Well, Thursday was a strange day. I arrived at work, and everything was normal. I backed the Tesla into my normal spot, got out, worked a full day, and at the end of the day, got into the car.
It started, and I pulled out of my parking space. Once I turned to go right out of the parking lot, the car started acting in a funny, yet not very funny way. I'd never experienced anything like it. It sounded like my tire was riding hard on the rim. I got out and looked at all the tires and didn't notice anything wrong.
I was baffled at what the problem could be. I texted James and told him something was really wrong with the car. He asked if it would make it home. I said I didn't think so, but I'd try. I got back in the car, opened the owner's manual, and couldn't find anything related to the problem I was having. I thought maybe if I turned off the car and allowed it to "reset" it might help. So I did that, and the car moved forward a little, and I thought maybe I could make it home. I got to the next business and applied the brake a little and that terrible scream of rim on metal made me wince as the whole left front end lurched straight up. I pulled into a parking spot and called Tesla, who said they'd have a tow truck there...in an hour and a half.
Since I was destined to wait, I thought I'd walk back to work and grab a Coke Zero out of the fridge and use the restroom. When I walked in the front door, my friend said, "Is that a part of your car in the parking lot?"
I looked. And saw this:
I was dumbfounded, because I didn't feel this piece fall off, and I didn't know what it was. The office manager said she thought it was the wheel well. That made sense, because without the wheel well guard, the Tesla's sensors would go nuts and not allow the car to move without some major lurching.
We walked out to the parking lot and picked up the piece--sure enough, it was the wheel well. They couldn't believe I hadn't noticed, but I really didn't. It hadn't made any sound, and I didn't notice anything was wrong until I'd turned out of the parking space. It didn't occur to me to look behind me to the parking spot, because I hadn't heard or felt anything fall off.
Well, I walked back to the car after assuring my coworkers I was fine and would be okay (they're the BEST), and James came to wait with me and give me a ride home.
The next day, one of our docs (who also has a Tesla) and I did some research as to how that could have happened, and what we discovered was a little shocking. Apparently, this kind of thing can happen with no warning, and could've been much worse. The wheel well guard coming loose and falling off is a prelude to the whole front suspension dropping out. If that happens on the highway going 70 mph, you're pretty much toast. It appears there have been several complaints about this, and Elon Musk seems to be brushing the problem under the rug (more about this in a minute).
This is what could've happened:
So, we get the call saying the suspension had indeed failed, and the car was ready to be picked up an hour and a half away in Dania Beach. And oh, the bill is $2500. I was like, "WHAT?!" How can a car company, charge us anything for the repair of a vehicle still supposedly under warranty, with a potentially fatal defect?
I'm going to call them today and dispute this, especially after I read this article which exposes some pretty shady cover-up practices by Tesla. Obviously, this is not "normal wear and tear" (less than 9,000 miles on the car), and should be under warranty. We'll see what happens...
I will say the rental car place was more agreeable to deal with than Tesla. I was there as they opened Friday morning, and they gave me a free upgrade, so my ride to work was pretty sweet:
So, anyway, James and I are going to head to Dania Beach after work, and hopefully, I can use some of the information I've learned to get them to cover this major malfunction under our warranty.
Happy Monday!
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