I need to know about your rattles....

[voip-ninja]

Those plastic clips and rivets don't hold the same if they are reused. A proper repair procedure should involve fastening everything back with new clips. Make sure they don't cheap out on that (and I'll eat my shorts if it turns out that they don't try to).

Those plastic rivets cost a few cents each, there should be no reason to not spend an extra buck fiddy to avoid the possibility of having to "fix" it again.

You might have missed my July 17th post in which I provided a pretty detailed update. Ultimately a lead tech had the car for a week and identified that the trim was not only detached due to the botched "repair" from the mobile service tech but that there were broken spot welds on the trim piece. I speculate the welds were broken during some previous repair in which they probably removed and reinstalled the dash trim.

While they had the car they tested/identified and "resolved" several other sources of rattles including further insulation of the rear deck lid. I did a test drive with the Tesla tech, who was great and I confirmed the noise of the car was livable for me. To go further the tech would have next tested/replaced the dashboard monocoque.... his concern was that in the process of replacing the dash itself, he might introduce other problems.

The car is 10X better than it has ever been. Is it as quiet as my BMW? No! Is it quiet enough I can live with it? Yes. It has little squeaking noises and occasional tapping along with the normal issues with this model such as hearing noise from all contents from the trunk more than any other car, suspension noises worse than other cars, etc.... but it's finally at the point where if I think I hear something and turn down the radio I can't reproduce it.... just noises in my head from a year of trauma I suppose.

 

[super20g]

I just need voip-ninja to work with service on my behalf now... Glad you got the majority of your rattles fixed. What a process...

 

[voip-ninja]

I just need voip-ninja to work with service on my behalf now... Glad you got the majority of your rattles fixed. What a process...

I wrote an email making a formal executive complaint and started posting videos of my trim falling off my car. When I went in for my service appointment I asked for the service manager and told him I would not be accepting the car back until the problems were fixed. I was direct and forceful but not disrespectful.

It was a painful experience and if you add up all the days I've been without my car in the first ten months of ownership it works out to something like 20 days.

They might have been concerned I was preparing to discuss some kind of legal action with them... not sure.

Good luck.

 

[TeeEmCee]

You might have missed my July 17th post in which I provided a pretty detailed update. Ultimately a lead tech had the car for a week and identified that the trim was not only detached due to the botched "repair" from the mobile service tech but that there were broken spot welds on the trim piece. I speculate the welds were broken during some previous repair in which they probably removed and reinstalled the dash trim.

While they had the car they tested/identified and "resolved" several other sources of rattles including further insulation of the rear deck lid. I did a test drive with the Tesla tech, who was great and I confirmed the noise of the car was livable for me. To go further the tech would have next tested/replaced the dashboard monocoque.... his concern was that in the process of replacing the dash itself, he might introduce other problems.

The car is 10X better than it has ever been. Is it as quiet as my BMW? No! Is it quiet enough I can live with it? Yes. It has little squeaking noises and occasional tapping along with the normal issues with this model such as hearing noise from all contents from the trunk more than any other car, suspension noises worse than other cars, etc.... but it's finally at the point where if I think I hear something and turn down the radio I can't reproduce it.... just noises in my head from a year of trauma I suppose.

No, I haven't followed much since I've moved past those battles. I'm still in the process of adjusting to not having to deal with any of this now that I mostly drive the eTron. It is indeed weird, you hop in, drive and then hop out, no drama.
I do pop by every so often to check on how things are going over here, looking for signs of improvement while throwing an iconoclastic opinion or two in the process.

Props to you for seeing this through and not taking the "it's normal and within specification" blue pill!
If more people did that, Tesla would have actually had to work through those issues and the Model 3 would have become a much better car by now.

 

[TeeEmCee]

They might have been concerned I was preparing to discuss some kind of legal action with them... not sure.

I don't think they tend to be concerned about that. In my case, they seemed to be happy to get rid of me rather than do what's right.

 

[voip-ninja]

No, I haven't followed much since I've moved past those battles. I'm still in the process of adjusting to not having to deal with any of this now that I mostly drive the eTron. It is indeed weird, you hop in, drive and then hop out, no drama.
I do pop by every so often to check on how things are going over here, looking for signs of improvement while throwing an iconoclastic opinion or two in the process.

Props to you for seeing this through and not taking the "it's normal and within specification" blue pill!
If more people did that, Tesla would have actually had to work through those issues and the Model 3 would have become a much better car by now.

If Tesla had even one competent competitor their market position would be perilous. I already told my wife that if the Germans build something with the performance and maintenance schedule of the Tesla I am very likely moving on. In the real world it's likely that Germany has their thumbs in their butts for another 2-3 years. I'll probably be in a Model Y if Tesla puts even a tiny effort into further improving the cabin design.... but not until they've been building them at capacity for well over a year.

 

[super20g]

I don't think they tend to be concerned about that. In my case, they seemed to be happy to get rid of me rather than do what's right.

They called me obnoxious and told me I am banned from ordering additional cars from them [if I accepted their buy back on one of mine]... I ordered a loaded red P3D. They cancelled the order. Guess I've got the touch.

 

[tvad]

I've heard other people have problems with the dash grill (the fabric covered piece next to the windshield).

That's me.

Rattle on the driver's side from the black fabric covered dash trim near the windshield. Occurs primarily when the dash is hot from the sun. It will not rattle if driven from the garage.

The rattle will occur if the black piece is tapped with a finger.

Service appointment tomorrow. Still deciding if I want to risk more rattles by removing and replacing the upper dash.

 

[TeeEmCee]

If Tesla had even one competent competitor their market position would be perilous. I already told my wife that if the Germans build something with the performance and maintenance schedule of the Tesla I am very likely moving on. In the real world it's likely that Germany has their thumbs in their butts for another 2-3 years. I'll probably be in a Model Y if Tesla puts even a tiny effort into further improving the cabin design.... but not until they've been building them at capacity for well over a year.

Those competitors should be coming shortly, they will nonetheless not be able to touch the Model 3's price point for a while. The S/X however will be toast without drastic improvements soon. It is my belief that Tesla know that and have planned accordingly.

 

[voip-ninja]

Those competitors should be coming shortly, they will nonetheless not be able to touch the Model 3's price point for a while. The S/X however will be toast without drastic improvements soon. It is my belief that Tesla know that and have planned accordingly.

Yes, they make more profit on one well equipped S or X than they do on probably 20 stripped down Model 3s. I'm a bit amazed that we haven't seen them launch a revamp of those cars as they are getting quite dated.

It all takes cash though, to the tunes of 100's of millions of dollars for new tooling, new stampings, new designs, and brand new models (model y, truck, roadster, semi)....

It seems like Tesla's current play is to try to survive until the China factory is up and running and make a better profit on those vehicles and then invest that cash in the Model Y and pickup rollout.

Guess we'll see. Musk might be a visionary genius but his business acumen in the auto industry seems lacking.

 

[TeeEmCee]

They called me obnoxious and told me I am banned from ordering additional cars from them ...

Hehe, they told me the same and I replied that they're in no danger of that happening.

Oddly, as I was signing the title back to them, I asked about that. I asked if that was a corporate mandate or just the opinion of that one employee who relayed that to me. They said it was his idea and he was not working there anymore (which I took as yes, it came from Corporate but they figured since that it was a dumb idea to further enrage the buying public).

 

[tvad]

If Tesla had even one competent competitor their market position would be perilous. I already told my wife that if the Germans build something with the performance and maintenance schedule of the Tesla I am very likely moving on. In the real world it's likely that Germany has their thumbs in their butts for another 2-3 years.

VW and Porsche are 6 months or so away. Porsche with the Taycan, and VW with the I.D. Crozz. VW is going all-in on electric. Other German manufacturers will soon follow.

 

[voip-ninja]

VW and Porsche are 6 months or so away. Porsche with the Taycan, and VW with the I.D. Crozz. VW is going all-in on electric. Other German manufacturers will soon follow.

I am highly skeptical that we are going to see anything actually competitive with a $50K Tesla Model 3 anytime in the next 2 years. Taycan certainly isn't it, it's a very limited production car that initially will only be sold in $100,000+ Model S territory.

 

[TeeEmCee]

It seems like Tesla's current play is to try to survive until the China factory is up and running and make a better profit on those vehicles and then invest that cash in the Model Y and pickup rollout.

It really does seem to be as simple as that, with the caveat that the pick-up is likely vaporware and will remain so for a while.

 

[TeeEmCee]

VW and Porsche are 6 months or so away. Porsche with the Taycan, and VW with the I.D. Crozz. VW is going all-in on electric. Other German manufacturers will soon follow.

I.D. 3 will be the first one to hit the road, the German press is full of pre-launch reviews. It will do battle with and will potentially be a huge headache for the likes of Nissan Leaf etc. I'm sure it will peel a few Model 3 buyers away, but probably not that many at first.

Tesla can probably escape being killed by the Germans, provided that they stop continuously shooting themselves in the foot with this Service fiasco.

 

[tvad]

I am highly skeptical that we are going to see anything actually competitive with a $50K Tesla Model 3 anytime in the next 2 years. Taycan certainly isn't it, it's a very limited production car that initially will only be sold in $100,000+ Model S territory.

You will see a VW competitor much sooner than 2 years.
https://electrek.co/2019/07/22/vw-zwickau-factory-electric-cars/

 

[voip-ninja]

You will see a VW competitor much sooner than 2 years.
VW prepares Zwickau factory for 330,000 all-electric cars per year - Electrek

They say they will get into peak production in late 2021. "We'll see".

I will continue to assert that Tesla has zero competition for Model 3 and won't for well over a year. The Leaf is not competition for the Model 3, an e-golf is not competition for the Model 3. Something like an electrified BMW 3 series or Mercedes C class would be competition for the Model 3.

The Model 3 has just enough luxury and definitely has performance chops so that there really isn't any competition currently and there won't be for quite a while.

BMW i4 might be that car if BMW ever builds it and IF it comes in at a reasonable price and IF BMW is willing to rub their dealer network the wrong way by making it a low maintenance car.

 

[Snow Drift]

I have a Sept 2018 build non-P AWD and I encountered all three of them, with #3 being most prominent. Since I have 2 car seats at the back, I have not tried folding down my back seats.

#2 was fixed by Tesla with this note. Hope this helps:

Concern: Customer: Vehicle noisy while driving - noise from front left and right.

Corrections: Interior NVH General Diagnosis Confirmed customer's concern during road test, recommend insulating and re-securing both front left and right fender liner. Performed recommended service, upon completion, performed road test and verified customer concern has been resolved.

Pay Type: Goodwill - Service

Was the #2 noise a sort of "vrfff" whenever you go over bumps or uneven surfaces? Seems like cushioned pieces against each other.

 

[spindrome]

I've got a rattle/wind noise issue on passenger side only which occurs when I'm > 40mph or so.

Mobile service came and replaced the plastic triangle near the side view mirror which i thought was the culprit but it wasn't. Old part didn't have any double faced tape. New one did. Seems like the sound is even louder now. On another thread (w/video) someone mentioned it might be the plastic piece attached to the frunk hinges. Instead of double-face taping it to the hinge I just took it off. That wasn't the source either.

Not sure where else the noise can be coming from. My guess its either the plastic triangle or perhaps the b-pillar. It doesn't look flush with the passenger window. Maybe high speed air flow is causing it to vibrate and rattle.

I can also hear the motor when accelerating. I actually like the sound. Reminds me of Disneyland's California Screaming ride.

 

[spindrome]

VW and Porsche are 6 months or so away. Porsche with the Taycan, and VW with the I.D. Crozz. VW is going all-in on electric. Other German manufacturers will soon follow.

Patiently waiting for the 2022 VW Bus to match my 66 split window.