Though Consumer Reports once called the Tesla Model S the “best-performing car we’ve ever tested” it looks like the honeymoon might be over. When they originally checked out the car, not only did they love it, it literally broke their rating system with its acceleration, thrust, and impressive ability to go from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds.
The review site couldn’t be more effusive with their praise for the car stating, “its significance as a breakthrough model that is pushing the boundaries of both performance and fuel-efficiency is dramatic (even more so because it is coming from the factory of an American startup company).” If magazine and car could marry, we would have seen it happen.
The review did note that the interior wasn’t as opulent as you might expect from a car with a six-figure price tag, and that it was a little loud, but otherwise it was a great purchase for someone with a lot of money.
But suddenly Consumer Reports is backing way off of it’s rating on the car, which originally scored a 103 on a scale of one to 100. The 103 score came from Consumer Report’s actual road test of the vehicle, but it excluded a reliability score since that comes from a survey of users.
The 2015 reliability survey is in and, hold on to your hats, because here comes the hate train and it’s headed straight for Elon Musk. Full speed ahead.
For their Annual Auto Reliability Survey, Consumer Reports surveyed 1,400 people who own a Model S. The results were not great. In fact, it resulted in a downgrade from 2014 “average” reliability prediction to “worse-than-average.” The Reliability Survey looks at how well cars hold up and how likely it is that they need repairs. Consumer Reports surveys owners about problems and issues with the car they have happened in the past 12 months.
The owners mostly complained about problems with the drivetrain, power equipment, charging equipment, infotainment/center counsel, and a bunch of noises and leaks from the body and sunroof. So, basically that’s the entire car. Just in case you thought some parts of the car were okay, here are the parts that rated even worse than they did last year: climate control, steering, and suspension. The 2013 Tesla S, which was the first full model year for the car, also seems to struggle with aging with more complaints about the drive system showing up.
For a car that hangs its metaphorical hat on the charging and power equipment, it’s disappointing to see that most owners felt it didn’t live up to the $127,820 price tag. This also means that Consumer Reports had to take back their recommended designation for the Tesla, which is a tough blow to a car that received a rave review. To received that designation, the car must have an average or above reliability rating.
The one upside is that the car comes with a 4 year/50,000 miles warranty, so most of these fixes have been at no cost to the owner. But it’s a huge deal that the site has basically revealed that you’ll pay a boatload of money for this car, and it doesn’t hold up to their earlier fawning.
This is awkward, to say the least.
