Brand New MY in for Service

[Nyxster]

Hi All,

I picked up a new MY last week, drove it home and parked it in my garage. I went to drive it three hours later it gave me a list of errors and would not steer or stay in drive (kept shifting to park every 1-2 seconds). It was towed to a service center, and they're not exactly sure what's wrong with it. They ordered a new steering rack, which they "hope" will fix the issue. I was told (unprompted) that the issue had been spun up the chain and had lots of eyes tracking it since it was such a major issue on a car with 20 miles on it, but it's been sitting there for 10 days and they haven't even received the part yet.

My question is this - is it worth putting pressure on them to figure it out and move faster? Will it get me back in my car any faster, or is it just wasted effort? Do I have ANY options other than sit and wait until Tesla gets around to it? I've been very understanding thus far, it's not the Service Center's fault that the car wasn't built right and they have been friendly and provided transportation in the meantime. I just feel like I just dropped a ton of money on this new car that I was so excited about, but the whole experience from order to today been terrible. I didn't even get to enjoy the whole "new car" experience (silly things like that new car smell and temporary plates and installing new accessories, but I was excited about them). I even had to cancel a weekend trip because I can't take the loaner out of state. My experience thus far has been that Tesla flat out doesn't care about my opinion or experience, so I don't want to waste energy if I'm just going to get the same "go buy another car then" response.

 

[boones]

I would be upset also. Sorry this is happening. They appear to be dealing with it as they accepted it at the service center, acknowledge the fault and Tesla's responsibility to fix it and they are working toward that goal. Its not clear from your post how long you have been waiting. Respectfully, I don't see how you arrive at the conclusions that it "wasn't built right" as parts fail and failures are most likely when parts are new. Or that "Tesla flat out doesn't care about my opinion or experience" based on what you reported and that they provided a loaner vehicle. What else do you expect them to do at this point?

 

[Nyxster]

I would be upset also. Sorry this is happening. They appear to be dealing with it as they accepted it at the service center, acknowledge the fault and Tesla's responsibility to fix it and they are working toward that goal. Its not clear from your post how long you have been waiting. Respectfully, I don't see how you arrive at the conclusions that it "wasn't built right" as parts fail and failures are most likely when parts are new. Or that "Tesla flat out doesn't care about my opinion or experience" based on what you reported and that they provided a loaner vehicle. What else do you expect them to do at this point?

To make it a bit more clear - the service advisor has been great. My issue with the entire experience is broader and not really relevant to this particular car; long story made short is that I originally ordered a different car/VIN, and that one also arrived with major issues and everyone I encountered was dismissive and outright rude about the whole situation. The attitude was far more frustrating/disheartening than the issues with both cars combined.

My car has been there for 10 days, current estimate is 7 more days but they've pushed the completion estimate out twice already. I have no idea how long these things take, this might be reasonable/normal. My question is can they/will they move faster if I start complaining about the time it's taking? Are they just deprioritizing my car because I'm not a squeaky wheel? I just want my (working) car back. Perhaps my real question is if there is anything within my control here, or if I'm just stuck.

 

[Watts_Up]

Did you, or can you, get a loaner or some Uber miles?

 

[Yelobird]

Did you, or can you, get a loaner or some Uber miles?

He got a loaner as noted. Parts fail. I find it hard to believe complaining will make anyone work faster or improve the situation from either side.

 

[Geech72]

I would ask them to buy back or replace the vehicle, and familiarize myself with the state’s lemon laws

General Lemon Law | Washington State

General Lemon Law

www.atg.wa.gov

 

[Gonebananas]

I would ask them to buy back or replace the vehicle, and familiarize myself with the state’s lemon laws

General Lemon Law | Washington State

General Lemon Law

www.atg.wa.gov

Under lemon laws that I'm familiar with you have to bring in the car to fix a problem at least 3 times without a successful repair. This is just the first visit. But it is definitely good to find out the rules.

 

[mjwojtukiewicz]

This is the MAIN problem with Tesla. They have all the parts they need to build the cars, but are sorely lacking in spare parts. EM said it'll get better like we'll also have full autonomy by 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 202x

 

[jboy210]

I would just forcefully ask them to give you a new car if they cannot fix it in a few days. They have a lot of Ys that they could swap in.

 

[mark02115]

Agree - simply ask them if they will provide a new one that works. Why would they not agree to that?
But you should not have to feel uncomfortable asking, that's on them.
To me - it's not about a lemon law (3 strikes), it's about doing the right thing = Customer Service

 

[father_of_6]

The Washington state lemon law seems to also say that if the vehicle is out of operation for 30 days, you'd also have a case.

I agree with @mark02115 - I'd ask them to replace it with a new vehicle.

 

[MikeChicago]

Agree - simply ask them if they will provide a new one that works. Why would they not agree to that?
But you should not have to feel uncomfortable asking, that's on them.
To me - it's not about a lemon law (3 strikes), it's about doing the right thing = Customer Service

That is exactly what Tesla should do for this customer. This isn't a single, minor failure. This is a major failure with multiple error codes of which they themselves stated they are not 100% sure they understand the cause. 20 miles on the odometers and you're in this situation? Unacceptable. This should be replaced immediately and the faulty car should be send back to Tesla for detailed analysis.

 

[father_of_6]

This isn't a single, minor failure. This is a major failure with multiple error codes of which they themselves stated they are not 100% sure they understand the cause. 20 miles on the odometers and you're in this situation? Unacceptable.

To be fair, we don't know the cause of the failure... a loose connection of a wiring harness could cause the vehicle to shut down and with multiple error codes.

No one at the service center will know the cause until they know the cause.

Not sure pitchforks are necessary, just patience.

 

[nate704]

I would just forcefully ask them to give you a new car if they cannot fix it in a few days. They have a lot of Ys that they could swap in.

Try that to any other auto makers, and you will get the same or worse responses.

 

[jboy210]

Try that to any other auto makers, and you will get the same or worse responses.

Depends on the auto maker. My relatives Hyundia hybrid was in the shop after a week, and they ended up getting a new vehicle after the dealership could not fix it in a week.