How are quality issues with Model Y currently

[Kee_Chain]

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well,

I just picked up my blue LR MY yesterday, I thought I would give some input. The paint quality and panel alignment are really good compared to what others have told me. I did notice one area, the paint is chipped and a panel gap between the passenger side taillight and trunk. I did notice the frunk was a little bit higher and not flush with the front bumper. So far I have not seen any problems with the interior of the car, everything looks great. No misaligned second-row seats, sun visor problems, or even headliner issues.

Overall, from the research I have done, the cars built in Q1 2020 have been improved compared to the early models.

 

[Electroman]

You mean Q1 2021

 

[monteitis]

Hello, new Y owner here (picked up last week 2/11). Vin is 118xxx, was built within this month. Build quality is OK, but nowhere near other luxury makes. **Disclaimer** I am in the industry and not the average consumer.

Gaps are wide in general (likely to allow for more build tolerance). Some panel edges were slightly rolled for a better alignment with adjacent panels (rear door to quarter in my case). Right mirror cap wasn't seated properly, snapped it in place easily. Doors align nicely at top, a bit off at the bottom. I got the red tricoat color - looks great to all bystanders, but I notice the passenger front door a tad darker than the rear door on the flop. Also there are more dirt spots/blemishes in the clearcoat than I've seen from any other make in recent memory - no panels were repaired or painted more than once. All can be corrected with wetsanding & polishing except the shade.

All that said... love the car. My wife and other friends/family don't see ANY of what I see, so this was intended more for the technical and/or exceptionally anal crowd. I've been working with one of the higher volume Tesla repair facilities in SoCal for some time, and overall panel fitment has come a long way. On some older models, the inconsistent panel gaps threw some false alarms for unibody damage. Luckily, Tesla requires the vehicle's unibody be measured on a jig setup like the German luxury brands. This eliminates room for error when constructing or repairing the unibody - In other words, build issues are largely isolated to exterior panels which gives me some peace of mind.

I validate this purchase because it's so damn fun to drive, looks dope despite trivial build issues, and I'm hoping it'll be the best financial long play given fuel savings, future software updates, little maintenance, and hopefully decent resale value as long as Tesla can stay ahead of the curve without massive price cuts. Also my baby LOVES the glass roof, and my wife will be happy at least for a while.

 

[Gsheremeta]

- build quality is now much better than 2020, seemed to improve much in q4
- no Tesla specific issues, do a standard inspection
- imo best advice is research where to take delivery from - each local delivery "store" has earned a reputation for how responsive the agents are, how busy, how responsive they are to good faith repairs.

How do research the store? A particular website? Here (if so where)? Thanks

 

[LargeHamCollider]

No issues on the Y I bought which was delivered in December 2020.

 

[Electroman]

No issues on the Y I bought which was delivered in December 2020.

Same here. Picked up Dec 1st week. Perfect all round. I am not anal or OCD anyway.

 

[Kee_Chain]

You mean Q1 2021

My apologies Q1 2021 not 2020.

 

[briloop]

I ordered my first Tesla, a Model Y, on January 21, 2021. I took delivery on February 13, 2021. VIN # 109XXX.

I inspected the vehicle using someone’s checklist I found online. It took about an hour.

Overall, the vehicle was in great shape with no panel gaps nor any paint defects. I was pleasantly surprised since I’ve read many accounts (and seen many YouTube videos) of buyers who had panel gap and paint issues upon delivery.

Two (2) things I found and will submit for service: (1) the corner of the frunk hood nearest the driver is not aligned like the opposite corner, near the front passenger; and 2) the rear seat is not aligned.

 

[RocketBoots]

What?? you went looking for a scratch under the bumper? Did you look for a scratch on the tires too?

A new vehicle better be scratch free and in this case it jumped right out at us and couldn't be missed!!!

 

[hodol88]

My heat pump is not working after 1 week of driving!

 

[czbuckeye]

Heater is not working properly in my car. I had panel alignment issues and paint issues at delivery as well.

 

[Electroman]

At 20F I was amazed how quickly it heated the cabin. With no pre-heating the 10 mile drive averaged at 360 wh/mile which I thought was reasonable given the conditions. It would have been much higher had it not been for the heat pump. The seat heater really comes in pretty handy too.

 

[BigDEV]

Refused delivery of a Model in Owings-Mills Maryland this past weekend. VIN was in range 106xxx. My observations:

1. The process leading up to the delivery was marred by poor communication. After placing an order for an in stock MY SR, my SA sent me an introductory email then never responded to any subsequent emails. Nobody ever picked up when I called sales/new delivery at Owings-Mills. Messages left on their voicemail were never returned.
2. Location on delivery day was unorganized and customers were standing around trying to get the attention of Tesla staff who appeared very short handed for the number of people there for deliveries and test drives.
3. General lack of information about where to go. No signage directing people to delivery. Walked around the location and found the MY SR before finding a person.
4. Upon visual inspection, found numerous issues including:
   1. Serious panel gaps in the trunk area (on one side so tight it was rubbing paint on the other so large you could see into the frunk and even get a pinky in the gap
   2. Misaligned passenger door on the right side
   3. Trim around front wheel wells detaching from panel
   4. Charger door not even close to being flush
   5. Badly misaligned right and left tail lights
   6. Headlights that were not anywhere near flush with the hood
   7. Scratches on front bumper, rear bumper and on drivers side mirror
   8. Glue on random parts of the rear quarter panel
5. I had to flag down a Tesla advisor/staff who had an attitude before I even explained to him what I was there to do (accept delivery).
6. We were told we had to "accept delivery" and complete an ACH transaction for the down payment (rest was already financed) before we would be allowed to even look at the interior of the vehicle.
7. Advisor came to inspect the vehicle and was dismissive of nearly every concern. Stated that all gaps and misalignments had already passed their "internal inspection" and that they would not do anything for them.
8. Reluctantly acknowledged other issues but acted annoyed about them as if the situation was somehow our fault.
9. Advisor was rude, dismissive, made snarky comments, and didn't seem incentivised to interact with us in a respectful or even courteous way.
10. We were calm, polite, and courteous throughout the entire interaction.

Bottom Line: I was appalled at the condition of the vehicle, the complete lack of organization at the location, and the very rude and dismissive staff. The communication prior to the transaction was also abysmal.

I really wanted to purchase this vehicle and have been a supporter of Tesla and their mission since their inception. I own Tesla stock. I am not a Tesla hater but this experience was just unacceptable.

Tesla is clearly still struggling with build quality issues and their communication and customer service needs significant retooling. The problem is that because of such high demand, they are not incentivized to provide even passable customer service because they are relying on high volume sales. If you reject delivery someone else with lower standards for delivery will eventually accept the vehicle. I suspect, given the low VIN number and the date of my delivery that this vehicle had likely been rejected before and Tesla clearly didn't even attempt to address any issues. Given what I have read across so many forums, it is clear my experience is not isolated.

I have paused my purchase and will continue to monitor build quality progress and customer service. The only way to do that (and for Tesla to improve) is for people to give their honest feedback (in places like this forum) on their experience and to absolutely refuse to take delivery if their vehicle isn't in acceptable condition.

Thanks for listening.

 

[satyagra]

Refused delivery of a Model in Owings-Mills Maryland this past weekend. VIN was in range 106xxx. My observations:

1. The process leading up to the delivery was marred by poor communication. After placing an order for an in stock MY SR, my SA sent me an introductory email then never responded to any subsequent emails. Nobody ever picked up when I called sales/new delivery at Owings-Mills. Messages left on their voicemail were never returned.
2. Location on delivery day was unorganized and customers were standing around trying to get the attention of Tesla staff who appeared very short handed for the number of people there for deliveries and test drives.
3. General lack of information about where to go. No signage directing people to delivery. Walked around the location and found the MY SR before finding a person.
4. Upon visual inspection, found numerous issues including:
   1. Serious panel gaps in the trunk area (on one side so tight it was rubbing paint on the other so large you could see into the frunk and even get a pinky in the gap
   2. Misaligned passenger door on the right side
   3. Trim around front wheel wells detaching from panel
   4. Charger door not even close to being flush
   5. Badly misaligned right and left tail lights
   6. Headlights that were not anywhere near flush with the hood
   7. Scratches on front bumper, rear bumper and on drivers side mirror
   8. Glue on random parts of the rear quarter panel
5. I had to flag down a Tesla advisor/staff who had an attitude before I even explained to him what I was there to do (accept delivery).
6. We were told we had to "accept delivery" and complete an ACH transaction for the down payment (rest was already financed) before we would be allowed to even look at the interior of the vehicle.
7. Advisor came to inspect the vehicle and was dismissive of nearly every concern. Stated that all gaps and misalignments had already passed their "internal inspection" and that they would not do anything for them.
8. Reluctantly acknowledged other issues but acted annoyed about them as if the situation was somehow our fault.
9. Advisor was rude, dismissive, made snarky comments, and didn't seem incentivised to interact with us in a respectful or even courteous way.
10. We were calm, polite, and courteous throughout the entire interaction.

Bottom Line: I was appalled at the condition of the vehicle, the complete lack of organization at the location, and the very rude and dismissive staff. The communication prior to the transaction was also abysmal.

I really wanted to purchase this vehicle and have been a supporter of Tesla and their mission since their inception. I own Tesla stock. I am not a Tesla hater but this experience was just unacceptable.

Tesla is clearly still struggling with build quality issues and their communication and customer service needs significant retooling. The problem is that because of such high demand, they are not incentivized to provide even passable customer service because they are relying on high volume sales. If you reject delivery someone else with lower standards for delivery will eventually accept the vehicle. I suspect, given the low VIN number and the date of my delivery that this vehicle had likely been rejected before and Tesla clearly didn't even attempt to address any issues. Given what I have read across so many forums, it is clear my experience is not isolated.

I have paused my purchase and will continue to monitor build quality progress and customer service. The only way to do that (and for Tesla to improve) is for people to give their honest feedback (in places like this forum) on their experience and to absolutely refuse to take delivery if their vehicle isn't in acceptable condition.

Thanks for listening.

I hear you I had something similar today and I am Appalled by the whole delivery experience


one of the people who came to deliver the car was slamming the car door in front of me multiple times - I called him out for doing that. I told him I can't accept it until morning as I need to inspect it under sunlight cause it's too dark. when I mentioned that I see a couple of panel gaps, he was just pushing the plastic in front of me to make it right, I didn't pay $60k for him to do that.

 

[BigDEV]

I hear you I had something similar today and I am Appalled by the whole delivery experience


one of the people who came to deliver the car was slamming the car door in front of me multiple times - I called him out for doing that. I told him I can't accept it until morning as I need to inspect it under sunlight cause it's too dark. when I mentioned that I see a couple of panel gaps, he was just pushing the plastic in front of me to make it right, I didn't pay $60k for him to do that.

Satyagra: your $60K was, I'm sure, very hard earned. While I empathize at some level at the plight that Tesla delivery people are in (it isn't their fault these issues are on the vehicle) how they handle the situation matters a lot.

For example, at no point was there even the slightest bit of empathy or concern from the delivery person about the vehicle - just annoyance. I came into the delivery understanding Tesla is working on build quality and that some things won't be perfect and may need to be addressed after delivery.

What stunned me was that they claimed very obvious issues were "in spec" and that they would not address them. That isn't acceptable.

 

[satyagra]

Satyagra: your $60K was, I'm sure, very hard earned. While I empathize at some level at the plight that Tesla delivery people are in (it isn't their fault these issues are on the vehicle) how they handle the situation matters a lot.

For example, at no point was there even the slightest bit of empathy or concern from the delivery person about the vehicle - just annoyance. I came into the delivery understanding Tesla is working on build quality and that some things won't be perfect and may need to be addressed after delivery.

What stunned me was that they claimed very obvious issues were "in spec" and that they would not address them. That isn't acceptable.

Yeah I agree - I wrote my share of bad experience here
Model Y Long Range Rear Wheel Drive (LR RWD)

 

[EchoDelta]

Took delivery of a LR AWD white/white 7-seat 19”, vin 157xxx
Did a deep inspection before delivery and after.
flawless, except, for one coat hanger hook that wouldn’t stay closed. Ironic flaw?
Even looking at paint and details in hidden places it seemed to me Tesla has done a much tighter job than when we got our 3 a year and half ago.

 

[msc777]

I took delivery of a MY 7 seater on Monday. There are 5 issues I’m asking to be fixed but only #1 I can’t live with. Overall I felt the car was good quality and I’ve never done a detailed inspection like this before on any vehicle.

1. 60 split second row is very difficult to open for access to third row. It only works about half the time and only when the second row is all the way back which would crush third row passenger legs. The 40 split works ok.
2. for both the 60 and 40 split, the rail end cap won’t stay on
3. Large scratch on Plastic panel in rear seating area. Not easily visible
4. Frunk slight issue with panel gap on one side is a little tight. Was told in spec at delivery but will ask second opinion
5. Rear passenger side door sticks out 2-3mm more than it should.

 

[Pianewman]

Service centers are suppose to adjust issues that come off the production line. Every dealership has a crew that does this. It's called Dealer Prep.

Staffing of Service Centers seems to be a big problem. Not enough training, not enough personnel. End of quarter, they get slammed, and are working way too many hours. This does NOT excuse attitude issues, but it helps to understand.

I'm very fortunate to have an attentive SC only 7 miles away. They invite "drop in" visits. Also, similar to my VW "Clean Diesel" experience with VW dealer techs, whenever I drop by, they're actually eager to hear the latest about Tesla from the internet. (VW techs sometimes didn't have a CLUE about VW diesels, but some were willing to listen to me!) They're interested, but don't have the time to scan posts here.

We all wish Tesla would spend the $$$ on better training, and MORE, SC personnel. Until then, customer service will continue to suffer.

 

[LwlPeak]

Refused delivery of a Model in Owings-Mills Maryland this past weekend. VIN was in range 106xxx. My observations:

1. The process leading up to the delivery was marred by poor communication. After placing an order for an in stock MY SR, my SA sent me an introductory email then never responded to any subsequent emails. Nobody ever picked up when I called sales/new delivery at Owings-Mills. Messages left on their voicemail were never returned.
2. Location on delivery day was unorganized and customers were standing around trying to get the attention of Tesla staff who appeared very short handed for the number of people there for deliveries and test drives.
3. General lack of information about where to go. No signage directing people to delivery. Walked around the location and found the MY SR before finding a person.
4. Upon visual inspection, found numerous issues including:
   1. Serious panel gaps in the trunk area (on one side so tight it was rubbing paint on the other so large you could see into the frunk and even get a pinky in the gap
   2. Misaligned passenger door on the right side
   3. Trim around front wheel wells detaching from panel
   4. Charger door not even close to being flush
   5. Badly misaligned right and left tail lights
   6. Headlights that were not anywhere near flush with the hood
   7. Scratches on front bumper, rear bumper and on drivers side mirror
   8. Glue on random parts of the rear quarter panel
5. I had to flag down a Tesla advisor/staff who had an attitude before I even explained to him what I was there to do (accept delivery).
6. We were told we had to "accept delivery" and complete an ACH transaction for the down payment (rest was already financed) before we would be allowed to even look at the interior of the vehicle.
7. Advisor came to inspect the vehicle and was dismissive of nearly every concern. Stated that all gaps and misalignments had already passed their "internal inspection" and that they would not do anything for them.
8. Reluctantly acknowledged other issues but acted annoyed about them as if the situation was somehow our fault.
9. Advisor was rude, dismissive, made snarky comments, and didn't seem incentivised to interact with us in a respectful or even courteous way.
10. We were calm, polite, and courteous throughout the entire interaction.

Bottom Line: I was appalled at the condition of the vehicle, the complete lack of organization at the location, and the very rude and dismissive staff. The communication prior to the transaction was also abysmal.

I really wanted to purchase this vehicle and have been a supporter of Tesla and their mission since their inception. I own Tesla stock. I am not a Tesla hater but this experience was just unacceptable.

Tesla is clearly still struggling with build quality issues and their communication and customer service needs significant retooling. The problem is that because of such high demand, they are not incentivized to provide even passable customer service because they are relying on high volume sales. If you reject delivery someone else with lower standards for delivery will eventually accept the vehicle. I suspect, given the low VIN number and the date of my delivery that this vehicle had likely been rejected before and Tesla clearly didn't even attempt to address any issues. Given what I have read across so many forums, it is clear my experience is not isolated.

I have paused my purchase and will continue to monitor build quality progress and customer service. The only way to do that (and for Tesla to improve) is for people to give their honest feedback (in places like this forum) on their experience and to absolutely refuse to take delivery if their vehicle isn't in acceptable condition.

Thanks for listening.

My goodness. This is absolutely terrible! Anyway for you to link to your post via twitter and @ elon musk or some other C-Suite people?