I've just come back to UK from USA where I had an in depth chat with a very knowledgeable Roadster Technician at the large Dana Beach, Florida, Service centre.
I camped it up about how few Roadsters there are in UK, and how we'd come a long way (for a brit) .. ended up spending 30+mins chatting thro Roadster technical stuff.
Here is a brief summary:
As in UK, most early Tesla Technicians have mainly moved up the management chain and now are area managers, but thankfully the knowledge base has been carefully kept intact.
Except for battery repairs, where even if there is a battery certified Technician, for ANY ESS/battery pack faults, even minor relay trips etc. They drop the battery and return it to California to be repaired by a specialist team .. this appears to be on a global scale, Roadster batteries from Europe will take longer to fix due to shipping time - aircargo is not an option.
He said "Tesla want to support loyal Roadster owners" and he has noticed a significant reduction in the cost of ESS repairs to under $2000 normally (much lower than when repaired locally at normal labour rates). I pushed him on this, and he said many Roadster owners are also now Model S owners, and Tesla want to 'do the right thing'. I also asked about capacity reduction and he said packs are generally performing better than expected with many packs with only a few % reduction in 4+ years .. the most problematical batteries are from cars which get little use, (balance and sheet errors).
Of other common faults on roadsters he said the 400v - 12v converter is a regular re-fit, mainly from damp problems. Noisy suspension is often caused dry bushes (OK to use petroleum based lube, not silicone). Fogged up headlamps should all be cured by now, by 'the gortex patch' ! (basically drill 2 holes, and cover, literally with a gortex patch which wicks moisture one-way (out). 12v batteries are usually changed as part of the annual service. Otherwise he stressed the cars with problems tend to be mainly the infrequently used 'garage queens' or the rare abused, high milers.
I camped it up about how few Roadsters there are in UK, and how we'd come a long way (for a brit) .. ended up spending 30+mins chatting thro Roadster technical stuff.
Here is a brief summary:
As in UK, most early Tesla Technicians have mainly moved up the management chain and now are area managers, but thankfully the knowledge base has been carefully kept intact.
Except for battery repairs, where even if there is a battery certified Technician, for ANY ESS/battery pack faults, even minor relay trips etc. They drop the battery and return it to California to be repaired by a specialist team .. this appears to be on a global scale, Roadster batteries from Europe will take longer to fix due to shipping time - aircargo is not an option.
He said "Tesla want to support loyal Roadster owners" and he has noticed a significant reduction in the cost of ESS repairs to under $2000 normally (much lower than when repaired locally at normal labour rates). I pushed him on this, and he said many Roadster owners are also now Model S owners, and Tesla want to 'do the right thing'. I also asked about capacity reduction and he said packs are generally performing better than expected with many packs with only a few % reduction in 4+ years .. the most problematical batteries are from cars which get little use, (balance and sheet errors).
Of other common faults on roadsters he said the 400v - 12v converter is a regular re-fit, mainly from damp problems. Noisy suspension is often caused dry bushes (OK to use petroleum based lube, not silicone). Fogged up headlamps should all be cured by now, by 'the gortex patch' ! (basically drill 2 holes, and cover, literally with a gortex patch which wicks moisture one-way (out). 12v batteries are usually changed as part of the annual service. Otherwise he stressed the cars with problems tend to be mainly the infrequently used 'garage queens' or the rare abused, high milers.