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Lost both keys to my MS, and the service was outstanding!

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Yes, I'm that guy; I lost both keys to my MS. I'm just scatterbrained that way.
And, yes, I turned the house and garage upside down for 2 days trying to find them.

So, today I wrote Maddy at Tesla Bellevue (WA) and she let me know that besides the two keys, a new Body Control Module (BCM) is needed. Makes sense to me, since with most vehicles the BCM is paired to the keys.

The price? $1900 for the service call, module, and keys. Yowza! I scheduled the repair and a few hours later Jake (the Ranger) arrived at the scheduled time and replaced the module and handed me two shiny new keys. Jake was very pro, and super cool, and clearly loves his job. Props to Tesla for the experience so far.

As Jake left, I asked for my BCM, since it was not broken and if I ever found the old keys I would have a matched set should this ever happen again. Jake told me he wasn't sure he could give it to me and would need to check with the Service Center. I think this was just a miscommunication since this was NOT warranty work, and since I paid full price for the unit, it seems I should be able to have what I initially paid for (with the car).

I contacted Maddy to clarify, and she said she would hold my parts while she checks with the factory for further clarification. Again, very professional. I've never dealt with any other service center that communicated so quickly.

Soon after, Ryan, the shop foreman called me to let me know that the new firmware (5.12.something) allows the pairing of new keys to the car without needing to replace the BCM, so I don't need my old BCM back to pair with my old keys, and they removed the charge from my invoice! All total, the two new keys cost me $113 per key (these are the new key prices Maddy tells me), and $50 for labor. Ryan even said that if I find my old keys they can pair those to my car as well, giving me a total of 4 keys to lose!

Man, am I one happy guy right now. Tesla Service is unmatched. Not only did they fix it within hours of me asking for the repair, they repaired it above and beyond my expectations. "10"s across the board.
 
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Excellent story. And just shows the changes tesla is making in the industry with the firmware updates. No wonder the dealers are so against tesla and among many reasons, it's firmware updates away from dealers. They see the money flowing away from their very profitable service centers. Imagine a dealer being so honest to tell you that you didn't really need a $1900 part after they worked on it?
 
So the BCM was not replaced in the first place?

Does this mean that had you not asked to keep the old BCM, you would have just paid the two thousand?

Yes, the BCM was replaced. Yes, they likely would have kept his money, and that's the only glitch in this story. Someone at TM dropped the ball between the new firmware and updating their repair procedures for lost keys.

My hope is that they didn't just fix this glitch, but that they also made a change to who signs off on firmware implementation. They need a brainstorm session or whatever with every firmware update to figure out what procedures might need changing with each update. Documentation of course, but also maintenance, repair, etc.
 
Yes, the BCM was replaced. Yes, they likely would have kept his money, and that's the only glitch in this story. Someone at TM dropped the ball between the new firmware and updating their repair procedures for lost keys.

My hope is that they didn't just fix this glitch, but that they also made a change to who signs off on firmware implementation. They need a brainstorm session or whatever with every firmware update to figure out what procedures might need changing with each update. Documentation of course, but also maintenance, repair, etc.

I hope so too. Because putting myself in the same situation, I doubt if asking to keep the BCM would have come to my mind, and I am afraid there might be other such examples. I don't want to have to be extra cautious when dealing with service trying to make sure I am not losing money for nothing. Hope this is just a one off instance. So far, I was always carefree, assured that they always have my best interest in mind.
 
I don't know how old your car was, but that BCM was revised recently to add a lot more RF shielding. And is hard to get on a non-emergency basis... my SC was trying to get me one for months to resolve an RF-related issue I was having.

So you potentially got a much-improved part thrown in for free!
 
I think it is the law / common practice here in Hong Kong that replaced parts are the property of the vehicle owner.

Whenever work is done on my cars here, the trunk is full of rusty metal parts when the service is complete. You can ask them to dispose of the parts for you.
 
So the BCM was not replaced in the first place?
I certainly hope it was replaced. The Ranger had a laptop plugged into a jack behind the left-side dash panel, and he had the carpet pulled back in front of the passenger's seat, and I saw some bolts bolts, and saw a new flat module on the seat (I think). I didn't see the old unit. The new one is listed as this on the invoice: BODY CONTROLLER, MODEL S 315 MHz (1010906-00-D)

I think it is the law / common practice here in Hong Kong that replaced parts are the property of the vehicle owner.
WA State law is the same, but you need to specifically ask for them. I do it because I am a curious guy and love to see how things tick. I even asked for my Minivan's rotors during a replacement, just to see what a "hot spot" looks like. Now I have 50 pounds of steel littering my garage!

Does this mean that had you not asked to keep the old BCM, you would have just paid the two thousand?
Yes. Although I found it fiscally uncomfortable, I had no choice but to be ready to pay the $2000. My car was dead. However, I'd like to think that they would have discovered that my old BCM was 100% reusable in another vehicle since it had no damage, and using new firmware could be paired to any set of keys, and they would have eventually refunded me the cost of the unit since the repair was technically unnecessary.

This is Tesla, and the Bellevue WA SC is one of the best in the country (according to me). They have been 100% aboveboard with me in the past, and have fixed everything I have asked for so far with my P85+ (water in taillights, fishtailing, humming rotors, relay fix, AC Buzzblanket, battery armor) so I have no reason to think they'd take advantage of me now. :)

In the far back of my mind, I wonder if maybe they decided that having an intact, working BCM out there "in the wild" was something they'd rather not have, and decided to make it worth my while to let them hang on to it for their peace of mind. Who knows. I'd rather think that they are a different kind of company and truly seek to continue to have a great relationship with their customers.

Agree. Although Tesla would have a hard time justifying $350 when all you need in future is your iPhone.
Indeed. I agree that the new halving of the key replacement costs is a precursor to the new 6.0 phone-access feature which will render most of our keys obsolete very shortly - assuming we all have Bluetooth 4.0 phones. But, if we can afford a Tesla, I am guessing we are all already on the cutting or bleeding edge with regard to our phones.
 
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Indeed. I agree that the new halving of the key replacement costs is a precursor to the new 6.0 phone-access feature which will render most of our keys obsolete very shortly - assuming we all have Bluetooth 4.0 phones.

I suspect the phone unlock features may not have been designed to function as a key replacement, but rather as a key backup. With my key fob today, I simply walk up to the car, the handles present, I get in and drive. It's entirely possible that using the phone will be functional, but much less streamlined. It may require the phone to be unlocked, the Tesla app started, and perhaps an additional confirmation or PIN entry. So it's hugely useful in case I forget/lose/break my key, but won't serve as a replacement for daily driving.
 
I suspect the phone unlock features may not have been designed to function as a key replacement, but rather as a key backup. With my key fob today, I simply walk up to the car, the handles present, I get in and drive. It's entirely possible that using the phone will be functional, but much less streamlined. It may require the phone to be unlocked, the Tesla app started, and perhaps an additional confirmation or PIN entry. So it's hugely useful in case I forget/lose/break my key, but won't serve as a replacement for daily driving.

Agree...in addition I'm not going to be giving my phone to the valet either. The phone will be a nice backup but definitely not my daily.
 
I wish they still were this good; I find that all teh SC in the bay area is losing all these great people and replacing them with less professional and knowledgeable people. The reality is that when you scale to 1 million cars in CA, they can't open enough service centers and have trained talent. I'm still trying to get a new key paired to my car 3 months later from when I originally had a tech come up and fail, and today I had the same thing happen again for teh 3rd time, where the tech came out and failed to pair a new key. There is most likely issues with my center antenna after they upgrade teh MCU2, a lot of fo things have not been working as expected.