Any DIY types out there?

[RichBenn]

As I wait for my model Y to be delivered, I’m a little amazed at how few people on these forums cannot fathom changing or rotating their own tires, putting on a roof rack, or (heaven forbid) installing their own hitch. Most of these people seem to advise other that ALL these things MUST be purchased and installed by Tesla, EVEN though they have never wrenched and Tesla doesn’t even make any of these things!

I get there is pretty much nothing one is going to do with the power train, display, which by their design reduces servicing costs greatly. That’s one of the advantages of going electric. But the things I mentioned are not rocket science. Doing it yourself(if one prepares) is an easy way to ensure it’s done right and save money. Anyone else feel the same way?

 

[ewoodrick]

One of the reasons why people don't think about changing or rotating tires, is that it is so rare and so cheap to get someone else to do it.
(If you are going to do your own, then make sure that you use the required jack pucks to lift the car)
There are third part hitches that people use, but getting the hitch with the car is so much easier (and supported).
But there are many other things that don't have to be installed by Tesla and there is a relatively rich set of third-party manufacturers creating products for Teslas.

For routine maintenance, it's the cabin air filter and not much else. And that's only every 2 years.
It's definitely a horse of a different color in that to many people it is just an appliance.

 

[Genie]

As I wait for my model Y to be delivered, I’m a little amazed at how few people on these forums cannot fathom changing or rotating their own tires, putting on a roof rack, or (heaven forbid) installing their own hitch. Most of these people seem to advise other that ALL these things MUST be purchased and installed by Tesla, EVEN though they have never wrenched and Tesla doesn’t even make any of these things!

I get there is pretty much nothing one is going to do with the power train, display, which by their design reduces servicing costs greatly. That’s one of the advantages of going electric. But the things I mentioned are not rocket science. Doing it yourself(if one prepares) is an easy way to ensure it’s done right and save money. Anyone else feel the same way?

Can’t rotate the staggered tires on my MXP but no problem switching summer and winter tires at home. I installed a power frunk,other than that the only work has been warranty. By the time this needs brakes it’ll be someone else’s problem.
I spend maintenance time hand washing and maintaining the looks, I have no interest in fooling with doors, modding the electronics or anything like that.

 

[android04]

Yes, there are some of us here that like to DIY. I installed an aftermarket tow hitch and trailer light wiring, rotate (and have mounted and balanced) my own tires, clean & lube my brakes, bleed my brakes, replaced my front upper control arms.

Tesla makes the service manual available for free to owners as well, so we get access to a lot of information that only their technicians used to have.

 

[zoomer0056]

Do a search on TMC for DIY, you'll get plenty of hits. If you don't know how to do something, you can ask at TMC and you'll get lots of responses.

 

[RichBenn]

Yes, there are some of us here that like to DIY. I installed an aftermarket tow hitch and trailer light wiring, rotate (and have mounted and balanced) my own tires, clean & lube my brakes, bleed my brakes, replaced my front upper control arms.

Tesla makes the service manual available for free to owners as well, so we get access to a lot of information that only their technicians used to have.

Nice! Did the “tow mode” show up when you installed the tow wiring? I’ve seen conflicting reports..

 

[zoomer0056]

DIY PPF on 2022 Blue Model S

Model S is one week old. I've spent the last four months YouTubing PPF. This first post is practice on the front license plate holder which I will not put back on. It's a good test piece for practicing several techniques. There are compound curves in the corners, edges to wrap and circles to cut...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[android04]

Nice! Did the “tow mode” show up when you installed the tow wiring? I’ve seen conflicting reports..

No "Trailer Mode" because I have a Model 3 and it doesn't officially have a tow rating in North America. I prefer not to have a Trailer Mode because that disables Autopilot, and I like using that in the two-lane rural roads that I mostly drive on while towing.

FYI, all Teslas have "Tow Mode" because that's the one that disengages the parking brakes and allows the car to be towed onto a flatbed.

 

[RichBenn]

No "Trailer Mode" because I have a Model 3 and it doesn't officially have a tow rating in North America. I prefer not to have a Trailer Mode because that disables Autopilot, and I like using that in the two-lane rural roads that I mostly drive on while towing.

FYI, all Teslas have "Tow Mode" because that's the one that disengages the parking brakes and allows the car to be towed onto a flatbed.

Thanks. I probably will leave the wiring off anyway if I only use it for a bike rack. But if I get rid of my truck, I’ll need that for the utility trailer.

 

[n2siast]

I've done many DIYs on the MS. Custom headlights, 12v battery swaps, front bumper, steering wheel swap, rear diffuser, upgraded TPMS, sub upgrade, brake rotors, pads a few other cosmetic mods, etc. I will draw the line on most things HV related. Saved quite a bit of money, but it's more satisfying knowing that I've done it myself.

 

[zoomer0056]

upgraded TPMS

Nice, what do the TPMS offer over OEM ones?

 

[n2siast]

Nice, what do the TPMS offer over OEM ones?

The first gen TPMS didn't give any tire pressure numbers, had to upgrade to the Continental ones, with the new module. Now I can see the pressure in each wheel.

 

[israndy]

I have done a few myself, (1) the day I got it back in Mar. 2018 I pulled the aero wheel covers and replaced them with hub and nut covers. (2) The 2000lb tow hitch I ordered was already there, and I took the bumper off and installed that, cutting the underbelly to run the hitch thru as there wasn't a removable panel in early 2018, I added a light kit from UHaul, (3) swapped in a wireless charging plate too. (4) When I went thru my first set of tires I replaced them with snow tires and I got a set of OEM 19" Sport rims and tires off a wrecked car for pennies, starting me on a history of only buying used tires. Swap them back and forth at least twice a year. (5) Added a CanServer car computer to add programmable displays to the dash. (6) And in frustration added an auto-frunk with foot trigger from HansShow as the app takes too long and ducking into the car is ugly. Probably would have been cheaper to get a FOB. (7) Recently I have added the display swivel and finally (8) the CCS ECU and a bundle of wires to allow my car to use the CCS adapter so I could sell the CHAdeMO adapter I had been using for years. I have a Ohmmu battery waiting in the garage for my original 12v to go bad, but I got it at the 4 year mark and blew past the 5 year mark w/o issue. (9) Ended up getting a 12v bluetooth battery monitor so I could watch more carefully, but still no evidence it's going anywhere. (10) I have changed my cabin filter every two years and my wipers and filled the fluid.

I am thinking it's time to take the front off the car and clean the leaves and such from the radiator. Is there a place to add coolant? I use the brakes JUST enough to not need replacing the pads, but I need to test the fluid, I got strips.

But now my control arms are making noise, where's the video showing how to fix that? I read some people have simply used silicon lube on them, perhaps this will be the first non-tire repair I take to my pre-Tesla mechanic

 

[android04]

I have done a few myself, (1) the day I got it back in Mar. 2018 I pulled the aero wheel covers and replaced them with hub and nut covers. (2) The 2000lb tow hitch I ordered was already there, and I took the bumper off and installed that, cutting the underbelly to run the hitch thru as there wasn't a removable panel in early 2018, I added a light kit from UHaul, (3) swapped in a wireless charging plate too. (4) When I went thru my first set of tires I replaced them with snow tires and I got a set of OEM 19" Sport rims and tires off a wrecked car for pennies, starting me on a history of only buying used tires. Swap them at least twice a year. (5) Added a CanServer car computer to add programmable displays to the dash. (6) And in frustration added an auto-frunk with foot trigger from HansShow as the app takes too long and ducking into the car is ugly. Probably would have been cheaper to get a FOB. (7) Recently I have added the display swivel and finally (8) the CCS ECU and a bundle of wires to allow my car to use the CCS adapter so I could sell the CHAdeMO adapter I had been using for years. I have a Ohmmu battery waiting in the garage for my original 12v to go bad, but I got it at the 4 year mark and blew past the 5 year mark w/o issue. (9) Ended up getting a 12v bluetooth battery monitor so I could watch more carefully, but still no evidence it's going anywhere. (10) I have changed my cabin filter every two years and my wipers and filled the fluid.

I am thinking it's time to take the front off the car and clean the leaves and such from the radiator. Is there a place to add coolant? I use the brakes JUST enough to not need replacing the pads, but I need to test the fluid, I got strips.

But now my control arms are making noise, where's the video showing how to fix that? I read some people have simply used silicon lube on them, perhaps this will be the first non-tire repair I take to my pre-Tesla mechanic

I replaced my 12v lead acid battery after more than 5 years because I noticed that the car was waking up every 4 hours to top it off. Even though I had no issues with it, I decided to install a new one so that my car would wake up less often and put less wear and tear on my high voltage contactors. I bought an Enhanced Flooded Battery from AutoZone, even though the Tesla OEM battery would have been much cheaper.

For a few years I was injecting grease into my front upper control arm (FUCA) ball joints to avoid getting the creaking sound. A few months ago I installed the aftermarket FUCAs developed by Meyle as a more durable replacement. There are videos out there showing replacement of the Model 3 FUCA, but I followed the steps in the service manual. The service manual gives you all the torque values for nuts and bolts.

 

[Watts_Up]

Typical Model Y DIY are related finding a practical, clean, and safe way to install and store a spare tire in the trunk.

To some more extend, some people use their Tesla to live inside, and installed a bed and elaborate cooking shelfs.

I have seen also some solar panel installations allowing to charge the battery when travelling away in the wilderness.

Also, connecting a tent to the Tesla HVAC

Another modification was changing the inclination of the front headrest

 

[Watts_Up]

Detail for connecting a (12V DC to 120V AC) inverter the Tesla inboard DC/DC inverter

 

[DocHolliday]

One of my favorite mods is the powered frunk kit I installed. It was pretty involved, but totally worth it. I love wrenching on my vehicles in general.