Took the car in for a almost-2-year "service" with a small list of issues to fix + a general checkover just in case. Despite the lockdown currently in effect across Germany, workshops are allowed to stay open, thankfully. Following stuff was done:
- Alignment check and correction, on my request. Something felt off about the car in the recent months, including the Nordschleife laps all the way back in August. And I have regrettably had a couple instances of rim-to-curb contact, which is known to possibly affect alignment. After the tire shop that I use for my winter tires refused to do it on a Model 3 (even though they are an official Tesla partner - weird...), I just went with the service center. They did a test drive and some measurements, and indeed quite a lot was off - apparently the car pulled to the left a little, which I didn't even notice much, and toe was all over the place. All fixed, and on the drive home it did feel a little more stable in the lane and at speed on the off-ramps. Of course, sample size 1 for now - needs more thorough checking on some twisties in decent weather
- Replaced the interior A/C air filter. Recommended item after 2 years, and I've had a couple instances of a weird smell when starting the A/C after the car sat for a while. Known issue on Tesla forums. Could've done this myself, but it's fiddly AF, and the cost is not very high, so easier this way.
- Other recommended items for the 2-year interval - suspension bolts torque check, brake caliper cleaning, brake fluid check and replacement. Some cost in there, but for the peace of mind and reassurance to the leasing company what actually owns the car.
- Checked and adjust wiring in the right wing mirror, hopefully fixing an issue I've had since the beginning. Sometimes when in underground garages, the right mirror wouldn't fully fold and/or unfold. Eventually diagnosed to be an issue with the cellular antenna inside the mirror interfering with the mirror motor/position sensor when having really low cell reception, feeding high power to the antenna. Widespread thing affecting many Model 3s, fixed by adjusting the position of the wires in the mirror mount. Apparently they were already correctly installed in mine, but they still undid and re-did them all - here's hoping that got it.
- Checked and verified that my car isn't affected by the infamous "rear bumper might fall off when driving through standing water" issue.
- Asked about the HW3 upgrade ("FSD computer"), since my car is one of the few EU Model 3s delivered early enough to be still running HW2.5 (Nvidia chip used for the Autopilot before Tesla came out with their own silicon). Sadly parts aren't available in DE just yet - official word is still "Q1 2021", but they expect it might take a little longer still. Oh well... with European regulations around the Autopilot and FSD, I'd be extremely happy to get anything remotely like the current FSD beta in the US some time until the lease runs out on 2023, but not counting on it. For now the only thing HW3 really does over here that my car doesn't is speed limit sign and traffic light recognition. Would be nice to have that, but I can live without for a couple more months.
All in all, a very relaxed service experience. And I paid less after 2 years with some extra work in there, than I ever did for yearly services on all my previous cars. Well, except the MX-5, but that was different.
Also, please note that Tesla produces only best quality, in absolutely everything they do, as witnessed by this invoice header right here:
It's a different way of doing things for sure
But so far it's been working out rather nicely.