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Post Delivery - Owner's Responsibilities

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I'm a week in to my Model S ownership and saw someone's great checklist for delivery. Now, I think its time to give a checklist for the owners who are now responsible for their cars:

Item 1. Check your tire pressure. (This is the basis of this thread as I finally grabbed my gauge out of curiosity and 3 of my 4 tires were at 44 +/- psi. One tire was at 49 psi !!!)

Item 2. Verify everything works (as you think it should since there's a learning curve to some items). Sunroof, opening and closing of frunk, trunk, proper door closing.

Item 3. My S was delivered at night, so I didnt get a chance to give it a up close and personal inspection: Found some bubbles in the paint armor and reported it to DS.
 
Item 1. Check your tire pressure. (This is the basis of this thread as I finally grabbed my gauge out of curiosity and 3 of my 4 tires were at 44 +/- psi. One tire was at 49 psi !!!)

You should do this routinely, but especially after anyone has touched your car - manufacturer, dealer, corner garage, anyone. Check it immediately. I recently had a rather dangerous situation after service where one of the front tires pinned the needle on my gauge (this was not Tesla mind you).
 
You should do this routinely, but especially after anyone has touched your car - manufacturer, dealer, corner garage, anyone. Check it immediately.

That's correct, although if you're not going to be driving it more than just home, it's best to check it first thing the next morning so you get a proper reading. Otherwise check it and then check and adjust again the next morning.

I recently had a rather dangerous situation after service where one of the front tires pinned the needle on my gauge (this was not Tesla mind you).

Assuming a 60 psi gauge (rather than a 160 psi gauge--I sure hope it didn't peg that one). It's not uncommon for shop gauges to be out by 10 to 15 psi. Also many service folks have the quaint idea that all car tires should be inflated to 30 psi. The ignorance about tires in the automotive service industry is appalling.
 
You should do this routinely, but especially after anyone has touched your car - manufacturer, dealer, corner garage, anyone. Check it immediately. I recently had a rather dangerous situation after service where one of the front tires pinned the needle on my gauge (this was not Tesla mind you).

+1 That comment. In addition, I always re-torque wheel lug nuts after anyone has touched the car. I always specify hand-torquing, but shops rarely do, of if they do, they torque unevenly and usually at the wrong value.
 
+1 That comment. In addition, I always re-torque wheel lug nuts after anyone has touched the car. I always specify hand-torquing, but shops rarely do, of if they do, they torque unevenly and usually at the wrong value.

Torque wrenches used for wheel tightening are often no more accurate than pressure gauges are.
 
That's correct, although if you're not going to be driving it more than just home, it's best to check it first thing the next morning so you get a proper reading. Otherwise check it and then check and adjust again the next morning.

Home required highway driving. It was clearly unsafe.

Assuming a 60 psi gauge (rather than a 160 psi gauge--I sure hope it didn't peg that one). It's not uncommon for shop gauges to be out by 10 to 15 psi. Also many service folks have the quaint idea that all car tires should be inflated to 30 psi. The ignorance about tires in the automotive service industry is appalling.

It was out by more than 20 psi, and judging by how long it took to drop the pressure it was a lot more than that. My guess is that they inflated it to 90 psi to seat the tire and left it there.

+1 That comment. In addition, I always re-torque wheel lug nuts after anyone has touched the car. I always specify hand-torquing, but shops rarely do, of if they do, they torque unevenly and usually at the wrong value.

Yep. I also periodically re-torque my wheels. It costs a few bucks for a good torque wrench, but it could save you a lot of money and possibly your life.
 
It was out by more than 20 psi, and judging by how long it took to drop the pressure it was a lot more than that. My guess is that they inflated it to 90 psi to seat the tire and left it there.

WOW!


I hate to tell you this, but if they used 90 psi to seat the beads, they've basically ruined the tire. The correct method is:

1. Lubricate the tire and wheel. (After insuring that the wheel is clean.)

2. Put the tire on the wheel.

3. Adjust the beads of the tire so that they're more-or-less even around the wheel.

4. Inflate to no more than 40 psi to "pop" the beads. If it doesn't seat repeat step 3 and maybe use a proper lubricant this time then try again.

5. Inflate to the maximum cold pressure on the sidewall.

6. Deflate to zero.

7. Inflate to the maximum cold pressure on the sidewall.

8. Adjust pressure to the pressure you want to run the tire at.
 
The tire was in fact not ruined, so maybe it wasn't quite as high as I thought. But it was definitely pretty darn high!

Also, if you've ever seen how the typical grease monkey works, I really doubt they're inflating it to just 40.
 
The tire was in fact not ruined, so maybe it wasn't quite as high as I thought. But it was definitely pretty darn high!

If you didn't demount the tire to look, you can't tell. The damage won't show on the exterior.

Also, if you've ever seen how the typical grease monkey works, I really doubt they're inflating it to just 40.

You are correct. I can't stand to watch a tire being mounted.
 
The 21" tires on my Sig Perf were delivered at 52 psi (cold). Tesla spec is 42 psi and manufacturer's stated max is 51 psi. Checking tire pressure regularly is always important, but given these experiences, everyone should check their tires as soon as they are delivered.
 
The 21" tires on my Sig Perf were delivered at 52 psi (cold). Tesla spec is 42 psi and manufacturer's stated max is 51 psi. Checking tire pressure regularly is always important, but given these experiences, everyone should check their tires as soon as they are delivered.

You always check tire pressures after anyone, other than yourself, has done work to the car. Many technicians have odd ideas about tire pressure. Myself, I'm just glad they are being delivered with more pressure rather than less--far less damaging to the tires.