Hypothesis on why Tesla's Service is so poor

[black knight 3]

I received a nice letter from one of the tesla SC managers over and they acknowledged and apologized for the systemic issues and vowed to do better. I think it's simply a matter of volume of business - Dublin, CA is by far the largest tesla service center in the united states. And california is 10x more per capita of EV sales as compared to any other state. You may be more unlikely to get these issues as mentioned in previous posts where there aren't as many tesla sales like in Northern California. I'm willing to give them a chance to improve before giving up. feel free to DM me if you need some advice on how to navigate through issues with this service center.

 

[holeydonut]

I received a nice letter from one of the tesla SC managers over and they acknowledged and apologized for the systemic issues and vowed to do better. I think it's simply a matter of volume of business - Dublin, CA is by far the largest tesla service center in the united states. And california is 10x more per capita of EV sales as compared to any other state. You may be more unlikely to get these issues as mentioned in previous posts where there aren't as many tesla sales like in Northern California. I'm willing to give them a chance to improve before giving up. feel free to DM me if you need some advice on how to navigate through issues with this service center.

No need to take this to DM. Share your knowledge with the forum! Since context is important, here's the scenario.

1) Before August 6: Up until now, TMC user holeydonut has 3x Tesla Powerwalls, 2 Tesla Gen 3 Wall Connectors, and convinced wife to get a Red Performance Model 3 (red with white interior!). Wife wanted to diversify the garage, but holeydonut (being the DUMBEST MF-er on TMC) convinced her that the insane-o dealer markups were untenable. So we'd go with a Model X. Red 7-seater with white interior and 22" (click here for more info)
2) April 6: 2023 Ultra Red Model X "delivered" when owner drove 80 minutes to Sunnyvale Tesla (edit: I didn't want Sunnyvale; Tesla gave me no options to change). Terrible experience all around. Sunnyvale hates customers, car was dirty AF, and the car's rear hatch was dented/damaged. Sad.
3) Did I forget to say we have two kids both under 4? And that vehicle safety was one of the reasons we liked the Model X? You want to drive back and forth for hours with kids to pick up a new car over and over? I didn't think so.
4) April 16: vehicle had ~300 miles when owner received a bunch of error codes while operating the vehicle 50 miles from home. Had to pull over (click here for more info)
5) April 16: TMC users provide advice on how to do a re-set (since holeydonut is a DUMB MF-ER he doesn't know how to read the owners manual to learn about how to do a reset)
6) Apirl 16: vehicle had ~400 miles when owner received same bunch of error codes while driving home and had to pull over again
7) April 16: Owner discovers (in addition to dents and clearcoat damage to the rear hatch) what appears to be a sloppy weld/seam (click here for more info)
8) April 16: Service scheduled with Dublin Tesla. They had the only service appointment slot available this week; other service centers were significantly later and further away
9) April 19: Vehicle with 440 miles was dropped off at Dublin Tesla
10) April 19: Owner and his wife explain how up until now the experience with this $115k (before taxes!) car has been very sub-par. Vehicle safety is paramount, and a vehicle that cannot be reliably operated is a dealbreaker. Owner is also dissatisfied with overall build condition of the vehicle and state they believe the car has factory defects that should indicate the vehicle should not have ever left Fremont for end-client delivery.
11) April 19: Service advisors assure "the best experience" will be made... and not to worry
12) April 19: Owners request that a service manager or site GM reach out to the owners. They believed having spent so much with Tesla already and the above events, it would be helpful to speak with someone to get the purchase back on track. Three Dublin Tesla advisors all said a general/manager would reach out to the owners ASAP.
13) April 19: Owners made it clear their expectation was to get a new car; free of these defects. Owners reiterated they wanted to keep a $115k (before taxes!) Model X in their garage, just not this POS one that was breaking down and had dents/damage to the hatch.
14) April 19: a disgusting 2017 Model X that stunk of old farts and BO was offered as a loaner by Dublin Tesla. Vehicle drove horribly and needed suspension work since the dampers seemed shot and the car didn't drive in a straight line well.
15) April 19: owners requested a better loaner, since it was likely the 2023 Model X would be in the shop for a while. Dublin Tesla assured owners no such loaner option would be made available and we were lucky to have a loaner at all.
16) Original repair date was estimated to be April 26. No contact from Dublin Tesla's general/manager was received between April 19 and April 26.
17) April 26: Dublin Tesla informs owners vehicle repair will take longer, revised date to May.
18) April 27: owners re-visit Dublin Tesla to attempt escalation to actually enjoy this $115k (before taxes!) vehicle.
19) Just click here to read my post about how frustrating that day was. I'm effing tired. Wife is super angry at me for having bought the $115k (before taxes!) Model X.

Ok man... so put yourself in my shoes on April 27. What would you do? And what magic wand will you wave. I posted those links above to prove to you I do not have "revisionist history". You can literally see my mindset and through process devolve in those threads.

BTW, before you say "speak with the manager"... right now I have been fully informed the general manager of the Dublin Tesla facility will never speak to any customer ever. This individual has ascended beyond having to deal with plebes. All you get to speak with are service advisors. There is zero avenue for escalation and nobody will put anything in writing around commitments or expectations.

Please share what you'd do to resolve the situation successfully. Tesla will not allow the vehicle be transferred to another facility for service.

 

[black knight 3]

No need to take this to DM. Share your knowledge with the forum! Since context is important, here's the scenario.

1) Before August 6: Up until now, TMC user holeydonut has 3x Tesla Powerwalls, 2 Tesla Gen 3 Wall Connectors, and convinced wife to get a Red Performance Model 3 (red with white interior!). Wife wanted to diversify the garage, but holeydonut (being the DUMBEST MF-er on TMC) convinced her that the insane-o dealer markups were untenable. So we'd go with a Model X. Red 7-seater with white interior and 22" (click here for more info)
2) April 6: 2023 Ultra Red Model X "delivered" when owner drove 80 minutes to Sunnyvale Tesla (edit: I didn't want Sunnyvale; Tesla gave me no options to change). Terrible experience all around. Sunnyvale hates customers, car was dirty AF, and the car's rear hatch was dented/damaged. Sad.
3) Did I forget to say we have two kids both under 4? And that vehicle safety was one of the reasons we liked the Model X? You want to drive back and forth for hours with kids to pick up a new car over and over? I didn't think so.
4) April 16: vehicle had ~300 miles when owner received a bunch of error codes while operating the vehicle 50 miles from home. Had to pull over (click here for more info)
5) April 16: TMC users provide advice on how to do a re-set (since holeydonut is a DUMB MF-ER he doesn't know how to read the owners manual to learn about how to do a reset)
6) Apirl 16: vehicle had ~400 miles when owner received same bunch of error codes while driving home and had to pull over again
7) April 16: Owner discovers (in addition to dents and clearcoat damage to the rear hatch) what appears to be a sloppy weld/seam (click here for more info)
8) April 16: Service scheduled with Dublin Tesla. They had the only service appointment slot available this week; other service centers were significantly later and further away
9) April 19: Vehicle with 440 miles was dropped off at Dublin Tesla
10) April 19: Owner and his wife explain how up until now the experience with this $115k (before taxes!) car has been very sub-par. Vehicle safety is paramount, and a vehicle that cannot be reliably operated is a dealbreaker. Owner is also dissatisfied with overall build condition of the vehicle and state they believe the car has factory defects that should indicate the vehicle should not have ever left Fremont for end-client delivery.
11) April 19: Service advisors assure "the best experience" will be made... and not to worry
12) April 19: Owners request that a service manager or site GM reach out to the owners. They believed having spent so much with Tesla already and the above events, it would be helpful to speak with someone to get the purchase back on track. Three Dublin Tesla advisors all said a general/manager would reach out to the owners ASAP.
13) April 19: Owners made it clear their expectation was to get a new car; free of these defects. Owners reiterated they wanted to keep a $115k (before taxes!) Model X in their garage, just not this POS one that was breaking down and had dents/damage to the hatch.
14) April 19: a disgusting 2017 Model X that stunk of old farts and BO was offered as a loaner by Dublin Tesla. Vehicle drove horribly and needed suspension work since the dampers seemed shot and the car didn't drive in a straight line well.
15) April 19: owners requested a better loaner, since it was likely the 2023 Model X would be in the shop for a while. Dublin Tesla assured owners no such loaner option would be made available and we were lucky to have a loaner at all.
16) Original repair date was estimated to be April 26. No contact from Dublin Tesla's general/manager was received between April 19 and April 26.
17) April 26: Dublin Tesla informs owners vehicle repair will take longer, revised date to May.
18) April 27: owners re-visit Dublin Tesla to attempt escalation to actually enjoy this $115k (before taxes!) vehicle.
19) Just click here to read my post about how frustrating that day was. I'm effing tired. Wife is super angry at me for having bought the $115k (before taxes!) Model X.

Ok man... so put yourself in my shoes on April 27. What would you do? And what magic wand will you wave. I posted those links above to prove to you I do not have "revisionist history". You can literally see my mindset and through process devolve in those threads.

BTW, before you say "speak with the manager"... right now I have been fully informed the general manager of the Dublin Tesla facility will never speak to any customer ever. This individual has ascended beyond having to deal with plebes. All you get to speak with are service advisors. There is zero avenue for escalation and nobody will put anything in writing around commitments or expectations.

Please share what you'd do to resolve the situation successfully. Tesla will not allow the vehicle be transferred to another facility for service.

I hear you and have a similar story and more invested in tesla than you have with 4 previous tesla's and a current model s, 2 powerwalls, tesla solar panels. I'm sticking with the brand because I still believe no other brand is as close to L4 autonomy and I'm part of the FSD beta pilot and have seen the progress over the last 2 years. with other EV's you are buying an EV as a commodity and that's it. No one else matches tesla with technology. Life is too short to live with this level of aggravation. I would cut your losses and sell the car and buy anther brand - it's too late for you. nothing that Tesla does from this day forward will change your perception.....

 

[holeydonut]

I hear you and have a similar story and more invested in tesla than you have with 4 previous tesla's and a current model s, 2 powerwalls, tesla solar panels. I'm sticking with the brand because I still believe no other brand is as close to L4 autonomy and I'm part of the FSD beta pilot and have seen the progress over the last 2 years. with other EV's you are buying an EV as a commodity and that's it. No one else matches tesla with technology. Life is too short to live with this level of aggravation. I would cut your losses and sell the car and buy anther brand - it's too late for you. nothing that Tesla does from this day forward will change your perception.....

Yeah nothing will let me go back in time to April 27. But I am interested to hear what you would have done that day to not end up in this crap-trap situation and actually get a positive outcome.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

No need to take this to DM. Share your knowledge with the forum! Since context is important, here's the scenario.

1) Before August 6: Up until now, TMC user holeydonut has 3x Tesla Powerwalls, 2 Tesla Gen 3 Wall Connectors, and convinced wife to get a Red Performance Model 3 (red with white interior!). Wife wanted to diversify the garage, but holeydonut (being the DUMBEST MF-er on TMC) convinced her that the insane-o dealer markups were untenable. So we'd go with a Model X. Red 7-seater with white interior and 22" (click here for more info)
2) April 6: 2023 Ultra Red Model X "delivered" when owner drove 80 minutes to Sunnyvale Tesla (edit: I didn't want Sunnyvale; Tesla gave me no options to change). Terrible experience all around. Sunnyvale hates customers, car was dirty AF, and the car's rear hatch was dented/damaged. Sad.
3) Did I forget to say we have two kids both under 4? And that vehicle safety was one of the reasons we liked the Model X? You want to drive back and forth for hours with kids to pick up a new car over and over? I didn't think so.
4) April 16: vehicle had ~300 miles when owner received a bunch of error codes while operating the vehicle 50 miles from home. Had to pull over (click here for more info)
5) April 16: TMC users provide advice on how to do a re-set (since holeydonut is a DUMB MF-ER he doesn't know how to read the owners manual to learn about how to do a reset)
6) Apirl 16: vehicle had ~400 miles when owner received same bunch of error codes while driving home and had to pull over again
7) April 16: Owner discovers (in addition to dents and clearcoat damage to the rear hatch) what appears to be a sloppy weld/seam (click here for more info)
8) April 16: Service scheduled with Dublin Tesla. They had the only service appointment slot available this week; other service centers were significantly later and further away
9) April 19: Vehicle with 440 miles was dropped off at Dublin Tesla
10) April 19: Owner and his wife explain how up until now the experience with this $115k (before taxes!) car has been very sub-par. Vehicle safety is paramount, and a vehicle that cannot be reliably operated is a dealbreaker. Owner is also dissatisfied with overall build condition of the vehicle and state they believe the car has factory defects that should indicate the vehicle should not have ever left Fremont for end-client delivery.
11) April 19: Service advisors assure "the best experience" will be made... and not to worry
12) April 19: Owners request that a service manager or site GM reach out to the owners. They believed having spent so much with Tesla already and the above events, it would be helpful to speak with someone to get the purchase back on track. Three Dublin Tesla advisors all said a general/manager would reach out to the owners ASAP.
13) April 19: Owners made it clear their expectation was to get a new car; free of these defects. Owners reiterated they wanted to keep a $115k (before taxes!) Model X in their garage, just not this POS one that was breaking down and had dents/damage to the hatch.
14) April 19: a disgusting 2017 Model X that stunk of old farts and BO was offered as a loaner by Dublin Tesla. Vehicle drove horribly and needed suspension work since the dampers seemed shot and the car didn't drive in a straight line well.
15) April 19: owners requested a better loaner, since it was likely the 2023 Model X would be in the shop for a while. Dublin Tesla assured owners no such loaner option would be made available and we were lucky to have a loaner at all.
16) Original repair date was estimated to be April 26. No contact from Dublin Tesla's general/manager was received between April 19 and April 26.
17) April 26: Dublin Tesla informs owners vehicle repair will take longer, revised date to May.
18) April 27: owners re-visit Dublin Tesla to attempt escalation to actually enjoy this $115k (before taxes!) vehicle.
19) Just click here to read my post about how frustrating that day was. I'm effing tired. Wife is super angry at me for having bought the $115k (before taxes!) Model X.

Ok man... so put yourself in my shoes on April 27. What would you do? And what magic wand will you wave. I posted those links above to prove to you I do not have "revisionist history". You can literally see my mindset and through process devolve in those threads.

BTW, before you say "speak with the manager"... right now I have been fully informed the general manager of the Dublin Tesla facility will never speak to any customer ever. This individual has ascended beyond having to deal with plebes. All you get to speak with are service advisors. There is zero avenue for escalation and nobody will put anything in writing around commitments or expectations.

Please share what you'd do to resolve the situation successfully. Tesla will not allow the vehicle be transferred to another facility for service.

Holeydonut,

You should do NOTHING. Repeat: NOTHING.

Your best plan of action here is to hope they forget they have your car, and then you're in the clear. You will get it replaced, for free, or ALL of your money back, your choice:

2.040 Lemon Law Buybacks and Warranty Returns - California DMV

Chapter 2 General Information — Licensees 2.040 Lemon Law Buybacks and Warranty Returns (CVC §§4453 and 11713.12, CCC §§1793.22-25) California Civil Code (CCC) §1793.22 requires vehicle manufacturers to replace a new vehicle, or make restitution to the consumer if, after making a reasonable...

www.dmv.ca.gov

You need to let the clock run out, and every time you "ring the bell" you wake them up and perhaps they'll realize how close they are to a Lemon Law Claim, so STOP bothering them. NOW.

Also, do NOT deal with the front line personnel in any escalation attempt--they live in constant fear of being fired and, frankly, they are NOT supported should they do any sort of customer service "out of bounds" move, such as what any front-line Lexus employee would do to make something right . . . . Plus, they are not authorized to do anything anyway--it's all a "corporate call" now, and "corporate" is very often out to lunch. Frankly, it's beyond stupid, but it is what it is.

We're in the process of dealing with yet another lemon MS, one of three among a dozen MS's we've owned since 2013. In the past we've had some real doozies, so bad that they were remarkably unsafe to drive (random EPAS malfunctions, intermittent loss of power, you name it, we've probably had it). In every case we would trade them in back to Tesla, suffering tens of thousands in lost value.

NO MORE.

Now we're almost done with our first Lemon Law buyback--we should have done this with EVERY one of our crap MS's. While we'll stick with our remaining current Teslas for a bit, we may jump ship to MBZ or some other brand where Quality and Customer Service aren't "dirty words" that will get an employee fired . . . it all depends on what how much Tesla improves or declines going forward.

Let us know how your buyback works out

 

[holeydonut]

Yeah Tesla has already agreed to a buyback (not a lemon). I just want buyback to be over where I get the $$$$ so I can move on. Keep in mind the lemon process is 10x worse than a buyback process. While the outcome is the same (deal is unwound and value returned to the former-car-owner)... the timing of a Lemon process is much more protracted and painful since the lemon process involves lawyers.

The worst part of either a buyback or a lemon process is that if the family's primary vehicle is at the center of it... the cash/loan ability of the household is completely tied up until the buyback/lemon is resolved. I don't know how most families are, but imagine if I told you right now to go buy a second vehicle identical to the vehicle your family relies on.

Some families could be like "whatevs, I got lots of money + credit... it's no big deal... it's just a second Model X"

But other families could be like "how am I supposed to come up with the same down payment cash and borrowing capacity to support a second Model X?"

If you're in the latter camp; a buyback or lemon process will completely screw you up for a few months since you won't have the equity/borrowing ability to move on quickly.

 

[t3sl4drvr]

Yeah Tesla has already agreed to a buyback (not a lemon)

You have that in writing - including the buyback price - by someone authorized to make the decision? If not, you may still need to lawyer up.

 

[holeydonut]

You have that in writing - including the buyback price - by someone authorized to make the decision? If not, you may still need to lawyer up.

I have it in writing, and it's signed. But stuff in writing that means jack-all nothing lol. Until Tesla actually makes the payoff transaction to the lender on the Model X and sends me my original equity/cash... this isn't resolved.

Just because Tesla said they'd do something doesn't hold much water. And anyone buying a Tesla would be remiss thinking getting stuff in writing matters. Right now I'm about to have to make a second loan payment on a Model X that I never really got to drive. And I don't have the original cash/equity in hand to go get another family hauler.

For real, if you're lurking and thinking about buying a Tesla... just don't. It's not worth it to roll the dice with Tesla's service. I had to have $120k cash lying around and good enough credit to finance another $120k of total debt since right this moment, I'm paying for both a 2023 Model X and a 2023 Benz GLS.

Believing in Tesla for Powerwalls, BEV's and home-charging has absolutely sucked.

 

[holeydonut]

Lol in the recent investor call Elon said…

"So if you're waiting for a part to get repaired and that part takes a month, now you've got a month of having to rent another car. It's extremely expensive," he said on Tesla's fourth-quarter earnings call in January. "And of course, you're missing the car that you love and the one you actually want to drive. So this has actually a very significant effect on total cost of ownership and customer happiness."

And yet Tesla seems ok giving customers trash-ass beat up loaners and doesn’t have the ability to diagnose bugs and repair cars that have less than 500 miles on them.

And Tesla has trained their service personnel to tell the unhappy customer maybe they have buyers remorse and can’t afford the car. And to not buy Tesla again.

 

[MobileClimate]

Sounds like your just frustrated with life and placing the blame on tesla..all industries are having trouble finding good help these days

 

[ucmndd]

Sounds like your just frustrated with life and placing the blame on tesla..all industries are having trouble finding good help these days

What a ridiculous excuse.

Companies that pay a decent wage and treat people with empathy and value aren’t having a hard time finding anybody.

 

[electricar]

What a ridiculous excuse.

Companies that pay a decent wage and treat people with empathy and value aren’t having a hard time finding anybody.

Try What a ridiculous excuse.

Companies that pay a decent wage and treat people with empathy and value aren’t having a hard time finding anybody.

That’s right - too bad many of those companies are busy laying people off.

 

[holeydonut]

Sounds like MobileClimate needs his Model X to shut down with his kids inside. If he crashes, at least he won't have to deal with Dublin Tesla.

 

[MobileClimate]

I have seen things break at the worse time possible like Friday at 8 pm on a 3 day weekend so many times I just expect it to happen..mechanical things break all the time I don’t have a crystal ball to predict it but it happens all the time..my grandpa said that if he was driving to LA from San Francisco in the 50’s you would have to repair at least one flat tire on that trip

 

[t3sl4drvr]

Some of the poorly timed Tesla problems are minor, but totally ruin the usability.

Couple of examples I have had on Model S:

• Window motor broke down: the window was impossible to close. I had to tape it shut to sustain a rain.
• Driver door handle stopped working. I was able to enter and exit through the passenger door for a couple of days.
• Back door started opening a second after closing it. Was not able to drive at all (door would have always opened when slowing down.

When these happen often, one starts to be hesitant in using the car for a family roadtrip.

 

[timmE]

I have seen things break at the worse time possible like Friday at 8 pm on a 3 day weekend so many times I just expect it to happen..mechanical things break all the time I don’t have a crystal ball to predict it but it happens all the time..my grandpa said that if he was driving to LA from San Francisco in the 50’s you would have to repair at least one flat tire on that trip

At least grandpa's car came with a spare and that was almost 3/4 of a century ago.

 

[legendsk]

It is my belief that digital self-management works so well for Tesla and their employees, the decision was made to move to digital self-customer service. At first I was a little apprehensive about this. But the majority of Tesla customers at this stage are nerds that read the owner's manual and would prefer to not have someone else touch their car unless absolutely necessary. So, not only give them well done owner's manuals, make service manuals available to all buyers. As far as I can tell about anything that could go wrong can be fixed by the customer, if they are a mind to. Certainly much easier to repair and much less to go wrong than my Corvette and I wouldn't consider letting a dealer touch it.

There's a lot of satisfaction in problem solving and being independent. If Tesla can force their customers into doing their own service and feel good about it, it could work? There would surely be some potential customers who wouldn't go along with the concept, but robo-taxi will come sooner or later, most likely sooner. Then the economics will likely drive 90% or some large percentage of customers to use the RT rather than own a car anyway.

 

[snorp]

Now in 2023, two or threes years later, if anything, service has sunk back to the levels of apathy and resignation that could be seen in years prior.

Totally agree. It’s the worst it’s ever been in my area. I have read a lot of these threads and it seems the Model X is at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to service.

One of my X’s shakes violently accelerating at every height setting and they won’t replace the half shafts. Still under warranty. So now I have to go up there tomorrow and argue with them, probably take someone for a ride and have them tell me that I am accelerating too fast, which was their line last time. Their paperwork literally says they can’t feel vibrations at any height. It’s comical.

I had to do the same thing 3 months ago to get my rear drive unit replaced. First guy rode with me said yeah it’s a problem. Then they didn’t fix it. Then had manager ride with me and said he’s not sure he noticed anything. Then they replaced it after I argued with them for 10 minutes.

They ask for time stamps and I give them time stamps and they still do nothing. My service paperwork says to provide more time stamps.

I see most of the Model 3 and Y people are happy with their service. Maybe the X is just a nuisance for the service people and they don’t want to deal with it.