Bay Area Hit and Run

[teyvat]

Wanted to share a story and to get some advice along the way if possible. Brand new model s, had it less than half a year =(. Got hit and run yesterday on 101 South by an absolute nut job. They hit me exactly at the rear left corner. Metal is so out of shape my chargeport can't open to charge. Got the whole thing on cam except his/her face. Too many cars at the time and with my girlfriend next to me I didn't want to go F1 on them. The only reason they were able to get away was by rushing onto the shoulder and speeding off. Theres an active investigation and I'm not sure what I am allowed or not allowed to post so I'll omit the dashcam for now and post a follow up when I hear back from the cops. Anyways, has anyone had experience with Tesla Insurance with one of these situations? Where did you end up taking the car for repairs? Theres a San Jose Collision center in the bay, has anyone been there before?

I think what worries me most is that Im reading stories of people waiting months before their car gets accepted for repair. If that means I can't charge for 1 month, wouldn't my battery degrade to crap?

 

[Rice&Curry]

I think the California insurance law allows you to choose a collision repair shop of your choice. So you can use any authorised Tesla repair shop. I have used the Tesla owned body shop on Maybury Road, San Jose. I am very happy with their service and quality of work.

 

[WilliamG]

Wanted to share a story and to get some advice along the way if possible. Brand new model s, had it less than half a year =(. Got hit and run yesterday on 101 South by an absolute nut job. They hit me exactly at the rear left corner. Metal is so out of shape my chargeport can't open to charge. Got the whole thing on cam except his/her face. Too many cars at the time and with my girlfriend next to me I didn't want to go F1 on them. The only reason they were able to get away was by rushing onto the shoulder and speeding off. Theres an active investigation and I'm not sure what I am allowed or not allowed to post so I'll omit the dashcam for now and post a follow up when I hear back from the cops. Anyways, has anyone had experience with Tesla Insurance with one of these situations? Where did you end up taking the car for repairs? Theres a San Jose Collision center in the bay, has anyone been there before?

I think what worries me most is that Im reading stories of people waiting months before their car gets accepted for repair. If that means I can't charge for 1 month, wouldn't my battery degrade to crap?

Sorry to hear this. Please tell me you got a plate with Dashcam? For the charge port issue, park it at home, disable Sentry and do not connect to the car if you can help it. If the metal is that battered, you could certainly pry it back to get to the charge port. All of that would need to be replaced, anyway, it seems. Any pictures would be helpful.

 

[stopcrazypp]

I think what worries me most is that Im reading stories of people waiting months before their car gets accepted for repair. If that means I can't charge for 1 month, wouldn't my battery degrade to crap?

They addressed this concern a decade ago when batteries from the original Roadster were bricked. The Model S already prevents that from happening, as it will shut down the discharge once past a certain point.
Plug It In | Tesla

As a tip however, to reduce battery drain when car is asleep, you can disable all battery draining features like Sentry mode, Cabin overheat, and Summon Standby. In my Model 3 SR+, in this mode, it drains only about 1 mile per day, so will take a fairly long time to drain the battery.

If you are paranoid about this however, you can always disconnect the low voltage battery and it would ensure there is no other vampire drain from the other subsystems.
Following the hard reset instructions up to and including the battery disconnecting should probably be enough to accomplish this (might want to also try pressing power off or waiting for car to sleep and you can hear the "clunk" from the high voltage battery disconnecting, before disconnecting the low voltage one):

1. Turn off the Climate Control System
2. Fully open the driver’s window (you don’t want to get locked out if something goes wrong)
3. Open the frunk
4. Take out the under hood storage unit or remove the top panels to access the battery (this is different for the pre- and post-2016 refresh of the Model S, see links here and here for more details)
5. Locate the 12V battery. Disconnect the ground and insulate the terminal from the post to prevent contact

How to Reset and Reboot Your Tesla – Complete Instructions
If you have a Plaid, the instructions on how to locate and disconnect the LV battery might vary a bit though.
Do It Yourself - Model S

I probably wouldn't attempt this however until you find out how long it will take to get your car taken in.

 

[teyvat]

Thanks for the tips, looks like the best course forward is to wait for an eval before taking anymore actions.

Sorry to hear this. Please tell me you got a plate with Dashcam? For the charge port issue, park it at home, disable Sentry and do not connect to the car if you can help it. If the metal is that battered, you could certainly pry it back to get to the charge port. All of that would need to be replaced, anyway, it seems. Any pictures would be helpful.

Yes, I did get the plates crystal clear.
Heres the damage. Hard to tell but the metal around the charge port is bent out of shape. The port itself is also no longer sitting flush with the rear lights.

 

[SoCal Buzz]

Very sorry to see this. Glad you got the plate and dashcam to back it up. It seems like car may charge fine if you can pop open the charger door. Looks like you have the new design, so I’m not sure what’s required to open manually.

 

[WilliamG]

Thanks for the tips, looks like the best course forward is to wait for an eval before taking anymore actions.

Yes, I did get the plates crystal clear.
Heres the damage. Hard to tell but the metal around the charge port is bent out of shape. The port itself is also no longer sitting flush with the rear lights.
View attachment 886335

If you have plates, do not worry one bit. This will get sorted. Of course this all is a bit of a shock now.

 

[Big Dog]

Yes, California law allows you to take your car to any repair shop of your choice. Your insurance (Tesla) should take the lead to get your car repaired and go after the scofflaw for reimbursement. By state law, your insurer cannot raise your rates when the other guy is at-fault.

Make sure you file a police report if you haven't already.

Make an appt for an estimate with a Tesla approved body shop and see if they can free to charging port door while you are there.

Good luck.

 

[2101Guy]

If you have plates, do not worry one bit. This will get sorted. Of course this all is a bit of a shock now.

Unless it was a stolen car. Which isnt uncommon in the bay area these days

 

[WilliamG]

Unless it was a stolen car. Which isnt uncommon in the bay area these days

Sure, it’s a possibility.

 

[airborne spoon]

while at home have the charge cable in one hand and click on it to open the door. while continuing to click on it pry the door open with a flathead screwdriver and it should open just fine. I say to do it while telling the door to open because its probably just wedged stuck and if you try to open it without the door telling itself to open you could break something unnecessarily. but yeah just pop it open

 

[teyvat]

For those who are interested. Driver found with no insurance. I'm going through uninsured motorist coverage and will have 0$ in deductible.

 

[TigerNinety]

I wanted to just "like" this

For those who are interested. Driver found with no insurance. I'm going through uninsured motorist coverage and will have 0$ in deductible.

I wanted to just "like" this, but the uninsured part sucks.

 

[vcor]

For those who are interested. Driver found with no insurance. I'm going through uninsured motorist coverage and will have 0$ in deductible.

Glad they found the driver. Hopefully, they'll revoke the license and fine them. Insurance will deal with your end, and maybe they will sue the driver too.