Crashed my car after owning it for 2 days!

[Ragnarr]

Hey guys, so after just owning the car for 2 days I mis judged a curb at a tight parking spot and hit my car. Here is the damage. I don't see any damage to the actual body of the car. The bottom plastic and the 2 side panels Are damaged. Now is this going to be a easy fix? Cost wise what am I looking at roughly? Any ideas? Tesla is closed for the day and I can't wait until it opens tomorrow morning.

I had no warning or automatic breaking from the ultra sonic sensors

I'm in Norway BTW.

 

[Az_Rael]

Ouch that looks painful. I don't know the costs to repair, but if you can avoid painting and bodywork on the aluminum, it will be less to fix.

I am guessing the ultrasonics don't cover that area and they are notoriously bad about detecting curbs.

 

[jelloslug]

If it’s just the black plastic parts, the cost to fix it will be minimal. Body damage is where the costs pile up.

 

[Ragnarr]

Thanks for your replies. I'm heart broken. My insurance confirmed that they will cover the cost of repairs. And yes there is no damage to the body.

Anyone has experience with the same type of damage? I have a road trip and I need to get it fixed before so wondering if this is going to take weeks/months at the workshop?

I'm disappointed that ultrasonic didn't pick it up. I hope someone at tesla see this post.

 

[kev1n]

I'm disappointed that ultrasonic didn't pick it up. I hope someone at tesla see this post.

as far as i know, the sensors do not detect the side of the car. besides lets be real here, the sensors are used as an aid, they are not idiot proof. you still need to know how to drive a car.

it doesnt look like any real damage, just replacement of the black plastic parts that you can probably pick up from Tesla

you can probably just drive it on your road trip as is.

 

[Ragnarr]

as far as i know, the sensors do not detect the side of the car. besides lets be real here, the sensors are used as an aid, they are not idiot proof. you still need to know how to drive a car.

it doesnt look like any real damage, just replacement of the black plastic parts that you can probably pick up from Tesla

you can probably just drive it on your road trip as is.

I’m not blaming Tesla. I take full responsibility. I’m driving for 12 years and not a single incident so far until today. So I do know how to drive. It’s one of those days. Since I bought the Tesla I’m super nervous driving it. All I was saying is it would have been great if the ultrasonic sensors have picked up the proximity and applied the breaks. (Audi A8L does this)

Honestly I was under the impression Tesla does this by default.

I hope they bring this feature soon.

 

[GOPJEW]

I'm sorry that happened - but I don't think it is Tesla's fault that you drove into a curb - auto-braking is intended to stop you from hitting another car/pedestrian and the sensors don't make noise.

The sensors highlight on your screen in front of you and they may have picked up the curb and you just did not notice them. They also may not have had a chance to brake/warn you as you may have done this quickly (apparently at speed from the damage) and suddenly.

I once backed my S into the spare tire of a Jeep - sensors said I had lots of room to the Jeep, but they didn't go above the bumper to see the lifted Jeep's spare tire - my fault completely.

Good luck on the fix, it does not look like it is anything that should affect performance at this point so hopefully it is OK to drive until the parts arrive.

 

[jtdiddy]

this hurts to see. hope the fix goes smoothly and cheaply

 

[Ragnarr]

I'm sorry that happened - but I don't think it is Tesla's fault that you drove into a curb - auto-braking is intended to stop you from hitting another car/pedestrian and the sensors don't make noise.

The sensors highlight on your screen in front of you and they may have picked up the curb and you just did not notice them. They also may not have had a chance to brake/warn you as you may have done this quickly (apparently at speed from the damage) and suddenly.

I once backed my S into the spare tire of a Jeep - sensors said I had lots of room to the Jeep, but they didn't go above the bumper to see the lifted Jeep's spare tire - my fault completely.

Good luck on the fix, it does not look like it is anything that should affect performance at this point so hopefully it is OK to drive until the parts arrive.

I agree with you.

I went back to the car and checked again and I can see a small black box that has come lose and some white wires also exposed. But I took the car for a drive and everythings Ok and no errors or warnings.

The acceleration is ridiculously fast so I might have hit the pedal a bit harder and car probably didn't have enough time to react. I probably didn't see the warning as well if there was one. Hitting the curb is my mistake. But having seen the video of Audi A8 auto breaking in similar situations it would be great if tesla can bring this feature to us.

 

[MrBoylan]

Hey guys, so after just owning the car for 2 days I mis judged a curb at a tight parking spot and hit my car. Here is the damage. I don't see any damage to the actual body of the car. The bottom plastic and the 2 side panels Are damaged. Now is this going to be a easy fix? Cost wise what am I looking at roughly? Any ideas? Tesla is closed for the day and I can't wait until it opens tomorrow morning.

I had no warning or automatic breaking from the ultra sonic sensors

I'm in Norway BTW.

Bummer! I feel your pain having done something similar to my baby on my third trip out with it. As for repair costs, it all depends on how much R&I there is (Removal and re-Installation) and, as others have said, whether there are any aluminum parts involved and whether any sensors or cameras have to be removed/reinstalled.

I clipped a parking sign with my Model 3 and that turned out to be a $6,200 repair job (initial appraisal was almost $7,000). The front left fender is apparently aluminum (not mild steel like the rear fender), so they had to replace it rather than pull the dent and repair it in place. And replacing the fender required removing the front bumper, side view mirror, various trim parts, moldings, etc. as well as deactivation of the high voltage system. And to match the color on the surrounding parts required blending the paint with a 3 step prime and paint process for most of the left side of the car.

I wrote it up here: Here's What $7,000 Of Damage Looks Like On A Tesla Model 3 | CleanTechnica

Hopefully your repair will be much simpler (and cheaper) than mine was. BTW, my repair took almost 3 weeks, but much of that was the insurance company arguing with the auto repair shop and sending their own independent appraiser to confirm the details.

 

[Ragnarr]

Bummer! I feel your pain having done something similar to my baby on my third trip out with it. As for repair costs, it all depends on how much R&I there is (Removal and re-Installation) and, as others have said, whether there are any aluminum parts involved and whether any sensors or cameras have to be removed/reinstalled.

I clipped a parking sign with my Model 3 and that turned out to be a $6,200 repair job (initial appraisal was almost $7,000). The front left fender is apparently aluminum (not mild steel like the rear fender), so they had to replace it rather than pull the dent and repair it in place. And replacing the fender required removing the front bumper, side view mirror, various trim parts, moldings, etc. as well as deactivation of the high voltage system. And to match the color on the surrounding parts required blending the paint with a 3 step prime and paint process for most of the left side of the car.

I wrote it up here: Here's What $7,000 Of Damage Looks Like On A Tesla Model 3 | CleanTechnica

Hopefully your repair will be much simpler (and cheaper) than mine was. BTW, my repair took almost 3 weeks, but much of that was the insurance company arguing with the auto repair shop and sending their own independent appraiser to confirm the details.

Wow that cost really made me nervous. Mine has a bigger damage than yours but only the plastic bits as far as I can see. Aluminium is not damaged.

I think this is a good wakeup call for me not to put too much trust in sensors and put trust in myself. My wife said the same thing. I was quite embarrassed cause it was the selling point and she is laughing at me.

If you think Newyork is expensive then you should visit Norway and see.

Good thing in Norway is insurance and coverage is pretty good and they agreed to cover it as long as I pay the minimum (Around $400) but it will hurt my bonus

But the bad thing is that it could be a very long wait to get the parts and fix it.

I'm planning to take the car to tesla tomorrow and see what they say. I'll keep this thread updated.

 

[GOPJEW]

I agree with you.

I went back to the car and checked again and I can see a small black box that has come lose and some white wires also exposed. But I took the car for a drive and everythings Ok and no errors or warnings.

The acceleration is ridiculously fast so I might have hit the pedal a bit harder and car probably didn't have enough time to react. I probably didn't see the warning as well if there was one. Hitting the curb is my mistake. But having seen the video of Audi A8 auto breaking in similar situations it would be great if tesla can bring this feature to us.

Well - with Autopark the Tesla does most of this by itself so it takes the human factor out! I don't worry about rim protection as my Tesla auto parks when I parallel so that part is a waste for Audi!

I agree, the sensors could be a bit more aggressive in their noise/warnings, but the functionality is there

 

[WVhybrid]

The part your damaged looks very familiar. Is it the driver's side molding or the passenger side? I've been waiting for the same part from Tesla for my driver's side for my Model 3 for 7 weeks now. Twice Tesla shipped the passenger's side in the packaging and labeling for the driver's side.

Anyone have any idea how to motivate Tesla to ship the correct part? The last time there was an 18 day gap between the first wrong part and the second wrong part. It's now been seven days since the last erroneous shipment. See the photos of the wrong part to better understand what I'm talking about. Note that the embossed part number doesn't match the packaging label.

 

[SongjinDK]

Tesla should implement 360 surround view like Mercedes, it is like a bird's eye view of the car and surroundings. It is very helpful for parking.

 

[cwerdna]

Tesla should implement 360 surround view like Mercedes, it is like a bird's eye view of the car and surroundings. It is very helpful for parking.

Although the systems shown in the above Audi and I've seen of BMW (in link further down) are pretty fancy in terms of 360 surround view, even Nissan has "Around View Monitor" available on the Leaf, beginning w/model year 2013. I've had it on my previous leased '13 Leaf SV w/both package since July 2013. My current used '13 Leaf SV w/premium package has it, as well. (AVM is part of premium).

It's basically a virtual overhead view. It also lets you switch to front or rear camera and a passenger side one to see if you're too far/close to the curb.

Even Nissan offers Around View Monitor on the lowly Versa Note.

I posted about it at https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/360-camera-view-and-hotspot.91193/#post-2781737.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

This is exactly why I wish Tesla made a real SUV.

Whether you have a Model 3, S, or X you have to be careful and you can't have idiot moments.

If you do it ends up being a ton of money. Like this to me doesn't look like much. Maybe a couple thousands max, but I'm likely extremely wrong.

 

[Ragnarr]

Tesla should implement 360 surround view like Mercedes, it is like a bird's eye view of the car and surroundings. It is very helpful for parking.

That's exactly what I was trying to say. Even older Nissan leafs have this feature.

I'm too cautious to say anything cause fanboys will attack me

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

That's exactly what I was trying to say. Even older Nissan leafs have this feature.

I'm too cautious to say anything cause fanboys will attack me

I don't think you have to worry about that one.

Even among Tesla fanboys there is nearly 360 degrees worth of support for that feature. It's not exactly some secret sauce that Tesla has to figure out.

When it really comes down to it there is no smart summon, or FSD without being able to see curbs.

 

[Peteski]

I’m not blaming Tesla. I take full responsibility. I’m driving for 12 years and not a single incident so far until today. So I do know how to drive. It’s one of those days. Since I bought the Tesla I’m super nervous driving it. All I was saying is it would have been great if the ultrasonic sensors have picked up the proximity and applied the breaks. (Audi A8L does this)

Honestly I was under the impression Tesla does this by default.

No it doesn't brake by itself when manoeuvring at slow speed except when using the Autopark feature - which is good, but still quite limited in its application. Coverage of the sensors around the car is not perfect either. It would be good if it did actually brake too rather than just give warning beeps. There is no safety net in this case.

A simple overhead 360 surround camera view would be very helpful when parking in tight spots, it's the one and only thing I miss from our Nissan Qashqai! I'm still baffled as to why Tesla didn't offer this feature on such a large car with poor corner visibility. The proximity sensors are good, but not quite enough on their own as you have unfortunately discovered! The sensors can also be a bit laggy when reporting distance to an object when you are closing in, which is not ideal either.

 

[Ragnarr]

Tesla sent me to a authorised bodyshop. They stripped the whole part and checked for damages and luckily nothing serious. The whole plastic bits need to be replaced and some paintwork is also necessary. It will set me back couple of thousands. There will be a waiting time for roughly 2 months to get the parts and car has to be in the workshop for 4 days.

Until then I'm OK to drive and enjoy.

Hopefully not hit anything else