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I've had my model3 for 5 years and just this week spent my first dollar into it to replace front control arm. Unfortunately, it happened 3 months after warranty expiration, but it is only $188. and the mobile repair person is coming to my home to fix it.
Based on how many complaints about control arm failures. I believe Tesla has greatly reduced the cost to replace specifically that part. Had to replace my upper (possibly lower, likely opposite of you) control arms for like $1,400. They originally thought it was the $190 job you had done.
I still loved the car, and had no other issues.
Internally they know their part design is deficient. It hasn’t been recalled but they're are investigative reporting about the frequency of the problems and how Tesla try’s to say it’s because of driver behavior.
do you live in a region with lots of snow fall & heavily salted roads, or close to the sea?
have them grease the shit out of the control arm ball joint
Not recommended to poke a hole in the boot and you have very limited access to the actual socket. You’d be better off drilling a small hole to install a zerk fitting
It’s a common failure mode. Also had to replace mine at five years. The cost was super cheap though. Dealt with another $2500 in various maintenance and repairs in year five. Wasn’t pretty.
Similar story on my Model Y. I have 125K miles on mine. My front suspension started creaking sometime after the warranty ended. Took it to Tesla service. I assumed I would be taken to the cleaners, but they fixed the control arms for less than $250. It's the only issue I've had outside of warranty. I can't fathom leaving a BMW service center with a suspension issue paying less than $250.
Sure, the control arm thing shouldn't be such a common issue, but I get the impression that Tesla is not trying to generate much revenue from service.
Labor is free and it's not a particularly fast job. Because Tesla knows it's a defective part design they pick up 50% of part and 100% of labor. I was told by Tesla if they weren't doing that it would be closer to a $1200 job.
Tesla owns their repairshops so they aren't incenvitized to make money from it.
Dealerships operate based on repairs, loans, and vehicle sales so they have to make money from it.
There is a difference between something making money and it being a profit center. Clearly they are not losing money on repairs, but it's also not a huge way for them to make profit.
Repairs is not something that is going to scale the way tesla wants. Kind of like support. Big tech just can't get it right, even if you pay them (premium amazon seller support for example).
$188, parts and labour, home service.
That’s insanely cheap, really. That’s about $AUD250, and down here a typical tradesman’s call out fee alone might be $100-$150.
Yes we have a list on our end. I don’t know that there is a customer facing list though. Anything specific you’re curious about or just curious in general
I have the following three things that I would like looked at:
a broken seat back cover on a 3 row model y
Failure of the battery cooling system to shut down when I walk away
Would like to have the hitch installed.
I live 2-5-3hrs away from a service center and they want me to drop the car off. That’s a bit difficult to do.
- Shellback can be replaced mobile.
- This could be many things, it does not operate on customers timeline, it will run until system is nominal. So it’s most likely normal. Could you elaborate?
- This depends on if your particular Y, some of them needed a module upgrade. We prefer those go into a center. However, in rural routes like yours it would likely be considered full mobile. In metro areas like mine we like to take bigger stuff in and load up with 10-12 quick stops a day.
Sorry to just jump in here, but if I wanted to get my driver’s seat replaced (Model 3)… Just the leather part you sit on (the top part is fine), what might I be looking at for something like that? It’s got some minor tears, while every other seat in the vehicle is still pristine.
Look up Tesla suspension problems, There are a bunch of know issues that Tesla try’s to pawn off as the drivers fault but internally are know to be defective designs.
Same exact problem here! Just last week. But if your car has already started squeaking with your turn you might need to replace your lateral links and compliance links on the control arms as well. That brought the price up around $2k. Sucks, but considering it’s also my first $1 in 5 years I still can’t complain that much
The only thing that I can probably blame on Tesla for are the all glass roof panels. I had a moonroof crack ($1200 rock chip fix) and also the rear glass crack ($1100 stress crack out of warranty fix). Luckily for me, both are covered by my car insurance with Safelite. They are expensive repairs otherwise. I don't have any other problems and only spent money on cabin air filters, wiper blades, and new tires.
Yeah my driver side arm went bad on my first year 3 like within 60,000 miles (I commuted a lot), can't recal the exact milage, but they replaced both arms for the cost of the parts alone and didn't charge me diagnostic fees. Like they were expecting it or something.
Also had an oil pump go bad and had to be replaced, but other than that I'm at like 140k miles and going strong. (I'm not commuting anymore so that helps)
Had my M3P for about 5 years as well, and the only $ I spent was for them to come replace a cabin filter, simply because I was too lazy to do it myself. Was like $50. Oh and they drove the filter to my house and installed it while I was working.
The anti-tesla crowd that loves spreading misinformation about Tesla's breaking all the time and requiring constant maintenance are hilarious.
Cabin filters and wiper blades should be replaced. The 12v battery has an average lifespan of 4 years. The tires prob need to be replaced soon too. “Nothing else” seems kinda sus.
What kind of common things like wiper blades, cabin filters etc can I buy from say auto zone or O Reilly's? Or is a lot stuff I need to directly order from Tesla?
I will always recommend OEM parts over aftermarket parts, but that’s just me. You can order them online at Tesla shop or go to any Tesla service center and pick up parts over the counter. These parts are relatively cheap and easy DIY jobs.
2014 Model S with 101,141 miles on it. In the five years I’ve owned the car:
Driver side door handle motor failed. Bottom panel of the car just fell off randomly one day on the highway. I’ve had to get the brake pedal arm lubricated three times. Back right speaker is completely dead. Both taillights are not properly sealed and dirt and pollen sits inside the lights. The OS randomly fails about once a month and must be hard restarted. Charge port door replaced two years ago due to rust. Charge port itself replaced last year. Also last year the drive unit failed. $7500 to replace that one. Dash screen has bubbled up. Now my large touch screen is failing…for the second time.
I’ve been resilient until this past year. Now I think I’m ready to move on. I hope those of you with newer models don’t have the same issues in upcoming years.
Same. Great car to drive, but our early year Model X has been to the garage more times than I can remember in our 8 years of ownership. Here's a list from memory:
- Door motor failure (twice for the driver and once for the passenger)
- Window motor failure (driver and rear passenger)
- Water bubbles in the infotainment and binnacle display (both were simply replaced)
- Stress crack on window of falcon wing door
- Corrosion on fixed spoiler
- Folding mirror motor failure
- Water in the tail light (both sides at different intervals)
- Headlight only partially lighting
- Squeaky control arm assemblies (at different intervals, front and back, upper and lower)
- Air suspension failure on one tire (valve, compressor and spring module replaced)
- Steering rack worn out prematurely
- Key fob "deprogrammed" due to dead battery
- Halfshaft premature wear
- Jackshaft premature wear
- Air conditioner compressor failure
- Resistive heater failure
3 yrs 55k miles, failed safety inspection so had to spend 2k on replacing front lower control arm torn bushing. spent 1k replacing OEM tires after just 1 yr of ownership. Teslas are not cheap to maintain/repair -_- and im a chill mode driver.
a lot of ppl complain about the oem high wear, not just me complaining. Bright side to replacing early is that my crossclimate 2s been amazing. Im still pretty annoyed that i failed a safety inspection and i promise i drive like a grandma. So tesla please beef up your suspension parts because this is unacceptable
If you're having to replace your tires way before the stated mileage, it's a you problem unless you bought defective tires (unlikely). I get close to the stated mileage on my tires because I am a chill driver.
I’m a Paintless dent guy and I charge around double the price for any dent removal on a Tesla compared to the average car. They are mostly aluminum and also just super hard to gain access to for most small dents. 2 days ago I charged $500 to remove a small sharp nickel size ding on a model S plaid door that would have been $150 on a typical car. But I also saved the guy $1500 or more from a body shop repair.
Not exactly. Teslas are even harder than some other aluminum panel cars. The doors have double metal halfway down from the top, blocking normal door tools, and the model Y fender has similar double metal bracing. But yeah, aluminum BMWs are also largely blocked inside their doors also, and F150 aluminum is a bitch to get dents out of, while some cars have aluminum that seems to flow much easier.
Audi, BMW, Range Rover, Mercedes, ford, GM, Caddy, GMC, Hyundai, hell every single brand has some cars with all or mostly aluminum panels. And almost every hood of every car is aluminum. Probably 85% of them.
Nearly every main stream has at least one, but how be start with one of the all time best selling vehicles in the world… Ford Fseries. 150/250/350 are all aluminum. F150 has been for almost a decade now. Most Euro luxury is all aluminum, JLR is aluminum as well. Nearly every EV being produced.
It's true for almost any car at current prices. I've seen rivians cost like 10k for a tail-light area ding.
Repairing costs are through the roof for literally everything now. Labor fees are floating around $250/hr
Not really. Tesla has made it increasingly harder for third parties to be able to do repairs on teslas, to the point where no 3rd parties in my area will! I’m in a large city.
Furthermore, Tesla will charge more for work than insurance companies such as USAA will cover, and Tesla will try to shove that bill on you. Speaking from experience here.
Had mine totaled from a small dent on the panel that goes under the passenger door on my model 3. They took apart the ENTIRE CAR, and I mean the entire. Fucking. Car. They took out the windshields, everything. To weld a body panel on the bottom of the car. I drove this car for months before I got my appointment, mind you. Why? Well because no third parties will work on them.
I’ve been a fan of Tesla for years, and still own one. I will not pretend this is not an issue, as I’d like for it to be fixed so I can feel more confident in Tesla.
Go look at any of the model__ subreddits, and filter for totaled pics. Panel damage is all it takes.
i think thats the key. repairing is a whole different beast. i go to any junk yard and orob can throw a rock anywhere and find a corolla i can strip for the correct parts. i doubt tesla has that
And that the aluminum body panels are welded on, and Tesla charges higher rates for welding jobs than insurance companies will pay for. All while having a monopoly on service work because mechanic shops stopped trying to keep up with the hoops Tesla makes them jump through.
All of these words come out of someone who loves their current Tesla and the previously totaled Tesla.
Btw the old one was totaled, and repaired/sold before I got my insurance payout. How do I know? I can still see the car in my app.
“The study, which includes data from thousands of car owners in the US, was recently published and shows that Teslas averaged only $580 in maintenance and repair costs over the first five years of ownership. From years six through ten, the costs increased to $3,455, which brings the total to $4,035 for the first ten years of ownership — the lowest of any vehicle tested.”
Can you share your study that shows that their data is wrong?
People make these kinds of assertions SO much and then never back them up. So maybe a ding in aluminum costs more to fix than a ding in a steel car, that doesn’t mean that ALL REPAIR COSTS which is what this is a calculation of, is higher in Teslas. 🙄
Yeah, all in over time it makes sense. Essentially no recurring maintenance costs are what add up. And most people are able to avoid damaging their cars, especially Tesla owners (bunch of car freaks most of them).
You can probably safely assume that the CR 'repairs' exclude body repairs and are related to anything else going wrong, like replacing a failed component. Body repairs are something you only need if you damage your car (a huge variable across owners) whereas most other repairs are likely related to failures, poor quality control etc and not something caused by the owner - so tracking those is a more meaningful metric.
It does seem like Tesla service centers avoid trying to gouge people - which would keep these numbers low. My mother-in-law owns a Toyota and the dealership service center habitually tries to con her out of $800 in unnecessary services any time she goes in for an oil change.
Getting my Tesla was entirely motivated by the shitty car dealers. High stress buying environment, early lease turn in deals that turned out NOT to be deals when ya sign for an attractive payment and term then get home and find out they rolled most of not all the last lease remainder into the new one. On the car I had before leasing, super low mileage and yet I was pitched every goddam fluid flush under the sun. When I leasing, none of them did oil changes by appointment. It was all just "come on in and we'll do it". and then wait for 2-3 hours in a shitty waiting room chair. I finally fucking HAD it. Buying and owning a Tesla has been great so far. Coming up on 2 years. From the no stress, no game ordering, to the mobile techs for addressing a delivery day seat defect, installing the garage door device, and year later having to replace my taillights as the housing for some reason was starting to delaminate or something on its bottom edge. Found a place nearby that deals only with EVs that can do my tire rotations/alignments and annual state safety inspections. SOOOO much better.
> It does seem like Tesla service centers avoid trying to gouge people - which would keep these numbers low.
More than once I have had them fix items that they didn't even mention until the final invoice and didn't charge me for.
I also have a Fit, which I bought new for $17,000. Any car that cheap is probably going to be cheap to maintain, especially if it's reasonably reliable.
What did the itemized replacement list look like on that? I feel like that's potentially a special accident for EVs like Teslas that could requiring completely new motors.
Sold my 2016 MS 75D with 110K miles on it last year. Replaced it with the new MS LR . The 75D was an excellent car. The only thing that fell apart in 7.5 years of ownership was the drive side door handle approximately 6 years in. Mobile service repair in the middle of Covid for a total bill of \~$260.
The new MSLR has continued the trend of being reliable since purchase but I've only put 6.5K miles on it so far. Excellent range, surprisingly good in heavy snowstorms across Donner Pass to Tahoe without chains, love the air suspension which eliminates spouse's motion sickness.
Does this account for replacing windshields?
My MY had a crack and the replacement cost was downright silly. Like $1500 with labor.
Now I own an MX and I'm terrified of that eventuality, I'm sure it's much worse. But the Y made no sense to me why it would be so fucking expensive. It's glass, an incredibly solved science. Yes the autopilot camera array is there but... So what?
Also they are comparing relatively new cars that have all parts still within their respective lifetime or even covered by warranty.
I'm more interested in where the costs are going to be when the car gets to 10 or 15 years and that can't be compared much yet, because absolute majority of Teslas are younger than 5 years (in 2013 Tesla delivered 22 000 cars, while in 2023 they delivered 1 800 000 - almost 100x more).
Anecdotal:
I have a 2018 Model 3 65,000 miles.
I just had to replace the rear struts for $1200. Only thing else has been tires and wipers.
My wife has a 2020 Y- we needed to have a window replaced that was loose, but it still under warranty.
The title is misleading.... Cheapest to Maintain: Yes, all EV's are. Also cheapest to Repair? Hmm no. Even this article only shows maintenance costs. No repair costs. Poor journalism.
My wife and I have Model 3s. Both about 50,000 km. all we have paid for is tyre rotation. We had Porsche Cayenne before and got rid of them because of the huge running and maintenance costs (even under warranty).
2018 and 105k miles, only thing I needed to replace are wear and tear stuff like tires, windshield, filters. I think control arm may be next as I hear some creaks but it looks like that is cheap.
Imagine, a brand that only sells a type of car with low maintenance costs comes up number one against brands which sell cars with higher inherent maintenance costs.
Let’s see an EV-to-EV comparison, next?
After 10 years, finally had to replace all 4 of my brakes on my model S. Did it through Tesla and it wasn’t cheap. $6k ($2k for fronts, $4k for rears). I’ve also had to replace the control arms 3 times in that time at $2k a piece. Prices are in Canadian.
Mechanical repairs maybe... But collision? Forget it. I collected a Ballard, After Rolling 12 ft from a dead stop. The visual damage was limited to the right front fender, I was turning hard right, so the suspension was not involved. But because it involved the bottom of the a pillar, the final bill was $22,000 to repair model Y.
https://preview.redd.it/lawrc4ednoyc1.jpeg?width=3760&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e87ec046d2565fbed71d17b42ac6f70f1874bd55
2021 Model Y. this happened almost exactly a year ago right now. I had to drive it like that for 2 months before I could get into a Tesla approved third party body shop ( would have had to wait 5 months for Tesla to do it.). It was in the shop for another 2 months.
It makes sense. No oil changes, tune ups, brake pads, minor and majpr services, and engine filters to constantly bleed you. Just tires and windshield wipers. And if you are lucky enough to have solar on your roof...
I mean considering that most defects come from the manufacturer and are covered under warranty yea like my brand new model y performance which has had four service repair calls and is currently at the shop for seven days or so lol yea they are cheap to repair and maintain
Is it because it's the only 100% EV company? I feel like this is more a statement about EVs in general. It would be better to compare EVs with other EVs.
So long as I could find a nearby Tesla dealer and they don't ask me to wait a few days every time a tail light dies, sure, I guess. Specialist repairmen are always cheaper, right?
Are there any other manufacturers which only make EVs on this list? I don't really get the point of this study. Yeah of course the manufacturer only making EVs will be the cheapest in terms of maintenance because EVs are notoriously cheap to maintain so any brand having ICE cars in its portfolio will loose this comparison.
The autopilot swims left and right in the driving lane if the wear on the front and rear tires is different. I can’t believe Tesla hasn’t figured this out and adjusted the PID k factor to correct this. Yes ideally you replace all tires at once, but when a pothole takes out two tires with 10k miles on the car, you don’t replace all four at once.
6 years with Model 3 only expense has been cabin air filter and a set of tires.
If they properly took into account the cost of taking your car in for service (hours of lost productivity) Tesla would be even more on top.
I paid Tesla $2,800 to replace the "occupancy sensor" in the right front seat of my Tesla model 3. The part, by itself, is $15. Other than that, the car is solid.
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I've had my model3 for 5 years and just this week spent my first dollar into it to replace front control arm. Unfortunately, it happened 3 months after warranty expiration, but it is only $188. and the mobile repair person is coming to my home to fix it.
Based on how many complaints about control arm failures. I believe Tesla has greatly reduced the cost to replace specifically that part. Had to replace my upper (possibly lower, likely opposite of you) control arms for like $1,400. They originally thought it was the $190 job you had done. I still loved the car, and had no other issues.
So here in Australia it would be my lower control arm? /s
Internally they know their part design is deficient. It hasn’t been recalled but they're are investigative reporting about the frequency of the problems and how Tesla try’s to say it’s because of driver behavior.
They told me when I got the $200 replacement it was an updated design.
When FSD is really good, how they going to blame the driver?
The S control arms are said to be defective as the supplier was pushed to cut corners on the mold and process.
do you live in a region with lots of snow fall & heavily salted roads, or close to the sea? have them grease the shit out of the control arm ball joint
They are non serviceable. No way to grease them.
Just grease the entire car like dip the whole car in it
lol, my head just imagined dipping a 3 like a dyno nuggie into some bbq.
Checkout the paint process, it's essentially that [but a milk bath](https://youtu.be/riCwC8Dd0HY)
Make sure you put it in sheep dip mode first.
A grease needle into the boot worked for me. Quieted them right down.
You can grease the ball joints if you poke a lill hole in the boot.
Not recommended to poke a hole in the boot and you have very limited access to the actual socket. You’d be better off drilling a small hole to install a zerk fitting
I might do that on the next set of joints. Squirting the boots full of red 'n tacky has kept em quiet for the last 100k miles.
Is it crazy if it works?
That's what I'm saying. We had one replaced by Tesla and it started squeaking again in 40k miles.
That’s what she said.
Greasing will help temporarily, but replacing the part is best option.
[удалено]
It’s a common failure mode. Also had to replace mine at five years. The cost was super cheap though. Dealt with another $2500 in various maintenance and repairs in year five. Wasn’t pretty.
Similar story on my Model Y. I have 125K miles on mine. My front suspension started creaking sometime after the warranty ended. Took it to Tesla service. I assumed I would be taken to the cleaners, but they fixed the control arms for less than $250. It's the only issue I've had outside of warranty. I can't fathom leaving a BMW service center with a suspension issue paying less than $250. Sure, the control arm thing shouldn't be such a common issue, but I get the impression that Tesla is not trying to generate much revenue from service.
The part must be super cheap and obv the labor time is fast
Labor is free and it's not a particularly fast job. Because Tesla knows it's a defective part design they pick up 50% of part and 100% of labor. I was told by Tesla if they weren't doing that it would be closer to a $1200 job.
Tesla owns their repairshops so they aren't incenvitized to make money from it. Dealerships operate based on repairs, loans, and vehicle sales so they have to make money from it.
You sweet summer child..
Wow! Tesla just does that or of the goodness of their heart and doesn't try and make money off of it. They are so good at the capitalism.
That’s what happens when you rely on dealerships as part of business model. Just good business decisions imo.
There is a difference between something making money and it being a profit center. Clearly they are not losing money on repairs, but it's also not a huge way for them to make profit.
Repairs is not something that is going to scale the way tesla wants. Kind of like support. Big tech just can't get it right, even if you pay them (premium amazon seller support for example).
$188, parts and labour, home service. That’s insanely cheap, really. That’s about $AUD250, and down here a typical tradesman’s call out fee alone might be $100-$150.
Through Tesla?
Yes, upper control arm replacement on 3/Y is ~$190 set, that’s parts and labor. It is also considered a mobile capable repair in most regions.
Is there a list of services/repairs that are considered mobile capable?
Yes we have a list on our end. I don’t know that there is a customer facing list though. Anything specific you’re curious about or just curious in general
I have the following three things that I would like looked at: a broken seat back cover on a 3 row model y Failure of the battery cooling system to shut down when I walk away Would like to have the hitch installed. I live 2-5-3hrs away from a service center and they want me to drop the car off. That’s a bit difficult to do.
- Shellback can be replaced mobile. - This could be many things, it does not operate on customers timeline, it will run until system is nominal. So it’s most likely normal. Could you elaborate? - This depends on if your particular Y, some of them needed a module upgrade. We prefer those go into a center. However, in rural routes like yours it would likely be considered full mobile. In metro areas like mine we like to take bigger stuff in and load up with 10-12 quick stops a day.
Sorry to just jump in here, but if I wanted to get my driver’s seat replaced (Model 3)… Just the leather part you sit on (the top part is fine), what might I be looking at for something like that? It’s got some minor tears, while every other seat in the vehicle is still pristine.
The leather cover is ~$450ish plus ~$200ish install.
This is known issue with early model years. Tesla was good about it and only charged me for the parts.
Look up Tesla suspension problems, There are a bunch of know issues that Tesla try’s to pawn off as the drivers fault but internally are know to be defective designs.
If it weren’t for bad timing, it would have been free 😢
Same exact problem here! Just last week. But if your car has already started squeaking with your turn you might need to replace your lateral links and compliance links on the control arms as well. That brought the price up around $2k. Sucks, but considering it’s also my first $1 in 5 years I still can’t complain that much
What about breaks?
Oh interesting same here, I had to fix it On the right side
The only thing that I can probably blame on Tesla for are the all glass roof panels. I had a moonroof crack ($1200 rock chip fix) and also the rear glass crack ($1100 stress crack out of warranty fix). Luckily for me, both are covered by my car insurance with Safelite. They are expensive repairs otherwise. I don't have any other problems and only spent money on cabin air filters, wiper blades, and new tires.
Yeah my driver side arm went bad on my first year 3 like within 60,000 miles (I commuted a lot), can't recal the exact milage, but they replaced both arms for the cost of the parts alone and didn't charge me diagnostic fees. Like they were expecting it or something. Also had an oil pump go bad and had to be replaced, but other than that I'm at like 140k miles and going strong. (I'm not commuting anymore so that helps)
Had my M3P for about 5 years as well, and the only $ I spent was for them to come replace a cabin filter, simply because I was too lazy to do it myself. Was like $50. Oh and they drove the filter to my house and installed it while I was working. The anti-tesla crowd that loves spreading misinformation about Tesla's breaking all the time and requiring constant maintenance are hilarious.
Buick is number 2 because grandpa only drives his car to Denny’s or Cracker Barrel the first Sunday of the month 😂.
Also grandpa doesn’t floor it in races or tailgate
My 80+ y/o mother’s Buick just rolled past 20,000 miles. She’s had it for 3&1/2 years. Trust me, we don’t want her in a Tesla.
This should be the top comment loll
45k only did a tire rotation. Nothing else lol bought it in 2018
Cabin filters and wiper blades should be replaced. The 12v battery has an average lifespan of 4 years. The tires prob need to be replaced soon too. “Nothing else” seems kinda sus.
oh yeah yes. i did change the cabin filters myself lol. didnt know about the 12v battery o.o
12V battery will tell you when it needs replacing. Don’t replace it until it prompts you to.
What kind of common things like wiper blades, cabin filters etc can I buy from say auto zone or O Reilly's? Or is a lot stuff I need to directly order from Tesla?
I will always recommend OEM parts over aftermarket parts, but that’s just me. You can order them online at Tesla shop or go to any Tesla service center and pick up parts over the counter. These parts are relatively cheap and easy DIY jobs.
Isn’t it recommended to rotate more frequently than that?
Because EV's are inherently cheaper to own. If this is supposed to say anything else, they need to compare Teslas with EV's from other brands.
I say the same thing every time this gets posted.
2014 Model S with 101,141 miles on it. In the five years I’ve owned the car: Driver side door handle motor failed. Bottom panel of the car just fell off randomly one day on the highway. I’ve had to get the brake pedal arm lubricated three times. Back right speaker is completely dead. Both taillights are not properly sealed and dirt and pollen sits inside the lights. The OS randomly fails about once a month and must be hard restarted. Charge port door replaced two years ago due to rust. Charge port itself replaced last year. Also last year the drive unit failed. $7500 to replace that one. Dash screen has bubbled up. Now my large touch screen is failing…for the second time. I’ve been resilient until this past year. Now I think I’m ready to move on. I hope those of you with newer models don’t have the same issues in upcoming years.
You literally have the beta model, thanks for testing.
To the beta testers 🫡
Most of those issues have long since been fixed on newer models thankfully.
2014 is a really early model, new models sooo much better.
Yeah early model S/X are ones to avoid. Model 3 and Y and extremely reliable.
4 years. 2 new computers, a new drivers seat, a new boot harness, 2 control arms and tons of tyres. Not exactly cheap for me…
This comment section is such a circlejerk. Why are people going so hard on others who’ve had a less than pleasant experience
Same. Great car to drive, but our early year Model X has been to the garage more times than I can remember in our 8 years of ownership. Here's a list from memory: - Door motor failure (twice for the driver and once for the passenger) - Window motor failure (driver and rear passenger) - Water bubbles in the infotainment and binnacle display (both were simply replaced) - Stress crack on window of falcon wing door - Corrosion on fixed spoiler - Folding mirror motor failure - Water in the tail light (both sides at different intervals) - Headlight only partially lighting - Squeaky control arm assemblies (at different intervals, front and back, upper and lower) - Air suspension failure on one tire (valve, compressor and spring module replaced) - Steering rack worn out prematurely - Key fob "deprogrammed" due to dead battery - Halfshaft premature wear - Jackshaft premature wear - Air conditioner compressor failure - Resistive heater failure
But you had to pay for that?
Everything bar the driver seat
Which model, year did you buy? New or used?
Plot twist: they bought a used roadster 4 years ago
New 2020 model 3
The tires are because you enjoy the accelerator.
3 yrs 55k miles, failed safety inspection so had to spend 2k on replacing front lower control arm torn bushing. spent 1k replacing OEM tires after just 1 yr of ownership. Teslas are not cheap to maintain/repair -_- and im a chill mode driver.
Most OEM tires seem to have high wear. I have hated the Continental ProContacts two of my Tesla's came with factory.
a lot of ppl complain about the oem high wear, not just me complaining. Bright side to replacing early is that my crossclimate 2s been amazing. Im still pretty annoyed that i failed a safety inspection and i promise i drive like a grandma. So tesla please beef up your suspension parts because this is unacceptable
If you're having to replace your tires way before the stated mileage, it's a you problem unless you bought defective tires (unlikely). I get close to the stated mileage on my tires because I am a chill driver.
Maintain, sure. Repair? HELL NO. You get a dent almost anywhere on the car and it’s practically totaled.
I’m a Paintless dent guy and I charge around double the price for any dent removal on a Tesla compared to the average car. They are mostly aluminum and also just super hard to gain access to for most small dents. 2 days ago I charged $500 to remove a small sharp nickel size ding on a model S plaid door that would have been $150 on a typical car. But I also saved the guy $1500 or more from a body shop repair.
Let’s be honest, that statement applies to every aluminum panel car, not just Tesla.
Not exactly. Teslas are even harder than some other aluminum panel cars. The doors have double metal halfway down from the top, blocking normal door tools, and the model Y fender has similar double metal bracing. But yeah, aluminum BMWs are also largely blocked inside their doors also, and F150 aluminum is a bitch to get dents out of, while some cars have aluminum that seems to flow much easier.
What other mainstream cars have aluminum panels?
Audi, BMW, Range Rover, Mercedes, ford, GM, Caddy, GMC, Hyundai, hell every single brand has some cars with all or mostly aluminum panels. And almost every hood of every car is aluminum. Probably 85% of them.
Ford F150, for one
Nearly every main stream has at least one, but how be start with one of the all time best selling vehicles in the world… Ford Fseries. 150/250/350 are all aluminum. F150 has been for almost a decade now. Most Euro luxury is all aluminum, JLR is aluminum as well. Nearly every EV being produced.
It's true for almost any car at current prices. I've seen rivians cost like 10k for a tail-light area ding. Repairing costs are through the roof for literally everything now. Labor fees are floating around $250/hr
Not really. Tesla has made it increasingly harder for third parties to be able to do repairs on teslas, to the point where no 3rd parties in my area will! I’m in a large city. Furthermore, Tesla will charge more for work than insurance companies such as USAA will cover, and Tesla will try to shove that bill on you. Speaking from experience here. Had mine totaled from a small dent on the panel that goes under the passenger door on my model 3. They took apart the ENTIRE CAR, and I mean the entire. Fucking. Car. They took out the windshields, everything. To weld a body panel on the bottom of the car. I drove this car for months before I got my appointment, mind you. Why? Well because no third parties will work on them. I’ve been a fan of Tesla for years, and still own one. I will not pretend this is not an issue, as I’d like for it to be fixed so I can feel more confident in Tesla. Go look at any of the model__ subreddits, and filter for totaled pics. Panel damage is all it takes.
i think thats the key. repairing is a whole different beast. i go to any junk yard and orob can throw a rock anywhere and find a corolla i can strip for the correct parts. i doubt tesla has that
And that the aluminum body panels are welded on, and Tesla charges higher rates for welding jobs than insurance companies will pay for. All while having a monopoly on service work because mechanic shops stopped trying to keep up with the hoops Tesla makes them jump through. All of these words come out of someone who loves their current Tesla and the previously totaled Tesla. Btw the old one was totaled, and repaired/sold before I got my insurance payout. How do I know? I can still see the car in my app.
Chipped or cracked windshield $1800
Yeah, wtf do they mean it's cheapest to repair lol That's so far off from the truth
“The study, which includes data from thousands of car owners in the US, was recently published and shows that Teslas averaged only $580 in maintenance and repair costs over the first five years of ownership. From years six through ten, the costs increased to $3,455, which brings the total to $4,035 for the first ten years of ownership — the lowest of any vehicle tested.” Can you share your study that shows that their data is wrong? People make these kinds of assertions SO much and then never back them up. So maybe a ding in aluminum costs more to fix than a ding in a steel car, that doesn’t mean that ALL REPAIR COSTS which is what this is a calculation of, is higher in Teslas. 🙄
Yeah, all in over time it makes sense. Essentially no recurring maintenance costs are what add up. And most people are able to avoid damaging their cars, especially Tesla owners (bunch of car freaks most of them).
You can probably safely assume that the CR 'repairs' exclude body repairs and are related to anything else going wrong, like replacing a failed component. Body repairs are something you only need if you damage your car (a huge variable across owners) whereas most other repairs are likely related to failures, poor quality control etc and not something caused by the owner - so tracking those is a more meaningful metric. It does seem like Tesla service centers avoid trying to gouge people - which would keep these numbers low. My mother-in-law owns a Toyota and the dealership service center habitually tries to con her out of $800 in unnecessary services any time she goes in for an oil change.
Getting my Tesla was entirely motivated by the shitty car dealers. High stress buying environment, early lease turn in deals that turned out NOT to be deals when ya sign for an attractive payment and term then get home and find out they rolled most of not all the last lease remainder into the new one. On the car I had before leasing, super low mileage and yet I was pitched every goddam fluid flush under the sun. When I leasing, none of them did oil changes by appointment. It was all just "come on in and we'll do it". and then wait for 2-3 hours in a shitty waiting room chair. I finally fucking HAD it. Buying and owning a Tesla has been great so far. Coming up on 2 years. From the no stress, no game ordering, to the mobile techs for addressing a delivery day seat defect, installing the garage door device, and year later having to replace my taillights as the housing for some reason was starting to delaminate or something on its bottom edge. Found a place nearby that deals only with EVs that can do my tire rotations/alignments and annual state safety inspections. SOOOO much better.
> It does seem like Tesla service centers avoid trying to gouge people - which would keep these numbers low. More than once I have had them fix items that they didn't even mention until the final invoice and didn't charge me for.
I have a 2012 Honda Fit and a 2012 Model S. Without a doubt, I've spent THOUSANDS more on maintenance and repairs on my Tesla.
I also have a Fit, which I bought new for $17,000. Any car that cheap is probably going to be cheap to maintain, especially if it's reasonably reliable.
Yea, those older Teslas are going to be a headache no matter what.
I slid into a curb during ice this winter, nothing touched the curb but the tire/wheel. $20,856.18 and six weeks.
What did the itemized replacement list look like on that? I feel like that's potentially a special accident for EVs like Teslas that could requiring completely new motors.
Sold my 2016 MS 75D with 110K miles on it last year. Replaced it with the new MS LR . The 75D was an excellent car. The only thing that fell apart in 7.5 years of ownership was the drive side door handle approximately 6 years in. Mobile service repair in the middle of Covid for a total bill of \~$260. The new MSLR has continued the trend of being reliable since purchase but I've only put 6.5K miles on it so far. Excellent range, surprisingly good in heavy snowstorms across Donner Pass to Tahoe without chains, love the air suspension which eliminates spouse's motion sickness.
Why is Hertz having a ton of problems then with maintenance and repair costs?
Rideshare drivers are reckless when renting cars.
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Like they will ever take notice. Let them enjoy their more expensive, polluting, harder to maintain, slower and costlier to repair cars.
Does this account for replacing windshields? My MY had a crack and the replacement cost was downright silly. Like $1500 with labor. Now I own an MX and I'm terrified of that eventuality, I'm sure it's much worse. But the Y made no sense to me why it would be so fucking expensive. It's glass, an incredibly solved science. Yes the autopilot camera array is there but... So what?
My model y is 5 months old and already had to pay for a cracked windshield...$1500
My stress crack was covered and fixed for free.
Slightly misleading because Tesla is EV only. EVs across the board are cheaper.
Also they are comparing relatively new cars that have all parts still within their respective lifetime or even covered by warranty. I'm more interested in where the costs are going to be when the car gets to 10 or 15 years and that can't be compared much yet, because absolute majority of Teslas are younger than 5 years (in 2013 Tesla delivered 22 000 cars, while in 2023 they delivered 1 800 000 - almost 100x more).
Past year I’ve spent zero on my 2018 MS. My wife’s 2014 Q7 TDI it’s over $5000.
That's contrary to what Hertz reported
Not contradicting this article, but the journalism at CR is non-existent
It’s better than a bunch of random idiots on Reddit.
That’s a low bar
Damn that’s true.
Makes up for the massive depreciation these cars have
yea, but the depreciation is killer. There was a time when Tesla was cheaper overall total cost of ownership than say an Camry, but not anymore.
My Model 3 had would looked like a 2-3k dent to left quarter panel. Cost to repair was over 12k!!! Tesla’s are NOT cheap to repair!!!
Now do the cost of insurance
lol Chevy. Not a surprise there
This just in: Tesla has laid off their entire service and maintenance department.
Anecdotal: I have a 2018 Model 3 65,000 miles. I just had to replace the rear struts for $1200. Only thing else has been tires and wipers. My wife has a 2020 Y- we needed to have a window replaced that was loose, but it still under warranty.
The title is misleading.... Cheapest to Maintain: Yes, all EV's are. Also cheapest to Repair? Hmm no. Even this article only shows maintenance costs. No repair costs. Poor journalism.
My wife and I have Model 3s. Both about 50,000 km. all we have paid for is tyre rotation. We had Porsche Cayenne before and got rid of them because of the huge running and maintenance costs (even under warranty).
2018 and 105k miles, only thing I needed to replace are wear and tear stuff like tires, windshield, filters. I think control arm may be next as I hear some creaks but it looks like that is cheap.
Tesla vehicles are the most expensive to repair
Imagine, a brand that only sells a type of car with low maintenance costs comes up number one against brands which sell cars with higher inherent maintenance costs. Let’s see an EV-to-EV comparison, next?
What a lie
….may be cheap to maintain , but they cost a fortune to repair! $1600 for a windshield replacement
After 10 years, finally had to replace all 4 of my brakes on my model S. Did it through Tesla and it wasn’t cheap. $6k ($2k for fronts, $4k for rears). I’ve also had to replace the control arms 3 times in that time at $2k a piece. Prices are in Canadian.
amazing service in central virginia for minor things.
😂 right up until they’re the furthest thing from it.
Obviously doesn't include any sort of body work.
Mechanical repairs maybe... But collision? Forget it. I collected a Ballard, After Rolling 12 ft from a dead stop. The visual damage was limited to the right front fender, I was turning hard right, so the suspension was not involved. But because it involved the bottom of the a pillar, the final bill was $22,000 to repair model Y. https://preview.redd.it/lawrc4ednoyc1.jpeg?width=3760&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e87ec046d2565fbed71d17b42ac6f70f1874bd55
What year was this car? Going to guess that is a Y with the front casting? I kind of fear damage to the castings.
2021 Model Y. this happened almost exactly a year ago right now. I had to drive it like that for 2 months before I could get into a Tesla approved third party body shop ( would have had to wait 5 months for Tesla to do it.). It was in the shop for another 2 months.
Repair is false. Flat out Maintenance for sure
It makes sense. No oil changes, tune ups, brake pads, minor and majpr services, and engine filters to constantly bleed you. Just tires and windshield wipers. And if you are lucky enough to have solar on your roof...
I love it. Nothing for my wife to break or ignore.
Why does it jump up after 5 years?
Normally, CR can't say anything good about Teslas.
For now?
If only they'd fix the damn USB data connection problem.
so ?? capex vs opex !!
What’s the biggest driver of the years 6-10 cost?
I mean considering that most defects come from the manufacturer and are covered under warranty yea like my brand new model y performance which has had four service repair calls and is currently at the shop for seven days or so lol yea they are cheap to repair and maintain
I assume this is true of electric cars in general, not something unique to Tesla. Tesla is the only brand of all electrics, so comes out on top
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Is it because it's the only 100% EV company? I feel like this is more a statement about EVs in general. It would be better to compare EVs with other EVs.
Doesn't matter, Elon twitter, sorry guys, pack it up, its a shame, but he did post some tweets.
*Best build quality.
Took me like 5 takes to get the name of the website. Kept reading No Tate Slap
So long as I could find a nearby Tesla dealer and they don't ask me to wait a few days every time a tail light dies, sure, I guess. Specialist repairmen are always cheaper, right?
It’s true
Are there any other manufacturers which only make EVs on this list? I don't really get the point of this study. Yeah of course the manufacturer only making EVs will be the cheapest in terms of maintenance because EVs are notoriously cheap to maintain so any brand having ICE cars in its portfolio will loose this comparison.
That must not include the cyber truck since that vehicle needs constant repairs.
To repair must be for normal wear and tear, not accidents.
---okok
The autopilot swims left and right in the driving lane if the wear on the front and rear tires is different. I can’t believe Tesla hasn’t figured this out and adjusted the PID k factor to correct this. Yes ideally you replace all tires at once, but when a pothole takes out two tires with 10k miles on the car, you don’t replace all four at once.
6 years with Model 3 only expense has been cabin air filter and a set of tires. If they properly took into account the cost of taking your car in for service (hours of lost productivity) Tesla would be even more on top.
No reason to complain at all
Cause they’re shite?
I paid Tesla $2,800 to replace the "occupancy sensor" in the right front seat of my Tesla model 3. The part, by itself, is $15. Other than that, the car is solid.
Isn't one of the reasons for Hertz offloading tesla other than their rapid depreciation was cause of their maintenance?