Tesla homeowners nonetheless love their vehicles regardless of remembers and high quality points

This article was originally published by Michael Coates on Clean the fleet report, a publication that provides readers with the information they need to switch to the best fuel economy cars and trucks, including electric cars, fuel cells, plug-in hybrids, hybrids, and advanced diesel and gasoline engines.

A just released Consumer reports The survey places all four Tesla models in the top 10 most satisfactory vehicles. The ranking included value, comfort, driving, in-cab storage, in-car electronics, and styling. Alongside Tesla, Honda Insight Hybrid is the only electrified vehicle that appears in the top 5 of one of these categories (styling). On the flip side, the Chevrolet Bolt (for comfort and styling) and Honda Clarity (driving and car electronics) have the least satisfactory list in the five worst categories. The good news, if you want to put it that way, is that the negatives of these two vehicles didn’t get into one of the top 10 least satisfactory vehicles (that was an all-ICE list with Nissan-Infiniti coverage, with most mentions)

Make owners happy

The bottom line is, surveys like this one measure an owner’s emotional attachment to their vehicle, a difficult thing that can change over time. Perceptions count as much as quantified repair problems. “They want to know how car owners love to live,” said Jack Fisher, senior director, auto testing, Consumer Reports.

CR asked owners about the relationship between owner and car for one to three years. This reflects a time that goes beyond the original period of ownership and enables life with a vehicle. On the other hand, it is still early enough in the life of a modern car that only problems that arise are usually unexpected. This can be a reflection of how the manufacturer / retailer treats a problem in the same way as they treat the problem itself. Aside from these elements, the survey also seems to capture nagging details that owners wear on a daily basis, such as B. the seating comfort and navigation in the several levels of a touch screen.

A non-owner complaint

Tesla receives awards from its happy customers and has some negative feedback from two governments. The company agreed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to recall 135,000 of its S and X models to fix touchscreen failures. The repair includes installing a larger memory chip or an updated touchscreen, according to NHSTA.

NHTSA focused on the Model S display

Tesla disagreed with NHTSA’s analysis of the problem, but voluntarily volunteered for a recall when it became clear the company was not going to assert itself against the regulator, which was viewed as a safety issue as it affected the display of the rear view camera when reversing.

The company had a different reaction and tone to similar criticism in China. Tesla of China posted a comment stating that it “sincerely accepted orders from government departments” and “thought deeply about shortcomings” while planning to work on issues and investigate consumer complaints.

In China, where Tesla sells about a fifth of its total vehicles, the state market regulator and four other regulators had ordered Tesla to “comply with Chinese laws and regulations and strengthen internal management to ensure the quality and safety of vehicles in its products” According to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Another poll

JD Power, a company that built its brand on its automotive quality surveys, has produced results that back up the quality results from the U.S. and Chinese governments but are confused by the real love that Tesla owners have for their vehicles. In JD Power’s last initial quality survey, Tesla had died last in initial quality.

ON In a recent reliability study that measures issues in the third year of ownership, Tesla ranked 31st out of 34 vehicle brands. Tesla owners reported almost twice as many problems as the brands with the fewest problems, and well over 50% more than the industry average. Quality issues at Tesla are not new or surprising as media and owner reports of issues are known. This was the first time Tesla has been included in JD Power polls as its sales have finally reached a level that warrants inclusion. As found in the CR survey, these issues do not seem to adversely affect owners’ attitudes towards their cars.

There are some problems, but …

A footnote on the JD Power survey. This happened without the usual cooperation of the manufacturer. Tesla refused to work with Power to send the surveys to customers in multiple states, but JD Power was able to gather enough data in other states to showcase its survey results. Overall, it turned out that “the reliability of the vehicle is at an all-time high”.

Tesla continues to get mixed marks with owners plagued by quality issues but still in love with their advanced electric cars. It’s a puzzle for the ages, but a Tesla has to deal with the entry of seasoned competitors into the market.

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Published on February 24, 2021 – 11:10 UTC