Tesla Ranks Near Bottom Of Consumer Reports Survey

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We've all heard the reports of various problems with Tesla's cars but I didn't think it was this bad. This is not some fly-by-night group handing out bad reviews either, this is Consumer Reports we are talking about. Damn.

Tesla, the upstart all-electric automaker that once landed Consumer Reports' best-ever performance rating, has now achieved a far less impressive feat, with a ranking from the reviewer that labels it one the least reliable car companies in America. The Consumer Reports' ranking, released Monday, places Tesla at no. 25 of 29 for reliability, with reviewers saying the automaker's new Model X SUV "has been plagued with malfunctions," including with the "falcon-wing doors" that have become its signature.
 
Truth. I understand the anger toward the falcon doors, but most of the other stuff I have been reading is really whiny. I don't know if it has changed in the last year, but I kept reading articles about how they would call to schedule a repair that the customer hadn't noticed, and they bringing a loaner and taking the repair car away on a flatbed. But that might be out of date or something.
 
This should be a surprise to nobody. They are pushing the envelope in the automotive industry, unlike say Toyota, who has been building nearly the exact same Corolla for 20 years with different clothing.
 
An automobile is a web of interconnected points of failure. The more complex the web, the more frequent the failures. Tesla is truly in a league of their own when it comes to automotive technology.

When you buy a fancy new Tesla, you're paying six figures to test new technology.
 
The title is a bit off.
The model X is ranked low. The model S is ranked high.

Why is the model X ranked low? Because they designed stupid features that don't have a good reliability record.
 
Consumer Reports laying down the smack on Tesla

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https://s21.postimg.org/5zfuo36k7/ezgif_2189218049.gif
 
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Who the hell needs gullwing doors on a freaking SUV? And the biggest selling feature for them is so you can park real close to other vehicles. Duh, wtf would you want to park so close that you can't open normal doors? Why would on invite door dings on not only your own X but others? No one is going to pull so close that they can't get out themselves necessitating their doors. I just don't get it.
 
thesmokingman said:
Who the hell needs gullwing doors on a freaking SUV? And the biggest selling feature for them is so you can park real close to other vehicles. Duh, wtf would you want to park so close that you can't open normal doors? Why would on invite door dings on not only your own X but others? No one is going to pull so close that they can't get out themselves necessitating their doors. I just don't get it.
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I guess you've never been to a city or crowded parking deck. Sometimes you take what you can get.
 
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Hypergreatthing said:
The title is a bit off.
The model X is ranked low. The model S is ranked high.
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C'mon, that would be like... too accurate or something.

Consumer Reports also knocked the Civic off their recommended list. For some valid reasons but generally not necessarily anything to do with the actual usefulness of the car.

I don't put a lot of stock in what CR says anymore. I usually make those decisions for myself instead of trusting a "one size fits all" mentality.
 
thesmokingman said:
Who the hell needs gullwing doors on a freaking SUV? And the biggest selling feature for them is so you can park real close to other vehicles. Duh, wtf would you want to park so close that you can't open normal doors? Why would on invite door dings on not only your own X but others? No one is going to pull so close that they can't get out themselves necessitating their doors. I just don't get it.
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If someone is parking over the line into the last available spot, you park with your passenger door is next to their car and you can still get out. I'd recommend doing this only with a vehicle you don't care if they retaliate on though.
 
braamer said:
This should be a surprise to nobody. They are pushing the envelope in the automotive industry, unlike say Toyota, who has been building nearly the exact same Corolla for 20 years with different clothing.
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This part of the reason why I stay away from "luxury" or "high performance" cars. They have tech that's unproven to last past the warranty period.
It's cool when it's driven off the lot, but you've just purchased a ticking time bomb of financial problems. I passed on a M6 V10 earlier this year after coming to my senses because engine/drivetrain would probably eat itself by Christmas.
 
thesmokingman said:
Who the hell needs gullwing doors on a freaking SUV? And the biggest selling feature for them is so you can park real close to other vehicles. Duh, wtf would you want to park so close that you can't open normal doors? Why would on invite door dings on not only your own X but others? No one is going to pull so close that they can't get out themselves necessitating their doors. I just don't get it.
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The ironic thing is that the front doors are normal so the driver couldn't get out, unless they shuffled their way to the rear.

The only thing good about them is that they're almost as functional as minivan sliding doors, though at far greater complexity.
 
Wasn't Consumer Reports the same ones that gave the Tesla one of the highest ratings it had ever given a car when it first came out?
 
SLee said:
The ironic thing is that the front doors are normal so the driver couldn't get out, unless they shuffled their way to the rear.

The only thing good about them is that they're almost as functional as minivan sliding doors, though at far greater complexity.
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The sliding doors are much more useful than silly gullwing doors. Hell the gullwing doors are supposed to be for the driver who is wishing he had a Lambo or a classic SL. But fail hard the wings are over the passenger, prolly snotty kids lol. If you look at the link I posted from Edmunds above, the gullwings really start to look stupid.
 
CR auto ratings have always been complete bullshit. They're nothing but a popularity contest for whatever idiots happened to be on staff that year.
 
thesmokingman said:
The sliding doors are much more useful than silly gullwing doors. Hell the gullwing doors are supposed to be for the driver who is wishing he had a Lambo or a classic SL. But fail hard the wings are over the passenger, prolly snotty kids lol. If you look at the link I posted from Edmunds above, the gullwings really start to look stupid.
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Agreed, there's so many cons with that type of door.

And hilariously, it appears that the Model X is the one vehicle where the front and rear doors can actually hit and damage each other:

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/posts/1796376/
 
^^Lmao! How messed up is this?

Tesla ended up taking care of me by replacing my paint protective film on the door. Luckily I had no paint damage. Hopefully they will get your door fixed. To this day I avoid closing both doors at the same time.
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WorldExclusive said:
This part of the reason why I stay away from "luxury" or "high performance" cars. They have tech that's unproven to last past the warranty period.
It's cool when it's driven off the lot, but you've just purchased a ticking time bomb of financial problems. I passed on a M6 V10 earlier this year after coming to my senses because engine/drivetrain would probably eat itself by Christmas.
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If you plan to keep your car for many years you have 2 choices:
Either buy a car that has a high long term reliability rating,
or as a friend once told me, buy the most basic model because there's less to go wrong with it.
 
Roberty said:
Wasn't Consumer Reports the same ones that gave the Tesla one of the highest ratings it had ever given a car when it first came out?
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Yes, but the rating of the vehicle itself is separate from their reliability rating.
 
Wrecked Em said:
CR auto ratings have always been complete bullshit. They're nothing but a popularity contest for whatever idiots happened to be on staff that year.
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I think you are confusing them with JD powers who seems to give awards based on what's popular, what looks cool, and who spent the most on advertising.

Based on 30 years of buying cars, I've found CU to have some of the best reliability ratings. That's based on my own cars, family members and friends. Any car rated average or below is almost guarantied to eventually become a money pit.

However, if you only keep your cars for 3 years or less, then reliability doesn't matter too much, since most modern cars tend to have few problems the first few years.

I prefer to keep my cars for 10+years, so long term reliability is important.
 
nutzo said:
I think you are confusing them with JD powers who seems to give awards based on what's popular, what looks cool, and who spent the most on advertising.

Based on 30 years of buying cars, I've found CU to have some of the best reliability ratings. That's based on my own cars, family members and friends. Any car rated average or below is almost guarantied to eventually become a money pit.

However, if you only keep your cars for 3 years or less, then reliability doesn't matter too much, since most modern cars tend to have few problems the first few years.

I prefer to keep my cars for 10+years, so long term reliability is important.
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JDP is based on owner surveys, usually on initial ownership. As such there is a lot of bias. For example, Tesla owners all thing they're touching Jesus' cloak when they own a Tesla. But these biases are systemic and can be factored out.

CR is a bunch yahoos who project their personal biases onto vehicle as seen by the declining rating on the Tesla, eventhough the car itself has not changed one bit. Since its a handful of self-annointed experts, there is no way to factor out their biases.
 
The Falcon Wing Doors sucked, by all reports, but the rest was ok and got better very fast. Also, the Model S is fine. The current Tesla models are much improved, but we'll have to wait another year for that to be reflected in Consumer Reports.
 
EODetroit said:
The Falcon Wing Doors sucked, by all reports, but the rest was ok and got better very fast. Also, the Model S is fine. The current Tesla models are much improved, but we'll have to wait another year for that to be reflected in Consumer Reports.
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Except that CR does not usually do things that way. They just go off their perceived results from the previous year and just go with that.
 
Twisted Kidney said:
An automobile is a web of interconnected points of failure. The more complex the web, the more frequent the failures. Tesla is truly in a league of their own when it comes to automotive technology. When you buy a fancy new Tesla, you're paying six figures to test new technology.
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And that's what a lot of people who spend that kind of money, forget. They think that because they spent a lot of money, they get one of the most reliable products on the market, and of course are spoiled because they're used to getting whatever they want. So any inconvenience that pops up sends them into a hissy fit, like Britney Spears when she doesn't get the right bottled water. OH MY GOD MY LIFE ISN'T PERFECT THIS SUCKS THIS SUCKS THIS SUCKS GET ME A BETTER CAR I CAN'T STAND IT I PAID A LOT OF MONEY SO EVERYTHING SHOULD BE WONDERFUL WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO HAPPEN TO ME DON'T THESE ROTTEN CAR MAKERS REALIZE HOW IMPORTANT I AM THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE SOLD ME A CAR WITH ANY POTENTIAL PROBLEMS NOW I'LL WRITE A SONG ABOUT HOW CRAPPY THEIR CARS ARE!!!!!!
 
Hypergreatthing said:
The title is a bit off.
The model X is ranked low. The model S is ranked high.

Why is the model X ranked low? Because they designed stupid features that don't have a good reliability record.
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When you only have two models, of course the second model is going to drag the overall score down greatly. If you had 15 models and only one was truly bad, it wouldn't drag the overall score down as much. Tesla's weak (and strong) point is that they have 3 models they're focused on at the moment, and they will be working hard to improve those three. On the flipside, they're a small company that is focusing on too many things at once.

Also, what may seem like a minor inconvenience or annoyance to an outsider wouldn't seem so minor to someone who experiences it daily.
 
nightfly said:
And that's what a lot of people who spend that kind of money, forget. They think that because they spent a lot of money, they get one of the most reliable products on the market, and of course are spoiled because they're used to getting whatever they want.
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Arguably the people who spend a lot of money are far more lenient about reliability in exchange for cutting edge technology, performance or sheer showing off. Because if the vehicle isn't reliable, they can always use their second (or third) car while it gets fixed.

The average driver though needs a reliable car because if it goes out, it becomes far more challenging to get around. It has a massive impact on their ability to work and quality of life.
 
WorldExclusive said:
This part of the reason why I stay away from "luxury" or "high performance" cars. They have tech that's unproven to last past the warranty period.
It's cool when it's driven off the lot, but you've just purchased a ticking time bomb of financial problems. I passed on a M6 V10 earlier this year after coming to my senses because engine/drivetrain would probably eat itself by Christmas.
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Most of the technology actually in High performance cars is not untested. A lot is created in F1 racing where it spends a great deal of time before being trickled into the consumer market. That being said I dont blame you for passing on THE BMW. I have heard some horror stories over the years from their M line
 
SLee said:
Arguably the people who spend a lot of money are far more lenient about reliability in exchange for cutting edge technology, performance or sheer showing off. Because if the vehicle isn't reliable, they can always use their second (or third) car while it gets fixed.
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While they could do without their 'primary' car, they're more often whiney self entitled prima donnas. For example, over the years, I've heard plenty of complaints when a 5, 6 or 7 series beemer owner (M-B S class, etc.) has to 'put up with' only a 3 series (or other entry level import) loaner while his or her car needs repairs. Oh, the horror! One particular gal traded in her paid for Nissan Z to lease a used 5 series; Why? Because she thought it would help her date a better class of men. She got a 1 series; spent half the morning trying to get the dealership to give her a new, better ride while her car was being fixed.

Pretentious assholes all.

Poor folks don't even get loaners.

Sure, upper income folks could be nice. But more often I get to see the darker side of them because I'm considered 'the help' so they don't care what I think.
 
This is the cycle.
Informed enthusiast start buying the product who understand it, and know what to expect from it : customer satisfaction is great
The hype generated causes uninformed idiots to buy into the new product, who have no clue about what they're actually getting into, and what to except and what not to : customer satisfaction goes to the shitter
 
bigboymuscles678 said:
Most of the technology actually in High performance cars is not untested. A lot is created in F1 racing where it spends a great deal of time before being trickled into the consumer market. That being said I dont blame you for passing on THE BMW. I have heard some horror stories over the years from their M line
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Tech does come from F1, but it needs highly skilled engineers to fix it. $20 hour maintenance workers at the local dealership can't do it.
It's like when Nissan says to replace the GTR tranny instead of fixing it. A 15K repair bill will follow. A crushing financial bill for any person buying the car out of warranty.
 
CR reliability surveys are well thought out, I filled one or two.
Of course they are going to use past model reliability on same new year models, but they tell you so.
If it a complete re-design I think they don't use past scores (I don't remember that too well though)
CR is about the only reputable source left for this type of information.
They buy their own cars for review, as with everything else (I assume that has not changed)
ITs absurd to blame CR on this, if the model X has problems then it has problems, and that sucks.
I am sure Tesla will work things out.
 
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