Tesla Service and overall issues

[Zane Edwards]

Would like to hear about how your experience has been with Tesla Service. Here is a brief on mine: I have had multiple issue with my CT starting with the infamous alert that my airbag and restraint system is faulting and to contact service immediately. This lead to one week to figure it out and another to get a new seat. I also had a large deep scratch on my front hood and noticeable scuff on the tailgate trim and the large mesh type material on the dash that goes to the bottom of the windshield needed to be replaced due to lifting. All of which both had to wait month or so for the parts to arrive to have that installed. Each time I visit the center I am met with friendly and professional staff. The process is slow and a quite unorganized, but everyone there is helpful. They have always provided me with a good loaner. Your kept up to date on the status via the app and in my experience have been about 50% of the time met the expectation they set on when the vehicle would be ready, this is from a total of 4 visits over 3 months. This most recent replacement of parts is going to require me to go back again. The dash panel was removed to install the dash mesh and when removed it was scuffed in the corner where it is most prone to the material lifting. The mesh is lifting in the left corner closest to the windshield, clearly that part is not fully seated maybe missing a clip and now there is a rattle from that same area when I drive over any lane markers, my hope is that it is all related and it just needs to be seated fully. Anyway, let me just say I am a HUGE fan of Elon, Tesla, CT am a stock holder etc and I genuinely feel that the people at the center are trying their best but I am comparing this all collectively to Service Centers for my other vehicles, BMW, MB, Porsche etc and though they are not perfect and I have had my issues with them also this seems to be different, something isn't right and for my it is concerning and has me wondering why it hasn't been addressed yet. This is my first Tesla so I wanted to put this out and get any feedback from other either new to Tesla or those that have owned many.....are my expectations to high?

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[Sxksxk]

Hi Zane,
Also my first Tesla as well. My experience has been similar. Been to service twice for multiple issues. The loaner is great and the people seem nice.
However, they also seem lazy. If an issue isn't a 'known issue' with explicit instructuon they seem generally clueless AND put in zero effort to figure out a solution. Here are two examples:
1) door misaligned. At both service visits I had an issue. It's minor and although they fixed the alignment of the single door, it was clear they didn't look at both doors to ensure everything was aligned on that side of the car. They just did the minimum.
2) My CT vibrates 25% into regen between 43-53mph. It's super annoying. Others on here have had the same same issue, with the only fix being a front motor replacement. Service told me although abnormal it's not affecting performance so they didn't fix it. Abnormal vibrations are never a good sign. I was pissed and told them I'll bring it back at a later time to get fixed. Either way, no drive to solve the problem.

My Benz dealer, although less efficient, is much more thorough and thoughtful.

That's my experience and thoughts in a nutshell.

 

[abrader]

Is it a young company vs old company thing?

 

[PunkOuter]

We documented ours in this thread here:

https://www.cybertruckownersclub.co...k-repair-since-02-24-24-fixed-07-23-24.16618/

TLDL: the experience was awful. Took 5 months to replace one defective tire and a rattling glove box in the end.

I have a 2018 Model 3 and have never needed to bring it in for service in over 6 years. A mobile repair tech came to us for a recall repair and that experience was great.

 

[sean-techventures]

This is honestly my biggest and really only hesitation to pulling the trigger. Tesla has always been notorious for subpar quality and throw in a brand new car/build, it's amplified it seems.

Honestly I think the problem stems from the lack of experience. Lack of experience from the designers, engineers, and up. I'm holding up a bit to see if the quality improves over time.

 

[PunkOuter]

I don't blame you, and that's a decision everyone should make with full info. I don't regret the truck purchase one bit because it's an incredibly useful truck while also being very fun to own, but lords that period of it all was very frustrating.

 

[Art138]

In addition to all the frustrations mentioned,I think the service centers are overwhelmed with doing more with less. Just reading the posts on the backlog of service appointments stretching into mid-December is frustrating. I have been blessed with a no issues truck,but it irritates me that us Beast folks are Still waiting on a light bar installation notification. Service techs probably have pressure to get them out the door asap. This can result in shoddy work. They need to increase their SCs as a starter.

 

[HaulingAss]

In addition to all the frustrations mentioned,I think the service centers are overwhelmed with doing more with less. Just reading the posts on the backlog of service appointments stretching into mid-December is frustrating. I have been blessed with a no issues truck,but it irritates me that us Beast folks are Still waiting on a light bar installation notification.

If you base your expected service experience on Internet posts about bad service experiences, then all brands will appear to have terrible and overpriced service. Because people who feel slighted have the loudest voices. Any negative experience gets amplified by the Internet while people generally aren't driven to post about their nice service experience. Because that's what they expect.

I've never had very good service experiences at various dealerships over the years until I switched to Tesla almost 7 years ago. Now I look forward to my service visits and the amount of time and money that I have spent at Service Centers is mind-boggling small. And I generally have to be adamant that I want non-warranty work done before they will do it. Then the bill is always reasonable compared to a traditional dealership.

Note: We currently have 4 Tesla and last month we traded in the first Tesla we bought nearly 7 years ago. I would never own this many non-Tesla due to all the servicing time and expense but with Tesla it's so easy and inexpensive we don't worry about having more than we absolutely need.

 

[PunkOuter]

I'm happy your service center is well staffed and treating you well, but that doesn't help the others who have had terrible experiences at ours. Some centers are just simply overworked, understaffed, undertrained, and under equipped.

I guess it would be more helpful if the original poster asked for experiences on their local service center. Perhaps they live by one of the good ones, or perhaps not.

 

[HaulingAss]

I'm happy your service center is well staffed and treating you well, but that doesn't help the others who have had terrible experiences at ours. Some centers are just simply overworked, understaffed, undertrained, and under equipped.

I guess it would be more helpful if the original poster asked for experiences on their local service center. Perhaps they live by one of the good ones, or perhaps not.

No, they are over-worked, like many Tesla Service Centers. But it's a lot better than anything I've experienced from legacy auto dealerships in the last 30 years!

Volvo made me pay for software updates to fix a slight engine misfire! I argued and pled my case, the car was only months old, but they said no way, unless I paid! Just ridiculous crap like that. They had the software update, but you had to pay for it. Criminal really. That's just one tiny example of a list extending below my elbow.

 

[PunkOuter]

Oof. That is absurd!

 

[nocyber]

I owned my Tesla Model S now for 6 and have had mobile service out twice (my wife broke off a visor, and more recently my trunk latch faulted). Beyond that I’ve had my Tesla in to the service center only two times (window would say it’s open when it wasn’t, and I did the MCU2 upgrade).

The times I’ve had with the service center locally and via mobile service has been very pleasant, but my issues were not severe or disruptive. I do have concerns that I’m going from an extremely reliable vehicle to one that’s had a host of upfront issues but we will see how it plays out with my VIN right near the 40k mark. I’m hoping for the best.

 

[HaulingAss]

I owned my Tesla Model S now for 6 and have had mobile service out twice (my wife broke off a visor, and more recently my trunk latch faulted). Beyond that I’ve had my Tesla in to the service center only two times (window would say it’s open when it wasn’t, and I did the MCU2 upgrade).

The times I’ve had with the service center locally and via mobile service has been very pleasant, but my issues were not severe or disruptive. I do have concerns that I’m going from an extremely reliable vehicle to one that’s had a host of upfront issues but we will see how it plays out with my VIN right near the 40k mark. I’m hoping for the best.

I think the number of early actual issues the Cybertruck had were quite minimal for a new platform rollout, the Internet just amplified them to make issues seem more common, and sometimes more serious than they actually were.

For example, my VIN number is very early, only 4400's, and I've only had one minor cosmetic issue after 4,000 miles, much of it off-road testing on rugged roads that give the truck a good shaking and workout on steep mountain roads. The rear bumper cover plastic wasn't fully installed with all the tabs properly aligned. It was pretty minor, and I had to bend over to get my head down near knee level to even see it.

Other than that one item, the truck has been flawless. When I went in to get winter tires mounted, they did want to install a new wiper motor they had waiting, even though I told them the wiper works great. They said there was a small chance it might fail in the future, so I let them put a new one in. It works great too. Also, they replaced the plastic trim on top of the bed sides, they said it might come off unexpectedly, but I didn't notice any problem. I suspect it would have been fine, but I let them replace it. I told them I didn't want a rivet in my accelerator pedal because the two parts were permanently fused together, and they agreed to leave it alone.

I drove away with new tires and wheels and the two (seemingly uneccessary) recalls performed, the charge was $0.00 (I had used my $2500 store voucher to purchase the winter tire setup). The tires were all inflated properly to within .3 lbs. of each other (I have an accurate gauge that reads to the nearest 1/10th psi.).

I know one data point is next to useless, but I'm sure there are thousands of others with similar stories, it's just that a boring story like that is typically not worth sharing. The few problems grab the headlines and get amplified by a media trying to deceive people into thinking the Cybertruck is rife with endemic issues. I'm actually pleasantly surprised with the fact that the serious issues are few and far between and most of us have received reliable and solid, well-built trucks. I have not a squeak or rattle or vibration after all the off-road abuse I've put it through.

It's an exceptionally well-engineered, reliable truck, which is pretty amazing when you consider it's a ground up redesign of what a truck should be, and the media won't give it any credit. It has beautiful build quality too.

 

[Balthezor]

If you base your expected service experience on Internet posts about bad service experiences, then all brands will appear to have terrible and overpriced service. Because people who feel slighted have the loudest voices. Any negative experience gets amplified by the Internet while people generally aren't driven to post about their nice service experience. Because that's what they expect.

I've never had very good service experiences at various dealerships over the years until I switched to Tesla almost 7 years ago. Now I look forward to my service visits and the amount of time and money that I have spent at Service Centers is mind-boggling small. And I generally have to be adamant that I want non-warranty work done before they will do it. Then the bill is always reasonable compared to a traditional dealership.

Note: We currently have 4 Tesla and last month we traded in the first Tesla we bought nearly 7 years ago. I would never own this many non-Tesla due to all the servicing time and expense but with Tesla it's so easy and inexpensive we don't worry about having more than we absolutely need.

Cyberbeast is our second Tesla. But wife has had the Y since debut in 2020. Besides changing the wipers and tires, nothing has been done. Not even the brakes. 71k miles now. And battery is probably 90% of original range. My wife laughs, but its our beater and our work horse. I will probably change tires soon again. Been over 35k miles now I think.

I've offered my wife newer cars, blessed to have this option. But she refuses. She doesn't want to physically get gas anymore.

 

[RayzorBEV]

My wiper motor was replaced under the recent recall about a month ago. Lately, I noticed the wiper has an unusual among of free play plus it started to slap against my windshield loudly and rattled at interstate speed. So, today, I stop by a Tesla Service Center to follow up on this issue and they found the single nut at the base used to secure this 48 inch long javelin was loose?. The service adviser was nice enough to let me slide in (their service bay was full) and had a female mechanic to immediately retighten the bolt for me ?
Anyone else encountered this issue?

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