Yesterday I was driving a rental model 3 on a windy day, going about 70mph on the highway. All of a sudden I heard a loud wind noise, figuring it was just a windy day. Then a bolt flies across the highway, thinking that was road debris. Then another bolt flew across the highway again, so I pulled over and saw the undercarriage was ripping off. This seems like a defect and wondering if this has happened to anyone. I’m just hoping the rental company doesn’t charge me.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
2023 model 3 undercarriage bolts fell out
- Thread starter Adean
- Start date
That's not "undercarriage", it's a flimsy plastic tray falling off due to previous encounters with immovable objects.
Not unusual, for a rental beater.
I don't see any signs of manufacturing defect, other than the fact that fragile plastic under-shields can't survive impacts with parking curbs and rocks. On any car.
As to rental company eating cost of repairs - good luck with that.
My guess would be that if they see the damage upon vehicle return, they will nickel and dime you. If they don't, they won't.
Duck tape is your friend.
HTH,
a
Last edited:
Not sure how you can see a bolt flying across the highway while driving 70mph, behind you. The bolt is behind you, right? My eyesight cannot see something that small and ID what it is, going at that speed looking in a mirror.
The plastic undertray, gets scraped by renters, to the point that it can tear and flap around. I'm wondering if the one pictured is already a replacement as it has some diamond-patterned lines on it. Mine didn't. Then again, I suppose your rental model is newer than my 2018, so maybe it's the current pattern.
You can see how much it's been rubbing.
All the bolts are in place as shown in the photo, the plastic undertray finally ripped apart after being driven into curbs aren other objects over time and wore thin.
It's absolutely not a manufacturing defect, but careless driving and wear and tear.
Gauss Guzzler
Safety Score = 42
Like many low sports sedans, the Model 3 will scrape the front underside on steep driveways and tends to do so right near the bolts securing the corners of that plastic aero shield. Your pic shows the bolts fully intact, but the shield has been worn all the way thru by hundreds of driveway scrapings.
This is what that area is supposed to look like (note the wear near both coner bolts):
This is what that area is supposed to look like (note the wear near both coner bolts):
I actually thought it was bolts from my tire as I saw it on my drivers side flying to the left, not behind me. Saw the same thing twice and made me nervous thinking it was from my where
Xenoilphobe
Well-Known Member
That's and easy fix and could be covered by your comprehensive insurance coverage, if in fact something struck the underside of the car while you were driving down the road. Hell this could have happened by driving over a retreaded tire debris on the road.
Same thing happened to me twice, one time it broke the undertray. I replaced it myself for $90.
It's probably too cheap of an item and too easy a fix to go through insurance, unless somehow you have no deductable or are unable to get under the car to swap out the panel.
Xenoilphobe
Well-Known Member
Me too, it's amazing what you can do with some industrial sized zip ties and 200 MPH duct tape, JB Weld and closed cell foam... my wife jokes that all my home projects start out with two drywall screws and $50 and ten minutes and I can pretty much fix anything. Hell even the Tesla front suspension was easy to replace. (lower control arm).
Your car just needs a couple of stitches...
medium.com
Your car just needs a couple of stitches...
25 Survival Uses for Zip Ties
There’s more to zip than meets the tie. No? Let me try another one on you. Tie me a river? Zipper me timbers? Joke aside, let's zip in.
medium.com
Last edited:
Similar threads
