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Delivery / Service Issues (panel gaps, delivery delays / issues / Service problems etc)
- Thread starter Protect1989
- Start date
Picked up today. Seems to have a few figment issues all around the right rear. Bigger than usual gap between the quarter panel and rear bumper right at the wheel well, leading edge of the side of the taillight seems to be sticking out, uneven gap where the side of the trunk meets the car along the side of the window (with the weather stripping popping through), and visible gap on the end of the right side of the spoiler like it isn’t stuck down all the way. SC said to take pictures of whatever and submit a service request during the first 24 hours. Hoping at least some of it can be adjusted.
I’m not an expert but I had this issue on my first Model 3 and all they could do was try to align the wheels different to center the steering wheel. There isn’t an actual adjustment for the steering wheel separate from the actual car wheels. Worth making a SC appointment though and see what they say now.
I used to be an expert so I will concur with @MrFusion and tell you that you need to book it in with service for a wheel alignment. When the wheel alignment was done at the factory the wheel must not have been held in the center. It's an easy fix for them and will be under warranty. Should really have been caught during the pre-delivery inspection to be honest.
You’ll have to go in to the SC to get an alignment. Just had an appointment to fix this exact issue yesterday. Like yours, it was tilted to the right, although it seems more severe on yours. They did this to my car after a previous mobile service appointment to fix a horn issue…which they claimed didn’t cause it but that’s besides the point. Anyway, it took about 4 hours, and it’s still not perfectly straight, but a lot better. Now it feels slightly tilted to the left, but maybe it’s just cause I started getting used to the previous tilt. Just have to live with it I guess, as with many things Tesla these days.
Love the vehicle, but hate having to get it serviced. It always feels like rolling the dice. When I went to pick up my car, they told me they lost my key lol. So they gave me 2 new ones. Then I get in the car, and it’s right there! The technician stuck it in the sun visor. So technically I walked out with 2 free keys, but really unimpressed at the disorganization of it all. I do feel bad for the service team though. They really do try. There’s just this endless line of cars from morning till night getting work to fix issues that really should have been addressed before delivery.
So I’ve read horror stories about the build quality, and how important delivery inspection is. But I’ve also heard a lot of these issues have been worked out on newer cars, especially ones coming from the new plants in China/Germany.
Two questions: 1) are newer cars faring better in regards to assembly defects, and 2) is there a way to look up what plant it was assembled at?
Two questions: 1) are newer cars faring better in regards to assembly defects, and 2) is there a way to look up what plant it was assembled at?
In my experience (on second car now, had a 2019 and now 2022)… no. I’m not seeing any net improvement in initial quality at delivery. Still have to look the car over and find all the things Tesla either missed or hoped you wouldn’t notice.
If you’re in the US then your car comes from Fremont.
The steering wheel icon shows when the car is steering for you. It matches the wheel position just as a little bonus to look fancy.
Thanks. I’ll do some searching when I get home, but do you happen to have a recommended checklist or video of what to look out for?
Sparkypants
Member
There’s a checklist floating around on GitHub if you google it.
My car was pretty much prefect when I got it. A couple of dangling threads inside I have forgotten about until this post. On the outside there were some iffy paint spots at the end of one of the pieces (I don’t know the name), and the SA looked at me like I was crazy. Also one of my headlights may or may not be 100% flush, but I could have also been imagining things.
Long story short, there is so much hype and hoopla surrounding defects. I’m not saying they don’t occur, but I think temper your expectations of what level of tolerances they manufacture with. Perfection should be expected from a $200k handmade car. I don’t have experience with luxury brands so I can’t speak to whether or not they have wonky stuff with them as well.
I’ve never really “inspected” a new car beyond a once over and a test drive. If you’re not ultra anal, you can really just do a quick glance as you would buying any other car and drive it away.
(model 3 performance)
Sparkypants
Member
Update on my delivery today: I'm kinda disappointed in the experience. Had two conflicting texts sent to me that I had to pick up the car at the lot (which I expected) and that they would deliver the car to my home (unexpected). I asked my SA for clarification and he literally tells me AS MY CAR IS ROLLING INTO MY DRIVEWAY that the car is going to be delivered to my home address. They also moved the time window for delivery up by over 3 hours (as in, so early in the morning I was barely awake lol) and caught me off guard in my PJs haha.
The car is stunning, btw. Even with all of the problems I had (which are very few), its a beautiful car and I love to drive it already. I think I've put ten miles on it in the few hours I've had it lol.
RE: problems: Does anyone know how to get in touch with Tesla to fix issues with the car? My SR+ was delivered with a huge scratch in the glass on the drivers side and a wonky taillight (doesn't look "within spec"). Please advise.
The car is stunning, btw. Even with all of the problems I had (which are very few), its a beautiful car and I love to drive it already. I think I've put ten miles on it in the few hours I've had it lol.
RE: problems: Does anyone know how to get in touch with Tesla to fix issues with the car? My SR+ was delivered with a huge scratch in the glass on the drivers side and a wonky taillight (doesn't look "within spec"). Please advise.
DeltaOne
Member
Take pictures and start a service request via the app on your smartphone. I believe you can also upload the pictures when submitting the service request.
Try to submit the service request within the first 24 hours of you having the car.
Unfortunately TMC is full of annoying folks who like to make fun of people who discuss panel gaps.
This means anyone that would actually be interested to take measurements of their recent builds to objectively assess gaps for improvement are ridiculed and bullied off the forum.
I asked the mobile service techs who visited my house to address issues about their thoughts on the gap issues. They both said the panel gaps are getting worse. They said they've had to make visits to fix 2021 model year shipments for all sorts of things like crooked doors, recessed headlights, and trunks that were way off center. But the good news I guess is Tesla is making these repairs instead of just saying "it's within spec".
But to your point, most people get acceptable cars. Almost all major automakers have set a pretty good standard for fit and finish in recent years. This means new car customers of any brand should expect a pretty good build. But for Tesla, unfortunately, this means if a customer out there gets a bad build, it's on them to catch the issue, and it's on them to request a repair. The customer is the end of line QA and PDI QA.
I absolutely get your point and agree that the customer shouldn’t be the one having to worry about catching issues that should have been addressed before the vehicle ever got out of the factory.
I think the point I was trying to make is that the visible defects will be somewhat obvious, and people shouldn’t necessarily be worried about having some ultra-detailed checklist. After I brought up my “observations” with the SA, I realized how goofy I was being. Like yeah, the paint isn’t 100% perfect in a couple of the panel gaps, but it’s a ****ing car and no one is ever going to look there except my dumbass. I was overreacting to the thought of taking delivery of a complete lemon that I was looking for literally anything to complain about.
But yeah, in short, these issues shouldn’t even be making it to the customer, but I don’t think people need to go in thinking it’s a military inspection.
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