MASTER THREAD: Jack Points — location, use, damage, pads, etc.

[Tam]

Model S and X have rectangular lifting pads with 3 holes and they are located on the outer edge.

Model 3 Jack Points look different (triangular with 1 hole?) and they are not located anywhere near the outer edge but rather more inward.

Would anyone please take a picture because the drawing is too 2 dimensional.

 

[Drivesolo]

According to an early version of the Model 3 Owner's Manual, the jacking points on the Model 3 look completely different than those on the Model S.

Can anyone provide a clear photo of what these points look like? It's hard to tell if they are lower than the body trim and battery surfaces. Does anyone know if special care (tooling) should be given to the use of these point like on the Model S? --> Check your jack points after service!

 

[Qbenjamin]

Annoying that they reduced it, the S and X are already small enough. Looks like they have a "special" jack access point for the car.

 

[run-the-joules]

I'll take a pic when I leave work if nobody beats me to it.

 

[voip-ninja]

Weird.... I wonder if they are going to sell a special jack adapter to fit that...

 

[Drivesolo]

Annoying that they reduced it, the S and X are already small enough. Looks like they have a "special" jack access point for the car.

It's fairly common to find jacking points that are smaller than the soft Model S pads. The difference is that they are solid metal and protrude slightly below the rest of the chassis so when a jack is used it typically doesn't contact anything else other than the jacking point. I would much prefer the small hard points rather than the Model S point.

 

[e-FTW]

I wonder if/when Jackpoint Jackstands will support Model 3: Where to put jack stands on Model S?

 

[Keith023]

Has there been a picture of these jack points yet?

 

[Drivesolo]

Has there been a picture of these jack points yet?

Not yet on this thread. I'm hoping run-the-joules can still post some pics from his Model 3.

 

[Drax]

I’m really interested in this as well. I am planning on swapping between aftermarket 20’s for local driving and the stock 18’s for road trips, but it seems pretty clear that I won’t be able to use the mount I have for our Model S.

 

[run-the-joules]

Whhooooops, totally spaced it. Will do today for sure.

 

[run-the-joules]

 

[run-the-joules]

I’m really interested in this as well. I am planning on swapping between aftermarket 20’s for local driving and the stock 18’s for road trips, but it seems pretty clear that I won’t be able to use the mount I have for our Model S.

Yeah kinda the same boat. Just buying another set of aeros with winter tires for my ski trips, so there'll be a lot of weekends where I'm doing the swap. Part of me is tempted to just go nuts and get a quickjack but that's so profoundly overkill that it's hard to justify over just buying a good floor jack and such.

 

[SureValla]

View attachment 276897 View attachment 276898

wow not much room between jack point and battery

 

[Daniel in SD]

Looks a little tricky to use a standard jack or lift unless you have some sort of adapter. Hopefully someone will sell one for those of us swapping wheels at home.

 

[Drivesolo]

Thanks for posting the pics run-the-joules!

That's not what I was hoping to see. I was hoping that it wouldn't be as flush w/ the underside of the battery. Initially, it doesn't seem to be standard floor jack and/or stand friendly since it could potentially put a load on the battery. On the positive side, it looks like making a custom pad block to index into the hole is more than doable when using a floor jack.

 

[voip-ninja]

Thanks for posting the pics run-the-joules!

That's not what I was hoping to see. I was hoping that it wouldn't be as flush w/ the underside of the battery. Initially, it doesn't seem to be standard floor jack and/or stand friendly since it could potentially put a load on the battery. On the positive side, it looks like making a custom pad block to index into the hole is more than doable when using a floor jack.

I will go one further and guess that Tesla designed it with a jack adapter in mind and that they already have them in-house as well as at their service centers.

The risk for owners is, as you said, damaging something using a regular jack on them.... and if you bring one of these M3s to a suspension/tire shop with a standard lift that doesn't know what they are doing... holy crap.

 

[SageBrush]

What do the jack points look like in front and rear ?

 

[Daniel in SD]

The risk for owners is, as you said, damaging something using a regular jack on them.... and if you bring one of these M3s to a suspension/tire shop with a standard lift that doesn't know what they are doing... holy crap.

Exactly! I've heard that Tesla will only put approved tires on at their service centers. Is that true? I'll definitely be taking the wheels off the car myself to get tires mounted. Seems like the probability of severe underbody damage is high at a tire shop.

 

[Drivesolo]

I've been looking a little closer at the images that run-the-joules posted and I'm realizing that it's more flush with body trim than the battery itself. It actually seems that there might be a half-inch (or more) difference in height. It might be possible to use a standard floor jack without a custom adapter on those points. It might contact the body trim but probably not the battery.