Manufacturing Issues on my Model 3

[myM3]

Thanks fellas. TROLL / CATFISH / BUFFALLO - LOL!!! It does not matter I AM THICK SKINNED and SHAMELESS

Ohmman and SteveG3 thanks for listening

I am not trying to undermine Tesla or any one here. It is just me. I have been in quality engineering for half my life and it is so imbibed in me that I cannot afford to leave things that are unfinished.

Again if this has hurt any of the fans in this club, please excuse me. I am a great fan of this car and this is a charm to ride. Even BETTER THAN MY BMW 5 Series in some ways. Obviously my take on being so picky on the nitty gritty is that Tesla should take these defects (it may look small to you all) as feedback and learn and make changes so that few months down the line when you get yours, you will not have to go through like me.

Yes the bar is set high and has to be raising, and this will happen only by feedback

Steve to answer your question, about how good it stays back when I press the gear stalk sticker, yes it does stick but after some time it come back to the position I showed in the picture. May be it needs the double sided tape more than what it is currently having,

Here is the picture when I opened it completely (just using my finger nails). All that you have is the sticker that holds it.

 

[BioSehnsucht]

Looks like the adhesive strip/thing should be in a shape of an H (though rotated degrees) going by those outlines, and it wasn't applied in the correct alignment. misaligned, it would go over the lines that indicate where it should be, which would make it not be flat, which would lead to poor adhesion.

Assuming of course that those lines are alignment indicators for the adhesive, then that being installed incorrectly is the most likely root cause. I doubt Tesla sticks those on themselves, it is most likely the supplier who screwed that up. Whether Tesla should have caught it before pre-delivery inspection is hard to say, it might have been less noticeable at first and got worse over time / with use (repeated stress of use causing the limited adhesion to fail). If it was already visibly misaligned at delivery though, that's on the delivery or pre-delivery inspection team, they should have caught it.

 

[AlanSqB]

Am I the only one who thinks double sided tape to hold together a frequently manipulated, sunlight/heat exposed part is a terrible idea? Is this normal? I assume it’s “special”adhesive that’s rated for this sort of thing, but still seems like a poor choice.

 

[nvx1977]

I would think/hope it is a combination of adhesive and clips (or tabs). Regardless, definitely a defect and should get addressed by service center.

OP, would you be willing to share your VIN? First number of the last 4 digits would suffice.

 

[seattlite2004]

The top is split into three glass sections (front wind shield, top and rear wind shield). On my car the middle glass is not aligned to the front and rear. I see about 1-2mm sinking in on one side and another protruding up. The SC said this is expected as the glass is hand laid to the frame. The rubber sealing is not well tucked and that is of some concern to me. Will it leak water. I am not sure. Should I test it, yes I will. Will see how the seals handle the water.

I also noticed the highlighted above on a Model 3 at the Bellevue Square Tesla Showroom....it was the passenger side rear that was sticking up. I also noticed the typical protruding large/gaps headlight installation.

 

[dhrivnak]

Am I the only one who thinks double sided tape to hold together a frequently manipulated, sunlight/heat exposed part is a terrible idea? Is this normal? I assume it’s “special”adhesive that’s rated for this sort of thing, but still seems like a poor choice.

They make some great double sided tape these days. It is used for body molding and in the case of the Roadster the mug guards. 10 years later it is holding well

 

[coconutboy84]

looks like you guys have some apologizing to do.

 

[gabl]

Looks like the adhesive strip/thing should be in a shape of an H (though rotated degrees) going by those outlines, and it wasn't applied in the correct alignment. misaligned, it would go over the lines that indicate where it should be, which would make it not be flat, which would lead to poor adhesion.

Assuming of course that those lines are alignment indicators for the adhesive, then that being installed incorrectly is the most likely root cause. I doubt Tesla sticks those on themselves, it is most likely the supplier who screwed that up. Whether Tesla should have caught it before pre-delivery inspection is hard to say, it might have been less noticeable at first and got worse over time / with use (repeated stress of use causing the limited adhesion to fail). If it was already visibly misaligned at delivery though, that's on the delivery or pre-delivery inspection team, they should have caught it.

Agree 100%. Tape should be "H" shaped, and should not be on top of the ridges.

OP, is the other half of the "adhesive H" on the inside of the R/N/D cover piece?

 

[Daniel in SD]

looks like you guys have some apologizing to do.

Yep. I'm sorry I called myM3 a troll. Lesson learned.
I'm sure the service center can fix the shifter stalk. Not so sure about the glass alignment. That may be "within spec."

 

[N5329K]

Q. How long will they be learning?
If they say "as expected", then you have to accept it or fight them.

Tesla has to eat this elephant one bite at a time, so I think it will take a while to solve both design and QA problems for a much larger manufacturing run than any they've had before. They will be relying on the goodwill and tolerance they've always enjoyed from their dedicated supporters, as well as their demonstrated can do approach to solving issues in the field. I'm unconvinced that approach will
work for the much larger numbers Model 3 imposes on their systems, but who knows? Maybe.
Meanwhile, it's a fine idea to bring up design and QA issues here, with the hope that Tesla learns about them quicker, and fixes them faster. Actual trolls aside, it will help the company in the end.
Robin

 

[dstroot]

LOL - that is hilarious. @erthquake you nailed it!

 

[Need]

They make some great double sided tape these days. It is used for body molding and in the case of the Roadster the mug guards. 10 years later it is holding well

Aren't they using double sided tape to hold up the front license plate on the M3? I guess if it would hold a license plate on the exterior of the car, they probably use it for many things in the interior.

 

[Electroman]

It is just me. I have been in quality engineering for half my life and it is so imbibed in me that I cannot afford to leave things that are unfinished.

Nothing wrong in being picky. But everyone should maintain a perspective. There are cosmetic issues, and then there are issues that impact driving comfort and experience. These two should not be conflated and put in the same bucket as "manufacturing defects". I think your original title ticked a few people off. Thats all.

If you have not done, go and watch that video I posted.

"If you practice complaining, you will get very good at it"

 

[myM3]

Nothing wrong in being picky. But everyone should maintain a perspective. There are cosmetic issues, and then there are issues that impact driving comfort and experience. These two should not be conflated and put in the same bucket as "manufacturing defects". I think your original title ticked a few people off. Thats all.

If you have not done, go and watch that video I posted.

"If you practice complaining, you will get very good at it"

SIR

 

[mcbarnet007]

I think what they can do for the glass roof is to cut the current urethane seal and clean up the left over and relay the glass to make sure it is leveled and aligned. Shouldn't be hard to do as it is just like replacing a damaged windshield.

 

[MarkBrokeIt]

I asked about the gear shift cover issue @ my local service center today. I was told there's still not a fix.

Other folks still seeing this on recent deliveries?

Anyone else hear of a solution from their service center?

 

[BioSehnsucht]

It seems like either cleaning the residue and applying fresh double sided tape (if that was the true original intended assembly method) or simply replacing the stalk are both valid options to fixing it. I don't see how they can not have any fix? Have you tried to escalate the issue? Perhaps you're just getting bad / lazy service.

 

[RBowen]

Re myM3's misaligned roof glass, this is more than "cosmetic." It can cause wind noise, which is also a frequent complaint.

 

[brobinson]

I asked about the gear shift cover issue @ my local service center today. I was told there's still not a fix.

Other folks still seeing this on recent deliveries?

Anyone else hear of a solution from their service center?

It's definitely not aligned as well on as the turn signal stalk on the vehicle I took delivery of a month ago. It hasn't fallen off and I definitely havent tried pulling it off. I'd imagine its probably the same.

 

[mekberg]

It's definitely not aligned as well on as the turn signal stalk on the vehicle I took delivery of a month ago. It hasn't fallen off and I definitely havent tried pulling it off. I'd imagine its probably the same.

My co-workers and I all have the drive stalk issue. Our three cars were manufactured in May and delivered the first week of June.