- A virtually new VinFast VF 8 left a reviewer stranded when it bricked itself.
- VinFast’s out-of-state service choices seem like extraordinarily restricted.
- Whereas they thought of towing the automobile 500 miles to the closest service heart, the difficulty ultimately resolved itself.
VinFast has been providing some nice lease offers on its VF 8 electrical SUV, which can have some consumers tempted. However should you dwell greater than 100 miles from a VinFast retailer, our associates at Out Of Spec have a cautionary story of their latest video.
Their VinFast VF 8—which they received utilizing a type of loopy lease offers—left Jordan stranded, 500 miles from the closest service heart. The automobile was experiencing bizarre battery drain and warning lights, with Jordan suggesting it could not totally flip off. He plugged it right into a Stage 2 charger to replenish the drained battery. When he pulled it off the charger, the VF 8 would not go into gear. The A/C would not work. It would not flip all the way in which off. The automobile was caught.
Fortunately, it nonetheless allowed Jordan to shift it into impartial, so he was capable of roll it out of the charging spot. However that also left him with no experience house. A pal took care of him, and he drove again the subsequent day to assault the difficulty. He began by unplugging the 12-volt battery, hoping that will set off a tough restart of the automobile. However it did not appear to do something. Regardless of the automobile was doing, it might maintain it on the excessive voltage battery alone.
He reached out to VinFast for assist, and located he was principally out of luck. The individual he spoke to could not assist, and VinFast did not have a “Physician”—its time period for technician—obtainable to talk to him that day. The automobile has roadside help included, however with the closest service heart 500 miles away, they would not pay for that type of distance. No Third-party mechanics can work on the automobile or diagnose it, both. The one choices had been both to tow it to VinFast themselves or have VinFast fly out a technician, however Out Of Spec wasn’t certain if that was a proposal obtainable to common clients, or harm management from company as a result of Out Of Spec is an EV evaluate channel with a big viewers.
Jordan was lastly capable of speak to a technician on day 3—the day after his first contact with VinFast company—who urged yanking a fundamental fuse to drive the automobile to reset, as disconnecting the 12-volt battery does not truly do this. Whereas ready Jordan had plugged the automobile again into the charger. When he went to unplug it and take a look at the technician’s suggestion, he discovered that the automobile had mounted itself. The litany of error codes was gone from the sprint.
Its cooling system nonetheless displayed a fault and the A/C would not go on, however after an influence cycle that error cleared, too. The VinFast was drivable. The technician mentioned it’d nonetheless want to go to a service heart to “recalibrate” the 12-volt battery, no matter meaning, which is a tall ask when it requires a 500-mile journey. Particularly for a random fault in an almost-new automobile.
It is a cautionary story for anybody who desires to personal a VinFast. I assume most consumers dwell inside an affordable distance of a VinFast service heart—I do not assume regular People are driving 500 miles to purchase a VinFast—but when they ever highway journey it to a state the place VinFast does not do enterprise, it appears like VinFast does not have many choices for them. It is also a reminder that, as we transfer into the EV and software-defined autos period, we’d like impartial retailers to have entry to instruments that may restore these autos. In VinFast’s case, not solely are you able to not service the automobile independently, however you additionally should go to a service heart for software program updates. Over-the-air updates, although promised, nonetheless aren’t obtainable.
That is a troublesome proposition for a automobile with a foul historical past of software program bugs and technical issues. Even should you can rating an affordable lease deal, it will not be price it.
