Edmunds Model S Long-Term Test

[Todd Burch]

Dan Edmunds just tweeted: "@Edmunds_Test: About to head home in our 2013 @Teslamotors Model S. I won't plug in at home for the return trip. I'll take side trips. Zero range anxiety."

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He also said:
"@Edmunds_Test: Yes, @Teslamotors did replace our touchscreen. Not sure what the fault was. Service center experience was very good. http://t.co/1Wg3hLsnY6"

If you follow the link, there's a pic of the touchscreen that was removed. Interesting. Hadn't seen that before.

 

[Miuaiga]

Todd:

Margaret here. Another mishap. See: Last Call: Wet Your Whistleblowers

MNF

 

[Park2670]

After working at a BMW dealer for nearly seven years, I have learned that they want parts back that fail on new models. This way they can determine the cause of the failure and prevent issues that are similar from happening to others.

 

[Norbert]

Todd:

Margaret here. Another mishap. See: Last Call: Wet Your Whistleblowers

MNF

Elon re-tweeted this tweet from Dan Edmunds: (I don't think there will be any public response to the screen problem, only an internal examination of what went wrong with this specific screen.)

Dan Edmunds ‏@Edmunds_Test
About to head home in our 2013 @Teslamotors Model S. I won't plug in at home for the return trip. I'll take side trips. Zero range anxiety.

 

[tdelta1000]

Thanks to Edmunds for chronicling its real world experiences with the S. I think it beats some of that stupid stuff i.e. the NYTimes article but anyways onward. The Edmunds reporting would be similar to what any other current Model S owner could face.

One thing about the article that did ruffle my feathers was the use of the phrase "Meltdown" as if the screen had caught on fire. I'm just saying... I would have preferred the term "glitch" instead. Edmunds, please keep posting your Model S updates. Thanks again.

 

[Doug_G]

I understand the "Meltdown" comment. I'm one of the very few people who have had the same problem. My screen came back on its own after 20 minutes, but the long-term fix was to replace it.

You do lose quite a bit when that screen goes away! I was lucky I had left the HVAC with air on the windshield, or I would have had fogging problems.

At the same time, a single defect in a new vehicle shouldn't be cause for alarm. Electronics have a much higher probability of failure in the first couple of days of operation. Once you're through that the probability of failure is extremely low until end-of-life.

 

[tdelta1000]

I understand the "Meltdown" comment. I'm one of the very few people who have had the same problem. My screen came back on its own after 20 minutes, but the long-term fix was to replace it.

You do lose quite a bit when that screen goes away!

At the same time, a single defect in a new vehicle shouldn't be cause for alarm. Electronics have a much higher probability of failure in the first couple of days of operation. Once you're through that the probability of failure is extremely low until end-of-life.

Hey Doug understand that losing the screen in the S is a big deal but the phrase "meltdown" sound much more worst than the word "glitch".

I'm glad to hear that your problem was over in a relatively short span of time and I hope you don't experience it again. Happy motoring Doug

 

[Todd Burch]

Sounds like Dan was happy with his service visit is all and well again. Early electronics failures will get more rare over time. Glad Edmunds didn't over-sensationalize the issue.

(Thanks Margaret!)

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

The service experience is part of the overall long-term ownership experience so, it's a good thing that Edmunds experienced this aspect as well early on. I'd argue though that they'll get extra special treatment from Tesla coz' they are Edmunds after all. They cannot get service anonymously anymore a la well-known restaurant critics.

 

[Yggdrasill]

When Tesla replaces the monitor they almost certainly get some experts to test it extensively, take it apart and try to find the cause. Any changes they can do to the design, SW, and/or production process that eliminates the issue completely will be the goal.

(Having some experience within the field, I think of faults not only negatively. Every fault is an opportunity to improve the product.)

 

[AustinPowers]

I understand the "Meltdown" comment. I'm one of the very few people who have had the same problem. My screen came back on its own after 20 minutes, but the long-term fix was to replace it.

You do lose quite a bit when that screen goes away! I was lucky I had left the HVAC with air on the windshield, or I would have had fogging problems.

At the same time, a single defect in a new vehicle shouldn't be cause for alarm. Electronics have a much higher probability of failure in the first couple of days of operation. Once you're through that the probability of failure is extremely low until end-of-life.

This is exactly why I wish the Model S had some real world buttons to control the main functions, in addition to the screen. Ok, it would have gone against their design philosophy, but I think that practicality should win over design any time. Would it have hurt the design that much if there had been a row of physical buttons under/next to the screen to control thing like HVAC etc. in case of a screen failure?

By the way, how about the lights (headlights/rear lights/foglights etc. I mean)? Can they be controlled without the screen working? If not, what can you do at times like this in winter, when you have to get to work in the morning / home in the evening when its dark?

 

[Sigma4Life]

This is exactly why I wish the Model S had some real world buttons to control the main functions, in addition to the screen. Ok, it would have gone against their design philosophy, but I think that practicality should win over design any time. Would it have hurt the design that much if there had been a row of physical buttons under/next to the screen to control thing like HVAC etc. in case of a screen failure?

By the way, how about the lights (headlights/rear lights/foglights etc. I mean)? Can they be controlled without the screen working? If not, what can you do at times like this in winter, when you have to get to work in the morning / home in the evening when its dark?

Automatic headlights is the typical setting. The scenario you described would be no problem for most drivers since the headlights would still turn on / off at the appropriate times.

 

[Doug_G]

It defaults back to Auto headlights whenever you start the car.

You can control a bunch of functions through the right-hand scroll wheel, including temperature, fan, etc., so if you know you can do that the situation is not nearly as annoying.

 

[strider]

This is exactly why I wish the Model S had some real world buttons to control the main functions, in addition to the screen. Ok, it would have gone against their design philosophy, but I think that practicality should win over design any time. Would it have hurt the design that much if there had been a row of physical buttons under/next to the screen to control thing like HVAC etc. in case of a screen failure?

But even the buttons in cars today are controlled by a computer. The days are LONG gone where pushing an HVAC button physically moved a gate to adjust the air. So if the control computer breaks it doesn't matter if it's using soft buttons or physical buttons. You can try and make the case that the screen has a shorter mean-time-before-failure than a computer but the fact remains that there's a single (electronic) point of failure either way.

 

[Doug_G]

In my experience, properly built electronics are more reliable than mechanical hardware, not less. I had an 80's vintage Honda Accord that used all sorts of "bicycle brake" type wires to control things. Unfortunately they weren't terribly reliable, so I had all kinds of problems opening my hood, etc. This was getting very frustrating, but the last straw was more serious - the throttle stuck and I had a runaway car.

 

[Iz]

Another mishap. See: Last Call: Wet Your Whistleblowers

Now, less than a week after finally asking to "bury the hatchet" with the Times, Musk has a new potential public relations debacle to deal with. So far, Musk has not responded to Edmunds' problem via Twitter or his blog.

May be better if Elon keeps mum on this and allows the service center experts to resolve any issues. Goodwill & diplomacy are priceless!!

 

[TokyoRush]

May be better if Elon keeps mum on this and allows the service center experts to resolve any issues. Goodwill & diplomacy are priceless!!

Agreed... The funny thing is that if you look at the long term tests across makes, each of them are constantly breaking. This is just an update on their daily drive. I think that as it was fixed that day and replaced the next, it shows very strong maintenance and warranty work from Tesla.

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May be better if Elon keeps mum on this and allows the service center experts to resolve any issues. Goodwill & diplomacy are priceless!!

Agreed... The funny thing is that if you look at the long term tests across makes, each of them are constantly breaking. This is just an update on their daily drive. I think that as it was fixed that day and replaced the next, it shows very strong maintenance and warranty work from Tesla.

 

[Todd Burch]

I don't understand how this was a "public relations debacle". Things break. It happens. It got fixed--and quickly. Seems Edmunds was happy with the service and likes the car. It's like that article was just trying to bait him into another "Twitter war". It's silly. What was Elon supposed to respond to? Is he supposed to Tweet every time a car has a problem?

 

[anticitizen13.7]

Edmunds latest update: http://www.edmunds.com/tesla/model-...-test/2013-tesla-model-s-first-road-trip.html

After 359 total miles of driving we arrived at Edmunds HQ in Santa Monica with 121 miles of range left over. That's just enough to make us question the need for the second charge at Tejon, but better safe than sorry.

Overall the drive was a very positive experience. The car is comfortable, even after hours of driving, and the Superchargers performed as advertised. The tire warning message never returned, but we're keeping an eye on our tire pressures just the same. Some staffers are already planning more road trips in the Model S, so stay tuned.

The test driver noted that the Model S did not like heavy crosswinds and that keeping in the lane was harder than they though it should be. Has anyone else noticed this?

 

[dadaleus]

After 359 total miles of driving we arrived at Edmunds HQ in Santa Monica with 121 miles of range left over. That's just enough to make us question the need for the second charge at Tejon, but better safe than sorry.

Wow. Some common sense. I wish Broder had thought this way.