Build quality: alignment of trunk

[MikeK]

I think those sorts of things will get more refined with every additional build. I see the taillight issue. That should be fixable in fairly short order.

I'll tell you what gives me hope (besides the fact that Tesla really does seem to be full of people who are committed to excellence!): I noticed in one of our forum members' photo albums on Flickr that they are doing what I interpret to be conformance checks of the stampings coming off the line. Rear quarter panels clamped into jigs and extensively marked up with the deviations from the intended tolerances.

So, this tells me that they are still dialing things in, and that we may see improvements before the line starts to accelerate.

 

[MikeK]

This is the image that stuck out to me

Indeed! That one is quite dramatic, isn't it? I'll tell you what it suggests to me. It suggests that a slight re-shaping of that hatch stamping could bring the edge inwards (towards the center) and downwards (toward the ground) by a few fractions of an inch, and that would probably nail both that shadow and the perceived gap from my photo.

 

[kave]

Long time reader, first time poster. Had my test drive in LA yesterday and loved the car. Having said that, the "gap" near the top of the trunk looks astonishingly bad. I had noted that same gap in a beta and was told "it's a result of the fact that the Betas were hand built". I really hope they do something to remedy this. If they don't, I am certain it will be something that the auto reviewers will point out as its too drastic to go un-noticed.

 

[cinergi]

Looks like the shadow to me is NOT cast by an alignment issue, but rather because the left pillar of the trunk lid is rounded -- it protrudes towards the sky.

 

[DrDave]

Long time reader, first time poster. Had my test drive in LA yesterday and loved the car. Having said that, the "gap" near the top of the trunk looks astonishingly bad. I had noted that same gap in a beta and was told "it's a result of the fact that the Betas were hand built". I really hope they do something to remedy this. If they don't, I am certain it will be something that the auto reviewers will point out as its too drastic to go un-noticed.

Do you think these were hand-built as well since the gap is still there?

 

[stopcrazypp]

Great, they should just type on the car next to it: "The gap you are seeing is just an optical illusion" :frown:

It should be done such way that you don't see an illusion like that. I checked other cars and they have that part hidden behind the pillar.

Like for example you can see here:

That design doesn't work as well with the Model S (with the curves on the rear panel vs a more sedan-like break in the flow where the rear window meets the trunk lid). It'll also result in a much smaller trunk opening and rear window. Hopefully it's a fixable issue with the current design.

 

[doug]

This discussion reminds me of this commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AktHnnA9QIM

 

[MikeK]

Long time reader, first time poster. Had my test drive in LA yesterday and loved the car. Having said that, the "gap" near the top of the trunk looks astonishingly bad. I had noted that same gap in a beta and was told "it's a result of the fact that the Betas were hand built". I really hope they do something to remedy this. If they don't, I am certain it will be something that the auto reviewers will point out as its too drastic to go un-noticed.

Was there a Tesla staffer asking for feedback at the end of your drive? There was in Fremont, and I told him I found the trunk fit disappointing. I hope other future owners who are bothered by this will be sure to tell Tesla directly. If Tesla hears this feedback from many drivers, it's bound to increase in importance.

 

[kave]

No one at the event asked for my feedback post mortem.

I did ask in advance if these were handmade cars or "full production" cars and was told they were early full production cars. I noted the Beta and the Crash Test car that were not available for test drive had the same issue (the Beta had several other fit issues as well likely from being hand assembled).

 

[MikeK]

FWIW, the feedback guy in Fremont was at the station where they did the photo printouts.

 

[dtich]

i had read this thread some days before my drive yesterday, but wasn't even looking for it, forgot all about the trunk thing.. and on the day it really stood out on many cars. my brother noticed it without prompting. definitely NOT an optical illusion. and definitely something they should tweak as soon as they can. i would say most of the cars had ill fitting trunk seams. and others. i do not want my car looking like that. i assume it's very fixable with a slight adjustment to the stamping.. but maybe not. it's pretty obvious and i wouldn't think quality control missed it. hopefully they're working on it.

 

[Right_Said_Fred]

If quality control missed this, then there isn't much quality control! The gaps around trunk and frunk are huge. I cannot imagine Franz von Holzhausen finds these kind of misalignments on his design acceptable.

I am driving one of the early Fisker Karma's and the trunk lid sticks out by about 0.5 inch, which is unacceptable for that price (but unfortunately cannot be changed anymore). I do not want the Tesla that will replace it to have the same kind of issues. If you have your own factory like Tesla has (Fikser does not) with your own machinery like Tesla has (Fisker has supplier A for the bumper, supplier B for the trunk lid, supplier C for the light casings), then all parts should fit perfectly. You cannot deliver cars with misaligned panels to paying customers.

* Edit: inch = 0.5 inch

 

[dtich]

well, that was exactly my point. i doubt that qc missed it, it is probably a more involved fix than we suppose.. so i'm being patient to see what gives. as you say, i wouldn't think fvh would sign off on a gap like that either...

 

[tdelta1000]

I do not think TM is lacking in the QC department at all because TM has taken inventory of several items that will be fixed by the time the paying public get there cars.

Model S 001 and 002 were used as the yard stick going forward and small changes are foot. So, let's wait and see if TM really stand by the claim of having the best car in the world.

 

[kevincwelch]

I do not think TM is lacking in the QC department at all because TM has taken inventory of several items that will be fixed by the time the paying public get there cars.

I'm a little concerned about this quality control.

What do we know about the cars people have been test driving at the Amped Events? Are they full production models made with the robots in the plants and inspected? Were they made before or after the first ten cars released during the 6/22 kick off event?

If they are full production and made after the cars released on 6/22, then that suggests the cars released on 6/22 probably have these same defects in quality. Does Elon's car or Steve Jurvetson's car look like this?

Take a look at VIN #10 in http://www.youtube.com/embed/R0CBJQw5rvw. Pause at 34 seconds. Does this trunk look off? It's hard to tell.

So, in my opinion, this is a quality control issue. Now, perhaps it is just this one thing, but this one thing is very obvious. What other (hidden) things are not measured properly? What other unseen things will become seen?

 

[markb1]

Take a look at VIN #10 in http://www.youtube.com/embed/R0CBJQw5rvw. Pause at 34 seconds. Does this trunk look off? It's hard to tell.

It looks pretty bad in this frame IMO:

I didn't notice this until this thread, but now I cannot unsee it. It really stood out on every car at the LA event yesterday.

 

[medved]

Take a look at VIN #10 in http://www.youtube.com/embed/R0CBJQw5rvw. Pause at 34 seconds. Does this trunk look off? It's hard to tell.

Way off, IMO.

 

[Todd Burch]

Complex manufacturing is an evolutionary process. Even if they were all produced on the line by production processes, there is going to be continual refinement (adjustment of robot positioning, modification of dies/molds, tweaking of processes, etc.). As we saw a dramatic improvement from betas to VIN #1, there will be a noticeable improvement from VIN #10 and beyond. That's just the way it is.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the founder's cars had issues with gap and flush. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the founders knew their cars had these issues. And it wouldn't surprise me at all if they didn't care. Remember, they're all significantly vested in the company's success (and quite wealthy). I think of them almost as helping to test out the car for the rest of us. That's why I continue to believe that the ceremony for the handover of the cars was primarily symbolic. It's when the "regular" owners start getting their cars that these sorts of things will *really* matter.

My 2 cents.

 

[kevincwelch]

Way off, IMO.

Comparing the two sides:

Harder to tell on the right side, but it looks better aligned. Plus, the pointed chrome window trim looks like it falls in the center of the joint on the left side and is more centered on the right.

 

[kevincwelch]

It's when the "regular" owners start getting their cars that these sorts of things will *really* matter.

I understand your point, but you have to sell cars to regular owners first. I'm not saying this one issue is something that is going to stop me from purchasing a Model S, and I realize that production is an evolution, but we're not talking about a couple of stitches on the leather seats coming undone. This is the integrity of the fascia here.