Brand-new Tesla Model 3 owner April G (April Gilmore) picked up her 2022 Model 3 Performance in Tampa, Florida, in December. It was making a weird and annoying scraping sound, so she reached out to Tesla for help. As it turns out, the electric car was missing a brake pad.

When April contacted Tesla, she let them know that the Model 3 was making a scraping sound that seemed to be coming from the driver's side rear wheel. Unfortunately, the Tesla Service Center didn't have any inspection appointments available until about three weeks later. However, the following day, Tesla reached out to April and asked her to send a video so the team could listen to the sound.

April complied and recorded a video, which she sent to the service center. To her surprise, the Tesla service rep told her many people watched the video and determined that the sound was normal and that there was potentially no issue with the Model 3's brakes. Of course, April pressed the service center to move her appointment forward. Tesla told her to have the car towed if she still had concerns.

Gilmore followed through, having the Model 3 towed to a local "independent Tesla shop." Not surprisingly, upon removing the wheel, the mechanic learned that a brake pad was missing. Not only did the Tesla need a brake pad, but also the rotor and caliper had to be replaced. Gilmore's Tesla Service Center watched a video from the independent shop and asked her to bring the car in right away.

Tesla gave April Uber credits since it didn't have loaners available. The repair has been delayed a number of times thanks to parts that aren't readily available. The original repair date was scheduled for December 31, 2021, though it was pushed to January 7, 2022, then January 14, and finally January 19.

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We'll be keeping our eyes on the story to find out how it all turns out. In the meantime, Tesla covered a full month of Gilmore's car payment. Regardless of how Tesla is trying to help, the whole situation is unacceptable. We honestly don't understand how anyone watching the video could think the brakes were "normal."

Source: April G (YouTube) via Drive Tesla Canada

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