the_dunk_tank

A couple of days into owning the vehicle, it started throwing up an alert part way through drives. I don't recall the exact message, but it was something along the lines of "Air suspension unavailable. Function may be restored upon next drive". But the air suspension was fine. We could raise and lower it without issue, and the alert would indeed go away until it would randomly return again. Annoying, but not major. We enjoyed the truck for a week or so before finally giving in to the alert, wobbly wheels, and squeaky glove box, and opened up a formal service center ticket on 02/24/2024. They reviewed the alert message and scheduled a repair visit for 04/18/2024. That isn't a typo. The appointment was around 6 weeks after opening the ticket. But again, everything was functioning fine more or less and we were thoroughly enjoying the truck in the meantime.

Fast forward to appointment day. Everything in the app said it was a same-day appointment, and that we could hang out in the lounge or enjoy a test drive in a new model. Note that it is a 3 hour round trip from where we live to the service center. We made the drive up to Jacksonville, parked the truck, and waited in line for about 20 minutes to speak to the tech. They asked us if we had a ride home which confused us until they explained it would be an overnight repair. We were a little annoyed at this, but figured there was nothing we could do. We took the truck out on a quick test drive with the tech to show them how the truck's tires were pretty clearly off balance, and so that they could hear the lovely sound of the glove box. With the issues confirmed, we returned to the service center where upon they struggled to find us a loaner. They ended up putting us with a 2020 Model 3 Standard+ that smelled a bit like smoke and body odor. It felt like a 10 year old rental car, but again, no big deal as we'd be driving back the next day to pick the truck up.

So with our 3 hour round trip out of the way, we went to bed and woke up the next day with the repair estimate showing a completion of 05/03 and no explanation why. I thought it may be a typo so we waited for the service center to reach out and let us know it was ready for pickup. Which they did not do. So we waited another day. Then another. Then a week went by. I finally gave in and reached out via the app to ask what the delay was for and if the ETA really was 05/03. We got a response back saying the part they received was defective and they were waiting on another part.

Great.

So we waited more. Finally 05/03 rolls around, again with no updates, only the app saying it was estimated to be finished by 5:30pm. So I sent a message around 2pm asking if we should drive up there or not since it was a 3 hour round trip, and that we didn't want to waste our time if it wouldn't be ready. We got a call about 30 minutes later from a tech who said that the Jacksonville service center was short handed and they wouldn't have anyone who could work on the truck until 05/09.

So here we are. 05/04, waiting on a fix for an issue reported on 02/24 with an estimated repair date of 05/09 if they can even stick to that. 10 weeks after reporting the issue, assuming we actually get to pick it up then.

Not a great feeling for spending $100k+ on their vehicle, and especially not a great feeling after reading all the reports about Tesla laying off staff, including service techs, all over the country.

With that off my back, I feel a little better. I'll provide an update if/when we do finally have this repair complete. I absolutely miss the truck. It's such an amazing vehicle which is why I would love to be driving it around right now. This is all exacerbated by Tesla not having a service center nearby. They have one under construction, but it's not slated to be finished until end of this year. Were it operational, we could just keep the truck while we wait for them to actually be ready to repair it. Oh well.

Wish us luck please!