The only issue here is that Tesla no longer provides photos of their used cars and therefore will not address anything unless it is really egregious compared to their 'minor defects' blanket statement.
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Fit and finish issues
- Thread starter fitnessinstbob
- Start date
The only issue here is that Tesla no longer provides photos of their used cars and therefore will not address anything unless it is really egregious compared to their 'minor defects' blanket statement.
The article says that they were looking for "tight and even" panel gaps, but the chart of statistics seem to be mostly on gap sizes, not differences.
But the article does note that the largest variances in panel gaps were between left and right side gaps on a Mustang GT and Lexus LC500, and the largest front-to-back variances on a Ford F350 Super Duty. They conclude by saying, "For the most part, todays' vehicles are uniformly uniform and tight, and only a couple millimeters separate the best from the worst." They also said, "Tesla's oft-criticized gaps measured smaller than average."
But I would say that their sample size was small, so that leaves open the possibility of large variances between cars even if the gaps are mostly uniform on a particular car.
I didn’t buy my Tesla for the “fit and finish”. But I will say you won’t want to buy one for the customer service, either, but I am one that loves mine none the less.
The sentiments aired on this forum don't reflect all owners opinions.
I think comparison cars matter a lot.
I have 2 Teslas with flawless paint to my eye outside of interior parts under trim.
Gaps/alignment are not perfect on either but only noticeable if someone is going after them.
Everyone has different standards. A detailer will tell you that no car has perfect paint.
Interestingly - I find that posters from certain areas of the country complain the most about such things. Not universally true of course. I live in NC now after living in both ends of CA and NY. Very few complaints from NC, lots from NY, southern CA.
As my 75yo MIL says, life is too short to worry about such things....
Now customer service .... that is a different can of worms. But thankfully, that is a rare problem. And, they do ok with the big things. Note the driveunits were not originally included in the 8 year warranty but were retroactively for early owners. The MCU1 warranty extension is also something that deserves credit (even if it took a lot of pressure to get it).
Strangely, I have 88k miles on my 2015 with original DUs and MCU1. My buddy has 113k - also on originals of both.
I have 2 Teslas with flawless paint to my eye outside of interior parts under trim.
Gaps/alignment are not perfect on either but only noticeable if someone is going after them.
Everyone has different standards. A detailer will tell you that no car has perfect paint.
Interestingly - I find that posters from certain areas of the country complain the most about such things. Not universally true of course. I live in NC now after living in both ends of CA and NY. Very few complaints from NC, lots from NY, southern CA.
As my 75yo MIL says, life is too short to worry about such things....
Now customer service .... that is a different can of worms. But thankfully, that is a rare problem. And, they do ok with the big things. Note the driveunits were not originally included in the 8 year warranty but were retroactively for early owners. The MCU1 warranty extension is also something that deserves credit (even if it took a lot of pressure to get it).
Strangely, I have 88k miles on my 2015 with original DUs and MCU1. My buddy has 113k - also on originals of both.
I’ve had two model S’s and Volvos,MBs BMWs Toyota’s and Honda’s as well as most American makes. One Toyota went through 4 head gaskets, the MB was a maintenance disaster, both Volvos too. The best fit and finish as well as reliability were two Honda CR-Vs kept for 15 years. After reading all the complaints, I started checking cars that I see. Guess what— the two Honda’s were the ONLY ones that checked 98%+ ! No car from any manufacturer is perfect. I once saw a brand new BMW for sale at the dealer with a door that looked like it was painted by Earl Scheibe on a bad day. And, they sold it. I personally think most Tesla’s are average +.in a very tough field. Oh, my two never needed service after delivery. Can’t say that about any of the others. Nothing, not even wiper blades. Just tires.
Tiger
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Wol747
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MichaelP90DL
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Wol747
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I thought it was some time after that, but at my age time passes rather quickly.....
"The specifications for the Raven were first introduced by the EV maker via its online blog in April 2019. While Tesla confirmed at the time that the Raven would go into production straight away and was available for order from April 23, 2019...."
Wol747
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jay__
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I just received my Model 3 Performance. In the docs folder was the QA report checking off all the fit and finish boxes with pretty wide tolerances, IMO. The fit / gap of the frunk is noticeably off and is especially apparent with the white finish, It appears that the gap tolerance is good when looked at from above, but looks off because sections are out-of-flush with the fenders. If this was a body shop repair after an accident, with ANY car, I would reject it.
Before I raise this issue with Tesla, what should I expect as a response? It bothers me enough to actually pay a body shop to have it fixed.
Before I raise this issue with Tesla, what should I expect as a response? It bothers me enough to actually pay a body shop to have it fixed.
All this talk of "fit and finish" seemed academic to me until recently. I had never noticed any such issues on my 2015 Model S. I (perhaps smugly) figured my car had escaped such issues because it had been built "back in the day" when the factory was building only Model S, not X or s/Y yet, and presumably had time to "do it right."
But a few months ago, a mobile technician) replaced my left rear door handle. Apparently that required removing and later reinstalling the chrome trim on the top edge of the door panel (at the bottom edge of the window opening). He did not get the chrome put back in quite the same position,. so that now there is just the slightest misalignment of the chrome strips on the two driver's side doors. And I can't stop seeing it! Objectively, the misalignment is small, and completely understandable. But now I feel like my previously-perfect car has a "fit and finish" issue it never had before!
I suspect I would not have been so conscious of this or so annoyed about it if it were not for all the attention to fit and finish issues on more recent Tesla cars....
But a few months ago, a mobile technician) replaced my left rear door handle. Apparently that required removing and later reinstalling the chrome trim on the top edge of the door panel (at the bottom edge of the window opening). He did not get the chrome put back in quite the same position,. so that now there is just the slightest misalignment of the chrome strips on the two driver's side doors. And I can't stop seeing it! Objectively, the misalignment is small, and completely understandable. But now I feel like my previously-perfect car has a "fit and finish" issue it never had before!
I suspect I would not have been so conscious of this or so annoyed about it if it were not for all the attention to fit and finish issues on more recent Tesla cars....
Mine has the same issue. Looking in the rear view mirror all I see is the alignment off between both doors. I brought it in to fix along with the weather strip around the door which had been installed rotated leaving ripples. When they attempted to fix they bent the chrome molding, back in early January. Still waiting for a replacement part, and the ripple has returned. I texted last week and was told it will be a while since they are producing new parts for the new style.
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