Dashboard off center?

[AllCattleNoHat]

We've noticed that our entire dashboard (black with wood strip) seems to be mounted off center. On the left side there's about a 3/8" gap between the side of the dash and the door panel but on the right side the dashboard (actually the little metal strip by the wood) is causing an indentation into the door panel surface and it's thus slightly beyond flush mounted.

Seeing as how it's a vastly different piece than in normal cars (i.e. there are no buttons, wires, etc) is it a matter of just loosening a few screws and moving it over or a much bigger service item? I know I could complain and have them fix it but if it's easy to do I'm fine with doing it myself to save myself the time of the service visit.

 

[Zoso]

Mine was badly off-center at delivery. The tech said they had to disassemble the screen and dashboard entirely to repair. They had my car a week.

 

[CaliX]

I had that but my door was misaligned.

 

[LNL_HUTZ]

I would have Tesla do it. When I took delivery, the black end piece on the driver side of the dash looked crooked. After I took it in, the tech popped it out and realized that the whole dash wasn't lined up correctly. I was having other issues addressed too, but I was happy to have them rebuild the dash.

 

[AllCattleNoHat]

Thanks for the responses. I guess we'll probably just wait for some other things to crop up and then try to address them all at once. It's not the end of the world and not really affecting anything day to day. Thanks!

 

[bcs92]

Mine is like that too. It was damaging the door panel. They ended up replacing the door panel but the dash still looks off and my door is no longer flush on the exterior. I guess I'll have to try again...

 

[Kabillyhop]

And I thought it was only me...

First and only issue at delivery was driver's door hard to close. Needed to slam it.
Mobile tech did his best, and door was closing better. He had to move the striker to the point where bare metal was exposed.
He set up an appt with a body shop to realign door.
After he left I noticed that entire dash was not fully forward on driver's side. Door was jamming against it. Body shop appt cancelled.
Service centre fixed dash, now perfect. Also readjusted striker.
Door now closing fine, but door not flush. From rear, looks like it is not fully closed.
New appt with service centre for next week. Hopefully will be final fix.

My advice to OP and others - have the Service Centre do the repair, and keep going back until is is done right.

 

[Vitallio]

And I thought it was only me...

First and only issue at delivery was driver's door hard to close. Needed to slam it.
Mobile tech did his best, and door was closing better. He had to move the striker to the point where bare metal was exposed.
He set up an appt with a body shop to realign door.
After he left I noticed that entire dash was not fully forward on driver's side. Door was jamming against it. Body shop appt cancelled.
Service centre fixed dash, now perfect. Also readjusted striker.
Door now closing fine, but door not flush. From rear, looks like it is not fully closed.
New appt with service centre for next week. Hopefully will be final fix.

My advice to OP and others - have the Service Centre do the repair, and keep going back until is is done right.

I know I’m 2 years late but I have same off centered dashboard. How long it took them to fix it and do you have any new rattles or problems after fix?

 

[Vitallio]

I would have Tesla do it. When I took delivery, the black end piece on the driver side of the dash looked crooked. After I took it in, the tech popped it out and realized that the whole dash wasn't lined up correctly. I was having other issues addressed too, but I was happy to have them rebuild the dash.

I would have Tesla do it. When I took delivery, the black end piece on the driver side of the dash looked crooked. After I took it in, the tech popped it out and realized that the whole dash wasn't lined up correctly. I was having other issues addressed too, but I was happy to have them rebuild the dash.

Mine is off too! 2 years later no issues with dash after rebuild?

 

[thetuk]

Glad this thread is revived. I just noticed the dashboard off center yesterday after having owned it for 2 weeks. I have an appointment with SC on Wed and will bring this up with a tech. There have not been any issues and exterior door panels line up well so I am a bit hesitant to have SC dissemble the entire dashboard to re-align....as new problems may arise after the work. Curious what others have experience on this.

 

[phantomsd]

Just dropped off my MYLR7 at Tesla Service this morning (3/2023, Fremont build).

This was one of the issues I raised but my gap is on the right side. Left side is completely flush and the door and dash are not touching from what I can see. Service tech acknowledged the gap during walk-through and even said something along the lines of you can probably fit a pen through it. He mentioned that some Model S cars were coming in with the same misalignment issue and they didn't have a solution for it.

He suggested adjusting the right door but added it could be tricky as the door is already flush with the body. Very odd as both sides of the car are completely flush... panels and doors.

He ended up marking the issue as "Known characteristic - No adjustments are available in this area".

I might try another service center. The gap is pretty big (see pics).

For those who are curious... work is being done at Carlsbad, CA.

 

[LBM4]

Mine was badly off-center at delivery. The tech said they had to disassemble the screen and dashboard entirely to repair. They had my car a week.

And it probably took them 1 hour to fix.

 

[Zoso]

And it probably took them 1 hour to fix.

I had a model S loaner for free while it was being done, so it didn't really matter.

 

[thetuk]

Just dropped off my MYLR7 at Tesla Service this morning (3/2023, Fremont build).

This was one of the issues I raised but my gap is on the right side. Left side is completely flush and the door and dash are not touching from what I can see. Service tech acknowledged the gap during walk-through and even said something along the lines of you can probably fit a pen through it. He mentioned that some Model S cars were coming in with the same misalignment issue and they didn't have a solution for it.

He suggested adjusting the right door but added it could be tricky as the door is already flush with the body. Very odd as both sides of the car are completely flush... panels and doors.

He ended up marking the issue as "Known characteristic - No adjustments are available in this area".

I might try another service center. The gap is pretty big (see pics).

For those who are curious... work is being done at Carlsbad, CA.

Interesting. Mine is opposite, driver side is bigger. SC says dashboard can’t be adjusted and doors can’t be adjusted without creating unflushed exterior door and panel surfaces. I will just have to live with it.

 

[Vitallio]

Interesting. Mine is opposite, driver side is bigger. SC says dashboard can’t be adjusted and doors can’t be adjusted without creating unflushed exterior door and panel surfaces. I will just have to live with it.

I had one like this. After some research I decided to fix it myself. It’s a long process to explain but it took me maybe 1-2 hours total. Very good video to watch :

 

[phantomsd]

I had one like this. After some research I decided to fix it myself. It’s a long process to explain but it took me maybe 1-2 hours total. Very good video to watch :

[/QUOTE]
What is the difficulty level? Service center doesn’t seem to want to perform this fix.

 

[nate704]

Open the door where the dash is too close to the door trim.
Take the biggest rubber mallet you can find at your local Home Depot and hammer it to the other side until it aligns.

 

[Vitallio]

What is the difficulty level? Service center doesn’t seem to want to perform this fix.
[/QUOTE]
It’s hard to say but basically what I did: you remove small black cover you see it when you open the door. One on each side. There total 4 bolts ( 2 each side). Then you remove carpet cover sides bottom of center console. 2 bolts there holding center console bracket to body. Also 2 bolts when you open the hood and remove top black cover. It’s hard to reach but it’s doable. When you loosen them up you can shift center console to desired position and tighten all of them. I watched video I posted above and also read manual for Tesla. You can sign up at service.Tesla.com. It’s not so hard as it sounds, the only thing you need to make sure you know location of those bolts before you start doing it. If I find I’ll post some photos later.

 

[jeffsawyer]

Is there any good tutorial for aligning the dash? Is Tesla repairing this under warranty for people or just saying it’s within spec?

 

[kill-a-watt]

What is the difficulty level? Service center doesn’t seem to want to perform this fix.

It’s hard to say but basically what I did: you remove small black cover you see it when you open the door. One on each side. There total 4 bolts ( 2 each side). Then you remove carpet cover sides bottom of center console. 2 bolts there holding center console bracket to body. Also 2 bolts when you open the hood and remove top black cover. It’s hard to reach but it’s doable. When you loosen them up you can shift center console to desired position and tighten all of them. I watched video I posted above and also read manual for Tesla. You can sign up at service.Tesla.com. It’s not so hard as it sounds, the only thing you need to make sure you know location of those bolts before you start doing it. If I find I’ll post some photos later.
[/QUOTE]

@Vitallio Do you think you could share a diagram or photo of the two bolts under the hood? Do you think it's the same for Model S?