2022 Model 3 LR - Hit a deer

[Jyates17]

Hey folks,

So tonight my wife was driving home on the interstate going 70 mph when a buck came out of nowhere and blasted the front portion of the driver side and the driver side door. Dented fairly well on the fender and door. The body of the door appears to be dented out so the door handle sinks into the door. Also the side view mirror won’t unfold. Car still drives fine and wife is all good - no injuries. Car only has 631 mi on it as I got it Feb 26th . The pics I have don’t really do the damage justice, it’s just dark and the lighting in my garage sucks. I don’t believe the SC does body work so I have been googling about where to get body work done and it would appear there isn’t any place close by, but I might be missing something. I am located in Erie, Pa. Any suggestions or knowledge on Tesla approved body shops in the nearby area would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[dmurphy]

Before you do anything, be sure to call your insurance company. That’ll be a comprehensive claim since it’s clear that was an animal accident. The deer hair in the car will work greatly in your favor. Because it’s comprehensive and an animal claim, it shouldn’t have any impact on your insurance premiums. Let them pay to fix it right.

Beyond that, a list of Tesla approved body shops can be found here: Collision Support | Tesla

Best of luck!! These things happen, unfortunately.

 

[Jyates17]

Before you do anything, be sure to call your insurance company. That’ll be a comprehensive claim since it’s clear that was an animal accident. The deer hair in the car will work greatly in your favor. Because it’s comprehensive and an animal claim, it shouldn’t have any impact on your insurance premiums. Let them pay to fix it right.

Beyond that, a list of Tesla approved body shops can be found here: Collision Support | Tesla

Best of luck!! These things happen, unfortunately.

Thanks for the feedback! Insurance called and claim will be started. Yea I opted to not remove the hair for that very reason haha.

 

[BigNick]

Hey folks,

So tonight my wife was driving home on the interstate going 70 mph when a buck came out of nowhere and blasted the front portion of the driver side and the driver side door. Dented fairly well on the fender and door. The body of the door appears to be dented out so the door handle sinks into the door. Also the side view mirror won’t unfold. Car still drives fine and wife is all good - no injuries. Car only has 631 mi on it as I got it Feb 26th . The pics I have don’t really do the damage justice, it’s just dark and the lighting in my garage sucks. I don’t believe the SC does body work so I have been googling about where to get body work done and it would appear there isn’t any place close by, but I might be missing something. I am located in Erie, Pa. Any suggestions or knowledge on Tesla approved body shops in the nearby area would be appreciated. Thanks!

Buy a shotgun, rifle, muzzleloader, and compound bow. Take your bag limit for each season and enjoy the delicious meat as revenge. Helluva lot cheaper than beef these days.

There are far too many deer in PA, and their predators (wolves, mountain lions, bears, etc) were removed from most areas due to their human threat potential. So it's up to humans to control the deer population now.

 

[Jyates17]

Buy a shotgun, rifle, muzzleloader, and compound bow. Take your bag limit for each season and enjoy the delicious meat as revenge. Helluva lot cheaper than beef these days.

There are far too many deer in PA, and their predators (wolves, mountain lions, bears, etc) were removed from most areas due to their human threat potential. So it's up to humans to control the deer population now.

I literally just told my buddy if there were ever a time I wanted to get a hunting license it would be now. I am sure in the future Tesla will have built in 12 gauges to shoot off any animals trying to jump in front

 

[Joe-FV]

How did it turn out? Any issues getting parts for the repair?
I was finishing an awesome day on the road in my Y-performance and hit a deer just forty miles from home. This is killing me.

 

[SMAlset]

Sorry to see both of your deer encounters. Really stings too with so few miles on the car. You guys aren’t alone though as I’ve read about a number of deer impacts. At 70mph that was some hit and sure frightening for the wife. Glad the car protected everyone while taking the brunt of it. BTW the most unusual accident with an animal running out and hitting one’s Tesla was from a peacock. Sure the adjuster had fun thinking about that one. Car’s camera captured it. Did you guys have saved video as well?

I guess in deer country a deer guard might come in handy but a Cybertruck would be the more stylish choice.

 

[BigNick]

The built-in PWS (for cars that have it) - could it be programmed to make a critter-deterring noise at higher speeds, or is the speaker output level worthless for this purpose (poor frequency response, insufficient volume, etc)? Or would it just harm every dog within range?

 

[J_Nixon]

I'll join the club! Looks like the common denominator here is the MSM paint. Just hit a small deer with my 2021 Model 3 LR at about 45/50 MPH on my way home this afternoon. Living in Maine, it's really only a matter of time before this happens. The deer came out of nowhere so fast. Hopefully my insurance company will cooperate with me. Some kids driving behind me saw the whole thing and took the liberty to call 911. Initially, this annoyed me because it meant I had to sit around and wait for the Sheriff to show up. It may have been a blessing in disguise, though, as I now have a witness for insurance purposes and an incident report. Like and absolute IDIOT, I did not save the dash cam footage in time.

 

[KenC]

I'll join the club! Looks like the common denominator here is the MSM paint. Just hit a small deer with my 2021 Model 3 LR at about 45/50 MPH on my way home this afternoon. Living in Maine, it's really only a matter of time before this happens. The deer came out of nowhere so fast. Hopefully my insurance company will cooperate with me. Some kids driving behind me saw the whole thing and took the liberty to call 911. Initially, this annoyed me because it meant I had to sit around and wait for the Sheriff to show up. It may have been a blessing in disguise, though, as I now have a witness for insurance purposes and an incident report. Like and absolute IDIOT, I did not save the dash cam footage in time.

I'm in Maine. I've had two deer hit me in 40+yrs of driving here, and I have LibertyMutual. No witnesses and no issues whatsoever with filing a claim. I mean, there's deer hair and blood on the car! Sometimes, there's even a carcass.

 

[afadeev]

I'll join the club! Looks like the common denominator here is the MSM paint. Just hit a small deer with my 2021 Model 3 LR at about 45/50 MPH on my way home this afternoon. Living in Maine, it's really only a matter of time before this happens. The deer came out of nowhere so fast. Hopefully my insurance company will cooperate with me.

Unfortunately, deer are an extra hazard this time of the year (early fall) in NE.
Just be careful out there!

Some kids driving behind me saw the whole thing and took the liberty to call 911. Initially, this annoyed me because it meant I had to sit around and wait for the Sheriff to show up. It may have been a blessing in disguise, though, as I now have a witness for insurance purposes and an incident report.

You don't need a witness for a deer accident.
Unless, that is, you have reason to suspect that the deer's family will be coming after you, claiming that you went off-road hunting Bambi in your TM3.

Like and absolute IDIOT, I did not save the dash cam footage in time.

Again, totally useless and unnecessary.
No insurance company will want to be bothered with your footage. It's worthless.

Just call the insurance company, and get the claim (comprehensive) process started. Then look for a Tesla-blessed body shop, and get on their repair wait-list. Be prepared to be on that list for 1-3 months (varies by location).
If your car is drivable, it's all good. If not, I hope you have a 2nd car, or a friend who will loan one to you. The insurance rental reimbursement is typically limited to 7-30 days (varies by insurance).

Good luck,
a

 

[Joe-FV]

A week and a half in with the Y and I have an estimate from State Farm (10k), shop says they will start work Monday.
Not having it is the worst. I have two EVs but I’ve never enjoyed another car as much as I have this one. Hoping for a short repair time.

 

[Joe-FV]

Update, in case it helps others in this situation. This week marked six weeks since the MYP has been in the shop. They have been awaiting the final two parts that will allow it to be put back together. Although in service mode, I was able to see that the car was brought into the shop Friday and what appears to be some activity all afternoon. Hoping for good news soon.

 

[J_Nixon]

Update, in case it helps others in this situation. This week marked six weeks since the MYP has been in the shop. They have been awaiting the final two parts that will allow it to be put back together. Although in service mode, I was able to see that the car was brought into the shop Friday and what appears to be some activity all afternoon. Hoping for good news soon.

Nice. I’m not even able to get my M3LR in the shop until mid-January. Hit the deer in September. So I’ve been paying to insure a car that I can’t even drive. I went out and bought a new Volvo in the meantime. I’ll have a Model 3 for sale sometime around next spring when it’s finally fixed..

 

[Quamera]

Does anyone know whether FSD (or even autopilot) makes any attempt at avoiding wildlife. We only have a few deer in Australia but kangaroos are widespread in non urban areas and they frequently impact vehicles.
Obviously any evasive manoeuvre is limited by the dynamic ability of the vehicle and restricted by other traffic and obstacles but a computer can react much faster and with better predictive abilities than a human so in theory a Tesla should be able to dodge some animal impacts saving insurance claims and the time wasted for repairs.

 

[derotam]

Yep, I had a deer decide to bounce off and down the side of my Obsidion Black 2018 Model 3 LR a couple weeks after I got the car in 2018. I think that was about $4k in repairs. Front quarter panel damaged, front door dented, rear door scuffed. Fun times!

 

[KenC]

Does anyone know whether FSD (or even autopilot) makes any attempt at avoiding wildlife. We only have a few deer in Australia but kangaroos are widespread in non urban areas and they frequently impact vehicles.
Obviously any evasive manoeuvre is limited by the dynamic ability of the vehicle and restricted by other traffic and obstacles but a computer can react much faster and with better predictive abilities than a human so in theory a Tesla should be able to dodge some animal impacts saving insurance claims and the time wasted for repairs.

I'd look at some of the FSD beta videos with the object based system, as they, in theory, would be more likely to stop for a human-sized object in the road. I think I saw one testing small boxes which didn't go as well as expected.

Deer and similar animals are difficult to avoid, because they're fast, and they can run into you, just as easily as you can run into them. Both deer I've hit in 40yrs have run into me, even though I took evasive action. In hindsight the best strategy is to stop and let them do what they are doing.

 

[Quamera]

I'd look at some of the FSD beta videos with the object based system, as they, in theory, would be more likely to stop for a human-sized object in the road. I think I saw one testing small boxes which didn't go as well as expected.

Deer and similar animals are difficult to avoid, because they're fast, and they can run into you, just as easily as you can run into them. Both deer I've hit in 40yrs have run into me, even though I took evasive action. In hindsight the best strategy is to stop and let them do what they are doing.

Yes, I would agree that stopping or at least slowing down as much as possible is the best and safest human option and what we do already for roos over here. I was wondering whether the Tesla's cameras would detect an animal sooner especially in low light conditions and be able to stop with more time to spare than a human.

Sometimes on long deserted roads I will admit to being less than fully alert too which obviously affects reaction times, a computer doesn't have that problem.

Then there would be a rare case where an animal's trajectory would result in it running into the side of the car, if you braked you might end up running into it instead which would do more damage but accelerating could cause the animal to pass harmlessly (for you and it) behind the car. A computer should be better at making that split second decision on whether to brake or accelerate than a human.

 

[Joe-FV]

Nice. I’m not even able to get my M3LR in the shop until mid-January. Hit the deer in September. So I’ve been paying to insure a car that I can’t even drive. I went out and bought a new Volvo in the meantime. I’ll have a Model 3 for sale sometime around next spring when it’s finally fixed..

Picked it up Friday, seven weeks after hitting the deer, six weeks to the day since it arrived at the shop that did the repair. While it felt like an eternity I think we were fortunate to have used this shop and gotten it back much faster than other in a similar position.
Car looks and drives great.
I stopped by the shop last week and everything was done, just waiting on a headlight—two to three more weeks. Apparently they went to the local service center the following day and were able to get one there; a day later called to say it’s ready.
Great guys at Burleighs body shop in Richmond Virginia. They had a shop full of Teslas and a big crew working on nearly all of them.

 

[J_Nixon]

Picked it up Friday, seven weeks after hitting the deer, six weeks to the day since it arrived at the shop that did the repair. While it felt like an eternity I think we were fortunate to have used this shop and gotten it back much faster than other in a similar position.
Car looks and drives great.
I stopped by the shop last week and everything was done, just waiting on a headlight—two to three more weeks. Apparently they went to the local service center the following day and were able to get one there; a day later called to say it’s ready.
Great guys at Burleighs body shop in Richmond Virginia. They had a shop full of Teslas and a big crew working on nearly all of them.

Nice! I’m glad it all worked out for you and your wait is finally over! There is only one certified Tesla Body Shop in Maine that would even take me in so I was kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place with my options. I drive about 50,000 miles a year and not having to worry about charging for these past few months has actually been a bit of an unexpected relief.