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Tesla recalls Roadster over steering issue

05/29/2009, 9:05 AM

By Andrew Ganz

Electric car manufacturer Tesla has received a lot of press lately – especially since it introduced its Model S production-ready sedan - but not all news is good news, as a recall over improperly assembled bolts that affect the steering proves. Tesla says the bolts were improperly assembled by Lotus, who builds the Roadster’s chassis. Lotus is also recalling a small number of its Elise and Exige vehicles to rectify a similar problem.

Tesla will recall 345 Roadsters built between March 2008 and April 2009. Tesla says that, since its dealership network is quite limited, it will send technicians to its customers homes to tighten or replace the bolts, provide a full inspection and upgrade the Roadster’s software free of charge.

The complaint stems from an owner who said the steering was poor on wide, sweeping turns.

Lotus will recall 27 Elise and Exige vehicles built for the 2009 model year to correct a similar problem.

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05/29, 9:16 AM

posted by:

gizmo2

From Detroit to Tesla. Welcome to the game.

05/29, 9:33 AM

posted by:

idrinorbarsaku

not good for Tesla’s image!

05/29, 9:45 AM

posted by:

2WheeledSpeed

Everybody has the occasional issue, and they’re saying Tesla is sending the Techs to customers houses to fix the issue. Which they definitely aren’t required to do. Plus it doesn’t look life a life threatening issue.

Wouldn’t it be nice if all auto companies treated their customers like this? This is darned good customer service.

From Tesla to Detroit, look how we retain our customers.

05/29, 9:48 AM

posted by:

idrinorbarsaku

2WheeledSpeed,
good comment!

05/29, 9:48 AM

posted by:

procrastinate now

Unlike Camaro SS owners who were instructed to flatbed their cars to their nearest dealer for the recall repair, at least Tesla is sending the techs to their customers. A brilliant move to contain and manage bad press. Not so good for Lotus’s image, even though, not too many folks would call their current line-up “crap”.

It just goes to show, eventually, no one is immune to recalls.

05/29, 9:52 AM

posted by:

HoosierHero

@2WheeledSpeed
That’s great if you have $100K to spend on a the car. It’s the least they can do. I’m sure their 5 customers will be extremely happy.

05/29, 10:01 AM

posted by:

jdasch1

Just some loose bolts…No Fires, no tires falling off, no camshafts going flat, no real nothing. Tesla is handling it like a pro. Good for them.

05/29, 10:16 AM

posted by:

MikLawry

Response to 2WheeledSpeed & Idrinorbarsaku
You guys must have absolutely no understanding of the cost of doing business. First, for a company that has at most 600 cars on the road this is completely possible due to the limited number of vehicles that would require service.
Second, could you imagine the the man power it would take to service the millions of Chrysler, GMs and Fords on the road?
There is nothing wrong with you guys rooting for Tesla, but please exercise common sense.
Oh yeah, this is also why Tesla is having serious financial issues as well, if you didn’t know I can sent you some links to read. The want to be the “Mac” of the auto idustry. blah, blah, blah

05/29, 10:47 AM

posted by:

JakeK66

I was going to say something, but HoosierHero and MikLawry covered it well. Too bad Tesla doesn’t have an iPod to sell or a customer base bigger than what can fit in a large Econoline. I’d also like to say Mac invented the whole PC genre for the most part, what has Tesla done so far? Take the name of a bad 80’s band and put a battery pack in a Lotus and charged $100k for it. I hope they are successful, but lets not fool ourselves, they are still a baby in a very big, mean, industry.

05/29, 11:19 AM

posted by:

MechMatt

Definitely the way to handle the issue. Not life threatening, but performance decreasing. For a relatively new company like Tesla, either could end you.
@JakeK66 — I’m pretty sure they got their name from the electrical engineer and discoverer/inventor of AC power, Nikola Tesla (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla), not the band…

05/29, 11:26 AM

posted by:

Borat

No big deal about this recall. For 345 cars, I would send pair of pliers to each owner to tighten the bolt and nut and they can keep pliers as souvenirs or for next recall.

Definitely, Tesla cars are safer then internal combustion once, and they are meant for people with good credit and cash flow. BTW, it is like bicycle for owners: you ain’t getting far on 3-5 hours of battery life. And if it will be successful, Microsoft will start its own company, non compatible with Tesla and electrical current in any country.

Another thought: I did not see any request for response in either 2Wheeler or Idrinorbarsaku. Did I miss something?

05/29, 11:45 AM

posted by:

A4

Yeah, exactly hoosierhero, drop $100k on a car with only 345 of them in customers hands, not to mention the lack of a dealer network, and yes it makes sense to send out a tech to the house. It would be great if they all did this, but it doesn’t make any sense to. Great handling of the issue on Tesla’s part though.

05/29, 11:48 AM

posted by:

A4

And yeah you did Borat, they asked for a response when they made stupid comments.

05/29, 12:15 PM

posted by:

Borat

A4, I think you are slightly judgmental. What makes those guys comments stupid and yours so brilliant? A bit of humility and tolerance would not hurt, would it?

05/29, 1:29 PM

posted by:

beatusmongous

There is one person who’s twisted logic would dictate that Tesla builds the most reliable cars in the world since they have only ever recalled 345 vehicles.

05/29, 2:33 PM

posted by:

2WheeledSpeed

I fully understand that GM/Chrysler/Ford cannot afford to send a tech to each and every single one of their customers houses. I don’t think that I implied that Ford should send a tech to my house, maybe I did but that’s not what I was trying to say. But I’ve never been impressed with ANY of the major auto companies service (Domestic or Foreign).

The point I was trying to make is Tesla could have simply gone the lazy route and said “We’ll fix it for free if you pay to have your car shipped to us”. Tesla is smart enough to know they need to be doing an amazing job of taking care of their customers which is especially important for them considering they are a new company with a new technology. Their survival depends on them convincing people they aren’t buying crap. Who wants to risk that much money and get screwed?

05/29, 3:14 PM

posted by:

Borat

2wheels, I think most of their customers today are their investors, as well.

05/29, 4:19 PM

posted by:

JakeK66

@MechMatt -

Here’s the joke

Here’s your head

05/29, 4:57 PM

posted by:

Mutant@DCX

meh, the techs have to go to your house because the ‘lectric doesn’t have the range to go to the dealer/tech. I’d like to know what vehicle they roll up to your crib, lol.

05/29, 5:38 PM

posted by:

beatusmongous

Jake, more like this:

Joke

.

.

.

.

.

.

Head.

05/30, 4:11 PM

posted by:

jackjimturkey

Took a shot to the chin
looks like you just can’t win

 
 
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