The Tesla Service Spiral: From Warranty Repair to a $1,800 "Coincidence" Rabbit Hole

Make them buy it back under lemon laws. Tesla has a reputation for crap quality.

Please understand OP that I am not addressing you personally or assuming your political affection(s). Tesla overcharged for YEARS because they KNEW the average liberal would pay their obscene prices to repair their vehicles, so they could brag about driving an electric car and probably feel less guilt. The consumer drove these outrageous prices.

> We’re told these cars are the future… Falling for that line was your first mistake.

Lemon laws don't work that way. They have at least three chances to fix the same problem before you can declare it a lemon, and the car has to be less than a couple years old. Anybody with a little buying savvy who did a speck of research would know that Tesla has serious quality control issues since forever, and terrible service in general...and anybody with a brain would know that electric pop up door handles are a stupid idea for a whole bushel of reasons, but it is what it is. The only reason Tesla didn't tank earlier was that they had a bumper to bumper warranty and just fixed everything for the first few years in business. That way they built up customer loyalty and good vibes, even though the cars sucked and were constantly being repaired. If you go back and read some of the narratives from a few years back people talk about shit falling off the cars as they're being delivered, parts breaking, (especially those stupid door handles), and constant trips to the service center, usually on a flatbed, to get fixed, usually after waiting weeks for parts to show up.

Lemon laws generally apply to a recently purchased new car. This story doesn’t sound like that is the case.

>Tesla Root cause analysis complete.

These cars have a long history of issues with the stupid door handles. This is a well known problem area. What's funny is how EV owners love to lecture us rubes about how EVs are "simpler" than internal combustion cars and have less parts to break. "Battery Coolant Heater"? Lulz.

Elon Musk is a conman. Just look at what the “man” says. Then sell your Tesla.

Tesla replaced my m3 fsd computer twice in 3 years claimed high kms 120k for reason it failed second time, then charged me 4k, and put a huge dent in the dash when they replaced it and refused to acknowledge it wasn't there beforehand. I attempted ACCC intervention and they essentially told them to get fucked. They're absolutely fucked.

Don't put all EVs into the same boat as Tesla. Electric drive trains have fewer parts that can wear out compared to engines. But any parts that do break cost a lot more to repair

I'd agree with this. When I bought the car in 2021 I definitely was prepared to pay more so I could stop blowing out CO2 when I drive. And I think there's definitely an element of smugness knowing you're trying to do better. I think a lot of us did. I'm not interested in the 'but the car kills the planet from being made' bullshit, I do all the other things like not eat meat, run my home on solar etc. the after service is abysmal and if never touch the brand again (Nazi ceo or not).

You can contact your state's attorney general and get consumer protection advice. If you want to support the mission, there are plenty of other EVs out there. Sell it and move on.

The BAR (Bureau of Automotive Repair) would be the best place to contact. They investigate fraud, bad repairs, and other shady practices by repair shops.

There are around 1500 individual parts in a Tesla drive unit, mechanical and electronic.

Those studies that put Tesla at or near the bottom of reliability may be onto something.

*We pay a premium for "The Mission," but when the car is in their care, the accountability vanishes.* Holy shit you drank the Kool aid so hard I'm surprised you didn't cause a drought in your state.

Yet we run 80 year old electric busses (the type with poles) batteries can be had at Wally world and the parts can be made in a decent workshop. The electric controller is all mechanical and probably still be reliable enough to keep running long after the new electric buses with the computers give up the ghost. Reliability seems to have given into disposability.

Yuuup. Sucks, but yup. I try in small ways to repair if possible and buy used when available. Even my car is older than me. Lol

Don’t both the J.D. Power (mostly bullshit) and Consumer Reports (mostly legit) put Tesla on the top for EV predicted reliability? Granted, most EVs available in the US are crap.

Both of them are subject to bias in their sample pool. If you remember the days of Teslarians claiming that their cars were perfect as long as problems were corrected through “goodwill” repairs, you have to acknowledge that those people are still out there.

You fucked up. You trusted them!

I snorted. 🤭

I mean, true. Tesla (the brand) have a very low predicted reliability but both the 3 and the Y have high predicted reliability. >This year, [Tesla](https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/tesla/) made the biggest improvement in our brand reliability rankings, moving up eight spots to rank as the ninth most reliable automaker. This was partly due to the performance of the [Model 3](https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/tesla/model-3/), the most reliable electric car in our survey, and the [Model Y](https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/tesla/model-y/), which is the most reliable electric SUV and the most reliable electric vehicle overall in this year’s survey. Tesla’s two legacy models, the [Model S](https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/tesla/model-s/) sedan and [Model X](https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/tesla/model-x/) SUV, have average reliability. The Cybertruck pickup, however, has below-average reliability. >According to our findings, even when its powertrains have been reliable, owners have reported numerous problems with the quality of the vehicles, ranging from exterior and interior panels that don’t fit properly to blemishes such as paint with embedded hair. In particular, reliability problems have prevented us from recommending the Model X, with its problem-prone power-rising doors. What I assume is the case is, Tesla quality and reliability is pretty crap, but due to its "One of the best available in the US" powertrain and adding additional weight to powertrain reliability, makes 3 and Y rank higher.

What year is your car? 2013? I've had to replace door handles, suspension bits, battery heater, and LOTS more. If your car is older this is 100% to be expected. I had surprise things break too when the service center "fixed" mine while breaking a couple little things.

You have to keep in mind the criteria by which the reporting agency is calculating and reporting their findings. JD Power’s initial quality rating was pretty straightforward, but some years ago they decided it needed to be “supplemented” with their total quality metrics, among other ranking products that they publish. CR’s reliability ranking gets thrown around as a measurement of quality, but that’s not exactly true according to its own name.

On it. I'm done. Will pass it on to some new sucker.

Tesla was pretty much the only option early days. I happen to stick it out but it's on me for staying with them this long when so many better options are now available.

Probably time to cut your losses. I don't expect service is going to get any better, especially with them sundowning the X and the S.

I think the solution is to buy tesla stock and push the p/e ratio to 400, or lets make it 500 which looks even better. With current negative yearly growth it will only take forever to make return on investment. So at this point who cares if its 3-4-500 or a 1000? Cryptobros are watching in awe from the sidelines already. Show them what is possible.

Message Elon asking for help

Welcome to Tesla. Relatives had the same experience a couple times. Every time they fixed a problem the car came back with a newly added malfunction caused during the repair of the other part. And the worst thing, they only repair things that are broken and on the tab. If they see that a different part is damage, they won‘t call and mail you and ask to fix it, they simply don‘t do anything but writing a report. So instead of working on the car an hour longer, you will have to pay for another three or four hours.

Sorry you were Musked.

Thats just wrong. For an average EV drive unit you are looking at roughly 600-900 parts (all components and fasteners). An equivalent ICE drivetrain has 2000-3000 parts.

Why is a coolant heater funny? Doesnt your ICE engine heat its coolant?

In the german TÜV-Report for 2025/26 the Tesla Model Y and 3 (again) are in last place. In Germany you have to let the TÜV or other Organisations like DEKRA check your car. For a new car the first inspection has to be done after three years, then every two years. If there are certain things wrong with your car, it will not pass insepction. Last place in the ranking means, Teslas had the most inspection failures of all checked cars.

OP has been sucking his cock and that hasn't helped yet.

Tesla's "Mission" hasn't been de-carbonising transport for a long time now. It's "Mission" is now all about pumping the stock price with vapourware like Robotaxis and Optimus to boost Musk's ego and support his fascist politics. That's the Mission you're supporting by buying and driving a Tesla.

Another hater simply too backward or poor to continue the fight for what is right. Hopefully he can get the financing together to get another model S before they are gone forever.

I feel bad for you, but this is all very typical Tesla Service. Literally the worst in the industry.

Bluto!? Is that you?

You're getting bills for shit that is directly related to warranty work. lmao

Eh, it was true a decade ago. But then they stopped innovation and found a way to make a flaming dumpster uglier.

I highly doubt the coolant heater isn't related. I've heard of those heaters burning up if the coolant isn't properly bleed after opening the loop. I would definitely fight on that one. When it comes to the door handle, I would argue that sometimes things do just break at in-opportune times. I've seen cars have their starter die when they were in the shop for something completely unrelated. It's a no-win scenario for anyone because the mechanic can't just eat the cost, but they're also going to lose customer trust no matter what they do about a problem that was no fault of their own. But yeah, this is why I think tesla's handles are stupid. If they were like my EV6 & had a mechanical linkage to the actuator I'd say they're the best design for the pop-out handles, but making them electronically actuated is just dumb. I hate that all these new EVs use these stupid pop-out door handles, I just want a normal handle. I'll gladly give up 1% of my efficiency to never have to fight with my door or teach someone how to open it.

Single point failure is ez to fix

No, ICE engines dont have s special part to heat the coolant. The coolant gets hot when it extracts heat from the engine while performing its purpose as a coolant. Ypu then have a radiator to cool the coolant back down so it can accept more heat from the engine. A "coolant heater" is somewhat comical sounding because it is counter to the philosophy of why coolant exists. Kind of like having a fire in your fireplace but turning on the AC because its too hot in your house. Im sure this exists because the battery needs the coolant warm to keep the battery from getting too cold or something but it is still silly sounding.

I cant believe you just took time to explain to me how the coolant in an ICE engine gets warm because of internal combustion. Coolant in EVs is called coolant as a hang over from ICE technology. Its really part of the thermal management system and is there to keep the battery within thermal norms for peak operation. It isnt stupid, it just has a stupid name because of how technology used to be. It should probably be called thermal fluid or something (like how thermal paste is used in PC applications). You seem to know staggeringly little of how EVs work to be so dismissive of them.

Ah, typical Tesla hater I see, Robotaxi will be on the road by 2020 just as promised!

The Future is when the car will be fixed.

You are far too focused on trying to feel superior to people here. I was trying to explain to you why the name "coolant heater" sounds funny. Yes, EVs use it for a reason and it isn't stupid to have it be ause it serves a necessary function. That doesn't change the fact that the name SOUNDS funny/stupid/silly etc. Stop searching for enemies here man, im not anti EV. You can be pro EV and find humor in little silly naming conventions and such.

Oh shit! My bad - I thought I was replying to the guy who was saying that ICE drive units have fewer parts that EV. That wasnt you. Sorry!

So what? EVs have bullshit like battery coolant heaters, inverters, and heat pumps that don’t exist on any ICE car.

Naw, I warm mine in a teapot the old fashioned way.

BullshiT like what? EVs have thermal management just like ICE. EVs are several times more efficient and they dont have stupid old tech like timing chains, spark ignition, direct fuel injection, wet belts and so on. Sorry, but EVs are just better. Burning oil to go places is just wastefull.

You bought a POS car from technology company. I worked at the Fremont factory a number of years ago. There were cars parked in the back of the factory that had problems. They were owned by people but couldn't be released from the factory because of problems with the car. Some of them had been there over a year

Ask them to directly test any part being replaced owing to OBD error codes. Under US federal law you have the right to demand that any replaced part be returned to you. When major assemblies are being serviced and fixed under warranty there is an almost immeasurable risk that multipoint connectors in wiring harnesses get damaged. An intermittent open or other poor connection can throw codes.

Tesla's service department is just the worst.

I think you meant to say the Roadster.

Longevity of engine components has everything to do with design and manufacturing and zero to do with component count.

Complexity counts too. That increases with part count.

I would hope you leased this car- and am surprised it isn’t still under warranty.

Yeah, I hear they don't even have door handles in some models! Stupid old tech!🤡

Thats a Tesla problem, not an EV problem.

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I agree. Unfortunately Tesla has largely defined EV expectations and experience for a lot of people.

This we agree on. Tesla set a high bar for range and software integration, but most everything else is junk.

There are lots of fine EV replacements from Europe, S Korea and Japan. I won’t buy from China before it becomes a democracy and starts playing fair.

But “dealerships are the worst!” Sigh. Such shortsighted people.

Their mission is demonetizing investors.

I'm waiting to see one covered in solar shingles.

Test has taken a lot of this straight from the Apple playbook.

It is not the problem of EV, it is the problem of the company.

I’ve owned a few Teslas and followed the platform closely for years. After major work like a battery swap, it’s not impossible for thermal system issues (like the coolant heater) to appear, but if it happened immediately after service, it’s fair to ask a Service Manager to review it. As for the door handle - those do fail on Model S fairly often, I’ve had it happen on mine too. Still, if it worked when you dropped the car off, pushing for escalation is totally reasonable. Tesla makes great cars, but sometimes you do need to advocate for yourself with service.

Anyone who has bought a Tesla in the last 3-5 years is an idiot and deserves any problems that come their way. There's simply too much info out there on how terrible the cars are and what a conman Musk and the rest of the company are. I refuse to feel sympathy for your face being eaten by the leopards

WHY HAVENT YOU SOLD YOUR TESLA YET. YOUR GETTING WHAT YOU DESERVE. ALSO CHINA EVS DOORS WILL OPEN IF THERES A FIRE. TESLA HAS ELECTRONIC DOOR OPENERS. MEANS THEY DONT OPEN IN CSR ACCIDENT AND YIU DIE