Tesla Model Y Diary – Day One, Model X Swap

Over the next week or so, I’ll document my Tesla Model Y buying experience along with first impressions of the car.

The end of my 2017 Model X three-year lease would have been August 11, and I tried to align my Model Y turnaround time as close as possible. However, Tesla reps said my Model Y would arrive on July 19, and if I didn’t pick it up then (or within a three-day period), I’d have to jump to the end of the queue and wait until September or later. I agreed to receive on Sunday June 19.

Tesla called me on the 17th to tell me that my Model Y had been delayed a week …

So I had to keep Model X for another week. Normally that would be a lot of fun, but our Model X has been a big problem recently, but even from the start.

Tesla Model X problems

Of the three (now four) Teslas I’ve had, the Model X has been the worst in terms of reliability, and that has tempered much of the excitement that comes with having one of the most advanced cars on the road.

I should note that we intended to lease a new X 75D model, X-base tuning. But when we were preparing our order, the seller told us a 90D equipped with AP, 22 inch turbine wheels, premium sound, etc. with around 3,000 miles on it were available. Since the lease payments would be lower, and it was supposedly in perfect condition, we took advantage of it.

Unfortunately, shortly after arriving home, the rear axle would start to tremble loudly when accelerating in left turns. We took it to the store, and Tesla allegedly fixed it.

No, I took him to the store and they said nothing was wrong. I made the service technician get in the car with me and went around the block. Tesla decided that he needed major repairs of several weeks. A few weeks later, I got the Model X back. I tried it drove around the block, and it looked fine.

But then, on the way home, he started making that sound again. So I decided to live with it … for three years.

The Model X 2017 was a pretty solid car otherwise. But I have other complaints:

• The range never lived up to the indicated 256 miles. Part of that I have found is that 22 inch turbine wheels will reduce mileage. Even snow tires on a standard 20-inch wheelset got better mileage.
• Sometimes the doors or trunk of the Falcon Wing closed unexpectedly or opened unexpectedly without warning. It got so bad that the sound of the closed door Tesla makes my family freak out like PTSD. We joked that between the uneven autopilot and the gates, the Tesla was trying to kill us.
• The lift button for the third row seats is difficult to find and activate. I think Tesla solved this in later models.
• Leaving the kids was too much of a flex show with those doors. I would have liked a low profile option.

My wife loved the car, even with the previous “flaws”. And frankly, me too. We took him from New York to Florida and made it to western Ohio with very little concern. The main long-distance trip in our vehicles is three hours north of Vermont, about 180 miles, all winter to snowboard. We also do some summer trips there.

We have never been able to make the 180 mile trip with our Model X in winter. We have done this in the summer several times, but it requires tame driving and reaching the electronic equivalent of the fumes.

And one last thing: About a month ago, our main Model X screen went dark. We have tried all the tricks to get it back, but to no avail. Tesla said we would have to bring it in to fix it, but it was not available until after the lease ended, about a month later. I thought it was pretty crazy since it is an integral part of driving. Directional signs don’t work, temperature controls and music don’t exist. Basically it was like my first car.

Model Y ‘Update’

Leaving Model X’s problems behind makes Model Y exciting. I know from experience that the Model 3 can easily get 300 miles of actual range, so I’m pretty sure the Model Y will be able to get it back nonstop in the winter. We’re even going to go there with a bike trailer rack this week, which should really test the scope. And of course, due to our experience with the Model X, we know where all the loading stops are.

We hardly ever use the third row seats unless we were picking up people at the airport or some other edge case where my children’s friends came from, which was always a nightmare. It’s hard to imagine that in the COVID era! In any case, I will be happy not to go to airports or drive around a group of children. And in that emergency scenario, I’ll just throw a kid or two in the trunk for a few miles. I spent half my childhood like this, and it turned out to be fine.

Our boisterous Siberian Husky would only occupy and shed fur in the rear with seats low on our weekly trips. Model Y has a better barrier than our 6-seat Model X.

I also love driving the Model 3, while driving the Model X feels a bit more like being a speedboat captain. I hope the Model Y closes the gaps between my wife’s love for driving higher and my performance preferences.

Here is my current Tesla garage, maybe I have a problem:

Model And Buy vs. Lease?

For one thing, I’m absolutely thrilled that I didn’t have to sell the Model X. Even after it finally gets repaired, I don’t think I would have gotten its value for it, and I’m sure whoever got it complained about the axle issues. Those are now Tesla’s to deal with.

But at the same time, lease payments are high, and we had to shorten our journey on the Model X to drop below the 12,000 mile / year we had allotted ourselves. I decided to buy the Model Y so I didn’t have to think about it.

Model Y Full Self Driving?

Due to the aforementioned “Model X autopilot is trying to kill us” problem and a history of empty promises from Tesla regarding the FSD, I decided to wait. However, a few weeks before delivery, Tesla lowered the price of the Model Y by $ 3,000, and the Tesla site said it could add FSD for $ 7,000. With a difference of $ 4,000, I felt it was a reasonable price based on risk / reward. However, Tesla came back and charged me $ 8,000 for FSD, so I removed it and will make a decision to add FSD at a later date (maybe when the price goes up again).

I have a lot of ideas about FSD, which I discuss in the video above. The bottom line is that there is a lot of uncertainty, and even if this is the year that Elon is right and they put FSD in the cars, it does not guarantee that Google / Waymo does not understand it too and does not charge anything for it.

Y model options

At the time of ordering, Model Y did not and does not have many options and configurations. I got the white interior but passed the wheel upgrade due to issues I had with the big Model Y wheels. Not only will you get better driving on poor New York roads with smaller wheels but also more efficiency and handling on adverse weather conditions. Black wheels look good on white paint base; However, it was not an easy decision.

I got a third-party trailer hitch for $ 322 instead of Tesla’s $ 1000 / $ 1200 before / after the purchase price. Hopefully I’ll have the installation video later this week.

Collection model Y

Tomorrow, I will talk about the actual exchange and the quality of the Model Y that I bought. Follow me on Twitter for some spoilers.

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