Tesla great service changing? Have to take car in for warranty fix.... no valet...

I have had this experience when they have a lot of deliveries. My 12V warning came on and I just drove there, I was out of there is 45 minutes....no biggie.

I had an issue with my 12v battery. I just went by and they changed it while I waited (about 20 mins). Even offered to wash it. Was great service. It does seem like it's taking longer to get an appt but the number of tesla's is increasing so there is going to be times where there is a lag in the amount of service centers and techs as the are added and hired.

It would take you at least 25 min to meet a ranger to pick up your and and to be there for drop off. You have a service center in Houston so while unfortunate they can't pick your car up might just be easier to take it in since there is an urgent issue.

Ordinarily I'd say "just take it in and ask for a wash, it's a quick 30 minute job" but you paid extra for the ranger service, so I'd make sure they knew that and tell them they can either uphold their end of that contract and send out a ranger, or refund it if they're not going to be able to meet their obligation anymore. You paid for a specific service level and are entitled to get what you paid for.

Hopefully they didn't realize that, and also hopefully they're only temporarily understaffed and your situation improves soon.

The one time I needed a 12v replacement, back in April 2013, they sent a ranger to my office who swapped out the battery in the parking lot. Took him less than 30 minutes and only 5 minutes out of my day. Your time is money and that's what you should be expecting.

Electricfan said:

Hi, I'm just wondering if others have been told their Tesla service center is "low on manpower" and so they must bring their car in to have warranty work done and wait for it? This reminds me of my Chevy dealer - and I'm not too happy. I got home this weekend after being out of town for 3 weeks and my car shows the 12V battery needs to be replaced. Called Tesla and he said "I don't have the manpower to come to your place and fix it or valet it in, you have to bring it in to the service center and we'll do it in about 45 minutes".

Anybody else had to take their MS into the service center and wait for the 12V battery to be replaced? I wonder if this battery problem is so prevalent that Tesla can't afford to give the normal Tesla service on this issue, or if they're starting to scale back the valet repair service.

I'm in Houston Texas.

I purchased the service plan with "unlimited ranger visits", not the cheaper plan with the $100/visit charge.

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You might be able to avoid the service visit entirely by plugging your car in to charge for two hours, then sitting in the car with it on for 15 minutes while charging. I believe that it charges the 12 V battery that way while charging or when the driver is in the car. Since you were gone for 3 weeks, my guess is that the 12 V charge level was reduced to the point that the car thinks it needs to be replaced.

Hopefully this works for you!

I've actually had the opposite with my SC. I was having my jump seats replaced and they said it would only take about an hour. I asked if I could wait and they handed me a loaner and said nope come back this afternoon. (In my case if have preferred to wait)

Note that they didn't say they wouldn't honor the contract....nowhere in the contract does it say (I expect) that all service will be immediate...they staff up for the average load, or maybe a bit more, and when they are swamped you have to wait...that is just real life, not breach of contract....offering you the option of bringing it in and doing it right away was a plus, not a minus!!

I just had mine in for the annual service. Scheduled less than a week in advance. Dropped of the car one day and picked up a loaner, the valet service delivered it to my home the next day (That day lasted from 03:30 to 14:00 the second day so I didn't feel like driving to pick it up). No complaints here.

With the Tampa service center, I had a minor issue with my P85D after the latest software update. On the phone, the service coordinator told me a loaner would be delivered in 90 minutes and trey would take my car back on a flatbed. Totally exceptional service here.

What is the expected level of service if you have prepaid for all service including ranger service?

So far for each service (2 scheduled, one warranty) I've been asked to drop off the car, then they will drop me off at work and never a loaner available. Dropping me off at work recently consists of me waiting in the service center 20 minutes for an uber that Tesla paid for.
What should I expect? What does the ranger service I have paid for actually provide?

The Houston service center is too small to handle the number of cars that have been delivered in the area.

I recently scheduled my 50K mile service, and the earliest available appointment was over a month out.

If Tesla opens a second service center, service responsiveness should improve.

I'm sure service varies with each SC but let me say that it pays to develop a good relationship with the staff, especially your SC manager.

If you're a whiner and complainer that will get you nowhere. Treating the staff with respect is important; they aren't just any old grease monkeys and they're under an enormous amount of pressure for many reasons beyond those of normal auto service centers. I think Tesla vets the staff carefully and the ones I know have extraordinary experience and expertise.

I goes without saying that some of we owners who are able to afford the car may have an oversupply of arrogance. It does no good to keep that on display. You only hurt the one you love: yourself

That said I've never had a problem. I have ranger service and several cases they've sent a ranger to my company parking garage to undertake repairs. In every instance I've been offered a loaner and in cases when a Model S loaner (not always, as supply is limited) is available they've flat-bedded it to my house and taken my Model S.

In sum, the quality of service I've experienced is an order of magnitude higher than any I've experienced with other cars.

artsci said:

In sum, the quality of service I've experienced is an order of magnitude higher than any I've experienced with other cars.

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Hear, hear - shout out here to the Tesla service folks.

Ironic Timing

Seems ironic that I ran across this thread today because Friday morning (06 Feb 2015) at 9AM I called the Bellevue, WA Service Center to report the malfunction of my driver door handle. We have 39,900 miles on our Model S and this is the first service call. We live about 160 miles away from the service center and I was planning to drive the car over. We have the service plan but did not elect Ranger service. Service person said that they had a technician in Spokane and that he would be at our location by 1:30 PM. It happened just like that! He arrived, replaced the door handle, updated the firmware, asked about other items I might want answers to and departed. We did not even pay for the Ranger visit, Tesla said it was a warranty issue. I am totally convinced that the Tesla service model is doing well!

Wow, that's a nice change. It used to be they would charge you for the ranger visit regardless of whether a ranger happened to be nearby.

Hang in there, Electricfan. I realize the reason for Tesla's poor service in your case doesn't make it any nicer for you now. But I do believe it's just a growing pain (which they have occasionally; a few years ago I couldn't get my Roadster in for service, but it's been easy-peasy ever since they grew) so things will be better in the future. As mentioned above, I would remind them that you have paid for Ranger visits; it seems odd that they wouldn't honor that.

... or maybe whoever is managing that service center in Texas is doing a poor job. Not every Tesla employee is going to be exceptional. Some probably suck and don't last long. I'm just presenting another possibility that hasn't been mentioned. My experience with the Scottsdale service center in AZ has been fantastic. And this single service center handles the entire state of Arizona, New Mexico and portions of southeastern California. There are close to 2,000 Model S owners here in Arizona alone, and our single service center for two states and part of southeastern California does just fine. I get a loaner. I even received a free ranger visit when my charge port door got stuck. The Ranger lived 5 miles away, was on his way home, and Tesla felt that was better than bringing the car into the shop 50 miles away.

Some people aren't "out of the box" thinkers or don't work well under pressure.

Electricfan said:

To update everyone, Tesla called me this morning and offered to have the battery replaced at my home or office on the 25th, so I"m quite happy again. I've had a few small warranty issues with my car and they've done well for all of them. It took a while to get the car aligned properly, but they have it now driving straight and true (that was the biggest pain for the first year).

I've read threads that say they don't offer the unlimited ranger service anymore, so maybe they just aren't tracking the customers who bought it well enough. Whatever the misunderstanding, we seem back on the right page again.

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I believe they try to use valet service whenever possible to optimize the technician's time. However, in many cases the Service Centres are space constrained so Ranger service makes sense when the service doesn't involve needing a lift (such as 12V battery replacement).