

Consumer Reports' Tesla Model S has more than its share of problems - dror
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/08/consumer-reports-tesla-model-s-has-more-than-its-share-of-problems/index.htm?loginMethod=auto

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grecy
Tesla have only been making an entire car for a few years, and they've only
made a few tens of thousands of them.

Anyone who buys one has to reasonably expect a few teething problems here and
there. Early adopters of Version 1.0, etc.

What matters is how Telsa deals with these problems, and if customer
satisfaction is severely impacted. From all reports, they're doing a good job
and owners are not yet unhappy.

I see absolutely no problem here, and nothing to worry about. They're
obviously learning and growing, and things will improve as time goes on.

~~~
bri3d
Besides a few possible 50,000+ mile examples, Tesla Model Ses are all in
warranty right now.

Once they're out of warranty, it's possible that customer satisfaction will go
right out the window unless Tesla subsidize the cost of repairs further.

Tesla seem cognizant of this issue in that they both offered a better-than-
standard warranty for their market segment and are proactive about updating
cars to revised parts (as opposed to other manufacturers, who often force
consumers to harass dealers about service bulletins they've noticed and want
fixed).

However, I'd still worry a bit. Systemic issues could result in increased
depreciation and a tarnished reputation, which would be a double-whammy for
Tesla thanks to their aggressive buy-back lease program.

Plus with a complete vendor service lock-in, Tesla are in complete control of
service prices and availability. This is a tricky game to play. Right now,
Teslas are relatively expensive and owners probably won't have problems paying
dealer service prices, but as Tesla move downmarket they'll have to strike a
balance between making a profit and preserving their reputation, and there
aren't any third-party mechanics for budget-conscious consumers to seek out.

~~~
ghaff
I admit that I don't drive BMWs or other high-end cars but I must say that
this sentence caught my eye: "The maintenance service, done at the same time,
includes topping off fluids, cabin filter replacement, key fob batteries, and
a tire rotation. All told, we paid $636.90 with tax."

I'm probably not the market for (current) Teslas--too cheap when it comes to
cars--but that seems like... a lot. My Toyota SUV, which is not a particularly
LOW-end car, covered pretty much all service for 2 years. Again, understand
I'm not Tesla's current market.

~~~
tdicola
That sounds about right for dealer maintenance on a luxury car. In reality
they probably put less than $10 of fluids in the car, replaced batteries for a
couple bucks, popped in a new air filter for $20, and spent 15 minutes moving
the tires between axles. You're really just paying for the dealership's time
to do those things.

~~~
ghaff
Another reality check to print out and file away for the next time I'm tempted
to buy one of those German sport-luxury car things :-) I do like them. I just
like lots of other things more for that amount of money.

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andrewtbham
I misinterpreted the title. I read it like: "Consumer Reports: Tesla Model S
has more than its share of problems" I didn't see the apostrophe and that
changes the meaning from what I initially thought.

>Bear in mind that the experiences with our test cars are purely anecdotal and
never factor into our reliability ratings. After all, it's a sample size of
one.

~~~
Apes
It's partially due to the incorrect syntax, should be "Consumer Reports's"

~~~
dragonwriter
It's not incorrect syntax; indeed, while the preferred method of showing
possessives where the possessing noun ends in an "s" is is a stylistic issue
that is subject to much debate, _most_ of the rules that I can find suggested
now would find "Consumer Reports'" to be the correct form, not "Consumer
Reports's".

[1] Eg, this source (
[http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/apostro.asp](http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/apostro.asp)
) reports several rules that are in use for singular and proper nouns (see
Rule 1c): 1\. Add just an apostrophe after the "s" for _any_ word endign in
"s" 2\. Add an apostrophe _and_ an "s" to a common noun ending in "s", but
just an apostropher to a proper noun ending in "s". 3\. Write the word as we
speak it. Further, in Rule 2a: regular nouns that form plurals with "-s" or
"-es" just get an apostrophe (no extra "s").

Consumer Reports is a proper noun formed from the plural form of a common noun
that is pluralized by adding an "s", so all those (except perhaps "write as
you speak", and then only if you'd say "Consumer Reportses" for the possessive
form) support adding a bare apostrophe rather than apostrophe _plus_ s.

~~~
nardi
For a better treatment, I turned to The Chicago Manual of Style (sixteenth
edition), used by the vast majority of publishers of American English books.
It says in Section 7.19 to omit the _s_ "...when the name of a place or an
organization or a publication (or the last element in the name) is a plural
form ending in _s_ , such as _the United States_ , even though the entity is
singular."

And cites these as examples:

 _the United States ' role in international law_

 _Highland Hills ' late mayor_

 _Callaway Gardens ' former curator_

 _the National Academy of Sciences ' new policy_

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seanflyon
Tesla has had some serious drive-train problems [1] (which it appears Consumer
Reports did not experience) but they seem to have fixed the problem [2].

1) [http://www.edmunds.com/tesla/model-s/2013/long-term-road-
tes...](http://www.edmunds.com/tesla/model-s/2013/long-term-road-
test/2013-tesla-model-s-drive-unit-iv-the-milling.html)

2) [http://transportevolved.com/2014/08/11/tesla-model-s-
drivetr...](http://transportevolved.com/2014/08/11/tesla-model-s-drivetrain-
woes-50-cent-fix-will-take-drivetrain-replacement/)

------
ckdarby
Title bait; Watch the video, the problems are all minor issues that were fixed
& the owner is given a replacement car while they're fixed.

~~~
alistairSH
How is the charing port not opening a minor issue? Or, the door handles
getting stuck.

Both of those render the car inoperable. They got lucky in that the door
handles were fixed with an OTA update. The port required a service
appointment.

Compared to my three cars (Lexus RX, Jeep Wrangler, VW GTI), the Model S
sounds like a complete dud. Which is a shame because it's a sexy car and I'd
love to own one someday.

~~~
kenrikm
I've had my share of issues on my Lexus is250 (radio knobs breaking, new
valves because they stuck, rough idle when braking hard) - all were covered
under warranty though which is the main point.

Issues like this usually pop up early in a car's life, I think the more
interesting what happens to the Model S at 100k, 200k, 300k etc.. long term is
still a huge unknown.

~~~
alistairSH
Oh, I've had issues with my cars. The Lexus required a new radio at 40k miles
(warrantied). The GTI a new throttle sensor at 40k (warrantied) and SRS sensor
at 50k (warrantied).

But none of them caused the car to be undriveable. And all happened after
several years of driving, not several months.

Anyway, as I hinted at above, I'm hopeful Tesla is successful. I wanted a
Roadster back in '08\. I want an S now. And I'm sure when they release their
3-series competitor, it'll be on the short list to replace the Lexus.

