Does Tesla really void the defroster warranty with rear window tint ?

[jkoya]

Happy Holidays !!

I've been considering window tint for the rear window, but have been reading various threads stating Tesla voids the rear window defroster warranty if window tint has been applied. Does anyone know if this actually true ?

 

[Jimmy 1]

I have never heard that.

 

[SSedan]

I don't know if they do but the SHOULD, all it takes is a tug to reposition film during application to break a defrost strip, or sloppy with a blade during install.

I know people tint over defrost strips all the time but that doesn't mean no risk and it doesn't mean Tesla should be on the hook if your guy is sloppy.

 

[SMAlset]

Putting any covering over heating elements to me isn't a smart thing unless it was designed and spec'd by the manufacturer for such application. Tesla already adds a slight tint in its glass and IR. I haven't been surprised to see reports on here of film being melted by the defrosters. I wouldn't be surprised that if there is damage that they would then replace the window/defrosters under warranty if someone had added a third party film. I do think I read one or two accounts where people said the replacement was on them and sure they will see the thread and chime in.

 

[SSedan]

No where near enough heat to melt the film.

 

[Glamisduner]

Mine was tinted twice without defroster issues, the first try ended up having too many bubbles. I love having the rear tint it helps cancel out trucks with their lights adjusted wrong / illegal headlights since they are typically at the exact height of my review mirror. I think sometimes the truck guys pull up very close on purpose in order to flood the car with light. I know on my truck I try to avoid blinding low cars with my headlights, but some of these guys have their illegal lightbars on etc and it's more often than one would think. It will literally blind you in the car, even with 35% it's almost blinding with the tint still but more tolerable.

it also keeps the cabin much cooler.

The downside is you get light refraction at night off the tint where it overlaps the defroster lines.

There should be not cutting on the inside near the defroster lines, but sometimes teslas quality on the defroster lines themselves is the issue as the defroster is not properly bonded to the window. This is when you will have issues!

 

[artsci]

I have to say the far too many people are obsessed whether Tesla will void warranties for various mods to the car. Nearly all of this fear is unjustified and has no basis in actual fact. I should know. My Model S is modified to what many people would consider extremes, and many other owners warned me that Tesla would void my warranty. Hasn't happened.

So I can't imagine that tinting the rear window per se would void the warranty, provided the installer does no damage to the defroster elements. If he or she does, don't expect Telsa to cover the repairs.

 

[EVSteve]

I don't know if they do but the SHOULD, all it takes is a tug to reposition film during application to break a defrost strip, or sloppy with a blade during install.

I know people tint over defrost strips all the time but that doesn't mean no risk and it doesn't mean Tesla should be on the hook if your guy is sloppy.

A tug? Whoever does your tint has zero knowledge of proper tinting practices if this happens. Any decent tinter with basic knowledge will use a soap water solution between the tint and the window when applying. The tint slides around effortlessly until the solution is squeegeed out to the sides. The piece should be already cut and shaped on the outside before being placed underneath

 

[Uncle Paul]

I believe that for most manufacturers the prudent thing would be put the onus on the person that had their windows tinted with a product not tested by Tesla and by an installer that was not approved by them.

If you apply most any aftermarket items on your vehicles, you pretty much have the responsibility to be able to prove that your modificatin did not cause any failure.

If you put on an aftermarket paint protection, and something goes wrong with the paint underneath, you may loose warranty protection.

Every aftermarket item does not automatically get carte blanc for warranty claims.

 

[Pied]

It's actually the other way around. Manufacturer must prove that your use of aftermarket items caused the problem/failure

 

[groovetezla]

If you call Tesla and ask about this, they'll tell you that Glass is not covered by warranty.

 

[Vines]

From what I can gather, there is sometimes an issue where the defroster lines are improperly bonded to the glass. When the tint shop scrubs the glass down that's when the damage happens. If your shop is good, at this point they call you and tell you right away there was an issue. I would not be surprised to see that Tesla had some issue with rear defrosters not fully bonded to the glass, and this only rears its head when the tint shop scrubs it. One other tint shop I know experienced this with 1 car, and called the customer and told them. They didn't tint the glass, and Tesla replaced the glass under warranty.

I do not know if mine was like that from the factory but I do know my tint shop damaged mine when installing the first tint. It had several areas where the defroster didn't work, and several visible missing areas where the bars were gone. They ended up paying to replace my glass.

 

[NorthEastUk]

If you call Tesla and ask about this, they'll tell you that Glass is not covered by warranty.

Is this actually stipulated in the warranty policy anywhere?

 

[fajitamondays]

Is this actually stipulated in the warranty policy anywhere?

Glass is generally excluded from the warranty, unless the damage is due to a manufacturing defect, or similar (E.g. stress fractures in the roof, which is a semi-common issue).

 

[therealjimbob]

Tesla just told me today that my rear defroster is not covered under warranty. I’ve had the car a week now and just discovered the rear defroster doesn’t work and they want $700 to fix it.

 

[Vines]

Tesla just told me today that my rear defroster is not covered under warranty. I’ve had the car a week now and just discovered the rear defroster doesn’t work and they want $700 to fix it.

My rear glass had a clear manufacturing defect, which was found when tinting the window.

A few places of the window were found that the defrosting wires were not properly attached and when they applied the tint, the wires fractured and broke off.

Was your rear window tinted aftermarket? Its pretty easy to cut those wires if you are not careful when tinting.

 

[therealjimbob]

My rear glass had a clear manufacturing defect, which was found when tinting the window.

A few places of the window were found that the defrosting wires were not properly attached and when they applied the tint, the wires fractured and broke off.

Was your rear window tinted aftermarket? Its pretty easy to cut those wires if you are not careful when tinting.

No. I literally just bought the car 2 weeks or so ago. I am thinking of tinting it but this is making me have second thoughts about it.

 

[Vines]

No. I literally just bought the car 2 weeks or so ago. I am thinking of tinting it but this is making me have second thoughts about it.

Actually, now that I think about it, I am not positive it was a defect. The tint company owned it and paid for new glass, so I have a feeling they had some issues with the guy.
Nobody said anything to me until I went to pick up the car, and found the damage. It could have been caused by scrubbing too hard or some other damage in the installation I was never really sure.

 

[therealjimbob]

Actually, now that I think about it, I am not positive it was a defect. The tint company owned it and paid for new glass, so I have a feeling they had some issues with the guy.
Nobody said anything to me until I went to pick up the car, and found the damage. It could have been caused by scrubbing too hard or some other damage in the installation I was never really sure.

That’s crazy. They should have said something as soon as you picked up the car, but at least they owned up to it in the end. This is why I’m so cautious about getting tint. I think I’m still gonna get it though, I may just get the side windows tinted to match the factory tint on the glass moonroof that the car came with. This will keep me from having to get the window/roof tinted which will help me to avoid any future issues.

 

[Vines]

That’s crazy. They should have said something as soon as you picked up the car, but at least they owned up to it in the end. This is why I’m so cautious about getting tint. I think I’m still gonna get it though, I may just get the side windows tinted to match the factory tint on the glass moonroof that the car came with. This will keep me from having to get the window/roof tinted which will help me to avoid any future issues.

Thats what I told them, if they wanted to call it a manufacturers defect, they should have told me when they found the issue, or at the latest when I came to pick it up. Since they did neither, I asked them to pay for it, and immediately lost my cool red wet reflection from the early IR glass.