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Rich Rebuilds: How Tesla is failing its most loyal customers

Sgt Beavis

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Interesting Video
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LoneStar

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wow. o_O
 

PAFDenver

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This couldn't have been timed better! I dropped off my old S this morning for more repairs and it's nice to know I am not crazy in my anger & frustration at Tesla's service. I was a huge advocate for them for the first 6 or 7 years I had it, but now, I am almost certain I would not buy another one. Maybe in the future they will improve and become more like the company was when I first bought one in 2013. But with their current design & service philosophy that's a difficult situation to envision.
I also can't help but wonder how Rivian will compare in the distant future. Tesla started off with exceptional service (at least that was my experience) and then over time (as they grew and grew) it declined to a point where it is today that I considered (and still am thinking about) selling the car just to avoid future issues. From what I've seen Rivian is also starting off treating the customers they've delivered to well. I hope they can avoid the same path that Tesla took in that regard.
 

SANZC02

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I think the issue for Tesla is they just have so many issues with the cars they cannot keep up with repairing them.

I have a 2016 I have been Supercharging for the last week+ because the onboard charger is not working and the earliest I can get an appointment is Feb 3rd. Hopefully it will not take weeks to repair.

Not to throw flames on a raging fire but this is a case where a dealer network might help, but then again, as I was typing this, I just remembered I have a factory recall on my Jeep Grand Cherokee, the leather material covering the dash is delaminating. The part has been on order since January 2020 (not a typo) and every 3 months I make a call and am given a date 3 months in the future…. so ignore the first sentence in this paragraph, having the dealer has brought me no advantage here….

I guess I need to put a phone call on my todo list tomorrow, I missed my December call.
 

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Seems like a confluence of a bunch of factors, but growing to quickly being the main culprit. I can also see where this leaves room to make a case for *gasp* a dealership model.
 

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Seems like a confluence of a bunch of factors, but growing to quickly being the main culprit. I can also see where this leaves room to make a case for *gasp* a dealership model.
or independent repair centers that are certified to work on the vehicles...
 

ads75

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Not to throw flames on a raging fire but this is a case where a dealer network might help, but then again, as I was typing this, I just remembered I have a factory recall on my Jeep Grand Cherokee, the leather material covering the dash is delaminating. The part has been on order since January 2020 (not a typo) and every 3 months I make a call and am given a date 3 months in the future…. so ignore the first sentence in this paragraph, having the dealer has brought me no advantage here….

I guess I need to put a phone call on my todo list tomorrow, I missed my December call.
I had a warranty problem with my 2019 Wrangler radio during this last summer (about 25k miles, less than 3 years old. I brought it into my Jeep dealer in early September, they told me I needed a new radio, and said it would take about a week to get it in. A few wakes later, I called them, they said still on order. About a month after initially bringing it in, they called me and said they got my new radio in. When I brought it in, they said they didn't have it, and would put a "rush" on a new unit. About 6 weeks later, I emailed them for an update, and they said they never ordered one. Made an appointment at another dealer, and had a new radio installed in 2 weeks, in late December. Basically, my radio broke, and I thought the first Jeep dealer ordered parts, because they told me they would, that they never ordered. I was under the impression that one reason for the delay was Covid shortages, which sounded plausible. Went almost 4 months without a radio in my Wrangler because of an inept dealer, that told me several times they were ordering a radio, and never did. Fun times.
 

SANZC02

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I had a warranty problem with my 2019 Wrangler radio during this last summer (about 25k miles, less than 3 years old. I brought it into my Jeep dealer in early September, they told me I needed a new radio, and said it would take about a week to get it in. A few wakes later, I called them, they said still on order. About a month after initially bringing it in, they called me and said they got my new radio in. When I brought it in, they said they didn't have it, and would put a "rush" on a new unit. About 6 weeks later, I emailed them for an update, and they said they never ordered one. Made an appointment at another dealer, and had a new radio installed in 2 weeks, in late December. Basically, my radio broke, and I thought the first Jeep dealer ordered parts, because they told me they would, that they never ordered. I was under the impression that one reason for the delay was Covid shortages, which sounded plausible. Went almost 4 months without a radio in my Wrangler because of an inept dealer, that told me several times they were ordering a radio, and never did. Fun times.
Maybe I will put 2 phone calls on my list for tomorrow…
 

OverZealous

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I was a huge advocate for them for the first 6 or 7 years I had it, but now, I am almost certain I would not buy another one. Maybe in the future they will improve and become more like the company was when I first bought one in 2013. But with their current design & service philosophy that's a difficult situation to envision.
I'm in the exact same boat with my 2015 Model S. I spent so much time telling everyone how great they are, and how much fun they are to drive, and how it's soooo much less maintenance than a regular car.

6 years later, I just sit and wait for the next absurd failure. Then I get to play games with one of the absolute worst service applications, hoping against hope that one of the overworked employees texting me has some semblance of sense.

I'm currently expecting to have to replace my 3rd door handle and replace the trunk latch for the second time before I'm able to sell this thing. I've spent over $3000 since I came out of warranty, and almost all of it for stuff that's either a design flaw, or literally a failure from the factory. Before I came out of warranty, I had even more things fixed.

At least they are finally going to be putting in a service center within 2 hours of my house, which should make the next time I have to flatbed the car due to some dumb issue a lot cheaper.
 

moosehead

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Can’t tell if serious.

Not because of sarcasm, which I enjoy, but because that guy ”complaining“ about his monthly subscription when his new $140K Plaid was down 50% of his first 6 months of ownership had the patience of Ghandi.

I would have ripped Tesla’s face off in that scenario in half the time it took to watch the video. Full on postal.

Is Tesla’s recent service, QC, and reliability really that poor? I’d really like to know.
 

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COdogman

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I’m only a passive observer when it comes to Tesla issues, but I’ve talked to enough people and read about enough problems with them now to know I wouldn’t purchase one myself. Which sucks, because I do appreciate the trailblazing they have done in many areas, like disrupting the traditional dealer system, etc. Musk is one of the most annoying blowhards on the planet right now, which is really saying something, but he is also brilliant in many ways.

As others have said, they seem to be only interested in making cars, not keeping customers happy. As we all know those are 2 different things. Ironically, this article came out today:
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-tesla-factory-california-texas-car-production/#:~:text=Now%2C%20Tesla's%20original%20California%20factory,of%208%2C550%20cars%20a%20week.
 

PAFDenver

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Can’t tell if serious.

Not because of sarcasm, which I enjoy, but because that guy ”complaining“ about his monthly subscription when his new $140K Plaid was down 50% of his first 6 months of ownership had the patience of Ghandi.

I would have ripped Tesla’s face off in that scenario in half the time it took to watch the video. Full on postal.

Is Tesla’s recent service, QC, and reliability really that poor? I’d really like to know.
I think he was serious (I did skip through lots of that particular case study) because (for me anyway) it's excruciatingly painful to be needled like that after getting so seriously screwed over. It's actually worse than the major injury. I'm not sure why, but it hurts less to live with a major issue (car down b/c their are no parts especially with today's supply chain issues). Tesla could & should say "We can't get you the parts but we will certainly help you out and refund that ridiculous charge" but since they aren't it feels much more like "We're going to f&(* you and there's nothing you can do about it.". But that's just me.
I don't know about their current QC (been 9 years since i bought) but their service is pretty abysmal now. Generally I think they're overall reliability is good, but their quality is mediocre to poor. What I mean is that I think the cars have issues big enough to prevent you to from driving (reliability) are pretty infrequent. Probably just because EV's powertrains are so much simpler. But I think that Tesla's QC is probably below average. Lots of small things go wrong from what I can tell (quality).
I think it will be very interesting to see how their cars built in Germany and China compare in both areas to those made in the US. I believe that the quality of cars form those 2 countries are better than those built in the US. But that's anecdotal - I don't have any actual data.
One final thought though is that if I had driven an ICE car (ANY ICE car) as hard as I do my Tesla I am convinced that it would have broken down/blown up a LONG time ago. So I would say that there is no other supercar had anything like that level of reliability the Tesla S is excellent in that respect - or at least mine is. It will be very interesting to see what happens with car makers that have reputations for high quality when they move into EVs.
 
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Sgt Beavis

Sgt Beavis

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I’m only a passive observer when it comes to Tesla issues, but I’ve talked to enough people and read about enough problems with them now to know I wouldn’t purchase one myself. Which sucks, because I do appreciate the trailblazing they have done in many areas, like disrupting the traditional dealer system, etc. Musk is one of the most annoying blowhards on the planet right now, which is really saying something, but he is also brilliant in many ways.
This is me. I was looking hard at getting a Model Y Performance, but I’ve just seen so many reports of quality issues and customer service headaches that I decided I’d rather get a Ford than put up with Tesla. Even my super tree hugger neighbor (I kid, he’s a great guy) gave up on buying a Model Y after hearing so much about their quality and service issues. He’s currently waiting on Mustang Mach-E.
 

stickyfingers

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My brother in law just bought a model X. It was delayed by a few months even though when he paid for it they said they need a week to ensure it has all the accessories he wanted. On the day of pickup, it took him 14 hours waiting in line to pickup his vehicle (they weren't doing drop-offs). When he finally got in to look at his vehicle, his tires were incorrect - tire size and rims that he had ordered. His front bumper was loose - in fact hanging (to this day he still has a problem with his front bumper - everytime I have seem him with the car, I push it back in - lol - simple fix but they can't seem to figure it out. One of his doors (the wing) had a problem. He's been back to Tesla about 5 times now in the 3-4 months of ownership. Still waiting for the tires and rims he had ordered with the car. They didn't forewarn him, they just waited for him to show up because they knew he had no choice but to take the vehicle.

Sat in it the day he bought it and I noticed his dash leather was lose. His trim is completely not aligned. lol. smh. This cost him $165k CAD.

The demand is crazy for these vehicles and people do love them. They are not a new company and have been around for 8+ years you'd think they would iron out some of the kinks. The trim alignment + bumper + dash has been an issue since day 1.

The service aspect sucks balls from my second hand knowledge.

As a direct comparison, I would buy a Taycan over a Model S any day. It's a beaut. Hoping the Rivian will not have these challenges but being new, I am, personally, willing give them some leeway on small issues.
 

ajdelange

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I'm really not sure how Tesla's service problems have relevance in a Rivian forum other than to serve as a warning to anyone contemplating taking delivery on a Rivian that he can certainly expect the same. It's a new, high tech, startup trying to come on line during a global shortage of, it seems, everything. As such its service centers are going to be, at least initially, far apart as will be its parts depots and its cadre of trained techs small. It is on the steepest part of its learning curve.

If you are one of those who thinks things will be better with Rivian than they have been with Tesla because Elon is fundamentally evil and RJ is a nice man (and RIch seems to have transmogrified into one of those) then snug up you tin foil hat and make YouTube videos about it.

I've certainly had my "horror story" experiences with Tesla cars but when all is said and done they really weren't that bad. My wife likes to "customize" our cars from time to time but even with those repairs the parts have shown up pretty quickly and the job has gotten done without too much inconvenience.

I think the bottom line is that if you aren't prepared to deal with this sort of problem then don't get a BEV or at least don't get one until you are convinced that it won't be any worse than dealing with the ICE OEMs you already know. I am a techie through and through and my passion for this new technology is enough to allow me to tolerate a lot. My biggest fear is that not all the population is tech savvy and that this factor may be the one that brings wide EV adoption to a halt.
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