical.

I know, it shouldn't need to be said.

-Crissa

 

[Crissa]

I don't use Apple products, btw.

If you can afford the upfront cost, they're very good at what they do.

My last Mac laptop lasted eight years, up to the point when it was first no longer capable of the newest version of macOS and I wore through the keycaps and four batteries. For the last two decades, they've been the easiest to manage an office of and most compatible with Unix based systems.

-Crissa

 

[charliemagpie]

lol, that came out more terse than I meant

 

[Crissa]

lol, that came out more terse than I meant

I did not notice. I just replied because people often have the wrong impression about Apple computers. They're not just expensive Veblen goods - they're generally priced competitively for their hardware, and have good resale value. Alot like Tesla in that. It's just upfront cost, not ongoing. I never have to spend as much money maintaining Macs as I do Windows PCs.

-Crissa

 

[tidmutt]

I did not notice. I just replied because people often have the wrong impression about Apple computers. They're not just expensive Veblen goods - they're generally priced competitively for their hardware, and have good resale value. Alot like Tesla in that. It's just upfront cost, not ongoing. I never have to spend as much money maintaining Macs as I do Windows PCs.

-Crissa

Agreed.

Been a Windows and DOS nerd since I was a kid, but my partner was a Mac guy and I would see him using it. Then more and more devs were using them around me, a colleague who was a big apple fan told me how his total cost of ownership made his apple devices cost about parity or less than a Windows device. By that time I had an iphone, apple watch and my kids all had apple devices so I was pretty invested in the ecosystem. Keep in mind I was one of those people who had not one, but two Windows Phone devices... crazy! I also had a Surface Pro for a while. Windows Phone was way better than most realize but oh well, it died. Then I observed one of my devs working with a Mac his company had given him and how he was messaging with his team via iMessage integration on his MBP and at that point I thought, I give up, I have to try a Mac.

I have a 2017.5 MBP that was a daily workhorse for me but that's been replaced by a much newer MBP i9 provided by my current employer. When I checked on the trade in value of my old MBP it was $800, pretty impressive for a laptop from 2017. I could get $900-$1000 on ebay, last I checked. I'm probably going to hand it down to my 11 year old daughter who keep trying to steal it anyway, so good Christmas gift. Tossing up whether to trade it for a Macbook Air M1 instead.

The TCO of that 15" 2017.5 MBP was $1500 for a i7, 16GB with 512GB SSD over 5 years. $1500 for 5 years of trouble free ownership and constant use.

My last Windows laptop was an MSI ultra portable gaming laptop. That laptop was $1800, and I sold it 3 years later for $400. TCO $1600 over 3 years.

 

[Mini2nut]

A real ‘21 Model Y original owner here.

28,000 miles and zero issues other than a loose rear view mirror. And no squeaks or rattles to report.

My only negative is that the battery range listed by Tesla is very optimistic. We generally get 15% less range than advertised and we are not pedal to the metal drivers. Also, BEV‘s eat tires more than a ICE powered vehicle. We had to install a new set at 25k.

The best part of owning a Tesla are the Superchargers. Simply pull up, plug in and walk away. I have only experienced one charger that didn’t work in nearly two years of ownership.

 

[Crissa]

We generally get 15% less range than advertised and we are not pedal to the metal drivers. Also, BEV‘s eat tires more than a ICE powered vehicle.

I think you note A explains your note B, despite saying you'e not a pedal to the metal driver ^-^

-Crissa

 

[Jstoltz54]

Word of mouth is Teslas’ best mktg (not MSM). My wife drives a 2015 MS w/140,000 miles. Never replaced the batteries, still carry 90% capacity. Plugs it in most every night to chg to 80%. She says it drives like a dream. Happy wife, happy life. Mileage may vary of course but it’s been great for us. Hoping my CT does the same for me. Cheers

 

[Mrp911]

2018 Model 3 with 91k miles over the 4 years. Most reliable car and lowest cost of maintenance ever. Only put set of tires on at 53k miles and the 12V battery for maintenance. Did the battery at Tesla and was amazed at only $84 installed. What other battery swap would cost less than $220 at a dealer.

Spectacular reliability if you think about it. Mercedes just reminded me time for service. This is typically $300 or $500 if they change tranny fluid. Love the M3 and have been on FSD Beta for a year now. Excellent work in process.

Only repair costs have been 2 windshields which took stone hits in the mountain regions. Bad luck for us on this one. I did recommend they use armor glass for windshields.

I am circa 160,000 order position on the Cybertruck. Looking forward to taking it basically any place we want for weeks on an end.

 

[Mrp911]

A real ‘21 Model Y original owner here.

28,000 miles and zero issues other than a loose rear view mirror. And no squeaks or rattles to report.

My only negative is that the battery range listed by Tesla is very optimistic. We generally get 15% less range than advertised and we are not pedal to the metal drivers. Also, BEV‘s eat tires more than a ICE powered vehicle. We had to install a new set at 25k.

The best part of owning a Tesla are the Superchargers. Simply pull up, plug in and walk away. I have only experienced one charger that didn’t work in nearly two years of ownership.

I got 53k miles on my first set of Model 3 tires. Yes smaller and firmer tire but mileage is real with the stock Michelin 18" Primacy Tire.

How about you share your wt.s/mile overall from the Trip page. My lifetime is 263 over 92000 Miles. Model Y will be higher but let's see what you have over 28k miles.

 

[davelloydbrown]

I have had a model 3 since 2018 and have over 80 k km or 50 k miles on it and have never had any major issues. Actually when I first got it I asked the service people what the service schedule is (I had heard that the model s needed the battery coolant changed). At first they didn't know because the car was new, but later they said there is no service required!

Over the years I have had a few minor things fixed like the frunk latch and as I am almost a two hour drive from the nearest service centre they came to my home to fix it free of charge (it was on warranty). Their only requirement was that I had some sort of garage in inclement weather. I wonder what the people in my area with Audis and Mercedes do as their nearest service centre is also 1.5 to 2 hours drive away.

 

[SolarWizard]

My model Y ownership experience was absolutely terrible. It was down for repairs for 4/7 months I owned it. This is the reason the will be flipping my initial reservations instead of inserting them into my company fleet. Ill keep one personally because I have another vehicle and I know I can sell it immediately without any consequences for me other than a little more frustration.

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