$9k pano fix...ouch

[Zextraterrestrial]

I was just quoted >$9k to have my pano fixed. It sticks when opening and it has had this issue for years...long before my warranty was over. I was just told it was from body flexing due to 'racing'.
I do drive just as hard on some of our public/ forest service roads & they have just as many curves as autocross so I doubt it is just from autocross

I read the warranty carefully before doing my first autocross. The original warranty had no language regarding racing of any kind and Elon essentially said to drive these cars like any other and show people what electrics can do. So I have done a bit of autocross, had a lot of fun doing it and would probably still do it if I knew it might F up my pano. I did not get the extended warranty since it specifically stated that damage from off road activities would not be covered. and I imagine that this would not be covered by the extended warranty if I had purchased one?

just venting & hopefully my pano will at least still do that too

 

[Az_Rael]

Ouch, that is the first price quote I have seen for an out of warranty pano. Is that to replace the whole thing?

When you had the problem while under warranty, did you bring it in to the SC? If you have it documented as an unresolved issue prior to the warranty expiring you might be able to argue that. Unless they have always denied fixing it under warranty for your usage.

 

[patrick40363]

keep it closed.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

that is a quote for a whole replacement including the 'cartridge' (?) ..all glass + all the roof parts

The first I realized there was a problem was when I was having a loud popping in the drivers A pillar when the roof seated in a closed position.I stopped by Fremont and a tech said it was a stripped gear in the motor. The roof had been sticky/ glitchy at random times 'forever' & I just thought that was due to changes in temperature when I was travelling or in cold winter times. This was before I ever raced my car in autocross. The sunroof software would let you put the roof open to 23% at that time and sometimes it would bounce between odd %'s and not ever go to where it was set, like it was sensing something in the way or whatever. I believe this is what caused the motor gear to get stressed and strip.
This summer I paid to have the rails and cables + motors replaced and upgraded to V2 in the summer but it still seemed to stick a bit after a couple of weeks.


Just getting my 5th annual and had them look at the roof again and was told racing could have caused it..i think it was bad from the start.
pretty much every other part was...why did they need to change to a V2 of the pano if the first design was good?

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

keep it closed.

rainy with dogs in a car...venting is a must!
at least it does that, + I can push the roof & assist it with my hand and it seems to work ok like that.
it's kind of like the way the autopilot works on my car...

 

[YNOT3]

Can’t wait for jalopnik and/or autoblog to write a snarky article about Tesla’s being damaged from autocross. Smh. Some of these service advisors will just think of any lame thing to say.

 

[bjornb]

told racing could have caused it..

Repeated acceleration and braking will cause the roof to fail?? Did they give you any details?
Sounds like they try to evade responsibility..
I can understand suspension and drivetrain components, but not pano roof problems.

 

[The Duke]

Nothing new in the car world.

My Pantera actually separated the body at the top of the windshield with autocross and hard street use. Racing Panteras had an overlay that cost me $700 back in '72. Ford did not cover that cost even though the car was still under warranty. Nicki has the solid roof.

 

[Nick B]

Very surprised by all of this, try to negotiate with them to lower the cost of the repair as it has been documented before the end of the warranty (are they able to see if this has been reported by you before the end of the warranty?). Do they absolutely need to replace the pano roof completely?

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

I don’t think autocross did anything to the pano. I had issues from day 1 although I really didn’t think much of it and assumed the sensitivity of the software made it glitchy, so many updates changed it over the years. Originally you could open or close the roof at any speed, now it is limited to under 75 or something. When I test drove an S in 2011 I closed the roof at>85 and it pinched the wind screen and didn’t close properly. There is a reason they changed the pano mechanism to a newer version and the front valence too.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Racing puts lots more stress on components that normal street driving, so it is not unusual for manufacturers to deny warranty claims for competitive driving or even driving schools on track surfaces.

Some manufacturers even target known racetracks, and if your GPS shows you driving on the track surface they can use that to deny you coverage.

I remember some Nissan GTR's being denied driveline coverage due to repeated 1/4 mile runs.

It is a risk owners take if driving on a track, or even exceeding speed limits on normal public roads.

I used to race Vipers, and Dodge was great at covering track failures for components like engines, brakes, transmissions and rear ends. It almost seemed like they wanted early owners to take them to the track for exposure and to get those compnents back for warranty service so they could improve future reliability.
More recently, especially after FIAT ownership, they seemed to deny any warranty claims they could to reduce costs. Owners got wind of this quickly and adapted to the new reality.

 

[gjunky]

I would escalate this to tesla (use form on the support page). They are suggesting this is caused by excessive flexing because of your driving but all your doors are still working fine? I am not an auto engineer but this sounds like an excuse. They should have replaced the roof when it was still under warranty anyway. I am sure Tesla will make this right.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

The surface that we do autocross on is really bad and super slippery unraveling asphalt mixed with some concrete patches. I turn much harder on our twisty highways and get way more body flex from the rolling superelevation changes. But I still don’t think that caused the problem. I think it was always there but so well lubed when it was new and at each service it was lubed enough that it worked but still strained the gears a bit until one of the teeth stripped.
It is all working pretty well as of right now. The motors, gears, rails and cables were all replaced and it was extra lubed up. I think I will just use it minimally/guide it with my hand if it seems to be straining at all.
Not the end of the world, still love my car.. even more than the D’s I’ve driven. Completely different feel

 

[EdisonR]

How did they get to know you were racing?

 

[scole04]

I had my complete pano with cassette replaced under warranty. I used it every chance i get and guess i reached my limit. 9k is nuts.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

I had my complete pano with cassette replaced under warranty. I used it every chance i get and guess i reached my limit. 9k is nuts.

I used mine quite a bit especially with my dogs in the car

The 9K almost sounds to me like a random price the Tech made up because they don't really want to do it. He said ~10 hrs of labor so I'm not sure how parts can cost that much?
I should add that I opened and closed my pano yesterday for the first time after getting my car back from service and it is smooth and had no problems so it is god for now at least.
They replaced most of the pano parts besides the cartridge at least twice and upgraded most to the version 2 pano. I think they did the motors and cables 3 times (twice on one attempt because the motors on each side didn't sync with each other). It's not like they didn't really try to fix it without a complete replacement. I only paid $1k of the quoted $2,500 for all of the work they did since they mis quoted the cost and only included one side but did both sides + more.

 

[cmckie]

I had my entire pano replaced under warranty during a 50K mile service, and it hasn't been the same since. The old pano (2012) was not working right, so the technicians said that a new pano (with a different design) should be installed (free... and hey, it's "new").

What a mistake. Now, there's significantly more wind noise with the roof closed, and at higher speeds, you can hear air gushing in as if I was driving a convertible. Took it in and they made a few minor adjustments (basically added tape). Meh... it helped a little, but in hindsight, I wish I had kept the original pano and put up with the erratic behavior.

 

[mkspeedr]

Yikes - $9k is a Miata and tires for 5 seasons.

Maybe a Miata and an EV conversion.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

I had my entire pano replaced under warranty during a 50K mile service, and it hasn't been the same since. The old pano (2012) was not working right, so the technicians said that a new pano (with a different design) should be installed (free... and hey, it's "new").

What a mistake. Now, there's significantly more wind noise with the roof closed, and at higher speeds, you can hear air gushing in as if I was driving a convertible. Took it in and they made a few minor adjustments (basically added tape). Meh... it helped a little, but in hindsight, I wish I had kept the original pano and put up with the erratic behavior.

that kind of sucks, sorry
-good to know & I am probably glad they didn't do it for me.
My roof is really quiet besides a little squeak along the front seal when it pretty cold out + it seems to be working fantastically right now. Opened and closed it at lunch and it was smooth

 

[Drivesolo]

Out of curiosity, how did the service center know you were using it in autocross?