Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Interior Front Tire Panel Loose - should I just shove it in?

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
I just purchased a used 2016 MS 90D and noticed only on the interior panel in front of the tire, the rubber flap and panel has popped out and is not aligned. Wanted to get some feedback before I just try to shove it incorrectly and break things more. I did try to gently wobble it, and an interesting screw came out :/ It's out of normal warranty. What would you do? The blue markup is the rubber cover presumably connecting to the round sensor. The red markup is the section that popped out:

PXL_20230912_195839056 - marked.jpg


Here's the funny screw that fell out:

PXL_20230912_200104727.jpg
 
That location of the fender liner has tabs on it with metal clips that push into holes in the fender. Push it in and if it doesn't snap into place the tabs are broken and/or the clips are missing. If the car is refresh 2016 that panel is pulled back to get to the manual frunk openers. A dead 12V battery is the usual reason that the panel is pulled back but it could be for lots of other reasons too. I have no idea about the bolt but it may indicate a repair like replacing a light was done and the fender liner was not properly secured or broken. Mechanics who lose track of bolts usually just replace it with another one ( shops have a nut and bolt collection taken from wrecked cars, replaced parts, and hardware that techs forgot to reinstall ) rather spend time finding it and then hope that they don't get a come back due to the missing bolt causing a rattle.
 
Upvote 0