Tesla's quality issues continue

[AhardFSU]

I can’t wait until Lexus gets there BEV out.

I thought the same thing having come from a RX350, but having read Lexus' RZ450e webpage, I don't think Lexus put their best foot forward with the RZ. For the cost of the vehicle, the battery pack is undersized with a useable capacity of 66kw and the onboard charger is only 6.6kw. And the dimensions for the inside aren't as big as some competitors bc Lexus didn't use a purpose built platform that was specific to evs. When Lexus came up with the RZ450e, they really weren't serious about evs and they just wanted to put something out.

Now that they have a new CEO at Toyota with a revised focus on evs, especially for Lexus, I'm more curious about the Lexus evs that come after the RZ450e.

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[AhardFSU]

To me, the decision of MachE vs Tesla come down to one thing.

Did I want a car company learning to integrate technology or a technology company learning to make a car?

Ford's far from perfect, but they've learned a thing or two in the last 100+ years of building cars. (learned some of those lessons multiple times).

A lot of stock market analysts and Tesla bulls and ev columnists that write a lot about Tesla love to point to the innovation Tesla achieve with the casting for the vehicles. You don't hear or see them discuss the downside bc Tesla's casting process allows them to build a ton of vehicles very quickly. But what we miss from those folks is a discussion of Telsa's quality control issues, which is a open secret.

 

[AhardFSU]

The gigacastings are a huge issue from a repairability standpoint, in my opinion.

Yes. And there's a reason why insurance companies will just straight up total a Tesla that has gotten into an accident. They're just too costly for insurance companies to repair and in some cases, based on the story I read, some of them can't be repaired due to the design of the vehicle. Again, Tesla has advantages when it comes to producing vehicles using their cast process, but the downsides are there and they're rarely discussed by the exuberant Tesla bulls on CNBC and certain columnists who write for ev focused media outlets.

 

[Pushrods&Capacitors]

Not only is Tesla’s software much more sophisticated (not saying it is better in every regard, mind you, but better overall), but Tesla’s engineering is also superior in numerous areas. Simpler and more efficient liquid cooling system and wiring harness, for example.

It is the actual manufacturing quality where it still lags. And I agree, that’s important.

The counterpoint to the engineering comment is that Tesla’s ride/handling engineers can’t seem to get the Y or 3 to simultaneously handle well and not ride like an oxcart. And that’s not just car reviewer hyperbole. I’m a stiff suspension type of guy but we recently rented a Y for 10 days while the MME was in for warranty work and the thing was harsher than my ‘14 SS sedan. Which, is known as the stiffest riding model year of SS’. Tesla’s suspension tuning acumen (lack there of) reminds of where the Korean makers were about 10-15 years ago. Not joking.

 

[AhardFSU]

Ford just needs to work on their software, it kind of sucks. When it does work (turn on car, phone quickly connects, no need to reboot sync during the drive, etc) the car feels amazing ?.

Yes they need to refine the software and continue to hire good software engineers. Could a part of the problem be that they're trying to use forks of the same software across all of the Ford lineup? If so, that does present some complications.

 

[AhardFSU]

Not only is Tesla’s software much more sophisticated (not saying it is better in every regard, mind you, but better overall), but Tesla’s engineering is also superior in numerous areas. Simpler and more efficient liquid cooling system and wiring harness, for example.

It is the actual manufacturing quality where it still lags. And I agree, that’s important.

I would agree with you on the better engineering in certain areas when comparing to Ford. But if you follow the industry, there's no way to say this with a straight face if you start comparing Tesla's engineering to BMW, Mercedes, GM or Lucid. They're just as good or better. And the Korean's are good as well. Tesla has advantages, which you would expect because they've been at this for a while, but it's not massive.

 

[ThatGuyLando]

Yes they need to refine the software and continue to hire good software engineers. Could a part of the problem be that they're trying to use forks of the same software across all of the Ford lineup? If so, that does present some complications.

Possibly, they are also really bottlenecked by the hardware on the mach e, it's running on a 2015 snapdragon, probably why it struggles to do basic things. But hey it saved them a few bucks so good on them right?

 

[AhardFSU]

Possibly, they are also really bottlenecked by the hardware on the mach e, it's running on a 2015 snapdragon, probably why it struggles to do basic things. But hey it saved them a few bucks so good on them right?

Yep. Trying to increase the margins is what they care about; nothing wrong with that.

It’s obvious the chip just isn’t fast enough for what they want to do. And Snapdragon chips have been known to have performance issues as the life of the device goes on.

 

[azerik]

I thought the same thing having come from a RX350, but having read Lexus' RZ450e webpage, I don't think Lexus put their best foot forward with the RZ. For the cost of the vehicle, the battery pack is undersized with a useable capacity of 66kw and the onboard charger is only 6.6kw. And the dimensions for the inside aren't as big as some competitors bc Lexus didn't use a purpose built platform that was specific to evs. When Lexus came up with the RZ450e, they really weren't serious about evs and they just wanted to put something out.

Now that they have a new CEO at Toyota with a revised focus on evs, especially for Lexus, I'm more curious about the Lexus evs that come after the RZ450e.

You realize the Lexus RZ is the Toyota BEY4rz3v2s5fe right? The one the wheels fell off? Just, now with a Lexus stamp, body and bigger price tag. Lexus didn't design a thing. They slapped a body on an already painful entry to EV's.

 

[jhalkias]

Understood with Ford and all the recalls, with one MAJOR difference. Other than the supply chain shortage - the dealer network. We can bash dealers all we want, but take a look at all the complaints about the lack of ability to get a problem with a Tesla fixed when something goes wrong.

When something has gone wrong with my Mach E (I had the front end noise that needed the repair) my dealer took care of it. All my other issues have been software related, and not the physical build of the car.

My Lightning as one other poster said from a build and physical quality has so far been flawless.

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