10 Days out of warranty Model 3 heating failure...

[15mpg]

Hi, hope everyone is well!

I currently own 2 Tesla Model 3 Performance's, one of which the heating stopped working 9 days out of warranty! I contacted my local Tesla Service Centre who advised it can be fixed, with an estimate of almost £600. They are unwilling to offer any goodwill, despite having done so in the past on my Model S which was years out of warranty, and the model 3 now being 19 days out of warranty, (9 days at the time the issue occurred)

Are there any avenues I can take here, or am I SOL? If I have to pay for it, then I will, just sucks that its literally barely out of warranty and this happens...

 

[Js1977]

I would have thought £600 would be good will for this when Hyundai charges £530 just for the 4 year/40k mile service which is mainly a coolant change

 

[NewbieT]

Double check the date you first received the car is it 9 days or has the warranty computer hit the wrong date? Might get lucky.

 

[NewbieT]

Also consider Consumer Rights Act 2015 which is separate to the warranty. Goods must be of Satisfactory Quality / Durability. Would a reasonable person would expect a key component to fail on a 4 year old car?

 

[father_of_6]

The obvious solution is to swap all of the heating components between your two vehicles, then take the other (assumed still under warranty) car in for service.

 

[GlynG]

I keep saying this - Have a read of the consumer Act. The heater should be of adequate strength and composition, fit for purpose and last a reasonable length of time. The heater should last many many years of use. I assume you have a 4 yr old car - the heater should last a lot longer than that - and to prove the point why are all 4 yr old cars not having a heater failure? - The difference is clearly your heater has a manufacturing fault.

Offer Tesla to fix the issue free of charge and if not you will pay for the repair and consider the amount paid as damages and will seek redress in the small claims court under the consumer Act for full recovery of the invoice paid plus the charges to issue the claim - which is under £100.
In the small claims court Tesla - nor you, can have a solicitor to represent you - its to prevent the David V Goliath syndrome. If Tesla fail to send someone to the court - and oh so many businesses do as they don't take it seriously, then you automatically win your case.

The Burdon of proof is on the balance of probabilities not beyond all reasonable doubt. A 4 yr old car with a blown heater is probably confirmation the service life has been compromised - so you will win the case.

You can launch your claim online too - no going to the court - it's easy and straightforward - moneyclaim online.

The people that so far have said NO to a free repair will be the service centre - They are not Tesla, therefore ask the service centre to contact Tesla after you have told them a chargeable repair will lead to a claim in the small claims court under the Consumer Act. If the answer remains that its chargeable then get the name of the contact at Tesla that the service centre spoke to. - asking for that alone will get them moving as its made someone accountable.

Many people in many businesses say things that they don't have the authority to say - and that's why you need the name of the Tesla contact - Its called acting Ultra Virus - exceeding their authority.

Should'nt be long before you get the After consideration Tesla have decided to make a goodwill gesture - and they may try to illicit a part contribution - stand your ground, Its free or court.

 

[Js1977]

I assume you have a 4 yr old car - the heater should last a lot longer than that

How much longer?

 

[Js1977]

and to prove the point why are all 4 yr old cars not having a heater failure? - The difference is clearly your heater has a manufacturing fault.

And what about if all cars were filling at his point? does that turn the case around?

 

[NewbieT]

I’m not sure I’d use Rover as the epitome of reliability but suggestion here is a design life of 12 years for a car: https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/114682/n-a---design-life-of

 

[Js1977]

I’m not sure I’d use Rover as the epitome of reliability but suggestion here is a design life of 12 years for a car: https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/114682/n-a---design-life-of

Interestingly I also found this at the bottom of the page.. https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/cheap-car-warranties/

 

[GlynG]

How much longer?

There isnt an exact answer to that. Everything sold has a design life, the cost usually indicates what's reasonable, A heater should last the life of the car - That's the design life not the actual life.
A pencil for instance may be a day or so - but a £200 pair of headphones may be 3 years.
Statutory rights are an addition to any warranty provided by a manufacturer and in some cases UK law provides a further 6 years. In the UK its common to accept the 12 month warranty manufacturers provide on many items - but we still have the EU rules applying which indicates pretty much everything has a 24 month warranty.
I also see used car retailers like Cinch etc stating every single car supplied has at least a 3 month warranty - the law says its an absolute minimum of 6 months - so we know companies try it on all the time because people don't know their legal rights and most have no idea about consumer law - which is more comprehensive than any aftermarket warranty on a car - and its free.

Design life of most cars are between 8 to 12 years, It would be for the judge to decide what is reasonable given the cost of the component, the work of the component and the reasonable expectation of a "reasonable" person. (reasonable person is a legal definition) 4 years is a very short life for a component that isn't serviceable and cant be interfered with by the owner.

Majority of times the manufacturer will accept responsibility if they believe the alternative is a court ruling potentially against them because a ruling is binding, its costs a lot to prepare to defend a case and send someone to attend the court, Negative publicity if they loose and in cases where the ruling is based on the balance of probabilities they are likely to loose because most people avoid taking a company to court at all costs so when someone does then its because they feel they have a good case.
If a ruling is given against the company they have to pay it - or you return to court and get a writ issued to freeze their bank account - which means they cant trade. Its usually easier to just fix the issue - this heater will cost Tesla just a few pounds - nowhere near the £600 they are quoting a customer.

 

[Js1977]

What did I expect

 

[P3dStealth]

Ask them what they will be replacing them buy the parts and replace it yourself. Tesla charges $250 an hr labor so it's not an expensive part or a difficult part to replace.

My driver's seat occupancy sensor went bad two weeks past my warranty. Tesla wanted $300 to fix it. They sold me the sensor for $11 and I fixed it myself with the free service manual.

 

[thewishy]

You could also look at the part price vs labour and see if Cleevely ev can do the work a little cheaper

 

[Rooster6655]

Hi, hope everyone is well!

I currently own 2 Tesla Model 3 Performance's, one of which the heating stopped working 9 days out of warranty! I contacted my local Tesla Service Centre who advised it can be fixed, with an estimate of almost £600. They are unwilling to offer any goodwill, despite having done so in the past on my Model S which was years out of warranty, and the model 3 now being 19 days out of warranty, (9 days at the time the issue occurred)

Are there any avenues I can take here, or am I SOL? If I have to pay for it, then I will, just sucks that its literally barely out of warranty and this happens...

The PTC heater failure seems to be a common issue, mine failed after about 2 years, I would look to go down the route the other person posted and try to claim under the consumer laws as it is essential at this time of the year to use the car

 

[Js1977]

try to claim under the consumer laws as it is essential at this time of the year to use the car

Think I might put one in with Ducati

 

[spooksman]

Happened to be listening to a Martin Lewis podcast on the way home and he was emphasising your SADFART rights - any item you buy must be of Satisfactory quality, As Described, Fit for purpose, And last a Reasonable length of Time, that is a statutory right apparently.

I would agree that on an expensive car (well, any car), a reasonable length of time is longer than 4 years for a heater.

 

[MrBadger]

It’s a useful law because the seller would often have to basically admit what they sold is crap/poor quality in order to argue that their faulty item failed after a reasonable amount of time.

Nobody would buy from a car manufacturer if they argued that a non wear and tear breakage failure wasn't unexpected within 4 years. (I think I got my negatives right)

 

[Js1977]

I would agree that on an expensive car (well, any car)

Wich is it then?

Satisfactory quality, As Described, Fit for purpose

Depends on who you ask bar as described.

And last a Reasonable length of Time

How long is a reasonable length of time ?

a reasonable length of time is longer than 4 years for a heater.

Yes but how much longer than 4 years?

 

[stopcrazypp]

Wich is it then?



Depends on who you ask bar as described.


How long is a reasonable length of time ?



Yes but how much longer than 4 years?

I think the better question to ask is if there is even any precedent of a car being covered out of warranty under that Act and under what circumstances? Otherwise why can't you argue that the "reasonable" expectation of life of all the components of the car is more than 4 years, so everything should be covered (essentially the warranty should be longer than 4 years)?

Otherwise people would be barking up the wrong tree if that Act doesn't serve to extend the warranty.

Edit, doing a quick Google, after 6 months the burden of proof is on the buyer to prove the component is of unsatisfactory quality at the time of purchase:

What is the Consumer Rights Act, and how does it affect my vehicle purchase?

If you bought your car after 01 October 2015, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies. This means that, when you buy the vehicle, it has to be of satisfactory

www.themotorombudsman.org