Another Extremely Poor Tesla Model 3 Quality and Experience

Discussion in 'Model 3' started by Paulla Weddle, Feb 10, 2020.

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  1. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web Well-Known Member Subscriber

    I would add:
    • CR owner surveys are accurate and credible
    • CR staff reviews have big problems with efficient cars
    Bob Wilson
     
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  3. Bob Long

    Bob Long Member

    Correction....I didn't say the Model 3 was a crappy car. I was referring to the Tesla after sales service which is crap, at least here in Norway. Remember, Tesla sells the most cars per capita in the whole world in Norway. I waited 5 months to have a driver side window replaced under warranty on my Model S, and a guy from Oslo 9 months to get a replacement front seat replaced. He gave up in the end and drove all the way to Copenhagen in Denmark to get it fixed. Not exactly comforting is it?
     
  4. Bob Long

    Bob Long Member

    We've had our Kona about 9 months now and driven around 8700km. We normally don't go on long trips, especially in winter time, but we did drive to Sweden last autumn which is around 2 hours from us. The good thing about our Kona is the range, and managed 515km on a fully charged battery. Obviously the range is reduced in winter because of climate control use and cold battery. We normally set our charge limit to 80% which is adequate for our daily use, and because of it's great range we haven't needed a CCS charger yet. The supercharger network in Europe is expanding rapidly, but still not as widespread as the Tesla network. One really disappointing feature compared to our previous Kia Soul EV and diesel Nissan Qashqai is that the ESC on our Kona EV (Electronic Stability Control) is useless compared to the others. Driving with our top of the range winter tires feels like driving with summer tires. Our Hyundai dealer will look into this. Not sure if it can be adjusted to make it more sensitive?
     
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  5. Paulla Weddle

    Paulla Weddle New Member

    I wish I could afford to turn it in and get another car. But I would lose too much money. I have looked into other cars, but there is nothing that has the features that the Tesla three has which are the reasons that I bought that car. I am 70 years old and have some disabilities. I waited two years to get that car because it was more affordable and is the car that offers the most self driving options than any other car, which I felt was necessary in order to help me with any physical issues I have. I have driven a Cadillac a Mercedes and 2 Lexus cars, keeping them for at least 10 years each. I have never run into so many problems and such poor response to the problems. Many people say they love their teslas, and I wondered if it was just something about my car. I got on the form to see if the other cars have the same problems, and I see several people who have had the same problems. I am just looking for some options and advice. The creaking noise I have now is so loud that even turning up the radio doesn’t cover it. When I have other people in my car we just have to laugh about it. It has been embarrassing to drive other people in my car, with the squeaking brakes and the extremely loud creaking like old bedsprings. I do wish I could just turn it in and get another car, but I simply cannot afford it. It took almost 3 weeks to get an appointment, which I have for tomorrow. And today I got a text telling me that they are not responsible for any noises if it isn’t covered under the warranty. So I will see what happens tomorrow. If it isn’t covered under the warranty, I will not have them work on it. And I will need some suggestions as to where else I could get it worked on.
     
  6. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web Well-Known Member Subscriber

    I fully understand and with one exception, we run our cars 'until the wheels fall off.' We traded in our 2017 Prius Prime getting $18,300.
    I too am 70 years old as of December 2019. I ordered it in February 28, 2019 and took delivery March 26, 2019. It has 19,698 miles and I am patiently waiting on the full self driving hardware.

    I am caregiver to my wife of 43 years (did I mention 'wheels fall off'?) Our backup car is a 2014 BMW i3-REx:
    • 72 EV range - this gives the cheap electric miles around town
    • 647 cc modified motorcycle engine - this gives ~40 MPG at 70 mph for cross country
    So when I replaced the passenger side, wheel bearing, we used the BMW to fetch parts, tools, and appointments. That car has ~42,329 miles and has take trips over 700 miles. It was the BMW i3-REx that became the primary car and the Prius Prime became 'driveway art.'
    How far away are you from Huntsville AL? A retired engineer this sounds interesting.
    • squeaking brakes - if you drive backwards kinda fast and brake hard, what happens?
    • creaking - does it change if you drive in a tight left and then a right circle in a parking lot?
    • creaking - if you push down hard at each wheel, do you hear the creaking noise?
    Finding independent shops to look at a Tesla is a challenge. But I have a full set of tools; know where to get the Tesla tech manuals, and; treat a warranty as a 'speed bump.' I look forward to self-maintenance.

    Let me suggest these forums:
    1. https://teslaownersonline.com - a technologists forum with many skilled people (kinda like me.) They are anal about keeping things in the right thread but mostly to make it easier for us to find and follow-up.
    2. https://teslamotorsclub.com - they have a lot of folks to follow Tesla cars and news BUT they also have a few, undisciplined *ssholes. Then I realized they 'cut-and-paste' their expertise and aren't really interested in technical details. I rarely visit because the engineering data I crave is so thin. But they may have references to independent shops.
    I'm here primarily because of interest in charging technology. We have a Model 3 and BMW i3 which means we have both Supercharger and CCS-1 experience.

    Bob Wilson
     
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  8. Paulla Weddle

    Paulla Weddle New Member

    Thank you. I think my issue was similar. It was so loud I didn't have to argue with them. They immediately heard it and knew how to fix it. And it was under warranty. The best thing was they issued me a Tesla loaner!
    Unfortunately, when I got my car home, it wouldn't operate with my phone. Very frustrating! I actually managed to reach someone in Service, and he had no ideas except to bring it in again. I think they accessed it remotely and left that system on. I finally figured out I had to delete the Tesla app on my phone, and set it up again.
    I'm keeping my fingers crossed that no more problems pop up!!!
     
  9. Glad to hear they fixed it. Apparently it is a well known problem. They immediately recognized it with my son's car, and his is good now after the fix.
     
  10. Paulla Weddle

    Paulla Weddle New Member

    Thank you. I'm hoping everything continues to improve. It has been a disappointing 2 years.
     

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