Tesla Model 3

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Xist

As long as service centers keep up with sales, that should be adequate. According to this, Tesla sold 452,833 cars between 3rd quarter 2015 to 4th quarter 2018, so if they have 4.4 times as many service centers by the time they sell their two-millionth car, why wouldn't that be adequate?

The older cars get the more service they need. Most people do not work on their own cars so they will take it to a dealer or independent shop. Since Tesla doesn't play nice with independent shops that leaves the Tesla Service Center.

If Tesla sells the 400K cars he expects to make in 2019 he will almost double the number of Tesla's on the road in 1 year. That is a fast ramp up considering that Tesla only has about 80 Service Centers in the USA today (and 24 of those are in California). Then there is the fact that some states don't even allow Tesla to own a service center.

There is only one service center in the state of Hawaii and it is in Honolulu. What are the Tesla owners I saw on the islands of Maui and Hawaii suppose to do?

If you live in El Paso the closest service center is in Phoenix, AZ. (400 miles)
For Detroit, MI it is Cleveland, OH.
For Boise, ID it is Salt Lake City, UT.

[RedDevil]

What service do you expect old Teslas will need?
The drivetrain is maintenance free, and so is the battery and the electronics.
There shouldn't be much more to do than A/C maintenance and the occasional wheel bearing.
Chances are Tesla overdimensioned the latter to make them last forever though, just like they overdimensioned the reduction gears (which showed no wear to speak of after a 1,000,000 mile usage simulation).

IIRC Tesla plans to bring service to your home. But you need to buy a Tesla first.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by RedDevil

What service do you expect old Teslas will need?
The drivetrain is maintenance free, and so is the battery and the electronics.
There shouldn't be much more to do than A/C maintenance and the occasional wheel bearing.
Chances are Tesla overdimensioned the latter to make them last forever though, just like they overdimensioned the reduction gears (which showed no wear to speak of after a 1,000,000 mile usage simulation).

IIRC Tesla plans to bring service to your home. But you need to buy a Tesla first.

I expect the same things to fail on Teslas as any other car.

HVAC systems (Compressors, condensers, lines, o-rings, controls, fans)
Suspension (tie-rods, bearings, struts, CV joints, bushings)
Doors: (Door handles, Lock systems, Window Regulators)
Wires harnesses: (Wires will age and crack, rub on stuff and short, grounds will go bad)
Coolant will need to be changed and coolant pumps will wear out.

I expect brake calipers will seize up quicker than those in an ICE car because they get little use.

Then there are collision repairs....

[redpoint5]

All of those things apply to a vehicle 10 years old (or older). I wonder how difficult servicing a Tesla will be 10 years from now?

Regardless, things like coolant changes are typically DIY affairs, and everything else should go to 200k miles like normal cars.

If Tesla cars are sold in large enough quantity, aftermarket parts will start showing up for the more basic components. I expect something like a coolant pump was an off the shelf product rather than proprietary Tesla design. Even if aftermarket parts aren't available, junkyards will begin having parts available.

[RedDevil]

Much wear is caused or aggravated by the conditions in the engine bay: heat and vibrations. EVs don't have that.

Teslas have a centralized heat/coolant system (the Superbottle) that minimizes parts and lead length and optimizes efficiency. Less things that can go wrong.

[roflwaffle]

Originally Posted by JSH

I expect the same things to fail on Teslas as any other car.

HVAC systems (Compressors, condensers, lines, o-rings, controls, fans)
Suspension (tie-rods, bearings, struts, CV joints, bushings)
Doors: (Door handles, Lock systems, Window Regulators)
Wires harnesses: (Wires will age and crack, rub on stuff and short, grounds will go bad)
Coolant will need to be changed and coolant pumps will wear out.

I expect brake calipers will seize up quicker than those in an ICE car because they get little use.

Then there are collision repairs....

Regen's effectively gone by 5mph, so the brakes get used on every stop.

All the other stuff will need repair eventually, but in over a half million miles with three cars I've only had an issue with the AC and door lock on one car, and the 3 has a relatively simple door handle/lock system.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by JSH

I expect the same things to fail on Teslas as any other car.

HVAC systems (Compressors, condensers, lines, o-rings, controls, fans)
Suspension (tie-rods, bearings, struts, CV joints, bushings)
Doors: (Door handles, Lock systems, Window Regulators)
Wires harnesses: (Wires will age and crack, rub on stuff and short, grounds will go bad)
Coolant will need to be changed and coolant pumps will wear out.

I expect brake calipers will seize up quicker than those in an ICE car because they get little use.

Then there are collision repairs....

I've got 408,000 miles and 25-years on the Toyota T-100,and haven't seen some of the failures mentioned yet.
*Never AC issues
*Nothing on any of the steering or suspension except shocks and power steering hoses (rebuilt by NAPA for $35)
*One door handle ($90)
*Replaced valve cover gasket (heat cycling and hardening)[not an issue with an EV]
*The ECM fried a few capacitors ($130 )
*New front rotors and calipers(you'd expect that on a truck this old)
*No collisions,so I don't know anything about those.
*Tesla's battery pack is good for 20-years ( 7-years longer than the statistical mean ave. used car)
I have family and friends who own Tesla's,time will reveal what, if any hardships accompanies ownership.

[RedDevil]

Tesla is already building the Standard version: https://electrek.co/2019/03/06/tesla...-3-production/

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by JSH

That is hard to do when Tesla won't sell parts to independent repair shops or body shops.

Dorman probably put a deposit on a Model 3 very early on.

[RedDevil]

Why wouldn't Tesla sell parts to independent shops?
You can just order parts yourself anyway.

https://insideevs.com/public-order-t...l-3-s-x-parts/
https://epc.teslamotors.com/