Fit & Finish Issues - Which ones would you ask to be corrected?

[electronblue]

At first I was like "that's picky....they all have that....dust nibs...paint runs...man this car has a lot of nibs....and chips....and pushed in panels? paint falling off the bumper? wtf."

To be fair there has been quite a few cases of paint peeling off rockers and bumpers so that does seem somewhat familiar:

Model 3 paint wearing off

Apparently Model 3 has a quite soft paint (at least starting in late 2018) which might make being susceptible to this more normal than usual.

 

[Johnii__82]

To be fair there has been quite a few cases of paint peeling off rockers and bumpers so that does seem somewhat familiar:

Model 3 paint wearing off

Apparently Model 3 has a quite soft paint (at least starting in late 2018) which might make being susceptible to this more normal than usual.

Yes electronblue you are on right track.

We have been trying to unite all Model 3 owners to one place. We created global group for these issues.

Tesla Model 3 owners worldwide with paint issues

Feel free to join in - post your comments with pics & miles. Check our global complaint from nonono. -->

Consumer advocacy service

BTW. Here is my model 3 primer showing everywhere....

So quite thin..... :/

BR,

Joni

 

[Burrito]

so what did the OP do?

 

[super20g]

Follow up on this was that I kept the car and they have fixed and are fixing some but not all of the issues.

Front and rear bumper had to be replaced. Still thin paint on the bumpers so. I guess it is what it is at this point. Front bumper wasn't fully clipped in when I picked it up. Fender liners were not reinstalled correctly. They did a little paint work on some of the larger concerns but left the smaller ones. The passenger door they worked on was sagging and proud next to the adjacent panel. They had my car for under 2 weeks, but wouldn't tell me what was going on with it when I would email, what was being fixed or not fixed until I picked it up... That was really a load of bs... It was left unlocked and sentry mode manually turned off at the body shop in an unsecured lot all weekend. Service never responded as to why. Got it back and they still didn't go over the issues point by point. There were QC green check marks left on the car that they didn't wipe off. Some issues they didn't address that I have to take back to them and burn another vacation day.

When I got it back home I found all 4 jack points are damaged. I addressed it with the service manager and he said it doesn't affect the performance or reliability so they wont fix it..

Obviously should have returned while I could... Not sure what is going on with Tesla...

 

[AdamVIP]

Sorry to hear about that. I've managed to convince my wife I should buy one but I haven't convinced myself. Anyone know if a particular color is better to get than another to avoid these paint issues? I want blue but would probably be cool with anything that's not black. I've come to the conclusion that if I pull the trigger I should plan on a vacation day to pick up the car to give it a super look over.

 

[jebinc]

Sorry to hear about that. I've managed to convince my wife I should buy one but I haven't convinced myself. Anyone know if a particular color is better to get than another to avoid these paint issues? I want blue but would probably be cool with anything that's not black. I've come to the conclusion that if I pull the trigger I should plan on a vacation day to pick up the car to give it a super look over.

My MSM paint was flawless. I saw several red's at the SC, also flawless. I would say black shows/has the most issues. MSM, Red and pearl white are thicker applications of paint, or so I have read. YMMV.

 

[cbaaz]

Follow up on this was that I kept the car and they have fixed and are fixing some but not all of the issues.

Front and rear bumper had to be replaced. Still thin paint on the bumpers so. I guess it is what it is at this point. Front bumper wasn't fully clipped in when I picked it up. Fender liners were not reinstalled correctly. They did a little paint work on some of the larger concerns but left the smaller ones. The passenger door they worked on was sagging and proud next to the adjacent panel. They had my car for under 2 weeks, but wouldn't tell me what was going on with it when I would email, what was being fixed or not fixed until I picked it up... That was really a load of bs... It was left unlocked and sentry mode manually turned off at the body shop in an unsecured lot all weekend. Service never responded as to why. Got it back and they still didn't go over the issues point by point. There were QC green check marks left on the car that they didn't wipe off. Some issues they didn't address that I have to take back to them and burn another vacation day.

When I got it back home I found all 4 jack points are damaged. I addressed it with the service manager and he said it doesn't affect the performance or reliability so they wont fix it..

Obviously should have returned while I could... Not sure what is going on with Tesla...

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Not sure about the lemon laws where you live, but it might be worth looking into that and see if any of these repeat repairs could qualify you for a buy-back.

 

[super20g]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Not sure about the lemon laws where you live, but it might be worth looking into that and see if any of these repeat repairs could qualify you for a buy-back.

I am definitely disappointed in how Tesla has been dealing with me lately. I had a poor experience on another car with them as well. Hopefully this one can get resolved without pushing it through the courts. I am definitely backing out of my stock position once I get out from under water. Maybe they will pull out of this current funk they are in, but seeing how the company operates does not make me want to invest in them any longer. Just too risky for me.

 

[jebinc]

I am definitely disappointed in how Tesla has been dealing with me lately. I had a poor experience on another car with them as well. Hopefully this one can get resolved without pushing it through the courts. I am definitely backing out of my stock position once I get out from under water. Maybe they will pull out of this current funk they are in, but seeing how the company operates does not make me want to invest in them any longer. Just too risky for me.

Agreed. TSLA - Overweight.

 

[3Sweet]

Please do not keep the car. It is worth the wait to get a good or near-flawless car. Those issues will probably become very upsetting especially when in a year your car will look like a 1998 car with paint bubbles and pieces falling off ( referring to the front).

I am extremely concerned as I have a delivery of a pearl white in 5 days. I personally have had bad paint on a rejected car and they estimated 2 months for repair. I preferred not to buy a brand new car that needs to be repainted with a backlog of two months.
It's sad because we all want the technology and to be green, but I wish they'd stop making and trying to sell lemons.

 

[3Sweet]

Please do not keep the car. It is worth the wait to get a good or near-flawless car. Those issues will probably become very upsetting especially when in a year your car will look like a 1998 car with paint bubbles and pieces falling off ( referring to the front).

I am extremely concerned as I have a delivery of a pearl white in 5 days. I personally have had bad paint on a rejected car and they estimated 2 months for repair. I preferred not to buy a brand new car that needs to be repainted with a backlog of two months.
It's sad because we all want the technology and to be green, but I wish they'd stop making and trying to sell lemons.

Just saw your response,
REally sorry. That sucks especially with such an important purchase as a car.
This is why it is better to return than keep a bad car.
I feel you will know when the car is right.

 

[super20g]

I have another service appointment Wednesday to fix another group of these remaining issues. Some they just didn't do from last time, some are new ones they added. Hopefully this time goes much better. I did remove some of the smaller nit picky ones. I'll update when I get it back.

 

[dfjkl]

How did this end up?

 

[jebinc]

Hey Guys,

I took delivery of a white on white Model 3 the other day.

Here are the fit and finish issues I noted. Don't bust my chops for some of them being nit picky. This is just what I noted when I observed the car and I just wanted to see what others thought of this condition and what you would ask to be corrected or if you would return it for a different car.

Passenger rear door requires more force than the others to fully latch. Usually need to close it twice or remember it is the passenger side so close it harder.

Driver side trunk gap

passenger side trunk gap much narrower

driver side wide shot

passenger side wide shot

tool marks in plastic

stained headliner

trunk rubs against rear quarter and rubs paint off

trunk seal wonky

trunk seal wonky

missing paint on hood nuts

all 4 wheel inner lips finish scraped off

missing clips on fender liners

paint chip on corner of rear bumper on both sides

paint chip on corner of rear bumper on both sides, paint thin on corner

paint thin on corner of rear bumper on both sides

dust nibs around rocker areas

dust nib example

dust nib example

scrape on paint, chip in paint down to metal, dust nibs

same as above different angle

dust nib example

dust nib example

dust nib example

dust nib example

glue on door jamb painted over

scrape on paint

runs on edge of panel?

thin scrape your finger nail can catch on that goes across both passenger doors

paint chip on door with touch up paint attempted

paint chip above fog light

edge of door chipped, dust nib

minor damage to rocker panels on both sides

both plastic pieces do not stay in place

thin paint on front bumper

thin paint on front bumper - hard to see with this lighting

rough edge, paint falling off on front bumper

rough edge, paint falling off on front bumper

rough edge, paint falling off on front bumper

rough edge, paint falling off on front bumper

paint chip on bumper

corner of panel pushed in

corner of panel pushed in

small paint runs on edge of panel

paint chip on rear bumper

center console not fully assembled

Imgur link to album: 2019 Tesla Model 3 Fit & Finish Issues

RMA

 

[IceIceBaby]

They should fix everything. This is a 50k car. Should be perfect.

 

[super20g]

How did this end up?

Not good.... They keep trying to screw with me over and over. They ended up replacing the HV battery pack that was damaged during transport but only after I gave them examples of others having the pack replaced for the exact same damage discovered at/after delivery just like mine but they put on the invoice that the car was there for 4 days when they had the car for 8 weeks to do the work just because they did other work at the same time and then said I could pick up the car until the battery arrived... But the car was accepted into service for a list of work, one was the battery fix... I didn't know they could fix some of the issues and tell you here is your car, come back again when we are actually prepared to complete the rest of the work... And they put on the invoice that they suspect that I damaged the battery myself... wtf. Filed an arb case on the battery and didn't win because the invoice shows it was there for 4 days and not the 8 weeks it actually was... And it was returned dirty af with new damage. crazy stuff.

Plenty of other stuff... Battery has never charged to 220mi @ 100%, generally around 210. They say the logs show it charges well over 220mi@100% and that what the display shows and what TeslaFi displays is incorrect... but they wont show me the logs. And if I make an appointment for the issue, they wont document it on the invoice.

Back seats got stained from the seatbelts at 1k miles while it was at service for those 8 weeks. Back in Sept I reported the issue. They say it is under investigation... still in Feb...

Here's a good one recently. They took away my mobile service option so I always have to drive over 2+ hrs to service. Why? Because when they came out a few weeks ago the tech damaged the window trim. I looked at my security cam footage once I saw the damage and saw when it happened during the visit. I just asked Tesla to replace the trim and said I had a video of the damage. They told me the tech noted the damage before he started working on the car. Unfortunately for them, the video shows the tech going straight to work, damaging the window trim in the middle of the work, then at the very end making a video of the car and pointing to to damage... They sent me an estimate and said I need to pay to fix the damage and that the mobile service team was scared to come back out because I 'secretly recorded them'. wtf! Everyone has driveway cams nowadays...And they never once asked to see the video. Telling. They are just continually screwing with me rather than just growing up and moving on.

 

[Wy2sl0]

Not good.... They keep trying to screw with me over and over. They ended up replacing the HV battery pack that was damaged during transport but only after I gave them examples of others having the pack replaced for the exact same damage discovered at/after delivery just like mine but they put on the invoice that the car was there for 4 days when they had the car for 8 weeks to do the work just because they did other work at the same time and then said I could pick up the car until the battery arrived... But the car was accepted into service for a list of work, one was the battery fix... I didn't know they could fix some of the issues and tell you here is your car, come back again when we are actually prepared to complete the rest of the work... And they put on the invoice that they suspect that I damaged the battery myself... wtf. Filed an arb case on the battery and didn't win because the invoice shows it was there for 4 days and not the 8 weeks it actually was... And it was returned dirty af with new damage. crazy stuff.

Plenty of other stuff... Battery has never charged to 220mi @ 100%, generally around 210. They say the logs show it charges well over 220mi@100% and that what the display shows and what TeslaFi displays is incorrect... but they wont show me the logs. And if I make an appointment for the issue, they wont document it on the invoice.

Back seats got stained from the seatbelts at 1k miles while it was at service for those 8 weeks. Back in Sept I reported the issue. They say it is under investigation... still in Feb...

Here's a good one recently. They took away my mobile service option so I always have to drive over 2+ hrs to service. Why? Because when they came out a few weeks ago the tech damaged the window trim. I looked at my security cam footage once I saw the damage and saw when it happened during the visit. I just asked Tesla to replace the trim and said I had a video of the damage. They told me the tech noted the damage before he started working on the car. Unfortunately for them, the video shows the tech going straight to work, damaging the window trim in the middle of the work, then at the very end making a video of the car and pointing to to damage... They sent me an estimate and said I need to pay to fix the damage and that the mobile service team was scared to come back out because I 'secretly recorded them'. wtf! Everyone has driveway cams nowadays...And they never once asked to see the video. Telling. They are just continually screwing with me rather than just growing up and moving on.

This all sounds crazy to me. Is there no way to escalate? I feel really sorry for you. Doesn't surprise me about scummy practices when it comes to service with any car company by the way. They all work with virtually no honesty since honesty doesn't pay. In the end, it's all about the money.

I have to ask though....why in the world did you accept the car? It was in terrible shape at delivery.

 

[super20g]

This all sounds crazy to me. Is there no way to escalate? I feel really sorry for you. Doesn't surprise me about scummy practices when it comes to service with any car company by the way. They all work with virtually no honesty since honesty doesn't pay. In the end, it's all about the money.

I have to ask though....why in the world did you accept the car? It was in terrible shape at delivery.

No way to escallate outside of a lawsuit and getting a hold of reporters, which unfortunately looks like is not too much further down the line.

The fit and finish concerns I thought could get worked out easy enough by competent workers. This car was actually better than another model 3 I bought about a year prior. They told me a lot of these issues are common and just part of the car model. The problem has really always been Tesla service. They do half ass work and straight up lie. More so after I came on their radar as a 'problem' customer for wanting decent - not perfect - fit and finish and I report errors/issues that come up... Now all the people I deal with just get a kick out of screwing with me like they are still in high school. I'd be ashamed if I were them, but I don't think they are wired the same way.

 

[Durzel]

Your experiences would be enough to turn me off the brand permanently to be honest.

Tesla don't seem to want you as a customer. It shouldn't be this difficult to get a standard level of quality from your newly purchased car.

Unfortunately if I were in your shoes I would've been inclined to reject the car to begin with. I don't think I would've been ever been happy with the car knowing it was a Friday afternoon rush job, especially given how they've treated you subsequently. Withdrawing mobile service is just petty. I presume that follows the car and will affect any subsequent owner too.

 

[Audi2000]

Our M3P had a 1mm x 2mm paint ding on the right front pillar. That was easily fixed when I had the car ceramic applied. Should never accepted that car. We're in SW Florida and have never used the service dept. Where are you?