Broken passenger visor mirror due to seat too far forward. Tesla did not cover cost to repair.

[Huskyfan]

I moved my seats forward and tilted upright (as far as they would go forward and tilted upward). Apparently that cracked my passenger visor vanity mirror. Tesla mobile technician said he had seen it a good number of times. He said it was not covered under warranty. It ended up costing me 156 bucks to have it replaced, to include labor and taxes.

This clearly is a design flaw. It would be very simple to put a physical limit on the seats forward, upward or incline movement to preclude this from happening. I plan to write Tesla a letter, along with a letter to any US regulatory agencies (NHTSA, DOT). To charge folks 150 bucks for moving a seat forward under power such that it causes damage is clearly not a user error; it is a design flaw. No where in the manual does it state to be careful moving the seats too far forward, etc.

I encourage others that have damaged their mirror in the same manner to complain to Tesla etc. The cost is not much, but the fact that it could easily have been prevented in the design of the seat mechanism is clearly an oversight.

 

[skygraff]

No where in the manual does it state to be careful moving the seats too far forward, etc.

Ugh, same reason we have warnings that coffee may be hot and air bags may cause injury. Nowhere in the manual does it say not to stick your fingers in the tracks but, honestly, I think they’ve got themselves covered with this:

WARNING: Before adjusting a front seat, check that the area around the seat is free of obstacles (people and objects).

Is it good that the seat has enough range of motion to damage installed equipment? No (sure wouldn’t want it to damage the glass roof) but it’s still the operator’s responsibility not to just keep cranking away. After all, you have to be physically holding the button on the passenger seat and your head/ears are right there.

Sorry this happened and sorry it cost you $150 to get it fixed with OEM parts.

 

[stopcrazypp]

This clearly is a design flaw. It would be very simple to put a physical limit on the seats forward, upward or incline movement to preclude this from happening.

I'm pretty sure they have a limiter (at least in the 2021 models). I took off the front headrests and the seats won't go forward even though there is space. It stops where the visor would be if the headrest was still on. I would actually prefer there be no limiter so that I can fold the seats more forward for long cargo. I made thread about it below:
Front seat fold forward-most position (or what position for long cargo)?

Maybe it is different in the older models.

 

[TexasTezla]

I moved my seats forward and tilted upright (as far as they would go forward and tilted upward). Apparently that cracked my passenger visor vanity mirror. Tesla mobile technician said he had seen it a good number of times. He said it was not covered under warranty. It ended up costing me 156 bucks to have it replaced, to include labor and taxes.

This clearly is a design flaw. It would be very simple to put a physical limit on the seats forward, upward or incline movement to preclude this from happening. I plan to write Tesla a letter, along with a letter to any US regulatory agencies (NHTSA, DOT). To charge folks 150 bucks for moving a seat forward under power such that it causes damage is clearly not a user error; it is a design flaw. No where in the manual does it state to be careful moving the seats too far forward, etc.

I encourage others that have damaged their mirror in the same manner to complain to Tesla etc. The cost is not much, but the fact that it could easily have been prevented in the design of the seat mechanism is clearly an oversight.

No, its user error. I can swing open my car door and hit a car parked next to me unless I use my eyes to ensure my door doesn't make contact...is that a design flaw?

 

[msb175]

No, its user error. I can swing open my car door and hit a car parked next to me unless I use my eyes to ensure my door doesn't make contact...is that a design flaw?

I'm not saying OPs post is or isn't user error but this analogy doesn't make sense. The car parked next to you isn't physically attached to your car by design.

 

[UncertainTimes]

There were some F82 M4 owners that did this too from what I remember on BMW forums.

 

[brkaus]

That’s classified as a regulatory issue? Sounds like wasting their time.

 

[stopcrazypp]

There were some F82 M4 owners that did this too from what I remember on BMW forums.

Yes, pretty easy to find threads. Some dealers replaced it free (with terms that if it happens again it's on the owner), some didn't, some called BMW to replace. Then there's the argument if they were willing to replace, that means they are admitting fault, and others argue it's just goodwill to keep you as a customer.
M4 automatic seat adjustment smashed visor vanity mirror

It's even worse in the M4, given this apparently happens on the one-touch to fold the seat forward to get into the back, so it's not even necessarily as easily predictable/preventable (as you aren't holding the button while it's slowly crushing the mirror, it just happens with that one touch).

 

[Big Dog]

Op: do you really believe that the DoT or NHTSA cares about a vanity mirror? Is there a safety issue here?

 

[oreobbq]

After all, you have to be physically holding the button on the passenger seat and your head/ears are right there.

True, if I saw the headrest make contact with anything I wouldn't keep pressing til I heard a crack...

But hey things happen when you're not fully paying attention. It would be nice if this wasn't an issue in the rare situations where the seat needs to be all the way forward.

 

[TexasTezla]

I'm not saying OPs post is or isn't user error but this analogy doesn't make sense. The car parked next to you isn't physically attached to your car by design.

The analogy was about using (or not using) your eyes not the material car parts in question