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

[qdeathstar]

I agree that this sucks and it’s totaly unacceptable that a Tesla doesn’t it train its delivery people on how to properly strap the car up, but i wonder how important these holes are in the grand scheme of things, aren’t they just guides for the pucks to slip into?

Like, if they said look it’s going to cost 2K and we are going to need your car for 6 weeks, or we can give you $500 cash to forget it ever happened..... what is the actual risk here? I don’t think it’s resale value because it’s not easily spotted...

 

[vjason]

If the repair is not noticeable after the use of the repaired jack points, and it doesn’t appear on Carfax, then it’s a PITA but probably has minimal impact in the long run.

You can bet that I’d be testing out each of these points multiple times after the repair. They better look unchanged after at least 3-4 cycles of being raised by the jack.

I agree that this sucks and it’s totaly unacceptable that a Tesla doesn’t it train its delivery people on how to properly strap the car up, but i wonder how important these holes are in the grand scheme of things, aren’t they just guides for the pucks to slip into?

Like, if they said look it’s going to cost 2K and we are going to need your car for 6 weeks, or we can give you $500 cash to forget it ever happened..... what is the actual risk here? I don’t think it’s resale value because it’s not easily spotted...

 

[super20g]

Thanks for the reminder. I took the car to a Tesla Service Center on June 24, they sent me to a body shop, gave me a rental. The car was at the body shop for a week and they contacted me saying they wanted me to take my car back because the approval from Tesla was "backed up" or whatever.

Meanwhile I got a response from a Tesla website inquiry I'd sent before taking the car in directly, asking if the issue was resolved. I told them all of the above. The reply was:

This was July 15, I haven't heard anything since. I'm not going to contact the body shop, that's silly as they have no control.

So, I'm back in my car, it's still damaged, and I highly doubt anyone is going to contact me until I start complaining again...

Sorry to hear you are getting jerked around... Hopefully it gets fixed soon.

Like, if they said look it’s going to cost 2K and we are going to need your car for 6 weeks, or we can give you $500 cash to forget it ever happened..... what is the actual risk here? I don’t think it’s resale value because it’s not easily spotted...

Well, if it was a 2k fix, i'd be wanting 2K to forgo the fix because the next buyer is going to want a lower price and I'd much rather be straight forward than potentially have someone upset with me after the sale.

 

[Bigtuna00]

I think the structure of the jack point is important enough to warrant a fix. This is what the car rests on when jacked up, not the part behind/above the hole.

I've have paid attention to Tesla delivery trucks since this happened, and they all use wheel straps. I have a feeling my case was something that got contracted out to a third-party.

 

[acarney]

Ugh... I’m already worried about this now. My car will be delivered via third party in a couple weeks and I really really hope this damage isn’t on my car. Is there anyway I can request some kind of note be put on my account that mentions NOT to use the jack points as tie downs?

Ugh, this would save me a bunch of trouble and Tesla a bunch of money...

 

[super20g]

I heard back from the service manager 5 days later. His comment was "This on the protection skis that are made to absorb impacts. The damage doesn't affect vehicle's performance or reliability."

I guess I have a different definition of new 'custom' ordered car than this guy...

 

[run-the-joules]

I heard back from the service manager 5 days later. His comment was "This on the protection skis that are made to absorb impacts. The damage doesn't affect vehicle's performance or reliability."

I guess I have a different definition of new 'custom' ordered car than this guy...

Other things that do not affect performance or reliability: Vomit stains on the carpet, or a crude drawing of someone's genitals carved into the dashboard

That said, your car was not custom ordered per se. You ordered the configuration you wanted and they found one like that for you.

 

[pdx_m3s]

After seeing so many damaged jack-points, I'm going to have these stickers made and put them right next to each jack point

 

[super20g]

Other things that do not affect performance or reliability: Vomit stains on the carpet, or a crude drawing of someone's genitals carved into the dashboard

That said, your car was not custom ordered per se. You ordered the configuration you wanted and they found one like that for you.

Lol. Yea, definitely not custom ordered no matter how they sell it on the website. Unless the damage is the custom part.

 

[Daniel in SD]

After seeing so many damaged jack-points, I'm going to have these stickers made and put them right next to each jack point
View attachment 435798

I'd like someone to explain how all four jack points have damage in the same direction if it was caused by using them as tie downs.
Also, I bet they're strong enough to use for tie downs if you were even able to get a hook in them. They're certainly strong enough to pull the car up on to a flatbed (assuming it's in neutral). Of course that's not what happened here since all four are damaged.

 

[pdx_m3s]

I'd like someone to explain how all four jack points have damage in the same direction if it was caused by using them as tie downs.
Also, I bet they're strong enough to use for tie downs if you were even able to get a hook in them. They're certainly strong enough to pull the car up on to a flatbed (assuming it's in neutral). Of course that's not what happened here since all four are damaged.

In this case, the damage could be caused by something other than tie-down hooks, but I have seen jack points completely ripped out on Model 3s that were definitively caused by using them as tie-down hook points. The jack-points are aluminum, not steel.

 

[The Gray Foxx]

I had this issue happen suddenly yesterday. I got in my car after a short drive home (6 mile commute) so no long-range driving. The car had been sitting in the garage for about an hour. When I went out and hit reverse, I got this:

I returned home, restarted the car. No change. I shut the car down and let it sit overnight. Then the next morning when I backed out, it was back to normal.

Will definitely keep an eye on it. I don't think it was heat related as the car was cool and hadn't been driven for that long.

 

[Mark77a]

DIY Jack Point 'Savers' (10 mins, wood, saw, nut covers Glue gun)

 

[m3p_uk]

Did you manage to get this fixed in the end?

 

[twistedskipper]

Aside from general best practices for flatbed transport, the Tesla Model 3 Owner Manual Instructions for Transporters (p. 175, version
2019.16.1.1, May 16, 2019) clearly states that "The vehicle's tires must be secured onto the truck using the eight-point tie-down method." and that "Attaching the tie-down straps to the chassis, suspension or other parts of the vehicle's body may cause damage.".

Either somebody in the pre-delivery transport chain screwed up, or somebody took delivery of the car and later returned it and somewhere in between had it improperly transported.

 

[Bigtuna00]

Did you manage to get this fixed in the end?

Nothing yet. Another member contacted me privately and said that at least 1 person has had this repaired; it requires a battery pack replacement as the jack points are part of the pack. I'm actually relieved to hear this as I assumed they were part of the body and would require cutting, welding, and repainting.

Anyway no one from Tesla has contacted me proactively. I received one of those "how was your experience" emails and let them know nothing has been done. I was assured they would contact "the team" but heard nothing back. I sent another message this week but I'm not expecting much. I'm sure I'll have to drive to the service center or delivery hub in person and start bugging people to actually get any progress...

 

[TomServo]

This is certainly something I'd check during delivery. Find it before driving away. I added it to my own pre-delivery checklist.

 

[justabrake]

Tesla has proven poor quality control and delivery service I have no idea why so many just sign off on a delivery so fast without checking the quality of it Tesla has a known record for this going back some time

Like Scotty Kilmer says check the car before buying it it could have been in an accident and repaired without being ledgered in they have their own body shops that don't record anything

 

[Daniel in SD]

Nothing yet. Another member contacted me privately and said that at least 1 person has had this repaired; it requires a battery pack replacement as the jack points are part of the pack. I'm actually relieved to hear this as I assumed they were part of the body and would require cutting, welding, and repainting.

So maybe they're getting damaged in transport from the Gigafactory to Fremont. Or maybe some the packs require rework and get messed up there.

 

[Bill Foster]

Nothing yet. Another member contacted me privately and said that at least 1 person has had this repaired; it requires a battery pack replacement as the jack points are part of the pack. I'm actually relieved to hear this as I assumed they were part of the body and would require cutting, welding, and repainting.

Anyway no one from Tesla has contacted me proactively. I received one of those "how was your experience" emails and let them know nothing has been done. I was assured they would contact "the team" but heard nothing back. I sent another message this week but I'm not expecting much. I'm sure I'll have to drive to the service center or delivery hub in person and start bugging people to actually get any progress...

If their is any good news it’s not a frame issue and they can be replaced