Installing the official Tesla model 3 roof rack

[siminoff]

I would have been tempted to pop one into a vice and see what happens when pressure is applied in various directions. And then when that inevitably cracks... anneal the remaining three... Have you tested yours after annealing?

I really wanted to test them before annealing too! But at the time I wasn't willing to break one, 'cause that would have just make more work for me... cutting/bending/welding a new clip from scratch.
Yes I did flex them after annealing and none broke

...can I buy these from you for test/experiment? In fact, I'd love to get my hands on some un-annealed units.

PM me an we can discuss the best use of the ones I annealed.

 

[Lifeinabox]

My replacement bolts arrived announced today as well.

 

[TomHudson]

Did you receive the email from Tesla as an "identified model 3 owner" with the bad bolts? I didn't receive anything but will be watching out for Fedex today if it comes. I hope it does!

Yeah I got that email. Never got the shipping notice but they did come via FedEx.

 

[WattsHappening]

You will only get a shipping notice if you are registered with Fedex for notifications. I am set up with Fedex to send me texts for shipments to my address. That's how I found out about the shipment. Neither Tesla nor Yakima sent out any notifications.

 

[siminoff]

How would they have screwed this up in production?.... Would annealing always be necessary after welding a small piece like that?

Yes high carbon steel should be annealed, or at least stress-relieved, after welding... but I have absolutely no idea what material the hooks are made from.
If I had to guess, I would speculate that the original hooks were hardened but never annealed, which left them in a very strong but brittle condition.

 

[EVnut]

PM me an we can discuss the best use of the ones I annealed.

Incoming!

I would speculate that the original hooks were hardened but never annealed, which left them in a very strong but brittle condition.

I'd go with "left them very hard, but brittle." Strong just doesn't seem like the correct word for clips that crack!

 

[Blue in NC]

Well I'm glad that I"m not the only person having this issue. I just went to mount a ski attachment on my rack and found the clip completely sheared in two. I really hope Tesla is going to do something more than just replace the clips. This is outright dangerous and I'm lucky to have discovered it in my garage.

I am confused. I am a rack owner. It seems we have identified that the clips are clearly at fault and that the rest of the rack appears to be fine. Also, it seems that Yakima, a very experienced rack seller, is producing the racks and clips. Even though it wasn't the quickest response, given that Tesla had to send it to Yakima and test it, the response wasn't that slow (certainly, communication could have been better). Why should Tesla do anything but replace the clips? Isn't this the part that is clearly failing? What else would you have them do?

I do feel badly for those that returned the whole rack. As the problem appeared to be the clips, I did not return my rack - that seemed crazy to me. I have not received any email or replacement clips yet. I am one that has the rack and the clips without the notch. I reinstalled my rack a couple of weeks ago and everything appears to be fine and solid. But for peace of mind, I would like to get the replacement clips.

 

[TheWeasel]

"I do feel badly for those that returned the whole rack. As the problem appeared to be the clips, I did not return my rack - that seemed crazy to me. I have not received any email or replacement clips yet. I am one that has the rack and the clips without the notch. I reinstalled my rack a couple of weeks ago and everything appears to be fine and solid. But for peace of mind, I would like to get the replacement clips.

I think my issue is that for Tesla to be able diagnose the issue and come up with the replacement clip solution, some people were required to send their racks back for inspection. I understand why Tesla would want to inspect a few racks before providing the solution. What I don't understand is their inability to treat these customers respectfully. For example, updating them that the clips were found to be faulty, or when they expect a replacement to arrive.

Yesterday I had a conversation with Tesla representative and was told things such as "the person handling this is backed up and they will get back to you as soon as they can" when I asked if I should expect this to be in the order of days, weeks, or months, their answer was: "I don't know, it is not handled by my department".

My take home message from this is to wait for someone else to report the problem, and if everybody reaches the same conclusion no one would report problems and they will only be discovered when a fatal accident occurs. This is no way to foster user trust, and is a sign of a very badly managed organization.

 

[TomHudson]

My thinking is that the original clips (the shorter ones) were properly annealed and are likely OK, though shorter than optimum. Then they identified an issue with the threaded stud length and in the process of altering the way they were made, someone slipped up and they weren't annealed properly.

So I'm guessing the owners of the early batch of racks won't be offered/sent replacements.

 

[Blue in NC]

My thinking is that the original clips (the shorter ones) were properly annealed and are likely OK, though shorter than optimum. Then they identified an issue with the threaded stud length and in the process of altering the way they were made, someone slipped up and they weren't annealed properly.

So I'm guessing the owners of the early batch of racks won't be offered/sent replacements.

I am not disagreeing with your take but I can't imagine they will not offer replacements to everyone. What you say makes sense but given the low cost of a replacement, the added functionality of the longer clips and mostly the peace of mind from making sure (because if they are wrong the consequences are huge), I expect to get a replacement. Might be different if they had to take back the rack and replace it (large costs for that) but it probably costs them a couple of dollars to send replacement clips. I mean can I really proceed with confidence at this point?

 

[bmwmkc323i]

Has anyone else received the updated clips recently? I received the email on 3/2 but haven't received them yet. I replied to that email asking for ETA but they never reply back.

 

[huangbong]

Has anyone else received the updated clips recently? I received the email on 3/2 but haven't received them yet. I replied to that email asking for ETA but they never reply back.

I never got the email but I kept pestering customer support the past week and they manually shipped me the new bolts from Fremont on Wednesday. Received them on Thursday in San Francisco and installed the rack today. Good luck!

 

[goinsurfin19]

I still want to order a rack and they are not available again....

 

[KootsChewt]

I am not disagreeing with your take but I can't imagine they will not offer replacements to everyone. What you say makes sense but given the low cost of a replacement, the added functionality of the longer clips and mostly the peace of mind from making sure (because if they are wrong the consequences are huge), I expect to get a replacement. Might be different if they had to take back the rack and replace it (large costs for that) but it probably costs them a couple of dollars to send replacement clips. I mean can I really proceed with confidence at this point?

I'd like to get the updated clips too, if nothing else for ease of removal and reinstallation the few times a year I'm going to do so.

And to the person asking earlier, I'm pretty sure they didn't increase the length of the bolt, only moved it up the clip part.

 

[BAven8068]

Is this new for the Model S or have I just never seen it? It’s designed the exact same way the Model 3 rack is designed.

By reading the support page for it, it looks like they might have redesigned the Model S glass roofs with the same type of attachment points as the Model 3. It states any Model S manufactured prior to 02/11/19 can be retro fitted to work with this design. How could they retrofit attachment points to work with this design that attaches under the glass?

 

[MP3Mike]

It states any Model S manufactured prior to 02/11/19 can be retro fitted to work with this design. How could they retrofit attachment points to work with this design that attaches under the glass?

It doesn't say any Model S made prior to 2/11/19, it says any Model S with the full glass roof made prior to 2/11/19.

I wonder how much they charge for the retrofit...

 

[BAven8068]

It doesn't say any Model S made prior to 2/11/19, it says any Model S with the full glass roof made prior to 2/11/19.

I wonder how much they charge for the retrofit...

Right, sorry I meant any glass roof Model S.

 

[MP3Mike]

I wonder if they replace the glass, or if they etch the arrows on to the glass as part of the retrofit... I'm assuming that the glass doesn't already have the arrows on it. (Though the installation manual gives you exact measurements to find where the arrow should be, so maybe they count on you doing that.)

 

[My2cents]

In Norway we will be able to order the roof rack this week, I will post some pictures of the bolts etc. once at hand.

 

[Lifeinabox]

I assume since all quiet here that the new bolts are holding up. I may try finally installing mine this weekend.