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Horrible Service - 4 Service Trips No Fix Auto Present Door Handles

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Hey Tesla Fans Just needed to vent to you all and see if anyone is having an issue with Tesla Service and/or if you have a fix for me.

June 1st - I received my Model S on June 1st and notices the handles did not auto present. Spoke with Tesla Service via phone and did all the usual software resets etc.

June 3rd - Went to LA service center nad no one could take a quick look at my car.
Mid June - Service picked up car and had it for the day. Car returned and it was not resolved. Data from car was sent to service in Fremont for advice. Never got a call back from Tesla.

Mid June - after no call back I called to follow up with Service in LA. No record of service from the "semi-rude" gentleman on the phone. He tells me that the car is very complex and like a spaceship LOL. Booked an appointment for Jul 1st car would be picked up and serviced.
June 1st - 1 hour late from picking up Car. Had to call in to check status of pickup. O"Ohhhh we're really sorry we are very busy I'm surprised they have not come yet." So... I tell him I'l just bring it in and have my friend bring me back to work. "Yes good idea we have no loaner cars at the moment." I get there and they set me up with a rental car. So my friend waisted his time following me to Tesla service."

July 2nd - No word from TESLA. I call in at 5pm to see how things were going. "Oh your car is ready!", cool, I thought. Then 2 min later. "Oh no your car is not ready. You can pick it up at 10am." I had to ask for them to charge the car. Said it would be washed as well.
July 3rd - Arrive at 10am, car is filthy. No wash. So I walk up to the car and expect the door handles to work. FAIL! No door handles. I ask the service tech why it is not working after having my car for 3 days. He said "Oh you have to cycle the car. It will work when you get in drive it and walk away. Then when you walk up it will work.

"Ok", so I drive my car away. I think for a sec and pull around the corner and give it a try. Zero, Zip, Nodda. So here I go AGAIN back to service.
Called my service advisor and he says meet me at starbucks parking lot next door. LOL.
So He checks it out and says he has to get me a rental car again or come to my house to fix. NOT. "I'm right here" can you check it out AGAIN! So I sit and wait.

2 hours later... "We have to keep your car." WHAT!!!!!! "We will send the reports to Fremont to see whats wrong" I know what wrong, your inept service team, thats whats wrong. So now I am awaiting a call back (doubt it) to yet again have my car "serviced" for the 5th time.

Any thought on this guys I need some help in getting my car operational. It's been over a month now with a defect from the factory. Mind you I am very very grateful I can drive my Model S. I am very happy with my Model S but this so called "best service ever" by Elon is nothing short of HORRIBLE!

I have never had such a poor experience with any of my pervious car manufactures.

-REMARC
 
I'm really sorry to hear things have been so rough. At least my interactions with specific service folks have been very good, even if I'm unhappy with Tesla's lack of attention to service as a corporate priority. Telsa has learned to build cars that can compete with the best, but they clearly haven't gotten the post-sale aspect of handling customers figured out.

I'd write Tesla, maybe the [email protected], perhaps indicating you feel compelled to report to the Better Business Bureau if things aren't addressed. If you feel really upset, you could look into the California lemon laws given the time that's passed without an adequate resolution.
 
I'm really sorry to hear things have been so rough. At least my interactions with specific service folks have been very good, even if I'm unhappy with Tesla's lack of attention to service as a corporate priority. Telsa has learned to build cars that can compete with the best, but they clearly haven't gotten the post-sale aspect of handling customers figured out.

I'd write Tesla, maybe the [email protected], perhaps indicating you feel compelled to report to the Better Business Bureau if things aren't addressed. If you feel really upset, you could look into the California lemon laws given the time that's passed without an adequate resolution.

hah, out of curiosity this made me wonder what Tesla's BBB rating is. I was surprised to see that they have an 'F' rating. :( http://www.bbb.org/sanjose/business...iring/tesla-motors-in-palo-alto-ca-1000006563 After reading the details of the complaints on there, I'd have to agree with them as it all falls in line with Tesla's well known really sucky customer service and communication problems. Oh well. Hopefully they'll get better at that eventually. The car is awesome. The service and communication is not.
 
hah, out of curiosity this made me wonder what Tesla's BBB rating is. I was surprised to see that they have an 'F' rating. :( http://www.bbb.org/sanjose/business...iring/tesla-motors-in-palo-alto-ca-1000006563 After reading the details of the complaints on there, I'd have to agree with them as it all falls in line with Tesla's well known really sucky customer service and communication problems. Oh well. Hopefully they'll get better at that eventually. The car is awesome. The service and communication is not.

They've had their issues but wouldn't consider that rating accurate. One of the complaints was a credit card not being charged correctly and taking awhile to get it refunded properly. Frustrating I'm sure but hardly some of the experiences where some small business charges your credit card and then you can't get ahold of them ever again.

Another one had to deal with the standard suspension being pushed back and their anger about that. One of the many teething issues Tesla had with ramping up production and them changing things on the fly but hardly shady business practices.

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Sorry to hear all of the issues you've had remarc. Beyond frustrating I'm sure. Have you spoken with ownership or the service manager in LA?
 
Remarc, did you or the techs think to try your other key fob? The problem could have been with the fob, not with the car. Also, the tech was correct in telling you about "cycling the locking system." When you exit the car and the door handles automatically retract, the car will not actually lock itself if you are still standing nearby. In this condition, the handles will not auto-present again when you get closer. Pressing on a handle in this still-unlocked state will cause the handles to present. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether the car has actually locked itself.

Tesla should have supplied you with a loaner Model S until the problem was resolved. I imagine that the CA service centers must be swamped with work these days, given the number of cars in your area. Clearly, they dropped the ball in this instance.

In contrast, I've received superb service from the Boston service center, which is 220 miles from my home. A Tesla ranger has been here twice on relatively short notice, and he was able to fix the problems in my own garage.
 
My car sometimes will not auto present. Others have posted that here in the forums. It seems that the longer I leave it alone is the only predictor for me. I think its a software bug yet to be resolved, and no amount of service will fix it until the software is patched. Of course, it could be a different issue in your car, the result of new firmware (that was preloaded in your car), etc.

Good luck and sorry. Just remember. The feature is cool but not a dealbreaker. They will figure it out soon.
 
For what it is worth, I have had great service at the Denver Service Center. The local employees there are always friendly and enthusiastic. I don't think an issue with auto-presenting door handles is a deal-breaker either, but everybody will have their own opinion about that I suppose.
 
For what it is worth, I have had great service at the Denver Service Center. The local employees there are always friendly and enthusiastic. I don't think an issue with auto-presenting door handles is a deal-breaker either, but everybody will have their own opinion about that I suppose.

Ditto for Dallas.

FWIW, my door handles have always presented themselves except when I stand near the car during a show. Then I have to press to present--this isn't surprising behaviour. The trick here is that the fob needs to be far enough away from the car for the auto-present mechanism to reset--at least that's the behaviour I see. I did have one instance of the driver's door not opening (not during a show) when all the other doors would open. It opened after a couple of minutes and has never done it again.
 
Remarc, that really is unacceptable. So sorry you've been put through the ringer. I didn't catch it from your post or profile - which service center was this? By any chance, was it Menlo Park? I've read nothing but bad reviews of that particular service center.

Judging by my experiences with the Bellevue, WA, service center which has been nothing but absolutely exceptional, I'd say this was more of a local management issue than something endemic to Tesla.
 
My handles seem to have gotten less responsive to the fob RF and slower presenting, since the LV Service Center installed 4.5(1.33.54)...wonder if battery/transmitter signal is getting weak..................haven't asked them about it yet, but it is annoying.

BTW, Las Vegas Service Center has "softly" opened, and is coming up to speed with parts inventory, and capabilities, and I couldn't be more pleased with quality, responsiveness, and professionalism of the team. Service Manager Jessica Wilde is a STAR! She's got a great background and experience, and Tesla did a great job in finding her.
 
Remarc, that really is unacceptable. So sorry you've been put through the ringer. I didn't catch it from your post or profile - which service center was this? By any chance, was it Menlo Park? I've read nothing but bad reviews of that particular service center.

Judging by my experiences with the Bellevue, WA, service center which has been nothing but absolutely exceptional, I'd say this was more of a local management issue than something endemic to Tesla.

I think the BBB link is to San Jose, CA.

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My handles seem to have gotten less responsive to the fob RF and slower presenting, since the LV Service Center installed 4.5(1.33.54)...wonder if battery/transmitter signal is getting weak..................haven't asked them about it yet, but it is annoying.

BTW, Las Vegas Service Center has "softly" opened, and is coming up to speed with parts inventory, and capabilities, and I couldn't be more pleased with quality, responsiveness, and professionalism of the team. Service Manager Jessica Wilde is a STAR! She's got a great background and experience, and Tesla did a great job in finding her.

Frank that's awesome, my car will be here in around 30 days, so I'm excited to try the new service center on 215 & Jones. Hopefully we get a supercharger in Vegas sometime soon. I think the interactive map says Winter 2013, so the sooner the better! #Vegas #Henderson
 
My handles seem to have gotten less responsive to the fob RF and slower presenting, since the LV Service Center installed 4.5(1.33.54)...wonder if battery/transmitter signal is getting weak..................haven't asked them about it yet, but it is annoying.

I had the same thought when you mentioned that your handles are getting less responsive: perhaps your fob battery is low?
 
I had the same thought when you mentioned that your handles are getting less responsive: perhaps your fob battery is low?

The doorhandles are really emarrasing if they don't work all the time and Tesla should have taken a look at other cars and how they do it. After all they have good relationships with Toyota and Prius keyless door unlocking works flawless since 8 years.

The fob batteries need changing only every 4-5 years or so, if they have a low battery allready something again is wrong.
 
If i maks you feel any better my Model S was taken to the shop for two weeks for mysterious errors (traction control disabled, etc) after the battery dying. As the car was being taken off the two truck a flood of system errors came back and they took my car again for another week. Got it back for a few days and am STILL getting random errors and am having to drive without traction control...
 
Auto-present: Useless function, really. For single-user the inability to turn OFF the 3 never-needed presenters is just wrong, wrong. Even on a non-auto presenting car.

Express windows: This feature is only needed for the driver, for example, so coins can be gathered while the window is coming down to pay toll. Other situations one can hold down the switch to perform the EXPRESS manually. Having no EXPRESS on the 3 windows would make it much easier and safer for the driver to regulate those windows while driving, without having to turn head to see where the glass is positioned. On bumpy road driver will hit express position on switch very easily, messing up the whole operation.

Examples of excessive functionality that need to be disable-able.
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Well, it's getting OT for this thread, but I completely disagree about the express windows. I never actuate the express accidentally, but I appreciate the ability to quickly close my windows without having to keep a hand on the switches, and if it's a hot day, I also like two presses (2 fingers each) to drop all of the windows fully.