Inspection Before 4-year Warranty Expires

[joebruin77]

For those of you who are curious about how the Model 3 holds up over time:

I took delivery of my 2018 Tesla P3D in Dec of 2018, which means I have less than a month left on my bumper to bumper warranty. I took the car to my local SC and requested that they inspect all systems covered by this warranty before it expires. This is what they found:

"Upon inspection found lower links and AFT bushings torn. Replaced LH/RH Aft Lower Front
Suspension Links."

The car has about 36K miles on it.

I am a bit nervous going out of warranty, but at least the battery and motors are still covered. I plan to keep the car for at least another 3 years or so. It will be interesting to see what if any repair costs I incur.

Thanks,
Joe

 

[KenC]

Hmmm...I'm a month away as well, maybe I should schedule an inspection as well; how much does it cost, and what service request did you make?

 

[joebruin77]

Hmmm...I'm a month away as well, maybe I should schedule an inspection as well; how much does it cost, and what service request did you make?

The cost can vary from one SC to another. I read here on TMC that some members paid for 1 hour of service time, which is $220 or so. At my SC, I got lucky in that they performed the inspection free of charge as a good will gesture. I did have a couple of other minor services done as well (eg checking the brake fluid and brake pads).

 

[UncertainTimes]

How much was the bushings replacement

 

[joebruin77]

How much was the bushings replacement

There is no indication on the invoice as to the cost. It just says "Pay Type: Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty" with a cost of zero.

 

[KenC]

Yes, but what did you use on the app, to request the service?

 

[UncertainTimes]

There is no indication on the invoice as to the cost. It just says "Pay Type: Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty" with a cost of zero.

Nice. I would’ve thought bushings were a wear and tear item.

 

[jjrandorin]

For those of you who are curious about how the Model 3 holds up over time:

I took delivery of my 2018 Tesla P3D in Dec of 2018, which means I have less than a month left on my bumper to bumper warranty. I took the car to my local SC and requested that they inspect all systems covered by this warranty before it expires. This is what they found:

"Upon inspection found lower links and AFT bushings torn. Replaced LH/RH Aft Lower Front
Suspension Links."

The car has about 36K miles on it.

I am a bit nervous going out of warranty, but at least the battery and motors are still covered. I plan to keep the car for at least another 3 years or so. It will be interesting to see what if any repair costs I incur.

Thanks,
Joe

I just picked my car up (as in today the same day of this thread creation) for the same "end of warranty inspection" I asked for. There was nothing at all found in mine (2018 model 3P with 37k miles on it).

Note however that I did just have tesla do the Front upper control arms about a month ago, and that was covered under warranty.

 

[jjrandorin]

Hmmm...I'm a month away as well, maybe I should schedule an inspection as well; how much does it cost, and what service request did you make?

It was $143 for me, but I put it in the app as "something else - request end of warranty inspection, including brakes, suspension". I expected to be charged for it, since I was not taking the car in for anything else for service. I had the FUCA done a month ago and that was covered under warranty.

 

[rpiotro]

Smart idea. I highly recommend it for everyone. I did that with my Q50 hybrid a month before the warranty expired. They replaced a RF wheel bearing and the sway bar links. Neither were expensive repairs but... There was no charge for the inspection because they got warranty work out of it.

 

[vickh]

Smart idea. I highly recommend it for everyone. I did that with my Q50 hybrid a month before the warranty expired. They replaced a RF wheel bearing and the sway bar links. Neither were expensive repairs but... There was no charge for the inspection because they got warranty work out of it.

for a traditional dealer no charge for the inspection because they get warranty work out of it is standard. To the point that Hyundai dealer warned me that they'd charge for a airbag light even though 90% of the time it was a recall.


But for TSLA service is a not a profit center per Elon.

 

[ahorner]

I did the same inspection after buying a M3P from Carvana.

SC in Coral Gables charged 185.25+tax for the inspection, performing a thermal performance test, HVAC performance test, and an air purge with system check.

They didn’t find anything that needed repair. It was only after I did an additional inspection for $240 at the Electrified Garage in West Palm Beach, that I found out about the poor condition of Front lower control arms being worn. See pics.

Prior and separate to that, a Tesla Mobile tech informed me that the front brake rotors were not original size.
See thread here:

Used Tesla M3P from Carvana

Hi everyone, I am new here. I'm proud Tesla owner for 2 weeks now, and I got a great deal on a 2018 M3P with track package on Carvana. I had an inspection done at Tesla with the request to let me know if I should raise any concerns to the dealer. Tesla said all good. So I did not make any...

teslamotorsclub.com

I went back to the SC and they luckily replaced both under warranty. Why didn’t they in the first place? Because it seems like you explicitly have to raise a complaint for anything to be repaired, except if it is a threat to safety, I was told.

The above experience with the Tesla inspection made me look for alternatives once I’m out of warranty.


———
Get one month free of TESSIE, the 'must-have appfor Tesla drivers':
https://share.tessie.com/b0Mcdg9mywb

 

[vickh]

Ranger is coming tomorrow for a 12V replacement. Can I have him check control arms visually or anything else that I should have checked b/f warranty expires this month?

 

[ts2340]

This is a good idea.. I plan on picking up a used 2020M3P Saturday that has warranty until December.. I'll definitely do this before that..

 

[Amazing1]

I recently purchased a 2020 with 28k miles. What is the easiest way for me to determine exactly when the 4 yr Bumper to Bumper Warantee will expire?

 

[vickh]

I recently purchased a 2020 with 28k miles. What is the easiest way for me to determine exactly when the 4 yr Bumper to Bumper Warantee will expire?

in App but it's 4 yrs/50K miles

 

[texas_star_TM3]

GOOOD luck paying an SC and expecting them to look hard for issues only to have them fix it for free under warranty for you. It's the same SC who otherwise is very stingy with warranty work and they rather squeeze lube/ seal control arms when they squeak as a bandaid fix to get it past warranty then to replace...

 

[vickh]

GOOOD luck paying an SC and expecting them to look hard for issues only to have them fix it for free under warranty for you. It's the same SC who otherwise is very stingy with warranty work and they rather squeeze lube/ seal control arms when they squeak as a bandaid fix to get it past warranty then to replace...

Depends on the SC. Here in AZ they've waived all/most of my "warranty" work including 2 12 V Batteries that I consider wear/tear.

I do agree that some issues are band aid. eg HVAC smell, also my rear blows hot sometimes. Their fix: future OTA!

 

[texas_star_TM3]

Depends on the SC. Here in AZ they've waived all/most of my "warranty" work including 2 12 V Batteries that I consider wear/tear.

I do agree that some issues are band aid. eg HVAC smell, also my rear blows hot sometimes. Their fix: future OTA!

their "re-sealing / lubing" control arms solution is so pathetic... squeezing grease/ sealing *after* moisture intrusion isn't going to fix a design flaw. the control arm will just last another 10k+ miles and fail out of warranty...

 

[vickh]

their "re-sealing / lubing" control arms solution is so pathetic... squeezing grease/ sealing *after* moisture intrusion isn't going to fix a design flaw. the control arm will just last another 10k+ miles and fail out of warranty...

Is the design flaw also on the Y?

I'm debating extending the warranty when it expires in 3 weeks. $1800 seems like a good value IF they cover stuff like control arms .Ranger said they even cover head/tail lights failing (which can cost over $1K)

At the end of 2 yr extension there will only be 2 yrs left for battery warranty so I will sell while both are in effect to get more $