Our Tesla 2020 Model Y Experience

Overview

At any time, buying a Tesla is different than buying a traditional car, but during the COVID-19 Pandemic, it’s been even more “interesting”.. Important to note that we had looked into buying a Model S in 2015. At that time, we were struggling with paying over $140K for a sedan, which, to be truthful, wasn’t nearly as refined as other cars at half the price (e.g. Lexus LS), but when we were unable to get a Tesla-recommended electrician to actually provide an estimate to install a wall connector, we opted to postpone a Tesla purchase.

Research

Once we thought we’d consider buying a Tesla, we started looking into the Model 3 and Model Y. Given the videos, reviews, and overall size differences, we quickly opted for the Model Y over the Model 3.

Despite a number of concerns voiced by others and dropping fuel prices, we opted to “make the plunge” and went to our local Tesla dealership. I found the experience to be sub-par. There were no Model Y cars available to look at and we ended up taking a Model 3 for a test drive. The test drive was odd in that the keys were handed to my wife and off-she-went on her own (I stayed behind waiting). The sales associate that we dealt with was probably having a bad/busy day and I found him to be a bit dismissive as he seemed annoyed by our questions (including the obvious questions regarding the differences between the Model 3 and Model Y). Leaving the dealership, we decided to take a chance on the Model Y as the Model 3 was a bit small for us and we hoped that the Model Y would be bigger/more comfortable.

Purchase

On March 19, 2020, we navigated to www.tesla.com and placed an order (leaving a $100 non-refundable deposit). W

Online Order comments:

1. We opted for the long range model (which was an almost $12K option, although I don’t remember there being an option for NOT selecting it .. only Long range or Performance, but the price breakdown lists Long Range as an $11,900 option)

2. We did NOT opt for the “full driving capability” .. a $7K option.

3. My wife like the black wheels, which added another $2K

4. The website defaults to showing you a price “with Potential Savings” (i.e. a representative example of how much the “electric” vehicle can save you in gas money). NOTE: I found this annoying and a bit deceptive (especially as prices for gas were sharply dropping at the time).

Shortly after our order, the Freemont CA plant had to close (due to COVID-19) and things got very lonely. The website didn’t really have any real information on the Model Y (as it was very new) and emails/contact us page inquiries were sporadically answered (as time went on, the replies became non-existent). I found online videos and blogs to be crucial to answering our questions, and even pointing out items we hadn’t heard of (e.g. HomeLink functionality not being available.. more on that later). Though useful, the “hunting-for-context” approach, was tedious and often led to a lot of wasted time viewing videos that were not helpful.

While waiting, we purchased the following items online (on Tesla store):

1. Wall Connector – Since the Model Y information was unavailable, it was difficult to discern what the size of the breaker/circuit should be, but, eventually I settled on a 50AMP fuse w/ a 40AMP draw. Word of caution; once installed, getting the Wall Connector to provide a steady WiFi so that I could connect it to my WiFi network was PAINFUL .. the wifi kept disconnecting and every so often tell me that the password was incorrect (even though I had just connected properly)..After approximately one hour of constant re-trying, I was able to connect it to our home Wifi. The only thing I could do was set the circuit size to the proper setting. There is nothing else that the wall connector provides (though I did see an “alert” section, but have never seen anything in there despite losing power to the subpanel a couple of times (more on that later).

2. Homelink Module – As mentioned above, Homelink functionality (to open your garage door) is NOT a standard feature. No one tells you this and it is not obvious by navigating the Tesla site, but after a number of online videos we realize that you have to order a “module” online. The module comes in a box that CANNOT be opened except by a Tesla technician. As such, this box has been sitting (unopened) in our house now for approx. 3 months. The other “untold” part of this story is that the HomeLink cannot be put in at the dealership or at the time of delivery. It must be scheduled AFTER you accept delivery via the mobile app (and selecting mobile technician). In our case, the earliest time slot for installation is approx.. 3 weeks after we took delivery (until then, I guess we’ll use our “clicker”).

While waiting for “the next step”, we filled out other parts of the online order form. During this time, I wasn’t sure if by not uploading an Insurance card or selecting a payment option I was somehow delaying getting a delivery date. I was unable to reach anyone at Tesla that could answer the question (again, Tesla & their Freemont CA plant was closed during this time). I opted to “roll the die” and wait since I didn’t have a VIN number and couldn’t get an insurance card anyway. At some point, we made our decision on payment type and were left only with the insurance card upload.

We did get a text in late May/early June (I believe it was a day or two after the Freemont CA plant re-opened) letting us know that our car would be delivered in mid-to-late June. On the website there was still no VIN assigned. In mid June, I signed on the website and it had a VIN AND a delivery date/time assignment (good thing I checked ??). Shortly thereafter, I uploaded the insurance card and made sure that the payment had been posted.

Delivery

Sunday, June 21, 2020

Didn’t quite go as expected. Luckily, the associate that helped us with delivery was very courteous, pleasant, and professional (unlike previous experience). The scheduled date/time we were given happened to be on Sunday, Father’s Day (June 21). They were VERY busy with test drives and deliveries. We were waiting for so long that our associate provided us with a Model X to take on a test drive (an opportunity we took to get something to eat/drink … ps: the wife loved the X).

The associate texted us to let us know that our car was ready and it was pulled up when we got there.

As we walked around the car, there were a number of issues that we spotted; namely:

1. Wax overspray on window trims (some came off later, others seem ingrained in the plastic)

2. A number of poor alignment issues including where the trunk meets the top and sides of the vehicle

3. The charger port door (when closed) seems ajar (i.e. fails to close)

4. I had read/seen online that the Model Y trunk fails to close at times. In testing it that day, I didn’t find that to be the case … BUT …(more on that later)

The associate said he’d make a note of the issues, we should email the photos to an email address he provided, and told us that we would have to have a mobile technician come out and fix them.

As we looked inside the car, the display was showing an error on the screen (software update issue). The associate had never seen that error prior to delivery and after checking, neither had anyone else there that day. At the same time, we realized that the “Key” Cards didn’t work (i.e. they didn’t lock/unlock the car). Baffled by both issues, the associate suggested that we leave the car there overnight and pick it up the next day (Monday, 6/22); we agreed.

Monday, June 22, 2020

Didn’t quite go as expected. After we arrived, we met our associate and he had the car brought around. The key-cards worked and as we accepted delivery, the software updated and the error went away. As the paperwork was being prepped, I noticed that the Trunk door did NOT close on its own (either w/ the phone or w/ the button on the trunk door). They took the car back into the service bay and when it was back, it seemed to work …. ONCE. They took it back again (twice more) and it now appeared to work properly. We were once again told to take photos and send an email to the email address provided.

Post-Delivery

The following day (6/23/20), I took the photos of the misaligned trunk lid, the misaligned charger port door, and the wax-residue on the window sill and sent the email as requested. Later that day, I noticed that the USB-C ports in the rear were NOT aligned properly (i.e. the plastic cover obscures enough of the ports to make them unusable .. btw, this was not easy to find and I spent a bit of time looking for anyone else that had the same issue to no avail and started thinking I had a bad cable, but after trying another cable and plugging the cable into the front USB-C port w/ no problem, I took a closer look at the rear ports and, as the photos I took show, the plastic covering is blocking the ports). I, therefore, sent another “update” email with that issue to the same email address.

The next day (6/24) I tried reaching out to the associate that helped us to ask him if we were supposed to wait for something or to go ahead and just schedule the mobile technician. I didn’t hear back and decided to go ahead and schedule the mobile technician service. The earliest appointment was on July 14, 2020 …

UPDATE: My wife ended up calling service and was able to get an earlier date. (June 29) She was given a Model X as a loaner as it took a day or so to get everything done.

Service Notes:

1. The rear panel was re-seated so that the rear USB-C ports are now accessible

2. The wax residue was cleaned up

3. The trunk shuts normally now

4. Nothing was done about the alignment issues – they are “within spec”

5. The 2017 model X loaner was awful. The gull wing doors didn’t open the same way (one was faster than the other) and one of the gull wing doors sometimes stopped opening mid-way. The top was also cracked. Btw, My wife is no longer considering buying a Model X. Didn’t help that when we relayed our overall Tesla experience to date to a friend who owns a Model X for about 2 years, our friend said that she was NOT happy with her car [cited numerous issues with software, sound system, service, etc.] and was likely to trade it in for a gas car soon.

General Delivery Notes:

1. There is a BUNCH of functionality and settings in the car. The owner’s manual and Tesla videos don’t cover everything you’ll need and I found myself looking online for a number of features.

2. Still not clear on how the Autopilot that we got “really” works … I’ll have to do more testing since so far, it failed to keep in lane all the time, and is a bit aggressive when it stopped.

3. I needed to change the re-generative breaking on “LOW”. Not an ideal situation as this will put more wear/tear on the brakes and not help in extending the battery charge, BUT my wife and daughter were having a VERY hard time adjusting to the Standard setting (felt like you were going into the windshield)… perhaps down the road when we’re more “use to the car” we’ll try setting it back to Standard.

4. You only get 2 key cards. We have 3 drivers and I like to make sure I have a spare, so I had to order a new set of key cards ($25 on Tesla.com).

5. Still not really sure how much can be stored in the “Driver Profile” setting (side mirrors and steering wheel for sure, but what else? Radio Stations? Driving modes/settings?)

6. Bought a 128GB Micro-SD card (and USB adapter) so that the security and dashcam videos can be stored .. so far so good. Online research was key in navigating what is needed/best, how to “work” the features, etc.

7. As the car sat outside yesterday without moving or being used in any way, we lost ~50 miles of charge and there was a constant noise emanating from under the front hood area. It was hot yesterday and we do have Sentry mode set. I’ve read that the noise may be the heat pump cooling off the batteries, but it just seemed like a lot of miles in one day for sitting idle. [UPDATE: Seems that Sentry mode is a big culprit of “eating up” a lot of juice]

8. Adding insult to injury, w/in approx.. 2 weeks after first receiving the car (though had to bring it right back in), Tesla announced a $3,000 reduction in the price of the Model Y … - {** Gut Punch Here **}

1000 miles Notes:

1. My daughter and I went on a “Supercharger” test run:

a. To top the car off it took 15 minutes

b. Believe it charged up ~50 miles (to my daily setting)

c. The Supercharger charge came out to approximately $4 (which, for the mileage added is about the same as regular gas in a gasoline car that gets ~22-25 mpg)

d. Paying was SUPER-easy

e. We watched part of a movie while we waited (odd, and a little eerie, to sit there alongside others doing the same thing)

2. I was only able to find one place that had rubber mats, TESMANIAN … .ordered a full set and they fit great … highly recommend them.

3. We’ve had 2 software updates (w/in approx. 1 month)

4. Still have a LOT of range anxiety. More than with gasoline-engine cars, the range in miles don’t seem to come very close to real miles driven. A % of battery (like on cell phones) may be better – there’s probably a way to set that, will have to look.

First “AH-HA/wow” moment:

While getting the oil changed in my F150 the other day, the service center said it needed a new air filter and sent me a photo of the old filter. In the photo, the service tech was holding a dirty filter above my engine (which was also dirty). As I looked at the photo, I was overcome with the realization that “all that stuff” (air/oil filters, water pumps, timing belt, spark plugs, anti-freeze, oil, etc.) was no longer needed in an electric car. At that moment, I felt like I knew how someone in the early 1900s might have felt as they watched a fire-breathing auto-mobile drive on by while stopped to feed their horse food and water, shoveling excrement and wiping dirt and sweat from their brow/body. If EVs can break a few barriers such as range and re-charging time (as early combustion engines did), the future of transportation is already here.

First MAJOR Issue:

Got our first major issue on July 31 (1,200 miles on the car). The car indicated that the frunk was open. Pulled over into a parking lot to check and it was closed. Exited the parking lot and drove down a 2-lane road. Approached a yield and started to depress the brakes, but the brakes would NOT work. Braced for impact (while flooring the brakes) but luckily the Tesla auto-brake system kicked in and stopped the car within inches of the car in front of us. Pulled over, contacted roadside assistance and they towed it.

Additional NOTES:

1. The car kept warning of the frunk being open.. then would show as closed and so on. Even on phone app, the frunk was depicted as open and then as closed and on and on

2. Cannot open the glove box (Valet mode was not on)

NOT GOOD!!

So, Car Towed on Friday, July 31, since then:

1. Other than a few initial Texts soon after the tow have not really gotten any updates

2. Thursday, Aug. 6 received an email stating that a Part had been ordered (Frunk sensor? – noted as: ASY. VC FRONT, GEN3 : Part #: 1497317-00-F : Order Date: August 5, 2020)

3. Heard nothing (and no loaner ever offered) until Tuesday, Aug 11 when we received an email stating that the part that was ordered was received.

4. As of Tuesday, August 11, it’s been 11 days w/o our BRAND NEW car AND no offer for loaner AND only contact via original texts (our subsequent texts have gone unanswered) and two parts emails. – NOT GOOD!!

5. On Wed. August 12, we were able to FINALLY (took many tries) get someone from the dealership on the phone. After letting them know that we needed the car for the following week, they said to just keep the loaner car …. “what loaner car??”, we asked. “Didn’t the tow truck person drop you off at Enterprise?” … “No, he left us at the store (which was closing)”. Basically, we came away from the conversation assured that we’d have the car by Monday, Aug. 17.

6. On Monday, Aug 17 we were told that the car was ready.

7. On Wed. Aug. 19, we were able to get the car back (first day we were able to get 2 of us out to the dealership --- note that about 2 hours before we went, we checked the Tesla app and the car was down to ~102mi. .. we asked to have it charged before we got there and they said they would… which they did). When we arrived, they said that they replaced the Frunk sensor and couldn’t find any issue with the brakes (ugh) and didn’t even try to see what was wrong with the glove box. After, at first, telling us to go get our car in the parking lot (?? Really ??), they went and got the car for us. We checked the glove box and it worked.

8. A few hours later, we checked the Tesla app and it states that the Car is “in service” … what ?? ugh!

9. Texts back and forth yielded:

a. Perform the “double scroll wheel” reboot --- did it multiple times and it did not resolve the issue.

b. Sign in and out of App – did it multiple times and it did not resolve the issue.

c. Delete and Reload the App -- did it multiple times and it did not resolve the issue.

d. Service center has put the vehicle out of Service Mode … Not sure what that meant, but problem persists.

10. Aug 22 – still have issue w/ App stating “In Service”(3 days)

11. Aug. 26 – got a hold of a person on the phone and they said they’d take care of it. Within a few minutes, I got a message stating that “Your car’s service is complete and is ready to be picked up from Tesla service during business hours.” A few minutes after that, we received the same exact message again. The App, however, still states that the car is “In Service” (note: I did log out and back in; just in case).

12. A few hours later, we called support again. Waited on hold for 27minutes and restated our story. We then received four more text messages (a few minutes apart). An hour after that, we checked and the “In Service” message was finally gone.

13. Also on Aug. 26, my daughter pointed out that the rear seat was “off”. When I looked into the car, I realized that service must’ve removed the back seat (for some reason) and forgot to put it back in. A bit of maneuvering around the seat belt receptacles and I was able to fit the seat back in place. Can’t believe that the service center forgot to put it back … and can’t believe we didn’t see it for almost a week ☹

14. Still worried about the braking issue that went unresolved. At this point, we’re left hoping it doesn’t happen again.

Overall Observations/Notes:

1. You can “Name” your car. Not terribly important to me, but my daughter thinks “it’s cool”.

2. CarPlay is a LOT better at certain functions than Tesla (e.g. choice of navigation options)

3. Auto Pilot is NOT great. It still feels jerky (I think my F150 Assisted cruise control is smoother).

4. Auto Steer if far from perfect. Albeit on local roads and not highways, but I’ve found myself having to correct the steering wheel way too often.

5. The driver profiles are “neat”. They store your preferences for side mirror and seat settings, but also other items such as driving mode, regenerative breaking, etc.

6. Although an additional option, the Homelink w/ geofencing is also “neat”. Though I haven’t tried the automatic garage door opening and closing, the geofencing does work as when we approach the garage it recognizes it and the prompt (to open and close) also appears. Our neighborhood should be getting an entrance gate soon and I expect to be using it in conjunction with that (stay tuned).

7. A lot features and/or functions are not obvious and it seems that “Google”, “YouTube”, and other Tesla owners are your best friend(s). For example, while waiting for roadside assistance, searching for “Brakes Failing on Model Y” yielded a number of results including one that explained that if you held down the “P” (usually used to put the car in park) while driving, the Emergency brakes would be applied. Not sure I ever want to be in a situation where that may be needed, but if the car hadn’t stopped before hitting the car in front when my brakes failed, it would’ve been good to know about this feature.

8. As with every other type of software update, the Release Notes could be a LOT Better! I found YouTube videos to be a better source of software update news than the release notes.

9. Despite Release Notes “deficiency”, Over-the-air-updates are GREAT! A real differentiator from traditional automakers.

10. Driving an EV is very “stealthy”. The car is eerily quiet and allows you to sneak up on folks like a large cat stalking its prey - All kidding aside, it is VERY quiet and people walking (jogging or bicycling) in front of you will not hear you coming which may lead them to, unknowingly, turn into your path.

11. Tesla’s integration of the smart phone as a key (including w/ the driver profile) is excellent. It’s no surprise that Apple recently announced their new ability of using an iPhone as a Key (in collaboration w/ BMW).

12. Whether batteries will be employed in future the same way is questionable, BUT the future definitely promises to include electric motors and power-pack sleds. The unbelievable handling and performance gained from a lower center of mass and distributed weight provided by a “sled” power pack is undeniable and hard to duplicate. While the amount of power/torque and lack of necessary maintenance on electric motors should not be understated.

Summary:

A Lot of good which is quickly crippled by:

1. numerous quality issues – seems “rushed”

2. questionable service support (little to no customer service support)

3. Range anxiety is real AND, for now, justified

4. And, at least for us, a Significant safety issue.

5. The feeling of being abandoned by the company is overwhelming

The bottom line is that EVs are here to stay. Power packs will vary (perhaps solid state batteries) as enhancements in power storage and delivery continues to provide additional mileage and charging capabilities, but I’m certain that in the very near future these advancements will compete, if not surpass, traditional combustion engine range and re-fuel times.