Car damage need ideas/advice

[brookman]

I have had this happen to me, not with the same results so I can't fault my wife. She parked a little deep over a concrete parking block, my guess is the car squatted down (like it has done to me many times) . She was at the place for over an hour, came out , backed up and it ripped the front fascia off. Not in a clean way either, all of the places where it was attached were torn off.

So addressing the issue first, does everyone's car squat when you park it? How long are you supposed to wait before backing out of somewhere?

Second issue, this fascia cannot be put back on since the mounting tabs are missing. Is there any way to get a new painted one, or should I order a junkyard one? If I go the junkyard route, does the newer style mount up?

Thank you.

 

[beatle]

Not sure about squatting. If there is a leak in the air suspension, it can cause the suspension to sag while sitting. It would have to be a pretty bad leak to drop that far in an hour though. What is your ride height normally set to?

As for the front bumper, several have replaced the old bumper with a new one. It is not exactly a 1:1 swap, but it can be done. There are a number of "facelift" threads that talk about what parts are needed to make the swap.

 

[David.85D]

Try the Tesla certified shops. A normal plastic bumper cover plus painting should be sub $1000 if she didn’t also damage the “radiator support” or other pieces.

mine doesn’t normally “squat” but it can happen if the car reboots for some reason or a leak, of course.

And, the best way to avoid this is tail-in parking.

I also drive a Mini Cooper, and it doesn’t fit over most parking blocks anyway, so I’m used to backing in.

 

[cookie99]

my car absolutely lowers itself very slightly when i leave the car. i think this is a feature? both of my S did this, with the latest one being a 2018

 

[Alysashley79]

My S I currently have and the previous one I have now all self level after you get out of the car. There have been many times this has happened to me....however I always back into stalls to avoid this.

 

[DCEV]

Try the Tesla certified shops. A normal plastic bumper cover plus painting should be sub $1000 if she didn’t also damage the “radiator support” or other pieces.

mine doesn’t normally “squat” but it can happen if the car reboots for some reason or a leak, of course.

And, the best way to avoid this is tail-in parking.

I also drive a Mini Cooper, and it doesn’t fit over most parking blocks anyway, so I’m used to backing in.

+ 1

Sorry this happened to you.

As a rule, always park tail in first.

You have higher clearance with no air suspension issues, plus you have a nice view of the rear camera to help you.

 

[brookman]

Is there a way to buy the front facia cover from tesla ?

 

[rsg123]

Yes this absolutely happens. We had a loaner S and my wife backed out of a supercharger stall (with the tiny concrete bumper) and it ripped the front bumper fascia loose. Our S doesn’t have air suspension so we didn’t know about this phenomenon. Tesla wanted us to pay for the damages and denied the resting was a defect but more the nature of air suspension. It was around $2000 to fix.

 

[David.85D]

Is there a way to buy the front facia cover from tesla ?

it’s just a part. They have to be painted to match. An authorized body shop can get it easily. An owner should also be able to get it. Contact parts at your local Service center.

do you know about the online parts website? Let’s you find part numbers. Can’t order directly unfortunately.

 

[cookie99]

Yes this absolutely happens. We had a loaner S and my wife backed out of a supercharger stall (with the tiny concrete bumper) and it ripped the front bumper fascia loose. Our S doesn’t have air suspension so we didn’t know about this phenomenon. Tesla wanted us to pay for the damages and denied the resting was a defect but more the nature of air suspension. It was around $2000 to fix.

$2000 haha.. the part new is like $500 from tesla themselves. i woulda just taped that sucker up and let it go

 

[AMPd]

$2000 haha.. the part new is like $500 from tesla themselves. i woulda just taped that sucker up and let it go

I paid 2700 for my front bumper. It was ridiculous and I should have told them to go **** themselves but they were the only certified shop within 100 miles.

 

[Babaron]

Just had my front bumper replaced by Tesla. $1600 painted.

 

[David.85D]

I paid 2700 for my front bumper. It was ridiculous and I should have told them to go **** themselves but they were the only certified shop within 100 miles.

that’s robbery. Sorry.

 

[David.85D]

I don’t think the bumper cover is a restricted part. An owner with a “supported” vin should be able to buy it directly from the service center. Please let me know if you’ve been told otherwise

 

[brookman]

Thank you for all the replies! How is the skid plate (FRONT AERO SHIELD) underneath in the front attached to the car?

I looked at the diagram but wanted to see if someone had pictures or can explain.

 

[David.85D]

It’s just like other cars. Some plastic clips, trim rivets and some trim screws. The plastic bumper cover fits over all the metal parts. Unplug the wiring harness for the parking sensors. Etc.

a YouTube search for “ Tesla model S front bumper removal “ (didn’t use quotes in my search) brought up several videos.

 

[rsg123]

$2000 haha.. the part new is like $500 from tesla themselves. i woulda just taped that sucker up and let it go

Yes, this is probably what I would have done since we suspected prior damage. But my wife was alone and scared to drive with something dragging on the road.