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"There are unique challenges that come with working on these cars. You might have to rebuild a circuit board one day, and fabricate a new hood the next day. Act

"There are unique challenges that come with working on these cars. You might have to rebuild a circuit board one day, and fabricate a new hood the next day. Actually, if any body parts are damaged, you'll have to fabricate them. Tesla doesn't sell parts to anyone, so Medlock has taken to fashioning new panels out of carbon fiber himself. " Didn't expect to see circuit board rebuilding until ~2023 (15y is my recollection for MTBF curves starting to climb).

twblalock 7y ago
The boards can get damaged in accidents and perhaps by water intrusion, so I wouldn't be surprised if the shop needs to replace them on a regular basis.
- tyingq 7y ago
  Just plain old MTBF says there will be (some) early failures. Nobody's perfect, and outlier conditions, like really high temps or humidity, high salt, etc, exist in some buyer environments. And, as you mention, special circumstances like crashes, fires, theft/vandalism, and flooding.
kube-system 7y ago
I thought federal law required mass market vehicle manufacturers to make parts available for 10 years? Am I mistaken or did Tesla manufacture these under some low-volume exception?
- damienkatz 7y ago
  You’re probably thinking about cars bought by the federal gov.
- droithomme 7y ago
  > federal law required mass market vehicle manufacturers to make parts available for 10 years That's what I always heard as well, but it doesn't apply to Tesla for some reason, which is not being discussed even though it should be. https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/14049/are-auto-manufacturers-required-under-us-federal-law-to-provide-parts-for-a-set https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/14049/are-auto-... According to the above link, parts for cars and other consumer products only need to be available in some form (and not from the manufacturer) for the stated warranty period, whatever it is. After that you have no protection. Seems the 10 yr thing is an urban legend widely promulgated to rubes like us. The thread has evidence that laws are different overseas. In Israel it is claimed parts must be available for 7 years, as an example.
- TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
  I don’t think the Tesla Roadster was ever a mass market car? Someone elsewhere suggested only 2500 of them were made.
- johnbatch 7y ago
  There is a California law requiring consumer electronics And appliances (not cars) to have parts for 7 years. CIVIL CODE SECTION 1792-1795.8 (b) Every manufacturer making an express warranty with respect to an electronic or appliance product described in subdivision (h), (i), (j), or (k) of Section 9801 of the Business and Professions Code, with a wholesale price to the retailer of one hundred dollars ($100) or more, shall make available to service and repair facilities sufficient service literature and functional parts to effect the repair of a product for at least seven years after the date a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the seven-year period exceeds the warranty period for the product

twblalock 7y ago

The boards can get damaged in accidents and perhaps by water intrusion, so I wouldn't be surprised if the shop needs to replace them on a regular basis.

tyingq 7y ago
Just plain old MTBF says there will be (some) early failures. Nobody's perfect, and outlier conditions, like really high temps or humidity, high salt, etc, exist in some buyer environments. And, as you mention, special circumstances like crashes, fires, theft/vandalism, and flooding.

kube-system 7y ago

I thought federal law required mass market vehicle manufacturers to make parts available for 10 years? Am I mistaken or did Tesla manufacture these under some low-volume exception?

damienkatz 7y ago
You’re probably thinking about cars bought by the federal gov.
droithomme 7y ago
> federal law required mass market vehicle manufacturers to make parts available for 10 years That's what I always heard as well, but it doesn't apply to Tesla for some reason, which is not being discussed even though it should be. https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/14049/are-auto-manufacturers-required-under-us-federal-law-to-provide-parts-for-a-set https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/14049/are-auto-... According to the above link, parts for cars and other consumer products only need to be available in some form (and not from the manufacturer) for the stated warranty period, whatever it is. After that you have no protection. Seems the 10 yr thing is an urban legend widely promulgated to rubes like us. The thread has evidence that laws are different overseas. In Israel it is claimed parts must be available for 7 years, as an example.
TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
I don’t think the Tesla Roadster was ever a mass market car? Someone elsewhere suggested only 2500 of them were made.
johnbatch 7y ago
There is a California law requiring consumer electronics And appliances (not cars) to have parts for 7 years. CIVIL CODE SECTION 1792-1795.8 (b) Every manufacturer making an express warranty with respect to an electronic or appliance product described in subdivision (h), (i), (j), or (k) of Section 9801 of the Business and Professions Code, with a wholesale price to the retailer of one hundred dollars ($100) or more, shall make available to service and repair facilities sufficient service literature and functional parts to effect the repair of a product for at least seven years after the date a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the seven-year period exceeds the warranty period for the product