Can't jack one corner (battery flex)?

[Nate T]

Just ordered a MY. The sales person is insisting that you can't jack up a single corner of a Tesla to change a wheel because it could cause the battery pack to flex and break. I'm pretty sure this is nonsense - obvious you'd want to use the designated jack point and not jack on the battery pack, but I've seen plenty of pictures of them being jacked up, including by rangers. And if the batteries were that fragile you'd crack them going up driveways and such.

This advisor is very insistent though, so wanted to check if there's anything to this. I'm guessing he's confusing the fact that you'd need two jacks (or a lift or jackpoint jackstands) to rotate tires, since there's no way to swap in a regular jack stand using only the four jacking points. But if you just want to change a single wheel (going from summer to winter for instance) surely it's fine?

 

[jcanoe]

Wrong. The frame of the Tesla Model Y is strong enough that you can use a floor jack at the front lift point and jack both wheels on that side off the ground. Perfect for front to back tire rotations.

You need to use a low profile floor jack, rated for at least 2 tons. If you use a lift pad you only need one lift pad to raise the Tesla in this fashion.

 

[pt19713]

No problem. People have been doing it for years.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

I watched a video of a mobile service guy rotating tires at an owner's house and
he only jacked up the rear of the car enough to also get the front wheel off the ground.

 

[iamnid]

I've done it for tire rotations. A single jack at the front is enough to life the entire side (both tires off the ground).

 

[quadroplexor]

I watched a video of a mobile service guy rotating tires at an owner's house and
he only jacked up the rear of the car enough to also get the front wheel off the ground.

Mobile service did exactly that yesterday in my driveway to do a front back rotation.

 

[Darmie]

This is good to know. Tire rotation is something I don't do often enough. Even on the Model Y, I'm finding that the rear wears down much quicker than the front.

 

[Wol747]

Anyone (but me) done the Model S?

 

[Rafasfdc]

Anyone (but me) done the Model S?

Yup did it here on my 2015. I have 19" rims with Winter Tires, and 21"s for summer. And a spare Turbine 21" because the Contisports are ridiculous nail magnets. I always jack with a 2 x 4 piece. I missed the jack point a couple times when I first got it. No visible damage done. More damage was done to the liner when I had to get off to the side of the road during a mountain drive to accommodate a hurling passenger. Didn't see the asphalt had badly jagged edges. Tesla SC said it was cosmetic.

 

[KurtSanders]

Works perfectly on MY 2021

 

[TomServo]

Geez, Tesla reps are now starting to act and sound like legacy manufacturers. That's 100% pure BS. Mobil Tech just came and rotated my tires.

He did say you can only do this from the rear jacking pad though.

 

[Pianewman]

Yup did it here on my 2015. I have 19" rims with Winter Tires, and 21"s for summer. And a spare Turbine 21" because the Contisports are ridiculous nail magnets. I always jack with a 2 x 4 piece. I missed the jack point a couple times when I first got it. No visible damage done. More damage was done to the liner when I had to get off to the side of the road during a mountain drive to accommodate a hurling passenger. Didn't see the asphalt had badly jagged edges. Tesla SC said it was cosmetic.

Uhh...seriously...speaking of BS...you're joking, right?

 

[GeoG]

No problem. People have been doing it for years.
View attachment 678229

Love your garage flooring.

 

[DanDi58]

Just ordered a MY. The sales person is insisting that you can't jack up a single corner of a Tesla to change a wheel because it could cause the battery pack to flex and break. I'm pretty sure this is nonsense - obvious you'd want to use the designated jack point and not jack on the battery pack, but I've seen plenty of pictures of them being jacked up, including by rangers. And if the batteries were that fragile you'd crack them going up driveways and such.

This advisor is very insistent though, so wanted to check if there's anything to this. I'm guessing he's confusing the fact that you'd need two jacks (or a lift or jackpoint jackstands) to rotate tires, since there's no way to swap in a regular jack stand using only the four jacking points. But if you just want to change a single wheel (going from summer to winter for instance) surely it's fine?

Unless he was insistent that you had to use the jacking points. To me, saying 'jacking up a corner' implies using the jack in front of the front tires or behind the rear tires, which you obviously would not want to do.

I'm old enough to remember when cars came with a slot in the (chrome) bumpers to put in the jack. And the jack was a single vertical piece of metal with teeth, not the scissors type favored now!

 

[Pianewman]

DanDi58: HAHAHAHA! Yupp...and if the pawl/ratchet popped out of the toothed vertical bar, the car would come crashing down. Truly a widow-maker.

Seriously, though, I doubt there's ANYONE in ANY Tesla Service Center that knows what you're referring to. They don't even know what REAL chrome is!!!

...carry on...

 

[Nate T]

Unless he was insistent that you had to use the jacking points. To me, saying 'jacking up a corner' implies using the jack in front of the front tires or behind the rear tires, which you obviously would not want to do.

I'm old enough to remember when cars came with a slot in the (chrome) bumpers to put in the jack. And the jack was a single vertical piece of metal with teeth, not the scissors type favored now!

Ah, forgot about this thread for a bit. No, naturally, not the literal corner. The dispute was whether you could jack the car up using a single jacking point; he argued that you need to use a lift at all four points, or a minimum of two jacks on the same side, or the battery could be damaged. As I said I was 99% sure that was nonsense, and I appreciate all the confirmations! I bet he just heard about batteries being damaged from improper jacking (IE missing the jacking points) and misunderstood. And then doubled down.

 

[Tonedog77]

1.5 ton jack is fine for tire changes and such 2t is ideal but 1.5 is more than enough

 

[Woggon]

Mobile service did exactly that yesterday in my driveway to do a front back rotation.

Same here, but a little over a week ago on my Model Y in my driveway.

 

[hungryev]

unrelated, but what is everyone using to loosen and re-torque the lug nuts for tire changes? Haven't changed tires on my own but will start now that I'll be swapping wheels depending on the season.

 

[jcanoe]

unrelated, but what is everyone using to loosen and re-torque the lug nuts for tire changes? Haven't changed tires on my own but will start now that I'll be swapping wheels depending on the season.

The Tesla Model Y Owner's Manual states that you should not use air tools or electric power tools such as an impact wrench to loosen or tighten the lug nuts. Use a half inch shaft 21mm deep socket, possibly a thin wall socket. You need a breaker bar and a torque wrench that is rated for at least 130 ft pounds (Tesla specifies 129 ft lbs when tightening the lug nuts.)