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Tesla Model S: the story of a very short happiness and excitement

dmitryzavyalov.livejournal.com

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Re: Tesla Model S: the story of a very short happiness and excitement

#101

Post by Lazare »

sammydavis wrote: post #55
dmode wrote: post #35

I have a Model S and Tesla service is generally exceptional. This sounds like they messed up. I am sure if he escalates they would take care of it

Wow, there's an amazing amount of down voting in this article. Is that because people hate tesla? I don't get it. I once bought an suv. It had a problem soon after I bought it and got service for a while and i didn't have a car. It was frustrating. It wasn't a tesla by the way :-) They didn't offer to give me a loaner during that time, but I was pretty young and not aware that was a normal expectation. Eventually my…

> Tesla sells things, and they can't just give you a new one when it breaks.

Actually, they can. And legally, they have to (or offer a refund), if the car breaks as much as that one did. I don't think you quite grasp the magnitude of the issues being alleged.

> I once bought an suv. It had a problem [...] Eventually my car was repaired

Right, good story, but totally different than the OPs story, where he had tons of problems and they were never fixed.

Re: Tesla Model S: the story of a very short happiness and excitement

#102

Post by aetherspawn »

An insulation fault -- I'm surprised they didn't go straight to inspecting the high voltage harness. Seems like they could have done with some electrical design engineers in the service center.

Source: I build electric racecars and my own cars have thrown this error one or twice in three years, usually from component failure or cable abrasion against carbon fiber.

Re: Tesla Model S: the story of a very short happiness and excitement

#103

Post by intrasight »

base698 wrote: post #95
Lightbody wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I own a Lexus and Tesla and while nothing has been bad with Lexus service, my experience has been better customer service from Tesla (more friendly, better loaners, more flexible scheduling, etc). Now, on the other hand: my Lexus has had a lot fewer issues.

People are finally starting to see that, "an electric car has fewer parts so is more reliable." Is but marketing speak. Even if it's less parts it's still got plenty enough to cause a plethora of technical issues.

True, but internal combustion engines have had decades to be refined. Another few years of refinement of electric vehicles will, I think, tilt the reliability balance.

Re: Tesla Model S: the story of a very short happiness and excitement

#105

Post by mulmen »

overcast wrote: post #98
mulmen wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I changed the oil myself the next time and they had the filter cover torqued down so tight I had to make a wrench out of an old timing belt to get enough leverage to remove it. The cap has a torque spec printed right on it that is much lower than whatever the dealer tightened it to. The amazing thing isn't just the degree to which they make mistakes it's the frequency. More often than not they are doing the job wrong…

I've always changed my own oil, and at every 7500, rather than the insane 15000 BMW states for their service intervals. So while it was in warranty, I took advantage of the 15000 mile changes, and did my own in between. In hindsight, it's not even worth my time, and I won't be doing it again with a future car. Oil change is quick, and you can get 5L Liqui Moly for much cheaper than "BMW" brand oil.

This is exactly what I do, down to the oil. BMW made it really easy with the access flap for the drain plug and there are convenient jacking points on the subframe. The service calls for more than just changing oil but I'm not confident that the dealer even does all the "extra" things they claim. My car is due for a brake fluid flush soon, not sure if I will do that myself or have the mechanic do it.

Re: Tesla Model S: the story of a very short happiness and excitement

#107

Post by aetherspawn »

intrasight wrote: post #106

Taking new, untested tech from a new, untested company on a long trip was a bad idea. I fault the author more than I fault Tesla in this case.

Electric cars are notoriously unreliable because there are just that many things that can go wrong. For example, a battery pack on average will monitor about 400 temperatures and perhaps 200 voltages. Its inherent design means that it undergoes many thermal cycles, has thousands of fasteners and up to a hundred switching circuity components inside various isolated power supplies. The deviation of any parameter from normal requires an immediate shutoff at risk of a lithium fire that cannot be extinguished.

You could not even imagine the amount of engineering that goes into making sure the fasteners are positive locked in a redundant manner, whilst preloaded against temperature change, without breaking isolation.

Yet, a Tesla is, in general, relatively reliable. Maximum props to them on a job well done.

Re: Tesla Model S: the story of a very short happiness and excitement

#108

Post by dingo_bat »

overcast wrote: post #84
sk5t wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For an out-of-warranty German car, your best bet is the independent mechanics that the local car club members like. For a BMW, maybe start with the BMWCCA-approved safety inspection shops on the track day prep list.

Yep, been taking mine to the local mom and pop BMW racing club guy shop since day one. The ONE and ONLY time I took my car to the dealer for a free oil change. They didn't put the oil cap back on, sprayed everywhere in the engine as I was leaving, and months later I found out they didn't replace the drain plug access panel underneath. Can't handle oil changes, I sure as shit am not bringing it there for something ser…

Is this problem specific to BMW? Because I've never heard any of those things happen to a Honda or a Toyota.

Re: Tesla Model S: the story of a very short happiness and excitement

#109

Post by dingo_bat »

jasonmp85 wrote: post #7
automathematics wrote: post #2

Thanks for sharing this. I hope Tesla respond in time, as this seems very unacceptable to me.

Honest question: why root for Tesla? Great EVs are starting to appear from other manufacturers, so why cheer for one company in particular?

Because elon is doing it for the tech. At least that's the image he's crafted :P

Re: Tesla Model S: the story of a very short happiness and excitement

#110

Post by illumin8 »

edude03 wrote: post #59
chc wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great EVs are starting to appear from other manufacturers? I know of the Chevy Bolt and nothing else. Are there others you're thinking of? I mean, that's one car, which generally seems to be reviewed along the lines of "not as good as a Tesla, but hey, at least it's not a Leaf" — so although it is great that somebody else is doing it too, it seems pretty fair to say that Tesla is still leading the charge here (pun no…

How about the BMW i3? The 2017 gets 120 miles to a charge and for a bit more money you can get an onboard generator to bring that up to 300 miles IIRC. The driver assist capabilities aren't as great but otherwise can't think of much to complain about.

I personally love my i3... I get about 120 miles on pure battery, but once the range extender kicks in I get about 40 mpg on a small 3 gallon gasoline tank.

It actually works out pretty well, because 99% of my driving is well within the 120 mile all electric range, it's super quiet, and accelerates at any speed! For the 1% of the time I need to go on a longer trip (longest so far is about 250 miles), I simply treat it like a motorcycle trip and fill up gas every 50-60 miles, after exhausting the battery.

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