Are all Model 3 fenders unpainted just inside the door hinge?

[Stirfelt]

This may not be an absolutely serious comments ............

Perhaps all of the unexposed metal should be painted that greenish yellow, like airplanes.
That way, the owner could change the exterior color easily and not be concerned about matching under hood, jambs, trunk and under-body colors.

I know modern vehicles are corrosion protected, but I assume there is value in a good paint covering other than pure visual appeal.

 

[RayK]

Probably the same reason why parts of the trunk aren't painted as well.

 

[MXWing]

Elon has access to technical staff capable of sending human beings into space.

Painting the inside fenders is within their capabilities.

Why they don’t do it is time and money.

Production is already too slow. Not enough money from each car to spin up extra facilities for extra detail.

Where it really counts, Tesla appears to come through.

To prove my point:

6 months ago, the big news of the day was all the amounts of “welds” that were involved in Model 3 production.

Tesla decided to remove 300 welds. People are growing crazy thinking the car is going to fall apart, is unsafe.

Munro tears apart a Model 3 and says Tesla is an amateur clown show. They make the same mistakes that companies decades ago made. Too MANY welds that appear redundant.

3 months after the circus, the Model 3 is found to be the safest car tested by the NHTSA.

Yes it annoys me, that my Model 3 has thin paint in the interior.

Wouldn’t have affected my purchase decision at all if I knew at the time.

 

[Perry]

Every car I have owned is like this. It depends on the individual body/door shape and the color how obvious it is. But this is how it works when the body is painted with the doors on. (Which helps to ensure the color matches on the entire car.)

I wouldn't risk having them paint it. The color might not match, they might get overspray on the rest of the car, and/or the door might not line up as well afterwards. (I assume that the door would have to be taken off to properly paint it.) And when it comes down to it that portion isn't designed to be painted.

My Lexus is not like this and it cost less than my M3.

 

[Akikiki]

Open your driver's door, look forward into the gap, is your inside fender panel painted? Tesla tells me every Model 3 is like this, because they 'spray' their doors rather than 'dip' them. Is this true? If not, how do I force Tesla to just paint the damn thing?

I can't stop seeing this now every time I get in the car - it's really left me with a bad taste in my mouth about Tesla. Thanks all.

This is funny. Until we or someone goes and looks at every Model 3 and opens the driver's door, we don't know the answer to this one. But maybe Tesla does know they are the same.

One option is, put a peppermint candy in your mouth before you close your eyes and feel your way to your door, open it and close the door before you open your eyes.

I'm sorry. Sometimes, I should just keep my mouth shut and go to the next thread. But this was just too inviting. Please forgive me.

 

[JeffK]

I mean cars like this $140,000+ Model X P100D:

Model X Delivered Minus Paint

Base Model X is $84K

Also, if you're getting into the car and standing on that side of the door then you're "doing it wrong"

If standing on the proper side then everything looks painted.

 

[jmilanski]

This is funny. Until we or someone goes and looks at every Model 3 and opens the driver's door, we don't know the answer to this one. But maybe Tesla does know they are the same.

One option is, put a peppermint candy in your mouth before you close your eyes and feel your way to your door, open it and close the door before you open your eyes.

I'm sorry. Sometimes, I should just keep my mouth shut and go to the next thread. But this was just too inviting. Please forgive me.

Nah, I'll just start using the back door and make my learners permit 15yo drive me around (what could possibly go wrong

 

[mike123abc]

Tesla on Instagram: “How Model 3 gets made. Order at Tesla.com”

See the inside of the frame as it goes through the factory. You can see all that is not painted...

 

[Altes]

Every car I have owned is like this. It depends on the individual body/door shape and the color how obvious it is. But this is how it works when the body is painted with the doors on. (Which helps to ensure the color matches on the entire car.)

I wouldn't risk having them paint it. The color might not match, they might get overspray on the rest of the car, and/or the door might not line up as well afterwards. (I assume that the door would have to be taken off to properly paint it.) And when it comes down to it that portion isn't designed to be painted.

None of my 5 BMW's, 2 Toyotas, 1 Datsun or 1 Honda had this issue

 

[Altes]

Face it kids, when you're in a hurry to build cars you take shortcuts, one shortcut is to spend less time painting (and its probably significant time savings)

 

[voip-ninja]

The new video Tesla posted of Model 3 assembly from beginning to end shows the car going through assembly already painted without the doors. The car in the example video has poor paint at the door jambs.

It's not a bug it's a feature.... or something.

 

[Brentt]

Mine is like that. Not a problem as it isn't noticeable. What you see, appears to be zinc oxide primer which is a rust preventive

 

[Runnergirl]

Ok, y'all made me go to the garage.. I seriously can't find find a single place where my car is not painted. Maybe I'm not understating the specific places you reference but I even looked in the trunk (linked thread). Every place is Pearl white. ( disregard the dirt- it's raining in NC)

 

[nvx1977]

Ok, y'all made me go to the garage.. I seriously can't find find a single place where my car is not painted. Maybe I'm not understating the specific places you reference but I even looked in the trunk (linked thread). Every place is Pearl white. ( disregard the dirt- it's raining in NC)

don't stress about it. it's such a non-issue.

 

[ganzyTM3]

Open your driver's door, look forward into the gap, is your inside fender panel painted? Tesla tells me every Model 3 is like this, because they 'spray' their doors rather than 'dip' them. Is this true? If not, how do I force Tesla to just paint the damn thing?

I can't stop seeing this now every time I get in the car - it's really left me with a bad taste in my mouth about Tesla. Thanks all.

I have the same issue

 

[zhu-]

It's all part of the crap workmanship and inattention to detail that IS the hallmark of Tesla.
Tesla, Where the K stands for kwality

I'm just starting to accept that I paid $60k for an iPad on wheels with a cheap-looking but safe car frame built around it. At least I can relive the excitement of quality craftsmanship all over again when I get another german car.

 

[Jedi2155]

There's a reason Tesla gets 20% margins on their Model 3's while other manufacturers are much closer to 5-15%. At the same time, Tesla needs that 20% more than any other manufacturer.

As a consumer though, it sucks, and I know it sucks. Tesla simply doesn't place attention to detail on details that most people don't care about (I'm on this boat). On the features that most people DO care about like drive train, ride comfort, UI etc., I think Tesla does a great job. It's why I was willing to spend the money I did on the car and part of the reason why you probably did as well.

Do we think Tesla could've done a better job? Absolutely! Unless we all make a stink about it, its unlikely that they will though...

 

[Macb00kemdanno]

Every car I have owned is like this. It depends on the individual body/door shape and the color how obvious it is. But this is how it works when the body is painted with the doors on. (Which helps to ensure the color matches on the entire car.)

I wouldn't risk having them paint it. The color might not match, they might get overspray on the rest of the car, and/or the door might not line up as well afterwards. (I assume that the door would have to be taken off to properly paint it.) And when it comes down to it that portion isn't designed to be painted.

I’ve owned Hondas, Toyotas, Hyundais and Subarus and none of them look like that. They have the same paint color/finish on every visible surface that the eye sees (with the exception of under the hood/trunk) which doesn’t have a clear coat on the paint.

 

[nj1266]

None of my Audi or BMW vehicles have been like this.

There are videos of other manufacturers cars going through paint shop with doors on... the robots actually twist into those areas and paint them.

You don’t need to look at luxury cars. Neither my Chevy Bolt or the current Altima loaner that I am driving are like this. In fact, i don’t think ANY car that I have driven has been like this.

 

[DJVoorhees]

I also, have never seen another car like this, it's pretty pathetic to be honest. I hear the newer ones are actually being fully painted now, so no - it's not normal.