Another Panel Gap Issue March 2023 delivery Austin Build

[nyevtesylr]

New Model Y Austin build with tail gate /trunk panel gaps ,Tesla refuses to acknowledge citing within tolerance.

Like the technology but do not like the way they are treating us as a customer after delivery.

My initial feel is they have a long way to go before they are as good as a conventional dealership for after sales.

Having said that I need help with the pictures I attached of the trunk. Clearly to my eye the gap is too wide.

Measures 5.5mm on the left side and right side measures 2.6mm. Tesla SC said they cannot do much about this . Reported within 7 days and under 100 miles.

It seems unreasonable that they cannot fix it. What options do I have , appreciate your help and suggestions .

It is like we need Tesla more than they need us - which will change . I encourage competition so no single company takes anyone for a ride.

Thank you All in advance.

 

[ronmis]

My Austin build has the exact same issue, I picked it up March 24th. They told me it is within spec and can’t do anything about it. Did they fix yours? Also the left side of the truck sticks out more when closed for my car.

 

[nyevtesylr]

They did not fix unfortunately. But I did escalate it through customer service. It is obvious they did a crappy job with their qa for the sake of numbers. Same answer , within Tesla specs . Make sure to report within 100 miles and document in case you want to bring this up later. I have an appointment later this month , trying a second time.

 

[E90alex]

Looks like the hatch is aligned well with the rear quarter panels. If they try to even the panel gap with the bumper and tail lights then it will be misaligned with the quarter panels since the only way they can try to adjust that is shifting the hatch over.

TLDR that’s just how it’s going to be. Can’t really expect more from Tesla build quality unfortunately. As long as it’s not leaking or falling off, it’s “within spec”.

 

[Brown1428]

Looks like the hatch is aligned well with the rear quarter panels. If they try to even the panel gap with the bumper and tail lights then it will be misaligned with the quarter panels since the only way they can try to adjust that is shifting the hatch over.

TLDR that’s just how it’s going to be. Can’t really expect more from Tesla build quality unfortunately. As long as it’s not leaking or falling off, it’s “within spec”.

This. I noticed the same thing. The reason Tesla is saying they can’t do anything is because they can’t.

The mistake I see the uninitiated make often is to assume the suspect panel has been built to print and is simply misaligned. They don’t consider the possibility that the panel simply isn’t built to print, or that it’s the adjacent panels that are misaligned or malformed, or that the sub-structure isn’t square, etc, etc. Sometimes you get an example so bad that it simply can’t be fixed.

I say all of this as a fellow traveler, as someone who has spent countless hours in the garage trying to align my own panels, doors, and hoods. There are people who know about the Tesla lottery and people don’t. Now you know. Welcome to the family, we’re a tight knit community, and our membership grows with each passing day.

 

[RichBenn]

It cost more to fix defects after shipment than before. Plus it reduces sales, as public perception of quality decreases. More cost, less revenue. Is Musk listening?

 

[nyevtesylr]

I was told that’s how the cars are built. Lol. Not much we can do about it and we need to get along. It’s a clear act of covering up what they don’t intend to focus. they are in growth mode and only numbers matter. I really like the car though , just wished they cared about appearance.
Advise to others : make sure you inspect before signing the acceptance and if you are not happy , walk away.
Excitement to pick one up after the wait can come in the way. That’s what did it for me.

 

[cwerdna]

It cost more to fix defects after shipment than before. Plus it reduces sales, as public perception of quality decreases. More cost, less revenue. Is Musk listening?

He's still got plenty of sales. Once it starts affecting them and there's a slowdown, he might care...

As I've said, before, the feedback loop on many things at Tesla is broken. Many things are ignored or placed on low priority because they've got plenty of customers clamoring and they have plenty of pricing power too, helped by the qualification for Federal tax credit while many competitors have been hosed by that.

And, Tesla's reduced the friction of buying for many folks vs. dealing with stealerships, their games and markups.

At my work, of the plug-in vehicles that show up, it's dominated by Teslas. Ditto for the ones that get added to our EV/PHEV registry for plug sharing.

 

[RichBenn]

He's still got plenty of sales. Once it starts affecting them and there's a slowdown, he might care...

As I've said, before, the feedback loop on many things at Tesla is broken. Many things are ignored or placed on low priority because they've got plenty of customers clamoring and they have plenty of pricing power too, helped by the qualification for Federal tax credit while many competitors have been hosed by that.

And, Tesla's reduced the friction of buying for many folks vs. dealing with stealerships, their games and markups.

At my work, of the plug-in vehicles that show up, it's dominated by Teslas. Ditto for the ones that get added to our EV/PHEV registry for plug sharing.

Tesla is spending a bunch in the redesigns to eliminate parts cost; labor cost reductions are low hanging fruit and cost less Than revamping the production line to save 5 bucks here and there on lower cost parts.ww

Likely, Musk isn’t aware of how prevalent fixes at the service centers are.

 

[VernCamper]

Tesla is spending a bunch in the redesigns to eliminate parts cost; labor cost reductions are low hanging fruit and cost less Than revamping the production line to save 5 bucks here and there on lower cost parts.ww

Likely, Musk isn’t aware of how prevalent fixes at the service centers are.

Tesla gets lots of criticism on these forums, but the story is remarkable. Think about it! In less than 15 years he has designed and put into production an electric car which nearly drives its-self, and the Model Y sold more cars first quarter this year than any other car in the world. The giants, GM, Ford, itc., had the same problems. The media and ice critics focus on the fatals but have spent little time calculating lives saved by some of the Tesla safety features which more than likely offset the fatals.

 

[GOVA]

fix what?

 

[richyrich]

fix what?

Yeah I gotta be honest I don't see anything I'd worry about. Tesla is certainly a long way from perfect in this area but I think people are way over-examining their cars. I've seen plenty of issues spotted when people go scrutinize vehicles on other brand lots. I've bought a lot of cars in my time and can't say I ever checked for panel gaps or alignment, just drove the things and enjoyed them.

 

[cwerdna]

Tesla is spending a bunch in the redesigns to eliminate parts cost; labor cost reductions are low hanging fruit and cost less Than revamping the production line to save 5 bucks here and there on lower cost parts.ww

Likely, Musk isn’t aware of how prevalent fixes at the service centers are.

The above isn't Tesla specific. I wish what I read were still online or easier to find but it mentioned that Toyota would take apart even horns to figure out how to reduce their cost.

Toyota Managing Suppliers - Toyota Management System
"In July 2000, Toyota launched the Construction of Cost Competitiveness in the 21st Century program, also known as CCC21. That initiative focused on cutting the purchasing costs of 170 major components. Katsuaki Watanabe, Toyota’s president and CEO, spearheaded this effort because he was then a purchasing specialist. This program brought together engineers from Toyota and the parts suppliers, eliminating unnecessary costs with methods such as standardizing parts across the entire Toyota range or reducing the number of components required to make a part. For example, reducing the parts in a horn from 28 to 22 led to a 40 percent savings in cost. In another example, Toyota helped to improve suppliers’ economies of scale by approving 3 inside hand grips, down from 35. At the end of five years, the program led to a total savings of US$9 billion."

"One key coordination mechanism used at Toyota is the role of supplier guest engineers at Toyota’s facility. The guest engineer is typically a specialist, employed by the supplier, who resides in the OEM’s (Toyota’s) organization. The role of this engineer is to provide tacit knowledge during product development and thus facilitate integration of the supplier’s expertise with the OEM’s needs.

The common approach is for suppliers to send its design engineers to Toyota to work for two to three years prior to product launch. After product manufacturing starts, the design engineers return to their company and production engineers are sent to the OEM. Production engineers ensure that components are assembled correctly in the vehicle. They also report problems, suggest design changes for easier manufacture, and propose approaches for cost reduction. Finally, the supplier development engineer’s role is to see to it that kaizen processes are implemented.

Significantly, Toyota had 5 design engineers per supplier while General Motors had 0.2 guest engineers per supplier."

Toyota with their production system has been at it reducing waste for many decades. Maybe skim Toyota Production System | Vorne under:
"The Seven Categories of Muda (Waste)
Once waste (“muda” in Japanese) has been identified, it can then be eliminated. The Toyota Production System further defines waste as activities that consume time, resources, and/or space but do not add value. Tools to eliminate waste have evolved around the seven most common areas of waste."

Seems like a lot of Tesla fans like to bring up things that they believe are new that others have been doing for decades.

In less than 15 years he has designed and put into production an electric car

Tesla was founded in 2003.

 

[Midpack]

Yeah I gotta be honest I don't see anything I'd worry about. Tesla is certainly a long way from perfect in this area but I think people are way over-examining their cars. I've seen plenty of issues spotted when people go scrutinize vehicles on other brand lots. I've bought a lot of cars in my time and can't say I ever checked for panel gaps or alignment, just drove the things and enjoyed them.

+1. Examining panel gaps has gotten out of hand with Tesla buyers. Most mainstream carmakers don’t get panel gaps perfect either, and it wasn’t a thing to inspect/reject on delivery before Tesla buyers made it a thing. That said, Tesla probably brought this on themselves with truly atrocious and more frequent panel gaps (that wouldn’t have passed at legacy auto) several years ago. Its going to take a long time for that to go away.

Some Tesla buyers seem to think Tesla is obligated to address any and every issue they want, that’s not sustainable. Quality varies on cars, and there have to be defined limits on what’s in spec and what’s not - the customer does not get to decide. Again, Tesla probably brought this on themselves as they were able to be more accommodating when all they sold was MS and MX, low volume and high prices. As has been widely discussed here, M3 and MY cost about the same as the average car these days. You’re not paying MS/X prices so you’re not going to get the same experience.

 

[BreatheEasier]

Agree. I've had panel gaps issues on cars much more expensive I've owned than my MYLR. And seldomly would they correct, and when I did have a few corrected, they made it worse. Manufacturers make the news every month for recalls, fires, steering issues, etc. and barely any press coverage. No manufacturer gets press coverage when when a driver uses ACC or simple cruise control and falls asleep at the wheel and gets in an accident? Nope. But in a Tesla, it is national news because it MUST be FSD or autopilot causing havoc. The scrutiny that Tesla receives is unprecedented.

 

[RichBenn]

I have a 2020 Subaru Outback I bought new for well under $30K. NO panel gaps. No problems. If a cheap car makers can do it….

It’s difficult if not impossible to determine initial quality from anecdotal evidence. Possibly JDPowers, but if these things are fixed immediately by the service center, customers “may” be rating initial quality good. It just “seems” like in the MY waiting rooms that there are a lot of reports of problems when people pick them up. I’ve not experienced that in my last 2 new cars.

 

[buzzia]

I have a 2020 Subaru Outback I bought new for well under $30K. NO panel gaps. No problems. If a cheap car makers can do it….

It’s difficult if not impossible to determine initial quality from anecdotal evidence. Possibly JDPowers, but if these things are fixed immediately by the service center, customers “may” be rating initial quality good. It just “seems” like in the MY waiting rooms that there are a lot of reports of problems when people pick them up. I’ve not experienced that in my last 2 new cars.

I think it's being overblown but on the other hand it's a little ridiculous they can't get this piece right. I've had 20+ cars in my lifetime and the only ones I ever saw with body issues were both mid-late 80's F-Body's that had leaking T-Tops from day one. Some of the Honda/Nissan's I bought had paint issues(orange peel) but never uneven body gaps that were noticeable.

 

[Midpack]

Subarus have panel gap issues like any car, though Tesla may be/have been worse - which would explain why some people are fixated on the issue. I owned a 2018 Outback for 3+ years and it wasn’t perfect by any means, just a decent car. 2018 Outback "fit and finish" issues - body...

 

[Brown1428]

+1. Examining panel gaps has gotten out of hand with Tesla buyers. Most mainstream carmakers don’t get panel gaps perfect either, and it wasn’t a thing to inspect/reject on delivery before Tesla buyers made it a thing. That said, Tesla probably brought this on themselves with truly atrocious and more frequent panel gaps (that wouldn’t have passed at legacy auto) several years ago. Its going to take a long time for that to go away.

Some Tesla buyers seem to think Tesla is obligated to address any and every issue they want, that’s not sustainable. Quality varies on cars, and there have to be defined limits on what’s in spec and what’s not - the customer does not get to decide. Again, Tesla probably brought this on themselves as they were able to be more accommodating when all they sold was MS and MX, low volume and high prices. As has been widely discussed here, M3 and MY cost about the same as the average car these days. You’re not paying MS/X prices so you’re not going to get the same experience.

I hear this a lot when I talk of my experiences with Tesla and panel gaps. Typically some variation of “you’re too picky” or “just enjoy the car”. Guys, the car door latch doesn’t align with the striker and the door doesn’t seal. I can hear road noise as if I’m in a go kart and water is leaking into the cabin. These aren’t trivial concerns. Like all of you I’ve owned other brands and I’d challenge any one of you to provide one example where the doors on your car were hung that badly.

 

[richyrich]

I hear this a lot when I talk of my experiences with Tesla and panel gaps. Typically some variation of “you’re too picky” or “just enjoy the car”. Guys, the car door latch doesn’t align with the striker and the door doesn’t seal. I can hear road noise as if I’m in a go kart and water is leaking into the cabin. These aren’t trivial concerns. Like all of you I’ve owned other brands and I’d challenge any one of you to provide one example where the doors on your car were hung that badly.

So raise a ticket through the app. The door not aligning with the striker is not "within spec", obviously.