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I recently pulled over to help a Model S driver with a flat. Every doorhandle on the car had a thin zip-tie looped under it because the "present" mechanisms no

I recently pulled over to help a Model S driver with a flat. Every doorhandle on the car had a thin zip-tie looped under it because the "present" mechanisms no longer functioned. One had to tug the zip tie to manually force the handle out of its flush position before being able to grasp it. Quality. The poor guy was stuck in the summer desert heat, waiting for a tow with a flat in a ~5000lb luxury sedan too heavy to limp 10 miles to the tire shop without destroying its alloy wheel, that apparently can't manage to carry a spare. I'm pro-EV, but it felt like Teslas are a disaster as I left him in my tiny 90s miata that manages to fit a spare in the trunk, has previously limped that exact route on a flat without destroying its own alloy wheel (~2400lbs), and has perfectly functioning doorhandles still after 320k miles.

iamtheworstdev 5y ago
Not defending Tesla here - but most manufacturers no longer include full size spares and many don't even include donuts anymore. The former is reportedly because of weight savings which contributes to fuel savings for their federal requirements. The latter is because donuts were never maintained by owners so they never worked when needed (ie, already deflated or aged beyond safe).
- mr_toad 5y ago
  In NZ you’ll fail your warrant if you don’t have a functional spare tire.
  - sss111 5y ago
    What's a warrant in NZ, is it like a car fitness check?
    - sourdoughness 5y ago
      Yep
- clouddrover 5y ago
  And some cars are designed to use run flat tyres which you can drive on for about 80 km after a puncture: https://www.bridgestonetire.com/tread-and-trend/drivers-ed/run-flat-tires https://www.bridgestonetire.com/tread-and-trend/drivers-ed/r...
- djanogo 5y ago
  Toyota includes spare in most of the vehicles they sell.
rasz 5y ago
This is Tesla normalcy, those door handles have potential of totaling the car due to "excellent" Tesla service and parts availability.
sourdoughness 5y ago
Holy shit - it has _no spare at all_ and no run-flat tyres? That is totally insane to me - living in the country, I hate the idea of the donut spare, but at least you can drive a reasonable distance on it.

iamtheworstdev 5y ago

Not defending Tesla here - but most manufacturers no longer include full size spares and many don't even include donuts anymore. The former is reportedly because of weight savings which contributes to fuel savings for their federal requirements. The latter is because donuts were never maintained by owners so they never worked when needed (ie, already deflated or aged beyond safe).

mr_toad 5y ago
In NZ you’ll fail your warrant if you don’t have a functional spare tire.
- sss111 5y ago
  What's a warrant in NZ, is it like a car fitness check?
  - sourdoughness 5y ago
    Yep
clouddrover 5y ago
And some cars are designed to use run flat tyres which you can drive on for about 80 km after a puncture: https://www.bridgestonetire.com/tread-and-trend/drivers-ed/run-flat-tires https://www.bridgestonetire.com/tread-and-trend/drivers-ed/r...
djanogo 5y ago
Toyota includes spare in most of the vehicles they sell.

rasz 5y ago

This is Tesla normalcy, those door handles have potential of totaling the car due to "excellent" Tesla service and parts availability.

sourdoughness 5y ago

Holy shit - it has _no spare at all_ and no run-flat tyres? That is totally insane to me - living in the country, I hate the idea of the donut spare, but at least you can drive a reasonable distance on it.