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Tesla won't perform any alignment/wheel/suspension work on car with aftermarket rims/tires

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Has anybody had to deal with Tesla not working on their car because they have aftermarket wheels?

Here is what the Tesla Colorado Service Manager emailed to me. Really can't believe they take this stance.

So that you are aware, our policy is that we will not be able to perform any work on the vehicle that involves aftermarket wheels or unapproved tires. Basically what that means is that if you have any issues with the tire pressure monitoring sensors, alignment, suspension work, brake fluid change or any other service requirement that would involve removal of or working with the wheels and tires we would be prohibited from performing that work.

I will have the vehicle ready to be collected shortly.
 
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TM needs to figure out the fact that a car is a car and not a piece of art. We love our vehicles and like to change and modify them. If they continue down the road of not being able to touch anything non factory things are going to continue to get messy. This is a new level of craziness going on here.
 
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For optional service, they can do this if they want (though most service centres don't have a problem with it)
But for warranty they can not. By law, they must prove that your after market part caused the issue (onus of proof is on them to prove it, not on you to disprove it!) before they can deny any warranty work.
 
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TM needs to figure out the fact that a car is a car and not a piece of art. We love our vehicles and like to change and modify them. If they continue down the road of not being able to touch anything non factory things are going to continue to get messy. This is a new level of craziness going on here.
It's well known that Tesla is downright hostile to anyone wanting to do anything at all to their cars, be it minor maintenance, or major modifications, Tesla's policy is basically that they own the car, not you, how dare you behave otherwise.

They get away with it now because there's no competition, once that changes (and it WILL change, it's just a matter of when) I think they're in for a rude awakening.
 
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Interesting.

I've had aftermarket tires and wheels and have had no issues or warnings from Tesla Chicago about doing routine work during service visits.

I would think that they would need to prove that the after market wheels were in fact the cause of such damage or untoward wear and tear.
 
OP...you didn't mention what the car was in there for. This is crazy.

Is it warranty work or not? Is the reason it is in there have anything to do with handling or suspension? Details because this is pretty far fetched. I don't doubt what you say its just not reasonable or legal for the SC to do this under most circumstances.
 
Your title is a little inaccurate. The title says that they would not work on your car, but the service manager says they won't work on your wheels.

I agree with Tesla in this instance. Example: Tesla has unusually high torque values on the Lug nuts. If they torque to spec and one or more wheels breaks or cracks, who is responsible? The owner or Tesla?

I suggest a title change.
 
I think that Tesla just wants to be absolved of any issues regarding damage to aftermarket wheels in this case.
Perhaps Tesla should craft a waiver for those of us with aftermarket wheels which would absolve them of any responsibility
should damage happen to an aftermarket wheel.

I know that Tesla does not want to mount or dismount tires on aftermarket wheels for that very reason.

When I had new tires mounted on new Tsportline wheels my local tire shop manager essentially told me that "Hey these are brandy new
wheels and I cannot be held responsible if the finish is scratched when we mount the tires on them... we use Teflon guards but there
is no guarantee they will work 100% of the time... just so you know"

I suspect this stance of Tesla's was taken because an owner complained that their wheel(s) were somehow harmed during a maintenance issue.
 
Well just take it to another dealer, I'm sure you'll be able to find one that is happy to take your money. Ohh wait....

Well in that case just take it to an indy shop, should be no problem having them do the work! Ohh wait...
 
My car is in there because I had a flat on my left wheel. After 8k miles. I have 21 inch stock wheels and Pirelli stock tires. Then they told all my tires needed to be replaced. This is the 2nd set of tires after 14k miles. I told them I am tired of buying their expensive tires and wanted to go after market and that is the response I got.

Yes, I guess they will work on the rest of my car except what is included in his email. What should the title of my thread be?
 
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I think that Tesla just wants to be absolved of any issues regarding damage to aftermarket wheels in this case.
Perhaps Tesla should craft a waiver for those of us with aftermarket wheels which would absolve them of any responsibility
should damage happen to an aftermarket wheel.


I believe this is where they're headed. At the Houston Westchase service center recently, one of the guys told me that they're coming out with a new form that the customer will have to fill out before service that lists any and all aftermarket parts that are installed on the car. Tesla is supposed to work on the car even with these items installed, but will not be responsible for them if they break or are otherwise damaged.

This includes wheels, tires, dashcams, aftermarket lighting, etc. This is probably a good compromise -- it keeps Tesla non-liable for any of these items and lets the customer have them without Tesla standing in the way.
 
Tesla won't mount aftermarket tires on OEM rims

My car is in there because I had a flat on my left wheel. After 8k miles. I have 21 inch stock wheels and Pirelli stock tires. Then they told all my tires needed to be replaced. This is the 2nd set of tires after 14k miles. I told them I am tired of buying their expensive tires and wanted to go after market and that is the response I got.

Yes, I guess they will work on the rest of my car except what is included in his email. What should the title of my thread be?

Have you thought about getting the 19" rims? Sounds like the roads where you are aren't great and might help.

So Tesla can't put on aftermarket tires on OEM rims anymore. I've run across this.

mod note: changed title. Let me know if that doesn't work.
 
My car is in there because I had a flat on my left wheel. After 8k miles. I have 21 inch stock wheels and Pirelli stock tires. Then they told all my tires needed to be replaced. This is the 2nd set of tires after 14k miles. I told them I am tired of buying their expensive tires and wanted to go after market and that is the response I got.

Yes, I guess they will work on the rest of my car except what is included in his email. What should the title of my thread be?

If you have a Discount Tire in your area, they will likely deal with your tires according to proper procedures. You can also buy a road hazard warranty and free rotation plan for a lot less than having Tesla do it.
 
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From what I understand, they will not help you mount aftermarket tires, but will happily mount OEM tires. This is not entirely unreasonable if Tesla has a policy of not warrantying aftermarket parts (which if they help you mount might have an implied warranty on the work preformed as most tire places do).

The way around this is to simply go to a third party tire place as others suggested. Just make sure you get the right tires and that they torque the lugs correctly.
 
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From what I understand, they will not help you mount aftermarket tires, but will happily mount OEM tires. This is not entirely unreasonable if Tesla has a policy of not warrantying aftermarket parts (which if they help you mount might have an implied warranty on the work preformed as most tire places do).

The way around this is to simply go to a third party tire place as others suggested. Just make sure you get the right tires and that they torque the lugs correctly.
The new thread title minimizes this, but I think there's still a serious issue here. According to the OP, he was told that if he got after market tires, they would no longer perform brake work... This IS "entirely unreasonable".
 
Fwiw, this seems to be SC specific and not a corp mandate. Or its a corp mandate and some SCs are doing it wrong. Example...at my annual service this year, I brought my car in with winter tires on Rial wheels. My summer set of Michelin tires on Tesla wheels in the back. I paid for the service in addition to the annual, but Tesla very happily disassembled all 8 wheel/tire combos and put my summer tires on the Rial Cyclone rims and my winter tires on the Tesla 5spoke rims. They put the winter set back on the car, all mounted and balanced and TPMS communicating nicely and the summer set in the back of the car for the trip home. I could not have been happier with the service. No issues or problems at all.
 
Have you thought about getting the 19" rims? Sounds like the roads where you are aren't great and might help.

So Tesla can't put on aftermarket tires on OEM rims anymore. I've run across this.

mod note: changed title. Let me know if that doesn't work.

Thank you, mod! I think a better title might be "Tesla won't perform any alignment/wheel/suspension/brake fluid work on aftermarket OEM rims/tires."