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sickfox
Member
When I had a few weeks old bad Tesla TPMS sensor mounted on a Tsportline wheel, Tesla originally refused to service the sensor, saying they could not touch it and that the warranty was void because it was mounted in a non-Tesla wheel. I had to go up the chain of command at Tesla to get permission for the SC to remove the defective TPMS sensor from the wheel and install a new TPMS sensor.
mknox
Well-Known Member
In my case, I had mounted Nokian Hakka R2 winter tires to the Tesla 19" rims with the pre-existing Tesla TPMS sensors.
I'm curious: Did you remove the Tesla sensors from your stock rims and re-install in the Tsportlines? I bought Rial Luganos for my summer tires and used Tire Rack supplied sensors and they work perfectly.
Bulletproof
Former Vendor
Here are our thoughts in response to the current media topic stating Tesla's caution towards irresponsible upgrade risks with the Model S:
We are neighbors with Tesla and we indeed talk with our friends at Tesla often to seek out their off-the-record advice with each step we take in our product development. We feel this is essential because our philosophy is to work collaboratively in harmony with Tesla and to enhance the brilliant result they have created with the Model S. Doing so requires a great deal of experience with the car, a considerable long term investment and a willingness to take slow incremental steps. For this reason, Unplugged Performance is a Tesla-only company and we are doing all development, design and production in-house in Hawthorne, CA steps away from Tesla. There are no shortcuts to this work and our team of Tesla specialists spend all day every day working on mastering this. We began Unplugged with the blessing of staff members of Tesla and although we do not have and do not claim any official endorsement from Tesla, we do enjoy the friendships we have and the mutual inspiration we share with them on the amazing Model S.
Ultimately the perceived risks Tesla themselves face are likely originating from a profit motivated aftermarket industry which contains many companies who see an opportunity to exploit a growing Tesla marketplace and who manufacture products sometimes without the knowledge, responsibility and safety constraints needed to protect Tesla owners and their investment into their vehicle. One thing which is certain is that modifying a Tesla is unlike modifying other vehicles. There should be a degree of caution when a growing number of companies start making products for the Model S without having owned the car for a period of time and without having researched and tested their products. In this respect, the caution is with a fair amount of reason.
What works on other cars does not always translate on the Model S. In this respect we are not even talking about the obvious challenges with the electrical system. We have learned over the past years a staggering number of small complexities that are unique to the way each Tesla is produced. These complexities apply to not only the challenging upgrades, but also the seemingly simple ones. We continue to keep an internal resource database and we continue to ask Tesla’s technicians questions on a weekly basis as we incrementally expand our upgrade offerings. We also have had dozens of Teslas at our shop, which we have disassembled and evaluated to ensure our knowledge is as detailed and refined as possible.
With every product we make we test fit it on a wide range of cars to ensure we account for every variable that comes with varying production months, varying trim levels and with the industry standard variability range from car to car off of the assembly line.
As Tesla does not follow yearly product revision cycles, we have seen changes both big and small occur often without public notice given. Decoding VINs, studying production months and learning all of these details are our responsibility as a Tesla-only specialty parts manufacturer. Frankly, I don’t know how the typical aftermarket parts manufacturer could responsibly achieve this depth of knowledge without a serious long term dedication to the Model S. We’ve seen continual changes ranging from big things down to even something as simple as floor mats have evolved and changed without public notice.
The aftermarket as a whole, as we all know, is an unregulated community of enthusiasts and small businesses who seek to personalize and upgrade their car to their liking. Naturally each Tesla is property of the car’s paying owner and the owner has the rights to do whatever he/she pleases. We would suggest of course that each owner do their own due diligence of who to trust and how to responsibly upgrade their car if they choose to go down that path of further enhancement. It is absolutely possible and achievable to upgrade the Model S without detriment to reliability, usability and performance. However for every correct way, the market is indeed unregulated and may introduce a number of wrong ways as well.
From our point of view, we feel validated in our long term investment and focus strictly on the Model S – for without it we would have not been able to learn the dozens of lessons we’ve already learned that have allowed us to make safe and responsible products that take into account the complexities of the Model S.
Ultimately every car manufacturer in a perfect world would like to remove external variables that change the product they manufacture. If you look historically there are many car manufacturers who have also expressed caution with the aftermarket and have been protective of their product. That being said, we believe it is in the Tesla owner’s interest to have safe and responsible methods to enhance their enjoyment, individualization and driving satisfaction of their cars and ultimately if the owners lives are more enriched by a responsible aftermarket then it translates favorably into Tesla’s brand value and enthusiast base.
We are neighbors with Tesla and we indeed talk with our friends at Tesla often to seek out their off-the-record advice with each step we take in our product development. We feel this is essential because our philosophy is to work collaboratively in harmony with Tesla and to enhance the brilliant result they have created with the Model S. Doing so requires a great deal of experience with the car, a considerable long term investment and a willingness to take slow incremental steps. For this reason, Unplugged Performance is a Tesla-only company and we are doing all development, design and production in-house in Hawthorne, CA steps away from Tesla. There are no shortcuts to this work and our team of Tesla specialists spend all day every day working on mastering this. We began Unplugged with the blessing of staff members of Tesla and although we do not have and do not claim any official endorsement from Tesla, we do enjoy the friendships we have and the mutual inspiration we share with them on the amazing Model S.
Ultimately the perceived risks Tesla themselves face are likely originating from a profit motivated aftermarket industry which contains many companies who see an opportunity to exploit a growing Tesla marketplace and who manufacture products sometimes without the knowledge, responsibility and safety constraints needed to protect Tesla owners and their investment into their vehicle. One thing which is certain is that modifying a Tesla is unlike modifying other vehicles. There should be a degree of caution when a growing number of companies start making products for the Model S without having owned the car for a period of time and without having researched and tested their products. In this respect, the caution is with a fair amount of reason.
What works on other cars does not always translate on the Model S. In this respect we are not even talking about the obvious challenges with the electrical system. We have learned over the past years a staggering number of small complexities that are unique to the way each Tesla is produced. These complexities apply to not only the challenging upgrades, but also the seemingly simple ones. We continue to keep an internal resource database and we continue to ask Tesla’s technicians questions on a weekly basis as we incrementally expand our upgrade offerings. We also have had dozens of Teslas at our shop, which we have disassembled and evaluated to ensure our knowledge is as detailed and refined as possible.
With every product we make we test fit it on a wide range of cars to ensure we account for every variable that comes with varying production months, varying trim levels and with the industry standard variability range from car to car off of the assembly line.
As Tesla does not follow yearly product revision cycles, we have seen changes both big and small occur often without public notice given. Decoding VINs, studying production months and learning all of these details are our responsibility as a Tesla-only specialty parts manufacturer. Frankly, I don’t know how the typical aftermarket parts manufacturer could responsibly achieve this depth of knowledge without a serious long term dedication to the Model S. We’ve seen continual changes ranging from big things down to even something as simple as floor mats have evolved and changed without public notice.
The aftermarket as a whole, as we all know, is an unregulated community of enthusiasts and small businesses who seek to personalize and upgrade their car to their liking. Naturally each Tesla is property of the car’s paying owner and the owner has the rights to do whatever he/she pleases. We would suggest of course that each owner do their own due diligence of who to trust and how to responsibly upgrade their car if they choose to go down that path of further enhancement. It is absolutely possible and achievable to upgrade the Model S without detriment to reliability, usability and performance. However for every correct way, the market is indeed unregulated and may introduce a number of wrong ways as well.
From our point of view, we feel validated in our long term investment and focus strictly on the Model S – for without it we would have not been able to learn the dozens of lessons we’ve already learned that have allowed us to make safe and responsible products that take into account the complexities of the Model S.
Ultimately every car manufacturer in a perfect world would like to remove external variables that change the product they manufacture. If you look historically there are many car manufacturers who have also expressed caution with the aftermarket and have been protective of their product. That being said, we believe it is in the Tesla owner’s interest to have safe and responsible methods to enhance their enjoyment, individualization and driving satisfaction of their cars and ultimately if the owners lives are more enriched by a responsible aftermarket then it translates favorably into Tesla’s brand value and enthusiast base.
Is that legal? You could very easily be mistaken for a law enforcement vehicle. I thought I read somewhere that blue lighting is illegal due to the danger of being confused with LEO.
fluxemag
Member
I'll give an example about wheels and tires. I immediately took off the 19" wheels and replaced them with 20" aftermarket wheels and a new set of tires. The wheels were the right size, bolt pattern and had sufficient load rating. The tires I ordered from Tire Rack were the right size, but not XL load rating, which is required for such a heavy car. They actually held my order and called me to tell me this, and helped me find the right tire. If someone just found a set of wheels and tires on craigslist and threw them on the car, then had a wheel crack or tire blowout going 75mph, it's a genuine risk of bad press for TSLA. Even though it's not their fault at all. We've seen the stock get burned on baseless news before.
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I've been pulled over for having blue lights because that color is reserved for emergency vehicles. This was in college when I had a clapped out Integra with blue headlights
The officer liked my blue dome light and I had an extra, so I gave it to him for his cruiser (not sure if it would fit).
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I've been pulled over for having blue lights because that color is reserved for emergency vehicles. This was in college when I had a clapped out Integra with blue headlights
The officer liked my blue dome light and I had an extra, so I gave it to him for his cruiser (not sure if it would fit).IMO 100% illegal unless a minimum of part time volunteer fire fighter?
Blue (can) also signify oxygen equipment on board.
I was wondering that myself. But with the thin blue line sticker, I'm guessing the owner is somehow LEO connected.
dvroegop
Member
I agree. Please don't do this:
Or this:
It just hurts to look at those.
Aaargh!!! That does hurt. A lot... Please, tell me this is a photoshop job...
The funny thing is that yesterday I took my car in because I was having weird issues with my rear-view mirrors not returning to the proper location after going from reverse to drive and the guy at the desk was asking me what mods I had done to the car. (It turns out that if you have the mirrors point too far down in reverse they won't return to the proper position in drive). I showed him the lighting improvements for the trunk/frunk, front and rear dash cams and Reus audio upgrade.
RobStark
Well-Known Member
I agree. Please don't do this:
Elon ordered the Pink Batmobile.
It was an April Fool's joke.
Google co-founder, Tesla investor, and Elon's pal Sergey Brin ordered a Model S.
And Elon had it delivered as the Pink Batmobile on April 1.
The pink wrap and other modifications I assume were removed after everyone had a good laugh.
Actually it was a bunch of Google employees who did those modification, not Tesla.
Im very very very very thankful for the Magnuson Warranty Act and its protection against these positions being put forth by the company. Going as far as to say they fear adverse affects from wheels and tires is frankly ridiculous. In terms of voiding the warranty they cannot void it without proving that a failing part is a direct result of aftermarket wheels. Since they said they haven't tested any of this, they cant provide the burden of proof to void anythng.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act
"Warrantors cannot require that only branded parts be used with the product in order to retain the warranty.[SUP][7][/SUP] This is commonly referred to as the "tie-in sales" provisions,[SUP][8][/SUP] and is frequently mentioned in the context of third-party computer parts, such as memory and hard drives."
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here is some more - straight from http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0138-auto-warranties-routine-maintenance
Is my warranty void using aftermarket parts?
No. An 'aftermarket' part is a part made by a company other than the vehicle manufacturer or the original equipment manufacturer. A 'recycled' part is a part that was made for and installed in a new vehicle by the manufacturer or the original equipment manufacturer, and later removed from the vehicle and made available for resale or reuse. Simply using an aftermarket or recycled part does not void your warranty. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act makes it illegal for companies to void your warranty or deny coverage under the warranty simply because you used an aftermarket or recycled part. Still, if it turns out that the aftermarket or recycled part was itself defective or wasn't installed correctly, and it causes damage to another part that is covered under the warranty, the manufacturer or dealer has the right to deny coverage for that part and charge you for any repairs. The FTC says the manufacturer or dealer must show that the aftermarket or recycled part caused the need for repairs before denying warranty coverage.
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