Found this little gem on my $55K Model Y (opens in new tab)

(teslamotorsclub.com)

59 pointstobijkl5y ago24 comments

24 comments

The _way_ this was discovered is more interesting than the bodge itself, really. This was discovered due to the owner feeling that they needed to personally disassemble and reassemble their entire car to fix other, obvious manufacturing defects, _after_ the dealer damaged the vehicle while trying to fix them!

I think I'm also quite surprised that the strap holding the condenser has persisted in spite of its obvious manufacturing inefficiency / manual process overhead (albeit sometimes with less improvised edge protection) - it seems like a workaround for an inadequately designed retention system for the condenser to begin with.

appleiigs5y ago

The whole thread is interesting... As you said the mis-aligned panels, but also the variety of different materials used in the production patch job (faux wood, white plastic, clear plastic), like Tesla grabbed whatever they could find. Then some customers unwavering faith that Tesla can do no wrong despite evidence staring them in face.

fred_is_fred5y ago

> unwavering faith that Tesla can do no wrong despite evidence staring them in face.

This has disturbing analogs to all aspects of life in the last few years - what you believe has become more important than whether what you believe is right - even with evidence.

brianwawok5y ago

In a build next month I suspect it won’t be like this. It does not smell like a long term plan.

canada_dry5y ago

Were this found on a production model from one of the big 3 I'm guessing there would be calls for a massive recall, but because it's just part of the fluid/continuous-updates manufacturing process that Tesla has maintained, it certainly won't.

Personally, I am amazed that their factory process is this innovative/flexible - though I'd be pissed to find Home Depot material holding the insides of my car together like some last-minute-quick-fix!

anoncareer02125y ago

man this absolutely broke my heart when I read it, thanks, that was the wake up call I needed to take this stuff more seriously

abawany5y ago

This article was amusing while also providing more context as to why this may have happened, quoting Munro Associates: https://jalopnik.com/tesla-model-y-owners-have-found-home-de... .

teruakohatu5y ago

Can someone explain the panel gap issue mentioned in the linked article, and often referred to somewhere. Are the panel gaps defective (noisy, leaky or unsafe etc.) or just don't look very nice?

abawany5y ago

Here is an example: https://teslaownersonline.com/threads/panel-gaps.8168/#lg=at... - notice the unevenness? I would guess that not only does it look bad, it will eventually start to rub out paint or cause wear on the panel due to the unevenness.

brianwawok5y ago

Mostly looks unless extreme or in certain spots.

All cars have them. If you want to stare, you can find them in a brand new BMW or other well regarded brand. Just a little more common in Tesla I guess. (I have one that bothers me. I got Tesla to 75% fix it. Doesn’t really bother me now)

fred_is_fred5y ago

I don't understand why they couldn't fix it and why you didn't insist after paying a lot of money for a new car?

brianwawok5y ago

1) it’s on my trunk which is a moving part. I suspect the perfectly aligned setup doesn’t close or scrapes. I would rather have a trunk that closes perfect and looks a tad off, vs a trunk that doesn’t close right and looks perfect. I am a form over function guy

2) the car is far and away the best car I have ever owned or driven. If someone sitting behind me at a stoplight sees my trunk is 1mm off perfectly centered? Sorry not going to take my car back for that. At this point I don’t see myself buying a non-tesla again.

3) what car do you drive? Have you measured panel gaps with a caliper? If so, why haven’t you gotten them all adjusted to perfect?

2 more replies

zeeZ5y ago

One of the pieces posted looks like an edge protector used when shipping cargo that needs to be strapped down...

encom5y ago

I will already never buy a Tesla, because it's essentially spyware on wheels, and their criminally poor build quality makes me want to even less.

fortran775y ago

In all fairness, he didn't pay "full price". That would be their flagship model, the S.

ThisIsTheWay5y ago

What a lame excuse. No vehicle should ship with laminate edge detailing from a DIY store to be used as a brace to hold a component in place. That's just poor design and a lazy fix to hit your numbers, plain and simple.

teruakohatu5y ago

Probably poor supply chain rather than poor design. I doubt the designer mandated Home Depot™ #xxxxxxx detailing.

bri3d5y ago

That strap overall is a really manual labor intensive installation step, fairly risky in terms of failure, and mandates several additional (read: $$$) edge protection parts even without the bodged ones. I don't think it was intentional. I feel that while the wooden edging is a sign that production technicians were rushed and couldn't wait for a new batch of the specified part, the overall strap-supported condenser design is a sign that the engineering organization overall was also time crunched and couldn't respin the assembly.

Cerium5y ago

Yeah, but why molding? They are using steel strapping, why not standard strap corners? Eg: https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-3474/Strapping-Protec...

1 more reply

Meph5045y ago

The idea that they made a home depot run seems silly, if I had to guess, if you look at the breakroom in the telsa factor, you'll probably find some missing molding.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

24 comments

bri3d5y ago

appleiigs5y ago

fred_is_fred5y ago

> unwavering faith that Tesla can do no wrong despite evidence staring them in face.

This has disturbing analogs to all aspects of life in the last few years - what you believe has become more important than whether what you believe is right - even with evidence.

brianwawok5y ago

In a build next month I suspect it won’t be like this. It does not smell like a long term plan.

canada_dry5y ago

anoncareer02125y ago

man this absolutely broke my heart when I read it, thanks, that was the wake up call I needed to take this stuff more seriously

abawany5y ago

This article was amusing while also providing more context as to why this may have happened, quoting Munro Associates: https://jalopnik.com/tesla-model-y-owners-have-found-home-de... .

teruakohatu5y ago

Can someone explain the panel gap issue mentioned in the linked article, and often referred to somewhere. Are the panel gaps defective (noisy, leaky or unsafe etc.) or just don't look very nice?

abawany5y ago

brianwawok5y ago

Mostly looks unless extreme or in certain spots.

fred_is_fred5y ago

I don't understand why they couldn't fix it and why you didn't insist after paying a lot of money for a new car?

brianwawok5y ago

3) what car do you drive? Have you measured panel gaps with a caliper? If so, why haven’t you gotten them all adjusted to perfect?

2 more replies

zeeZ5y ago

One of the pieces posted looks like an edge protector used when shipping cargo that needs to be strapped down...

encom5y ago

I will already never buy a Tesla, because it's essentially spyware on wheels, and their criminally poor build quality makes me want to even less.

fortran775y ago

In all fairness, he didn't pay "full price". That would be their flagship model, the S.

ThisIsTheWay5y ago

teruakohatu5y ago

Probably poor supply chain rather than poor design. I doubt the designer mandated Home Depot™ #xxxxxxx detailing.

bri3d5y ago

Cerium5y ago

Yeah, but why molding? They are using steel strapping, why not standard strap corners? Eg: https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-3474/Strapping-Protec...

1 more reply

Meph5045y ago

The idea that they made a home depot run seems silly, if I had to guess, if you look at the breakroom in the telsa factor, you'll probably find some missing molding.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse