Bumpy sill cover?

[MileHighMotoring]

On the driver's side, the black plastic sill cover is bumpy towards the rear of the panel. It's almost like it has pebbled beneath the surface or something. My guess is there's a thin layer of foam beneath the hard plastic surface that's pilled up. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm sure the only way to resolve is to spend silly money on a new trim panel. But maybe it's common and they'd replace it for free? I dunno.

 

[Doug_G]

Yeah, I had that happen a while back. Tesla replaced them under warranty.

 

[hcsharp]

Mine had a couple of bumps right from the factory but not as bad as yours. They repaired it free under warranty. Now it's starting to do it again. I'm out of warranty now and it's not bothering me enough to do anything about it.

 

[wiztecy]

I highly recommend the CF sills.

 

[MileHighMotoring]

Thanks everyone. Glad it's not a sign of the car having been underwater or something. :biggrin:

I highly recommend the CF sills.

I love the look but my wife would hang me if I spent $1,400 on that. If you know of a used set or a cheaper set lemme know!

 

[wiztecy]

I love the look but my wife would hang me if I spent $1,400 on that. If you know of a used set or a cheaper set lemme know!

Just be aware, the sills are prone to cracking. There's a defect, a lip/gap is under the sill for right where you get in / out of the Roadster and by putting your hand down on the sill for a leverage point, causes the sill to stress and eventually crack. That was the main reason why I went the CF route. It broke, so I fixed it with something better. You don't have to worry about the CF cracking like the stock sills. They're very strong as you may know.

 

[ML Auto]

Just have an upholstery shop recover them. A faux carbon fiber vinyl looks nice. As long as they are not cracked.

 

[wiztecy]

Just have an upholstery shop recover them. A faux carbon fiber vinyl looks nice. As long as they are not cracked.

Great idea, and if you do take them off be very careful. That material, same as the interior door panel, is very very brittle and cracks easily when taking them off. If I remember correctly, I think its a seam in the sill right where there are a couple of rivets where the problem area is (about 3/4ths the way back from the front on the sill). You want to slightly build that area up so there is not a huge gap under the sill when its put back on. That's what causes the sill to eventually crack. Its all documented on TMC if you search hard enough which will give you a clearer picture.

 

[MileHighMotoring]

Thanks - now that I have some words to use in a search I was able to find some discussions about it's prevalence and everyone seems to agree that CF is best to solve the issue. I'll try first to see if Tesla would consider doing an out of warranty replacement, not sure if they would go for that. And they don't sell the CF ones anymore ..

 

[wiztecy]

And they don't sell the CF ones anymore ..

Al & Eds make the CF sills (Al s Autosound ) They're a little different, but not much than Tesla's. They put them up on Ebay once in a while, but you also can call them. Typically they're around $1200/$1300 per set. Only difference is that Tesla has a cutout section up by where your foot goes that was designed to make it look like it ties into the dash area better instead of a straight ending of the CF. People on TMC who purchased like them.

 

[smorgasbord]

Just be aware, the sills are prone to cracking. There's a defect, a lip/gap is under the sill for right where you get in / out of the Roadster and by putting your hand down on the sill for a leverage point, causes the sill to stress and eventually crack. That was the main reason why I went the CF route. It broke, so I fixed it with something better. You don't have to worry about the CF cracking like the stock sills. They're very strong as you may know.

My CarbonOne sills cracked in use. Yeah, CarbonOne did a poor job, ran off with people's money, etc. But, just to note that carbon fiber can crack.

I ended up getting my original sills rewrapped in leather, and am still very happy now, about 18 months later.

 

[wiztecy]

I never heard the Tesla CF sills cracking. I've put a good portion of my body weight pushing down on that sill without addressing the seam issue underneath without any stress or cracking of the sill. I'm a soul believer you get what you pay for, if what you pay for is a quality made product.

Also I've used CF / done CF work myself to strengthen up a stress area around a transom / floor area of my fishing boat due to the slamming of the waves and the weight of the outboard motor over time. Essentially the leverage of the outboard coupled with vibration across the floor caused cracking of the fiberglass where the vertical supports are perpendicular to the floor. I repaired it with CF, lasted for a little time, cracked. Did it again, adding another layer, again cracked. After I found the right amount of layering and the correct resin mix it never cracked again. CF is very very strong, as long as the resin mix is does not have too much catalyst as well as you lay enough CF cloth that covers the overhead of your stress points/area you're good to go.

 

[ML Auto]

An easier way to reinforce the underside of the sills is to use 8lb expanding foam. You just mix it in a cup and spread it on the underside. A thin layer expands to give you about an inch of thickness. Almost as hard as a rock, but easy to trim with a rotary wood rasp. I always use it on the backside of fiberglass/carbon fiber repairs. Much easier than more layers of glass/fiber.

 

[m0rph]

I have exactly the same problem, on both sides. Now the leather is starting to tear apart. I'll have it fixed after the winter.

 

[supersnoop]

I'll call that "damage," not a "defect." Those sills are stuck on with velcro. It looks like someone pulled on one end to remove them and bent them at the corners, causing the internal material to break down.

 

[strider]

Supersnoop may have a point. My Roadster was rear-ended earlier this year and the shop had to repaint the entire back half of the car which precipitated removing the sills. My passenger side now looks the same as the OP's. Maybe the shop messed the passenger one up when they R&R'd it?

I've been debating doing the CF sills for awhile now, maybe it's time.