Do you have bent 20" wheels on your Model 3?

[edittman1]

If so, I want to hear from you. I personally have (3) bent wheels, verified by Tesla. I would like them to replace them with aftermarket wheels that won't have this problem moving forward. I also want to move to 19" wheels, as people do not seem to have problems with those.

My hope, is that we find enough people having this problem to demonstrate to Tesla that there is a defect with these and as such, should be replaced or provided the replacement value to the buyer.

Simply want to know if you have 1, 2, 3, or 4 bent 20" stock wheels on your Model 3. (not sure if regular AWD/LR versions could buy them or not, but if you did buy them, want to know if you have had problems too!)

Need the data, then can fight the fight..

 

[stillageek]

0 bent over 6 months and 3800 miles

 

[MasterC17]

This is not a defect and Tesla should not provide you any compensation. It's from hitting potholes or other impacts to the wheels.

The 20" tires have a thin, stiff sidewall and therefore not a lot of "give". If you hit something hard enough there is only so much force the tire can take before it translates into the wheel.

This is not unique to Tesla. Any manufacturers wheel (BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Lexus, etc) with stiff, low-profile tires will bend if it hits a pothole with enough force. This is something to be expected when running big wheels with low-profile tires. You got to pay to play, as they say. If you don't like them buy some 19's.

 

[stillageek]

My Previous car was a BMW i3. I had 19s. Owners with 20s complained of way more wheel and tire issues than the 19s. I'll likely be getting some other wheel and tire combo in time.

 

[electrictorque]

That is the reason I didn't get pup. Happy with my 18inch rims

 

[Daniel F]

A lot of other brands (BMW included) sell tire + wheel insurance packages on the bigger wheels for just this reason. Knew it was a risk when I bought mine but so far no wheel damage. Did get a nail in a tire but this would have been an issue regardless of wheel size.

If they offered a wheel protection insurance I likely would have bought it.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

I feel like 0 should be an option to get accurate poll results.

 

[lbowroom]

OP, what was your previous ride?

 

[TexasTeslaRacing]

Zero.

 

[Prunesquallor]

Since for some strange reason, you didn’t include "0" in your poll, I vote "0".

"There are liars, damn liars, and statisticians".

 

[navinsiri]

My wheels look and feel fine but apparently they’re all slightly bent according to my tire shop.
My other friend who also has these 20” wheels bent all 4 rims quite badly and he decided to get 4 aftermarket wheels. Less than a month later 2-3 of them are already bent. I think all 20” wheels are gonna have this issue unless your state has banned potholes.

 

[Zcd1]

Zero.

Also Zero on the last 2 cars I owned, both of which had 20" wheels, and I live in the Chicago area, where the potholes are rampant.

A bit of attention while driving goes a long way towards avoiding bent wheels...

 

[jjrandorin]

I feel like 0 should be an option to get accurate poll results.

This OP had an agenda with the poll (obvious from what was stated along with the poll). Op likely didnt want to hear from those of us that have zero bent rims.

I dont think there is a snowballs chance in !@$@!$ that Op is going to get tesla to replace OEM rims with aftermarket ones regardless of any poll results. Plenty of potholes around my normal commute as well (much worse right now because of all the rain).

Also as stated, other MFRs with 20s have the same issue, and call it out when you low profile tires. Sell your 20s and buy aftermarkets yourself, or lawyer up and see where you get to /shrug.

 

[SigNC]

no bent rims here, diligent about dodging potholes.

 

[Kenz]

The low profile performance tires contribute to this problem.
Tesla could go a long way toward solving this problem and the curb Rim / rash problem by installing a little bigger tire from the factory.
To solve the curbing problem and rim rash the tire just needs to be a little wider than the rim. Right now the rim sticks out beyond the tire.
To help with the bent rim problem Tesla needs to use a tire with a larger profile. Super low profile tires are the problem. The 18 and 19" wheel and tire packages do not have this problem to this degree. One last issue is that the performance tires are summer rated tires and are vulnerable to cracking if driven on in 20 f or below weather. I wonder how many people ordering the performance package in cold climates do not realize this. (it also voids the tire warranty) Tesla could solve all these problems by changing to a larger profile all weather tire.

 

[dfwatt]

If so, I want to hear from you. I personally have (3) bent wheels, verified by Tesla. I would like them to replace them with aftermarket wheels that won't have this problem moving forward. I also want to move to 19" wheels, as people do not seem to have problems with those.

My hope, is that we find enough people having this problem to demonstrate to Tesla that there is a defect with these and as such, should be replaced or provided the replacement value to the buyer.

Simply want to know if you have 1, 2, 3, or 4 bent 20" stock wheels on your Model 3. (not sure if regular AWD/LR versions could buy them or not, but if you did buy them, want to know if you have had problems too!)

Need the data, then can fight the fight..

Your post suggests that you don't understand how Ultra high-performance wheels and rims really work. The fact that a 35 series tire on a 20 inch rim sitting on a 4000 pound car is sometimes damaged by really bad potholes and other unfortunate Road related impacts is not a sign that Tesla has manufactured a defective rim. Its vulnerability the damage is one of the trade-offs built into any 35 series Tire. If you don't like that then yes by all means please do downgrade to 19 inch wheels where at least you can put on a 40 series Tire, or even better yet an 18-inch wheel where you can get a 45 series Tire. Each of those transitions offers increasing safety for the rim and impact tolerance. However any low profile tire and wheel combination (and 45 series is still considered low profile) is vulnerable to Road impacts in a way that older 70 + 60 series tires never were.

If you think this is some kind of unique Tesla related defect please by all means consult with owners of other Ultra high-performance cars who have 35 series and even occasionally 30 series tires on their vehicles. You'll hear the same story, particularly from those unprepared for the special constraints that such high performance tires and wheels place on the driver. We had another poster bemoaning the fact that he had blown out four Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires on New Jersey potholes, driving the tire in the winter under conditions for which it is explicitly not recommended.

Do your homework, understand the trade-offs involved in these kinds of Technologies, and you won't be paying for bent rims or complaining about Tesla and some version of corporate negligence. In other words please get yourself educated about these issues before blaming Tesla.

 

[SigNC]

not that I have any issue with my 20" rims but I would however like to have the option to purchase the 19" rims with aero covers that are being offered in china.

 

[dfwatt]

If so, I want to hear from you. I personally have (3) bent wheels, verified by Tesla. I would like them to replace them with aftermarket wheels that won't have this problem moving forward. I also want to move to 19" wheels, as people do not seem to have problems with those.

My hope, is that we find enough people having this problem to demonstrate to Tesla that there is a defect with these and as such, should be replaced or provided the replacement value to the buyer.

Simply want to know if you have 1, 2, 3, or 4 bent 20" stock wheels on your Model 3. (not sure if regular AWD/LR versions could buy them or not, but if you did buy them, want to know if you have had problems too!)

Need the data, then can fight the fight..

Even from a scientific polling standpoint your post leaves a lot to be desired. For example to be truly scientific you should ask people if they have 0, 1 2 3 or 4 bent rims. We have zero on two cars with both cars being driven in New England. However we understand the special constraints posed by 35 series tires and try not to nail big potholes squarely right on the head. You should try that too.

 

[matto]

Useless poll without having "0" as an optoin.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Useless poll without having "0" as an optoin.

We should report this to the fivethirtyeight team for use in their “good use of polling/bad use of polling” segment.
Fortunately, even without the option, it is fairly clear the most common answer is 0.