Build quality issues are exaggerated!

[gaur]

Picked up my 2023 MYLR earlier this week, and spend like 1.5 hours going through every item on this checklist, and there were 0 issues. The car is super well built (I’m in a profession that requires eye for detail). I also poked around other ‘ready for delivery’ cars on the lot, and didn’t notice anything. No paint chips, no weird panel gaps, nada. I was so worried seeing some of the recent build quality posts. Now I can safely say, they’re either very rare or exaggerated.

Positive rant over.

 

[starise]

Same here. People also say Tesla paint isn't as good as others. This is not true either. Several have used a paint thickness gauges to determine it's put on just as thick and in come cases thicker than several OEMs.

 

[EV1980]

I think this is a common worry for new owners awaiting their new car. I had the inspection app downloaded to my phone and paper copies of checklists at the ready but there was nothing wrong with my car other than the PPF that had a bubble trapped within it on both sides. This has since been rectified by Tesla.

I don't doubt some of the stories i've read about online, in fact some of the photographic evidence has been shocking. However, most of those that I have read are not recent examples. I guess Tesla's QC has been given an overhaul since those posts were made.

 

[tangible1]

Picked up my 2023 MYLR earlier this week, and spend like 1.5 hours going through every item on this checklist, and there were 0 issues. The car is super well built (I’m in a profession that requires eye for detail). I also poked around other ‘ready for delivery’ cars on the lot, and didn’t notice anything. No paint chips, no weird panel gaps, nada. I was so worried seeing some of the recent build quality posts. Now I can safely say, they’re either very rare or exaggerated.

Positive rant over.

early issues were real but have been overcome for quite a while now

but urban legends die hard, especially when naive people repeat them to sound as though knowledgeable

 

[fredzos]

i didn't have or see any issues when i picked mine up.

car was a little dirty since it rained night before and earlier in the day before i got there.

took it to get ppf and tint right after i picked it up and they showed me all the paint flaws.

there were scuffs and swirls all over. had to do some paint correction before the ppf was applied.

nothing major like others though.

 

[gflar]

If you read around this forum you will see some recent purchases still have quality issues. Quality issues will probably continue to go down until the new revised Model 3 and Model Y comes then the number of issues will jump up again. It will probably take a year or two for Tesla to fix most issues. Like all their previous first and second year model releases. Especially with the new more efficient and faster production process Tesla is trying with all upcoming newer models, that can’t be issue free.

 

[tangible1]

If you read around this forum you will see some recent purchases still have quality issues. Quality issues will probably continue to go down until the new revised Model 3 and Model Y comes then the number of issues will jump up again. It will probably take a year or two for Tesla to fix most issues. Like all their previous first and second year model releases. Especially with the new more efficient and faster production process Tesla is trying with all upcoming newer models, that can’t be issue free.

no manufacturer has 'No' issues. and never will.
forums like this serve to keep them alive as well.

 

[exfed2001]

Now I can safely say, they’re either very rare or exaggerated.

When I picked mine up, I found a small polishing swirl on the right rear door. They took care of it.

I just noticed two things. The bottom of the rear hatch sits about 1-2mm further in on the right side than the left. And the center of the hatch glass is slightly higher in the middle than on the sides.

Oh, and there are two pinkie fingernail sized remanants of the prtoective plastic that I missed. Now I will need to use tweezers.

How could I have missed these terrible, terrible faults. I am amazed the car even runs and gives me efficiency approaching my old Kona EV.

Ah, the humanity!

 

[thefisch]

If my SC had a proper detail crew on hand to clean up marks and deal with buffing out minor clearcoat scratches, my delivery would have only had two issues - trunk alignment and an overspray in the clearcoat on a panel. The overspray will require at least some heavier work to even it out - hopefully not repaint. It's at the body shop now taking care of both issues.

 

[gaur]

Maybe I spoke too soon, oh well. Discovered wind noise (due to air leak) coming from a part of my windshield (passenger side lower corner) after some amount of highway driving. I got pretty anxious at first, but took it to SC immediately (still within 300km). Very good service overall. The technician confirmed the issue I described and empathized with my disappointment. Within few hours got a message that they’re replacing the windshield (under warranty). Picked up today, is resolved.

Was a bummer at first, but quite happy with their response. Fingers crossed for no surprises down the road, lol.

 

[thinkingaboutt]

Maybe I spoke too soon, oh well. Discovered wind noise (due to air leak) coming from a part of my windshield (passenger side lower corner) after some amount of highway driving. I got pretty anxious at first, but took it to SC immediately (still within 300km). Very good service overall. The technician confirmed the issue I described and empathized with my disappointment. Within few hours got a message that they’re replacing the windshield (under warranty). Picked up today, is resolved.

Was a bummer at first, but quite happy with their response. Fingers crossed for no surprises down the road, lol.

Glad to hear they took care of it quickly. Never know with Tesla.

 

[derriX]

Picked up my 2023 MYLR earlier this week, and spend like 1.5 hours going through every item on this checklist, and there were 0 issues. The car is super well built (I’m in a profession that requires eye for detail). I also poked around other ‘ready for delivery’ cars on the lot, and didn’t notice anything. No paint chips, no weird panel gaps, nada. I was so worried seeing some of the recent build quality posts. Now I can safely say, they’re either very rare or exaggerated.

Positive rant over.

Same

 

[gflar]

Got my new Model Y, three days ago. Did a visual inspection before paying. I was so focus on panel gaps, paint imperfections, and previous issues I read about, I completely forgot to check upholstery. When we got home wife discovered two of the rear seats wasn’t sewn shot so the foam was exposed on the bottom. Also rattle somewhere in the cabin. Opened a service request with photos. Tesla tech was very responsive with scheduling. Hopefully it doesn’t take too long to fix and they provide a temp replacement vehicle. So far quite impressed with the drive and the level of tech the car has.

 

[FMinMI]

Picked up my 2023 MYLR earlier this week, and spend like 1.5 hours going through every item on this checklist, and there were 0 issues. The car is super well built (I’m in a profession that requires eye for detail). I also poked around other ‘ready for delivery’ cars on the lot, and didn’t notice anything. No paint chips, no weird panel gaps, nada. I was so worried seeing some of the recent build quality posts. Now I can safely say, they’re either very rare or exaggerated.

Positive rant over.

Just saw your post and the link to the check sheet. Our EDD isn't until June but printed it out just to have it ready. One thing caught my attention - "Check all 4 door levers". Do you know what that means? Are they saying to make sure all 4 doors open via the 'button' or via the emergency release?

And does the J1772 adapter and USB drive still come with the car? I know they did away with the mobile charger.

Thanks.

 

[fredzos]

Just saw your post and the link to the check sheet. Our EDD isn't until June but printed it out just to have it ready. One thing caught my attention - "Check all 4 door levers". Do you know what that means? Are they saying to make sure all 4 doors open via the 'button' or via the emergency release?

And does the J1772 adapter and USB drive still come with the car? I know they did away with the mobile charger.

Thanks.

my model y came with the adapter, usb drive and the privacy cover in the back

 

[HitchHiker71]

Same here. People also say Tesla paint isn't as good as others. This is not true either. Several have used a paint thickness gauges to determine it's put on just as thick and in come cases thicker than several OEMs.

It's not the thickness that matters - it's the type of paint. Older vehicles almost universally used solvent borne paints, whereas newer vehicles have increasingly been moving away from solvent borne paints toward water borne paints. Tesla apparently uses a ceramic based water borne paint - which requires a thicker coat than solvent borne paints in comparison. Water borne paints generally require more time to completely cure than solvent borne paints. The fact that Tesla chose a ceramic based water borne paint process is because it is more environmentally friendly than many other automotive paints - which stays in line with Tesla's focus on renewables and keeping their environmental footprint relatively narrow.

Tesla is also one of the first direct-to-consumer automotive manufacturers to come to the mass market. As another forum member was nice enough to point out, this makes a big difference on initial delivery because most legacy auto manufacturers use dealer networks - and therefore the vehicles on most lots are older than 60 days when consumers take delivery (often 90 days or more from date of manufacture), and therefore the paint has cured completely upon delivery. With Tesla vehicles, oftentimes the consumer takes delivery literally two weeks after date of manufacture on average since most are built to order. The paint has not fully cured upon delivery - and won't complete the curing process until 45-75 days after delivery. I hadn't really thought about this aspect of direct-to-consumer delivery before personally, but it makes a lot of sense in hindsight. Special care for the paint needs to be taken into account during the first three months of ownership with this in mind IMHO. Hand wash only using mild detergents - like the owner's manual says. Personally, I think that the Tesla owners manual should be more explicit about the fact that the paint has not yet cured and should provide more explicit guidance during the first 60-90 days after delivery with this in mind.

 

[starise]

It's not the thickness that matters - it's the type of paint. Older vehicles almost universally used solvent borne paints, whereas newer vehicles have increasingly been moving away from solvent borne paints toward water borne paints. Tesla apparently uses a ceramic based water borne paint - which requires a thicker coat than solvent borne paints in comparison. Water borne paints generally require more time to completely cure than solvent borne paints. The fact that Tesla chose a ceramic based water borne paint process is because it is more environmentally friendly than many other automotive paints - which stays in line with Tesla's focus on renewables and keeping their environmental footprint relatively narrow.

Tesla is also one of the first direct-to-consumer automotive manufacturers to come to the mass market. As another forum member was nice enough to point out, this makes a big difference on initial delivery because most legacy auto manufacturers use dealer networks - and therefore the vehicles on most lots are older than 60 days when consumers take delivery (often 90 days or more from date of manufacture), and therefore the paint has cured completely upon delivery. With Tesla vehicles, oftentimes the consumer takes delivery literally two weeks after date of manufacture on average since most are built to order. The paint has not fully cured upon delivery - and won't complete the curing process until 45-75 days after delivery. I hadn't really thought about this aspect of direct-to-consumer delivery before personally, but it makes a lot of sense in hindsight. Special care for the paint needs to be taken into account during the first three months of ownership with this in mind IMHO. Hand wash only using mild detergents - like the owner's manual says. Personally, I think that the Tesla owners manual should be more explicit about the fact that the paint has not yet cured and should provide more explicit guidance during the first 60-90 days after delivery with this in mind.

Thanks for this.

When I took delivery of my MYLR in white., yeah, I know there aren't many of us around I decided initially to ceramic coat the car for protection.

I use the Y as a daily driver. Another factor in all of this is the last car I purchased, not a Tesla, was coming off of lease and looked like someone had sat in front of it shooting a bb gun at it. At the time I reasoned the past owners must have been behind a truck from a gravel factory. From a distance it isn't
noticable, but up close it's pretty bad. At the time I assumed the car had been in some unusual extreme circumstances. One thing I knew. I didn't want my brand new Tesla to look like that.
Fast forward about three weeks since I picked up the Tesla and I put the ceramic coating on. I have been hand washing the car so I see it up close regularly. I noticed a few very small rock chips on the front down lower. This was when a bulb went off in my head and I figured that if the chips were this bad at three weeks out, how bad it it going to be at a few years in?
That's when I made the phone call to have PPF put on the entire front of the car. It's a white car. A fly can poop on it and you'll see it. Price of installation wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated, so I'm on the schedule for PPF.
Your comments on the paint would line up with those early paint chips on my car. Maybe the paint is less durable. I decided not to take any chances. I just hope between the time they put the PPF on and the time I'm driving without it I don't get behind a dump truck with a few loose pebbles coming out the back.

 

[tangible1]

It's not the thickness that matters - it's the type of paint. Older vehicles almost universally used solvent borne paints, whereas newer vehicles have increasingly been moving away from solvent borne paints toward water borne paints. Tesla apparently uses a ceramic based water borne paint - which requires a thicker coat than solvent borne paints in comparison. Water borne paints generally require more time to completely cure than solvent borne paints. The fact that Tesla chose a ceramic based water borne paint process is because it is more environmentally friendly than many other automotive paints - which stays in line with Tesla's focus on renewables and keeping their environmental footprint relatively narrow.

Tesla is also one of the first direct-to-consumer automotive manufacturers to come to the mass market. As another forum member was nice enough to point out, this makes a big difference on initial delivery because most legacy auto manufacturers use dealer networks - and therefore the vehicles on most lots are older than 60 days when consumers take delivery (often 90 days or more from date of manufacture), and therefore the paint has cured completely upon delivery. With Tesla vehicles, oftentimes the consumer takes delivery literally two weeks after date of manufacture on average since most are built to order. The paint has not fully cured upon delivery - and won't complete the curing process until 45-75 days after delivery. I hadn't really thought about this aspect of direct-to-consumer delivery before personally, but it makes a lot of sense in hindsight. Special care for the paint needs to be taken into account during the first three months of ownership with this in mind IMHO. Hand wash only using mild detergents - like the owner's manual says. Personally, I think that the Tesla owners manual should be more explicit about the fact that the paint has not yet cured and should provide more explicit guidance during the first 60-90 days after delivery with this in mind.

also a factor when considering when to get PPF applied.

 

[HitchHiker71]

also a factor when considering when to get PPF applied.

Yes, I wondered about that as well. Would it be ideal to wait until 90 days out before having PPF/CC done? I honestly don't know as I'm not a paint expert really. For someone who daily drives their MY - like my wife does - waiting 90 days might mean having some dings in the paint especially in the wear areas like in front of and behind the rear wheel wells on the rocker panels, and on the front bumper. I have also heard that water borne paints are "softer" than solvent borne paints and are therefore more prone to damage - especially in the first 90 days during the curing process. I've seen quite a few complaints of "thin" paint for other brands outside of Tesla - and this is likely due to the migration from solvent borne paints to water borne paints over the past decade roughly. Probably also why PPF/CC treatments are growing more prevalent - to enhance paint protection and durability over time.

 

[tangible1]

Yes, I wondered about that as well. Would it be ideal to wait until 90 days out before having PPF/CC done? I honestly don't know as I'm not a paint expert really. For someone who daily drives their MY - like my wife does - waiting 90 days might mean having some dings in the paint especially in the wear areas like in front of and behind the rear wheel wells on the rocker panels, and on the front bumper. I have also heard that water borne paints are "softer" than solvent borne paints and are therefore more prone to damage - especially in the first 90 days during the curing process. I've seen quite a few complaints of "thin" paint for other brands outside of Tesla - and this is likely due to the migration from solvent borne paints to water borne paints over the past decade roughly. Probably also why PPF/CC treatments are growing more prevalent - to enhance paint protection and durability over time.

the application of PPF involves applying / lifting / re-applying so there's some risk of paint delamination.
just talk about it with the person / outfit you select to do the work.