Can I buy genuine parts?

[elektrinis]

I must be very bad at search, but is there really no way to order new genuine tesla parts?
I have bought a new model 3, with warranty. 20k miles in, my wheel bearing is failing.
However I live in european country where closest service center is like 2000-3000 miles away, so I'm just not going to spend all that time and money to transport the car to carry out 30 minute job worth $150. I would rather ask my local non-tesla center to replace it.
But only if I could get the part.

So is there an official way to get it serviced without going on vacation trip for a week?
Even though it's under warranty, heck, I can pay for everything, if only I could buy the part.
Or should I turn to aftermarket SKF, or a used genuine part off ebay?

Extra Q: I have a possible software issue (choppy/clicky audio in FM radio only) which is not going away with updates. Is there a way to report it and get someone to look at it without driving to other country?

 

[rpiotro]

Not sure how to answer your question except to offer a plan "B". It would involve laying up the car for a few days.

Remove the offending bearing and look for a manufacturer's name and part #. If you can't identify that way then take measurements. Such bearings are almost always off the shelf components from outside suppliers. Should be able to match it up.

Here is just one example of a supplier. There are many.

Ball Bearings | Pro Source Industrial

 

[EVRider-FL]

Maybe Tesla will give you the part since the car is under warranty.

 

[z0lt3c]

You can buy parts from any authorized Tesla body shop. If you do not have one local, many will ship the parts to you. There are some members here who will offer this service as well. However, be prepared to pay 2x shipping fees, order fee and handling fee. Something like a wheel bearing can also now be found by non-OEM manufacturers on sites like rockauto.

 

[cmy4x4]

If you have access to the Tesla parts manual (which you should), look up the part number and order it through the APP. I have ordered a couple of things and picked them up at the Service Center with no problem. Start a service request for "Other" and request the part you are wanting. They should be able to ship it to you. Not sure how it works in the EU, but in US they will do "mobile service" and come to your home for repairs, especially if it is under warranty.

 

[jjrandorin]

Extra Q: I have a possible software issue (choppy/clicky audio in FM radio only) which is not going away with updates. Is there a way to report it and get someone to look at it without driving to other country?

It feels like you are leaving stuff out... like how you could have a car that is 2000 - 3000 miles away from a Tesla service center, but the car not be grey market / imported to another country. If it IS grey market / imported to another country, then you likely need to order the parts from the country where the car came from, if they will ship them to you.

No Idea on that, but grey market stuff is a struggle. If its not grey market, then you should be able to order the parts from a service center in your supported country.

 

[Soul Surfer]

I must be very bad at search, but is there really no way to order new genuine tesla parts?
I have bought a new model 3, with warranty. 20k miles in, my wheel bearing is failing.
However I live in european country where closest service center is like 2000-3000 miles away, so I'm just not going to spend all that time and money to transport the car to carry out 30 minute job worth $150. I would rather ask my local non-tesla center to replace it.
But only if I could get the part.

So is there an official way to get it serviced without going on vacation trip for a week?
Even though it's under warranty, heck, I can pay for everything, if only I could buy the part.
Or should I turn to aftermarket SKF, or a used genuine part off ebay?

Extra Q: I have a possible software issue (choppy/clicky audio in FM radio only) which is not going away with updates. Is there a way to report it and get someone to look at it without driving to other country?

I’m dealing with a similar issue on my infotainment system since getting it new. Now software update has resolved this yet and Tesla is really diagnosing the heck out of this before they start swapping parts. Frustrating.

Call drops

 

[emptyspaces]

Contact your closest service center and ask the parts counter to mail you the parts.. it's possible to do it here in the states, not sure what the policy is elsewhere.

 

[gearchruncher]

Last time I was in my service center picking up parts, the parts person said "you know you can just order these online and Tesla will mail them to you, right?" Well, I looked all over on the epc and service sites, and couldn't find that option anywhere. It looked like maybe if I was a repair shop I could, but not as an individual. (and to register as a business you need to upload pictures of your facility)

Am I missing something, or was the parts department wrong? They seemed very insistent it was possible.

 

[cmy4x4]

Last time I was in my service center picking up parts, the parts person said "you know you can just order these online and Tesla will mail them to you, right?" Well, I looked all over on the epc and service sites, and couldn't find that option anywhere. It looked like maybe if I was a repair shop I could, but not as an individual. (and to register as a business you need to upload pictures of your facility)

Am I missing something, or was the parts department wrong? They seemed very insistent it was possible.

Start a service request in the APP for "other" and request the parts you are needing. Mention whether you need them installed or not, and any other relevant information including shipping or pickup. Usually NOT the same day, but they will reply with an estimate for you to approve.

 

[THEbuz]

If you have access to the Tesla parts manual (which you should), look up the part number and order it through the APP. I have ordered a couple of things and picked them up at the Service Center with no problem. Start a service request for "Other" and request the part you are wanting. They should be able to ship it to you. Not sure how it works in the EU, but in US they will do "mobile service" and come to your home for repairs, especially if it is under warranty.

Where do I obtain a TESLA parts manual for my 2023 Model Y?

 

[gearchruncher]

epc.tesla.com
service.tesla.com

 

[elektrinis]

So, couple months have passed, and I want to share my experience.
I'm based in small EU Baltics country called Lithuania, no service center here. Closest ones are in Finland, Poland and Germany. 8-12 hours drive (with a failed bearing!). First, I tried opening a ticked on the app. They use some kind of script to sort these tickets and mine got missorted. After few days they said they moved my ticket to correct department that will "contact me later". They never did.
Then I tried contacting Poland/Warsaw. All phone menus are in polish, pressed something, waited 30 minutes, no answer. Mind you, these are international calls.
Then I called Finland. Menus also in finnish, pressed someting, got an answer in 45 minutes. Definitely not by native Finn, Indian accent. He said bring the car in. I said it's too cumbersome and expensive, would like to just buy the parts. He warned that there will be no warranty for whole drivetrain if the bearing is replaced "incorrectly". Not sure if this applies to use of non-tesla branded bearings. And then he said to open a ticket in the app, which I already did and it got nowhere. So useless.
Then I found they have two public emails, sales@ and service@. Sent an inquiry to both. Silence for a week. Then someone replied those are wrong ones and for parts I should contact parts@, which is not publicly visible. OK I did that. One more week later I got an email with question if I really want to do this, better bring the car in. I explained bringing the car would cost me over €1000 and 3 days of my life, so I prefer to just buy the bearing please. Few more days and I get a quotation for ~€350 incl. shipping to Lithuania.

Note that all of this communication and me desperately trying to get the genuine part took over a month. Of course no local repair shops wanted to deal with it. Due to this same reason, insuring a tesla is 4-5x more expensive here, compared to other brands. For example, I paid €600 for €65k worth IONIQ5, and they asked €2k for model 3, worth €40k.

So I got fed up and just bought the thing on ebay for €75 incl. delivery and replaced it in my yard, took only 15 minutes. It's really that simple, only few bolts.

So there goes tesla's warranty.

By the way I am getting terrible FM audio quality since 2023 January (clicks and pops). Complained about it to the Finnish support guy over phone and he suggested to restart and shutdown it, and if it does not help, to bring the car to service center.
Someone else here on forums said they were promised by tesla this will be fixed with 2023.20 update. Got it a few days ago and no, problem is not fixed.

Quite disappointed with the whole experience, just happy I don't have many issues, it would be a nightmare.

Main problems in my opinion:
1. tesla's support is really difficult to reach, and then they are not very helpful
2. if there are no service centers and no roadside assistance, tesla should at least offer the parts for free. Like I buy the part and mail bad one back, then I get full refund, including shipping.
3. no way to report bugs. I know Elon does not want to listen to dumb customers, but this really prolongs fixes. Like this audio problem, I'm suffering for half a year already.
4. I had various other questions/issues and tried to ask on FB/reddit tesla groups but got banned/deleted immediately. What's up with that?


Overall, my European 2021 model 3LR (chinese assembly) is holding up way better than early production 2021 IONIQ5 (P45), which was serviced like 20 times already, with various non-EV issues, like broken AC, seat mechanism etc. So my next/second car would probably still be a tesla.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Main problems in my opinion:
1. tesla's support is really difficult to reach, and then they are not very helpful

This is true in the US also, and probably most of the world. This is not a strong point for Tesla. The app is pretty much the only way to reach them or if you have an emergency, the roadside service number. Some people just go straight to a store or SC (which can handle drop in appointments for emergency issues).
You can find the roadside number for your country here:
Roadside Assistance | Tesla

2. if there are no service centers and no roadside assistance, tesla should at least offer the parts for free. Like I buy the part and mail bad one back, then I get full refund, including shipping.

Do they have a store in Lithuania and official Tesla sales in that country? If not, you are lucky they even respond and are willing to ship to you.
Looks like your nearest SC is in Warsaw, Poland (about 450 km from the center of Lithuania):
Tesla Stores in Poland | Tesla

I don't know how it works in the EU, but in the US, even in the same country, if they don't have a SC in your state, they definitely won't provide free parts. That generally is not a reasonable expectation. You would have to figure out how to get the car to an SC for it to be repaired under warranty. Part of it is they also have to diagnose your car to make sure it is a warranty item. They can't just trust your word that it is. They do cover up to 500 miles of towing in the US, if the car is undrivable due to a warranty issue:
Roadside Assistance | Tesla Support

3. no way to report bugs. I know Elon does not want to listen to dumb customers, but this really prolongs fixes. Like this audio problem, I'm suffering for half a year already.

You can use voice commands to do a bug report, but people have said all it does is set a snapshot on the car internally (which an SC can use to review), but is not uploaded to Tesla, so its use is limited.
Model 3 Owner's Manual | Tesla

4. I had various other questions/issues and tried to ask on FB/reddit tesla groups but got banned/deleted immediately. What's up with that?

Maybe they have spam detection that rejects you due to region or if your posts match the profile of spam/trolls.

Overall, my European 2021 model 3LR (chinese assembly) is holding up way better than early production 2021 IONIQ5 (P45), which was serviced like 20 times already, with various non-EV issues, like broken AC, seat mechanism etc. So my next/second car would probably still be a tesla.

 

[crackers8199]

Extra Q: I have a possible software issue (choppy/clicky audio in FM radio only) which is not going away with updates. Is there a way to report it and get someone to look at it without driving to other country?

this has been going on for over a year, now. not to hijack the thread, but i'd also love to know if there's a way to report this without having to waste my time having them "diagnose" it. there are multiple forum members reporting this issue, both on FM and SXM.

 

[stopcrazypp]

this has been going on for over a year, now. not to hijack the thread, but i'd also love to know if there's a way to report this without having to waste my time having them "diagnose" it. there are multiple forum members reporting this issue, both on FM and SXM.

From a quick search 2023.6.8 supposedly fixes it.

Radio static-like cutting in and out.

The radio in my Tesla Model S…2019, used to work fine. In the last month it has begun rapidly cutting in and out making it sound very “staticky”. It is worst when the car is on. There is minimal disruption when car is off. Any suggestions as to what is going on, and better yet how to fix it?

teslamotorsclub.com

Note that software roll out is staggered, so different people will get the software at different points in time.

Forgot to mention, as people mentioned in that thread, one way to report an issue is simply to report it in the app by requesting service. The SC may close the request citing a future firmware update is coming to address it, but at least you get to know that.

 

[crackers8199]

From a quick search 2023.6.8 supposedly fixes it.

Radio static-like cutting in and out.

The radio in my Tesla Model S…2019, used to work fine. In the last month it has begun rapidly cutting in and out making it sound very “staticky”. It is worst when the car is on. There is minimal disruption when car is off. Any suggestions as to what is going on, and better yet how to fix it?

teslamotorsclub.com

Note that software roll out is staggered, so different people will get the software at different points in time.

Forgot to mention, as people mentioned in that thread, one way to report an issue is simply to report it in the app by requesting service. The SC may close the request citing a future firmware update is coming to address it, but at least you get to know that.

it doesn't. i'm way past 2023.6.8 (just got 2023.20.4.1 yesterday) and it's still happening.

 

[stopcrazypp]

it doesn't. i'm way past 2023.6.8 (just got 2023.20.4.1 yesterday) and it's still happening.

Make sure you have done a full reboot of the system since your update. There have been cases reported where this have also addressed the issue.


If that doesn't work, make a new request and note your software version that an update have not fixed it. See if perhaps SC can forward to engineering that there still remains cars that the software update have not fixed yet. There is a possibly it's a hardware problem too. It helps to try different audio sources to make sure it's really the same issue (and describe that in the request).

 

[crackers8199]

Make sure you have done a full reboot of the system since your update. There have been cases reported where this have also addressed the issue.


If that doesn't work, make a new request and note your software version that an update have not fixed it. See if perhaps SC can forward to engineering that there still remains cars that the software update have not fixed yet. There is a possibly it's a hardware problem too. It helps to try different audio sources to make sure it's really the same issue (and describe that in the request).

i always do a full reboot and also power off for 12+ hours after an update. i've tried rebooting more than once after more than one update. i've tried everything. trust me, it's not fixed.

as for it being a hardware problem, that seems unlikely considering the number of people having this issue. i don't see the point in creating a request in the app when they're just going to want me to bring it in to diagnose it...i'm not willing to pay the diagnostic fee for them to tell me it's something that will be fixed in a firmware update.

also, it's definitely the problem discussed here and elsewhere. it only happens on FM and SXM, streaming sources and bluetooth (and USB for that matter) are fine. the easy way to trigger it is to try to mess with the EQ while on one of those sources, you can tell immediately as soon as you move one of the sliders. it's also much worse when the camera is on screen.

 

[elektrinis]

You can find the roadside number for your country here:
Roadside Assistance | Tesla

I'm surprised to see that Lithuania is actually listed, with "local" phone number. Called it just to check, and the usual english-speaking support guy has answered. He claimed they would actually come and bring the car to Poland if it's still under warranty. I really hope he meant it.