How reliable is your Tesla so far?

[Brit4864]

One year on and 14k miles...

1) On the 2nd drive unit as the first one had the now infamous "milling noise" Unfortunately the 2nd unit is also exhibiting the same problem at about the same speed (57-62 mph). Rumor has it CA have re-engineered the returned faulty drive unit/inverters and claim to have cured the problem. I'll wait a bit longer before returning #2 unit. Hopefully by then I'll get one of the new reconditioned units.
2) Had an annoying "car needs service" message randomly popping up. It went to the Tesla SC 3 times before they finally found out what it was...a poorly connected sensor which kept triggering the alarm.
3) The key broke leaving me stranded, luckily I was at a hotel, in NC. Tesla service came out the next day and programmed 2 new keys. Been ok since.

Despite these problems, the car has been reliable on a daily basis and Tesla's after sales service is second to none. Buy it and enjoy it. You'll never go back to an ICE car ever.

 

[Steelerfeever]

Interesting thread as I am a State Farm Agent. 10+ years. Very close to pulling the trigger on an 85, maybe by the end of August for a Christmas delivery for my wife. Read the entire thread, some scary experiences many of you have had with SF. Thought I would chime in that at least in my area there hasn't been any special claims/underwriting notices sent out to the Agency force regarding Tesla's good or bad. And we'll pay roughly $10/m more from her gas guzzler Buick Enclave to the MS should we pull the trigger.

 

[Steelerfeever]

No idea how my post above got on this thread! My bad.

 

[russman]

Let me start by saying, this car is my favorite car and I don't think there's anything else out there I would want.

With that being said, a little over 4 months of ownership and 7500+ miles, I've had a number of relatively minor issues from the beginning, which has lead to 6 service visits. Keep in mind, my car is a 2014 later car, but I had a lot of issues that I thought was resolved early on.

On delivery - chrome alignment issue, scratched mirror, TPM failure, and door handle that wouldn't open the door consistently.
2nd time - TPM failure came back and door handle still wasn't working
3rd visit - sunroof seal issue and wind noise, moisture in in multiple rear tail lights.
4th visit - broken piece of plastic found in car from fixing the moisture in the rear tail light, creaking in the dash, seatbelt, and other areas, and sunroof wind noise issue. (The sunroof issue they said was a known issue when closing the vent at high speeds, it will not seal correctly. No resolution, so slowdown before you close the vent.)
5th visit - creaking was not resolved and had a drive with a person in the car to show them the issue.
6th visit - need to go back because some of the magic tape they used to stop the creaking is coming out of the seatbelt hole and my chrome that was misaligned from delivery, is misaligned again.

Again, the service has been great, but I'm very very worried about what happens after 50k miles as I'll hit that in about 2 years. I can buy the extended warranty, but that has a deductible which I don't like at all. So while I love the car, I'm worried about long term. My other cars I've kept for over 200k miles each and was hoping for more with the Tesla....

 

[SFOTurtle]

22k miles since Feb. 2013. Extremely reliable. Had an early issue with touchscreen that was replaced (and I had a P85 loaner for the two days it was at the service center), but that is it.

 

[sublimaze1]

35,100 miles. Took delivery 8Dec2012

- replaced rear wheel flange with knurled flange (apparently the first hundred or so did not have them) - did that while rotating tires
- replaced rear deck lid rubber stops with ... well ... rubber stops (at same time as above)
- new tires at 32K
- at 9K, the pano was leaking .. replaced a seal.
- (here is the biggee) at about 16K, my left USB stopped reading the flash. It would charge my iphone but not an android. right one was fine. Took it in. Got a loaner while they fiddled. Three days later I had an entire new touch screen as they stated it has something to do with the hardware that was soldered to the main board and ... well, they simply gave me a new one.

Never been stranded. Ran it on "0" range a few times (before superchargers)

Keep in mind, I have a very early prod model, so I expect some cutting of teeth on this ... but overall, if I had to buy another one tomorrow. I would.

 

[ljwobker]

6k miles, 6 months. I have a march 2014 model. So far just a couple of cosmetic fixes on mine - the brightwork was loose on one side and the trunk trim was misaligned. My key takeaway has been that the service center has been exceptionally responsive, and if/when something breaks they go sideways to fix it. I'm happy with tiny bugs as long as people are willing to fix them quickly (and even better when the fixes are free...)

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Mine is a daily driver with 17k since Dec 2013. Been completely impressed with this machine. Reminds me of my VFR800 off the line, and behaves like a luxury sedan when driven normally.

 

[AC1K]

Since July 20th 2013 ive had the car, nearly 18,000 kms, these are the issues (all very minor)

broken tail gate latch (this was most likely not a fault of the car, i gave my car to this place to get it wrapped and was 100% working, it came back with a broken latch)
bluetooth fails to connect to phone - reboot center console
creak coming from roof bow trim or somewhere up top - fixed by service
power tail gate doesnt close and bounces back up - car has to be on a level surface to close
new charging points fail to show - reboot center console

 

[hcoon2000]

My business partner was one of the first to get the Porsche Panamera here in Dallas. He was on the waiting list for a few years. His Panamera has been in the shop for at least three months in the 2 1/2 years he has owned it. He has had mechanical issues as well as problems with the interior. It is not very fuel efficient and has a very small back seat. His loaner has never been a Panamera and frequently it is a VW sedan.

I was on the Tesla waiting list from 2009 to 2012. I took ownership in January of 2013. I have been to the service center three times. Once for annual maintenance, twice for tire rotation. I was offered a loaner during the rotation, I chose to hang out and drink coffee at the SC.

No real issues. Best car I have ever owned. No regrets.

 

[bbk]

nice response

 

[bevguy]

Only owned my S85 for a few months (2014 model, 4000 miles) Delivered 100% perfect. Zero problems. I always make a "gripe list" on a new car, so far there are no entries on the list

You can get a lemon with any car. The difference is that the Tesla has a better warranty, no avaricious dealers, and rapid repair (usually same day)

Porsche are not paradigms of reliability.

 

[LarryC]

Didn't intend for my first post on the forum to be about reliability, but... I've had my S85 for almost 2 months and it is a great car. So far I've had only 2 problems. The first is the left A pillar speaker has a power line short so that the speaker will randomly crackle for 5-10 seconds even when the radio is turned off. Probably related to this issue is the AM radio will sound normal for a while then suddenly it sounds like the voices are coming from a distant tin can, then it returns to normal. However, the crackling and the loss of the sound field do not necessarily happen at the same time. I'd have them pick up the car, but I don't know what they would be able to do unless they are fortunate enough to hear the problems while it's in the shop.

On a side note, my only real disapointment with Tesla so far is their notable lack of folllow-up after the sale. I received plenty of emails prior to the sale but not one single follow-up email asking if I was happy, rate their process, or any sign they care at all about my experience or my satisfaction with the car. My experience with two MB dealers over the past few years was quite different.

 

[tliving]

Im at 10K miles in <4 months. I have a short list of nits but they're all tiny. No majors and no clunks or oddities around the battery, motor etc. The car amazes me every day (and evidently other people since they're giving me thumbs up, taking pictures etc!)

 

[windward]

I received my new Tesla on July 2014, I have enjoyed driving the car, but while I am visiting North. Carolina (I am from Florida) the car started with some problems: first some there were warnings that come and go and a couple of days ago I had four warnings at the same time while driving: ABS Needs Service, Traction Control Disabled, Stability Control Disabled and Regenerative Braking Disabled. Also no power steering, moving steering wheel very hard while stopped or moving slow. Called Tesla immediately and I was told to turn off the car, that did not work. Drove where I am staying temporarily. Next day received call from Raleigh Service, they said they would do a remote repair. I am still waiting. Very disappointed about service. I was told that because the are no service dealers in most towns like most cars, there remote service fixed most problems and if necessary they would pick up the car and provide loaner. So far I am two days without car and no solution at sight. This car is less than two months old.

 

[rothhammerd]

I don't know about you guys but I have about 30,000 miles on my year-old P85 and I drove like a bat out of hell for most of it. My only complaint is having to buy a pair of new rear tires every 6 months or so. I live in LA, and while we don't have a ton of potholes in our roads like NY or Chicago, I do live in a neighborhood with a lot of speed bumps, so you would think a problem like that (drive train) would have shown up by now.

 

[LarryC]

I don't know about you guys but I have about 30,000 miles on my year-old P85 and I drove like a bat out of hell for most of it. My only complaint is having to buy a pair of new rear tires every 6 months or so. I live in LA, and while we don't have a ton of potholes in our roads like NY or Chicago, I do live in a neighborhood with a lot of speed bumps, so you would think a problem like that (drive train) would have shown up by now.

Are you saying you are getting only 15K miles on a set of rears? Mind if I ask what they cost you?

 

[RiverBrick]

Though it has only been five months, I've put 19,000 miles on the car.

Once, there was a problem with a component related to charging. Tesla sent a flat-bed to pick up the car on a Thursday morning and I got the vehicle back on Friday. On another occasion, I was delayed a couple of hours by a failed firmware upgrade. Absolutely no problem with the drive-train. The panoramic roof can rattle a bit on very bumpy roads, but it's rarely an issue. The only other glitches are esthetic: condensation in the back-up lights and a small ripple in the front hood that many people have experienced.

When I've had the Model S in for routine service or for repairs, I've always been offered a loaner or a rent-a-car, so no real down time.