ID:259

[Mark77a]

It took them a little longer than expected (largely because of the alignment); I just got my car back this morning.

The bad news about this experience:

1. my car suddenly failed (at least it was in my garage, and not when I was trying to drive anywhere)
2. it was gone for a week and a half
3. it cost me $4,000 (no tax, since WA waives sales tax on EV battery-related stuff; that saved me $400)

No doubt, that's a bummer. But there is good news:

1. This is the first time a Tesla has ever failed me; not too bad for a total of 6 years and 65k miles of driving our two cars
2. Tesla communicated extremely well during the process
3. A week and a half is not so bad for a major operation on a car of this class; and I had a friend's car to drive so really no big deal. And they delivered it to my house this morning.
4. It sounds like all I needed was a new sheet - heck, maybe even just a sensor inside a sheet (I asked for more info, but they didn't seem to have much) - but I ended up with a new (well, refurbished) pack
5. The old pack's CAC was 136 (partly so low because I hadn't been charging it all the way for a few months, I suspect). The new one is 151, so that's a significant boost
6. I get a year's warranty on the whole pack, despite not paying for a whole pack
7. I was overdue for annual maintenance; but they did most of the stuff (cleaning PEM, checking coolant, road test) so I essentially got a free maintenance
8. It turns out the car did need significant alignment work - I am not sure if it was a problem before (though I didn't notice anything) or due to the pack swap, but glad it got done. They say it's required every time they swap packs

It's hard to be happy about a car failing and needing major repair...but Tesla's great service sure does make up for a lot.

I just got redirected to this thread by @Dpeilow on thread in UK Excellent service from Tesla | Speak EV - Electric Car Forums
its good to hear

and Thanks for sharing this Chad.

 

[wiztecy]

> 8. It turns out the car did need significant alignment work - I am not sure if it was a problem before (though I didn't notice anything) or due to the pack swap, but glad it got done. They say it's required every time they swap packs


Not true. The rear wishbones can drop away without changing the alignment specs. An alignment is not needed when an ESS is swapped.