Any luck with rocker panel PDR?

[Alphonse]

Wife had a run-in with a curb and came home with a baseball-sized shallow dent right in front of the rear wheel. I think it may be possible to access from behind fender liner. Wondering what others’ experiences are? Saw several threads where a body shop was the answer. I hope this is not my case. There is paint damage but I could live with touching it up maybe.

Why did they make this part of the body and not plastic like every other manufacturer? That area gets a ton of abuse.

 

[M3BlueGeorgia]

The rocker panels, I think, serve to protect the batteries in side impact collisions.

Yes, damaging them on curbs is a bummer. Maybe a $2K fix.

If the paint isn't damaged, you might just live with the dent. We didn't find a good solution when my wife did the same thing.

However, after someone sideswiped her in a parking lot on the same side a few months later, the rocker panel was fixed as part of the repair.

 

[Prolificant]

I had the same issue. Not sure if that area is accessible, but I pulled the plastic trim off the underside to see if the dent I have could be accessed for PDR and found that there was no access for that area. I called a few places and when they found out where it was they all said they couldn’t do anything. One guy said he would try the glue method and he spent an hour on it with no improvement. Apparently it’s pretty thick. It’s been months and it’s been bugging the hell out of me, but I’m worried that paintwork would bother me as well so I haven’t done anything further yet. I will likely bring it to a body shop soon.
Good luck.

My thread: Has anyone been behind the rocker panels?

 

[Rmchrger]

This was my case locally. Yours may not be the same. The cost to fix this was just under 3k. Thats at a Tesla body shop, NOT a Tesla "approved " body shop. The estimates from the approved body shops were much higher. 9.5k, 11k and one at 14k. I was told by the tesla body shop they have permission to repair panels whereas an "approved" tesla shop can only replace panels. Just what I was told and the estimates do collaborate that. Good luck to you. Dont forget about the side skirts option from tsportline. I almost went that route.

 

[Alphonse]

*sugar*. Thanks for the info. How does the Tesla body shop repair it? Just bondo or something?

No access when you remove that black square rubber thing?

 

[Rmchrger]

They pulled most of it out. Then a little filler to smooth it. I didn't pull that rubber piece off so I dont know whats behind it. Look back a few posts there another post about rocker panel damage were a local recommended the Tesla body shop to me (thank you stanwood steve). Try this link, hopefully there is a tesla body shop in your area.

Collision Support | Tesla

Tesla Approved Body Shops have been factory trained and equipped to rebuild Tesla vehicles to the original vehicle specifications for structural integrity and quality of finish.

www.tesla.com

 

[Sam1]

That's a $1000 repair, easily.

 

[Dolemite]

The rocker panels, I think, serve to protect the batteries in side impact collisions.

I've mentioned this before - I can't quite recall what's back there, but I know that if you remove that huge black rubber square you can see in @Rmchrger's photo, above, you can see a colossal aluminum square beam running the entire length of the car. I believe THAT is what serves to protect in side-impact collisions. The rocker panels can get dented by cones at auto-x and don't serve much in the way of protection, methinks.

Looks like the Model S was designed with a little more brains, w/ removable rockers:

TESLA MODEL S ROCKER MOLDING LEFT DRIVER 2016 2017 2018 6005874-00-J FACELIFT | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for TESLA MODEL S ROCKER MOLDING LEFT DRIVER 2016 2017 2018 6005874-00-J FACELIFT at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

But they seem to be backpedaling on good design as evidenced by the woke yoke steering wheel.

As Munro's said... there are a lot of elements of the Model 3 body that are just... dumb. Count this as one of them.

 

[Sam1]

But they seem to be backpedaling on good design as evidenced by the woke yoke steering wheel.

As Munro's said... there are a lot of elements of the Model 3 body that are just... dumb. Count this as one of them.

Yoke would be awesome if they nuked the turning ratio by 50% or more. Those things were never designed to make a user go hand over hand.

 

[Rmchrger]

That's a $1000 repair, easily.

I very much agree, but after going to 4 tesla "approved" body shops, the actual tesla body shop and then to 6 different local body shops that wouldn't touch a tesla, I was running out of options. A couple of the approved shops wouldn't even give a estimate, saying because its going through insurance I dont need an estimate. They wanted a blank check from my insurance. Definitely wasn't going to do that. The tesla body shop that did the work did take out the door window, door handle, corner window and tail light. They sprayed the some (or all) of the quarter panel and door to blend and match the paint better. I'm a mechanic but not a painter at all, so Im trusting them at there word they are doing it so it looks and matches better. I pick it up Monday. Here is a picture before it went into the paint booth. More paint and labor better explains the 3k cost. Its better that the 10k or 14k shops that wanted to REPLACE the entire quarter panel.