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Tesla Model X owners finding car doors won’t shut, windows won’t close
- Spooky23 11y agoFail fast!
- electriclove 11y agoIt is true. There are issues but they have been minor and Tesla is fixing them. My guess is that they were pushing these out by March 31st for quarterly numbers and quality control slipped in their haste.
- FireBeyond 11y agoIt's a "minor issue" that your door slams into overheads because the proximity sensor fails? Is Tesla repairing the damage to whatever was hit too? I've heard of a whole lot of "glitches" excused away that, frankly are not particularly excusable for a car that costs more than many people's homes.
- morganvachon 11y agoIf a large percentage (by that I mean 10% or more) of that model car were having the same issues, I'd be concerned. Hell, even if 1% were it would be grounds for a model-wide recall. But this is two anecdotal reports. TWO. I'm not saying there aren't a few more people with these issues, but neither is it a widespread issue (that we know of yet, based on this article). It's my understanding as an admittedly sideline spectator, that Tesla stands behind their vehicles and is always quick to address any issues. Granted, these are safety issues and should receive the fastest attention possible, but there's no indication (other than an indirect inference by one of two affected people) that Tesla is ignoring this. They can't ignore it, because they are too young to afford to. I'm calling it a hit piece, or at the least, poor journalism for now.
- Taek 11y agoIt's like the story of the Tesla catching fire. It was a big deal, and then it turns out that, statistically, Teslas catch fire at like 1/4 the rate of your average car, and harm their passengers even less often. These stories aren't interesting to me until you can statistically compare the incidents to the malfunctions of equivalent vehicles.
- brianwawok 11y agoYou shouldn't get a job for a newspaper, they would go under :)
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- function_seven 11y agoThat's not true. As long as someone else writes the headline :) You won't believe how a flaming Tesla proves their superior safety!
- CamperBob2 11y agoTo be fair, when "average cars" catch fire, they're more likely to be 5+ years old, not brand new.
- sliverstorm 11y agoAverage cars don't have gullwing doors though, so I'm willing to bet average cars hit their doors on the ceiling a whole lot less often.
- FireBeyond 11y agoIt's more than two: in between TechCrunch and WSJ there are four... which isn't much better. Except there's also a statement from Tesla: "we believe the issues with falcon wing doors are largely behind us". That sounds like a known issue. Not to mention Tesla offered a loaner vehicle while these issues were being repaired... A Chrysler Town and Country. Wah? "Yeah, your $140,000 vehicle is in the shop due to manufacturer issues. Here's a Chrysler minivan from us while we fix it." I don't know - that to me would be more than a little insulting.
- FireBeyond 11y ago"I bought a $140,000 car that I can only get in through the passenger door. Oh well!" (if you didn't read, this is pretty close to a synopsis of one of the affected customers quotes).
- imron 11y agoNot quite, you left out the part where he had to drive to a meeting with one hand on the steering wheel, and one hand holding the door closed. Oh well!
- joshmn 11y agoSo this is what the future is like. Imagine you're on the freeway when suddenly a chip malfunctions and your doors open. How exciting!
- 3327 11y agoStock manipulating is a federal offence. Funny how unproven claims get picked up by the press and various outlets. How hard is it to get 30 ppl to complain about model X?
- JoBrad 11y agoI don't think that any of the Tesla owners really thought their cutting-edge cars would be worry free. They have the same expectations as someone who uses beta software, and in exchange they get to experience an amazing car. Also don't forget that we have had problems like this with mechanical devices in cars, too. Slowly, we started using regulation and other tools to mandate additional safety checks (like the latch on your hood that prevents it from blowing back and smashing your windshield) to prevent those from happening. We're nowhere near anything like this for chips, really. On the other hand, this is what the future is really like: in a few days or weeks, Tesla will release an update to fix this, and will probably deliver it wirelessly to every affected vehicle, and it won't be a problem any more. That's magic.
- imron 11y ago> They have the same expectations as someone who uses beta software, Really? After paying $140,000? I think for that price many of them were expecting (quite reasonably) that their cars would be worry free.
- BinaryIdiot 11y agoAlternatively many companies and governments spend licensing fees magnitudes higher than that for software that works terribly if at all. It's nothing new in the technology sector just a bit new in a consumer device. But ultimately I agree with you
- kunai 11y agoThis is the pitfall of not having manual backups for critical systems. I hope this "do-fast, shiny, fix later" culture hasn't spread to SpaceX too. From what I'm seeing Musk wants to prioritize the look and feel of Dragon instead of the raw functionality that's necessary in case something goes wrong. That'd be a very, very bad idea if something were to happen. Space is not a forgiving realm.
- Joof 11y agoHis eventual goal may be citizen space flights, so a reputation for looking comfortable might be beneficial. At this point, SpaceX should have the backing of NASA and all their experience on things that could possibly go wrong. They've also done very well in unmanned flights. The first manned flights will run into issues, but the problems they face are likely to be orders of magnitude less dangerous than their precursors.
- username223 11y agoYou can't "just hold the door closed" on a space ship. "Issues" may include "combustion upon reentry," which has very little commercial appeal.
- Joof 11y agoLet's change the argument. There's a much larger financial incentive to make sure a shuttle doesn't blow up. The testing process is going to be far longer, far more rigerous and everyone remembers the challenger disaster too well.
- aerovistae 11y agoReally ridiculous connection. SpaceX has spent years working on redundant safety systems for Dragon, testing them, refining them. That's a large part of why it's taking so long. And if you haven't forgotten, Tesla reigns over all other manufacturers for safety ratings. Trying to imply their cars are aesthetic and not functional exhibits a level of ignorance on the topic that renders your contributions essentially meaningless. And, lastly, are you inferring this from the fact that Musk spent 5 minutes explaining that the interior was actually pleasant and modern and well-designed? From that, you jumped to the conclusion that most functionality at SpaceX was taking a backseat to the interior design? I'm sorry, have you noticed what they've accomplished? Do they seem to be slacking on core functionality to you?
- x5n1 11y agoAhh growing pains. We'll see many more of these from Tesla.
- zhoujianfu 11y agoI got one on March 29th, and it's been in the shop for the last two days (they haven't been able to find the problem yet!) because all of the sudden it gave eight errors and the power steering went out. Hopefully they fix it soon... And get the driver's window to roll all the way up. And get the passenger side falcon wing door to close without always thinking there's an obstruction. And figure out where a piece of plastic that popped off a chair is supposed to go. And get the autopilot to stop seeing a "ghost car" (that causes it to slam on the brakes) when driving on the 10. But, I still love that acceleration, with three car seats across the middle (because we're waiting on the recall for the rear two)!
- beachstartup 11y ago> And get the autopilot to stop seeing a "ghost car" (that causes it to slam on the brakes) when driving on the 10. this all sounded like normal luxo-car post purchase pain, except... that. metro expo line downtown to santa monica opens on may 20th though, so you may be in luck while your tesla's on the lift!
- zhoujianfu 11y agoYeah! I'm pretty stoked for that! But then the tesla autopilot kind of obviated the need (since bumper-to-bumper traffic is its specialty)... but thanks to this glitch, I'm happily stoked again!
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- rdl 11y agoDo they give you a loaner?
- zhoujianfu 11y agoThey offered to, but we're fine with just "old reliable".. our 2013 Honda Odyssey! And it has Netflix (via chromecast tethered to our phones) hooked up to the flip-down TV!
- dawnerd 11y agoBut at least their resale value "is holding up well" https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/722891148126060545 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/722891148126060545
- forgetsusername 11y agoI know people who sold beanie babies on the secondary market for thousands of dollars because they were "limited". That says more about the buyer than the product. Obviously, in this case, Ford ($8BB in profit) overspent to look at a leading product. I fail to see the humour.
- blt 11y agoNo big surprise here. The design screamed "second system effect!" I'm surprised nobody at Tesla was able to reign in the feature list. Big management failure IMO. Tesla should have focused on the electric drivetrain + control software and avoided all the needlessly complex tangential mechanical features. The Model X showed that Tesla's engineers lack wisdom.
- mehrdada 11y agoI'm not sure lack of wisdom is a fair characterization. It does not look like they have functionality regressions caused by new features in other sections of the car. Had the new features ruined some old ones, I would have agreed with you, but these issues are all centered around the new features themselves. With that in mind, your characterization of wisdom in this context will be a prescription of never changing anything radically. They took a risk and they'll likely make it work just fine in near-term updates despite the embarrassing v1 and then we'll look back and see they have made a great car which wouldn't have existed had they been wiser.
- drakenot 11y agoI didn't take blt's comment about lack of wisdom to mean that he felt that Tesla shouldn't make any radical changes. Just that Tesla was already making radical changes to the drivetrain and and software. It would be prudent to not add unnecessary complexity to a new design with frivoulous things like falcon wing doors. I have no idea how analogous the auto design industry is to the software, but if this was the first version of a new software product I was making, I wouldn't add high risk features at launch which could jeopardize my release when my product is already groundbreaking in its primary function. I'd iterate on next years model after I had a stable base. But, maybe the "wow" factor and the differentiation those high risk features gave Tesla was worth this risk?
- tmptmp 11y ago>>With that in mind, your characterization of wisdom in this context will be a prescription of never changing anything radically. Your parent has said they should not spend too much on "tangential mechanical features". Can you explain what was radical in such features?
- ams6110 11y agoReliability problems in exotics/supercars in the $150K+ price range are not uncommon. It's somewhat more tolerable for most as those cars are not bought as daily drivers, but I get the sense that's not the case with most Tesla owners. Rather funny to read all the excuses. "We all expected a few bugs, like beta testing software" --- I'm not buying it. Beta testers usually don't pay six figures for the privilege. Compare to my $2,500 secondhand Ford that has had no faults in several years of ownership. Yes it does need occasional oil and filter changes. I'll take that compared to doors that won't open or brakes that activate upon sensing ghosts.
- argonaut 11y agoThe Tesla is not a supercar. It's a luxury car. Its competitors are BMW/Mercedes-type luxury cars. Just because a car is $150k does not make it a supercar.
- ams6110 11y agoI somewhat agree -- you're right, $150K is actually too low for a real supercar, those are more like $350K and up. But a Tesla is a supercar in terms of performance. No other BMW/Mercedes/Audi in the price range will touch its acceleration. It rivals a Lamborghini Aventador. But overall you're right. Supercar isn't really the right word for Tesla.
- tclmeelmo 11y agoIn terms of acceleration they're certainly impressive, but does any Tesla qualify as a supercar when other indices of performance are considered? They're pretty heavy for one, and while they wear it extremely well, a low CoG can only do so much. Maybe Teslas aren't supercars, but they're instead super cars?
- pandaman 11y agoThere was an episode of Top Gear where the 3 presenters drove 3 supercars to a drag race. They've lost to everything there including a truck. I believe a used Civic and a few hundred/thousand dollars in parts will give you a car, which will also beat any BMW/Mercedess/Audi in acceleration.
- usaphp 11y agoGuess what - my 5 series bmmw just won't open a trunk becaus there is a broken latch mechanism in the trunk, no big deal, things like this happen, especially to a new company like tesla
- kylec 11y agoYou've probably already checked this, but there's a switch in the glove compartment of BMWs that will lock the trunk and prevent it from being opened. Try flipping the switch and see if your trunk opens.
- 1024core 11y agoFunny anecdote time: my first car was a used Honda Civic. The owner was selling it much below KBB price, because it had a problem: the rear doors would not open from inside. I take it home, and was going over the car with some friends, and one of them finds a switch on a rear passenger door: hmm, what does this do? He flips the switch, and we try to open the door from inside, and voila! The door opens. Flipped the other switch too, and the doors were functioning fine. I think I saved 20% of the cost of the car simply because the owner didn't know about child-proof switches. :D
- vessenes 11y agoI don't own a Tesla, although I'd like to. These sorts of expensive problems are not unknown in top-end cars from long-time manufacturers either. The list of problems an S-class Mercedes will have over the course of its life is long, and can be very, very expensive. So, not to say this isn't a problem, just that buyers of fancy, super-fast 'super-car' type cars do put up with a lot of maintenance issues.
- ehnto 11y agoI guess that comes with having the new toys in low production runs. Fewer testers and technologies or implementations that are yet to be run through their paces, I wouldn't be too surprised as an informed buyer. An uninformed buyer would be pretty annoyed though!
- vessenes 11y agoFor sure. If your last cars were good production year Volvos, the high end car thing can cause some heart burn.
- forgetsusername 11y ago>These sorts of expensive problems are not unknown in top-end cars from long-time manufacturers either. On the one hand, we have random internet people saying, "This is normal!". On the other, we have a 70 year old magazine that has reported on thousands of cars (and hundreds of thousands of consumer goods) stating that the reliability is "below average" to "well below average", which implies "This is NOT normal!". I'm going to go with the magazine...
- overgard 11y agoMaybe I'm a total Luddite, but with how fast cars depreciate, and with how fast electronics become obsolete, right now I have zero interest in the marriage of the two. You might as well just take the 138k it costs and start a bonfire. I'm totally sure it's the future and all that, but when I bought a new car in 2013 I got a stick shift with the most advanced electronics being pretty much the radio (and even that could be mistaken with a cassette player from 1980 if you don't notice the bluetooth connection). You know how many problems I've had with the car so far? ZERO!
- vessenes 11y agoTesla Roadster values have dropped about $30,000 in 6 years, or 5% a year. That's pretty great for a car of any sort.
- aerovistae 11y agoWait, did you actually research facts before talking? That's incredible, nobody does that on the internet.
- kagamine 11y agoThat may be because not many roadsters were sold and the rarity makes them more desirable. The newer models sell in larger numbers and (i assume) will fall faster in the used market.
- vessenes 11y agoIt's possible. The P85, for instance seems to have depreciated more rapidly. But that might be because Tesla keeps pushing the line out on their top of the line model. By comparison, though, the 2011 Mercedes SL500 cost around $105,000 and is currently worth (depending on mileage) right around $50k. That's more typical depreciation for high end sports cars.
- tptacek 11y agoIn fact, after trying numerous approaches and trying to work through the car’s software controls, Deeter found himself driving to a board meeting with one hand on the steering wheel and one holding shut the driver-side door. “It wasn’t terribly smart, but I didn’t have time to call an Uber.” Don't do things like this.
- artmageddon 11y agoAgreed. Call an Uber anyway; no board meeting is worth risking your life, or someone else's for that matter.
- dsfyu404ed 11y agoHe's not driving a '55 mack truck. The Tesla has power steering. You don't need two hands to turn the wheel. As long as he's willing to not screw around with the touch screen for the duration of the drive it's barely less safe than driving a manual and resting your hand on the shifter.
- marincounty 11y agoIt depends on the guy. My father had me on his lap at 5 years old, smoking a cigarette, and yes--taking a sip on Mickey's Malt while driving. I sound like I'm bragging, but my father was a great, natural driver. Never had an accident, and it wasent just luck; he was a very coordinated person. Oh yea, seat belts were optional, but his right arm protecting my body from accelerating foreward was just an automatic response. Even as a senior citizen, he was just a great driver. I always felt he would have been a great race car driver.
- puranjay 11y agoHa. From what I've seen, the more expensive the car, the less reliable it is. My brother's BMW needs about 5x more maintenance than his Nissan.
- unclebucknasty 11y agoThis is why I don't understand people who are ready to rush headlong into autonomous vehicle world. I especially don't get it with tech people, and more especially with software people. We know what can go wrong. I've heard the arguments that "yeah, but software is less fallible than humans". Maybe, but what happens when a situation arises that requires human judgment beyond what mere sensors can provide? And, what happens when an OTA update regresses some safety feature or conflicts with another?
- exclusiv 11y agoI tried the auto driving in a Model S and I hovered the brake closely for a long time with some anxiety about trusting it for the reason you noticed. It was quite amazing and for long trips on the highway and in traffic it really is remarkable. That's why people are getting excited I think. You still have to pay attention of course and take over fully at times because the sensors don't have what they need.
- ec109685 11y agoSame thing happened with Model S when first released. Mine had window that wouldn't rollup, door that spontaneously opened, noise from engines and noise from sun roof. All fixed, but annoying. Thank goodness cars have longer warranty than other tech and tesla stands by car.
- dsfyu404ed 11y agoDoors and windows have opening and closing problems...such is life when you swap a 460 into a foxbody or jump your XJ a lot...
- kinai 11y agoModern car: When you need a debugger instead of a mechanic to fix your car.
- jonah 11y agoI just rode 80 miles in a friend's Fiat 500e tonight. The regenerative braking and the stability control are both inoperative with the dash lit up like a Christmas tree with warning lights. They've had it to the dealer multiple times and they reflash the software or something. It'll be good for a day but then fail again. Apparently the workaround is to disconnect and reconnect the 12 volt battery before you start it every time. They're going to try to Lemon Law it.
- forgetsusername 11y ago>I just rode 80 miles in a friend's Fiat 500e tonight. So, what's your point? That some cars are lemons? That's well understood. The consumer reports article isn't about one car; they systematically review complaints from all kinds of owners and report a score. In this case, the overall score is below average.
- jonah 11y ago"Apparently the workaround is to disconnect and reconnect the 12 volt battery..." It's a known and common issue that seems to be unfixable. Not having regen cuts 10 - 15 miles off the max range.
- blubb-fish 11y agoI long to return to those days when a car's panes where adjusted by means of a simple mechanical crank ... I despise this obsessive compulsive digitality.
- rasz_pl 11y ago>huge infotainment screen in his Model X has repeatedly frozen. Dont worry, Tesla put CTRL_ALT_DEL right on the steering wheel just for the occasion (not a joke)