this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2023
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Scottish couple facing $33k repair bill after driving Tesla in heavy rain::undefined

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[–] BrownianMotion 124 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Water got into the battery. Well that sounds like it is squarely a fault of Tesla and its QC or R&D. Who tf builds a car, with a battery, doesn't make sure that the battery and all other major components are IP68 rated for "full immersion up to a meter or more for 30 minutes" ?

Its a CAR. We have Fords to cross. And some RAIN fscked it up??!!

[–] [email protected] 52 points 1 year ago (1 children)

QC

That’s implying they have one at all!

[–] Viking_Hippie 20 points 1 year ago (5 children)

The official QC policy from Musk himself is "don't"

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

He probably thinks QC is a bit 'woke' and thus dismisses it out of hand.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The second car here is a Tesla, and it still runs at the other side of the ford (but we don't know for how long). But I agree, driving through rain should not damage a car.

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[–] [email protected] 100 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I think it's important to mention that this isn't an issue EVs have but an issue Teslas in particular have. They seem to have a really bad build quality from what I hear.

[–] [email protected] 70 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It’s the remote workers.

[–] [email protected] 60 points 1 year ago

Battery was installed over zoom and the call dropped before the insulation part

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[–] kescusay 95 points 1 year ago (14 children)

Just in case anyone thinks this is a problem with all electric cars...

I own a Chevy Bolt. It lives in the driveway, as my house doesn't have a garage. And I live in a city that gets Scotland levels of rainfall. It's not uncommon for a heavy downpour to leave some low-lying streets with an inch or more of water on them in some places, and that's perfectly normal here.

My Bolt does just fine in that. I never even considered the idea that I might need to take extra precautions with it because fucking rain might kill its battery.

[–] killeronthecorner 23 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

This wasn't everyday "Scotland levels of rainfalls" though, it was a specific storm that posed a risk to life in many areas.

That said I still would expect my car to endure anything short of being submerged underwater.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

I second this. Drove my Zoe through rain, snow and ice, never had any problem or even thought about with water ingress.

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[–] [email protected] 81 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (9 children)

Muskrats: "Why would anyone think they can drive in the rain?"

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[–] [email protected] 54 points 1 year ago (6 children)

This isn't surprising at all. Have you ever looked at a Tesla up close? The fit and finish is bad. Like really bad. I have never understood how anyone could walk up to one, look at it and think "I'll buy this". Tesla has absolutely miserable quality control.

[–] TheGrandNagus 33 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

I've been in a Model S, and don't get me wrong the acceleration was absolutely phenomenal

But my Skoda Fabia (which for the first owner probably cost £15k instead of £70k+) absolutely beat the shit out of it for how well-built it was. (For the yanks - Skoda is a sub brand of the VW group - think of them as a slightly cheaper Volkswagen)

Everything is rigid and you'd need a sledgehammer to shift it. In the Tesla you could just grab random parts of the interior and wobble it about. Everything shifts about, rattles, and shakes.

The paint on my Fabia is flawless - it's of equal thickness everywhere, whereas for the Model S some parts were clearly thinner than others.

The panel gaps are a meme for a reason. On the Fabia, sure the panel gaps are wider than they are on a Porsche or something, but they're exactly the same everywhere. On the Tesla you'd see it completely flush at the top of some panels, and a 6mm gap at the bottom! It was so inconsistent.

And the rear passenger-side door's rubber seal where the window comes up was peeling off. This car is only 3 years old ffs!

I wish Tesla would license their drivetrain designs out to people who can actually build cars.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Skoda was the brand we'd take the piss out of in the early 90s.

I wonder if 2030s kids will be laughing at their friends being driven to school in a clapped out Model S, with half the panels falling away, one door a slightly different colour to the rest, and a battery that goes maybe 40 miles, going "Ahhh, your mum drives a Tesla!"

[–] cashews_best_nut 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Skoda's and Lada's were the classic cars to rip people for having. Communist junk. VW really did a LOT to rehabilitate the Skoda image.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I rode in one for the first time a few months ago and it immediately broke any preconceived notions I had of it being a luxury product. The weather stripping on the doors was installed crooked and the material on the seats wasn't lined up properly either. That's just what I noticed in the first minute or two. It wasn't even old, it was brand new since the owners first Tesla was totaled in an accident (in which all the recorded camera footage was lost on impact, you know the most important time you would want recordings to work).

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's why they sell them online. So you can't walk up to it in a dealership and see them up close.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Tesla has showrooms. It's just they're fully part of Tesla, instead of being little franchises with wingnut owners and weird regulatory capture.

Musk is a jack-ass, but the showroom model makes sense.

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[–] Gerula 41 points 1 year ago

"They said it’s not necessarily my fault but it’s not Tesla’s to pay under warranty."

If it's not a warranty case and not a misuse case that means it's designed and it's supposed to function like that. Imagine an "automotive" grade battery pack with a lower IP rating that the car itself :))))

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I don't get why the service centre isn't covering it in warranty, given the car should be able to handle rain (or even driving through floodwater) just fine and many Teslas do just that, including the many currently in Scotland. Clearly there was a fault that allowed water ingress to the battery.. eventually it would have failed anyway, just in normal weather.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago

Tesla customer service seems to be based on deflection, rather than responsibility.

[–] skyspydude1 14 points 1 year ago

Because that costs money, and they absolutely hate that. Those insane margins have to come from somewhere.

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 year ago (2 children)

How to avoid such issues ?

STOP BUYING TESLA

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[–] mirror_slap 25 points 1 year ago (8 children)

I have no sympathy at this point for anyone buying one of these pieces of garbage from a company led by a person who quite obviously a flaming piece of garbage, producing products that are quite obviously flaming pieces of garbage.

I mean, there are so many alternatives now, you really have to ignore how horrible Musk is to buy one of these, and you have to have your head stuck in the ground for a couple of years now to not know that Tesla quality control is diaper poo.

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[–] Viking_Hippie 24 points 1 year ago

I mean, who would ever expect RAIN in SCOTLAND?? There's no way that Tesla could have predicted that the car might be subjected to such a freak occurrence! 🤦😂

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago (7 children)

The number keeps going up every time I see someone post about it lol

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago

This article had more info than the last one I saw floating through the feed (The article I saw had been "enhanced" by AI writing and you could tell).

In this article "A couple from Edinburgh was shocked after receiving a £17,374 (A$33,370) bill"

The last article floating through the feed didn't really cover any real ponts about what happened and seemed to be targeting Elon in a negative scope.

This article had information about the issue they faced when attempting to leave and waiting 5~ hours for Tesla RSA. Then calling Tesla and talking to a manager that that was covering Tesla's ass with warranty talk.

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[–] Tolstoy 17 points 1 year ago

Didn't they have already issues with water on the Model 3 bumper? Still remembering seeing my first Tesla Model S... Worst bodypanel gaps I've ever seen on a new car

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

One of the most important things when buying a used EV is checking the base of the car for any punctures. One could happen due a plethora of reasons.

Combine a puncture with driving in heavy rain/puddles and water damage may occur.

I hate Musk and wouldn't buy Tesla ever, but this isn't necessarily just because of the shoddy quality control they have.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (11 children)

With that money I could just buy three more trucks like the one I already own and take a week long holiday to Europe.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Where on earth are finding decent vehicles for under 8k??

Unless your current truck is 10-15 years old and has over 250k km on it...

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[–] Smacks 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I always hear bad things from Tesla owners after the honeymoon phase is over.

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