Electric Vehicles - Models Discussion

[ken830]

I was very happy with the Tesla service when I had my Model S for 7 years even though the last couple of years the S was in the shop a lot.

In the bit over 2 years I’ve had the Model 3, I’ve only needed to go in the shop for a couple of minor issues, and the tech came to my house for one minor recall item. The service was no longer exceptional, no fully loaded Teslas as loaner cars, just an Uber voucher. The Tesla service center was no longer stocked with fancy beverages, just coffee and water. Overall Tesla, service went from great to good, since I bought my 3.

However, yesterday Tesla made me an impressed customer again. While driving to a noon lunch, I got a notice that my low-voltage system was failing (aka the 12 V car battery) I was warned that it would start shutting accessories, and eventually the car wouldn’t start. I was told to schedule a service appointment with my Tesla app, at 3 PM I opened the app, the error codes were already transferred to the app. I hit request service and a few seconds later I was asked if the mobile service guy could come to my house between 8-12 AM. Not wanting to be stranded somewhere with a dead car, I eagerly said yes.
At 8:30 the tech showed up at 8:45 he was done replacing the battery. The total cost to me was $0.

Now there may be some legacy car makers who remotely monitor their car’s system and proactively dispatch service techs to customer houses before they fail, but I’m not aware of them. Not having to deal with a dead battery in random parking lot, a pretty great feeling.

I have very similar experience and thoughts as you over the last decade. I fully agree that Tesla Service is a LOT less personal now compared to 2013 and having to communicate 100% through the app is frustrating because it's kind of buggy (type long messages and the Android app lags) and the problem categories are extremely limiting, so it's not great for odd problems. It's not all bad though. I'm no longer on a first-name basis with my personal service advisor like 10 years ago, but my vehicles also need a lot less servicing now that the company and their products have matured. Today, when we do get loaners, they put the loaners into our Tesla account, so we get our cloud-saved driver profiles in the loaner and full app access including phone key.

 

[RetMD21]

That’s awesome!

We have the newer battery that is ~16V so hoping this doesn’t have to replaced. Knock on wood....
.

That's nice. Is that true for all models now? It seemed to me that the battery location was less than ideal for service and I was wondering if the local Sam's Club would do the free battery installation like they do for ICE cars. Better to not have to deal with it.

 

[audreyh1]

That's nice. Is that true for all models now? It seemed to me that the battery location was less than ideal for service and I was wondering if the local Sam's Club would do the free battery installation like they do for ICE cars. Better to not have to deal with it.

I don’t know about all models, S and X for sure, but it looked like they were moving that way.

The new battery is still behind a wall in the frunk. It shouldn’t need to be serviced. There have been a few very early replacements dealt with under warranty - like within a month of delivery due to a bad battery. Other than that I haven’t heard anything.

 

[RetMD21]

Did you have a need for two vehicles? If not, did you run the numbers to see if it would it make more financial sense to spend a little bit more on your purchase to get a car that would cover 100% of your driving instead of insuring and maintaining two vehicles?.....

The Model Y isn't my ideal vision of a SUV but possibly having difficulties in snow for a couple of days every few years should probably not be a deal-breaker. After driving the competition we were very impressed with the model Y in terms of standard equipment, performance and charging. It will meet our needs as both the "city car" and a SUV. Anyway we went ahead and ordered one.

 

[ken830]

The Model Y isn't my ideal vision of a SUV but possibly having difficulties in snow for a couple of days every few years should probably not be a deal-breaker. After driving the competition we were very impressed with the model Y in terms of standard equipment, performance and charging. It will meet our needs as both the "city car" and a SUV. Anyway we went ahead and ordered one.

Congrats! I hope you love it!

I live in sunny California, so I don't know the first thing about snow, but I think Teslas do just fine in snow (with proper tires, of course). They tout their extensive winter testing and you'll see they published several videos about the vehicles' winter performance. If it's about traction control, you really can't get better than the incredibly-low latency of an electric drivetrain. Norway is a huge market for Tesla and the Model Y is the best-selling vehicle there.

 

[Zathras]

I’ve been driving Teslas the last 12 Minnesota winters.
All handled snow very well as long as you don’t have summer performance tires on it.

The virtually instant traction control, combined with the low center of gravity do wonders in the snow.

Most electric cars fare similarly due to the nature of the electric drivetrain and low slung batteries.

 

[audreyh1]

The Model Y isn't my ideal vision of a SUV but possibly having difficulties in snow for a couple of days every few years should probably not be a deal-breaker. After driving the competition we were very impressed with the model Y in terms of standard equipment, performance and charging. It will meet our needs as both the "city car" and a SUV. Anyway we went ahead and ordered one.

From what I read Teslas handle great in snow. They are very popular in Colorado. I don’t live in a snow area.

 

[jimbee]

Teslas should be fine in the snow. I drove a 2000 Camaro Z28 for eight years, year round, including in Michigan's UP. No problem in the winter when using Blizzaks.

 

[Midpack]

I’ve been driving Teslas the last 12 Minnesota winters.
All handled snow very well as long as you don’t have summer performance tires on it.

The virtually instant traction control, combined with the low center of gravity do wonders in the snow.

Most electric cars fare similarly due to the nature of the electric drivetrain and low slung batteries.

From what I read Teslas handle great in snow. They are very popular in Colorado. I don’t live in a snow area.

Unless you have a RWD Tesla, with snow tires or decent all season tires Tesla's should do well in snow. I had snow tires for our Audi TT, I can't imagine not using snow tires IF you live in a region with a lot of snow.

 

[yakers]

Just saw a few Vinfasts in CA. Look ok, nothing special, small SUVs. Not a size I’m interested in, I like DWs Bolt, would prefer something smaller. I guess more choices are better.

 

[RetMD21]

Good to hear that folks have had good experiences with Teslas in snow. I'm not concerned about traction but I've been high centered often enough to value ground clearance. Only 6.6 inches in the MY. You can't have everything

When I lived in Minnesota they did a nice job of clearing the roads. In my county in Michigan subdivisions get very low priority. OTOH I guess I can just wait at home since I'm retired.

 

[explanade]

Yeah some of these CUVs are not that much higher up than the old regular hatchbacks.

Like I've seen the Kia and Ionic EVs, they're pretty low to the ground.

The upcoming Volvo EX30 they say is about the size of a VW Golf but a few inches taller so maybe you ride up about 4-6 inches higher than those small hatchbacks.

 

[TriumphTR3fan]

Good to hear that folks have had good experiences with Teslas in snow. I'm not concerned about traction but I've been high centered often enough to value ground clearance. Only 6.6 inches in the MY. You can't have everything



When I lived in Minnesota they did a nice job of clearing the roads. In my county in Michigan subdivisions get very low priority. OTOH I guess I can just wait at home since I'm retired.

Last January, my DW & I drove west across Wyoming from Nebraska during a snow/windstorm in a Model 3 LR. There were no major problems. Everyone slowed down to adjust to the conditions. I followed semi’s most of the time at a longer than usual distance. The semi’s did get blown sideways while we were minimally affected. Regenerative braking was a big help because the system was so much faster than my reaction time & using brakes on ice is very dicey. Having a low center of gravity also made a difference. Charging was sort of a benefit because it forced me to take breaks & relax. I was very relieved though when I got to Evanston & the weather improved.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

EV charger installation

I have my ChargePoint Flex installed! Installation was $1,598.27 plus $200 for the permit, and $549 for the charger (hardwired version). In the preview, photos 1, 4, 5, and 6 are rotated for some reason, but I have them in order from the circuit panel to the charger.

I had a 60 amp circuit installed and run up through the basement into the garage shed, up over the shed door, through the shed wall into the garage proper, up to the front of the garage (over the garage door railing), down to about 3' off the ground, then through the side wall of the garage where the charger is installed. It was not a short or easy run, so I am happy with the price, and it looks very neat and clean to me.

 

[aja8888]

I have my ChargePoint Flex installed! Cost was $1,598.27 plus $200 for the permit. In the preview, photos 1, 4, 5, and 6 are rotated for some reason, but I have them in order from the circuit panel to the charger.

I had a 60 amp circuit installed and run up through the basement into the garage shed, up over the shed door, through the shed wall into the garage proper, up to the front of the garage (over the garage door railing), down to about 3' off the ground, then through the side wall of the garage where the charger is installed. It was not a short or easy run, so I am happy with the price, and it looks very neat and clean to me.

Looking good. Some pics are sideways because the file size is too large.

 

[braumeister]

I have my ChargePoint Flex installed! Cost was $1,598.27 plus $200 for the permit.

Not bad at all. I bought the original, older type ChargePoint five years ago and it was almost $600, installation extra.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Oops, I edited my post. That's what I get for trying to rush.... LOL

 

[Chuckanut]

Ford is canceling Lightening sales? Or just delaying delivery?

 

[RetMD21]

That’s awesome!

We have the newer battery that is ~16V so hoping this doesn’t have to replaced. Knock on wood.

I just checked my new Model Y, also the lithium low voltage battery!

 

[audreyh1]

When did you get your Model Y? Congrats!

We run a fridge in the car when we go on long road trips. It works fine on the ~16V DC outlet in back.

 

[Midpack]

Ford is canceling Lightening sales? Or just delaying delivery?

Just a large recall…

It looks as if Ford is taking its quality control seriously. Seriously enough that The Detroit Free Press says that all 2023 dealer stock orders of the F-150 Lightning have been canceled in the U.S.

Ford spokesman Marty Gunsberg confirmed that the electric pickups are being returned to Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center for “additional quality checks.” “As a result, we have canceled some dealer stock orders not submitted as pre-sold” for model year 2023,” Gunsberg confirmed to Freep. The company is reassuring the public that none of this is safety related. They just want to make sure the truck’s quality is up to snuff.

Ford has been trying to crack down on its build quality lately as a series of very public recalls and issues have plagued some of the company’s hottest products. The company had the most recalls out of any automaker so far this year; 4.1 million vehicles had been recalled in 2023. Even as the company is trying to get things straight with the Lightning, drama is happening elsewhere; the NHTSA just announced that it was expanding its probe into Bronco engine failures. It’s all a part of a process of getting quality under control, something that CEO Jim Farley admitted would take several years.

With billions invested in EVs, Ford literally can’t afford not to get this right.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/new...tning-after-quality-control-check/ar-AA1hASH4

 

[joesxm3]

Had my first brush with range anxiety. Having been busy cleaning out dads house, 110 mile round trip I have been charging to 70% instead of 50%.

Today was a day off and I had to make two small trips in the morning that dropped me to 53%. There was an unexpected need to go to the house in the afternoon. I was a little concerned but figured that I would be fine. I got home at 20%. At 32 amps it will take about 6 hours to recharge.

In other news I have over 3000 miles on FSDb. Now on version 2023.4.4. It has its quirks but I bought another month. Also the Tesla saved me from two possible crashes when not on FSD. It sounded the alarm before I realized that the cars ahead of me had come to a full stop.

 

[audreyh1]

Huh? I guess you had some serious driving.

Still returning home at 20% is no big deal. Yeah, you have to charge longer.

I’m not sure you can really classify that as range anxiety.

 

[RetMD21]

When did you get your Model Y? Congrats!

We run a fridge in the car when we go on long road trips. It works fine on the ~16V DC outlet in back.

Friday. We're very pleased. It's fun to drive and I was surprised at the large size of the cargo area.

I had heard that 12V tire pumps could be a problem with the 16V battery but IDK.

 

[audreyh1]

Friday. We're very pleased. It's fun to drive and I was surprised at the large size of the cargo area.

I had heard that 12V tire pumps could be a problem with the 16V battery but IDK.

Awesome!

We’ve used our 12V tire pump with no problem. DH ordered a VIAIR 85P. Maybe teslamotorsclub.com has some discussion of what people find most reliable.