Can someone please help confirm if these panel gaps are fine?

[jmcclain12]

Hi, I recently took delivery of a Model Y and was told I had 7 days and/or 100 miles to report any issues, so I would really appreciate help confirming whether or not the panel gaps shown in the photos seem acceptable or if there are any noticable issues I should report to Tesla. My main concern is with anything that could cause functional issues, e.g. leaks or door opening / closing.

I tried researching it and looking at other people's photos of panel gaps but couldn't find an empirical way to check and tbh I had a hard time telling the difference. Should I simply leave the car out in the rain and then see if I notice any water leaking inside (indicating water is getting between the panels)? Can I just use a ruler and if so what number of millimeters should the gaps be (or is there a particular tool / method I should use or something specific I should be looking for)?

Apologies if these are dumb questions, to reiterate I would really appreciate if someone more knowledgeable than me could look at the attached photos and tell me if everything looks fine or not.

 

[OldPro]

Roof gap looks a little bit excessive. Everything else acceptable

 

[jeremymc7]

Same. Roof gap is more than the usual gap. Tesla is known for wide gaps.

Definitely not as narrow as my old Audi A7.

 

[jmcclain12]

Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it! I guess I'll report the roof gap photo in the Service tab of the Tesla app and ask if they can confirm it's an issue and fix. Thanks again for the assistance!

 

[jeremymc7]

On one of my cars they said this is a hand made car and so two are the same.

Haha

Two mobile service people said it’s not in spec and they would escalate to fix.

Honestly mobile service is amazing compared to what I hear from service centers; which I’ve never had to deal with.

But a lot of stuff won’t be approved for mobile; though I’ve been lucky with exception cases.

 

[jmcclain12]

So I submitted my question / concern to Tesla about the panel gap on the roof via the "Services" tab in the Tesla app under "exterior trim" (I hope that is the correct category) and after submitting the request it seemed to automatically proceed a few seconds later to the next step "cost estimate" being over $100.

I'm still within the 7 day / 100 mile window the sales person told me about, so I was expecting them to look into the issue for free and repair if needed since it seems like it'd be a manufacturer defect. Do you know if I need to call Tesla tomorrow and ask them to adjust the cost estimate before clicking "approve and schedule"? I don't want to accidentally get billed over $100 for something I thought would be fixed for free.

P.S.: I was planning to take a short trip tomorrow to a nearby city which might push me over the 100 mile limit mentioned by my sales person, do you know if the 100 mile limit is enforced for things like panel gaps, or is that limit more for other things that are more obvious like e.g. the car not starting.

 

[jeremymc7]

They always quote until it’s evaluated as warranty or not.

Audi did the same thing for me if it was obvious it was warranty until they saw it for themselves.

 

[jmcclain12]

Makes sense, thanks! I approved the service request estimated cost and scheduled it for next week, I'm assuming I should be covered under warranty but I sent a follow-up comment on the service request asking them to contact me and confirm to be safe.

 

[Pianewman]

I agree that the only thing that would concern me is the first photo of the hatch/roof gap.

It's odd that the edges aren't parallel. I don't see how adjusting the hatch to close the gap a bit would impact on that fact, unless the camera lens is distorting the image.

 

[Mateo83]

You can request they realign the rear hatch. But usually, once they touch it, it's deemed "within spec". Otherwise, your gaps look better than mine when they had the car for 2.5 weeks

 

[bugek]

Is the roof gap addressed by adjusting the rubber stops on the hatch? or its much more involved (ie. fix causes a gap somewhere else)

 

[LightProtector]

I have a similar gap on the top, so it makes me a bit more relieved to see another person with the same issue. Was everything resolved smoothly?

 

[jmcclain12]

A Tesla service center person called me before my scheduled appointment and basically said the photo I attached of the roof gap looked "in spec" to them, and iirc they also said if I wanted to insist that they fix it I would have to have the car taken to an actual service center (they said mobile support wasn't sufficient) and even then he basically said if they try to fix that particular gap, there was no guarantee they wouldn't simply make another gap somewhere else on the car even worse in the process lol.

Basically the person suggested I agree to let them cancel the appointment and I said fine, but mentioned that since I already have the case submitted with a photo, if the gap were to get worse in the future for some reason and start causing a functional issue like leaking then at least there was proof and it could always be fixed later if it became a non-aesthetic issue.

 

[sreeshas]

OP, i think your car is pretty much perfect. is that roof gap even on both sides? if it is, i wouldnt bother with it. i have looked at lot of MYLRs and yours look pretty good. i would like to have your fit and finish especially for tail lights.

 

[Dvba]

2022 model y is panel gap is normal?

 

[jeremymc7]

2022 model y is panel gap is normal?

It's a Tesla. According to Tesla these are hand built cars and these type of things are to be expected and within spec tolerance.

That said what does the other side look like? Same distance? Is the hatch opening and closing without any issues? Does it lock without any weird noises or movements? When being washed or driven in rain do you get any water ingress? Have someone run a hose over it while you fold down seats and check from inside while closed.

The trunk like most of the panels have the ability to be realigned. Now if Tesla will do it is a coin toss. Not to mention once you realign one panel it's probable you'll have a cascade effect and one or more panels may than need to be realigned as well. It Tesla won't do it, or do it to your satisfaction, go to a qualified 3rd party shop and have them refit the panels you find offensive. Quite a few people just do it themselves; but they have more comfort for such thing than do I.

I've seen better, but I've also seen much worse.

 

[bugek]

It's a Tesla. According to Tesla these are hand built cars and these type of things are to be expected and within spec tolerance.
Quite a few people just do it themselves; but they have more comfort for such thing than do I.

People have mentioned its 'easy' to adjust the bolts for the hatch, but I've yet to see any youtube video with someone 'actually' doing it. The Tesla service video talks about it and makes it sound easy. I can imagine a comedy of errors if you havent seen it done before

 

[jeremymc7]

People have mentioned its 'easy' to adjust the bolts for the hatch, but I've yet to see any youtube video with someone 'actually' doing it. The Tesla service video talks about it and makes it sound easy. I can imagine a comedy of errors if you havent seen it done before

Interesting I just did a simple keyword google search and several videos popped up regarding adjust the Y hatch gaps. I can’t speak to them a I have no need to watch them myself. You might want to dig a bit deeper as it’s pleats there are at least a few. I’m sure there’s likely several posts here on the forum with photos or videos but they’ll take more time to find.

 

[bugek]

Interesting I just did a simple keyword google search and several videos popped up regarding adjust the Y hatch gaps. I can’t speak to them a I have no need to watch them myself. You might want to dig a bit deeper as it’s pleats there are at least a few. I’m sure there’s likely several posts here on the forum with photos or videos but they’ll take more time to find.

no, those videos are simply turning the rubber stops. Any human can do this. Adjusting a gap (which cannot be resolved by the rubber stops) involves loosening the actual bolts.

If you have gaps, first thing to do is paper test (to check rubber stop clearance) then see if adjusting stops help. next will be the bolts

 

[zoomer0056]

whether or not the panel gaps shown in the photos seem acceptable

That's entirely up to you. If you like 'em, then they're OK. If not, take it in.