3 ms·

aren't tesla cars (in)famous for their very bad build quality?

by buyucu 2y ago

flanked-evergl 2y ago
No
- oblio 2y ago
  It depends on how you view things. Shoddy body/panel work is infamous at this point (maybe fixed?). And later on, servicing is notoriously shady and closed.
  - consp 2y ago
    > servicing is notoriously shady and closed. Afaik in most of the world car companies are required to offer the tools to third party service stations at a reasonable price. Then again if you control the full supply line you can make repairs near impossible so there is that. And also reasonable does not mean economicaly viable unfortunately. I'd love to see it made a requirement to be affordable to end users but that is a bridge too far I guess. Most mechanical tools are affordable enough but electrical is still insanely expensive up to the point you are nearly required to buy Chinese copy/bootleg variants.
rectangleboy 2y ago
Yes
wodenokoto 2y ago
Yes and no. They gained a lot of fame on how poorly outer parts fit together (but I think they overcame that) But in terms of engine and safety they are considered absolutely top notch and it is surprising that they are not doing well after only 4 years.
- threeseed 2y ago
  They tend to resolve their problems over time but new releases do suffer. Cybertruck for example has been a complete mess.
Dinux 2y ago
That used to be the case, but nowadays on par with every other car manufacturer
estingala 2y ago
I have 2 Teslas at home. Previously have been a user of premium brands like Mercedes and Audi. I have to say that the build quality of my Model 3 and Y is way better than what I got from those "premium" German auto brands. Suspension geometry and design is what you would expect from a car priced much higher. The issue with these Teslas (and also other electrics) is that you almost never press the brake pedal. This becomes a problem in the inspection when the brakes are not performing as they should. One should keep special attention to these parts when driving an electric vehicle with one-pedal driving. You must use the brakes from time to time.
- magicalhippo 2y ago
  I haven't explicitly checked my current EV, but IIRC the BMW i3 I had previously would track regen usage and periodically forego regen in order to exercise the brakes. The point being to avoid old crusty brakes when you need them the most.
  - BoredPositron 2y ago
    My Hyundai does the same.
  - gwd 2y ago
    A lot of cars automatically turn on the AC unit when you turn on the defroster / defogger. This does of course help with fog, but it also ensures that the AC unit gets used all winter. I've been told a problem they used to have with AC in cars was that they'd stop working after 6 months of not being used in the winter; turning on the AC with the defroster effectively fixes that problem. So it seems like the obvious thing to do would be to have the electronics system make sure to exercise the brakes for you -- e.g., once a week use the disc brakes even if regen braking is on; and possibly just put the brakes on when the car is stopped or stopping, even if it's not necessary.
    - consp 2y ago
      My car always brakes the last 10kph down to zero normally, also solves the problem.
Rokid 2y ago
Perhaps, but I find the insane service policy from Tesla (the one that's nonexistent) to be the most decisive factor in failing the inspections. Many of these issues would have been caught in routine inspections at service intervals.
michaelt 2y ago
There have been many reports of poor build quality over the years, yes [1] - leaking gull-wing doors, visibly inconsistent gaps in panel work, the latest and greatest models like cybertrucks having water ingress problems, and so on. But at the same time many other vehicle manufacturers have been making some less-than-ideal decisions with their EV offerings. For example, Teslas have water-cooled batteries, while the (considerably cheaper) Nissan Leaf doesn't. So if your measure of quality is "will it keep going beyond 150,000 miles?" you'll find the vehicles with battery cooling do a lot better on that metric. [1] https://youtu.be/jPBGVI2oFLI?t=139 https://youtu.be/jPBGVI2oFLI?t=139
- rsynnott 2y ago
  The Leaf with the problematic battery was discontinued eight years ago, FWIW; AFAIK the 2017 model's batteries age fairly well.

aren't tesla cars (in)famous for their very bad build quality?

by buyucu 2y ago

aren't tesla cars (in)famous for their very bad build quality?

flanked-evergl 2y ago

oblio 2y ago
It depends on how you view things. Shoddy body/panel work is infamous at this point (maybe fixed?). And later on, servicing is notoriously shady and closed.
- consp 2y ago
  > servicing is notoriously shady and closed. Afaik in most of the world car companies are required to offer the tools to third party service stations at a reasonable price. Then again if you control the full supply line you can make repairs near impossible so there is that. And also reasonable does not mean economicaly viable unfortunately. I'd love to see it made a requirement to be affordable to end users but that is a bridge too far I guess. Most mechanical tools are affordable enough but electrical is still insanely expensive up to the point you are nearly required to buy Chinese copy/bootleg variants.

rectangleboy 2y ago

Yes

wodenokoto 2y ago

Yes and no. They gained a lot of fame on how poorly outer parts fit together (but I think they overcame that) But in terms of engine and safety they are considered absolutely top notch and it is surprising that they are not doing well after only 4 years.

threeseed 2y ago
They tend to resolve their problems over time but new releases do suffer. Cybertruck for example has been a complete mess.

Dinux 2y ago

That used to be the case, but nowadays on par with every other car manufacturer

estingala 2y ago

I have 2 Teslas at home. Previously have been a user of premium brands like Mercedes and Audi. I have to say that the build quality of my Model 3 and Y is way better than what I got from those "premium" German auto brands. Suspension geometry and design is what you would expect from a car priced much higher. The issue with these Teslas (and also other electrics) is that you almost never press the brake pedal. This becomes a problem in the inspection when the brakes are not performing as they should. One should keep special attention to these parts when driving an electric vehicle with one-pedal driving. You must use the brakes from time to time.

magicalhippo 2y ago
I haven't explicitly checked my current EV, but IIRC the BMW i3 I had previously would track regen usage and periodically forego regen in order to exercise the brakes. The point being to avoid old crusty brakes when you need them the most.
- BoredPositron 2y ago
  My Hyundai does the same.
- gwd 2y ago
  A lot of cars automatically turn on the AC unit when you turn on the defroster / defogger. This does of course help with fog, but it also ensures that the AC unit gets used all winter. I've been told a problem they used to have with AC in cars was that they'd stop working after 6 months of not being used in the winter; turning on the AC with the defroster effectively fixes that problem. So it seems like the obvious thing to do would be to have the electronics system make sure to exercise the brakes for you -- e.g., once a week use the disc brakes even if regen braking is on; and possibly just put the brakes on when the car is stopped or stopping, even if it's not necessary.
  - consp 2y ago
    My car always brakes the last 10kph down to zero normally, also solves the problem.

Rokid 2y ago

Perhaps, but I find the insane service policy from Tesla (the one that's nonexistent) to be the most decisive factor in failing the inspections. Many of these issues would have been caught in routine inspections at service intervals.

michaelt 2y ago

There have been many reports of poor build quality over the years, yes [1] - leaking gull-wing doors, visibly inconsistent gaps in panel work, the latest and greatest models like cybertrucks having water ingress problems, and so on. But at the same time many other vehicle manufacturers have been making some less-than-ideal decisions with their EV offerings. For example, Teslas have water-cooled batteries, while the (considerably cheaper) Nissan Leaf doesn't. So if your measure of quality is "will it keep going beyond 150,000 miles?" you'll find the vehicles with battery cooling do a lot better on that metric. [1] https://youtu.be/jPBGVI2oFLI?t=139 https://youtu.be/jPBGVI2oFLI?t=139

rsynnott 2y ago
The Leaf with the problematic battery was discontinued eight years ago, FWIW; AFAIK the 2017 model's batteries age fairly well.