Front Fender / Bumper Gap

[ooandyoo]

First off, I want to say that I LOVE the Model 3. Coming from daily driving an S2000, the Model 3 feels so quiet, smooth, and has so many luxuries. Overall, my panel gaps aren't perfect but theyre acceptable to me. The only issue that's bugging me is where the corner of the front fender meets the bumper under the headlights. It just doesnt line up correctly. On the passenger side, they're actually touching. When I put any pressure on the fender or bumper, it makes a loud creaking sound as they're rubbing against each other. Anyone else have this issue?

VIN: 17xxx

 

[jamnmon66]

Some of the complaints about fit and finish look pretty minor in the pictures but not this one. That looks bad. I think you should definitely get them to fix it.

 

[RDaneel]

It's definitely a problem you should have fixed. This is very common (about 25% of Model 3s I have see). The good news is that it is fixable. Mine overlapped (though not quite as much as yours) and the service center fixed it in an hour before I took delivery.

 

[ooandyoo]

It's definitely a problem you should have fixed. This is very common (about 25% of Model 3s I have see). The good news is that it is fixable. Mine overlapped (though not quite as much as yours) and the service center fixed it in an hour before I took delivery.

Thanks. I scheduled a service to have it looked it. I've looked at a few other Model 3 and mine definitely seems to be the worst I've seen.

 

[patrick40363]

That should have never left Tesla in that condition.

 

[SouthBayGuy]

Looking forward to hearing any updates on this as I will be getting my car in a few weeks and would like to know how well Tesla addresses panel body gaps.

 

[Zaphod]

I agree, I'm pretty picky but have adjusted my expectations slightly on what to expect, but the fit and finish in those pictures is not good. Definitely worse than all I've seen. Must have been built on Friday afternoon or Monday morning....

 

[slotti]

I have it worse. Paint dripping at the end of both fenders. Have an appointment with service next week, though I don't know what service can do about it. Looks like body shop work to me.

 

[Fusion]

Here's mine that I just picked up today. Check your paint and corners everyone. I didn't notice the corner in the front bumper had like paint missing until I got home.

 

[EV-lutioin]

What's your VIN?

 

[Fusion]

What's your VIN?

17xxx. I’m okay with the fender corner but the corner missing paint sucks. They probably nicked it during assembly.

 

[siai47]

If you remove the front wheel well liner, you can access the bolts that attach the bumper cover to the fender. There is adjustment available there so what I think happened is just sloppy assembly. Tesla service should be able to quickly sort this out, but if you are handy with tools, it's faster to do it yourself than a service appointment. You can also take your time to get it right. I am not trying to give Tesla a pass on this kind of a fit and nobody should receive a car in this condition. This whole bumper cover design and attachment needs to be reviewed by Tesla engineering. The fit of the cover also was (is) a major factor in the "sunken hood" thing.

 

[lloyds]

Same issues on my M3 compared to my '16 MX.

 

[barjohn]

How hard is it to remove the fender liner? What is involved? Can you show us with pictures? I can see at least one of the bolts that can probably be used to align. Can one better align the headlights too so they are flush with the fenders and the same on both sides? Does this then require a headlight alignment?

 

[ifitzgerald]

I picked up my Model 3 on Friday and I love it! After I got it home (it was hard to contain my excitement and do a thorough inspection at the store, especially with my kids there) I noticed that my bumper and front fenders appear to be touching at the headlight, much like the OP's pictures (but maybe not as bad). Mobile service is coming out at some point to fix a small dent in quarter panel, and I'll ask them to take a look at it. Has anyone had problems asking Tesla to address this, like the bulging headlights being by design?

 

[T34ME]

There is a long thread on this forum regarding funk lid alignment. The problem is really the alignment of the front fascia/bumper panel. There are instructions in that thread how to fix the alignment of the front fascia. The amount of time and effort it takes to fix it depends on how close to perfect you want to get.

 

[MyTM3]

@ooandyoo, was your front bumper/fender issue fixed by Tesla? I just got my white M3 on 3/25. And I have the same issue. It was brought up to my attention by clear bra installer. Hoping, this will be serviceable by Tesla.

 

[eectr8]

Was there ever an update on this one?