Body Panel Gap and Alignment Issues

[wdimagineer]

There's an active campaign to fix this:
Complaint Narrative: Perform SB-13-12-004 C-Pillar Brightwork Creak Bulletin to beperformed.
Cause:
Correction: Apply Loctite on C-Pillar Brightwork on Both Sides, Clean Area

I just dropped my car off for a bunch of stuff. This was *not* a concern of mine, but it ended up on the RO anyways.

 

[logan]

Biggest one I've noticed on my car (and has been mentioned here before) is that the front left/right fenders stick out more than the doors. Not a HUGE issue, but my car is currently getting wrapped satin pearl white and the difference in body panel height is causing the fenders/hood to be slightly darker than the doors due to the pearl effect.

 

[consolidated]

This is our front to rear door alignment issue, service did their best to adjust but it went back to it's original misaligned state within a few days. It's not just the chrome trim, it's the door.View attachment 27972

 

[kjl]

That does look a lot better, mine is not quite as bad so hopefully they can fix it. Is the passenger front door easier to close now? The wife would be very happy if they fixed that! I'll make sure to double check the to-fix list.

If the loaner P85 handled better than your 60 I wonder if it was actually a P85+! (or maybe the 21" tires...?)

Hi - I finally got around to testing the door, and yeah, it's basically completely fixed. They actually warned me beforehand that fixing the door closing problem was a bit of a balancing act of making it close easily without screwing up the appearance of the alignment of the door and trim from the outside, but from what I can see, they fixed it perfectly - still looks perfect from the outside, and closes correctly now. Great job by the tech!

Regarding the P85 (definitely not P85+) handling better than the 60: I started a different thread about it and the general consensus is that it's probably the air suspension that the P85 had over the 60. It kind of bums me out - I was under the impression that the air suspension only gave you the raising/lowering behavior, which seemed unnecessary to me (also, more moving parts to fail). If I had known that it would be stiffer and handle better, I definitely would have shelled out the cash for it. Too bad it's not available as a retrofit Oh well, first world problems.

 

[007]

This is our front to rear door alignment issue, service did their best to adjust but it went back to it's original misaligned state within a few days. It's not just the chrome trim, it's the door.View attachment 27972

Was the work done at the factory or a SC and do you plan to take it back? When did you get your car? mine was delivered within 10 days of ordering at the end of June, I wonder if it was rushed through QA with the big European launch build..

 

[consolidated]

Was the work done at the factory or a SC and do you plan to take it back? When did you get your car? mine was delivered within 10 days of ordering at the end of June, I wonder if it was rushed through QA with the big European launch build..

Our car arrived the last week of July, two weeks earlier than scheduled. They did want us to pick it up and take delivery asap, we didn't have financing and charging completed but the car was ready.

 

[simplesolar]

My car had the chrome trim misaligned. Tesla readjusted my doors and looks alot better.

 

[Right_Said_Fred]

Our car arrived the last week of July, two weeks earlier than scheduled. They did want us to pick it up and take delivery asap, we didn't have financing and charging completed but the car was ready.

Looks like they wanted to include your car in the Q2-numbers. Hope it wasn't rushed through quality control. They shouldn't cut corners and disappoint customers in order to satisfy investors.

 

[007]

Regarding the P85 (definitely not P85+) handling better than the 60: I started a different thread about it and the general consensus is that it's probably the air suspension that the P85 had over the 60. It kind of bums me out - I was under the impression that the air suspension only gave you the raising/lowering behavior, which seemed unnecessary to me (also, more moving parts to fail). If I had known that it would be stiffer and handle better, I definitely would have shelled out the cash for it. Too bad it's not available as a retrofit Oh well, first world problems.

After Tesla delayed my first appointment at the end of August due to high workload my car is finally in for service. Based on your previous recommendation of carefully listing all the issues I created an epic pdf with the issues numbered and images attached. The service guy was like "wow, thanks for the document!", haha.

They gave me a P85 loaner (I have an S85), in the same color Pearl White... on purpose to make an upgrade sale? It seems to have all options except for air suspension, but I feel the handling is better as well. I believe it's the 21" tires as that's the only difference I can think of from my S85 which also doesn't have air suspension. Also when going over bumps I don't hear as much of a hollow sounding "thump" like a drum in the loaner. This may be due to the seemingly high tire pressure (42 psi) on my S85 19" wheels. I'll have to check the loaner 21" pressure. Also the loaner has the jump seats which are folded into the empty space in my S85. I wonder if that hollow compartment in the floor contributes to the drum-like hollow sound. Maybe I'll fill it with blankets and see if it makes a difference.

Impression of loaner P85 so far: I am feeling motion sickness every time I drive it and test out the acceleration, same as I remember from the test drives, which was part of why I saved my money. Same feeling as after riding a roller coaster! Maybe you get used to it after a while. There's been very few times I could even try opening the throttle up commuting in bay area traffic anyways. I am impressed with the Sound Studio, very deep lows even at the lowest volumes. Makes me wish I would've gotten that when I ordered my car and it was still a $950 option (now it's $1,500?). But the stock stereo still sounds very good in HD FM, Slacker and USB so I am not too regretful.

Tesla service has been great after they've finally taken my car in yesterday afternoon. 2 email updates already and very responsive to questions. Hope they work out most of the issues!

An excerpt from my document :smile::

Tesla Service Issues
2013 Model S - Pearl White, S85
VIN: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Owner: xxxxxxxx
Phone: xxxxxxxx


Noise/Mechanical Issues:
1. AC fan makes loud squeaking noise when AC is turned off and fan coming to stop.
2. Rattling coming from panoramic roof when driving, especially over rougher highway roads.
3. Passenger door harder to close than other doors.
4. Seat belt creaking. Most noticeable on driver’s shoulder belt.


Body Panel Alignment Issues:
a) Driver's-side Rear Door. Lower door panel (opposite hinge side) sticks out further than rear quarter panel. (See Image 1).
b) L & R front quarter panels sticks out past rest of body. (See Images 2 & 3)
c) Back of chrome bezels sticks out, air gap between seal of chrome bezel and body. (See Images 4 & 5)
d) Front edge of hood, left side of hood sticks out further from front bumper, right side looks flush. (See Image 6)

 

[007]

Noise/Mechanical Issues:
1. AC fan makes loud squeaking noise when AC is turned off and fan coming to stop.
2. Rattling coming from panoramic roof when driving, especially over rougher highway roads.
3. Passenger door harder to close than other doors.
4. Seat belt creaking. Most noticeable on driver’s shoulder belt.


Body Panel Alignment Issues:
a) Driver's-side Rear Door. Lower door panel (opposite hinge side) sticks out further than rear quarter panel. (See Image 1).
b) L & R front quarter panels sticks out past rest of body. (See Images 2 & 3)
c) Back of chrome bezels sticks out, air gap between seal of chrome bezel and body. (See Images 4 & 5)
d) Front edge of hood, left side of hood sticks out further from front bumper, right side looks flush. (See Image 6)

Got my car back in two days and happy to report that all issues have been resolved. The AC fan noise they couldn't reproduce and may seem to have gone away on its own perhaps due to cooler temperatures lately.

 

[AnOutsider]

Got my car back in two days and happy to report that all issues have been resolved. The AC fan noise they couldn't reproduce and may seem to have gone away on its own perhaps due to cooler temperatures lately.

My SC has told me that it's normal. Apparently it's the compressor (or something) letting off built up pressure?

 

[007]

My SC has told me that it's normal. Apparently it's the compressor (or something) letting off built up pressure?

Interesting, it sounds like a squeaky/rusty fan out of balance. Pretty embarrassing for such a quiet car when pulling up to park next to people. It was loud enough that I was actually turning the AC off before getting to the parking area. Hopefully it doesn't come back..

 

[ken830]

I have the same issue as 007... It squeaks like it's got rusty bearings.

 

[AnOutsider]

Interesting, it sounds like a squeaky/rusty fan out of balance. Pretty embarrassing for such a quiet car when pulling up to park next to people. It was loud enough that I was actually turning the AC off before getting to the parking area. Hopefully it doesn't come back..

I agree, and explained that, and was told that it's similar on other cars except they have an engine to mask it... Though when you think of it, the engine wouldn't be masking it if the car were off (just the fan, and I can hear it over the fan). I decided fighting my alignment battle was a better use of energy