Tesla sued for allegedly faking odometer readings to avoid warranty repairs

[midian182]

A hot potato: Tesla is being sued over allegations it alters the odometers of customers' cars. According to the lawsuit, the automaker does this to increase the money it makes on repairs, avoid warranty obligations, and force customers to purchase warranty extensions early.

Nyree Hinton brought the suit after he bought a 2020 Tesla Model Y in December 2022 with 36,772 miles on the clock, which meant it was still covered under the 50,000-mile warranty.

The California financial analyst says he had to visit a repair shop five times over several months soon after buying the EV to have work done on a recurring problem related to the suspension.

After his fifth visit to the shop in June, Hinton noticed that the car seemed to be recording more miles for the same trips. He says that from December 14, 2022, to February 6, 2023, he averaged 55.54 miles per day, but between March 26, 2023, and June 28, 2023, the odometer was recording the exact same journey as 72.53 miles.

Hinton adds that his previous vehicles averaged 6,086 miles over six months, but the Model Y reported 13,228 miles over the same period, a 117 percent increase.

By July 2023, the odometer showed that he had traveled more than 50,000 miles. Hinton then found that Tesla had issued a recall for the suspension problem that had been affecting his car. When he went to the shop for a sixth time in January 2024, he was told he would have to pay for the work, as the warranty had expired and the recall did not apply.

A 2020 Tesla Model Y

Hinton didn't proceed with the repairs. The suspension finally detached from the vehicle in October and it had to be towed to a Tesla store, which said fixing the vehicle would cost $10,000. A representative also told him that all Tesla repairs are covered by warranty for a year, so the suspension could have been fixed for free in January 2024.

Hinton's lawsuit against Tesla, in which he is being represented by Singleton Schreiber, argues that rather than using mechanical or electronic systems to measure distance, its EVs rely on "predictive algorithms, energy consumption metrics, and driver behavior multipliers that manipulate and misrepresent the actual mileage traveled by Tesla vehicles." All of which means the mileage-based warranties end sooner than they should.

Hinton is requesting class-action status for his suit so other Tesla owners can join.

Hinton isn't the only Tesla owner questioning the car's odometer readings. This Reddit user writes that one 70-mile trip was showing as 90 miles. Another person on Tesla's forum claims a 122-mile journey showed as 188 miles.

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Tesla sued for allegedly faking odometer readings to avoid warranty repairs

 

[nnguy2]

He got DOGE'd

 

[Neatfeatguy]

Don't worry man. If a class action suit gets filed, Tesla will just be billed some millions of dollars, lawyers will see roughly 50% of that money and the consumers will see less than a monthly car payment.

Class action suits are not there for the consumer, they are there to give the impression that the company getting sued is being punished, when in reality they are not. The only winners are the lawyers.

A company that makes millions upon millions (or billions) on something, gets fined for a fraction of what they made - this only encourages companies to keep up with the bad tactics because it shows them that crime pays. You have to remember that people have short term memories and a class action suit for a wrongdoing gets forgotten.

Who remembers the largest class action lawsuit in history? If you're at least 40 years old you should know it. If not, look it up. I was in high school when it was settled and I forgot about it. Does it ring a bell? Granted it wasn't something that directly impacted me because of what it was for, but something like that shouldn't be forgotten, yet it is.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Wait, Teslas don't actually measure the milage the car travels, but instead use some computer algorithm?!?

-mind blown-

Yeah you should get sued for that.

 

[wiyosaya]

Don't worry man. If a class action suit gets filed, Tesla will just be billed some millions of dollars, lawyers will see roughly 50% of that money and the consumers will see less than a monthly car payment.

Class action suits are not there for the consumer, they are there to give the impression that the company getting sued is being punished, when in reality they are not. The only winners are the lawyers.

A company that makes millions upon millions (or billions) on something, gets fined for a fraction of what they made - this only encourages companies to keep up with the bad tactics because it shows them that crime pays. You have to remember that people have short term memories and a class action suit for a wrongdoing gets forgotten.

Who remembers the largest class action lawsuit in history? If you're at least 40 years old you should know it. If not, look it up. I was in high school when it was settled and I forgot about it. Does it ring a bell? Granted it wasn't something that directly impacted me because of what it was for, but something like that shouldn't be forgotten, yet it is.

Actually, the charge will get dismissed. What fElon does is LAW!

Nothing new here! Move along!

 

[netman]

"Tesla is being sued over allegations it alters the odometers of customers' cars. According to the lawsuit, the automaker does this to increase the money it makes on repairs, avoid warranty obligations, and force customers to purchase warranty extensions early."

...And that how the Musketeer became a geezeelionaire...!

 

[wiyosaya]

"Tesla is being sued over allegations it alters the odometers of customers' cars. According to the lawsuit, the automaker does this to increase the money it makes on repairs, avoid warranty obligations, and force customers to purchase warranty extensions early."

...And that how the Musketeer became a geezeelionaire...!

And almost certainly why he's liked by a prominent US figure that exhibits similar behavior. Screw everyone who makes less than they do; they're losers.

 

[Underdog]

Dog bless Amerika, and all the crooks that run it.

 

[mbk34]

I find the story a little hard to believe. Why would they bother to calculate mileage by any method other than number of wheel rotations. It would also be very easy to prove - just drive a mile and see how far the car says it's travelled. The fact that no-one is showing this proof suggests the story is made up. One of the selling points of Tesla is how reliable they are - most owners seem to say they cover 100's of thousands of miles and do nothing except change tyres and windscreen wipers.

One possibility might be the wheel size setting for the car might be wrong. If it's set to a 22" wheel size but the car is actually using 18" wheels and the vehicle uses wheel rotations to calculate mileage (like every other vehicle) then a 70 mile run would show up as nearly 90 miles because the wheel is rotating more.

The only thing really wrong with Tesla is Elon.

 

[scavengerspc]

fElon

 

[pnntmp]

So Tesla anticipated the problem in one anecdotal case and falsified the readings in advance to avoid a warranty repair months later?
On top of this mountain of evidence, we have claims from "Reddit user" and "Another person on Tesla's forum".

It's really stupid to spread such nonsense.
There are a zillion ways to detect such a scam, if it were to exist.
I understand that some people who used to worship Musk for allegedly fixing the weather now feel betrayed and hate him, but ... guys ... put some more effort and try concocting something non-laughable next time.

 

[gamerk2]

Too bad this sort of thing is covered by an arbitration agreement, and judges are already denying class action status because of it.

 

[StrikerRocket]

If it was politically feasible, guys like Musk would reinstate slavery, this is what it comes down to at the end, I am barely exaggerating here!
If true, of course, this is just a scam, period.

 

[DrSuess]

Well it is California, its possible that earthquakes are increasing the driving distance each day as the tectonic plates split apart. sarcasm

 

[ZedRM]

A major corporation being dishonest?!? NO! How can this be so?? ..rolls eyes..

 

[DarkAvenger]

A "class action" lawsuit predominantly enriches lawyers, as they can receive something around 25-33% of the judgment, while individual members of the class receive a minor payment. Sometimes a "mass tort" is better but may not be well suited for this type of case.

 

[Kashim]

So Tesla anticipated the problem in one anecdotal case and falsified the readings in advance to avoid a warranty repair months later?
On top of this mountain of evidence, we have claims from "Reddit user" and "Another person on Tesla's forum".

It's really stupid to spread such nonsense.
There are a zillion ways to detect such a scam, if it were to exist.
I understand that some people who used to worship Musk for allegedly fixing the weather now feel betrayed and hate him, but ... guys ... put some more effort and try concocting something non-laughable next time.

Look out everyone, random internet detective is on the case and has it already figured out!

Why would the person in the article file a lawsuit if his claims are false and made up according to you? Sounds like a huge waste of time and lawyer fees if that's the case. Why would he be asking for class action status? That's not something you get granted just by randomly asking for it.

Here's a crazy idea, why don't we wait and see how this lawsuit plays out and what evidence is discovered and presented? Or would just just take the internet detective's word for it, right?

 

[brucek]

Didn't Hertz or another major rental car company have a fleet of Teslas? And if so, were the renters of those vehicles sometimes charged by the mile? If it's true the odometers are not accurate there may be another entire class of plaintiffs out there.

 

[waclark]

So Tesla anticipated the problem in one anecdotal case and falsified the readings in advance to avoid a warranty repair months later?
On top of this mountain of evidence, we have claims from "Reddit user" and "Another person on Tesla's forum".

It's really stupid to spread such nonsense.
There are a zillion ways to detect such a scam, if it were to exist.
I understand that some people who used to worship Musk for allegedly fixing the weather now feel betrayed and hate him, but ... guys ... put some more effort and try concocting something non-laughable next time.

Yes, it seems simple to prove this occurred or not. How about this? Get another vehicle or use a GPS device and measure out 1, 5, 10 miles, or whatever. Then compare the car to the external device. Are they that off?

 

[pnntmp]

Look out everyone, random internet detective is on the case and has it already figured out!

Why would the person in the article file a lawsuit if his claims are false and made up according to you? Sounds like a huge waste of time and lawyer fees if that's the case. Why would he be asking for class action status? That's not something you get granted just by randomly asking for it.

Here's a crazy idea, why don't we wait and see how this lawsuit plays out and what evidence is discovered and presented? Or would just just take the internet detective's word for it, right?

Let's forgive you this less than well thought out comment.
Looks like you're genuinely confused and can't figure out why, so let me elaborate. This is simply an episode of the massive smearing campaign against Musk. Nobody expects this guy to win, but the 'lawsuit' allows for ridiculous articles like this to flood the woke media. Do you think the beneficiaries of the billion dollar frauds Elon is stopping mind paying the lawyer fees???

There are 5+ million Tesla cars on the road, driving ~80 billion miles per year. Do you seriously believe a mileage scam that's so easy to spot could remain unnoticed for so long, until this guy finally figured it out?
Oh, wait ... there were also a "Reddit user" and "Another person on Tesla's forum". This changes everything.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

Didn't Hertz or another major rental car company have a fleet of Teslas? And if so, were the renters of those vehicles sometimes charged by the mile? If it's true the odometers are not accurate there may be another entire class of plaintiffs out there.

Some rental company (not sure if it was Hertz, too lazy to look) was charging a gas/fuel charge on the cars if they didn't come back with a full tank of "gas".

 

[kiwigraeme]

Given Tesla controls all the info , lawyers are brill at casting doubt.
Not sure this will go anywhere -but Tesla won't want disclosure scrutiny

Ie you hope those bringing it abided their time and ran independent tests

Tesla won't want EU scrutiny , but since americans are used to few consumer rights and welcome it, makes more sense there.

Also all those stories about Tesla changing narrative in logs when going into a crash

Shame as Tesla was having a good month , and latest financials are coming

Anyway lots of other people will now check logs, wonder if Tesla is stupid enough to modify them to average out - as some nerd will have downloaded them

Also Tesla made claim some mistake in methodology - eg Ukraine invasion of Russia causing Elon making Starlinks GPS less accurate ie nothing malicious -fall out from aiding Putain

 

[pnntmp]

Given Tesla controls all the info , lawyers are brill at casting doubt.

Come again?
Tesla may control the mileage you see on the screen of your Tesla car, but they have exactly zero control over the mileage Google maps shows, or over other navigation apps, or over the distances on printed maps, or over anything else that tells you the distance between two points.

Any mileage scam is ridiculously easy to spot. Tesla cars drive tens of billions of miles every year.
Given that a sizable amount of wokesters passionately hate Elon, and all of them drive a Tesla because they believed that fixes the weather .. if there were a mileage scam, they would have noticed it long ago. We'd be flooded with millions of reports about that.
Do we see millions of reports? Well .. no ..

 

[kiwigraeme]

Come again?
Tesla may control the mileage you see on the screen of your Tesla car, but they have exactly zero control over the mileage Google maps shows, or over other navigation apps, or over the distances on printed maps, or over anything else that tells you the distance between two points.

Any mileage scam is ridiculously easy to spot. Tesla cars drive tens of billions of miles every year.
Given that a sizable amount of wokesters passionately hate Elon, and all of them drive a Tesla because they believed that fixes the weather .. if there were a mileage scam, they would have noticed it long ago. We'd be flooded with millions of reports about that.
Do we see millions of reports? Well .. no ..

I strongly suggest you don't take court actions if you are so naive

I have never said if this guys claim is right or wrong . Face value logs of same journeys having different total amounts seems strange

As for easy to spot, lots of poor reasoning skills then. Gaslighting would not work in your world then
If Tesla was guilty it would only do it to very select individuals . If someone was checking logs from day one, they would likely be excluded - ie this guy went back over data

Car companies have cheated on MPG in testing , phone companies the same.

Anyway as stated lots of people can now check logs - and if so, lawyers can build up a statistical database.

Unless for other reasons - as an ordinary grind you only bring a a very expensive lawsuit if 99% sure of winning - if 80% and not deep pockets enjoy losing and paying their 100 thousand dollar plus legal fees - ie it's a brutal system - lots of companies though "guilty" get off on a technicality , no jurisdiction , no damage as you are a nothing and who caes

 

[SRB]

For what it's worth, Tesla can NOT develop novel ways to record mileage. Federal law defines how car manufactures record mileage, federal and state laws require mileage statements for any title transfers. As someone said before, changing tire size is the most logical thing, and smaller tires are one way to accomplish this. In order to change tire size, most modern vehicles have to be reprogrammed with the new tire size (only if they were an option for the car/truck). Only one of the things a person should look for when buying a used vehicle.