LIftgate glass contacted body during closing, cracked glass, warranty refused!

[Ericsch]

My 2020 MS is only 3 months old. Two days ago, I noticed a fracture in the forward edge of the liftgate glass, (see photo #1). The triangular piece is actually pushed up above the surface of the glass, so it is obvious that the glass was impacted from below. Upon opening the liftgate, I see that there is a protrusion of metal - a kind of "bump" right at the exact point where the crack originates, and there is abrasion of the paint where the glass contacted the bump (see photo #2).
Watching this region dynamically, the gap between the glass edge and "bump" is about 2 mm when the liftgate is in the fully lifted position, but when I activate the button to lower the liftgate, the pull on the liftgate by the struts moves the whole liftgate, including glass, forward by a couple of millimeters, bringing the edge of the glass right against the bump, thus causing the left-to-right scratches you see above. It appears that this had been happening for a while, and finally the glass gave up.
When I took this to the service center in Santa Barbara, the service manager refused to honor the warranty to have the window replaced, on the grounds that she could not see actual contact between the glass and the bump, even though it is clear that it is the contact between the glass and the bump that caused the glass to break. I was astounded that this manager could not see the cause-and-effect. She agreed to esclate the issue, so I have to wait and see whether someone higher up has more sense.
Has anyone else seen this issue? What other avenues of recourse do I have?

 

[Flyguy]

My 2020 MS is only 3 months old. Two days ago, I noticed a fracture View attachment #1 in the forward edge of the liftgate glass, (see photo #1). The triangular piece is actually pushed up above the surface of the glass, so it is obvious that the glass was impacted from below. Upon opening the liftgate, I see that there is a protrusion of metal - a kind of "bump" right at the exact point where the crack originates, and there is abrasion of the paint where the glass contacted the bump (see photo #2). View attachment #2
Watching this region dynamically, the gap between the glass edge and "bump" is about 2 mm when the liftgate is in the fully lifted position, but when I activate the button to lower the liftgate, the pull on the liftgate by the struts moves the whole liftgate, including glass, forward by a couple of millimeters, bringing the edge of the glass right against the bump, thus causing the left-to-right scratches you see above. It appears that this had been happening for a while, and finally the glass gave up.
When I took this to the service center in Santa Barbara, the service manager refused to honor the warranty to have the window replaced, on the grounds that she could not see actual contact between the glass and the bump, even though it is clear that it is the contact between the glass and the bump that caused the glass to break. I was astounded that this manager could not see the cause-and-effect. She agreed to esclate the issue, so I have to wait and see whether someone higher up has more sense.
Has anyone else seen this issue? What other avenues of recourse do I have?

So sorry. What a complete headache! I’ve never seen a post with failure point.

 

[cookie99]

nothing got lodged on there? I broke mine because something got lodged between it. I assume for the people that this has happened to, they would try to complain and say its a warranty issue. i sucked it up and replaced it myself. i bet your service manager thinks the same thing happened.

 

[Flyguy]

nothing got lodged on there? I broke mine because something got lodged between it. I assume for the people that this has happened to, they would try to complain and say its a warranty issue. i sucked it up and replaced it myself. i bet your service manager thinks the same thing happened.

View attachment 562678

Great. Now I have to regularly check my trunk lid for debris on a regular basis...

 

[FatherTo1]

Yikes, that looks bad! Scared me enough to go check our 2019 S. There seems to be a good 3/16" or more (~5 mm) clearance from that bump area throughout the range of motion on our car. Are you sure your trunk lid doesn't have some obvious alignment issues? I couldn't get a good measurement of the clearance but compare it with the gap between the hatch glass and roof. Maybe try a different SC.

 

[Ericsch]

nothing got lodged on there? I broke mine because something got lodged between it. I assume for the people that this has happened to, they would try to complain and say its a warranty issue. i sucked it up and replaced it myself. i bet your service manager thinks the same thing happened.

View attachment 562678

Cookie99: Thanks for your reply. You are right, that is the first thing they assumed. But I showed them that the glass is actually fractured from pressure underneath the glass. And it is clear that the pressure was applied by contact with the body. The service manager seemed to be simply wanting to brush this off rather than considering what I was showing her. Sad. I get the impression that this Service Manager is new to the job and is wanting to impress the bean-counters with a hard line. I talked to the site manager, and he agreed with me on causality, but claims he has no sway over the Service Manager. Hmmmm....

 

[Ericsch]

Yikes, that looks bad! Scared me enough to go check our 2019 S. There seems to be a good 3/16" or more (~5 mm) clearance from that bump area throughout the range of motion on our car. Are you sure your trunk lid doesn't have some obvious alignment issues? I couldn't get a good measurement of the clearance but compare it with the gap between the hatch glass and roof. Maybe try a different SC.

View attachment 562682

View attachment 562688

Thanks, FatherTo1: would you mind watching the gap between glass edge and metal as the liftgate is closed? On my car the glass shifts forward a couple of mm as the struts begin to pull the gate down. If yours does not, then perhaps that is a clue to what happened with my particular unit.

 

[cellphonechris]

Worst case scenario, you could make a glass claim - which doesn’t impact your premium. I’m assuming you have glass coverage. Regardless of who pays, I’d make sure the SC installs the new glass and tests for contact afterwards.

 

[cookie99]

Worst case scenario, you could make a glass claim - which doesn’t impact your premium. I’m assuming you have glass coverage. Regardless of who pays, I’d make sure the SC installs the new glass and tests for contact afterwards.

that would have to be absolutely the worst case scenario because many of these claims will use 3rd party glass (ie non tesla made) at a glass shop like safelite. imagine a manufacturer defect in your 3 month old tesla and you have to go through your own insurance and replace it with a cheaper glass

 

[ucmndd]

that would have to be absolutely the worst case scenario because many of these claims will use 3rd party glass (ie non tesla made) at a glass shop like safelite. imagine a manufacturer defect in your 3 month old tesla and you have to go through your own insurance and replace it with a cheaper glass

Last time I looked third party glass for the model S didn’t exist.

 

[themacs]

I agree with making a glass claim. I, also am quite sure, that you will find there is NO glass substitute for Tesla rear glass. I probably would wait for the "escalated" answer (if you ever get one). If it is still denied I would make the insurance claim. I have had 2 Teslas since 2014 and the customer service has truly gone from 100% great to close to ZERO. JMO.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Sounds like Tesla is giving the SC managers bonus's not to pay for warranty repairs. I had a crap experience related to a cosmetic issue (I'm a 3rd generation Model S owner (2013, 2014, 2016 and had two trucks on order... cancelled one CT due to the experience), that would have never been an issue in 2013/14, they openly violated their warranty terms on my 2016, I can't wait for the monopoly to end.

 

[croman]

This is absurd. Go to another service location next time this happens. My service center would just replace this, especially with newer cars.

It is further astounding that Tesla still has issues manufacturing cars. Mine is flawless and it was one of the very early S cars with the all glass roof. They need better robot supervision or programming.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

This is absurd. Go to another service location next time this happens. My service center would just replace this, especially with newer cars.

It is further astounding that Tesla still has issues manufacturing cars. Mine is flawless and it was one of the very early S cars with the all glass roof. They need better robot supervision or programming.

They wasted my time twice, had to drop the car off wait 2 days, then go pick it up, only to find out they didn't do the work, then argue with them about the warranty coverage terms, (which they lied about and told me that my 2016 was covered by a revised Feb 2019 warranty, then they refused to give me a copy of the original warranty, until I had a lawyer review the purchase document agreement that clearly states that they must provide you with a copy of the warranty, which they reluctantly complied with). Then brought it back a second time, 2 more days in the shop, to also be told they wouldn't honor the warranty terms again.
I don't know about you, but time is money and when they waste my time it costs me more than the hassle of the repair. The can go FFFF themselves, I'm recovering from FanBoyitis, this was the final straw for me, my wife had to point out the obvious to me. I am hoping somebody comes out with something better, so I can get an organization with a real customer service organization much like Tesla was pre-Model 3 release. I've given them over $300,000 dollars in sales, I'm sure someone else would be a happy take those dollars in the future.

 

[aerodyne]

This is absurd. Go to another service location next time this happens. My service center would just replace this, especially with newer cars.

It is further astounding that Tesla still has issues manufacturing cars. Mine is flawless and it was one of the very early S cars with the all glass roof. They need better robot supervision or programming.

SB is one of the better, less busy service centers. However my last experience was 2 stars.

Suggest try Oxnard or Agora hills

 

[FatherTo1]

Thanks, FatherTo1: would you mind watching the gap between glass edge and metal as the liftgate is closed? On my car the glass shifts forward a couple of mm as the struts begin to pull the gate down. If yours does not, then perhaps that is a clue to what happened with my particular unit.

@Ericsch, here is a video of our lift gate closing. I dont see it pivoting or shifting, and that's probably because there are two fixed hinges that prevent the hatch from moving, other than rotating. Do you have the same two hinges on your 2020? Maybe your hinges are loose?

 

[aerodyne]

They wasted my time twice, had to drop the car off wait 2 days, then go pick it up, only to find out they didn't do the work, then argue with them about the warranty coverage terms, (which they lied about and told me that my 2016 was covered by a revised Feb 2019 warranty, then they refused to give me a copy of the original warranty, until I had a lawyer review the purchase document agreement that clearly states that they must provide you with a copy of the warranty, which they reluctantly complied with). Then brought it back a second time, 2 more days in the shop, to also be told they wouldn't honor the warranty terms again.
I don't know about you, but time is money and when they waste my time it costs me more than the hassle of the repair. The can go FFFF themselves, I'm recovering from FanBoyitis, this was the final straw for me, my wife had to point out the obvious to me. I am hoping somebody comes out with something better, so I can get an organization with a real customer service organization much like Tesla was pre-Model 3 release. I've given them over $300,000 dollars in sales, I'm sure someone else would be a happy take those dollars in the future.

Xeno...which SeC was this, so I can make sure I never end up there...thanks in advance ...

 

[AMPd]

They wasted my time twice, had to drop the car off wait 2 days, then go pick it up, only to find out they didn't do the work, then argue with them about the warranty coverage terms, (which they lied about and told me that my 2016 was covered by a revised Feb 2019 warranty, then they refused to give me a copy of the original warranty, until I had a lawyer review the purchase document agreement that clearly states that they must provide you with a copy of the warranty, which they reluctantly complied with). Then brought it back a second time, 2 more days in the shop, to also be told they wouldn't honor the warranty terms again.
I don't know about you, but time is money and when they waste my time it costs me more than the hassle of the repair. The can go FFFF themselves, I'm recovering from FanBoyitis, this was the final straw for me, my wife had to point out the obvious to me. I am hoping somebody comes out with something better, so I can get an organization with a real customer service organization much like Tesla was pre-Model 3 release. I've given them over $300,000 dollars in sales, I'm sure someone else would be a happy take those dollars in the future.

I too have owned 3 teslas (2013, 2014, 2015) and am currently on the fence about buying a 2020 model s. However I’m hoping with each day I wait that we’ll finally see a change in their customer service. Unfortunately with each day that passes I’m more inclined to move on to something else. I don’t need a new car but I sure do want one and I want it to be a Tesla, I just don’t want the headache that comes with a Tesla.

 

[cookie99]

They wasted my time twice, had to drop the car off wait 2 days, then go pick it up, only to find out they didn't do the work, then argue with them about the warranty coverage terms, (which they lied about and told me that my 2016 was covered by a revised Feb 2019 warranty, then they refused to give me a copy of the original warranty, until I had a lawyer review the purchase document agreement that clearly states that they must provide you with a copy of the warranty, which they reluctantly complied with). Then brought it back a second time, 2 more days in the shop, to also be told they wouldn't honor the warranty terms again.
I don't know about you, but time is money and when they waste my time it costs me more than the hassle of the repair. The can go FFFF themselves, I'm recovering from FanBoyitis, this was the final straw for me, my wife had to point out the obvious to me. I am hoping somebody comes out with something better, so I can get an organization with a real customer service organization much like Tesla was pre-Model 3 release. I've given them over $300,000 dollars in sales, I'm sure someone else would be a happy take those dollars in the future.

all i can say is...... yep.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Xeno...which SeC was this, so I can make sure I never end up there...thanks in advance ...

Tysons Corner, VA, which has traditionally been pretty good. I miss Michael Lightly, I think he moved to Richmond, he had common sense, and understood the customer point of view and always found a solid middle ground, but then again, this was pre-Model 3 non-mass market Tesla, also a warranty meant something back then, now they play an avoidance strategy on repairs, unless of course you are out of warranty then game on.
I am out of warranty on my 2014 and was able to source a new screen for $500 (de-lamination at ~97,000), also getting the new eMMC from Tony, which is another ~$500... hopefully that will get me another 100K miles into this car.