Vico owner Tesla delivered 12/21/2012
The happiest Tesla owner in the world. Today I am the unhappiest owner.
In mid August I stopped at a fast food restaurant to pick up lunch. When I returned to my Tesla and attempted to back up I heard a scraping sound from the front of the vehicle, followed by a loud thump hitting the ground. When I exited my vehicle to see what had made that sound I saw the complete front bumper had detached itself from the auto. A total stranger who was in parking asked what had happened. We found that numerous black plastic snaps holding the bumper to the car were on the ground. I asked him if he would help me put the bumper back so I could get back to my office. We were able to re-attach the bumper with a few of the snaps The next day I called service center at Davie, Fl and spoke with a service technician whom I had met on previous visits. He advised that I bring my Tesla in to have it looked at. A Tesla service technician took the car into the building and returned about 15 minutes later telling me that he had reattached the snaps and the auto was fine.
Yesterday 9/10/2015 I went to see a client and parked in front of the building. When I returned and began to back out of the space I heard the same scraping noise and the thump of what I now knew was the bumper hitting the ground. I called the Davie service center and asked for Leidys was busy and then I asked for Luiz whom I had met on my last visit. It seems everyone was at a meeting and would call me back. I then called Tesla road service and spoke with Peter. He said he would have a Road Ranger come and take me to a body shop for a repair. I explained that this was not caused by an accident I did not understand why I would have to make an insurance claim. The temperature at the time was 99 degrees. I was told I would receive a call from the towing service to confirm they were coming.
After waiting for over an hour I called my office and asked my manager to come and see if we could lift the bumper back on the car and reattach it with the plastic snaps. Just at the moment he arrived a local mechanic pulled into the parking area. Being desperate by this time, I asked him if he could help. I was in luck, he was with the help of my manager able to put the bumper back on the car. He told me he was not able to get all the snaps back but if I followed him to his business he could attach more of the snaps. He secured all but about 5 of the snaps. I was able to drive to my home as the time was now about 7PM.
I am very displeased with explanations given to me by the Tesla Davie service center. I will be glad to share the reasons they posed for this situation happening twice in three weeks.
I will not return to the Davie, Fl service center and request that someone at the factory level executive division contact me as soon as possible. I have lost confidence in driving my Tesla since I truly believe that the bumper snaps could be jarred off and the bumper fall off while I am driving. I have only 11,600 miles on the odometer and have maintained the auto like a new born baby. I would like to resolve this situation in an amicable way and not wait until someone is killed or seriously injured because of this apparent design flaw. "I love my Tesla but I love my life more"
Respectfully,
Vico
I have previously posted 250 positive comments on www.seekingalpha.com
Oct. 01, 2015
Please offer a solution. I am 82 and would like to outlive my Tesla.
Civil responses only.
The happiest Tesla owner in the world. Today I am the unhappiest owner.
In mid August I stopped at a fast food restaurant to pick up lunch. When I returned to my Tesla and attempted to back up I heard a scraping sound from the front of the vehicle, followed by a loud thump hitting the ground. When I exited my vehicle to see what had made that sound I saw the complete front bumper had detached itself from the auto. A total stranger who was in parking asked what had happened. We found that numerous black plastic snaps holding the bumper to the car were on the ground. I asked him if he would help me put the bumper back so I could get back to my office. We were able to re-attach the bumper with a few of the snaps The next day I called service center at Davie, Fl and spoke with a service technician whom I had met on previous visits. He advised that I bring my Tesla in to have it looked at. A Tesla service technician took the car into the building and returned about 15 minutes later telling me that he had reattached the snaps and the auto was fine.
Yesterday 9/10/2015 I went to see a client and parked in front of the building. When I returned and began to back out of the space I heard the same scraping noise and the thump of what I now knew was the bumper hitting the ground. I called the Davie service center and asked for Leidys was busy and then I asked for Luiz whom I had met on my last visit. It seems everyone was at a meeting and would call me back. I then called Tesla road service and spoke with Peter. He said he would have a Road Ranger come and take me to a body shop for a repair. I explained that this was not caused by an accident I did not understand why I would have to make an insurance claim. The temperature at the time was 99 degrees. I was told I would receive a call from the towing service to confirm they were coming.
After waiting for over an hour I called my office and asked my manager to come and see if we could lift the bumper back on the car and reattach it with the plastic snaps. Just at the moment he arrived a local mechanic pulled into the parking area. Being desperate by this time, I asked him if he could help. I was in luck, he was with the help of my manager able to put the bumper back on the car. He told me he was not able to get all the snaps back but if I followed him to his business he could attach more of the snaps. He secured all but about 5 of the snaps. I was able to drive to my home as the time was now about 7PM.
I am very displeased with explanations given to me by the Tesla Davie service center. I will be glad to share the reasons they posed for this situation happening twice in three weeks.
I will not return to the Davie, Fl service center and request that someone at the factory level executive division contact me as soon as possible. I have lost confidence in driving my Tesla since I truly believe that the bumper snaps could be jarred off and the bumper fall off while I am driving. I have only 11,600 miles on the odometer and have maintained the auto like a new born baby. I would like to resolve this situation in an amicable way and not wait until someone is killed or seriously injured because of this apparent design flaw. "I love my Tesla but I love my life more"
Respectfully,
Vico
I have previously posted 250 positive comments on www.seekingalpha.com
Oct. 01, 2015
Please offer a solution. I am 82 and would like to outlive my Tesla.
Civil responses only.
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