Interior door metal trim dents

[StuartPDX]

I've bought two Model S's in the last 6 months. On the first car, I noticed that the driver's door metal trim that runs horizontally had a series of about four little dents/dings. I brought this the Portland Service's attention and they replaced the whole door panel. Yesterday on my month old car, I noticed the same problem - a new dent/ding. I emailed service about this and they replied that this doesn't fall under warranty and that the last repair was a courtesy.

It seems to me given that this has happened on our two brand new S's that there is a problem with the metal trim. It should not dent so easily. We are not heavy users of our cars and don't treat them roughly by any means.

Has anyone else had this issue?

 

[ArcticSun]

HA! You are one of the VERY VERY few people who swings the belt buckle in just the right way that it hits the metal. Is it just you that drives?

Going forward, while doesn't solve the metal's issue, be aware of how you're swinging the belt buckle around your shoulder.

 

[StuartPDX]

HA! You are one of the VERY VERY few people who swings the belt buckle in just the right way that it hits the metal. Is it just you that drives?

Going forward, while doesn't solve the metal's issue, be aware of how you're swinging the belt buckle around your shoulder.

Two of us use the cars. It must be the seat belt hitting the metal, but given the design that's going to happen. It seems the metal they are using for the trim is awfully fragile.

 

[jmsurpri]

Yes, at 4 days of ownership I let go of the belt buckle just right and it swung back and put a small dent in the metal trim. I agree it's a bad design to have that soft metal right there.

 

[Max*]

Two of us use the cars. It must be the seat belt hitting the metal, but given the design that's going to happen. It seems the metal they are using for the trim is awfully fragile.

Yeah, I have a few dings in my metal trim next to the handle. I think my ring must have dinged it or something. The metal is very soft.

 

[JimmyAZ]

I also got a scratch in the aluminum trim right where you grip it to close the door. My husband's ring caught it and gouged a little bit out. I made him buy another trim piece. Done deal. And yes, it's a soft metal, but aluminum just looks great there. I've had to be more aware of how I'm closing the door to keep it pristine.

 

[ArcticSun]

Well, you could have real aluminum, or "plastic with aluminum look" like in Hyundai's.

 

[chriSharek]

Good to know BEFORE taking delivery! Thanks!

 

[StuartPDX]

Good to know BEFORE taking delivery! Thanks!

Tesla just told me that they will replace the trim, which means a new door panel. Needless to say, I'm impressed. Now, I've got to figure out how to avoid the dents. It's hard to be aware of taking off the seat belt carefully and slowly every time you leave the car. Would Xpel help with this? I do hope they'll redesign this.

 

[chriSharek]

What other "wear items" like this should new owners be made aware of? Anything I can prevent from wearing, dinging, denting, scratching, I will! I ordered the rubberized mats for the frunk, trunk, and cabin today!

 

[Max*]

What other "wear items" like this should new owners be made aware of? Anything I can prevent from wearing, dinging, denting, scratching, I will! I ordered the rubberized mats for the frunk, trunk, and cabin today!

Do you wear jeans? Yeah... I hear lots of people say that jeans don't transfer on the leather (and we have the same color leather in the car), after 9 months, I can confirm that jean colors do transfer to the leather. I season (that's not the right word... umn... can't think of it now) every few months (yeah, I'm lazy), and it helps get some of the blue out, but there is definitely blue on my tan seats.

 

[chriSharek]

Do you wear jeans? Yeah... I hear lots of people say that jeans don't transfer on the leather (and we have the same color leather in the car), after 9 months, I can confirm that jean colors do transfer to the leather. I season (that's not the right word... umn... can't think of it now) every few months (yeah, I'm lazy), and it helps get some of the blue out, but there is definitely blue on my tan seats.

Wow! That really sucks. In Florida with a Pano roof I just could not justify getting the black interior. In the grey looks too drab for me. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[BertL]

IMHO denim blue transfer will happen with any color (you just don't see it on black, but it's there if you try to remove it.) The challenge is the same with Tesla, BMW, MBZ and Lexus premium leathers of basically all colors I've owned over the years.

The trick is to apply an appropriate conditioner when the leather is new, then every time you wash your vehicle use a damp clean cloth and wipe down your seats to keep them hydrated (leather is after all, just like your skin), and then occasionally use a leather cleaner with a clean white terry or light colored microfiber towel to remove any dirt and denim transfer, and reapply the conditioner. If you sweat a lot in the summer when you are wearing shorts, and you see more build-up on the front edges of the seat, I'd additionally suggest placing a terry hand towel there before you sit down which will eliminate your skin being in direct contact for extended periods with that part of the leather. It makes my cleaning regime a lot easier especially with lighter colored leather. If you are interested in products I use, etc, they are all listed on my personal website below on my various Auto Detailing pages.​

For people concerned about scraping and dinging the silver areas of the inside door handles (with the ring on your finger), silver front door sill inserts, and other sensitive places that people complain about, I just bought (from Amazon) some strips of 3M Door Edge Protection material which you can cut a piece off and strategically locate on the inside door handle where your hand tends to go, and XPEL Door Sill Guard Paint Protection Film is a pretty good fit to place a strip and then use a new Xacto knife to cut and trim. Simple 10-minute DIY that will save you future grief -- at least I suspect it will me.

 

[ArcticSun]

What other "wear items" like this should new owners be made aware of? Anything I can prevent from wearing, dinging, denting, scratching, I will! I ordered the rubberized mats for the frunk, trunk, and cabin today!

I'd rather not call out things on a message board. People latch on to them as issues and get very vocal with service staff, when its really not an issue. They won't be noticed for awhile, and honestly they arent bad. This particular issue isnt a wear item just an oddity for a very small subset of drivers. I'm hoping they'll update for interior refresh, but you can never be too sure.

 

[jfoxny]

This also happened to me. The car is only three weeks old. Just noticed the ding in the trim two days ago. It's on the silver trim piece close to the back edge of the door. I wondered if it was there at delivery and I just missed it but the seatbelt theory makes sense. Ugh.

 

[scottm]

careful of the metal trim bits around the center screen and across the dash... they dent easily too

 

[markn455]

I've bought two Model S's in the last 6 months. On the first car, I noticed that the driver's door metal trim that runs horizontally had a series of about four little dents/dings. I brought this the Portland Service's attention and they replaced the whole door panel. Yesterday on my month old car, I noticed the same problem - a new dent/ding. I emailed service about this and they replied that this doesn't fall under warranty and that the last repair was a courtesy.

It seems to me given that this has happened on our two brand new S's that there is a problem with the metal trim. It should not dent so easily. We are not heavy users of our cars and don't treat them roughly by any means.

Has anyone else had this issue?

Seatbelt buckle hitting the door when you take it off. Had this problems on cars in the past until I started paying attention to how I take off my seatbelt.

 

[Odebek]

Do you wear jeans? Yeah... I hear lots of people say that jeans don't transfer on the leather (and we have the same color leather in the car), after 9 months, I can confirm that jean colors do transfer to the leather. I season (that's not the right word... umn... can't think of it now) every few months (yeah, I'm lazy), and it helps get some of the blue out, but there is definitely blue on my tan seats.

Same problem with my VW tan leather seats... Love the look, but went with black for my Model S to avoid this issue.

 

[tennis]

1) Yes you can get dents and dings in this metal. Good news that some service centers seem happy to replace as a courtesy.

2) Color transfer is a thing -- don't be surprised if it happens, and don't be surprised if it doesn't happen. It isn't a big deal and it is easy to take care of.

 

[Max*]

it is easy to take care of.

From what I heard, that's not true.

I had a detailer tell me that he avoids trying to remove jeans color transfer from leather, because it's highly likely that the leather will become damaged.

Now, if you were to apply a sealant/coating/etc. before the color transfer happened, it might be easy to take care of. But from just cleaning and conditioning the leather, he didn't recommend trying to remove it.