‘It is At all times Sunny in Philadelphia’ actor mentioned Tesla ‘misplaced a buyer’ after his automobile was caught in a parking storage for days after his key fob broke

• Glenn Howerton mentioned his Tesla was caught in a parking storage for over 24 hours after his key fob broke.
• The actor detailed a irritating expertise the place Tesla help failed to assist him begin the automobile.
• Howerton is one among many Tesla homeowners to complain of poor customer support.

“It is At all times Sunny in Philadelphia” and “A.P. Bio” star Glenn Howerton detailed a irritating expertise the place his Tesla was caught in a parking storage for over 24 hours, in a podcast on Monday.

Howerton instructed his costars on “The At all times Sunny Podcast” that he was locked out of his Tesla on Friday evening when his key fob broke. The actor was additionally unable to hook up with WiFi within the Los Angeles parking storage to be able to use the electric-car maker’s app for accessing the car — a failsafe in opposition to points with the important thing fob.

Tesla first launched its keyless entry system in 2017, and different carmakers have adopted swimsuit, utilizing Bluetooth expertise to permit for keyless entry, however, in contrast to different automakers, Tesla doesn’t provide drivers with an old-school backup key.

“It despatched me right into a rage,” mentioned Howerton, who has joked up to now on the podcast about his sturdy response to irritating conditions, noting there was some extent within the ordeal the place all he might do was scream. “Each step of the way in which all through this journey, each single factor that might go flawed went flawed,” he added.

Spokespeople for Howerton and Tesla didn’t reply to a request for remark from Insider forward of publication.

Howerton mentioned he was compelled to depart the automobile on the parking storage in a single day after changing the battery for the important thing failed to repair the difficulty. The subsequent morning, after learning the difficulty, he was in a position to get into the automobile by inserting the important thing on a delegated space on the car, however Howerton mentioned he was nonetheless unable to start out the automobile.

The actor mentioned even his early makes an attempt to tow the automobile have been foiled as a result of low ceiling within the storage and since he was unable to place the automobile in Transport Mode, one thing Tesla requires to keep away from “vital harm and overheating,” and in some instances, a fireplace.

A wrestle to get Tesla help on the telephone

For over eight hours on Saturday, Howerton mentioned he camped out on the parking storage attempting to repair the difficulty.

He additionally discovered it near-impossible to get involved with Tesla’s help groups.

“I had a really tough time getting via to any of those folks,” Howerton mentioned, noting he wasn’t in a position to get involved with Tesla’s roadside help and car help groups.

In a last-ditch effort to get involved with Tesla help, he determined to name Tesla’s gross sales division, considering a salesman would at the very least decide up the telephone. It labored, and he began “lacing into” a member of the corporate’s gross sales crew.

“I used to be like, ‘You guys misplaced a buyer right now. I have been a Tesla buyer for 10 years,'” he mentioned.

The actor then described a state of affairs the place he was “tossed” backwards and forwards between the 2 Tesla departments as he tried to troubleshoot the difficulty.

“We would get to the top of the decision and so they’d go: ‘I suppose there’s nothing we will do,'” Howerton instructed his castmates. “And I used to be like: ‘What do you imply there’s nothing you are able to do? You guys have to repair this.'”

Howerton, who mentioned he finally made peace with the ridiculous state of affairs, mentioned it wasn’t expertise or Tesla help workers that resolved the difficulty — it was old style human ingenuity.

With the assistance of the parking storage workers, he finally discovered a tow truck that was not solely sufficiently small to get into the parking storage, however might additionally jack the automobile up in order that its wheels would not have to the touch the bottom.

Since, he mentioned the important thing fob has but to be fastened and he is pushed the automobile relying solely on Tesla’s app — that means he is been further cautious to keep away from garages or any parking zones with out WiFi.

The actor’s expertise with Tesla is much from unparalleled. Earlier this 12 months, a Tesla proprietor instructed Insider he was locked out of his electrical automobile after the battery died — a difficulty that he says would price over $20,000 to repair. In August, Vox reported that homeowners have filed hundreds of complaints about Tesla’s service facilities. Final 12 months, Insider reported that drivers have been taking to social media to report points with their model new Teslas, together with poor paint jobs and misaligned automobile panels.