Anyone else have this unsightly issue on their Model S?

[surfsup]

My 2016 90D has these weird-looking 'bubbles' in the chrome trim below the doors. The trim appears to be nothing more than some kind of thin chrome-finish tape stuck onto the car body.

I can't be the only one to have this issue, so if you've had it too, can you please say what the cause is - and how you resolved it?

I'll be showing it to the Tesla tech who's due at my house tomorrow to address another issue - a misaligned (dropped) driver's door - but I'm also going to ask for his advice about the bubbles and whether it's a legitimate warranty claim. Because of how it looks, I suspect he'll claim it's down to corrosion underneath the chrome - which is not covered by my (extended) warranty. But is it? The car's made out of non-rusting aluminum, right?

 

[Unclepaul]

7 year old car. Tesla would be generous for Tesla to cover under warranty.

 

[MB2MB2]

I have something similar (2017 S) but you can see them externally. I had a similar issue with rust bubbling underneath the paint on the alluminium wings of my RS4. Audi said it was "occlusions" metal particles that had settled on the aluminium prior to painting. The car was out or regular warranty, but they replaced both wings using the (10 year) bodywork warranty. I am not sure that was correct, but they clearly were working out how to support a claim for me. I hope Tesla are as helpful tomorrow and please let me know how you get on.

 

[wwu123]

My 2016 90D has these weird-looking 'bubbles' in the chrome trim below the doors. The trim appears to be nothing more than some kind of thin chrome-finish tape stuck onto the car body.

I can't be the only one to have this issue, so if you've had it too, can you please say what the cause is - and how you resolved it?

I'll be showing it to the Tesla tech who's due at my house tomorrow to address another issue - a misaligned (dropped) driver's door - but I'm also going to ask for his advice about the bubbles and whether it's a legitimate warranty claim. Because of how it looks, I suspect he'll claim it's down to corrosion underneath the chrome - which is not covered by my (extended) warranty. But is it? The car's made out of non-rusting aluminum, right?

The entire body is not non-rusting aluminum, there's a fair part of it that is non-rusting plastic ;-)...

I happened to be investigating some loose trim issues around the rocker panel area in question on my own 2016.5 vehicle. While I'm not 100% sure, I believe the entire rocker panel (aka MOULDING - SILL OTR PNL in the parts catalog) upon which the chrome trim sits may be plastic. So the bubbling may not be metal corrosion, perhaps just some defect in applying the chrome colored coating on the trim piece itself. The chrome trim certainly is just plastic, and the scuff plate sitting on top of the chrome is also plastic.

Worse comes to worse, what I've found is that the plastic parts of the car are extremely reasonably priced over-the-counter, for example the entire front fascia (bumper cover) from wheel to wheel was only $120 a few years ago. The issue is many are only available unpainted, so it can be quite a cost to have pieces paint-matched. But since the chrome trim comes only as a single color (BRIGHT MOULDING, SILL - PLASTIC) and is available OTC, I wouldn't be surprised if it is under $100.

Labor is the other cost - the last mobile service guy told me they can co do work on these trim parts. It looks to me the plastic scuff plate is secured by a half dozen $1 plastic clips which pass through the chrome trim. I have a feeling it would take a mobile tech but 15 minutes to unclip the scuff plate, replace the chrome trim, and re-clip the scuff plate....

 

[surfsup]

7 year old car. Tesla would be generous for Tesla to cover under warranty.

Thank you, Paul, for your comment. I appreciate the contribution. That said, if this bubbling issue is, indeed, due to corrosion - which, sadly, I accept is not covered by the used car 'extended' warranty that Tesla applied to the vehicle to help sell it, then I would agree with you 100%. But if it's not been caused by corrosion, or by something else that's simply age-related wear-and-tear (and, thus, to be expected over time) then, presumably, it must be due to one of two other things: 1) improper assembly at the factory or 2) a component that's flawed in its design and/or quality. If so, I'd like to think those are precisely the sort of issues that any warranty worth the paper it's written on would cover. It's not like I'd be asking Telsa to replace under warranty my thinning brake pads. This unsightly, bubbling thing along the sills simply should not have happened. Agreed, it's not a new car, but Tesla knew that when, last month, they sold it to me with, ostensibly, the assurance of a freshly-applied 12 months warranty. So if I can't expect to make a warranty claim for something like this, where - corrosion aside - there's obviously been a failure of some kind - i.e. just because it's a 2016 model - then surely the so-called 'warranty' I was given with the 'old girl' is worthless?

 

[surfsup]

I have something similar (2017 S) but you can see them externally. I had a similar issue with rust bubbling underneath the paint on the alluminium wings of my RS4. Audi said it was "occlusions" metal particles that had settled on the aluminium prior to painting. The car was out or regular warranty, but they replaced both wings using the (10 year) bodywork warranty. I am not sure that was correct, but they clearly were working out how to support a claim for me. I hope Tesla are as helpful tomorrow and please let me know how you get on.

Glad to hear Audi customer service was a lot more obliging with helping to resolve your issue than I anticipate Tesla is likely to be with me and mine! (I say that because the after-sales service provided to me so far by Tesla has been lamentable - more on that later.) Regarding my post, I don't know if our respective issues are that similar, but I'll happily let you know how I get on tomorrow. Thanks, anyway, for taking the time to respond...

 

[surfsup]

The entire body is not non-rusting aluminum, there's a fair part of it that is non-rusting plastic ;-)...

I happened to be investigating some loose trim issues around the rocker panel area in question on my own 2016.5 vehicle. While I'm not 100% sure, I believe the entire rocker panel (aka MOULDING - SILL OTR PNL in the parts catalog) upon which the chrome trim sits may be plastic. So the bubbling may not be metal corrosion, perhaps just some defect in applying the chrome colored coating on the trim piece itself. The chrome trim certainly is just plastic, and the scuff plate sitting on top of the chrome is also plastic.

Worse comes to worse, what I've found is that the plastic parts of the car are extremely reasonably priced over-the-counter, for example the entire front fascia (bumper cover) from wheel to wheel was only $120 a few years ago. The issue is many are only available unpainted, so it can be quite a cost to have pieces paint-matched. But since the chrome trim comes only as a single color (BRIGHT MOULDING, SILL - PLASTIC) and is available OTC, I wouldn't be surprised if it is under $100.

Labor is the other cost - the last mobile service guy told me they can co do work on these trim parts. It looks to me the plastic scuff plate is secured by a half dozen $1 plastic clips which pass through the chrome trim. I have a feeling it would take a mobile tech but 15 minutes to unclip the scuff plate, replace the chrome trim, and re-clip the scuff plate....

Thanks so much for those fascinating insights. Really appreciate you taking the time to pass them on. You're right, too. That sill panel - on which the (plastic) chrome trim sits - is, indeed, also made of plastic. I just went out and examined it. It flexes far too easily and - on what is quite a cool evening here - it's much too 'warm' to the touch to be anything other than a non-metallic material. Hopefully, therefore, it should not be possible for my local Service Centre to claim the bubbling has been caused by some form of corrosion - which, as I've conceded, would make it beyond the scope of my warranty. Anyway, good luck with your own investigation into the same area of your Model S. Let me know how you get on.

 

[surfsup]

I have something similar (2017 S) but you can see them externally. I had a similar issue with rust bubbling underneath the paint on the alluminium wings of my RS4. Audi said it was "occlusions" metal particles that had settled on the aluminium prior to painting. The car was out or regular warranty, but they replaced both wings using the (10 year) bodywork warranty. I am not sure that was correct, but they clearly were working out how to support a claim for me. I hope Tesla are as helpful tomorrow and please let me know how you get on.

The young Tesla tech they sent to my house yesterday was very helpful and did a good job with my misaligned front doors - simply by moving the striker plates slightly. As for the unsightly 'bubbles' in the chrome strip along the sill, he was sympathetic but said he could only refer the matter to his manager for a decision. I'll let you know more when I hear something.

 

[David.85D]

My 2016 90D has these weird-looking 'bubbles' in the chrome trim below the doors. The trim appears to be nothing more than some kind of thin chrome-finish tape stuck onto the car body.

I can't be the only one to have this issue, so if you've had it too, can you please say what the cause is - and how you resolved it?

I'll be showing it to the Tesla tech who's due at my house tomorrow to address another issue - a misaligned (dropped) driver's door - but I'm also going to ask for his advice about the bubbles and whether it's a legitimate warranty claim. Because of how it looks, I suspect he'll claim it's down to corrosion underneath the chrome - which is not covered by my (extended) warranty. But is it? The car's made out of non-rusting aluminum, right?

That’s likely metallized plastic and chrome plated steel. It’s still failing. I doubt Tesla will warranty it