Model 3 paint wearing off

[Matt L]

If you drive in those environments. Install PPF on those sections. I don’t drive in those environments and I still put PPF on those sections.

Arguing that Tesla should do that for you, presumably for free, doesn’t make sense. If they did it, they would pass the cost on to everyone. If you feel like you need it, go pay for it.

 

[omgwtfbyobbq]

Pictures of a Model 3 in Quebec after this winter. Tire spray debris not only blasted through the paint on the front lower rocker but also the rubberized protective coating under the paint. I have the minimal California guards on the way. May only install the front ones. From Eric in Quebec. English website translation coming:

Boutique - Antirouille Bolduc

View attachment 394370

View attachment 394371

Can you post a video of the paint coming off in your first picture? It looks to me like its curling up, which is usually a symptom of the primer/paint not adhering to the body in the first place because of some kind of contaminant, likely oil from when the body panels were stamped out.

If my guess is accurate, it's more noticeable in cold climates because the slurry of water/ice/salt sticks to car and works it's way under the paint a lot better than water alone does.

 

[Reciprocity]

Model 3 does not have this plastic trim, this plastic protects the area most hit by debris.
View attachment 407532

Either do new model S, post facelift.

 

[sundaymorning]

It doesn't happen to every cars. I have bought my car in December in Montreal and I put 4000km since in snow rain highway but not off road. I don't see any abnormal wear on it. My guess, there might be some cars better painted than others which is, of course, not acceptable.
Any how i intent to ppf mine and put some mud flaps.

Sounds like it might be a badge issue.

 

[cowardlycow]

Just checked my car quickly and didn't see anything that stood out. Will check in more detail this evening or tomorrow.

I have blue early 2018 build with about 23,000 miles on it.

Early builds ( ~ pre Jun 2018) have much thicker paint. It was only after they ramped up the lines to >3K/wk that they needed to start skimping on the paint process.

 

[duanra]

Early builds ( ~ pre Jun 2018) have much thicker paint. It was only after they ramped up the lines to >3K/wk that they needed to start skimping on the paint process.

I don't know about that, I was delivered a grey MR in Dec 2018. I didn't see anything dramatic with the paint, keeping my fingers crossed. It might not be a date of fabrication issue...just guessing.

 

[JackieDonson]

Since there is more torque and quicker wheel spinning then a traditional car is that throwing up more road debris then typical?

 

[duanra]

Since there is more torque and quicker wheel spinning then a traditional car is that throwing up more road debris then typical?

More than any typical sport car ?
Looks like there is a weakness on some vehicles...

 

[works]

Since there is more torque and quicker wheel spinning then a traditional car is that throwing up more road debris then typical?

One could argue that if they knew this during the power train design, why wasn't this effect then countered in the chassis protection design. I find this argument deeply flawed.

Due to cost cutting in the Model 3 production, they've now cut too deep and have to fix the issues that they've created in their path to profitability. Unfortunately this for me means that I'll be cancelling my P3D order and will wait until Model Y to see if Tesla is still around and if their build quality has improved.

 

[johnnymars]

If the Model S is only average in reliability, how will a cheaper, de-contented, thrown-together Model 3 hold up? Tesla never adequately road-tested the car before production, but let the early adopters be the beta-testers. GM did 750,000 miles of road-testing on the Volt, and Porsche is doing 1.25 million miles on the Taycan, which is going to seriously dent Model S sales. The Tesla X is already at the bottom of Consumer Reports' list of SUV's for reliability, and the S is also dropping. Can the 3 be far behind? The Honda Clarity PHEV is also unreliable. Whatever happened to waiting a year or two to let manufacturers work the kinks out?

 

[ChrisH]

If the Model S is only average in reliability, how will a cheaper, de-contented, thrown-together Model 3 hold up? Tesla never adequately road-tested the car before production, but let the early adopters be the beta-testers. GM did 750,000 miles of road-testing on the Volt, and Porsche is doing 1.25 million miles on the Taycan, which is going to seriously dent Model S sales. The Tesla X is already at the bottom of Consumer Reports' list of SUV's for reliability, and the S is also dropping. Can the 3 be far behind? The Honda Clarity PHEV is also unreliable. Whatever happened to waiting a year or two to let manufacturers work the kinks out?

Tesla would be dead if they waited that long to release an affordable EV.

 

[TheMrX]

Question for those with actual paint damage : do you have the aero wheel cover?

 

[duanra]

Question for those with actual paint damage : do you have the aero wheel cover?

Do you think that removing covers could cause paint damages by modifying the airflow in the wheel area?

 

[TheMrX]

Do you think that removing covers could cause paint damages by modifying the airflow in the wheel area?

Well, Igot my model 3 less than 2 weeks ago but at the moment, the odometer shows 2709 km.

I live in a small village and have a 3km run of unpaved road to get to home.

Right now I have no damage at all on the car. So yeah, it struck me that maybe the aero cover might be helping.

That and of course the strong discipline of repressing my impulsion of doing a 3km rally style driving to end the day when I get home hehehe.

 

[kpedraja]

FWIW, I have the road rash issue on my Midnight Silver, AWD LR (purchased in October '18) and it is directly related to a SINGLE trip I took over the Cascade mountains in Oregon back in January. I washed the car before the trip and there was no road rash and washed it on my return and it was significant, especially along the rockers and rear wheel well flares but also on the doors themselves. To address some of the speculation on potential causes here, I didn't have the aero covers on the wheels since I knew I might need to install chains. I wasn't driving aggressively since the road conditions didn't allow it (packed snow and icy surfaces). The roads were sanded over the passes, and in Oregon "sand" means pumice. After determining that the pitting was serious and couldn't be fixed with rubbing compound, ScratchOut or other DIY solutions, I brought the car into Tesla and they agreed to repaint the damaged areas under warranty. Judging by the comments in this thread, it sounds like my experience with Tesla is unique. Also, FWIW, I've driven my Audi A3 over the same roads in the same conditions multiple times and never suffered any damage whatsoever.

 

[Jimi_hendrick]

Mine got the damage with aero covers always on.

 

[Johnii__82]

FWIW, I have the road rash issue on my Midnight Silver, AWD LR (purchased in October '18) and it is directly related to a SINGLE trip I took over the Cascade mountains in Oregon back in January. I washed the car before the trip and there was no road rash and washed it on my return and it was significant, especially along the rockers and rear wheel well flares but also on the doors themselves. To address some of the speculation on potential causes here, I didn't have the aero covers on the wheels since I knew I might need to install chains. I wasn't driving aggressively since the road conditions didn't allow it (packed snow and icy surfaces). The roads were sanded over the passes, and in Oregon "sand" means pumice. After determining that the pitting was serious and couldn't be fixed with rubbing compound, ScratchOut or other DIY solutions, I brought the car into Tesla and they agreed to repaint the damaged areas under warranty. Judging by the comments in this thread, it sounds like my experience with Tesla is unique. Also, FWIW, I've driven my Audi A3 over the same roads in the same conditions multiple times and never suffered any damage whatsoever.

You are so true.

That's why i filed in Finnish police station criminal report againts Tesla because:

Tesla has failed to tell all the necessary things to a customer before when he / she is thinking to purchase a new vehicle. ( fraud in finland )
Tesla has failed to told me that the car will be damaged after a month of normal use in paved roads or in normal tarmac on 2200 km. Which is unacceptable. Let's see what police has to say about it.

 

[works]

Directly related to this I've now cancelled my P3D order and requested my initial funds to be returned. I'll be back once the build quality and Tesla's ability to act responsibly regarding build quality issues improve.

Hope that Y will fix many of these issues.

 

[jsydanma]

If you drive in those environments. Install PPF on those sections. I don’t drive in those environments and I still put PPF on those sections.

Arguing that Tesla should do that for you, presumably for free, doesn’t make sense. If they did it, they would pass the cost on to everyone. If you feel like you need it, go pay for it.

That sound silly. Tesla is selling their cars all over the globe and surely the cars have to withstand the climate and environmental conditions of those market areas. In Finland we have snow, sand on the roads, temps below freezing point etc. Customers have to trust that the cars will last a reasonable time without the paint wearing off (and that is not 2 months). And yes, I also suffer from this premature paint wear

 

[KenC]

So, I PPF'd my rockers today. And while I was lying on the ground looking at my rockers, I noticed a couple other things.

The first pic is an image of the rear lifting point. You can see how the black paint has been sandblasted off. Imagine that kind of sandblasting on your finish. The second pic is looking at a suspension arm attached to the rear wheel. Like above, it's been totally sandblasted. Not sure any paint can take that kind of abuse. I think Tesla needs to put a piece of plastic or plastic film over the rocker panels, in addition to removable mudguards for people who live in areas that sand the roads in Winter. My rockers were fairly good, but you can imagine that prolonged exposure to sandblasting will quickly wear off the finish.

The third is a pic of my rockers PPF'd and the 4th my car up on a pair of Rhinoramps. Even with the ramps, it's quite hard to get under the car enough to apply the PPF. Applying the PPF on the rockers should be easy, but it's hard due to location, and the paint is not as smooth in that area, so it doesn't stick as quickly.