“So expensive!” Or not. Tesla owners share Model 3 maintenance costs

A Tesla owner who has driven more than 160,000km in their Model 3 since taking delivery in 2020 has shared the servicing costs on a Tesla owner’s forum.

Laying claim to one of the highest odometer readings on Tesla Fi (a worldwide app Tesla owners use to access driving data), it is entirely possible they own one of the most travelled Model 3s in the country.

According to TeslaFi (which not all Tesla owners use), the owner of the Model 3 SR with the highest reading on the app globally has driven more than 190,000km. Another two have driven slightly more at 162,152km and 171,314km.

As The Driven reported in April, another Tesla owner has driven 150,000km in their Model 3 SR+ and described it as formidable, reliable and cheap to run.

The owner that goes by the bame of “QBN_PC”on Tesla Motors Club forum, who is also an Uber driver, says they have spent around $1,000 in servicing in the time they’ve owned it.

Tesla Uber driver racks up kilometres

“I use it for weekly runs from QBN (Queanbeyan) to SYD (Sydney),” they said.

“And a lot of Uber trips on the way there and back (mostly in Wollongong, but I’ve driven Tamworth, Dubbo, Orange, Wagga, Canberra, Nowra, Sydney, Central Coast and Hunter – Uber is way more tolerable if you’re driving far from home). And 5 round trips to Moree. A typical week is 1500km-ish.”

They say that their vehicle, which would have started with around 420km driving range on the battery when the car was new, has 293km when the battery is 90% full (as it was made in Fremont it has a nickel-based battery that should only be charged to full sometimes.)

However, they note: “This could be underreported, particularly since almost all my last 900km of driving is highway or freeway.”

“If I give it a really solid charge at Chargefox Shell Cove, I can climb Macquarie Pass and reach QBN without detouring into Goulburn to charge,” they write.

“Though I’m not keen to deep cycle the battery that heavily on an uphill trip.”

Tesla maintenance and repair costs

They go on to describe maintenance and repair costs for the entire ownership period.

“Early on I needed a new charge port as the Mennekes lock just stopped engaging. The car limited itself to low amperage charging until replaced. Sorted under warranty. Took 15 minutes on a quick drop into the service centre.”

Then: “Last July I had to replace several pieces of the undertray – 2nd time – after I struck some roadkill near Marulan,” they write.

“July was a bit more expensive than an earlier violent hydroplaning incident, as it was two pieces instead of just one. I can’t find the earlier invoice as it seems to only go back one year in-app now.

“Last September I got cabin filters replaced, along with a weird issue with the seatbelt clip sensor wire. It could have just been a loose clip, but we replaced the entire module to get it over and done with. So expensive!”

They continue. “Last November my washer bottle got gunked up from SuperCheap’s imitation Rain-X plus some generic buildup. Service centre suggested I switch to 50-50 vinegar and water.

“Last December I got squeaky steering at low speeds in wet weather. Needed new front upper control arms. Sorted under warranty.”

You can see the entire servicing and repair costs shared below:

Others in the forum weighed in on the absolutely awful servicing costs.

“If that’s all that has gone wrong in what would be basically 10 years of average use, then can’t really complain,” said one.

“Less than $1000 maintenance total for 160,000kms. Outstanding, and thanks for sharing the info,” said another.

Mind you, the tyres haven’t been cheap. All in all, they estimate they’ve spent a little over $7,000 in tyres.