Tesla Home Service – CleanTechnica

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One of the advantages of owning a Tesla compared to many other makes of electric vehicles is the ability to access home servicing. Tess (our Tesla) is coming up to 160,000 km driven over the past five and half years. The odometer tells me that we have driven 154,567 km actually. This will be the end of the warranty period for the drivetrain, so I thought it’s worth getting the car checked out. I don’t want to take the risk of the motor or battery failing as soon as the warranty finishes.

No, I don’t believe the oft repeated FUD that batteries have to be replaced at 160,000 km just because that is the length of the warranty. It could be a hangover from driving petrol cars for 50 years, or just that we still don’t know how long the average modern battery electric car will last. Or are we programmed to think we need a new car every 5 years? A year ago, we upgraded to Enhanced Autopilot — has this affected our range?

Majella used her magic app to book the appointment, and the technician arrived in his Model S. We had asked for a battery check-up, replacement of the air conditioner filters, and replacement of the wiper blades. We had already been notified by the screen icon that we should change the filters and also rotate the tyres. We also got the technician to check the brake fluid — it got a clean bill of health. As did the wiper blades.

I was concerned about battery degradation, as it appears that on the few occasions when we charge to 100%, we are not getting as much range as we used to. When we bought the car in 2019, a 100% charge would give us a displayed range of 325 km. After an over-the-air software update, the range went up to 345 km. The car is currently on charge to take it to 100% to determine exactly what range we now have. Then we will go for a drive so that we don’t leave it sitting on 100% for too long. … Okay, we’re done — the car made it to 309 km range at 100%.

As we sat on our back deck, sipping coffee and watching the cruise ships go by (we have a view of the bay), our hard-working technician carried out his tasks. He declared that the tyres weren’t worth rotating, as the back tyres were ready for replacement. That will be a job for our local mechanic. I try to give him some work. He used to make good money from us when we were driving 3 petrol cars. Not so much now that we just have the one car and it is electric.

As Majella was taking photos, the technician complimented her and the condition of the car after the years and km of driving. He sees a lot of cars, so that was a considered comment. Majella does a great job of keeping the car looking good. Not always an easy task when it is frequently used to transport our grandchildren.

I reached out to a few Australian Tesla Facebook groups to see if I was alone in wanting the car checked as it came out of warranty. Only one of my correspondents said that he had done so. Specifically, he was worried about the state of his suspension. It checked out well. I thought that that was a good call, as we had had two ball joints replaced in the first few years — one under warranty and one without. “I got Tesla to do an ‘end of warranty health check service report at just under 80,000 km, a small bump on the steering wheel was found and reported. The wheel was replaced under warranty. It was a very good experience.”

Others Tesla drivers with high mileages chimed in to let us know how far they had driven, trouble free, in their Model S’s. One had done 410,000 km, another 200,000, with no problems to report. I have written previously about Uber drivers who have clocked up massive numbers of kilometres in their electric cars. Nathan Merrit of Ride4U tells me he is now above 351,000 km on his 2021 Model 3.

Probably the most interesting comment was: “My experience is that Tesla warranty is too damn short compared to every other car.” I asked: “How long would you like? The MG is ten years. Any others you can think of?”

The valid response was: “If they are confident in their product and are more reliable with less moving parts as they say, why not give a 10 year warranty? Tesla should double the longest ICE warranty considering there is practically a 1 piece motor. Most petrol and diesel cars have a much better warranty.” I asked for an example and was offered the “Mazda ICE — 5 years unlimited km bumper to bumper, extendable by invitation by dealer.”

I had a quick look at Google: Similar to the Mazda quoted above, the Toyota RAV 4 has a 5-year unlimited km warranty for the entire vehicle. The battery is covered for ten years unlimited km, “provided annual hybrid health inspections are completed.” Engine and drivetrain are covered for 7 years if properly serviced. The unlimited km is good. Perhaps Tesla should consider extending its warranty. Your thoughts?

In my search, I came across the servicing information for a Toyota RAV 4. The costs for a service at 160,000 km could be anywhere from $500 to $1000. Reading through the list of what gets done, it was obvious that most of the items would not apply to a BEV. We just don’t have the ‘bits’ — exhaust pipe, muffler, filters for fuel and oil, timing belt, spark plugs, etc.

Another Facebook commentator was concerned about conflict of interest: “I like the idea of ‘someone’ doing a health check. But my worry with Tesla doing it is that it’s a bit like marking your own homework. They would be incentivised to say ‘no problem’ when there could be a problem, no? An independent doesn’t have to cover anything under warranty. No conflict of interest.”

Others thought it might be a good idea to get their cars checked as they were coming up to the warranty points.

Owning an electric car involves changing your mindset and becoming part of an ecosystem. The ecosystem is evolving and we are still learning what an electric car does, and how long it will last. One commentator said: “Wake me up when you get to half a million.” The conventional wisdom surrounding car durability in the ICE age is no longer valid. Over-the-air updates, mobile home servicing, and Superchargers make the Tesla experience smooth, convenient, and long lasting.