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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

#181

Post by ars »

mulmen wrote: post #105
overcast wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> My car is due for a brake fluid flush soon, not sure if I will do that myself or have the mechanic do it.

If you have the knowledge to jack up your car then just do it yourself, it's really easy, even better if your car is such that you can reach the fluid valve by the wheel without jacking it up.

Buy a brake bleeder kit, it's a small bottle with hoses.

You'll need an assistant to press and release the brakes on command.

Keep an eye on the fluid reservoir and don't let it go dry or you'll waste even more time and fluid bleeding it. Keep it covered at all times, open it just long enough to fill - don't do it like the mechanics, who just leave it open since it's not their car and they don't care.

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

#182

Post by Dylan16807 »

cowardlydragon wrote: post #119
sxcurry wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really interesting to see how far some people will go to absolve Tesla of anything bad. This car was a lemon and the owner got terrible service from Tesla. End of story.

Except all support people know about PEBKAC. This isn't the usual holier-than-thou I did noth-ingggg! bad review. But it's always hard to know....

> PEBKAC

If there is something you can do from between the wheel and the seat to cause those error messages, it's Tesla's fault.

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

#183

Post by overcast »

ars wrote: post #178
overcast wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, brakes are stupid easy to replace. I did my girlfriends pads, rotors, calipers by myself, for the first time ever, just watching some online videos. I certainly would not pay someone to replace pads / rotors. The only thing you really need for that is a brake spreader tool, which is free to rent from Autozone type places. Regarding flushing brake fluid, you can bring it a place if you're not comfortable,…

> The only thing you really need for that is a brake spreader tool, which is free to rent from Autozone type places. A large C-clamp and the old pad work just fine.

Depends on the car, the woman's civic was this cross pattern, that had to be cranked out.

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

#184

Post by overcast »

julian_t wrote: post #179
jhoechtl wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The incentive structure at a dealer service department is the exact opposite of favorable to the customer. As is at the doctors. A doctor should be paid for not seeing you.

Exactly. I had back trouble, and visited a couple of therapists over the years who would massage and manipulate. I eventually realized that I was an income stream to them, and that I'd keep going back every time I had trouble. Then I found a physio (= physical therapist) who treated it but also gave me an explanation for what was wrong, an exercise regime, and told me that, in the nicest possible sense, she hoped nev…

Well to be fair, a massage just feels good, I'd be going regardless of problems :)

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

#185

Post by toomuchtodo »

j_koreth wrote: post #71
toomuchtodo wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You own the Tesla hardware. You do not own the software. You're also not forced to buy one. You're also free to write your own software for the vehicle to bypass Tesla.

> You're also free to write your own software for the vehicle to bypass Tesla. I thought the problem was that this part was illegal also

Its not. Write your own software, flash the vehicle. Its a herculean task, but possible, and not illegal.

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

#186

Post by mulmen »

mschuster91 wrote: post #164
mulmen wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> My car is due for a brake fluid flush soon, not sure if I will do that myself or have the mechanic do it.My car is due for a brake fluid flush soon, not sure if I will do that myself or have the mechanic do it. Leave brake fluid stuff to the experts. If you manage to get any moisture or air into your brake systems, say goodbye to your brakes. Back when I had a car, I did everything by myself except brakes, engine w…

In a past life in spent a couple years in an auto tech program and was an equipment mechanic in college to pay for books (beer) so I am familiar with the process of bleeding my brakes.

You are right to be concerned about moisture, that's actually why they need bled. BMW suggests bleeding them roughly every other oil change because no system is perfectly water/moisture tight.

The nice thing about having my mechanic do it is they already have a place to do it and they deal with the waste fluid plus they also inspect the rest of the car and have a lot more experience with what to look for than I do. Preventative maintenance is a big deal on these cars so having an experienced mechanic look at it regularly puts my mind at ease.

I just recently started renting a friend's garage so I could rebuild my motorcycle so now that I have my tools and a space to do work I am much more likely to do this kind of thing myself.

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

#187

Post by mulmen »

ars wrote: post #178
overcast wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, brakes are stupid easy to replace. I did my girlfriends pads, rotors, calipers by myself, for the first time ever, just watching some online videos. I certainly would not pay someone to replace pads / rotors. The only thing you really need for that is a brake spreader tool, which is free to rent from Autozone type places. Regarding flushing brake fluid, you can bring it a place if you're not comfortable,…

> The only thing you really need for that is a brake spreader tool, which is free to rent from Autozone type places. A large C-clamp and the old pad work just fine.

While that works it's a good idea to always bleed the excess fluid out because it doesn't last forever. Brake fluid is lighter than water so any moisture will make its way to your calipers then start rusting them from the inside. That's why manufacturers suggest flushing the system regularly. Brake fluid is pretty cheap relative to calipers so you may as well just bleed it out.

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

#188

Post by mulmen »

overcast wrote: post #174
lostlogin wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Over tightened wheel nuts are a complete nightmare. I got a flat in the middle of nowhere at night and found that the idiot who had fitted my new tyres had done this. I couldn't get the wheel off with an extra long wrench I was jumping on. Wheel fitting places fit into the equation a few rungs below car dealers.

Anytime I've had to bring my car to a shop, for any reason. I've run around each bolt, loosened, and properly torqued. Things like an inspection, will take at least a wheel off, and dealing with warped rotors, blows.

This is a really good practice but not everyone has the experience tools, time and space to do this. Not to toot my own horn (hah) but I am capable of performing any repair that has come up for my car but I still pay a mechanic most of the time because after moving to a city I don't have the space for my tools or a place to work on the car.

It's unfortunate that the shop that carries the manufacturers name is not a trustworthy place to have the work done, even with their exorbitant premium on labor.

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

#189

Post by mulmen »

ars wrote: post #181
mulmen wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> My car is due for a brake fluid flush soon, not sure if I will do that myself or have the mechanic do it. If you have the knowledge to jack up your car then just do it yourself, it's really easy, even better if your car is such that you can reach the fluid valve by the wheel without jacking it up. Buy a brake bleeder kit, it's a small bottle with hoses. You'll need an assistant to press and release the brakes on co…

A friend of mine actually made a pressure bleeder out of an old weed sprayer. I really like the idea of using that because it's easier to maintain the balance in he system and fully flush the old fluid.

He stores his with brake fluid in it which seems to me to defeat the purpose of bleeding brakes because the weed sprayer isn't going to be any more resistant to moisture than the brake system in the car. I'll probably have him help me build my own and then use that.

There is also a tool library around here that may have an actual pressure bleeder I can rent.

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

#190

Post by mulmen »

ars wrote: post #177
mschuster91 wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My car is due for a brake fluid flush soon, not sure if I will do that myself or have the mechanic do it.My car is due for a brake fluid flush soon, not sure if I will do that myself or have the mechanic do it. Leave brake fluid stuff to the experts. If you manage to get any moisture or air into your brake systems, say goodbye to your brakes. Back when I had a car, I did everything by myself except brakes, engine w…

> If you manage to get any moisture or air into your brake systems, say goodbye to your brakes. That isn't true at all. You just bleed the air out, it's really easy, I've done it multiple times using just a small $5 brake bleeding bottle. The only way you'd get enough water in your brake system for it to cause a problem is if you poured it in there, or left it open for several days. > Back when I had a car, I did eve…

This is right, it is quite easy if you know the procedure.

However, no brake system is perfectly water right because it has moving parts. Flushing the system periodically removes this moisture before it can accumulate to a level that will cause significant corrosion of the internal brake parts.

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