Ugh.

After my last service experience they sent a survey asking about it. The main feedback I gave is they need better communication internally in order to head things off so the customer isn't left in the situation you, and a bunch of others in the US and other countries it seems, are experiencing. Supply chains are what they are. No excuse for the poor communication both with the customer and internally there. If they want to go after Porsche, they'll need to up their game here.

All that said, I think >90% of this is because you just really like and want your car back :]

 

When the driver arrived at noon, he gave me a Volvo XC90, not a Polestar.

Volvo Marin has started pulling this on me too. First tire-install visit I agreed to get the work done sooner and not have a loaner at all because they were out. Second tire-install visit (to install the other two tires they forgot) they surprise-loaned me a two-generation-old S60. This third tire-install visit (to fix tire orientation they got wrong) they surprise-loaned me a very-new XC60.

I think the volume of service Volvo Marin is performing is completely out-of-bounds from what they can handle and still deliver the customer service Polestar promises. I counted 6 Polestar 2s in line for service with mine. Just, what was outside and visible to me. Plus more than twice that number of vehicles in regular Volvo service.

So much of the annoyance could have been mitigated with good communication.

This has been my complaint with both of my service center options from the beginning. I’d give all these other errors much more of a pass if I could communicate with them consistently.


Please send this to Polestar CS. They seem to have all-new people now, and they told me they’re interested in hearing about service center issues. I’m writing a novel. Sent them chapter 1.

 

Please send this to Polestar CS. They seem to have all-new people now, and they told me they’re interested in hearing about service center issues. I’m writing a novel. Sent them chapter 1.

Chapter 1 was specifically about how bad service center communication is. If I do phone calls, I end up playing phone tag repeatedly. If I do emails, I sometimes get completely ghosted. If I reply to their automated text message systems, I never received a reply over text.

Chapter 2 is going to be about difference between how Polestar thinks service happens and what really happens. Eg Volvo Palo Alto and valet service, but also all these issues with loaner vehicles. Every Polestar owner I’ve spoken to was initially confused about who to contact for service issues. And then learns there’s no point in contacting Polestar CS first — just talk to your Polestar-certified Volvo service center directly to cut out one of several links in communication. Either way, I end up having to repeat my issues to a minimum of 3 people every time I want something done.

Chapter 3 might be about the ridiculous claims concerning remote diagnostics, and how if Polestar CS is supposed to be involved in service, a number of my issues could’ve been handled that way, or at least by sending me the questionnaire directly before service, instead of taking my car and then learning information that keeps it for weeks.

Or Chapter 3 might be about how much marketing overpromised in general. Remote diagnostics but also phone-as-key (the cars lights up as you approach!), CarPlay (when sold, I was told it’d be enabled before delivery, then within a month of delivery!), etc.

 

Good group therapy here on the forum.

I feel heard. Thanks @polerad and @julianm !

 

It shouldn’t need repeating, since we’re all here on this forum, but I do enjoy my car very much. I just want to be able to order Polestar-spec tires and have them be installed correctly. Or I want to be able to address a rattle.

Polestar’s set up a system in the US in which no one seems to be accountable for deviations from this

But also nothing in the above describes where and when the actual issues are communicated — how’s the above even supposed to work with a rattle when service centers insist on ride-alongs for rattles anyway? And how come I have to actually talk to 3+ people for steps 1+2?

I’d like to be a Polestar shareholder once the SPAC goes through. But first I kinda want to see if they’re able to make any progress at all on system improvements in the US. They definitely compromised a lot from the initial “subscription only! never leave your home/work and have vehicle serviced!” model they announced in 2017.

 

@JPC I fully echo your experiences with McDonald Volvo. Their techs seem knowledgeable, but depending on who you are talking to, it's mostly radio silence. Get my car trucked back and forth was a massive headache...especially since they ask when works and seem to have the truck arrive squarely outside of the times you gave...and it's not like you can have the truck wait for you, they'll just leave to their next paying gig. I really, really, really wish I could just take my car to the local Volvo service center...at least I can meander over there and harass them in person. I honestly don't know why Polestar US decided to partner with single Volvo dealerships for service, maybe it had something to do with how our dealership models are? It just seems odd.

Sorry....kind of went off on a longer rager than I meant to...

With all that being said...I love my car, pretty much everything about it. I don't even mind the cup holders (way better than my previous cars)...I just don't want to cringe anytime I need to get the thing looked at

 

I honestly don't know why Polestar US decided to partner with single Volvo dealerships for service, maybe it had something to do with how our dealership models are? It just seems odd.

This is completely because of the US. Because in the Netherlands your local Volvo dealer is your servicing contact, they will just bill Polestar for the work they do.

 

This is super fair though! One of my first jobs, and only support and repair role, was as a Genius at an Apple Store — this was like 16+ years ago and even then CRM systems made it dirt simple to make sure we reached out to customers proactively about any change in status to repair timelines, parts delivery, whatever. It was just something we did daily, completely expected. The technology available to handle this stuff today by comparison is insane. There’s no excuse for a luxury car company to not go through the list of repairs every day and re-set expectations as needed without waiting for the customer to call in.

 

There’s no excuse for a luxury car company to not go through the list of repairs every day and re-set expectations as needed without waiting for the customer to call in.

From Chapter 1 of my novel to Polestar CS:

Once they do have my car, I typically don’t hear anything for days at a time. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a short status update at least every other day, if not daily, when my car is in someone else’s possession. But I’ve sometimes gone a week or more with silence.

... [more ranting about other things] ...

For comparison, how service worked with my previous vehicles:
Tesla Model 3 - Scheduled time via Tesla app, updated and chatted with advisor via text message.
Alfa Romeo Giulia - Advisor and I always communicated over email, including scheduling.
Volvo C30 - First service center was Volvo Palo Alto (Price Simms, who y’all work with here), had difficulties with their communication and lack of loaner vehicles, so switched to Volvo Stevens Creek. Advisor communicated updates over email. Scheduling happened via a web page. This was 11 years ago.

 

I can't reply fast enough to y'all it seems:
1. Yesss to the Taycan Cross or Sport Turismo. If I could have that and Apple CarPlay had access to the consumption info to give the in car navigation that the Polestar has - and I had the funds for that rock and roll lifestyle - that would be the ideal...
2. @PolestarMG I've totally used the Apple GeniusBar example of how it should be. There's basically no reason they couldn't have a system to proactively communicate with the customer.
3. @julianm you can add servicing my Corollas and then Camry at Toyota 101 to the mix. My overall service experience for ~$20-25k cars at a decidedly not premium marque/dealer was much smoother than Polestar. I could set up an appointment online; drop it off at the indicated time when the tech could see the info I put into the text field of the appt setup; then be in text/SMS communication throughout the day with the tech; get pretty great cookies and bootle water if I waited (preCovid at least); and a shuttle back and forth if needed. And they've had that system for almost 20 years now.
4. Volvo Palo Alto has gotten world's better but yeah they still hesitate a bit about loaners and when I tried to set up pickup/drop off service it was a disaster to the point that it was easier for me to do it myself - I live not far from them and this was also the only way I would then know they saw or heard the same thing I did. I also got the 2 generations old S60 loaner - was it a white one, black interior, way too grumbly/whiny engine??
5. @Belac It's 100% our dealer laws messing it up. Even though the sales and service parts of any dealership are functionally independent, Volvo dealers in different parts are trying to use servicing as a kind of hostage in negotiating with Polestar USA to get a piece of the sales action. Since Polestar USA wants the no dealers sales model of Tesla, they've had to be very selective about who they partner with for the service side.
6. @norcal All that said, I still do love my car. I just avoid having to take it in for service.

 

How do I send my novel to Polestar CS? I have a lot to rant about to them as well.

Also, Polestar Space communication in general is ass. The two times I had my car in for service they never bothered to tell me what was going on or what they were doing to it or when it would be ready. They’ve sold less than 30K cars WORLDWIDE and this is the crappy service we’re getting. Imagine if they were selling more units. They can barely keep their ears above water.

Until they start making some radical changes to improve CS, I’m telling everyone and their brothers to avoid Polestar. That’s really not what you want with a new brand, especially one that has ambitions to be the next Porsche.

 

I 100% have to echo this same experience with the Polestar Service at Polestar Grapevine. The past month has been the absolute worst service I've ever had. It took me almost 2 weeks just to get someone at the service center to answer my phone call to even get my car scheduled. I wanted to bring it in to address some squeaking windows and a clicking noise coming from my front wheels. Figured this would be a simple enough fix. Beyond the awful experience trying to even contact the center, the first sign of trouble was that my service advisor never once greeted me or spoke to me during the drop off. I was passed between multiple employees who seemed to not even know what car I had. I requested a Polestar loaner but just like OP, was given an XC90. Figured it would be a week at most but I was wrong. That was on December 17th.

Month later and I still don't have my car and in this entire time I've only ONCE received any update from my service advisor. That was last Monday when I was told my car would hopefully be ready at the end of the week. 11 days later and silence. At multiple points I spent days trying to get an update and was given the run around and my service advisor is seemingly always "at lunch". Even when told I'd get a phone call back, I never do. To make matters worse, what ended up being CV axles needing to be replaced and some window strips for the squeaking turned into my car "not turning on" when the advisors finally got around to looking at it. I not once had that issue in my 7 months and 6k miles of ownership. Based on what I've read from others and checking my app, I believe the fact they left my car unlocked for the first 3 or 4 days contributed to the 12v battery dying and bricking the car. That is what has lead to this month long saga as they need to replace some module that is on back order. I was at least able to switch to a Polestar loaner on the 30th but I'm still frustrated at the lack of communication and knowledge from the staff. I plan on following up tomorrow but have little faith I'll get a reliable update.

 

How much of this is actually a Volvo service issue?

We went from a VW to a Volvo two years ago, and I noticed it’s much harder to communicate with Volvo service. They’re also not as responsive when the car is in service.

On the flip side, they don’t seem to try to upsell or overcharge for unnecessary stuff—which we’d seen a bit of with VW.

 

All of it is Volvo service.

Polestar has "Customer Support" No tech support or any other trained over the phone support and they have no shops to repair anything or independent dealerships so they 3rd party everything. What you are seeing is flaws in local dealerships. We might be treated worse because we arent their customers. Polestar only sells cars, they dont do anything else.

 

This is all very helpful. I'll be stopping at the Denver Service (McDonald's Volvo) this morning before my test drive and am going to see what answers I can get to prevent these communication issues.

 

Let me know how that goes. I have a P*2 PPP on order (I live in Boulder) that should be delivered soon. McDonald’s makes me a bit nervous too. I called parts yesterday to discuss swapping out to all season tires and the person on the phone just said, “I need the tire dimensions to help you.” It did not instill confidence.

 

My purchasing experience from Denver Polestar was a total farce. My wife was furious and would have walked away had the P*2 not impressed her as much as it did.

I wrote actually wrote P* board members(NA President, CEO, and CXO) it was so absurd, something I've never done before. They need to invest way more at POC.

 

Yeah, the purchase experience was fraught with issues, but we ended up with the car. As CoMtnPolestar said, if it had been my wife doing the buying we probably would have walked.
knock on wood, car has been fine so far. Wish it had Netflix but that is really not a "problem" is it?

 

Just had a horrible purchase experience at Polestar Marin. Like others of you we were impressed with the car and gritted our teeth through the purchase process. We were quoted a price when we test drove, which magically increased by $5K when we went to purchase. The lease payment changed 4 times as they attempted to give us an actual payment number. I had the impression that it was the first day of work for everyone there.

 

Newbie question - I've been assuming that I can order online (lease) and the configurator has worked well for me.

Are most people ordering at their showroom instead, and if so, is that a safer option?

 

We're in Denver too. Just have to power through all of the nonsense because we love the car so much. Whether it's a cross country round trip to NYC, multiple drives to the mountains for ski or running errands around town, we always feel great about our purchase even with all of the well documented issues.

Ditto on McDonald Volvo. Seems like they're learning about the vehicle on the fly.

 

Update: So I’m now entering my 3rd week without my car just because of a faulty weight sensor in the passenger seat. Not the dealership’s fault - it’s a supply chain problem. There’s a chance the part will come this week but not guaranteed.

I miss my car. I also miss my snow tires. And I am not fond of my XC90 loaner. Oh well, first-world problems. I shall persevere.

 

Next Update: Still waiting on the passenger weight sensor to ship from Polestar. At this point, the best-case scenario is that my car will be in for service for 4 full weeks for this repair. Chances are, it will bleed in to a 5th week. Bright side: no wear on my snow tires yet this winter.

 

Sorry dude. During my first 4 months I was without my car for 2 months. This whole system is not great.

 

I also had communication issues with Denver, and McDonald sent my registration docs 60 days late, which caused me to pay interest and late fees when registering. (Nebraska)

 

I think Bill42 misses his Polestar! It sounds like he realizes he made a mistake getting rid of it.

 

No mistake here. Don't miss it. Maybe you realize you made a mistake and are stuck with it.