Bah! Ran over a ladder and damaged the undercarriage.

[SMAlset]

I agree with @insaneoctane. The craziest thing I saw while driving, and thankfully had the time to move over lanes to the right to avoid, was one of those big metal dumpsters. I was on 101 NB (major highway here with 4 lanes each direction). Didn't see it fall but figured it had to have come off of some sort of sanitation truck. I suddenly heard a huge metallic bang and noticed this explosion of debris a few cars ahead, papers, all kind of stuff and suddenly cars swerving all over the place ahead of me mostly in the far left lanes. I was lucky to move right to avoid the left lanes and then saw this giant green dumpster flying across the roadway towards the median and then saw a poor driver not able to avoid it who crashed right into it. I always wondered if the driver lived. Sure it totalled his car. We were at highway speed when this happened so everything happened so quickly. My heart was racing at that point.

I didn't get completely away unscathed. There was a hardback book of all things that was flipping over on its edges down the highway like tumbleweed towards me and it impaled itself into my grill area. If I had tried to avoid it, I would have driven into the path of more serious flying debris to my left that had flown out of the dumpster. I really thought the book would have passed under my car uneventfully but it didn't. It was really hard to pull out too and had some broken plastic. Considering what other drivers encountered though I considered myself lucky. It was one of those times you just feel like it must not have been your time. I'm sure @Az_Rael knows that feeling after her MS got totalled.

 

[K-MTG]

Hopefully nothing beyond the undersheld is damaged...

 

[omgwtfbyobbq]

People can be awful drivers/motorists. If the panel is some kind of plastic, you might be able to weld whatever is still there back together. My wife hit a tire hard enough to break the mounts for one of her DRLs, which was flipping around behind the bumper for a couple days before we noticed. Fortunately, the entire bracket was still there and I was able weld it back together using the HF hot air welder.

 

[mongo]

When in doubt, apply brakes while you assess. if someone rear ends you, well, that's their fault.

Just don't brake while going over it. Car nose may drop a bit.

 

[xav-]

Get a minivan, carry the boards inside! ;-)

No need for a minivan! I plan on carrying them inside my 3.. looks like there is a lot of room... saw report that people up to 6'6 can sleep in the back in camper mode. (I don't have people in the backseat usually)

 

[xav-]

There might be a solution for that. (Skip to 12:45)

Yes my plan is to basically leave the back seats down and have the surfboards in there. I do that in my volt already. I am done with racks it's just a pain in the ass and I suspect on an electric car that racks will even be more inconvenient than a gasoline car

 

[david_42]

When I was still riding a motorcycle, trucks with ladders on them or a ladder in the road were always a cause for concern. Of course, I had a better chance of dodging than a car, but if one did hit ...

Good thing the battery case wasn't penetrated. The cover looks like a simple fiberglass repair.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

This is exactly why Tesla needs to integrate WAZE into the Navigation system on all Tesla's. SORRY for the language, not my car - I never listen to crap like this.

 

[McRat]

If you know somebody handy with tools, get a piece of 0.125" alum plate, drill matching holes in front, then put in some pop-rivets in the back. About $40 max if you don't have anything to start.
That will keep debris from packing into the pan.
Round the corners, and put a slight bend up on the leading edge.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

I used 1/4 stainless steel on mine for exactly this reason... whoooppss - wrong forum.... on my FJ Cruiser...

Complete Armor Systems

I bet he would custom fab one for you for less than Tesla charges for the crappy recycled plastic one that ts on the car now

 

[Achilles]

I wonder if the autopilot cameras will ever be able to detect road debris in time to avoid them? Waze warnings might be the key but the reporter would have to state what lane is blocked and the Tesla would have to identify this and switch lanes. Of course by then, the object could have been hit and knocked into a different lane.

 

[McRat]

I used 1/4 stainless steel on mine for exactly this reason... whoooppss - wrong forum.... on my FJ Cruiser...

Complete Armor Systems

I bet he would custom fab one for you for less than Tesla charges for the crappy recycled plastic one that on the car now

Yeah, I've had to armor a few undercarriages over the years. For ICE a common one is the aluminum oil pan and oil filter. This damage leaves you stranded or with a blown engine.

Could be worse. If you hit that with a sports car with a carbon fiber splitter, it's thousands of dollars and no easy fix.

 

[Skione65]

@Az_Rael,
What happened to the titanium underplate to protect the battery pack from like damage and fires that we are supposed to have? That looks like fiberglass to me.

Ski

 

[Xenoilphobe]

@Az_Rael,
What happened to the titanium underplate to protect the battery pack from like damage and fires that we are supposed to have? That looks like fiberglass to me.

Ski

I was wondering about the same thing....must have been a cost cutting measure...or its on the leading edge of the battery tray..

 

[AudubonB]

Terrible tragedy a few years ago next to our home: an Alyeska Pipeline pickup had a 4-6' steel bar fly off on a combination bounce+curve; whether or not it flew directly or bounced after hitting the road, but it ended the life of a lower-48 motorcyclist on who was including the Denali Highway as part of his "trip of a lifetime" to Alaska..... :-(

 

[Moderatefan]

Get a minivan, carry the boards inside! ;-)

Not worth it. I rent Home Depot truck once in a few years @ $20/hr. Owning vans or trucks for this purpose doesn't make any sense, plus you can't really stick anything wider than 4ft into a van and may damage interior while doing so.

 

[Az_Rael]

@Az_Rael,
What happened to the titanium underplate to protect the battery pack from like damage and fires that we are supposed to have? That looks like fiberglass to me.

Ski

I was wondering about the same thing....must have been a cost cutting measure...or its on the leading edge of the battery tray..

I think the metal plate is still there. I don't know that it is Ti, but I think the battery on the 3 just starts farther back than on the S.

Here is a better view of the underpinnings of my 3:

And here is the underpinnings of our P85D:

 

[e-FTW]

I agree with @insaneoctane. The craziest thing I saw while driving, and thankfully had the time to move over lanes to the right to avoid, was one of those big metal dumpsters. I was on 101 NB (major highway here with 4 lanes each direction). Didn't see it fall but figured it had to have come off of some sort of sanitation truck. I suddenly heard a huge metallic bang and noticed this explosion of debris a few cars ahead, papers, all kind of stuff and suddenly cars swerving all over the place ahead of me mostly in the far left lanes. I was lucky to move right to avoid the left lanes and then saw this giant green dumpster flying across the roadway towards the median and then saw a poor driver not able to avoid it who crashed right into it. I always wondered if the driver lived. Sure it totalled his car. We were at highway speed when this happened so everything happened so quickly. My heart was racing at that point.

I didn't get completely away unscathed. There was a hardback book of all things that was flipping over on its edges down the highway like tumbleweed towards me and it impaled itself into my grill area. If I had tried to avoid it, I would have driven into the path of more serious flying debris to my left that had flown out of the dumpster. I really thought the book would have passed under my car uneventfully but it didn't. It was really hard to pull out too and had some broken plastic. Considering what other drivers encountered though I considered myself lucky. It was one of those times you just feel like it must not have been your time. I'm sure @Az_Rael knows that feeling after her MS got totalled.

A complex situation like these will be quite the challenge for AI. How should it swerve? Will it be able to recognize less dangerous items to run over? You can take this further when pedestrians are involved.
Full self-driving is a ways away still...

P.S.: In @SMAlset 's case, would AI stop your car so you can get out and assist other injured drivers?Safely?

 

[PHd410]

Ouch, that really sucks, especially since new.
I have phobia of things falling off trucks/cars. Once had a refrigerator fall off in front of me on the freeway. A drawer got stuck under my front bumper, pulled over and ran it back to the “junk man” that had just acquired the fridge for his wife as an anniversary gift. Felt bad for him, didn’t care about my slightly scratched bumper.

 

[SMAlset]

A complex situation like these will be quite the challenge for AI. How should it swerve? Will it be able to recognize less dangerous items to run over? You can take this further when pedestrians are involved.
Full self-driving is a ways away still...

P.S.: In @SMAlset 's case, would AI stop your car so you can get out and assist other injured drivers?Safely?

I know in my situation when there was this burst of debris traveling all which way, apart from trying to avoid the debris there was the matter of avoiding cars who also were unexpectedly trying to manuever safely through the area and changing speed and direction. Clearly there are still going to be accidents and interesting choices to be made. And when there aren't any steering wheels to take over from? I'm kind of waiting to hear what kind of accident reports we get over time from the Cadillac CT6 hand-free car that's out now and challenging Tesla in their commercial. GM takes a swipe at Tesla in latest Cadillac commercial